Spring Clean Your Diet with WSPA

Spring is finally here and I recently shared my tips to spring clean your diet with WSPA Channel 7 News. Warmer weather means that there is lots of produce is in season – and fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and water! Click here to get the Grape, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Chicken Salad recipe that I demonstrated on the segment.

Spring clean your diet by making at least one snack per day consist of produce + protein

Examples below:

  • 1 Cup cucumber slices + 2 Tablespoons hummus
  • 1 Small apple + 1 cheese stick
  • 1/2 Cup blueberries + 1/4 Cup walnuts
  • 17 Grapes + 25 almonds
  • 5 stalks celery + 2 Tablespoons natural nut or seed butter
  • 1 Peach (sliced) + 1 Cup cottage cheese
  • 1 Pear + 1/4 Cup pecans
  • 1/2 bell pepper (sliced) + 2 Tablespoons hummus
  • 1 Cutie + 1/2 Cup pistachios in shell
  • 1/2 Banana + 2 Tablespoons natural nut or seed butter
  • 1/2 Cup raspberries + 1/2 Cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 Orange + 1 hard boiled egg

Want to know more about meal planning and nutrition tips for spring? Contact me today to set up your FREE 15 minute discovery call.

#PortionPlateSeries

Did you follow along on Instagram last week for the #PortionPlateSeries? I spent the week sharing how to use this awesome tool that allows you to ditch counting calories/macros/points forever!

Keep reading for a recap of each scenario!

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If you have been to any of my nutrition seminars or have read any of my blog posts, you know I am BIG on using the portion plate 🍽 I avoid having my clients count ANYTHING – not calories, macros, or points. We use this tool in everything we do together 👍
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The concept is to fill 50% of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, 25% with lean meats, and 25% with complex carbohydrates at each meal. It’s that simple!
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Keep reading for examples of HOW to use the portion plate in different .different scenarios 🍕 🍣 🍝🥗 🥪. While sometimes it might be easy to add a 3oz piece of grilled chicken, 1/2 cup of quinoa, and 2 cups of 🥦 to the plate like this photo shows – the reality is that our plates and recipes don’t always look this way.

sushi

Let’s talk SUSHI 🍣 is it a healthy option? The answer is YES! Keep reading as I’m breaking it down today for the #PortionPlateSeries
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Sushi is a great healthy option packed with omega 3s (healthy fats), veggies, sometimes more healthy fats 🥑, and carbohydrates 🍚. When it comes to balancing out your plate, a sushi roll counts on the protein/carb half of your plate. This leaves the other half for VEGGIES! I always recommend opting for a the salad or seaweed salad (pictured here at @murasakidowntown) on the side with your sushi roll.
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Healthy Sushi Ordering Tips:
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🐟 Go for the raw/steamed/grilled salmon or tuna roll for the most amount of healthy omega3 fats
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🍘Ask for brown rice for extra fiber and fullness. Each roll has about 1 Cup of rice, so be sure to count this in the carb portion of your plate
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🥟Watch out for tempura and deep fried rolls – this is just a fancy word for breaded in panko and deep fried! This option would be considered one of your fun foods for the week
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🌸Eat the ginger on your plate! It can help boost your immune system and also has anti-inflammatory properties
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🍜Opt for the reduced sodium soy sauce (or Tamari) to decrease bloat
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🥢Use chopsticks! Even if you’re not skilled in using them, they will help you slow your pace of eating – but also sushi with a fork just seems wrong 🤔anyone else agree? 🙋🏻‍♀️
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🍣 Still hungry after a roll and salad? Try sashimi to fill you up with more protein and good fat rather than another sushi roll with an additional cup of rice

salad

🚨 Attention: This is not a boring salad 🚨
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Salads have gotten reputation for being boring, tasteless, and unsatisfying – but I am here to bust up those myths for today’s #PortionPlateSeries post 🥗
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A meal salad is an easy way to make 50% of your plate veggies (the darker the greens the better – start with 2 Cups), but what about the other parts to your plate? 🍽 Here are some easy ways to add lean proteins, and healthy carbs to your salad. 📷 is of @traderjoes tabouli over hearty romaine, fat free feta, and grilled chicken – it’s one of my go-to lunches!
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Ways to add lean protein to your salad (3oz-6oz depending on the person):
🍗 Grilled Chicken
🐟 Roasted Salmon
Tofu
🥩 Grilled sirloin
Roasted turkey
🧀 Cheese
🌰Nuts/Seeds
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Ways to add complex carbohydrates to your salad (1/2 – 1 Cup total depending on the person):
Fruit 🍎🍉🍎🍐🍊🍓🍇🍑🍍
Dried fruit (unsweetened cranberries or raisins)
Whole grains like quinoa or wild rice🍚
Whole wheat pita chip crumbles
Organic low sodium canned beans (black, pinto, soy beans, chickpeas)
Starchy vegetables (roasted 🍠 🌽 or butternut squash)
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Of course healthy fats from 🥑 and oil based dressings are great additions as well!

