The season’s upon us, it’s that time of year.  With an abundance of rich food, there’s plenty to fear. You don’t have to have a Blue Christmas, though. You can still indulge yourself without losing sight of your health goals. Sweet treats and rich meals can feel like landmines for health-conscious people, yet no one...Read More

When it comes to dieting, eating healthy, and trying to reduce fat on our bodies, we tend to try to avoid sugars, carbs, and processed foods. We also tend to believe that reducing sugars in our diet can be easy when we make food at home. But sugars can still be found naturally in foods...Read More

Fall is here and that means it’s time to add things to the menu! One of my favorite foods ever, a fall favorite, is banana bread. Today I wanted to provide for you a recipe that retains the experience of traditional banana bread with a more calorie/macro conscious twist: Banana bread muffins! Ingredients 1 cup...Read More

It’s amazing how satisfying weekly meal prepping can feel. If you don’t love cooking, cleaning dishes everyday, or want an easier way to stay on your diet, the best thing you can do is meal prep.  Not only can meal prep curb the urge to call in your favorite takeout on a nightly basis, it...Read More

Smoothies are a meal option if you need something, quick, nutritious, tasty, and balanced in macronutrients and whole food groups. Below are three simple-ingredient smoothies that can provide a well-rounded meal in drink form. Instructions are simple, just combine all ingredients and enjoy!: Green Smoothie: 1 frozen banana ½ avocado 2 handfuls spinach or kale...Read More

Summertime is the season of BBQs, and we wanted to share a few tips on how to enjoy a party and stay on track with your health goals. Keep in mind that you don’t need to sacrifice one for the other. Here are 7 tips: Don’t “save room” for the party. Waiting until the party...Read More

As we enter into the summer months we will all have more opportunities to get more sunlight and thus more vitamin D. Yet many regularly still take vitamin D supplements if they are unable to get daily sunshine. Another factor to consider is magnesium status. People who take vitamin D supplements but who have low...Read More

Red meat often gets bad press in popular media.  This is unfortunate, because red meat, and in particular beef, is one of the most nutritious foods available. Eating for a healthy heart and enjoying one of your favorite foods, aren’t at odds with one another! Recent research actually shows that eating lean beef as part...Read More

During a pandemic, you may be faced with having limited availability of foods you normally eat. To make matters more difficult, many have their jobs put on hold, or needing to save money otherwise. But regardless when putting a meal together, you can get creative using simple combinations of your basic macronutrients: carbs, fat, and...Read More

Did you know February is National Berry Month? Older adults are recommended to eat 1.5 – 2 cups of fruit daily. You can add berries to your daily fruit intake for a nutritious AND delicious boost. Noteworthy Nutrients of Berries:Antioxidants, Fiber, Folate, and Potassium Ways to Boost Berry Intake: Enjoy them as a fresh snack.Add...Read More

All across the internet inevitably you’ve been seeing articles about New Year’s resolutions; some that speak affirmingly and some that speak about them negatively. Frankly, I’m unbothered when someone tells me they have a fitness New Year’s resolution. Statistically it’s no different that setting a fitness goal any other time of the year. Many fail,...Read More

December is here again. It always seems to sneak up on us so fast. Great news is that this is the time to enjoy family, friends, and rich traditions. Be aware, it is also the time of year when tempting treats are everywhere we turn. Unlike other times of the year when the occasional wedding...Read More

About 40 percent of the United States food supply (1,500 calories/ person/day) goes uneaten. Discarded food in homes and foodservice accounts for 60 percent of this total food loss and is mostly avoidable. Here are several tips to help reduce food waste and save money! Look for recipes on websites that can be searched for...Read More

While Halloween is typically a day full of costumes and imagination, it can also be full of candy. It does not have to be so scary, however. While Halloween occurs one day a year and habits ultimately provide the consequences to our health, what we do can magnify our usual habits when surrounded by so...Read More

Can you feel it in the air yet? Fall will soon be upon us! In order to honor the season and to promote good health, here is a tasty, simple, and healthy recipe to kickstart the Fall. Ingredients:  1/3 cup old fashioned oats uncooked1 teaspoon dried chia seeddash of salt to taste1/3 cup unsweetened almond...Read More

