What Yo Yo Dieting Does to your Body and Why the Holidays are a Trigger
You’re officially familiar with yo-yo dieting if you’ve ever said something like this more than once: “I want to be X pounds by Christmas.” “I want to wear my size X dress to the holiday party in 3 weeks.” “I refuse to get rid of my smaller belts because I know they’ll fit when I get back to working out this spring.” All of these quotes come from actual clients of Nutritious Life founder and celebrity nutritionist, Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN. They’re familiar, or at least very relatable, to so many of us who work hard to lose weight, only to have it creep back on (plus a few more pounds), to then again buckle down to lose again, gain again, lose again… sigh. We can all agree this is a really frustrating cycle, and there’s no more dreaded time for this challenging head/body game than the holiday season. And here we are, in the thick of the season, trying once again to figure out how to lose weight. But between the lingering Halloween candy, the leftover Thanksgiving pie, and the endless Christmas cookies, you’re exhausted from the overload of constant hard choices you have to make—eat it, don’t eat it, eat just a little, skip it altogether, ok have a nibble, cut a whole piece, no wait a half piece, maybe if I eat it fast enough it won’t count, get it away from me because if I see it I’ll eat the whole thing, can I have just a taste, darn I can’t believe I ate that, ugh my pants are getting tight… Have you ever said or thought these things? Same here. So obviously losing and gaining weight messes with your head, but did you know that yo-yo dieting really messes with your body, too? What Yo-Yo Dieting Does to your Body Hormonal Havoc Extreme dieting, including severe calorie restriction and dramatic dietary changes can increase the hormone cortisol, which wreaks havoc on your health—to the tune of increasing your risk of developing certain diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Yikes! There are tons of evidence that people who live the longest, with the best mortality rates, are those who are constantly eating slightly less than they need to be satisfied, and who maintain a low body weight for their height. This is, in part, due to hormonal actions being optimized. If the caloric restriction is too severe, hormones don’t work as efficiently and health is compromised. You can see this as nutrient deficiencies that pop up with symptoms such as dry skin, brittle hair and nails, and poorer immune functioning. The bottom line is that seriously decreased caloric intake negatively affects hormones that you need for good health. RELATED: What to Eat for Better Balanced Hormones Metabolic Meltdown Here’s the deal: if you over-restrict your calories, your body responds by slowing down your metabolic rate, or your ability to burn calories. It also causes muscle loss. The truth of the matter is that yo-yo dieting doesn’t appear to permanently ruin metabolism, but the process of losing muscle (which is what your body uses for fuel when there isn’t enough food calories coming in) is damaging to your wellness. You need your lean body mass to support your bones and keep you fit, strong, and burning calories, so don’t compromise it by breaking it down to use for fuel! A word about exercise too, here: Try reframing your view of exercise as a way to lose weight and think of it more as maintaining your lean body mass (which helps with weight loss). This will help keep your brain focused on your fitness, and feeling fit is a great motivator to say no thank you to the second helping of those not-so-healthy side dishes. Nutritional Neglect Extreme weight loss is hard on your vital organs, including your brain, heart, liver and kidneys. These organs need carbohydrates and calories to do their jobs. Without enough nutrition, these organs are at risk for damage. Severely decreased calories can also lead to nutrient deficiencies, which, in prolonged states, may cause damage to bones, skin, and immune functioning. Do yourself a favor and don’t cut out all carbs or fats. Reduce ‘em, (the “bad” ones), yes. But eliminate a whole food group entirely and you’ll end up back on that whole yo-yo dieting cycle again, guaranteed. RELATED: Why Healthy Fats Don’t Make You Fat How to Get Out of the Yo-Yo Dieting Cycle Rather than dramatically reducing calories, or dropping all fats or carbohydrates, try eating a little less of everything at every meal and snack, so that you’re ‘satisfied’ rather than ‘full’ in order to get and keep a healthy weight. Eat a balanced diet and choose clean, healthy foods. This is something Keri always stresses when she has her clients gauge their appetite using the hunger quotient (HQ). Of course, implementing all 8 pillars of living a Nutritious Life will keep you off the yo-yo cycle too. So, to summarize: rather than binging on candy, mashed potatoes, latkes, or fruitcake through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or Christmas, and then sticking to 600 calories a day for