Tag: nutrients

Thanksgiving Staples Done Right

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Thanksgiving food has a bad rap. Not only is the holiday a celebration of gratitude, giving, and grub, but Thanksgiving dinner can actually be pretty freaking healthy with a little bit of thought, control, and balance. So, ignore the hype, don’t fast for the feast, and go into the meal knowing that it’s not your last, so enjoy! Here’s the deal on those Thanksgiving staples:

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Turkey: the main event. Turkey is actually a healthy, low-fat lean protein with tons of vitamins, so let it take center stage on your plate. It’s when the turkey is covered in stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and devoured alongside alcohol, dinner rolls, and dessert. So, instead of using the turkey as a means to hold these other foods, actually enjoy the turkey itself!

Potatoes: potatoes are a healthy, starchy veg BUT they’re usually ‘buttered up’ (literally) with tons of butter, cream, and cheese, adding tons of fat. If you’re like us, you’d take sweet potatoes any day over regular white potatoes – they’re sooo much sweeter! Luckily, sweet potatoes are also sooo good for you, full of Vitamins A, B, and C, fiber, and beta-carotene. Just keep it simple with a little bit of oil (olive or coconut) or butter and some cinnamon, rosemary, or your favorite spices. If you agree to disagree and prefer the white mashers over orange, simply enjoy a small serving, not a potato volcano on your plate…unless you’re gearing up for a post-Thanksgiving marathon. In that case, you’ll actually need those carbs!

Brussels Sprouts: this cruciferous veggie is a fall staple in the OHH kitchen. Full of fiber, they’ll help you to digest your holiday meal while lowering cholesterol and risk of certain cancers when eaten regularly. Plus, they’re so damn good! No reason not to pass the sprouts, please!

Cranberry Sauce: sadly, we’re in America and that means that your traditional cranberry sauce is more like a gelatin of sugar (with very little to no cranberries) that plops out of a can. Not so appealing. Why not try to make your own, because real cranberries are actually a great source of antioxidants. Here’s a super simple recipe without the added sugar or chemicals!

Casseroles: yeah, not so healthy. The dish on casseroles: not to rag on this classic holiday dish, but a casserole is basically an excuse to make a normally healthy food (like green beans) into a cheesy, buttery, saucy, glutinous dish, with a bit of veggies hiding inside. Keep things simple and skip the ‘role, just stick to the good old veggies above!

Dessert: Have your cake and eat it too. Pumpkin and pecan pie, yum yum. Ok, so not the healthiest things in the world, but again, pumpkin and pecans themselves are both full of nutrients, so if you’re in charge of the pie, aim to bulk up these ingredients and dial down the sugar. Either way, there’s no need to turn down Thanksgiving dessert, just have a few bites of your very favorite, enjoy the deliciousness, and be done with it. It’s when dessert becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet that’ll have you feeling YUCK with a side of guilt.

One Healthy Breakdown: Thanksgiving is one meal, one day, and the focus should be on gratitude over grub…but enjoy the grub too! Happy, healthy holiday!

Blue Maca Overnight Oats

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Overnight oats are a great alternative to cereal in the morning and they’re a huge time-saver. Cool, refreshing, and uber healthy, this recipe includes blueberries and maca powder for an extra dose of vitamins, minerals, mood-boosters, energy, and more! Let’s get soakin’, shall we?

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Ingredients: (gluten-free, dairy-free, and no added sugar!)

  • 1/3 cup plain raw oats (I prefer Purely Elizabeth)
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 teaspoon maca powder
  • optional: 1 tablespoon nut butter of choice

Instructions:

Combine oats, almond milk, seeds, cinnamon, vanilla, and blueberries. Mix and refrigerate in a jar or bowl overnight. In the morning, add your maca, stir, and go to town!

One Healthy Breakdown: super blue superfood breakfast in a flash!

Peppermint Mocha Chia Pudding

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Wow. Peppermint, chocolate, and coffee culminate to make this perfectly decadent combination. Did we mention it’s super healthy too? Nutritious and delicious anytime of day! With no added sugar, this dessert-like treat can even be enjoyed for breakfast!

