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.
2 Amazingly Simple Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and you’ve spent the last 48 hours slaving over a hot stove preparing your turkey day feast. Well, the big day is over and you deserve a much needed cooking break. But, that doesn’t mean you need to spend the next 3 days in a monotonous cycle of heating up a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Here are a couple healthy and, most importantly, EASY dishes to spice up your post Thanksgiving meals and perhaps even slim down your waist. There is no measuring, cutting, prepping, or stressing required. These are ‘non-recipe’ recipes, and they are meant to make a couple delicious meals out of whatever Thanksgiving leftovers you have in your fridge. Throw a little of this and a little of that together using our guidelines, and you will have the easiest and most unique Thanksgiving leftover dishes to enjoy…before and after hitting the sales, of course. Here’s how to eat healthy on Black Friday through Cyber Monday. 2 Amazingly Simple Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes Black Friday Frittata A frittata is just a fancy name for a messy omelet. There is no strict recipe for this “eggcellent” creation. You just must have fun and get in those good-for-you ingredients! So, don’t get caught up in nitty gritty cooking techniques, just add all of the roasted vegetables, even those Brussels sprouts, and some lean protein you have leftover. The Brussels sprouts are packed with vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, which helps support your immune system, and even boost collagen production in your skin. The protein from the eggs and turkey (or whatever protein you choose) will keep you satisfied through an entire department store hunt – there will be no dropping post shopping with this healthy breakfast! Get the recipe. Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza Pizza gone Pilgrim-style, with this new twist on an Italian classic. The cranberry sauce takes the place of the tomato base, and the whole wheat pizza crust gives you about 6 more grams of fiber than regular pizza dough, keeping you full long enough to wait out those shopping lines. Bake your creation according to the instructions on your whole wheat pizza dough. Exhausted after a day of shopping? No problem—this recipe is kid-friendly, so let the little ones do all the work! Get the recipe.
3 Rules to Enjoy Seasonal Foods Without Wrecking Your Waistline
I’m not into the shame game. I know you’ve been looking forward to your _______________ (fill in the blank with candy corn, oktoberfest beer, pumpkin spice latte, cider donuts . . . ), just like you looked forward to the Valentine hearts, peeps and Cadbury creme eggs. And, I know I’m probably not going to convert (completely!) your cult-like desires to get you excited for figs, pomegranates or heavenly sweet potatoes instead. But I don’t want to make you feel bad about that. Let’s be realists. You’re thinking “OMG, (again, your blank) are BACK!!!” and then panicking with feelings that “they’ll only be available for 3 more weeks” only to find that you’re, ahem, pants don’t fit by the end of the month. I’m here to help. If you need to find a way to indulge in the seasonal foods you have mad love for without having to loosen your buckle before the next season hits, you’ve come to the right place. 3 Rules to Enjoying Seasonal Foods Without Wrecking Your Waistline: 1. Grant yourself permission. I had a client with a self proclaimed addiction to peanut butter cups. She’d hit the vending machine hard around 3 o’clock, indulge her choco-pb habit, then throw away her healthy diet and “hate” herself the rest of the day. The first assignment I gave her was to go out and buy a peanut butter cup, IF, and only if, she truly craved it. She was not allowed to go to the work vending machine and buy it. She had permish to indulge in it if she took the time to assess the craving (was it just work boredom? habit?) and then decide if she would go out and buy it. Know what? As soon as she had permission, she realized she didn’t “need” them as much as she thought she did. Give yourself permission to have your favorite fall treat! Eating foods just for the sake of pleasure, in a conscious and deliberate way, is all part of healthy eating and will not zap your healthy diet. For the record, that client now regularly chooses healthy snacks like hummus and crudites or almonds and yogurt instead of peanut butter cups and has been doing uh-mazing. 