the next two weeks, choose to eat a little less all the time, and strategically place your indulgences. This is easier said than done, but it can be done. Stay focused, consistent, and patient. Listen to your body telling you it is “slightly satisfied” and “slightly hungry”. And plan for your indulgences. Yo-Yos are toys for kids—they’re not how you should manage your weight. This holiday season, choose to focus on your healthiest goals and your weight will find its perfect place. Learn More About Nutrition and Wellness Love nutrition and wellness, and want to immerse yourself even more? Our Become a Nutrition Coach certification course gives you a solid foundation in nutrition science, plus techniques for coaching clients so you can share your knowledge and earn an income, if you choose to. (Or, you can use the information for
3 Quick and Healthy Lunch Box Ideas
Some days, it can be hard enough to figure out what you want for lunch, never mind your kids. And, let’s face it, sometimes healthy and exciting lunch box ideas can be hard to come by. You know you need to pack a nutritious lunch for your kids in order to keep them sharp and help them power through their day. But whatever you put into their lunch box better also be tasty, or they won’t give it a second look and will gladly munch on their friends’ extra cookies and crackers instead. So, what’s a time-pinched, busy mom with school-aged kids who need to eat healthy, delicious meals to do? Check out our three simple lunch box ideas, of course! 3 Quick and Healthy Lunch Box Ideas for Kids Peanut Butter & Jelly Old school processed peanut butter and sugary jelly squished between white bread is a nutrition nightmare. However, this lunchtime staple can be transformed into a nutrition powerhouse before you can say YUM! Here’s how to make over this old standby: Upgrade the sugar-heavy processed peanut butter with a natural peanut butter or other nut or seed butter (think almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter). Swap ultra-processed white bread for whole grain bread, Ezekial bread, or high-fiber crackers. While you’re swapping, why not switch out a store-bought, sugar-filled jelly with freshly sliced strawberries, an all-fruit spread, or even dehydrated fruit for a little crunch? Dehydrated fruit pulls out a bunch of the sugar and takes nutrition up a notch with vitamin C and fiber. Just be sure to watch for added sugars in store-bought varieties—if you can dehydrate the fruit at home, that’s even better. Rice & Beans It’s challenging to improve on rice and beans, but even the most devoted legume and whole grain lover has to admit that cooking time is a factor in making this perfect pair. Not only that, but white rice and your same ole beans deserve to be leveled up a notch. If your modern self doesn’t have hours to labor over those beans, whip up some quinoa in the 20 minutes it takes to help your daughter decide on her outfit du jour and pair it with faster-cooking legumes, like lentils or peas, for a delicious balance of fiber-rich, nutrient-dense flavor. In a real time crunch? Lean on BPA-free canned lentils. They’re just as delish, and it doesn’t get much faster than opening up a can. Top your concoction with avocado, salsa, sriracha (if you have a daring kid!) or sour cream to turn it into a meal. While this speedy-prep option is a time saver, it also offers all the fiber, B vitamins, and nutritional benefits of the classic version, so you’re not losing a thing by taking a shortcut. RELATED: Try These 5 Healthy Snack Ideas that Require NO Skills Milk & Cookies While nothing could possibly replace the taste and comfort of this yummy duo, nutritional improvements are easy to sneak in with no loss of flavor. Small swaps and substitutions go a long way, and your kiddos will never notice the difference. At the very least, make your cookies at home versus leaning on store-bought varieties. This small trick alone is a major healthiness upgrade. Halve the sugar in your cookie recipe. Spoon in some flax meal and replace all-purpose flour with almond flour. Upgrade your milk by making it organic or switching to unsweetened almond milk. Ready to take things a step further? See if you can get your kiddos on board with Three-Seed Energy Balls and a beautiful green Iced Almond Matcha Latte for a combo full of plant-based protein, fiber, antioxidants, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Sweet, satisfying, and healthy—sounds like a win to us! If you’re looking for a smarter, faster swap for traditional packaged snacks, Sunnie Snacks is a game-changer. These on-the-go snack kits bring together real, wholesome ingredients with kid-approved flavors (think pizza dippers and hummus plates). They skip the refined sugar, seed oils, and mystery ingredients you don’t want in your child’s lunchbox while still delivering the convenience every parent needs. While not every lunch box idea will be a home run, we bet these three options will end up on regular rotation. Here’s to happy, healthy kiddos… and happy, healthy mamas!
