Meals & Planning
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How to Eat When You’re Injured
Have you ever put in weeks (or months) of hard work, only to be sidelined by an injury? Whether you run long distances, play in a volleyball league, or chase you kiddos over playground equipment, injuries can happen to all of us. And, the timing is never right. You might have your food dialed-in for training or being active, but do you wonder how to eat when you’re injured? Questioning Nutrition During Injury Nutrition-wise, now what? How do you eat in a way that preserves muscle, promotes healing, and lifts your spirits? (Let’s face it, when laid up on the sofa instead of out doing your favorite activity, you need…
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What A Nutritionist Really Eats In A Day
As a nutritionist, people are often curious about what I eat in a day. Many assume I follow a strict diet of hard-to-find-and make foods. The reality is that I eat a lot of the same “regular” foods every day – yogurt bowls, lots of vegetables and fruit, smoothies, eggs & meats. These are foods that I like and make me feel good. As a rule of thumb, I eat for enjoyment and performance for life. By performance, I mean feeling great mentally and physically, staying fit, sleeping well – like one would feed a racehorse. That may be a weird analogy, but think about it – what would you…
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No Beans About It – Killer Slow Cooker Chili
Warm up with a slow cooker chili that takes 20 minutes to prep, has no beans, and is super nutritious and delicious.
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I Love to Hate Grocery Shopping; How I Make It Better
Grocery shopping. It ranges from leisurely selecting pristine produce and locally-produced specialty condiments to throwing elbows at Costco on a Saturday afternoon. A Neilson survey in 2015 found that about 6 in 10 people find grocery shopping an “engaging and enjoyable experience” and think of it as “a fun day out for the family.” Wait, what?! There are times when I leave the grocery store feeling like I’ve been in a street fight while playing cutthroat Jeopardy for the last 45 minutes. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that the number of people who enjoy grocery shopping has dropped in the past few years, and…
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Salad Slam! 4 Simple Steps to Perfect Salads
Hi there, this is an updated post for this summer, and I’ve added a FREE salad-making guide that you can grab using the form below. 🙂 If you’re from a certain generation and geography, the word “salad” may conjure up images of limp iceberg lettuce with a few carrot shreds and bottled ranch dressing. Perhaps you’ve seen “Jello salad”, which combine sweet gelatin with any manner of canned fruits, marshmallows, pudding, and even sometimes vegetables. Don’t believe me? Here you go – it’s real. For the purposes of this post, the term salad will always include leafy greens and vegetables. It will not include jello, pasta, canned fruit, or marshmallows.…
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Intermittent Fasting 101
What is it? Intermittent fasting is like regular fasting (not eating), except on a regularly-planned schedule, totally optional, and usually done to lose weight. Intermittent Fasting is Hugely Popular In 2013, the Canadian Medical Association Journal predicted that intermittent fasting (IF) would be the next big weight-loss fad. As we know, many predictions don’t come true, but this one sure did! Intermittent fasting – rotating periods of eating and fasting – is a huge trend in diet culture right now. A 2020 poll found that IF is one of the most popular weight-loss diet Americans have ever tried. Yes, ever in recorded dieting history. An estimated 24% of US adults…
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Easiest, Juiciest Pork Chops Ever
I get excited about pork – it’s delicious, easy to cook, versatile, and more sustainable than beef (not to mention less expensive). According to research published by the National Academy of Sciences, pork uses 10% of the environmental resources to produce – on a per pound basis – than beef. That is shocking – and a relief – for me, because it gives me solid reasons for choosing pork over beef. And, who can resist the smell of fried bacon or a low-and-slow-cooked pork shoulder? Even when I was a vegan, I loved that aroma wafting through my neighborhood from someone else’s kitchen. Except for the two years of being…
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Taste A Little Summer With Hawaiian-Inspired Ahi Tuna Poké
Fast, fresh, and super healthy I love pumpkin-spiced desserts and gravy-covered meats, and other fall and winter foods. However, after Christmas, I immediately look forward to temperatures above 32’F and days with more than nine hours of sunlight. That’s not happening anytime soon here in Central Oregon, so I wanted to find a way to bring a little summer into my diet. My husband Chris and I made a recent trip to Hawaii – in December. Yes, it was sublimely warm and sunny. After that experience, we wanted to have poké here on the mainland, as a reminder that it’s warm and sunny somewhere. A few of the most popular…
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10 Must-Have Foods for Healthy Eating
Ever think about overhauling your diet or just eating healthier, but then get overwhelmed with all the choices? It’s no wonder – the options are endless! The average supermarket now carries over 40,000 products, which is a 5x increase from the 1970s – so many choices [1, 2]!! When I talk about food and nutrition with friends and family, one of the most common questions I get is, “What do you eat?” I think to myself, “Yay – I’m so glad you want to chat about food!” because I could talk for days about it! Even though I think a lot about food and nutrition, the reality is that I…
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4 Ways to Crush Your Labor Day BBQ
low stress * whole food * gluten free As written: Gluten-free, Whole Food, Paleo; with options for Whole30 and Keto diets Labor Day is truly the last hurrah of summer. We Pacific Northwesterners are getting in the last cookout and camping trip before the chill and structure of fall pulls us from our summer dreams back to the reality of short days, flannel layers, and hot drinks. Plus, it’s a 3-day weekend! You can have a BBQ on Sunday evening and people might actually attend. This means you (or Chris and me – the host(s)) have an extra day to wrap your head around having people in our house and…