healthy

How to Plan a Week’s Worth of Dinners in Just Five Minutes!

January 22, 2017

If you work full-time just like me, you know that the work week is crazy. There is no time to make a pit-stop at the grocery store and grab food to cook. And by some chance, say you do make that stop… is what you’re getting healthy?

With all of the New Year’s resolutions still going strong, we want something ready and waiting, but also healthy. Just a little bit of planning can give you that!

So I’m going to show you how I plan a week’s worth of dinners in just five minutes.

Here is my upcoming work week menu.

I always start with the meat (or vegetarian protein source). This is usually the part of the meal you don’t want to have three nights in a row. So I lay out Monday through Friday and rotate my meat through the week. I shoot for about 6-8 oz for a portion size for us.

Next are vegetable choices. I believe that at least half of your plate should consist of non-starchy vegetables so I recommend having at least 2 choices per meal. This is what keeps your meal low calorie and high fiber. So you still feel full for barely any calories.

Last is your starch group. This should always be the smallest portion on the plate unless you are doing high intensity exercise and need the fuel. But for most, it’s listed at the bottom as a reminder that it is not the priority. Keep your starches whole grain/100% whole wheat to make the best of that starchy situation.

Now look at that! You’ve got your dinners planned and have made a grocery list!

This can be done for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu planning not only helps you stay on track with your diet, but it also provides convenience while budgeting!

I hope this helps your work week become a little less stressful and a little more healthy. If you have any questions, please comment below! And feel free to share this post by using the icons below!

Finally, a Book by a Dietitian About Weight Loss Surgery!

September 18, 2016

I am so excited to announce that I have written a book and it is now available on Amazon for purchase! I did want to explain why I wrote this book and what better place to do that than right here.

I recently left the world of bariatric nutrition counseling to pursue a different career path within the world of dietetics. Over the years working with weight loss surgery patients, I was always asked where an informational book about bariatric nutrition could be found. That was a great question. I couldn’t really find one that I highly recommended. Throughout the years I was asked by many of my patients why I had not written a book. I could think of a million reasons… It takes a lot of time… and how in the world do I compile all the knowledge I’ve soaked up over the years? During the last several months I was working with these patients, the request continued to grow. It seemed like I was being asked almost weekly to compile my knowledge. So that’s when I began.

Once I started, it seemed like my life consisted of work, home, and typing away. Here are some thoughts I had while writing.

How in the world will I organize all this knowledge??
I’ve really seen thousands of patients over the years…
Gosh my patients have been motivational!
Is that the correct usage of a semi-colon?
I really can’t let this knowledge go to waste.
Will people actually read this?
Oh my goodness… It’s really finished!

That’s it! I had completed my first draft. I located some amazing editors (AKA: my brother and husband) who read it immediately. They spent so much time going over every chapter with me and I could not have done it without them. By the time the editing was complete, the excitement began. It was becoming real. After all of the long hours writing, designing, and editing, it was now ready for publishing.

What I hope for this book is to help people. The questions I received over and over are finally answered. They are answered in a way that can help people feel more comfortable living this new lifestyle. It is a big change for most people and no one should feel alone and confused. So if you know anyone that is considering weight loss surgery, tell them about this book. They will find out what to expect, learn what questions to ask, and discover how to insure long-term success. This is important information to know in order to win with weight loss surgery!

*My book is available to purchase on the side bar of my home page. Kindle app is available for download on Apple products.

All the rage- Halo Top!

August 5, 2016

There are times when I have eaten healthy consistently and the mood for a cheat strikes me. If you are normally a healthy eater, a cheat can carry some guilt. I know it does for me. Recently, I have discovered an option that encourages a little less guilt, but doesn’t sacrifice any taste! Sounds unreal, right?!

I kept hearing this name… Halo Top. I would hear about it at the gym, see it on Instagram, but what is this Halo Top product?