7 Delicious, Healthy Dinners That Don’t Even Require a Recipe
The delicious, nutritious meals you can get on the table by basically just throwing a few basic ingredients together—usually in multiple ways, depending on what’s in the fridge.
3 Easy Healthy Dinners When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking
You’ve got your ezekial toast and natural pb down pat for a healthy breakfast. You pack a greek yogurt with blueberries and granola as a healthy snack. You even stay on track and grab a spinach salad with grilled chicken from your favorite lunch spot near the office. Maybe in the afternoon you graze a little bit, or even cave and grab something from the vending machine, but come dinner? That’s a whole different story, and it’s where your healthy diet completely unravels. Whether you’re late getting home, in a rush, or even just tired and not wanting to stop for groceries, there are so many reasons why it often seems like a better idea to leave the cookbook on the shelf. Trust me, I’ve been there! But there are lots of easy healthy dinners you can whip together so you can avoid another night with a visit from the pizza delivery guy. 3 Easy Healthy Dinners When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking They aren’t gourmet by any means. But what they are is fast – without being fast food. They’re also super practical, easy, and require minimal cooking. Every meal doesn’t NEED to be gourmet. Try to use your freezer and your pantry for things other than ice cream and cereal bars! You’re sick of chinese food takeout anyway, right? Create new takes on these easy healthy dinners and you can stay on your healthy track EVERY night!
2 Farro Salad Recipes You NEED in Your Life
Kale salad, check. Three berry fruit salad, check. Cucumber salad, check. Farro salad? Hmmmm. You’re eating clean. Getting in those greens. Drinking your tea. And, chowing down on nuts and avocado. But, you still need a little substance. Something solid as a side dish (or even a main meal) when salmon and spinach alone don’t do the trick. Rice? Pasta? No, thank you, refined starchy evildoers. Quinoa? Been there, done that. Enter your new friend farro, also known as emmer or “true farro’. Sometimes this ancient grain gets confused with spelt, worthy of praise too, but different in taste, texture and nutrients than the real deal variety. When you need a hearty side dish that you can feel empowered eating, give this really retro grain a try. Farro is a whole grain loaded with vits and mins, fiber and a little protein. Its also your new grain friend-with-benefits; it’s lower in calories than brown rice and quinoa, and higher in fiber. Queue the mic drop. Here are two of my fave go-to farro salad recipes for you to give a try: Fresh Mozzarella Farro Salad – Get the Recipe! Asparagus Farro Salad – Get the Recipe!