sandwich

Is there a more satisfying lunch than a 🥪? There is something so comforting about the combination of bread/protein/veggies/condiments that I just love! So how does the sandwich fit on the portion plate? 🍽 For today’s #portionplateseries post we are breaking it down.
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First let’s start with the 🍞I always recommend a bread where the first ingredient says “WHOLE.” This means that it has the entire grain, and has all of the nutrients and antioxidants from the bran, germ, and endosperm – basically you’re getting more bang for your buck 👍 Examples include whole wheat bread, Ezekiel bread, sprouted wheat bread, and #glutenfree options. The bread counts as the 25% carb on your plate.
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Then we move onto the protein 🍗I recommend keeping lean deli meats (turkey, chicken, ham) to a couple of times per week mainly because they are processed and many contain nitrates. You could also opt for a grilled chicken breast as well (pictured here), or a #vegetarian protein source like cheese, hummus, or natural 🥜 butter. This counts as the 25% protein on your plate.
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Your 🥪 counts as your meat/protein, so what’s missing? 50% 🥒🥕🍅🌶 I always recommend serving raw or roasted non-starchy veggies, or a salad on the side with a sandwich. Many sub shops offer chips, an apple, or more bread with a sandwich – however this would create a possible carb overload with 75% of your plate now being carbs. I absolutely love raw red bell pepper strips, but some of my other favorites are baby carrots, celery, cucumbers, and snap peas.

pizza

🍕+🥗=😋
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It’s the weekend and time for P-I-Z-Z-A in the #PortionPlateSeries. YES pizza can fit into a healthy diet 🎉 Here’s how:
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Pizza is made up of primarily protein (cheese/meat) and carbs (crust) so this would count on 50% of your plate. Making your own pizza is a really easy way to keep it healthy, and I love using @traderjoeswhole wheat crust to make my 🍕, along with part skim mozzarella cheese. Of course a cauliflower pizza crust is another option as well! If you’re dining out, restaurants like @brixxpizza has a whole wheat option and locally both @sidewallpizza and @swamprabbitcafe have #glutenfree crust options as well. Go for the 🥦🍅🥕🌶 toppings as much as possible!
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🥗 pairs perfectly with pizza, and many restaurants have salad options to have on the side. This also fills the remaining 50% of your plate with veggies! You can opt for traditional lettuce based salad, or I love adding a fun salad like @eatsmartveggies 7 #Superfood Salad on the side to my clients meal plan pizza meals (yes I put pizza on meal plans).

pasta

“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.” – Julia Child 🙌
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This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people, and this concept is at the root of my business! My husband and I took a trip to 🇮🇹 this past spring where I really saw this come to life everywhere we went. There were of course some masterpieces, but one of our favorite dinners was at 6:30PM (a totally inappropriate dinner time in Italy) after hiking in #CinqueTerra and they were incredibly simple 🍝 dishes with lots of fresh local ingredients! For my last #PortionPlateSeries post I wanted to share how #pasta can fit into a healthy balanced diet 🍽
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To state the obvious, a pasta dish will count as your carb portion of your plate, but the keys are #1 portion size (keep it to 25%) #2adding lean protein #3 adding 🍅🥦. One really easy way to do that is by creating a pasta primavera dish filled with lots of different veggies! This dish is one from my custom #mealplan recipes that I give to my clients, and it’s a Roasted Vegetable Pasta Primavera with Spicy Chicken Sausage featuring @traderjoes brown rice #glutenfree penne pasta (or you can use whole wheat). This dish only has 4.5oz of raw pasta for four servings, but with all of these veggies and four chicken sausages it is incredibly filling! Check out my IG story to see how I made the pasta sauce as well.
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Well there you have it y’all: the #PortionPlateSeries is complete with ways to fit 🍣 🥗 🥪🍕 and🍝 into your healthy lifestyle. I hope you have found these to be helpful, and if there are any other cuisines/dishes that you have questions about be sure to leave them in the comments below.

A Review of Freshly by a Registered Dietitian

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Meal delivery services are all the rage right now! I mean who doesn’t like having food for the week delivered to their door?

By this point I have tried them all, and while a meal delivery service is a “nice to have” I have not found that it is a forever fix for many of my clients. That being said, it is great for a busy week, the first week back from vacation, or even if you are traveling for work and have a kitchenette where you are staying!

