Plan Your Plate! Healthy Eating Tips for Your Next Get-Together.

Hi friends! Fall is here and it brings so many things that I love, including lots of get-togethers for football parties, holiday parties - and for us our anniversary and our daughter’s birthday. It’s basically one big party all season, which is both wonderfully fun and totally exhausting lol. 

Fall also brings with it so many cozy flavors and a lot of concentration on delicious foods. This combo of tons of social events and get-togethers plus tons of pumpkin-spice-laden treats can leave us feeling a little stressed about making healthy eating choices. 

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Fall!! It truly is my favorite season.  As an enneagram 9, it’s hard for me to choose a favorite in anything, but I love fall so much that it’s the obvious choice. 

I know so many other people who love all things fall too, but I also know that fall can bring with it some stress or maybe even worry about making healthy eating choices. Fall leads right into the holidays and for anyone who is trying to make health-conscious decisions or may be worried about their weight, there seems to be a little nagging voice in our heads that’s a little stressed out about all of the food. 

So today, I want to give you a few practical tips to quiet those nagging thoughts and help give you confidence in making healthy choices while still completely enjoying the season. 

Adjust your expectations 

We have to live in reality, friends. How often do we go to a party or some kind of holiday get-together thinking we just won’t eat anything or we’ll just pass on the dessert? First of all, that sounds miserable, doesn’t it? Secondly, it’s hardly realistic for most of us! The reality is that dessert, snacks, and whatever else that you are thinking of avoiding will be there, and you’re going to want to eat it, and that’s okay. So let’s just adjust our expectations, that avoidance isn’t really realistic in most cases and it’s probably not the best idea anyway. 

Decide what a “healthy choice” means for you. 

This doesn’t always look the same for everyone and it doesn’t look the same in every season. Spend a little time thinking about what foods work best for your body, what makes you feel bad, and what foods you love and can’t wait to enjoy. For some people, this may look like not eating certain foods, and for some this may mean eating healthy portions of everything! Don’t follow the crowd on this. Be intentional (but remember those realistic expectations). 

Quit with the guilt. 

 We need to be conscious of unhealthy patterns when it comes to eating - and I’m not at all talking about food. I’m talking about unhealthy patterns when it comes to our mindset. One of the most common ones is feeling guilty when we eat something that feels indulgent or something that may not be the most nutritious. I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve worked with who find themselves caught up in this pattern of eating something that they’ve deemed “bad” and then spend the night or next day feeling guilty about it and sometimes even punishing themselves or trying to “make up for it” with extra long workouts or by barely eating anything the next day. There are not any bad foods. Food is amoral. It is both physically and mentally unhealthy for us to assign morality to certain foods and immorality to others and it has led to some really deep rooted issues with food in our society. So when you catch yourself feeling guilty or saying something like “I’m going to have walk off this dinner” or “run an extra mile tomorrow because of this dessert” try to change that narrative to something like “I’m thankful that I get to enjoy this meal”. Also, one more thing on this - remember that while food is fuel for our bodies, there is also an emotional component to food that is connected with the pleasure centers in our brain - and that’s a gift. God didn’t have to give us taste buds or allow us to enjoy our food, but He did, so let’s not rob ourselves of that. 

Always Balance It Out (carb + protein + fat)  

Remember that one of the major factors supporting your health is blood sugar balance, so make that a priority over counting calories or another arbitrary focus. Some examples of how this may look at a party: choose hummus and guac with chips; add some chicken or a few meatballs to your plate along with all of those starchy carbs; when it’s time for dessert, add some high-quality half-and-half or higher protein nut milk to your coffee, or add a handful of nuts to your plate along with the brownies. This starts with making sure that you are familiar with some good protein and healthy fat options that you enjoy. Download my Foods that Heal List for some ideas - also a new resource for this coming soon!) 

Support Your Digestion

This is important all of the time, but especially so when we’re eating different foods or foods that are very rich and can cause some digestive upset. Try to eat your meals when you’re seated, calm, and can really enjoy your food. When we’re hyped up or upset, we often have a lot of adrenaline and stress hormones pumping through our bodies which makes digestion and nutrient absorption, so when possible eat at a more calm time in the get-together. Also, avoid grazing throughout the entire event. Our bodies digest best when we have at least 90 minutes in-between eating, so enjoy your meal and then give your gut a break. This will help to avoid or reduce unwanted symptoms like bloating. 

Bring an Alternative 

Bring something that you know you enjoy and will make you feel good. Ideally, something with protein or nutritious ingredients. One way to be sure there are foods there that you feel good about eating is to bring them yourself. This is especially important for those with food allergies or sensitivities. 

I hope these tips help you enjoy this season to the fullest while still making decisions that prioritize your health!