4 Tricks to Always Having Healthy, Quick Weeknight Meals
Having some quick, go-to weeknight meals in your repertoire is a MUST if you’re a busy person. So yep, that’s pretty much everyone. Like, everyone. I get asked all the time what the best way to lose weight is, and one of my answers is…to always be prepared. I know the Scouts coined it, but I’m totally using it, and so should you. If you’ve ever blamed a little (or a lot of) weight gain on “I don’t have time to eat healthy” o, “Cooking for one person just doesn’t work” or “I get home from work and just feel like eating crackers over the kitchen sink,” then read on. I’ll make it quick. 4 Tricks to Always Having Healthy, Quick Weeknight Meals 1. Go vegetarian (at least for a couple dinners per week) Healthy dinner ideas can begin in a can. Swap in beans instead of meat as your easy protein. Think chickpeas, black beans, pinto, or cannellini beans, edamame, or even black-eyed peas. I know you really don’t feel like baking chicken tonight. Or tomorrow night. That’s okay. Opening a can of beans is as easy as ripping open the sleeve of crackers and is a much better idea. Beans are high in fiber and protein while being low in fat (and filled with antioxidants) so they’ll fill you up and help slim you down. Make sure you rinse and drain canned beans to get rid of extra sodium, and go for BPA-free cans as much as possible. Serve them over salads (yes, reaching into a bagged salad and putting a couple handfuls of it into a bowl can count as making salad), as spreads (fork smash white beans in a bowl, and stir in some olive oil, garlic, and lemon, for a primitive but tasty hummus), or heat them up with a little olive oil, herbs, and spices as a side (or top the greens to make warm salad). 2. Make leftovers Make a big batch of quinoa. Then, slice and dice a few of your fave veggies. Stretch this batch of quinoa as your meal base over a couple of nights. The night you first make it, serve it hot with the veggies mixed in like a stir-fry and top with simple grilled chicken (or pass on the chicken altogether and just add half a can of beans). The next night, you can skip cooking and serve it cold with the same veggies, raw and diced, like an Italian pasta salad. Add beans or leftover cold chicken. Both make great next day lunch options, too. If you know it’s going to be a difficult week (what week isn’t?), rotate hot and cold options (like the quinoa above) and make extras for leftovers on a nightly basis or every time you cook and prep your lunch for the next day as you do your dishes. The same goes for meat if you’re feeling carnivorous. Cook a big batch of ground turkey all at once. The night you make it, serve it hot in a burrito bowl, and the next night skip cooking altogether and use it as the base for cold lettuce wraps. Making big batches of food helps you slim down, not overeat, if done properly. Add a little of that grilled chicken or steamed shrimp to a big green salad with two teaspoons olive oil and vinegar. Put it in a Tupperware and bring it to work for a perfectly portioned nutritious lunch. You can also do this when you dine out. Before you even dive into your dinner, ask the waiter to put half in a doggie bag. 3. Eat breakfast for lunch and dinner Feeling a little bored of your veggies and protein for dinner? Try having a healthy breakfast for lunch and dinner. Make a three-egg omelet with whatever odds and ends are floating around. Throw in some veggies for a little color, flavor, and nutrition. Top with almost any herb or spice. And protein it up a bit by adding in leftover chicken or turkey. Feeling adventurous? Try your hand at a frittata. Either way, this a perfect way to have a “clean” and easy dinner at home. If eggs aren’t your thing, make a big batch of “veggie pancakes” on the weekend. Use your normal pancake mix but add some shredded carrots or zucchini for a little veggie power and sprinkle in some flax or chia for a little fat. You can freeze them and pull a couple out in the morning to defrost in the fridge while you’re at work. Popping them in the microwave for 30 seconds is faster than opening and closing the fridge 10 times and complaining there’s nothing to eat. 4. Don’t overstock the fridge If you’re lacking fridge space or have a fear of buying fresh foods because you worry they’ll go bad, then don’t keep your fridge stocked. Instead, make friends with your freezer. Organic frozen vegetables and whole grains can go right from freezer to microwave. No chopping, prepping, or clean-up. Match these babies with some lean protein (pick up a piece of salmon on your way home, squeeze some lemon on it, top with whatever spices you have in your cabinet, and pop it in your toaster oven), and you’ve got dinner in 10 minutes.