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Ingredients: (makes one meal serving or 2 smaller snack/dessert servings)

  • 2/3 cup almond or coconut milk (make your own!)
  • 4 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 2-4 tablespoons coffee (cool/room temp)
  • 2 teaspoons cacoa powder
  • 2 small drops peppermint extract
  • 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. Mixture will thicken to pudding. Remove, stir again, and serve chilled. Enjoy this decadent (super healthy!) sweet treat!

One Healthy Breakdown: who says healthy doesn’t taste good delicious?!

Green Cream of Cauli Soup

The simple veggie soup happens to be tasty, hearty, and oh so comforting! Forget mashed potatoes, I give you Green Cream of Cauli Soup, the dish that bridges the gap between comfort food and superfood. Adapted from OHH’s Super Spring Cleanse, it’s like a green juice in a soup. For more detox-friendly recipes and tips, get your cleanse copy now!

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Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower cut into pieces
  • 1.5 cups bone broth, chicken broth or veggie broth
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 large handful organic arugula
  • 1/3 avocado
  • 1 teaspoon hemp seeds, nuts of choice, or 1/4 cup Greek yogurt for protein
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Here’s what I did:

  • Boil cauliflower in bone broth
  • Add garlic and basil and continue to cook on medium
  • Once cauliflower is soft, transfer entire mixture to your Vitamix or high-powered blender (you may have to wait until it cools depending on what you have)
  • Add remaining ingredients
  • Serve warm, garnish with basil leaf

One Healthy Breakdown: the cleanse-worthy cream of!

April’s Tiny Change: Eat More Color

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This month, our #tinychange is to add more color to our plates. There are lots of reasons to load up on deeply pigmented fruits and vegetables, but for me, one the best reason is that it makes me happy! We feel invigorated and energized just looking at brightly colored meals (not to mention all the health benefits our bodies get from eating them!)

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Consider this the food version of tucking away your black winter sweaters and dull wool coats and pulling out your bright, colorful sundresses and fun tops: we all look better and shine brighter with a pop of color, even our meals. Here are my five favorite reasons to add more color to your plate:

1. Count colors!
Counting carbs, weighing food, and tracking calories can be effective for some, but they’re surefire ways to suck the joy and fun out of eating. The act of measuring and counting also reinforces the beliefs that healthy living is hard, time consuming, and unenjoyable. Not true!

Healthy foods are colorful foods. Think about it: Black wild rice and brown rice are healthier than white rice; orange sweet potatoes are filled with more phytonutrients than white potatoes; dark green spinach is better for us than light iceberg lettuce; freshly spiralized green zucchini noodles are more nutritious than white noodles. When you choose your foods based on color, making healthy choices is as easy (and fun!) as stocking your fridge with the vibrant colors of the rainbow.

2. Color Crowds Out Clutter
Balance over (hence the name Kale & Chocolate!) but the reality is: we have limited space on our plates and in our stomachs. When we add more color to our meals, there is less room for the not-so-healthy colorless clutter.

Rather than telling yourself that you can never eat pasta again, what if you made yourself a big green salad and tossed your pasta with colorful grilled vegetables? You’d need a lot less pasta to feel satisfied, your plate would be filled with nutritious, colorful foods…and you’d still get to eat the pasta that you love! It’s not about taking away food, it’s about adding color!

Swap your plain store-bought hummus (most likely chemical ridden) for this pretty Beet & Basil Hummus with a rainbow of chopped veggies!

3. More Color = More Nutrients
I’m fascinated by the science of healthy eating; it’s one of the reasons that I studied plant-based nutrition. When we eat colorful foods, we consume more micronutrients (the vitamins and minerals that are vital to development, disease prevention, and well-being).

If you want to make sure you’re getting sufficient nutrients, but you’re not particularly interested in reading labels or researching which foods are high in which vitamins and minerals, simply add a variety of colorful produce to your plate. When you eat all the hues of the rainbow, you’re naturally eating a micronutrient-rich diet. It’s that easy!

Swap bland protein shakes for a beautiful vibrant smoothie bowl with fun toppings.

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4. Food Love is Self-Love
Think about plain old beige oatmeal versus gorgeous, colorful, creative, and nutrient-dense carrot cake oatmeal. Which meal has more love? Like the vibrant hues of spring, color brings warmth and comfort to your plate. Show yourself love by preparing beautiful, colorful meals.