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My Simple Method for Meal Planning

Hi friends! In today’s episode, we are talking about meal planning. There are many different methods and ways to meal plan, so this is not necessarily a “how-to” or a list of things you “should” do, this is just me sharing how I do things in this current season of life that I am in. I’ve had other podcast episodes about meal planning - tips for meal planning, the importance of it, etc., and even since recording those episodes, things in my life have changed and I don’t do things exactly the way that I did then. That’s just normal and a part of life. Everyone has to learn how to shift how they do things based on the season that they’re in. So today I’m sharing what is currently working for me and I hope that it gives you new inspiration or ideas, as well as give you permission to meal plan in a way that best serves you. 

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A little something you may or may not know about me, depending on how long you’ve been around the podcast, is that I am an Enneagram 9w1. (If you don’t know what that is it’s a personality test that I often reference because I think it’s super helpful.) So, that basically means my mind is a complicated, sometimes contradictory place. So I love all things organizing, order, planning, ideas, and future, but I don’t always love executing said plans, and I’m not very good at motivating myself to carry out a plan that I’m not “feeling” in the moment. I also don’t like chaos or feeling stressed about what we’re having for dinner, regretting an impulse choice, etc. (like I said, it’s complicated). So, as you can imagine, meal planning is extremely important, for me. I have tried many times to go without some kind of meal plan in place for the week and it always turns out badly. I most often end up stressed, and really frustrated with myself for not just taking the time to have a plan in place, get groceries, and get ahead of things rather than feeling like I’m constantly playing catch-up or regretting my choices. You may have a totally different personality and be absolutely fine to just go with the flow and not really need a plan in place, but that is most certainly not me. Also, from my experience working with clients, it seems that most people do better with some kind of plan in place, especially if they’re trying to be intentional about what they are eating.

There isn’t one certain way that is “right” when it comes to planning meals for yourself or your family, and there are tons of different methods that are great! Depending on your personality, the season of life you’re in, and your schedule, you may find some methods more helpful than others. I encourage you to be open to trying new ways of doing things, as well as willing to change methods of meal planning if what you have been doing is no longer serving you. 

For example, I have previously used methods where I meal plan and grocery shop two weeks at a time, or even a month at a time, but in my current season of life, I do not have the mental capacity or time to devote to doing that. Currently, I only plan meals about a week at a time, and instead of using a particular system or journal like I did before, I simply use my notes app on my phone. 

As I said in the title, my current method is super simple: 

• I start by looking at my calendar to see how many meals we will be able to eat at home that week.

• Then, I plan any themes/special things that we have going on. For example, we try to stick to something taco-ish on Tuesdays and we always do pizza Fridays - sometimes out at a restaurant and sometimes at home. 

• Next, I look for inspiration for recipes. I’m not a person who enjoys eating the same things over and over, so I’m often looking for a new recipe, something we haven’t had in a while, or a new spin on something we love. I mostly use Pinterest and a couple of my favorite Instagram accounts (Real Food Dieticians, Shawna from A Little Less Toxic, my own recipe highlights) to choose new recipes. 

• Once I’ve assigned meals to certain days (very loosely), then I add any needed ingredients to my grocery list (which I keep in the same document in my notes app) and add any items that I can to my online grocery order.  

• Currently, I’ve been getting the majority of my groceries through Kroger’s online pick-up or through Thrive Market.  On occasion, if I have time and mental capacity, I’ll go to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods for meat and specialty type items but that’s pretty rare these days. 

The key here is to do what works for you in the season that you’re in.

I have a couple of free resources that may be helpful for you: The Foods that Heal Guide is a list of my favorite nourishing and nutrient-dense foods to keep your fridge and pantry stocked for easy meal prep; and the Easy, Healthy Eats recipe e-book has a few of my go-to recipes with ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

How Your Life Affects Your Health with Dr. Clayton Bell, MD

Hi friends! In this episode of the #hfpodcast, Integrative Medicine Physician - Dr. Clayton Bell, MD, shares the impact that different aspects of our lives can have on our health. He discusses how the foods we eat, intense seasons of stress, and even unresolved trauma can lead to common health concerns.

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Questions answered in this episode:

• How did you become passionate about integrative medicine?

• Why is what we eat so important? Does it really have that much of an impact on our health?

• With hundreds of types of diets out there, each promising to be the best, how do we know which is the best for us? 

• The phrase “food as medicine” has become popular but is a bit ambiguous. Can we really use food to help our bodies heal? Can you give some examples? 

• What are some common issues with women’s health that you see in your practice and what do we need to be aware of?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• UT Medical Center TRE Research Study - Jill Maples (jmaples1@utmck.edu/865.305.9367)

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