Halo Top is a light ice cream! It allows a cheat to be much less of a blow to your healthy diet. Let’s look into a comparison!

It is quite amazing that it really doesn’t taste bad when you see the lack of sugar and fat. So of course the wheels start spinning… How do I jazz this up and continue to keep the calories low? Add PB2!

PB2 is a great product that gives you a peanut butter taste, but is only 45 calories for 2 Tbsp VS. 210 calories for 2 Tbsp of real peanut butter.

Here is my recipe!

1/2 cup of Vanilla Bean Halo Top

1 Tbsp PB2

1 Tbsp chopped nuts

And this is my finished product!

What is your nutrition make up here with this cheat?

Calories: ~127.5

Protein: ~10 g

Fat: ~6.75 g (2.25 g sat.)

Carbs: ~16 g (5 g sugar)

Not too bad when comparing to real ice cream! And always looking for ways to boost that protein intake. Even in my cheats!

I hope this helps you control your cheat day a little better by keeping calories lower and protein higher in your treat!

If you have any questions or comments, let me know! Feel free to share this post by using the social media icons below! Enjoy!

Fast and Healthy Taco Salad!

April 11, 2016

Just because a meal is low calorie does not mean you can’t have flavor! In this post, I’ll show you how to get a whole lot of bang for your buck! Did I mention how fast you can whip up this meal?

Here is what you’ll need:

Lean Ground Turkey
Taco Seasoning
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, diced
Fiesta Cheese Blend, shredded
Fat Free Organic Plain Greek Yogurt
Salsa

Here is how you make it!

First, we want to cook our turkey meat. Once it is brown, you can add pre-packaged taco seasoning or make your own! All you would need to mix together would be cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bit of cayenne pepper. Make sure you include about 3/4 cup of water with your seasonings and let your turkey simmer with your spices.

Next, we put our lettuce, tomato, cheese, and meat in a bowl. Feel free to add more vegetables to your salad like peppers, onions, and olives! Sometimes I will even add a bit of GUACAMOLE (feel free to check out my homemade recipe). I always use plain Greek yogurt as sour cream in all of my recipes. Even my CHILI recipe!

This meal can be thrown together in 30 minutes or less! So try out my taco salad on Taco Tuesday!

Enjoy!

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Review of the Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker

February 17, 2016

One thing I have come to love while working as a dietitian is all of the technology giving me more information about people in regards to what they eat, how they move, and how well they sleep.

A lot of times we believe we move more than we do, so these activity trackers have been great showing us the truth about our activity.

As the health care professional, I have noticed some things as this technology has grown more popular.

Accountability. It promotes more accountability for everyone. When you think you’ve been moving throughout your day and should be close to your goal of 10,000 steps, you may check your activity and only have hit 3,000 steps so far. Seeing a record of your actual movement through the day will provide valuable feedback to help achieve your activity goal.

Competition. We are very competitive by nature not only with other people, but ourselves. When we set a goal and see how close we are to it, we may work a little harder to hit it. It could trigger us to take the longer route to the restroom, park further away, or take the dog on a slightly longer walk than usual.

Earlier Bed Time. Sleep is extremely important for us to function well during the day and also improve our chances for weight loss. By monitoring sleep cycles, you may become more aware of your routines and try to improve on them. Knowing you aren’t sleeping well, you may try going to bed sooner, practice evening relaxation techniques, or take time winding down to prevent tossing and turning.

So I decided to try out the Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband, Black for myself and see what the pros and cons were with these tracking products.

THE SET UP

While setting up a Fitbit account, I got confused between the tablet and the computer. They continued to direct me back to one another. So I ended up going to my phone and downloading the app which walked me through creating an account step by step.

Just to avoid confusion, I recommend setting up your account with the Fitbit app on your phone.

Once I got started with the app account setup, it was very easy and explained everything very simply.