New Years Resolutions Start Today
I’ve never been a big fan of new years resolutions. Even though I love that google search histories are dominated by “healthy dinner ideas” and “healthy snacks” and “how to eat healthy” around the new year, by February the healthy eating novelty often wears off and January’s healthy searches are replaced with “weight loss supplements” and other quick fixes that aren’t part of a healthy diet or a healthy life. And don’t even get me started on just having willpower to lose weight every January. I believe we should be working on improving ourselves daily, and that we don’t need a holiday date to begin self-improvement work. However, there is something to be said for taking a minute to reflect on the past year and take action moving forward. That I am down with. There are many “rules” to follow in life but looking ahead at a new year, there is one rule I would like to focus on: be responsible. It translates into your personal, professional and social life in a proactive and productive way. We don’t need a million guidelines. There shouldn’t be a hundred messages telling you how to govern yourself as you navigate the world. Moving through life with the mantra ‘be responsible’ should cover you in most situations. As we approach the New Year, it’s a good time to revisit the simple message of being responsible and perhaps use it as an alternative to your usual new years resolutions that never seem to last into spring. New Years Resolutions the Healthy Way: 1. Be responsible for your health. Make choices that keep you accountable to your physical, mental and emotional health. Find a way to be responsible when you are indulging and enjoy yourself with a thoughtful recognition of your actions with food, exercise and well being. Make and keep your doctors’ appointments, schedule regular dental check-ups and be proactive in eating empowered by keeping your refrigerator and pantry responsibly stocked with healthy foods. 2. Be responsible in your environment. Take a New Year’s minute to look at the space you spend the most time in. Do you love your home? Is your bedroom a sanctuary? Are you proud of the desk you keep and spot where you relax? No? Then take some action and make the spaces you live in spaces you love. Take ownership of improving your world you live in so that you can feel good about your choices. 3. Be responsible in your love. Release some oxytocin, the love hormone that is responsible for managing your stress and negative feelings. While sex is a great way to release oxytocin, there are plenty of G-rated ways to do it, too: cuddle more puppies, hold more children’s hands, hug your loved ones. You deserve to have a year that is full of feelings of being loved, so take responsibility for it by incorporating a little love into each day.
3 Healthy Holiday Habits You Need To Take Up NOW
Even if the holiday party invites aren’t flooding your mailbox and inbox just yet, you know they’re coming. They do every year. And every year you look forward to the fun but you also sort of dread the exhaustion, deviation from your routine and the fact that time feels like it moves in fast forward. In the name of celebrating with wellness and fun in mind and not letting all those weight loss tips you stockpiled throughout the year go by the wayside, I want to set you up with a few healthy holiday habits in order to make this season of parties and celebration a little less draining and a lot more empowering. 3 Healthy Holiday Habits You Need To Take Up NOW Don’t be creative with the food that is in your control. I know it sounds crazy, but if you keep your food simple, and stick to what you know works (where you can), then the party fare won’t be as stressful, damaging to your waistline or disruptive to your GI tract. You know how to eat healthy…don’t let the holidays completely push you off track. If you’re eating all holiday foods all the time, you’re pretty much guaranteed to feel lousy and of course, pack on extra weight. Keep what you can control simple, and balance the holiday foods with your go-to healthy foods. Healthy breakfast: There are usually not many holiday breakfast parties, so keep these in straight forward and consistent. Rotate between two to three choices. Here are my faves. 6 ounces 2% or whole fat Greek yogurt with ½ cup frozen organic berries and 1 tablespoon flax meal 1 slice Ezekiel bread toasted with ⅓ medium avocado and 2 ounces smoked salmon ½ cup oatmeal with 2 teaspoons almond butter and a diced granny smith apple Healthy lunch / healthy dinner ideas: When these meals aren’t part of an actual soiree, keep them clean and don’t do leftovers. Rotate between your favorite lean proteins and choose 2 veggies with each meal and a little fat. More faves: Huge bed of spinach topped with a soy free veggie burger, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and 2 teaspoons tahini Stir fry prepared with peppers, onions, broccoli and chicken sautéed in 2 teaspoons coconut oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds Fritatta with mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes with a green side