Meals & Planning
Ring in the New Year with Spicy Peanut Stew
Whether you believe in “good luck” foods or not, you’ll love to ring in the new year with Spicy Peanut Stew. It’s full of “lucky” legumes – black beans, garbanzo beans, and peanuts. (Feel free to throw in some black-eyed peas, if you’re a purist.) According to popular folklore in the United States and elsewhere, eating certain foods on New Year’s Day will guarantee good luck in the new year. Legumes – especially beans, black-eyed peas, and lentils – are traditionally “lucky” foods because they symbolize money or wealth. Other so-called lucky foods (and recipes) are: Pork – Juiciest Pork Chops Cabbage – Pan-Asian Chicken with Cabbage Greens – Salad…
Secrets To Avoid Overeating During the Holidays
Uuuuggghh … that’s the collective sound/sigh I make after eating too much at Thanksgiving. As much as I love eating, I try to avoid overeating in the painful sort of way. Let’s be clear: It’s totally fine to eat too much sometimes. In fact, it’s a lot of fun to feast with friends and family! But, have you ever eaten so much that you’re miserable afterwards? I have, and I remember the stomach ache, feeling overfull (like I’m 9 months pregnant and all my food is pushed up into my ribcage), and just surviving it. That’s no way to spend the holiday! Here are some strategies that have (sometimes) worked…
How to Eat When You’re Injured
Have you ever put in weeks (or months) of hard work, only to be sidelined by an injury? Whether you run long distances, play in a volleyball league, or chase you kiddos over playground equipment, injuries can happen to all of us. And, the timing is never right. You might have your food dialed-in for training or being active, but do you wonder how to eat when you’re injured? Questioning Nutrition During Injury Nutrition-wise, now what? How do you eat in a way that preserves muscle, promotes healing, and lifts your spirits? (Let’s face it, when laid up on the sofa instead of out doing your favorite activity, you need…
You May Also Like
Sports Injuries: 3 Steps to Complete Recovery
What A Nutritionist Really Eats In A Day
As a nutritionist, people are often curious about what I eat in a day. Many assume I follow a strict diet of hard-to-find-and make foods. The reality is that I eat a lot of the same “regular” foods every day – yogurt bowls, lots of vegetables and fruit, smoothies, eggs & meats. These are foods that I like and make me feel good. As a rule of thumb, I eat for enjoyment and performance for life. By performance, I mean feeling great mentally and physically, staying fit, sleeping well – like one would feed a racehorse. That may be a weird analogy, but think about it – what would you…
No Beans About It – Killer Slow Cooker Chili
Warm up with a slow cooker chili that takes 20 minutes to prep, has no beans, and is super nutritious and delicious.
I Love to Hate Grocery Shopping; How I Make It Better
Grocery shopping. It ranges from leisurely selecting pristine produce and locally-produced specialty condiments to throwing elbows at Costco on a Saturday afternoon. A Neilson survey in 2015 found that about 6 in 10 people find grocery shopping an “engaging and enjoyable experience” and think of it as “a fun day out for the family.” Wait, what?! There are times when I leave the grocery store feeling like I’ve been in a street fight while playing cutthroat Jeopardy for the last 45 minutes. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that the number of people who enjoy grocery shopping has dropped in the past few years, and…
Salad Slam! 4 Simple Steps to Perfect Salads
Hi there, this is an updated post for this summer, and I’ve added a FREE salad-making guide that you can grab using the form below. 🙂 If you’re from a certain generation and geography, the word “salad” may conjure up images of limp iceberg lettuce with a few carrot shreds and bottled ranch dressing. Perhaps you’ve seen “Jello salad”, which combine sweet gelatin with any manner of canned fruits, marshmallows, pudding, and even sometimes vegetables. Don’t believe me? Here you go – it’s real. For the purposes of this post, the term salad will always include leafy greens and vegetables. It will not include jello, pasta, canned fruit, or marshmallows.…
Intermittent Fasting 101
What is it? Intermittent fasting is like regular fasting (not eating), except on a regularly-planned schedule, totally optional, and usually done to lose weight. Intermittent Fasting is Hugely Popular In 2013, the Canadian Medical Association Journal predicted that intermittent fasting (IF) would be the next big weight-loss fad. As we know, many predictions don’t come true, but this one sure did! Intermittent fasting – rotating periods of eating and fasting – is a huge trend in diet culture right now. A 2020 poll found that IF is one of the most popular weight-loss diet Americans have ever tried. Yes, ever in recorded dieting history. An estimated 24% of US adults…
Easiest, Juiciest Pork Chops Ever
I get excited about pork – it’s delicious, easy to cook, versatile, and more sustainable than beef (not to mention less expensive). According to research published by the National Academy of Sciences, pork uses 10% of the environmental resources to produce – on a per pound basis – than beef. That is shocking – and a relief – for me, because it gives me solid reasons for choosing pork over beef. And, who can resist the smell of fried bacon or a low-and-slow-cooked pork shoulder? Even when I was a vegan, I loved that aroma wafting through my neighborhood from someone else’s kitchen. Except for the two years of being…
Taste A Little Summer With Hawaiian-Inspired Ahi Tuna Poké
Fast, fresh, and super healthy I love pumpkin-spiced desserts and gravy-covered meats, and other fall and winter foods. However, after Christmas, I immediately look forward to temperatures above 32’F and days with more than nine hours of sunlight. That’s not happening anytime soon here in Central Oregon, so I wanted to find a way to bring a little summer into my diet. My husband Chris and I made a recent trip to Hawaii – in December. Yes, it was sublimely warm and sunny. After that experience, we wanted to have pokĂ© here on the mainland, as a reminder that it’s warm and sunny somewhere. A few of the most popular…
