Nutrition & Diet
What’s Your Plan?
Yep we’ve all heard it, “you are what you eat.” So, I guess you can just call me Caesar, Caesar Salad, that is. Tomorrow morning though, I’d prefer if you call me Granola. Wait, no.
These old sayings are funny and a little irritating, but there’s a big dose of truth to them as well. Eating well makes a healthier, happier, and much more beautiful person.
Take a look at how much nutrition and diet actually factors into your well being. Have you ever gone all day without a real meal? Now this does not mean you’ve gone without food, just without nutritious food. You know those days where you start off eating a left over cupcake for breakfast. Later you have a handful of your kid’s goldfish for a snack. Soon after that you have another pile of goldfish for lunch. An hour or two later when you’re hungry and irritated you guzzle a can of soda and maybe an Oreo and a tangerine. By the time dinner rolls around you’re really wanting something tasty so you go out for dinner and have chicken alfredo. For a nightcap you take some painkillers and head to bed, vowing to eat better tomorrow, and wondering if we even drank an ounce of water all day.
Unfortunately, anyone who has ever been in a hurry (has completely ignore nutrition and diet) and has eaten this way. What you gain in extra time and convenience you more than lose in empty calories, inconsistent blood sugar, lack of energy, and a whopping headache.
We could analyze all the bad choices in the scenario above, but we all know the tangerine was really the only healthy diet food choice this fictional busy mom made for the day.
The way around this type of eating is to plan ahead. Plan to eat healthy diet foods and eat well for a more beautiful body, inside and out. I once heard Dr. Oz say you should plan out a handful of go-to breakfast and lunch menus. That way when hunger strikes, you’ll have a plan. Plus, it makes shopping much easier and cheaper.
I say we take the doc’s good advice and pair it with the famous list of the 100 healthy diet foods in the world. Commit this list to memory and shop for these items. Learn how to make recipes out of these healthy diet foods. Also, learn how these foods will make you even more gorgeous (including which foods nourish your skin, build bones, and provide vitamins for hair.)
For example, here are two great breakfasts to master…
Yogurt Parfait
Make a tasty and healthy yogurt parfait in a snap.
If you can scoop yogurt into a bowl, you can compile this nutritious breakfast. Chalk on up for good nutrition and diet. Layer the following, paying attention to serving size. Every ingredient is on the list. Enjoy.
- Plain Greek Yogurt (yogurt is essential to a nutritional diet)
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Whole grain granola
- Almonds
- Flaxseed
- Drizzle with pure maple syrup.
The Ultimate Smoothie
It's Green! Tastes like berries.
The hardest thing about this nutritional diet breakfast is finding the lid to the blender. In other words, it’s simple! Kids even love it once they get past the green. My trick is to put it in a non-see-through cup with a lid. I also always freeze the extra into popsicles. Makes a great healthy snack.
- Blend a large handful of spinach, kale, or Swiss chard into ¼ to ½ cups of water until completely pureed. (dark leafy greens are essential to a nutritional diet)
- Add and blend the following until smooth.
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ½ to 1 cup frozen fruit (berries, peaches, apricots, bananas, cranberries, papayas, etc.)
- 1 Tablespoon of honey for sweetness as needed
Other great breakfasts include: spinach, asparagus, and onion omelet; steel-cut oats with quinoa and maple syrup; poached egg topped with cheese, dill and tomato slices; veggie frittata. Add those to you permanent menu and you’ll enjoy a nutrition and diet.
Of course there are plenty of healthy foods that don’t fall on the big list. (In fact some women take vitamins for hair growth in addition to eating well.) But healthy young looking skin, shiny hair, strong nails, and pearly white teeth crave these 100 foods. And of course your brain, heart, kidneys and all the other hidden guts love it too. So treat yourself right, whether you’re choosing the perfect eye shadow and bronzer, or the ideal breakfast and lunch.
Check back often for great recipes, tips on nutrition and diet, and inspiration to maintain beautiful nutrition.