salad and a squeeze of lemon Make your space clutter-free. There is a saying about how horizontal spaces are a magnet for clutter. Clutter has a way of making us feel chaotic, out of control and less happy and productive in our work spaces. And guess what, there’s solid research to support this! Make a habit of clearing your plates and cleaning up the kitchen right away, instead of waiting to do it later. Set up one space for gifts to gift wrap in your home. Organize and strategically arrange your holiday cards to enjoy them without them falling over and getting in the way. Creating a habit of organizing your stuff will make it easier to stick to your wellness goals. {Tweet this}. I promise. Get your zzzs at all costs. The third healthy holiday habit you need to have down this holiday season is your bedtime routine. Sleep hygiene is a really powerful tool in your wellness kit because the better rested you are, the less likely you will be to eat out of fatigue, stress, grumpiness or grinch-like energy. Choose a few things that you can do each night to make sleeping well a top priority: establish a bedtime, wash your face, brush your teeth, turn off all of your technology, spend a few minutes doing something calming you enjoy (read a book, journal, meditate), then turn off the lights. No staying up late wrapping presents. Your sleep is more important than that pretty bow.
How Many Hours of Sleep Do You Really Need?
How many hours of sleep do you get every night? 5? 6? 7? How many pounds do you want to lose? 5? 15? 50? Guess what? These two numbers go hand in hand. So many of my clients are terrible sleepers. They can’t fall asleep because their minds are racing or they fall asleep, but can’t stay asleep. Or they wake to use the bathroom and then wander into the kitchen at 3AM. Or they sleep OK, but wake exhausted. And they eventually end up in my office, asking for diet plans and how to lose weight. This is yet another example where I preach, “It’s not just about the food!” “Sleep deep” is a Nutritious Life pillar because how many hours of sleep you get affects your wellness and waistline as much as the healthy foods you eat, the exercise you practice and the stress you manage does. See, sleep deprivation messes up the hormones that regulate hunger, causing an increase in appetite and specific cravings for calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate foods. So after a long night, there is indeed a reason you are reaching for the bagel and cream cheese at 7am instead of your normal healthy breakfast of hard boiled eggs and berries. Research shows that sleeping only 4 hours per night for 2 nights causes leptin — the hormone that tells your body to stop eating — to drop 18%. And levels of ghrelin — the hormone that says “eat more”– jump 28 percent. Again, there is a reason you can’t stop chowing after pulling an all-nighter. Buh-bye healthy eating, so long balanced diet. Now keep in mind this happened after just 2 nights of sleep deprivation…just imagine what happens after weeks and weeks of missing sleep! No wonder your pants are tight, right?! So, how many hours of sleep do you need to be the healthiest you possible? Adults are supposed to get about 7-9 hours of sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. If you only get 6 hours, your risk of developing obesity rises 23%, if you only get 5, it increases 50%, and if you only get 4, it increases a whopping 73%! The thing is, if you want to improve your sleep, you’ve gotta work on your nighttime behaviors, just like you practice brushing and flossing or washing and cutting fruits and veggies right when you get home from the grocery store. What can you work on to better up your shut eye? If you wake up to pee, stop drinking 2 hours before bedtime and try to go right before you turn in for the night. If you fall asleep, but wake up a few hours later, give up all alcohol for a few days and see if it helps, or jot down your biggest stressors in a journal immediately before you turn in to quiet your mind. If you’re sleeping, but not feeling rested, flip your mattress, adjust the temperature in your bedroom, buy yourself new pillows or invest in snore-strips for your wake-the-dead, apnea challenged spouse. If you’ve flipped the mattress and that isn’t working, I’ll let you in on a secret – invest in an Essentia mattress. They are the only organic memory foam mattress available and I’m telling you, you’ll sleep like a babe. Can’t fall asleep? Ditch the caffeine after noontime and exercise in the morning, rather than the evening. Tonight, I want you to stare at the inside of your eyelids with the curtains drawn, in your favorite jammies, with your iPhone silenced, no matter what. Stop making lists in your mind or preparing for tomorrow’s presentation or folding the laundry. Tonight is about sleep. That’s it. If you sleep well, you’ll eat a better breakfast tomorrow morning, which might motivate you to eat a better lunch, which might motivate you to hit the gym, which might make you sleep better tomorrow night, which might help you drop those pounds you’ve been struggling with. Done and done.