Swap a simple salad for a Super Summer Salad for more colors, flavors, and nutrients!

5. No Season is More Colorful than Spring
As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, more and more amazing foods appear at the farmers’ market: spears of tender asparagus, creamy avocados, red beets, green broccoli, and gorgeous strawberries are coming into season right now. There is no better, easier, more delicious, and more affordable time to add color to your meals!

*This post is part of Kale and Chocolate’s year-long #12tinychanges challenge, implementing one monthly small, super doable change-over a year it really adds up! Read about all changes here and share your progress on Instagram with the hashtag #12tinychanges tagging @kaleandchocolate and @hamptonskiley! Yes, there are prizes involved!

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One Healthy Breakdown: Here’s to eating the colors of the rainbow and a bright, vibrant spring!

All About Meal Prep

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Meal prep is a great way to set yourself up for success. With no time to make a healthy meal when we’re hungry, we’re likely to resort to processed food, take-out, fast food, mindless eating, and overeating. With a kitchen full of healthy snacks and balanced meals on hand, it’s a lot easier to eat healthier. With one simple change, healthy eating becomes a whole lot happier.

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  • Schedule one or two days a week to prep. While it doesn’t have to be the same day each week, plan to take some time to prepare some meals and snacks to last you throughout the week. Think about the times when you cave and come up with some good preventative strategies. For example, if you’re always starving mid-afternoon, pack an extra snack to tide you over until dinner. This will keep your energy, blood sugar, and mood in check and help you to slow down and enjoy dinner because you won’t be famished when you finally sit down. If you struggle with breakfast, prep something simple that will fuel your day, like yummy muffins, berry bars, a frittata, or healthy bread.
  • Have a plan, make a list, and stick to it. Whether you’re using a meal template (google what you’re looking for, like “family meal plan” or “paleo meal plan.”) or creating your own, be sure to map it out. You’re less likely to throw those impulse cookies in the cart when you shop with a clear grocery list. Start collecting recipes that you’d like to make; use Pinterest or collect magazine pages so that you remember them. Another fun tip is to use themes, like taco Tuesday or breakfast for dinner. Lastly, remember to check the weather because it often impacts our cravings (think soup on a chilly day and BBQ when it’s warm.)

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  • Get your nutrients. Be sure that your plan includes carbs, protein, and healthy fats. For example, your energizing carbs could be oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and quinoa. Protein may be a chicken, hard-boiled eggs, and/or tempeh. Maybe you make individual portions of trail mix and some guacamole for healthy fats. Cater to your personal preferences, but be sure to prep produce, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats in bulk.
  • Leftovers are your friend. There’s nothing wrong with a good ol’ L/O. Leftovers come in super handy, so double your recipe or make a little extra knowing that you can have it the following day or freeze it for another time. You can even make leftovers ‘like new’ by adding them to a fresh bed of greens for a big salad or reinventing the meal.
  • Have fun. Prepping is not miserable! Turn on music, get your fam involved, and have fun!

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One Healthy Breakdown: if you care, P R E P A R E !

*For more meal prep tips, check out the queen of food prep, theleangreenbean.com

Calories: to Count or Not to Count?

It’s all about calories in vs. calories out, right? So, should we be counting calories or not??

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All calories are not created equal. 500 calories of fruits or veggies is not, in any way, equal to 500 calories of processed food made out of a hundred ingredients, most of which are chemicals, or sugar, but certainly not food that will fuel your body properly. So, what’s the point of counting calories when calories are not what we should be measuring at all?

Shift the focus from calorie counting to eating whole, real, seasonal foods that fuel your body, satisfy your taste buds, and make you feel good. No diet, no restriction, no labels, no counting, and no one-size-fits-all attitude…because, let’s face it, that’s just no fun at all. Besides, when we’re eating real, healthy foods, our body becomes more in-tune with our hunger and satiety, in other words, when we need food, and when we’ve had enough.

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We should be aware of (especially for weight-loss) portions and proportions. A portion is simply the amount of the food we’re eating. It’s not necessary to measure the precise weight/size of everything we eat; however, eyeing approximate portions ensures that we’re not eating far more or less than what we need (which is different for everyone.)