2. Plan, plan, plan! Each and every one of us is unique and what works for one of us, may not work for another. But here are a few tips to help you plan your treats. Try to: indulge in your fall goodies twice a week and give up another conscious indulgence to make that happen (meaning you may have to give up your usual serving of fries that you look forward to on the weekend, so you can eat the cider donut). get it out of your system and buy one bag of candy corn and add 5 pieces to the 10 almonds you have between breakfast and lunch until it’s gone. make a date with a friend to enjoy and indulge in (fill in the blank again!) and follow it up with a long walk to catch up. 3. Be mindful and deliberate. Its a sad thing when I hear a client tell me that they indulged in their fave indulgence and “didn’t even taste it” because they were beating themselves for eating the treat before they even finished it. Don’t fall into that trap. Make it a conscious indulgence, eat slowly, enjoy every bite and remember every meal is a Monday morning. Make the next thing to hit your lips uber healthy. Grant yourself permission, plan your treat and ENJOY it! Slow down by using a plate and real napkin. Do not take a nibble while texting, hailing a taxi, watching TV, chatting on the phone or opening up your mail. Be present and in the moment. After all, the seasons change quickly. Bookmark this blog. Refer to it in the winter, when Santa Claus is comin’ to town, in spring when the Easter chocolates are everywhere and again in the summertime when the ice-cream truck is ringing for you!
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.
How to Eat Healthy 5 Times a Day
How to eat healthy once a day is a no brainer. Find something green in a 24 hour period, and eat it. That’s it. Surely, you can do that, right? Well, not so fast. I’ve seen lots of clients that live on an un-healthy diet of carbs and white-ish things, with a side of burger. So telling them to simply “Just eat more vegetables!” (even once a day!) is pretty much a recipe for them never getting anywhere as far as a healthy diet goes. I mean, we’ve been told since we were kids to eat more vegetables. It just doesn’t work that easily. Most veggie-challenged people envision trying to choke down plain lettuce or a side of over-steamed broccoli, and they immediately race to a bowl spaghetti instead. But today is going to be different. I’m not going to tell you to “just eat more veggies”. I’m going to show you how to eat healthy veggies at every meal, and you might find it’s actually easy (and not as boring) as you once thought. If you need some nudging, research from the University of Liverpool in England reports eating 7 servings of fruits and veggies daily significantly lowers mortality, and death from cancer, heart disease and stroke. So, literally, veggies can save your life. My challenge to you is, no matter how many or few healthy foods you are already eating, to get one type of veggie in at every meal. Here’s how to eat healthy 5 times a day: Healthy Breakfast: 2 eggs with a giant handful of spinach, peppers and onions. Add a half of a small avocado instead of your usual cheese (avocado is more fat than fruit, but c’mon, we’re trying to improve your health, might as well swap cheese for a better fat!) and serve it up with a cup of berries. 2 servings Morning healthy snack: 12 almonds and zucchini chips (I know, you’re busy and don’t have time for a feast, but you need a little pick-me-up before lunchtime). 1 serving Healthy Lunch: Spinach salad loaded up with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, grilled salmon and a splash of lemon juice and olive oil. 2 – 3 servings Afternoon healthy snack: Tabbouleh prepared with parsley, tomatoes, onions, bulgur, olive oil and tablespoon of feta cheese on top (yes, you don’t have to make it yourself! You can buy it ready to go from the deli counter at the market). 1 serving Healthy Dinner: Roasted chicken with a small sweet potato, roasted cauliflower and a green salad. (If you love cauliflower, check out my recipe for Flank Steak and Mashed Cauliflower from Chef’d!) Need dessert? Me too. Grilled peaches with a spoonful of ricotta and a drizzle of honey. 3 servings See?! Not so difficult (nor boring), right? Use this sample day as the foundation for your week. Change up the produce for added variety. Swap peaches for pineapple, almonds for cashews, Tabbouleh for hummus and crudites, spinach salad for arugula, roasted chicken for salmon…the possibilities are endless. You don’t have to bother with measuring cups and scales, I’m just looking for you to get MORE veggies and healthy foods in during the day! I like for my clients to eat 2 servings of greens a day. Leafy greens are packed full of nutrients with very few calories, and they take about 2 seconds to throw into a bowl and drizzle with balsamic when you’re pinched for time. As a reference, usually that salad you (hopefully) grab at lunch will have 2 – 3 servings in there. So there you have it. eating more veggies doesn’t mean soggy green beans. Bon appetit!