3 Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas for Kids
Quick and easy dinner ideas exist. Seriously. Pre-kids dinner ideas involved a glass of red, a nice steak on the grill, and perhaps the leftover fried rice from take out Chinese. Whatever it was (hopefully it was healthy foods, of course!), it wasn’t stressful. Fast forward to the present and dinner time is just not so zen. Trying to teach your kids how to eat healthy is a task that makes your latest excel spreadsheet for your boss look like a Dr. Seuss book. Healthy breakfast for the kiddos? Piece of cake. Healthy snacks? Got a million of ’em. But healthy dinner ideas that don’t take an entire evening to prepare? I know, your blood pressure just skyrocketed, right? But here’s the good news. You can feed your kids healthy foods and do it without stress. Think perfect pairs… socks and shoes… hammers and nails… teachers and books… …and apply it to dinner. It really can be that easy. I’ve taken 3 old school food pairs and given them a healthy, 21st century upgrade, and your kids are gonna love ‘em! 3 Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas for Kids Hot Dogs and Fries: Back in the day, hot dogs for kiddies required mini artery clogging, sodium filled hot dogs wrapped in processed bread and toasted. Replace this piggy failure with an organic chicken sausage, grilled, sliced and served with sweet baked potato fries. Or, get a little gourmet with goat cheese stuffed dates. They’re full of fiber and the sweet and savory punch will be all the rage at your next fam din. Yes! You and even your kids will love them. Ok, ok, if dates and goat cheese are too big of a leap for you, a healthy chicken finger is a picky eater, crowd pleaser, too. Spaghetti & Meatballs: Like a burger on a bun, and bologna on white bread, this low quality pair of white flour and ground high fat meat doesn’t offer your family the dinner that champions are made of. Try spaghetti squash and turkey or grass fed meatballs. Roasted spaghetti squash is a fierce alternative to regular pasta and turkey or grass fed meatballs are lower in fat and higher in omega-3s than most conventional meatballs. Add some marinara for an extra dose of nutrition. And if your kids take time to warm up to new things, it’s ok to gradually add the squash to your pasta over time, until there is more squash than pasta and your kids barely notice. Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, either. If you wanna up the fun on this one, just say the word zoodle. Make your noodles out of zucchini with a spiralizer and your kids will actually fight over who gets to help you make dinner. Macaroni & Cheese: admit it, you never loved the idea of powdered cheese. It’s a nutrition failure (food dye and sodium – yuck!) that doesn’t support your family’s health. Replace this in your repertoire with whole grain pasta carbonara, which is a delicious pasta dish that delivers the creaminess mac and cheese is famous for with egg and a little Parmesan, instead of loads of fluorescent orange talc. Just boil your pasta as usual, drain, return it to the pot, and then scramble in the eggs and stir vigorously until they are cooked (the heat from the pasta will cook them!). Top with Parmesan, and you have a delicious and nutritious one pot meal. And then nobody can complain about doing dishes. Times have changed. Cars can now run on batteries, you can answer your phone with your watch, and you can binge on an entire season of your favorite show in one sitting. It only makes sense to update and upgrade your healthy dinner ideas, too. Of course, you can always go back to the classics from time to time, but make these your new “go to” duos.
