Up to 15 oz of good natural protein, from good healthy animals, per
day. That is about 3 to 5 oz per meal, three meals, and two snacks
with 1 oz ea. per day.

The less processed the better. The fresher the better. Right off the
plant is best. The less storage and transportation time the better.

I take a good b vitamin complex, stress formula, and plenty of vitamin
C. I also take fish oils capsules.

Not necessary if you omit sugar and refined carbs from the diet. That
crap will deplete you of calcium and other minerals.

Not necessary if you eat well and avoid artificial fats like margarine
and shortening, and refined carbs.

Freshest is always best. After as little as a few hours of storage
they lose a lot of their vitamins. It is also important that the soils
that they are grown in be as healthy and nutrient-rich as possible.
Poor agricultural practices will signifcantly impact on the final
quality of the produce.

Good fats are key to health. Butter, milk, cheese, eggs, etc. from
healthy animals, with minimal alteration and processing, is very
healthy. Extra virgin olive oil is good. Oily fish or fish (cod, etc)
liver oils are very healthy.

Anything that comes processed or manufactured is not nutritious. It
may be edible, but it ain't food. Refined carbs fit this category.
Sugar, soda, white bread, white pasta, etc. Soy protein, tofu, etc is
garbage.

TC

Your question is based on a premise that it would be a good idea to
try to manage with a very simple diet with very little variety. I
think this is basicly wrong assumption. To have a really good diet,
you need to consume a very large variety of different foods mostly
from vegetarian sources. That is a way to get large variety of
different nutrients the body needs. Also, it is a good idea to eat as
little processed food as possible. The rest is details.

Jan

Quality of protein is important. This refers to the content of certain
specific amino acids that we cannot make (so-called essential amino
acids). As a generality, animal protein is high quality; after all,
animals are similar to us. Plant protein quality is variable, often
deficient. Eating diverse proteins, including diverse plant proteins,
compensates for this.

sure

Fruits also provide fiber.

3-4 are not needed if you eat adequately. Only take them if your diet
is deficient (which contradicts the premise of your question?).

no; no relevance to nutrition. Possible medical benefit for some
people is a separate question, but requires medical supervision.

Yeah, calories. Energy.

Basically, you need two kinds of things from food. One is energy; you
eat things that can be burnt. All of the basic foodstuffs, except
fiber, qualify here. Carbohydrates and fats are usually the big two
energy sources. But you need enough -- but not too much, or else you
gain weight. And then you need specific things that your body cannot
make. These include the essential amino acids, some types of fatty
acids, and vitamins.

Eat a wide range of things, in moderation. If your food source is
mainly the grocery store, you can vary your diet by what is available
inexpensively. If you feel ok and your weight is steady, you are
probably doing reasonably. Then if you want you can explore subtleties
that may be "better". But be wary of any suggestions that you must buy
expensive things to be healthy.

bob

  You can get protein from more sources than just that.     Protein
requirements vary with the amount of physical activity a person does.
Unless you subsist on nothing but starchy roots and grains (as people in
poor countries often do), or exercise alot (bodybuilder or athlete), it's
difficult to not get enough protein.   Most of the human body is made up of
water, after all.   Protein used to be thought of as an energy source ,in
fact that's where it got its name, but actually protein is mostly just used
to repair and some growth (finger nails, skin, hair, etc.).   Carbohydrates
are the main fuel- in fact nerve cells in the brain can only use
carbohydrates as fuel.

 Peanuts, brocolli, beans... those all have protein (as do many other
vegetables).  Even grain has protein (gluten), although few vegetables
sources of protein are "complete" in themselves.  Soybean protein is the
best quality for plant protein.  Mushrooms, yeast, and mycoprotein (Quorn- a
fungus derived protein) are excellent quality protein, better than many
meats (note that these are technically not plants, fungi are a seperate
kingdom).  Other plant proteins have to be combined to become complete
(grains with beans, for instance), although the body can store different
proteins during the day.

 USRDA of meat is the amount that fits within two decks of playing cards.
And you don't really need meat to live healthy.

  Not needed specificly.

 Only if a doctor recommends it.  Many antacids contain calcium.   Calcium
recomendations vary wildly between different countries. I believe the UN/WHO
recommends 400m per day (?), but in the US it is over 1000mg, which is
difficult for many people to consume without supplements or consuming ALOT
of dairy products (and many people are lactose intolerant).

 Only if your doctor recommends it.  Asprin can have very bad side effects,
especially on the stomach.

  Fruit CAN be eaten daily but just consider that fruit is beyond just
whatever's from the tropics (oranges, bananas).  Berries are fruits, for
instance.  Dried fruit is OK.

 Also, many vegetables are decent sources of vitamin C.   Many traditional
diets don't have alot of fruit at all in them (many Asian diets, for
instance).

 The US food pyramid often just comes down to placating agricultural
interests.  All those Florida orange growers would be pissed if suddenly
they didn't have their own food category.  They don't want you to think
about the fact that tomatoes, cabbage, and brocolli also contain vitamin C.

 There are other beneficial chemicals in foods that are non-nutrative.
Tea, for instance, contains anti-oxidants that are "good for you", yet the
body has no specific need for them.  Consuming excess vitamins (such as
vitamin E, beta carotene) might be better for many people, but again, the
body has no specific need for those quantities.   The amount of vitamin C in
the US RDA is actually excessive compared to the amount needed to prevent
frank deficiency (scurvy), yet they recommend that much because it is said
to help against heart disease.  So there is a big gray area between
preventing deficiency and promoting health or longevity.  Other nutrients
like selenium have no established RDA, others like chromium were added
recently.