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.
Ditch Deprivation: 5 Delicious Foods That Actually Support Weight Loss
Eat foods to lose weight? Yep. Aren’t you tired of NOT eating things you love so you can reach your weight loss goals? I am. The more I think about not eating my favorite chocolate chip cookies, the warm baguette, the salted caramel ice cream or the cheesy lasagna — oh, I could go on and on and on — the more I think about how much I want them. Instead, I find it helps (myself and my clients!) to focus attention on what I CAN do to look and feel good. I can look forward to my bed at the end of the day. I can enjoy drinking water with lemon, green tea and seltzer. I can squeeze in a workout even on tough to schedule days. Thinking about healthy activities and foods actually makes me want to go in that direction, too. When I get a little momentum, and a little positivity from upping my wellness game, I crave the feel good that comes from it. The good news is you can indeed eat foods to lose weight. Here are five foods to lose weight that you CAN chow down on regularly: Avocado Avocado is a best way to lose weight. The great fats help to pull fat out of your cells to use for energy. Guac it up. Slice it in your omelet. Dice it in your salad. Stick to ⅓ of a medium fruit. It’s all you need to rock & roll the benefits. Dandelion Dandelion is one of those famous detox healthy foods for good reason. It pulls extra fluid from your bod and rids you of unwanted bloat. I love it as a tea, but the greens are also delish in a salad. While I’m at it, greens are also uh-mazing at helping you slim down. They’re full of satisfying fiber and loaded with vitamins which rev your metabolism. There’s a green for everyone. From chard to kalettes and iceburg to arugula, eat ‘em all for maximum results. Citrus Citrus is tops on my weight loss tips list. A squeeze of lemon in your water, a half a grapefruit with breakfast or clementines with your snack offer a great dose of vitamin C and antioxidants. Citrus helps you break down carbohydrates and sugar in your bod and lower insulin levels. Add ‘em to your healthy eating list! Beets Beets are a great addition to your healthy diet, thanks to betalin, a phytonutrient that lowers inflammation and benefits your ticker and detox efforts. If you’re a beet newbie, start with a few bites at a time and increase from there as the fiber may take a bit of getting used to. Dates Dates are a surefire go-to if you must have something sweet, healthy and supportive to your less of you look. Yes, they’re high in sugar and calories. No, you don’t get to stuff your cheeks like a chipmunk. They’re also loaded with fiber (there’s almost 2 grams per date) and they’re great for digestion and your heart. Plus, they’ll help curb your appetite for butter cream. Add them to your healthy snacks list.
