Easy Steps to Nutrivore Foundational Foods
Build a Nutrient-Dense Diet with Confidence and Ease!
Now that you know how to build a balanced Nutrivore plate, it’s time to go into more detail about what to put on it. This is where Nutrivore Foundational Foods come in—the most powerful food families you can include in your regular routine to make your meal as nourishing as possible.
Each Nutrivore Foundational Food family provides a unique constellation of nutrients. No single food contains everything your body needs, but when you incorporate a variety of these food families throughout the week (building this focus atop the habit of balanced meals using the Nutrivore Meal Map), you naturally move closer to Nutrivore’s core goal: meeting your nutrient needs through the foods you eat.
Foundational foods help you:
Increase nutrient density without complicating your meals,
Improve overall diet quality by focusing on what to add,
Build eating patterns that support long-term health,
And enjoy delicious food while nourishing your body.
This guide will show you simple, approachable ways to bring these foundational foods into your daily life.
What Are Nutrivore Foundational Foods?
Nutrivore Foundational Foods are selected based on three key criteria:
They provide nutrients that are hard—or impossible—to obtain elsewhere. Each family offers something uniquely valuable that helps you meet your nutrient needs more efficiently.
Foods within the family are nutritionally interchangeable. That means you can swap broccoli for Brussels sprouts, lemons for limes, or salmon for sardines and still obtain the same core benefits (even if amounts vary). This makes variety easier—and more enjoyable.
There’s a robust body of scientific evidence supporting their health benefits. Each foundational food family is backed by a large collection of studies, including meta-analyses, showing meaningful impacts on outcomes like all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, metabolic health, cancer risk, and neurodegenerative disease.
These criteria ensure that each foundational food family meaningfully moves the needle on both nutrient density and health outcomes, earning its place as a cornerstone of the Nutrivore approach.
What makes these families truly foundational is that each one brings something special to the table: potent antioxidants, essential vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, unique phytonutrients, or fiber types that support gut health, metabolism, immune function, and more. By intentionally adding more foundational foods, you can dramatically increase nutrient density—without tracking, logging, or obsessing over individual nutrients.
The twelve Nutrivore foundational food families are:
🥕Vegetables in general
Cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts)
Root vegetables (such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and beets)
Leafy vegetables (like spinach, kale, and Swiss chard)
Mushrooms (including white button, shiitake, and portobello)
Alliums (like onions, garlic, and leeks)
🍇Fruit in general
Citrus fruits (such as oranges, lemons, and grapefruits)
Berries (like strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)
🍛Pulse legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans)
🥜Nuts and seeds (like almonds, walnuts, and sunflower seeds)
🐟Seafood (including fish and shellfish)
These twelve families consistently rank among the most nutrient-dense and health-promoting foods in the entire food supply. Each family offers its own unique blend of nutrients, but they all have one thing in common: they meaningfully move the needle when it comes to improving your nutrition.
Think of these families as the cornerstones of a nutrient-dense lifestyle. The goal isn’t to avoid foods that fall outside these categories—far from it. Instead, it’s about building your meals around these nutrient powerhouses and customizing the rest to your preferences. This approach ensures you’re meeting your body’s nutrient needs while taking full advantage of the health benefits these foods provide.
And no, these aren’t the only foods you should be eating. Nutrivore Foundational Foods are meant to layer on top of the Nutrivore Meal Map—not replace it. They broaden your nutrient intake, but they alone won’t meet all your energy or macronutrient needs. Many people, for example, would fall short on total protein if they ate only the minimum targets for legumes and seafood. Think of foundational foods as a focus layer that enhances your meals—not a list of foods to restrict yourself to.
Quick Tips for Using Nutrivore Foundational Foods
Instead of stressing over individual nutrients, focus on including a variety of Nutrivore Foundational Foods throughout the week. Here are some simple ways to do that:
🥦 Make veggies the star! Aim to fill half your plate with a variety of vegetables, mixing different colors for a broad nutrient profile.
🐟 Boost your omega-3s. Include seafood a couple of times per week to get essential fatty acids for brain and heart health.
🌰 Snack smarter. Swap chips or crackers for a handful of nuts or seeds to increase your intake of healthy fats, protein, and minerals. Or grab a piece of fruit for a naturally sweet and nutrient-packed snack!
These small shifts add up quickly and make a meaningful impact on your overall nutrient intake.
And if you can’t eat one of the foundational food families—due to allergies, intolerances, personal preferences, or cultural or ethical reasons—that’s okay. No single food or food group is irreplaceable. Nutrivore is about learning which nutrients different foods provide so you can confidently choose alternatives that meet your needs. If a particular foundational family doesn’t work for you, there are always other foods that can help fill the gap.
Download Your Nutrivore Foundational Foods Guide!
To make this even easier, I’ve put together a PDF guide that includes:
✅A breakdown of nutritionally distinct food families and their unique benefits
✅Suggested weekly serving goals to help you balance variety
✅A handy list of common foods from each category so you can shop smarter!