THE APP

The app software is really simple. It shows a home page with your progress on the front by tracking steps, mileage, calories burned, active minutes, and also lists options to track your exercise and weight, monitor your sleep, log your food/begin a food plan, and log fluids.

THE WRIST BAND AND TRACKER

The Fitbit Flex came with two different sized bands for wrist comfort. The bands are easily adjustable. Even though the snap is a little stiff at first it will loosen up once you’ve worn it a few times. This will make it easier to put on without assistance.

It is very light weight which I love since I am constantly on the go. I wear it on the same wrist as my watch and don’t even notice it.

ACTIVITY TRACKING

The activity tracking is really neat because it tracks steps taken, mileage, as well as how many of those minutes were considered active. Another great thing about it is that I don’t have to swing my arm in order for it to catch all the steps. That is one thing I’ve always struggled with while wearing pedometers. My movements were never exaggerated enough to catch the step. With the Fitbit Flex, it does. Even grocery shopping with my hand on the cart.

However, I did have a junky cart at one point that vibrated terribly while I pushed it. This vibration continued to throw my Fitbit into sleep mode and out of sleep mode. In order to quickly put your Flex in sleep mode, three to four quick taps does the trick. So the vibrations must have been strong enough to replicate the taps.

SLEEP TRACKING

Sleep tracking is beneficial because it shows you how often you get up and how restless you are through the night. I did not realize how much I toss and turn until I tracked my sleep.

Now I make a point to read or find ways to relax before bed. This has helped improve my sleep cycle. When you sleep more at night, you tend to lose more weight. The longer we are awake, the more your adrenaline kicks in, which leads to more hunger, and ultimately more snacking.

One more cool feature regarding sleep with this device is the silent alarm. I love this because if you are hearing impaired or sleep with a cranky partner, you can wake up to start your day without a disturbance to others. All you do is set your alarm through your app, and it will vibrate your wrist when it is time to wake up.

BATTERY LIFE

Because the flex does not have a screen and only flashes when you tap it, the batter lasts quite a long time. It lasted about 5 days without having to charge it. The great thing about long battery life is that you don’t have to worry about charging it all the time. It can also be a bad thing when you don’t think about it all that often because once I went a whole 12 hours before noticing my Flex was actually dead.

CHARGING

It comes with a little USB charger that you can plug into your computer. One problem I ran into was that if my laptop was in sleep mode, it would not charge.

So what I did was use my Iphone charger. The base of the Iphone charger uses USB which allows me to plug my Fitbit charger right into the wall. If completely dead, it’ll usually charge in about two to three hours. Then I’ll be good for another 5 days.

PROS

It tracks basic movement (walking/running/hiking) in steps and mileage. If your goal is set high enough, you will have to do additional walking through your day to achieve your goal which creates exercise (or active minutes).
It helps you understand if you’re sleeping well. This could encourage some to try relaxation techniques, get to bed earlier, or maybe have a sleep study done!
The battery lasts such a long time. It is nothing like having to charge your phone nightly. We all want to avoid charging tons of devices on a daily basis.
It is very small and lightweight. I really like being able to wear it next to my watch so it is out of the way.

CONS

It is a device used for only running, walking, and hiking. Basically tracking the steps. So a lot of my exercises are not counted (weight lifting, stair climber, soccer games).
The flex is the beginner wrist band for the line of wrist trackers for Fitbit. So it only tracks activity, sleep/silent alarm, and active minutes. They have more products that offer more functions, but for their basic wrist tracking model, that’s about all it tracks.

SUMMARY

Overall, this little device has been a great addition to my daily life. I catch myself checking my progress throughout the day, which depending on how far I am from my goal, makes me push harder and stay moving.

If you are looking for a simple, easy-to-use, lower cost option for an activity tracker, the Fitbit Flex may be for you.

I hope this review has been helpful! Please feel free to share this post by using the social media icons below.

Guilt Free Snacks For a Crunch!