Easy Breakfast Ideas for Breakfast Haters
Alright breakfast haters, this one’s for you. I’m determined to make you a breakfast can’t-live-without-er. You don’t need me to tell you to eat a healthy breakfast. You’ve heard it a million times. Why Eat Breakfast? I’ve told you before that eating a snack or breakfast within an hour of waking up is important to kickstart your metabolism, which has been in rest mode while you’ve been recharging with some shut-eye. You’ve also heard that people who eat breakfast maintain healthier weights than those who do not. Of course you also know that people who are regular breakfast eaters perform better at school, work and play. You get a gold star if you eat breakfast even though you aren’t hungry when you wake up, or if you don’t have any time, or if you don’t care for breakfast foods. For those of you who are starless, I’m with you that breakfast is the one meal that can feel less than inspired. I mean, you’re already yawning in the morning because, well, it’s morning. You shouldn’t be yawning because, well, toast. Again. In an effort to add some excitement into your morning food routine, teach you how to eat healthy and maintain a balanced diet, and turn you into a breakfast lover, I’m giving you some easy breakfast ideas. So easy, that you’ll be out of excuses not to eat brekkie. Feeling challenged? Good. Look, breakfast may never be as exciting as finding 20 bucks in your back pocket, but, hopefully this will bring a little glimmer to your 6 a.m. self. Think of it like beauty sleep, but for your belly. Easy Breakfast Ideas Egg Breakfasts If You Have No Patience To Make Eggs Easy microwave eggs: You want to eat a healthy diet, but there’s no chance of turning on your stove while you’re still wearing pajamas? No problem. Spray the inside of a ramekin with cooking spray and crack an egg into it. Zap in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and voila! If you have leftover vegetables from dinner, toss them into the microwave at the same time on a separate plate and splash with a little hot sauce. Delish! Make-ahead eggs: On Sunday night, pull out your 8 x 8 pan that you usually reserve for brownies. Coat it with cooking spray and pour in a dozen eggs, scrambled with a little water or milk. Preheat oven to 350 F and bake for 20 minutes. Let it cool and cut it into nine pieces. When you wake up, take a piece out of the refrigerator and put it on a plate. Get showered, dressed and ready. It takes about 20 minutes to come to room temperature and requires no additional heating. Pair it with a cup of fruit sprinkled with a tablespoon of flax and you are good to go. The best part is that this simple recipe makes 9 servings, so you can feed a family easily. Prep you hard-boiled eggs: Make a bunch of hard-boiled eggs over the weekend. Put your eggs in a pot and just cover them with water. Bring the water to boil on high heat. When the water boils, turn off the burner and leave the eggs in the water for 10 minutes. Take them out of the water and peel them under running cool water. When you are ready to eat them, they’re ready to go, so make them interesting. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on a high-fiber cracker. Top with your hard-boiled egg and favorite seasoning (paprika, wasabi, cayenne) or fresh herbs. Dairy Breakfasts If You Are So Over Yogurt Add some ricotta or cottage cheese to your morning: Getting tired of the same ole yogurt? Substitute the yogurt with ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. You can go in a savory direction by adding leftover steamed or sautéed vegetables and tossing it in the microwave. You can also make it sweet with a quick grind of cinnamon or cocoa powder and a drizzle of agave, and serve with melon for a delicious start to your day. Or, you can use the ricotta as a condiment by topping a slice of high fiber toast with a tablespoon of nut butter and a tablespoon of ricotta. Yum! Kefir, anyone? While Kefir is technically yogurt, it may not have made it into your fridge yet. Kefir is more tart and tangy than the average smoothie or yogurt drink, which might surprise your taste buds. Have a cup of Kefir with a ½ cup of steel cut oats cooked in water and 10 almonds. The whole breakfast will take minutes to prepare, but will keep you satisfied without feeling too full. And who doesn’t love a breakfast that can be pronounced 10 different ways?! Whole Grain Breakfasts That Aren’t Boxes of Cereal Muesli magic: Muesli is a really misunderstood food. People never know what to do with it (or how to spell it), but it’s delicious, so I’ll make it easy for you. Tonight, take ½ cup of whole oats and whatever you think would be yummy with oatmeal (flax, nuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, etc.) and add a couple of teaspoons of it to the oats. Mix with 1/4 cup of milk or yogurt and toss into the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, it’s ready to go. I prefer it cold (although you could heat it up if you wish). It’s delicious with berries or a little bit of honey. Ancient grains are the new rage: Instead of oatmeal, make a bowl of hot quinoa, spelt, barley, or farro. Make it just as you would make oatmeal, but use the 2:1 liquid-to-grain ratio that you would for rice. (You can use water or milk as your liquid). Stir it until it boils and comes to your desired consistency. For an added boost, toss in some flax, chia seeds or hemp. A dollop of yogurt on top makes it really satisfying. OK, there you have it. Nobody likes a
