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