Tag: healthy eating

Greenville Restaurant Week 2019 Dietitian Picks

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Photo Credit: Jianna

It’s Restaurant Week again in South Carolina! Here in the upstate there are tons of local restaurants offering special 3-4 course menus from January 10th – 20th 2019.

I love this time of year to get out of the house (because these 20 degree nights are no fun) and try something new! However it does come at an interesting time, just ten days into the New Year. If you are focused on healthy eating habits but want to support Restaurant Week, this post is for you!

I’ve taken some time to look over the menus, and below are my top 10 healthy picks for this year. I chose these options using the portion plate concept. I was searching for options prepared using a healthful cooking method, featuring lean meat or fish, lots of vegetables, and whole grains. (Note: I was not given nutrition facts for any of these dishes, and these recommendations are based on the menus descriptions from each restaurant. This blog post is not sponsored by Greenville Restaurant Week nor any specific restaurant. All opinions are my own.)

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Photo Credit: Tupelo Honey Cafe

But before we get started, I wanted to share my tips for Restaurant Week:

1. Choose if it’s an 80% or 20% meal. These are my personal healthy restaurant week menu picks, however I am totally down for some She Crab Soup and Mac and Cheese every now and again. It’s important to think about your week, and your goals, and decide if you want this particular meal to be an “80% meal” or a “20% meal.” What does that mean? I work with all of my clients to find a balance between functional and fun foods – without cutting anything compeltely out – you can read more here. So, these picks below would be considered an “80% meal” or a healthy option, but of course there is a time and place for fun foods as well!

2. Use the fullness scale to pace your eating. Three to four courses is a LOT of food! I would recommend checking in with yourself regularly, and being sure to eat until you are a 6-7 on the fullness scale (with 10 being overly stuffed and 1 being ravenous). This will make sure you are not uncomfortable when leaving the restaurant, and keep you feeling great!

3. Get a box for dessert or split it. You will see my picks below focus on the appetizers/main course, without a mention of dessert. Chances are you will fill up on the first two courses, and I would recommend splitting the dessert with a friend/family member, or bringing dessert home to eat or share later!

So without further ado….

10 Greenville Restaurant Week 2019 Dietitian Picks

  1. Basil Thai: Fresh Basil Rolls + Basil with chicken/shrimp/tofu
  2. Generations Bistro and Bar: Seared Tuna Poke + Fresh Pasta Pesto Primavera
  3. Ji-Roz: Greek Salad + Rabbit Stifado
  4. Jianna: Grilled Pear Salad + Sea Scallops with Farro, Kale, Carrot and Citrus
  5. Larkins on the River: Larkin’s House Salad + Mahi Mahi with stone-ground yellow grits, and roasted cauliflower
  6. Lazy Goat: Beet & Goat Cheese Salad + Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Polenta, and Roasted Root Vegetables
  7. Nose Dive: Tuna Poke Bibb Wraps + Cedar Grilled Salmon with Jasmine Rice, and  Braised Bok Choy
  8. Rick’s Deli & Market: Gourmet Greens + Herb Crusted Salmon with Vegetable Medley
  9. The Farehouse: Kale Salad + Trout dip with veggies + Seared scallops with pomegranate sauce over roasted root vegetables, and parsnip puree
  10. Tupelo Honey Cafe: Slow Roasted Beet Salad + Spiced Blistered Vegetables + Charred Broccoli with Kale (V)

Have questions about healthy dining out options, or want to learn more about my concierge nutrition packages? Send me a message here!

 

Balancing Functional and Fun Foods

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Today we are talking about the 80/20 balance. Instead of trying to “eat perfect” 100% of the time, try to make 80% of your intake come from functional foods, and 20% of your intake from fun foods. This is something that I practice with my clients on a regular basis.

A healthy lifestyle is all about balance and knowing that you don’t have to give up burgers for the rest of your life.

Here are some tips on finding a fun balance in your diet:

  1. Eliminate the all or nothing mindset. A healthy lifestyle is not about depriving yourself of the things you love. Find ways to incorporate “fun foods” in a way you are comfortable with.
  2. Stop using the word “cheat.” When I hear someone say this I ask “who are you cheating on??” This can imply that healthy eating is a punishment and cheating is a reward…and that’s not how it works in a healthy lifestyle.
  3. Ask yourself: what does the food do for you? Maybe a wine and cheese night with the girls is something you need to feed your soul – foods can be nourishing in other ways and it’s important to remember this.
  4. Stick with the foods you really love. I encourage my  clients to make conscious choices when it comes to their 20%. Think less “this happened so I had to eat a burger” and use your meal planning time to make these conscious choices ahead of time. Try changing this to “we went out to see a band and I chose to have a fried chicken salad as a part of my 20%.”
  5. Find a balance within your 20%. You can use the portion plate even with fun foods! Consider focusing on one or two parts of the meal as fun foods, and still making sure you have 50% of your plate as veggies.