Proportion is the ratio of nutrients; protein, carbohydrates, and fat. It’s important to eat a balance of each nutrient (hence the term ‘balanced meal’) as each performs a different function in the body.

Counting calories is irrelevant, so spare yourself and focus on nutrition. Lastly, counting calories can often lead to food guilt, which is a huge waste of time and brainspace (is that a word?) Likewise, exercising simply to burn the calories we’ve consumed, or are planning to consume, is one of the most miserable things ever. Eat to fuel your body and work out to challenge, strengthen, and energize your body for endorphins, health, and fun!

For more on portion control, eating right for you, losing weight, or to get your own customized meal plan to meet your nutrition goals, email kiley@onehealthyhamptons today.

One Healthy Breakdown: can you count enough reasons not to count cals?

 

Does Fat Make You Fat?

News flash: a low-fat diet can actually cause weight-gain, not a diet high in fat. So, what is fat anyway and why do we assume that fat is what makes us fat?

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Fat is a nutrient that our bodies need, in fact, about 30% of your daily calorie intake should come from fat. This may surprise you, but it’s true!

There’s a catch, though, sort of. We should be eating good quality fats, just like we should be eating good quality foods in general. That means no trans fats. Deal?

So, what are the healthy, good quality fats that we should be eating? Good question. Nuts and seeds, avocado, fatty fish like salmon, coconut, olive oil, unprocessed lean meat, flax, dark chocolate (yay!) and dairy. These healthy fats do not cause obesity, heart attacks, or high-cholesterol, but actually promote nutrient-absorption, raise immunity, and actually burn fat. Really!

Fat also makes us feel satisfied for longer. For example, adding a spoonful of nut butter to your apple or half an avocado to your eggs will make you feel more satisfied, help your body absorb the nutrients it needs, and ward of hunger longer. Win/win!

One Healthy Breakdown: do not fear the fat, eat the fat!

Beet & Basil Hummus

In the spirit of DIY’ing, we’re making a simple favorite: hummus. This colorful version is not only bright and beautiful, it’s also full of flavor, healthy goodness, and only real foods (bye bye, chemicals.) Hummus is a well-rounded staple to enjoy often for it’s plant-based protein, carbs, and fat, but this one adds beets and basil for some serious vitamins and minerals (ie: magnesium, iron, potassium, folate, flavonoids, vitamins B & K, and more.) BEET THAT!

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Ingredients: (makes one large bowl or ~5 single servings)

  • 2 medium-sized red beets (cooked to soften, I boiled mine for 20 minutes)
  • 1 handful fresh basil leaves
  • 1 cup chickpeas or white beans (I used canned organic, washed)
  • 1/3 lemon (skin and all)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1.5 tablespoons pine nuts (or pistachios or cashews)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • dash of sea salt and pepper

Just blend all ingredients in Vitamix/high-powered blender or food processor until smooth. Serve with crudite and/or whole-grain crackers or chips for the perfect healthy appetizer. Also add to your salads/meals for a colorful boost of healthy flavor!

One Healthy Breakdown: if hummus and pesto had a baby, it would be this recipe 🙂

One Pan Wonder

Last night, dinner came together quickly, received a big stamp of approval, and involved an easy clean-up thanks to one pan and a few local ingredients. This one pan wonder will quickly become a staple, packed with flavor and ready to eat in a flash. I used fluke, but feel free to experiment with other fish, chicken, beef, or even tempeh. The possibilities are endless!

IMG_2492Here’s how it’s done: (serves 2)

In a large pan, sauté diced garlic (3-6 cloves) in olive oil. Add scallions (use the whole leaf, both green and white parts, discarding the very tops and bottoms) and continue to sauté for another minute before adding chopped zucchini. When garlic and scallions start to brown, add fish, another drizzle of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper. Once cooked thru, remove, plate, and enjoy. Note that chicken, beef, and thicker cut fish will take longer to cook, so add them to pan at the beginning instead of waiting for the garlic to brown. For a heartier meal, mix with brown rice for a stir fry or whole grain pasta. Voilà, it doesn’t get much easier (or healthier) than that!

One Healthy Breakdown: now that’s what I call fast food!