December 2, 2015

When people are dieting, one thing I always hear is how much they miss the crunch during meals or snacks. Sometimes there are desires for a snack with a crunchy texture, but the only way people really fulfill that is through potato chips, rice cakes, and crackers…

Firstly, make sure you are going for that snack because you are truly and physically hungry.

Secondly, ask yourself, “Is this going to nourish my body?”

So here are some of my favorite snacks that I keep around for a crunchy texture when I just can’t make it to the next meal.

APPLE AND PEANUT BUTTER

Now, I know what most of you are thinking… “Peanut butter is loaded in calories!!”

Yes. It is considered high in fat and containing some protein. Fat is not always a bad thing as you’ll read later on. This is actually what is going to keep this apple digesting more slowly in your gastrointestinal tract which means you’ll feel satisfied until that next meal.

And of course you ALWAYS want to monitor your portions size of any food healthy or not. Even peanut butter. There are great individually packaged serving sized cups of peanut butter on the shelf ready to purchase. If you feel you can’t control your portions directly from the jar, go for the cups.

SWEET PEPPERS AND HUMMUS

For some reason most people associate hummus with pita bread/chips. Yes, this combination is common in the restaurant industry because carbs are cheap! But at home, why not use the veggies?

The small sweet peppers are my favorite with hummus, but you can also use cucumbers, regular bell peppers, and carrot sticks!

ALMONDS AND WALNUTS

These nuts are the most beneficial nuts you could choose when aiming for the most heart healthy option.

As you can see above, the main reasons nuts keep us satisfied is because of their fat content. When eating something high in fat, you want to make sure that fat is going to benefit you (mono-, poly-) and not work against you (sat-).

Saturated Fat:

Increases your risk of cardiovascular disease
Increases your bad cholesterol (LDL) levels
Mostly come from animal sources (beef, dairy)

Monounsaturated Fat:

Decreases risk of cardiovascular disease
Reduces your bad cholesterol (LDL) levels
Mostly come from plant sources (nuts, olive oil)

Polyunsaturated Fat:

Decreases risk of cardiovascular disease
Improves overall cholesterol levels
Mostly comes from plant sources (nuts, olive oil)

One way I way I use almonds and walnuts in my regular snacks is by making a trail mix.

Check out my TRAIL MIX RECIPE HERE to also learn more about the health benefits of nuts!

CELERY

Celery is an amazing food that is so low calorie. A lot of people believe celery is an empty food without a lot of nutrition, but that is not entirely true!

Celery is only about 10 calories for 1 large stalk. It provides roughage for your colon as well as Vitamin C, A, and Folate!

Paired with peanut butter, cheese, or hummus, celery can make a great snack to keep blood sugars stable as well as ward off hunger until meal time.

I hope this has helped you find a way to add crunch back to those snacks! These are some of my favorites that I keep on hand and hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Please feel free to share by using the social media icons below!

The Benefits of Quinoa

October 9, 2015

Quinoa comes from South America around Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Humans began cultivating it around 3,000-4,000 years ago. These seeds are high in protein (for a grain) and contain essential amino acids that are beneficial to our health.

Quinoa can be found in many colors, but there are three common colors you’ll see in most grocery stores. An earthy white color, a rich clay red color, and black. I’ve been asked, “what are the differences in red/white/black quinoa?” So here is what I have noticed.

White quinoa is very susceptible to heat. It tends to swell quickly when cooked and can become mushy fast. I would prefer to let it soak in water to soften and use in cold dishes.

Red quinoa is my favorite. It tends to hold its texture and form when cooked. It also adds a nice color to the dish.

Black quinoa can be a bit sweeter when cooked and will still maintain its texture and form.

Personally, I prefer the red quinoa due to the color contrast it adds to my dish and how well it holds form when cooking. Plus in my local grocery stores and health food stores, I can only find red, white, or tricolored mixtures. So I tend to stick with red.

