March is National Nutrition Month: Leave the Madness on the Basketball Court

 Building healthy habits into your day can help you to feel great now and in the future. Too often we get caught up in the "madness" of the latest diet or need to hit a specific macro-nutrient goal and lose sight of the bigger picture of taking care of ourselves. A healthy foundation starts with focusing on the basics like optimizing hydration, moving your body daily, getting adequate sleep, managing stress and choosing whole foods like fruits and vegetables as often as possible. 

If you are overwhelmed with trying to hit all of you nutrition goals daily, try re-focusing on simple rules to frame each meal:

1. Start with 16-20 oz of a non-caffeinated, unsweetened beverage. Examples include water, herbal tea, milk (or milk alternative), coconut water, sparkling water or electrolyte drinks. Stacking the hydration habit with meals helps you remember to drink enough fluids throughout the day. 
2. Add quality protein. Protein sources include: chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish, tofu, legumes, Greek yogurt, Cottage cheese, eggs, egg whites, nuts/seeds, bone broth. Protein helps you feel full and provides the building blocks for maintaining your lean tissue (muscles). Pairing protein with carbohydrates helps to keep your blood sugar stable as well.
3. Choose a fruit or vegetable (or both) every meal-this will help you to meet your fiber needs plus they are packed with antioxidants and phytochemical to keep you well. 
4. Don't forget to include some healthy fat like olive oil, avocados or nuts/seeds. Fat is important for you to feel full, plus it slows down the digestion of carbohydrates. Fat is also needed to absorb fat soluble vitamins.
5. If you are still hungry, you can add whole grains like quinoa, oats, brown rice, multi-grain sour dough bread- but remember these are not the star of the meal-make sure to consume the above elements first.
6. Try to move your body for at least 10 minutes after every meal! It's another great way to stack your habits and include exercise throughout the day. Plus this helps to keep blood sugar levels in check.

Featured Recipe: Salsa Verde Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast

1.5 cups salsa verde *I like Casa Martinez Gourmet Sala Verde 

0.5 c nonfat plain Greek yogurt

0.5 c bone broth (or low sodium chicken broth)

1 tsp cumin,  1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions: 

Add chicken to crockpot. Pour salsa verde and broth over chicken. Add cumin and garlic. Cook for 6-7 hours on low. Shred chicken with 2 large forks. Stir in Greek yogurt until creamy.

This chicken is great on salads, wraps or in protein bowls. My favorite is a Mexican protein bowl with greens or cauliflower rice on the bottom, plus black beans, verde chicken, sliced bell peppers and onions, topped with avocado,  jalapeño and fresh cilantro. 

Katie's Kitchen

Below are links for some of the ingredients in the featured recipe plus a few helpful tools to help you stay out of the nutrition madness!

 

This is the Salsa verde that I like to use in the above recipe. You can find it at Meijer in the international food aisle or on Amazon.

 Purchase Here on Amazon.

Adding Bone broth instead of regular broth is a great way to boost the protein in your recipes. On average bone broth has 10 g of protein per cup vs 0 g protein in regular broth. To keep it on hand whenever I need it, I use this powdered bone broth. I love this brand because of the simple, clean ingredients. 

 Purchase Here on Amazon

Finding yourself in the car too often for work or kids sports? Forget fast food restaurants -you can heat up your own left overs or food prepped meals while on the go! I have found this lunch box to be a life saver. It works both in the car and in the office. 

 Purchase on Amazon Here

Struggling to drink enough plain water to meet your hydration needs?  I love using these electrolytes when working out and traveling. I like the Ultimate brand because it is sweetened with Stevia which is a plant based non-nutritive sweetener-no sugar or artificial sweeteners added -bonus it tastes great. You can buy them at Meijer, Target, Whole Foods or Amazon. 

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Please note as an Amazon Associate, I may earn commission from your qualifying purchases on Amazon.

Interpreting The New Food Guide Pyramid

 

Many people were shocked to see the Food Guide Pyramid literally flipped upside down when the latest update of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released earlier this month. While initially this looks like a drastic change, once you break down the individual nutrition goals implied, the recommendations align well with sound nutrition advice. The primary focus is to choose more whole foods instead of processed foods. Below is a summary of the new guidelines.

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans includes:

1.  Eat the Right Amount for You- Portions should be individually based on your age, size and activity level. 

2.  Prioritize Protein at Every Meal- goal 1.2-1.6 g protein per kg of your weight. Eating protein throughout the day not only gives your body the building blocks that it needs to build muscle it also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels.

3.  Consume Dairy* while whole fat is suggested, it is also recommended to limit saturated fat to 10% of daily calories. Depending on caloric needs, some people may need to choose reduce fat or fat free dairy products. Also, if you have a dairy allergy or intolerance, you should choose an alternative source for protein and calcium needs.

4.  Eat Fruits and Vegetables throughout the day- choose whole fruits and vegetables when possible. Also strive to include a variety of colors.

5.  Incorporate Healthy Fats from nuts, seeds, olives and avocado. Eating healthy fats helps your body to absorb fat soluble vitamins. Plus, healthy fats help to provide satiety and stabilized blood sugar levels.

6.  Focus on Whole Grains which are an excellent source of fiber. Daily fiber goals range for 25-35 g per day. Excellent whole grain options include quinoa, organic oats and multi-grain sourdough.

7.  Limit Processed Foods, Added Sugars & Refined Carbohydrates -strive for 10 g or less of added sugar per meal. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 25 g or less per day.

8.  Limit Alcoholic Beverages- the guidelines do not provide a specific number of servings as a limit but more over serve as a reminder that alcohol can negatively impact your health.

Featured Recipe: Loaded Sweet Potato Boats

            Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

1 lb ground turkey OR grass-fed lean ground beef

4 T tomato paste, 4 T water

2 T Italian herbs, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp chili powder

½ red onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

Handful spinach

2 oz shredded parmesan

1 avocado, sliced

fresh cilantro

 

Instructions: Wash sweet potatoes and pierce on all sides with a fork. Bake in the oven @400 degrees x45-60 minutes (air fryer @375 degrees x30-40 minutes). Flip potatoes ½ way through baking. Cook ground turkey in skillet. Add garlic and onion. Add tomato paste & seasonings (add water as needed). Turn off heat, toss in spinach and cover with lid to wilt. Once potatoes are done baking, cut in half, fluff insides with fork. Top each boat with skillet mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan, fresh cilantro and avocado slices.

Katie's Kitchen

Below are links for a few helpful kitchen tools to help you meet your nutrition goals.

This digital food scale not only helps you to eat the right portions, it also provides complete nutrition facts including protein, fat and carbohydrates. This scale is great for learning portion size for the first time and getting you back on track as needed.
Buy Here on Amazon

Food prepping meals in advance can help you to eat healthier, especially for lunch! Choose glass food storage containers instead of plastic. I love this set because even the lids are glass with silicon edges. Note Silicon does not break down like plastic does. If you already have glass containers with plastic lids try putting a piece of parchment paper between the lid and your food. Plus take the lid off before re-heating the food. 

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Parchment paper is a total time saver for clean-up.  I use it both in the oven and in my air-fryer. As noted above, I also use it in containers to prevent my food touching plastic whenever possible.  I like these round sheets because they fit on a standard baking sheet in my air fryer without any cutting!

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