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Middle-Eastern Bread and Tomato Salad Serves 6 / Prep tip: To keep pitas crisp, add just before serving. Serving tip: Garnish with chunks of avocado.

2 rounds whole-wheat ¹/2 pita bread

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¹/4 teaspoon sea salt

¹/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

¹/4 cup chopped fresh mint

cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 English cucumber (about 14 ounces), quartered lengthwise and sliced into ¹/4-inch-thick pieces

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Brush both sides of pita bread with ¹/2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Cut bread into 1-inch pieces. Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool.

2. In a serving bowl, mix remaining olive oil with lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper. Add mint and parsley and mix. Add cucumber and tomatoes and mix. Add pita pieces, toss, and serve immediately.

PER SERVING: 141 cal, 45% fat cal, 8g fat, 1g sat fat, 0mg chol, 3g protein, 17g carb, 3g fiber, 217mg sodium

Spicy Ginger-Coconut Rice

Serves 2– 4 / Ingredient tips: Canned coconut milk separates, forming a thick cream layer on top; mix well before using. Freeze leftover coconut milk for another use. Serving tip: Add more alkalinizing power by serving this rice on a bed of freshly steamed greens.

5 ounces extra-firm tofu, 1 diced ¹/4

1 tablespoon olive oil 1

1 small onion, diced ¹/4

1 1-inch cube fresh ginger, minced ¹/4

1 clove garlic, minced ¹/8

small red bell pepper, diced cup coconut milk cup cooked brown rice cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted teaspoon sea salt teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. In a saucepan or frying pan lightly coated with cooking spray, heat tofu over medium-high heat until liquid disappears and tofu lightly browns. Set aside tofu.

2. In the same pan, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering (about 2 minutes). Add onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir to coat and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are opaque, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and sauté for 5 more minutes on medium heat or until peppers and onion are soft. Add coconut milk, continue to stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Add tofu, cooked rice, and almonds; stir and cook 2 more minutes.

3. Remove from heat. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Stir and serve.

PER SERVING: 395 cal, 53% fat cal, 24g fat, 8g sat fat, 0mg chol, 14g protein, 33g carb, 5g fiber, 301mg sodium

Eat mineral-rich greens. Aim for plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds to comprise 60 percent to 70 percent of your total diet —plus lots of water. “Plant-based foods have more alkalinizing minerals, such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium,” Haas says. “Even though fruits like lemons and oranges contain mild acids, they are also rich in alkalinizing minerals, so they have an alkalinizing effect on the body.” His favorites for pH balancing are greens and fresh vegetable juices made with celery, carrots, beets, and chard.

Avoid animal-based and processed foods. Greatly reduce your intake of foods such as eggs, dairy, meats, sugar, and white flour, which contain more acidifying properties, says Hyman.

Get bone benefits. Many advantages of pH balancing remain anecdotal, but at least one benefit is clear: stronger bones. That’s because excess acid leaches calcium—a natural buffer—from the skeleton. This could explain why people who drink a lot of acidic cola tend to have lower bone-mineral-density values, while those with diets rich in alkalinizing fruits and vegetables tend to have higher bone density.

Tame inflammation. Reducing acidity in your diet can result in other benefits, too. “pH-balanced eating can help with all acid-based inflammatory and degenerative conditions, such as arthritis, back pain, headaches, allergies, and congestion,” says Haas. When his clients undertake this diet, “often their blood pressure and cholesterol counts decrease, they have less painful inflammation in their joints, they sleep better, and they’re less stressed and feel more energized.”