How to Make Small Nutritious Shifts Towards Better Health

Sometimes, a giant leap towards a healthier, happier life is necessary. Other times, small shifts can get you to the same place with a lower risk of failure. To celebrate National Nutrition Month, we’re focusing on helping you make those small changes. Call them Nutritious Shifts. They’re tweaks to your diet, exercise, and sleep habits that are easy to act on right now—that will have a major impact on your overall health. We’re rolling out two each week during March to coincide with the eight pillars of a Nutritious Life (so keep checking back for additions!). Join us in making each (easy!) shift throughout the month. Share your progress on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtags #nutritiousshifts and #livinganutritiouslife. At the end of March, we’ll feature our favorite posts on the Nutritious Life blog (so you’ve got a shot at wellness fame, too!). Nutritious Shift 1: Eat Vegetables for Breakfast Getting veggies in at every meal is a great way to Eat Empowered, but breakfast can be tough if you’re a yogurt or oatmeal kind of gal. Get creative and try including a veggie in the first meal of the day this week. Throw greens like kale or spinach into a smoothie, add peppers and onions to your scrambled eggs, or add tomato to your avocado toast. You can even make a salad and throw an egg on top. Try These Recipes: Antioxidant Smoothie There’s spinach mixed into all of the sweetness. Leftovers Frittata You can throw any leftover roasted or sauteed veggies in here, or use up the last of a bag of greens. Morning Glory Muffins Yummy grain-free muffins made with carrot and pumpkin. Nutritious Shift 2: Go Local We’re not suggesting you give up all of your grocery plans and start foraging for mushrooms in the local park. Just choose one tiny thing you can do this week to support the local food economy that you might otherwise have skipped. Here are a few easy ideas: Replace one grocery store trip with a quick stop at a farmer’s market, local farm stand, small bakery, or neighborhood butcher shop. Sign up for a local CSA (farm share) for the upcoming spring/summer seasons. At your grocery store, look for a fruit or veggie grown in your state and throw it in your basket even if it wasn’t what you’d normally buy. If you live in New York, click the “Local” tab on FreshDirect and get some local produce delivered right to your door. Now, how easy is that?! Nutritious Shift 3: Make a Workout Date One foolproof way to make sure you Sweat Often? Find a workout BFF. Exercising with a partner has a few benefits: you’re less likely to bail if someone expects you to show up, and you may push yourself harder to impress a friend. Most importantly, it’s more fun—and a fitness routine is only sustainable if you enjoy it. You may have heard of all of this before, but we want you to commit to trying one of these specific #NutritiousShifts to make your fitness routine social this month: Instead of meeting a friend or coworker for happy hour, schedule a yoga or spin class. Tap a fitness-loving friend to be your new workout buddy and make a schedule for the next month that details when you’re going to meet up to hit the gym. If you’re in a relationship, go for a run with your partner on Sunday instead of (or better yet…before!) going to brunch. Try out a run club or social fitness group like Electric Flight Crew or the November Project (both of which have chapters in multiple cities). Nutritious Shift 4: Drink More Water It sounds simple, but many people are walking around dehydrated, which can sap energy, slow metabolism, and lead to overeating. Drinking 64 ounces per day is a good goal. Here are some #NutritiousShifts that will get you to Drink Up, now: Commit to taking a water bottle with you everywhere you go for a week. If you have it with you, you’ll reach for it more often. Before each meal and snack, fill a tall glass of water and make sure you finish it along with your food. Upgrade your water (making it irresistible!) by adding fruit or spices. Nutritious Shift 5: Practice a Random Act of Kindness Expressing love has many health benefits—and we’re not just talking about in bed (although sex is sooo good for you, FYI).  Research has shown hugging may lower blood pressure and boost levels of relaxation-related hormone oxytocin, that expressing altruism and spending money on others can make you happier, and that regularly supporting others is linked to higher self-esteem and less depression. (Oh, not to mention it’s just the right thing to do!) Ready to Love More? Choose one of these #NutritiousShifts (or your own!) to practice a random act of kindness this week: If you’re in a relationship, leave a love note on your partner’s pillow for no reason. Buy coffee for the stranger behind you in line at Starbucks. Buy a treat for a coworker and have it waiting on his or her desk. Mail a simple “Thinking of you!” postcard to a friend who’s far away. Call or text a family member you haven’t talked to in a long time just to say hello. Nutritious Shift 6: Nurture Your Skin Your skin is a really, really big organ that is often ignored in terms of how it relates to your overall wellness. The truth is it needs just as much care as your heart needs cardio. Add a few minutes to your normal skincare routine to do a little nurturing this week. Choose one of these #NutritiousShifts (or ask it what it wants, babe): Take a long bubble bath instead of a shower. Do an at-home mask or body scrub to slough off dead skin and impurities. Treat yourself to a facial or a face massage. Toss one beauty product made with one of these two