This is more fun way to make zucchini than in the pan, but a better alternative to potato chips that also can improve fruit and vegetable intake. Enjoy! Ingredients:  ‐ Cooking Spray  ‐ 2 Medium Zucchini (about 1 pound)  ‐ 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil  ‐ 1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan (3/4 oz) ‐ 1/4 Cup Plain...Read More

Fruits and vegetables are often not the most palatable foods, however it is strongly recommended to make them a priority in diet. The truth is, they are not often the most enjoyable part of meal prep, however there are ways to get them in without excess prep. One of those ways is through smoothies, which...Read More

Invariably when many of us, especially in our younger days, begin a relationship with someone, there is the initial bubbly “everything is good” phase where you and a partner are experiencing the very surface of each other, which is also the surface that most people see anyway – the common likes, dislikes, jokes, things that...Read More

Many people struggle finding quick breakfast recipes that are well-balanced and whole food-based. In today’s fast-paced culture, readily available breakfast foods tend to be either high in fat or sugar (or both) and often also lacking in colorful nutrient-dense plant foods. You have fruit or an omelet with vegetables. This recipe provides a healthy, well-balanced...Read More

If you’ve ever made a dietary change that you took seriously for even at least one day, you know the feeling. You’re trying to stick to a plan but there is someone who insists that you eat something. And it’s usually not their favorite meal prep recipe if you catch my meaning. For most situations,...Read More

With the new season, comes new festivities, warmth, people out and about at Shelby Farms, brunch or beers on the patio, and also new seasonal food. One of those foods I particularly enjoy in season is asparagus. Asparagus is often seen as a boring but necessary meal prep vegetable that hits your nose when you...Read More

As a registered dietitian, I have numerous roles to fill. In clinical settings, we assess, identify, and diagnose, and make recommendations as interventions for which nutrition is the primary form of treatment or as a means to correct nutrition problems in the management of disease. Developing diet plans of action for a given goal, whether...Read More

I find that many people often need to be reminded that fat loss secrets don’t exist. As I was considering this article, I knew that right off hand many people reading are thinking, “yeah man! The charlatans preying on desperate people with magic pills suck!” Yes, they do suck. That’s a boring topic to me though, and one...Read More

There are several things to understand when your goal is feeding strength. Number one, like any athlete, you have to consider overall calories. If you not eating enough, you will be weak. Secondly, you have to consider the macronutrients, carbs, fat, and protein. Strength athletes are recommended to consume 1.6 -2.0 g/kg of bodyweight (or...Read More

There are many ways people misperceive the role of food in their approach to goal-setting. This is a dog I’ve walked before, but it is a reoccurring phenomenon and I want to expand on some of the wrong approaches people often take as it concerns to manipulating their food intake. Diets  The first way, is the “this...Read More

It’s a new year and time to get back on track. Yayyy, right? Not so fast. It doesn’t mean you have to give up all things tasty and eat only chicken, broccoli, and rice. I wanted to provide for you today something that can ease the transition from ciders, hams, and dressings to your normal...Read More

And food is made in the kitchen. I know. There’s a part of you that wants to think that as long as you eat less enough, the abs will be there. And the harder you cut, the sooner you see them all nice and defined. Consider this the Tyler Durden in your head, the person...Read More

During one wellness presentation, I asked a group of people what they thought was the average amount of weight gained during the holiday season every year in the U.S. Some people on the far end guessed an average of 10-15 pounds. Others had a little more conservative guess of about 5-7. The answer is closer to about one pound. With...Read More

Chances are if you are an athlete of any sport or a fitness enthusiast of any discipline, you care about performance. And intuitively you probably already  know on some level that fueling yourself and recovering with the proper macronutrients and micronutrients is essential to this process. However one nutrient tends to not get as much...Read More

When I was in St. Maarten during vacation, my wife and I went on an excursion with a tour guide who drove our bus. The tour guide talked about how once in an effort to combat the snakes, they introduced mongooses to the island. For a time everything was great. The mongooses reliably cleaned out the...Read More

I’m about to go on my first cruise next week. Some people desire to be beach-ready physique wise for cruises and I don’t really care for it, but I am planning on coming back and starting my plan to get lean right after. Why? I want to perform better, sure. Being at a stable weight...Read More

I’ve had many people over time ask me what the best diet is. I am a “dietitian” after all so I should know, right? There is usually combination of shock, disbelief, and/or disappointment when I tell them that none of them are. The expectation among beginners in health and fitness, though with good intention and...Read More