And working on your relationship with food while you’re at it.
Hello dear readers!
Today I have some tips for you. These are simple tips to help you find easy, straightforward ways to improve the nutrient content of your meals (and by extension your diet!) one step at a time.
Most of us aren’t going to eat a whole food plant-based diet all the time. It’s a great goal to strive for, but progress is more important than perfection, and little things count. A lot. Change doesn’t happen overnight and we would do well to accept that. In fact, striving for perfection can severely undermine our efforts!
Have you ever heard of the What-The-Hell effect? It’s a real thing. It’s a term that was coined by dieting researchers, used to describe the dieting and binging cycle that so many people (ahem, almost everyone?) get caught in.
It goes like this: You set a goal for your eating behaviour, you fall short of that goal, you say fuck it and eat all the things. Repeat. It’s painful, and it can go on for a lifetime if you don’t actively extract yourself from it. This is a nuanced problem and I don’t want to pretend that there is a quick, easy way to get out of it.
Still, there are things that you can do to start breaking that cycle right now, and that’s what this post is about. Ready for it? It’s a two step approach.
- Resolve to stop dieting. Stop telling yourself that everything is going to change tomorrow, and start working on your nutrition, and your relationship with food today.
- Look for opportunities to add high-quality, nutrient-dense, whole, plant-based foods to your meals and snacks wherever you can.
Step two is going to help you start feeling better, and then you can gradually move into a positive feedback loop (like doing something because it feels good, and that good feeling reinforcing the behaviour) rather than a negative feedback loop (like doing something that feels shitty, and then feeling bad about that, and on and on).
Change takes work, dedication, support, and a strong desire to change. It also takes baby steps and encouragement. So forget about the EXTREME OVERHAUL that you’ve been promising yourself to start some time in the future, and start working on little things today.
Let’s start with a list of foods to add to the diet.
- Fruits
- Berries
- Whole grains
- Beans, lentils, split peas
- Vegetables of all different colours
- Dark green leafy vegetables
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Mushrooms
- Ground flax seeds
- Herbs and spices
- Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds
I know, I said vegetables a few times. They’re that good. So what might this look like?
General approach to upgrading meals.
I don’t want to keep you here all day, so let’s keep this simple. When you’re thinking about an upcoming meal, ask yourself:
- Can I add any fruits, berries, whole grains, beans, tofu, veggies, dark green leafys, mushrooms, onions, herbs and spices, or unsalted nuts or seeds to this?
- Can I sub a whole grain for a refined grain? As in, can I put this sandwich on wholegrain bread?
- Do I have any other veggies I can add to this? (lettuce? tomato? onions?)
- Can I throw some greens in there?
- Would this be good with mushrooms?
- Can I choose beans or tofu instead of chicken/beef/pork/fish?
- Can I make a lentil version? (Think lentil loaf, lentil burgers, lentil spaghetti sauce…)
- Can I reduce the oil in this? (Think water sauté, dry roasting, or oil-free dressings)
Compounded over time, little tweaks add up to big benefits. START WITH WHAT SEEMS THE EASIEST!
Let’s take a closer look at breakfast.
Whatever you’re choosing for breakfast, chances are high you can bump it up a notch by asking yourself what you can add. Berries? Fruits? Whole grains? Flax? Nuts and seeds? Herbs and spices?
- Having a bowl of cereal? Add fruit, berries, or both! Throw in some frozen berries for an easy anti-oxidant boost.
- Add a tablespoon of ground flax. Flax is a great source of ALA, the essential Omega 3 fatty acid. It also provides fiber, protein, and lignans, which are cancer-fighting compounds. Add it to your cereal, oatmeal, smoothie or grain bowl for a great nutrition boost.
- Swap that cereal out for oatmeal, overnight oats, or a whole pre-cooked grain like quinoa, amaranth, or kamut.
- Add some raw nuts or seeds. (Just be mindful with quantities on this one…nuts and seeds pack a major caloric punch. Try to keep it to a small palmful per day.)
- Use natural nut butters. Toss out the palm-oil and corn-syrup-laden peanut butters and get a nut butter that only has ONE INGREDIENT: the nut. It’s okay if you like it sweet, add your own sweetener. It’s okay if you like it salty, add a pinch of salt (or a smear of miso, my personal favourite). You’re better off sweetening and saltening (?) yourself than letting a food company do it for you.
- Swap out the cow milk for a plant-based milk. Ideally go for an unsweetened variety. (What if you added your own sweetness in the form of fruits, berries, and dried fruits?)
- Think about swapping out those eggs for something else. Try a tofu scramble or chickpea frittatas.
- Add some spice! Cinnamon, ginger, turmeric… so many things in your spice cabinet have nutritional benefits like fighting inflammation. Get ’em in there!
You can even upgrade takeout.
We all love take out from time to time, but it doesn’t always leave us feeling great, especially when it’s high in oil and low in fiber. Try some of these ideas out and see if they help you feel better.
- Is your meal coming with white rice? Cook up a pot of brown rice or quinoa while you wait. You still get your yummy main dish, but you’re serving it over a more health-promoting (and fiber filled!) whole grain.
- Add a green salad. So you’re waiting for pizza, can you whip up a salad while you wait? Or top your pizza with some fresh arugula? Adding something green is going to massively improve the nutritional content (and fiber content!) of that meal.
- Add some raw veggies to the table. If you have carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, anything! Cut them up and add them to the meal. This is especially great if you have kids. Let them graze on some raw veggies while you’re awaiting a delivery arrives.
- Add a veggie side. Whatever it is you have coming to your door, ask yourself if there’s something in the fridge you can easily prepare to compliment the meal. A big pile of sautéed green beans tastes great next to pad thai or sushi and it’ll help you feel your fullness.
What do you think? Is it do-able?
Not all at once. That’s for sure. But little by little, bit by bit (or bite by bite!) you can ADD NUTRITION to your diet. Over time this is going to help your body to better fight inflammation and carry out all its various and sundry activities.
It’s even been theorized that adding nutrition reduces cravings and hunger. Why? Well because your body is getting what it needs to function properly, so it can quit nagging you for food all the time.
Do what’s easiest first.
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just do something good for yourself today.
If you think you could use some help getting started, or if you’ve gotten started but you could use some help to progress – hit me up! I have a private coaching practice in which I work one-on-one with people to help them with these very things.
You can find out more about my Nutrition Coaching programs here.
In the mean time, drop a comment below with your favourite tips! I love hearing from you 🙂
-lacey