4 Reasons You MUST Find a Farmers Market this Weekend

So, you get out of work, stomach is grumbling, and you ask yourself the inevitable, nightly question: “what’s for dinner?!” You open the fridge to find the same ole, same ole. You’re so bored that you settle for a PB&J…again… After devouring your less-than exciting “dinner,” you’re feeling (again) like a huge slacker when you see the beautiful salads and wholesome meals on your Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest feeds. Sound familiar? If you had taken that trip to the farmers market over the weekend like you had planned to, you would have opened the fridge to a bounty of new, exciting, and super fresh options to experiment with! Here’s how a trip to the farmers market can boost your health in more ways than you think. Kiss those PB&Js goodbye for a while; you’ll be replacing ‘em with summer salads, artisanal cheeses, crisp veggies, fresh baked goods, fruit galore…and more. Farmers Market Veggies are Fresh This just in: fruits and vegetables are good for your health! Ok, you knew that. How about a pop quiz: what’s better, toting home a bunch of freshly picked, locally grown herbs, fruits, and veggies from your neighborhood farmers market or packaged produce that’s likely spent days (or weeks) on a truck and/or in a warehouse? Another question: what’s better, picking your own strawberries, apples, or corn at a local farm from the farmer who grew them or buying them from the grocery store, unaware of where they came from, how many hands have touched them, and what chemicals were used to preserve them? Fresh, local, in-season produce maximizes nutritional benefits, straight from your local soil to the local market to your local kitchen table. Taking out the middleman and shortening time from soil to plate requires less/no preservatives, increases sustainability, and leaves food with unbelievable natural flavor. When I use fresh, local produce to make a salad, smoothie, or my homemade pesto (simply blend arugula, basil, and lemon with a handful of nuts of your choice – so easy!) the flavors truly POP. It’s better than store-bought every.single.time. Farmers Markets Have Some Serious Variety Sure, we all know that leafy greens are king, (for good reason) so always load ‘em up, but also keep your eyes peeled for produce that will urge you to expand your palette. Tasting the rainbow (no, not skittles!) and eating a varied diet ensures a diverse range of nutrients. Instead of grabbing your usual cucumber and onions, give your salad a crunch of color and flavor; try radishes, berries, and fresh herbs. Just wash, chop, and throw them over your greens; all you need is a little lemon juice, vinegar, or olive oil for a delicious (and nutritious!) summer salad. Opt for kohlrabi instead of your usual summer squash. It’s high in antioxidants and can be eaten raw (kholrabi slaw, it’s a thing!) or cooked (kholrabi fries, anyone?!) Try a locally-made sauce or dressing instead of your typical store-bought choice. You’ll most likely find all natural ingredients as opposed to the jibberish we often find on our food labels, most of which mean sugar or empty calories. So, switch it up, experiment, be adventurous, tickle your taste buds, and purée your own pesto. You won’t be sorry – trust me. Farmers Markets Will Keep Your Wallet a Little Bit Fatter I’m always pleasantly surprised when I walk away from the farmers market with bags full of goodies for a fraction of the cost of grocery or health-food stores. Rarely do I spend more than $20-$30 at the farmers market and I leave feeling like I got a whole new wardrobe (best feeling ever.) How’s this for a win: a pound of fresh-caught flounder for $12 when it would typically cost double that at the store (and chances are the fish isn’t remotely local or wild.) I topped that baby with fresh-squeezed lemon, salt, and pepper and tossed it right on the barbecue. You better believe we ate well that night and enjoyed leftovers for lunch the next day. It’s all about supply and demand; farmers sell what they have at the time, while grocers import their goods, boosting the price while cutting nutrients and flavor. When you go where the goods are made, whether it’s a bunch of kale or a pair of designer shoes, you’re bound to spend less and get more bang for your buck. Use your savings to treat yourself to a local bottle of wine…because balance is the key to life after all. Farmers Markets Are FUN! Instead of trying to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible, the farmers market is an experience to savor. It’s like meeting the artist at an art gallery, except the art is edible and delicious! Each and every item at the farmers market has a story behind it – a why, when, and a how. Have you ever asked how the wheat at the grocery store was harvested, the difference in taste between two types of mushrooms, or how a bar of soap was made? Doubtful. I love learning about how our local bread baker finds virtually no intolerance to her breads, baked with locally harvested wheat, suggesting that it’s not the gluten we should fear, it’s the processing. The farmers’ insight is not only full of facts but also passion, deep knowledge, and enlightenment. For those with an eye for color, texture, smells, and the “art” of food, there is nothing more pleasing than fresh, colorful edibles. And for those of you who have never indulged in a farmers market stroll, that’s gotta change. I dare you to skip your boozy brunch or Saturday morning cartoons. This weekend, rally the family, a friend, or your pup for a field trip to the farmers market and enjoy a taste of nature, cultivation, and vitamin D. To find your local farmers market, see localharvest.org or usda.gov/farmersmarkets. Get shopping, picking, tasting, learning, and enjoy the experience, beginning to end eat.