Have questions about finding a healthy 80/20 balance? Set up your first FREE 15 minute initial appointment by clicking here!

How to Lose Weight & Keep It Off in 2018

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This year keep the weight off by doing one thing: stop dietiting! A healthy weight loss is one that can fit into your busy yet wonderful lifestyle – if a certain 21 day or 30 day “diet” doesn’t fit into that – it’s not the one for you.

Check out my healthy lifestyle tips to lose weight and keep it off in 2018!

  1. Start with S.M.A.R.T. goals. Your overall goal might be to lose a certain amount of weight in 2018, but how are you going to lose the weight? Set specific and measurable smaller goals to help you get to your big yearly goal.
  2. Use the portion plate trick. Make half your plate non-starchy vegetable at lunch and dinner – it’s easier than counting calories! This will keep the carbs and meat to the other side of your plate, keeping calories low and nutrients high. Keep in mind if you don’t use your carbohydrates for energy, they will get stored as fat.
  3. Cut out sugary drinks. This includes sodas, sweet teas and juice. Cutting out two sugary drinks per day could result in losing over half a pound per week. Remember, these count in the carb portion of your plate. Try regular, or infused or sparkling water for best results!
  4. Schedule your workouts. Write it down in your planner and reschedule if you have to – just like you would a doctor’s appointment.
  5. Eat Intuitively. Recognizing your hunger and fullness queues is the key to overcoming boredom eating. Figure out the best meal timing for you and gain a healthy relationship with food. It’s the opposite of dieting and counting calories – it’s listening to your body!
  6. Don’t eliminate an entire food group. This is one of the first signs of a fad diet! Eliminating a food group (unless it is for a medical reason) will not fit into your lifestyle in the long term. All foods can fit! Decide what you want that to look like.
  7. U.S. News & World Report’s WORST Diets of 2018: The Keto Diet, Whole 30 and The Dukan Diet. These are all very hard to follow, with lots of rules that make social situations awkward.
  8. U.S. News & World Report’s BEST Diets of 2018: The D.A.S.H. Diet, The Mediterranean Diet, The Flexitarian Diet. These are all healthy patterns of eating (many that incorporate exercise!) rather than “diets.”

Want to learn more about the best and worst diets of 2018? Join me on 2/15 for a Lunch and Learn with CoolSculpting Greenveille. RSVP here!

 

Wedding Wellness Tips for Brides and Grooms to Be

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Planning your wedding is such an exciting time, from choosing the theme, to wedding bands – it truly is a once in a lifetime experience. However, being a newlywed myself, I completely understand the stress that comes with working full time and planning a wedding. In the midst of a million color swatches, loaded up Pinterest boards and trying understand what the difference between a peony and a ranunculus is – it is way too easy to lose sight of taking care of your health and wellbeing.

Check out my five easy wedding wellness tips that will keep you healthy for the big day!

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  1. Make time to invest in yourself. It’s true – there are just not enough hours in the day when you’re working and wedding planning. Your free time is easily getting filled up with what seems like speed dating photographers, and vetting out vendors. Make a decision today to invest in yourself during this incredible time – whether it is through meal planning, exercising or just taking time to do things outside of the wedding.
  2. Come up with a wedding wellness plan. Do you want to go grocery shopping every Sunday to avoid going out to eat several times per week? Do you want to set a goal to exercise 3 times per week or try a new spin studio? If you are using a wedding planning calendar, take a couple of minutes each week to mark your wellness items in your calendar and stick to it.
  3. Find an exercise that you love. Life is too short for crappy workouts. Do you love the idea of Zumba, but are slowly finding out that indeed your hips DO lie? (Sorry Shakira, it’s not you, it’s me.) Then give barre a try! There are SO many new boutique fitness studios out there and many have wedding wellness packages at discounted rates. BONUS: exercise is a great stress relief! Take it all out on the treadmill or in the weight room. You will feel way better afterwards, I promise.
  4. Use the 80/20 rule. You are engaged – let’s celebrate!! Take this time to focus on finding your healthy lifestyle balance, but don’t limit yourself so much that you don’t enjoy your engagement. The engagement party, the wedding shower, the bachelorette/bachelor parties – all of these are being thrown in YOUR honor! So don’t limit yourself to just eating vegetables. Eat healthfully 80% of the time and give yourself 20% of the time to splurge a little and enjoy the party (responsibly of course). The most important part is that after the party is over, that you just jump right back in where you left off. You didn’t fall off the wagon, you just took a detour for some celebrating. Now it’s time to get back to it!
  5. Bring your fiancé into the fun. Life is more fun with a partner, and that includes healthy eating and exercising. Talk with your fiancé about engaging on a path to wellness together as a team. Perhaps they would like to go to the same gym as you, train for a race with you, or help meal plan and grocery shop. It’s more than having an accountability partner, it’s a way to ensure the results you see last long after you say “I do!”

Does this all sound great but you don’t know where to start? Set up your first free 15 minute appointment now.

Photo: Jenna Marie Weddings