The food we put in our bodies might single-handedly have the most effect on our health, our mood and the trajectory of our days. But it’s also most often what gets shunted to the side when we’re busy. We grab a lame sandwich to eat at our desks. We run through a drive-through. We try to satiate ourselves on a protein bar pulled from the bottom of our purse as we run between meetings.
So how do we marry the importance of eating healthy with a lifestyle that often contradicts health?
We talked to Carrie Gabriel, a Registered Dietitian in the WMN / WRK network, about how to make this lifestyle easier. From Tupperware to pre-cut vegetables at Trader Joe’s, she came ready with the solutions.
Watch the full webinar with Carrie Gabriel where she spills all her health tips and walks us through the new nutrition labels line-by-line here.
Here are some of the easiest-to-implement nutrition hacks from Gabriel – geared especially towards working women.
Mason jars and Tupperware
Organization can be the biggest component to building a healthier lifestyle. Pre-make a smoothie with fresh fruit and nonfat yogurt, throw it in a mason jar, and enjoy the next morning. Splash your choice of milk over some gluten-free oats, throw in nuts and dried fruit, and leave in the fridge overnight so you can enjoy a version of oatmeal in the morning. Make a big batch of stir-fry vegetables or pasta or salad, and throw the leftovers in Tupperware containers. The next day’s lunch plans get so much simpler when you can just reach in your refrigerator and grab a container.
Take a second to read the labels
When you go grocery shopping, it only takes a few seconds to look on the back of a food you’re about to buy to see what the nutrition facts are. Some of the key things to pay attention to, according to Gabriel, are added sugar, sodium and types of fat. So much of these are added to the foods processed in America, and they’re all things we should avoid.
And Gabriel’s trick for satisfying her sweet tooth without going overboard? Every season, she’ll buy a package of whatever seasonal goody shows up in the grocery store aisles (her favorites in the fall are pumpkin ice cream and pumpkin seeds with the pumpkin-spice glaze). After she eats the whole bag of whatever treat she bought, she won’t buy it again until the next season.
Or, better yet, grab foods without a label
Shopping around the perimeter of the grocery store is the easiest way to avoid foods encased in a package or sticker. Search for fresh fruits and vegetables, and other whole foods that haven’t been heavily processed. Grocery stores often sell packages of pre-cut vegetables – yes, technically in a package, but still the fresh option you’re hunting for. From spiralized zucchini that you can whip up quickly with your sauce of choice, to pre-chopped vegetables you can throw into a pan to stir fry, grocery stores are starting to make life easier.
Re-purpose frozen recipes into your own bigger, healthier versions
Gabriel herself made her own version of the frozen Trader Joe’s butternut squash mac and cheese – and it paid dividends. Her version yielded five or six servings (better than the two that come in the original Trader Joe’s package). Those leftovers could be repurposed with some extra broccoli or vegetable of choice, ground turkey or other lean protein, etc. And there was an entire package of butternut squash in Gabriel’s version – a heartier, healthier proportion of vegetables compared to the few bites in the original Trader Joe’s version. See Carrie’s version of the recipe here.
Love leftovers
Speaking of leftovers, here’s the thing: We don’t have to be afraid of them. In fact, leftovers can be one of our best friends when it comes to adopting a healthier lifestyle. More often than not, we don’t have time to whip up a home-cooked meal three times a day every day. But if we can find the time a couple times a week to make a bigger batch of a healthier meal, we can reap the rewards on our busier days.
To learn more about Carrie Gabriel and to book a consultation with her, check out her WMN / WRK profile, visit her website or follow her on Instagram @steps2nutrition.
Posted In: Health & Wellness Tips