The nutrition content is very similar among all quinoa no matter the color. So lets take a look at what it contains.

QUINOA

SERVING: 1/2 CUP

CALORIES: 111

PROTEIN: 4 g

CARBOHYDRATES: 19.7 g

FIBER: 2.6 g

FAT (mostly poly/mono): 1.8 g

*Contains: Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Zinc

If you would like to add more quinoa to your diet, try out my new quinoa soup recipe HERE!

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Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup

October 7, 2015

Since it is getting cooler outside, people are starting to cozy up and make soups in their crock-pots. Most soups can be high calorie and make you feel like hibernating after eating them… so here is how we avoid that feeling by boosting the nutrients in our soups!

Most people assume you need noodles, rice, or potatoes to have a soup… but you can actually use quinoa instead! Find out why quinoa is one of my favorite grains HERE!

So here is my recipe for one of our favorite fall soups made in a crock-pot.

INGREDIENTS:

4 organic chicken breasts, whole
2 containers of organic chicken broth
3 stalks of organic celery, chopped
1 organic leek, chopped
5 organic carrots, sliced
1 cup organic red quinoa
1 organic lemon, sliced
1/2 tbsp. organic dill weed
salt/pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place all chicken and broth into your crock-pot. Add celery, leek, carrots, lemon, and dill to your crock-pot and let cook on high for 5-6 hours or until chicken is done.

After adding all of your ingredients to your crock-pot, place your quinoa in a bowl of water off to the side to soak as shown below. I will also add extra water to the crock-pot depending on how much broth I have. Here I used both containers of broth and about 1 cup of water.

After your chicken has finished cooking, take out all chicken and shred chicken with a fork. The chicken should just fall apart as you scrape it. Once shredded, put it back into your crock-pot.

Strain water from your quinoa and add quinoa to your crock-pot 30 minutes before you plan to eat.

**Note: I always use red quinoa because it does not get mushy.

Please feel free to salt/pepper to taste. And 30 minutes later, voila! You have a healthy and flavorful soup!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and please feel free to share using the social media icons below!

High Protein Parmesan Basil Dip

September 29, 2015

Some times we just want a veggie dip or cracker spread that isn’t loaded in fat! So I came up with a new concoction today that had a yummy Italian flare!

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (2.75 g protein)
1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese (6.5 g protein)
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 sprig of fresh basil (about 4-6 leaves)
2 pinches of Parmesan cheese flakes

DIRECTIONS:

Add all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. This should provide about 3/4 cup of dip and ~9.25 g protein!

Enjoy!

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Tailgating Vegetarian Tri-Bean Salad!

September 3, 2015

It’s about that time! Time for football! Which usually means… fried chicken wings, pizza, beer, high calorie dips, etc… Just because it’s football season doesn’t mean you have to blow your diet! Or stop eating healthy for that matter. Here is one of my favorite party foods! My vegetarian tri-bean salad!

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 Roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, seeded
1 poblano pepper, seeded
1 banana pepper, seeded
1 jalapeno pepper
3/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cans of tri-bean mix (pintos, black beans, red kidney beans)
1 lime
1/2 cup green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Chop tomatoes, peppers, cilantro and onions. I left my jalapeno seeds in my jalapeno for an extra little kick.

Also this Vidalia Chop Wizard is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets! It chops so evenly and makes chopping go by so much quicker. I always use this when fresh produce needs to be diced!

I have an amazing contraption that chops for me so all pieces are the same size. Once you’ve done all of your chopping, place your mixture into a bowl and set aside.

Open both cans of beans and strain out the juice and rinse under water.

Once you’ve added your beans to the mix, stir with a spoon and squeeze plenty of lime juice over you salad.

And viola! You’re ready to be the health nut tailgating!

This is a low calorie, high protein, high fiber way to snack at a football party.

If you’d like to share this tailgating tri-bean salad, please use the social media icons below!

Enjoy!!