The latest meal delivery service I have tried is Freshly, and I have to say I really liked it! The main reason Freshly appealed to me is for my really busy professional clients who sometimes just don’t have time to make dinner. Their meals are gluten free, focus on using whole foods, and their nutritionals check out with what I recommend for my clients. The best part? You don’t have to cook! The biggest thing I always said about other meal delivery services is that the nutritionals were almost just as unhealthy as dining out, yet I also had to make it. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to eat my day’s worth of carbs in one meal, I want someone else to make it for me 😂 Freshly is a balance between a delivery service with the ingredients to make a meal, and meals from the frozen aisle of the grocery store. They are made with fresh ingredients, and you can just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven. They are obviously better tasting and quality than frozen meals, and their calories are more optimal  too. Is anyone really ever satisfied from a 250 calorie frozen meal? I think not.

As I mentioned above, the nutritionals really check out, and many are carbohydrate controlled, and the saturated fat is pretty low. They are also very moderate in sodium (which is rare for prepared meals) and I love this about Freshly – they give you seasoning options right on the package!

Keep reading for a glimpse into my first week of the Freshly meal delivery service!

NOTE: Just like any other meal delivery service it auto renews and until you manually cancel they will keep delivering and keep charging you. You can skip several weeks at a time, but it’s something to be conscious of! 

IMG_4245MOROCCAN CHICKEN with Cauliflower Couscous

I think this was our favorite meal of the week! The cauliflower couscous was very rustic, and had a lot of texture. The sauce had amazing flavor and the chicken was very moist.

 

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CHICKEN & RICE PILAF with Green Beans & Carrots

The chicken was also very moist, and the veggies were very tasty all mixed in with the sauce.

 

IMG_4251GRILLED CHICKEN RISOTTO with Spring Peas

This was the meal that was probably the highest and saturated fat and carbs, however that was to be expected with risotto! The rice was very creamy, and the chicken was moist. Being a dietitian I really wanted a non-starchy vegetable with this one!

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SAUSAGE & PEPPERS with Tomato Rice

My husband had this one, and I didn’t get to try it, but it wasn’t as good as the Moroccan chicken he had the day before. The vegetables seemed overly cooked and he didn’t love the tomato sauce.

 

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BUFFALO CHICKEN BREAST with Loaded Cauliflower

I LOVE the idea of loaded cauliflower than potatoes here, and it keeps the carbs down and keeps the nutrients high (though the saturated fat is higher from the bacon and cheese here). The chicken left some to be desired though, as it just tasted like hot sauce on chicken – but maybe that’s because it’s not fried (which is a good thing).

 

 

 

IMG_4265ROASTED TURKEY with Quinoa Stuffing

WhileI had this meal in May and not around the holiday’s, it was very enjoyable! I loved the quinoa stuffing and the green beans were very crisp. The turkey was also moist and had a great texture and quality to it, and the gravy was good but not too much (I don’t typically like gravy).

 

 

 

Overall? I would recommend this to someone who is struggling to cook for one person and is trying to avoid eating out, or for someone who is looking to get through a tough week of work /travel stress. They were very good and the nutritionals really check out on this one!!

Have questions? Let me know!

 

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: Red Kitchen Items

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Today I am excited to share with you some of my favorite kitchen items my decor theme color: RED! I chose red as my kitchen decor theme to continue a flow from our living/dining room into the kitchen a few years ago. I absolutely love how it makes our house feel warm and comforting, and this time of year it is particularly festive!

Here are some of my favorite kitchen items that double as great holiday gifts or registry items!

My Favorite Kitchen Items:

dutch oven

Le Creuset Signature Cast-Iron 3 1/2-Qt. Essential Oven

I cannot say enough about how amazing enameled cast iron is. Not only can you take dishes from cooktop to the oven, but it’s also super easy to clean. I use my red essential oven to cook soups all winter long, but also love the high sides for cooking high volume dishes like sautéed kale.

rectangle

Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Rectangular Covered Casserole

The beauty of enameled cast iron at a great price! The term “one pan meal” get’s a whole new meaning with this covered casserole – try layering potatoes and green beans on the bottom followed by a lean meat like chicken on top. Cover, cook and viola! This casserole dish is also gorgeous enough to take it right out of the oven and to bring it to a dinner party.

pie pan

Emelie Harvey Pie Pan

I had been dying to get my hands on one of these Instagram worth pie dishes all season and finally caved! The ceramic also retains heat very well – meaning you can take it out of the oven before your guests get here and it will stay warm for hours.

Fiestaware in Scarlet

We have a full set of Fiestaware in all different colors and I love the durability it has. We have had ours for over 3 years now and there are not cut marks on the plates and they hold up super well (even if you accidentally drop one in the sink while washing it).

silcone tools

Silicone 5 Piece Tools Set

I love these red silicone tools from Williams-Sonoma. The handles are stainless steel and look sleek, while also offering comfort. You can put them in the dishwasher and they have held up very well for us!

And those are my holiday and registry picks for a red themed kitchen! Have other ideas? Message me