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Fast food is so tempting on busy nights.  The kids like it, it requires no cleaning up and there's likely at least one option no more than 5 minutes away.  If it's time to shake the fast food habit on busy weeknights, try these 3 healthy, quick to cook meals for family dinner.  

Choose-your-toppings grilled chicken patty sandwiches with veggies and dip:  Costco carries these quick cooking chicken patties that can be microwaved, baked or grilled.  Let your kids choose their toppings, like honey mustard and pickles or barbecue sauce and pineapple.  Serve alongside veggies and hummus or ranch dip.  Make a quick homemade ranch by mixing plain Greek yogurt with one packet of ranch dip mix.

A registered dietitian can help you plan healthier meals.  Work with a dietitian one-on-one with convenient virtual visits.

Family Charcuterie Board:  using a large cutting board, platter or sheet pan, create a picnic-like meal board for the family. 

• Pick protein sources like deli turkey or chicken, halved hard boiled eggs, sliced mozzarella cheese or chopped leftover chicken. 
• Then, choose the carbs, like whole grain crackers, apple slices, grapes, dried apricots and sliced pita bread.
• Add extras like olives, nuts, cheese cubes, trail mix or dips to fill in the board.  

Black Bean Tacos:  it's usually the meat that takes the longest to cook, especially when you don't have anything thawed out!  Try tacos with black beans instead.  Add 2 cans of drained black beans to a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add taco spice, 1 tbsp oil and stir to coat.  Add 2 tablespoons of salsa for more flavor.  Then make tacos as usual, using corn shells or whole wheat tortillas.  

Save any leftovers for lunches the next day.  The black bean taco filling is good on salads too.

The lines at Chick Fil A don't lie.  Everyone is going there at some point!  If you find yourself there with the kiddos often, here are 3 healthier choices at Chick Fil A for someone with diabetes or for people who have a weight loss goal. 

Note:  fast food is NOT a good option to get regularly for anyone!  It is always best to make your own food at home with real ingredients.  

Top low carb, filling Chick Fil A meal:  12 count grilled nuggets with zesty buffalo sauce and a kale crunch salad, Diet Sunjoy (half unsweet tea, half diet lemonade).  

At about 370 calories and 17 grams carbohydrate, this meal feels light but with 41 grams of protein, it a filling meal.  

Best Chick Fil A balanced breakfast:  Egg White Grill sandwich and a fruit cup, coffee, 1% milk (optional).

With the milk, this meal is about 440 calories, 10 grams fat, 55 grams carb and 34 grams protein.  The milk will make you feel a little more full with 7 grams of protein, but if you want to keep this meal around 45 grams of carb, just get coffee and water.  Watch out for the Chick Fil A iced coffee.  It has 30 grams of carb and 24 grams of sugar, which can throw your blood sugars and hunger levels off all day.  

Get help with meal planning that fits your busy lifestyle.  Schedule a virtual visit with a Well My Way registered dietitian.

Best Chick Fil A salad:  Grilled Market Salad with Grilled Filet or Grilled Nuggets, light balsamic dressing, light Italian, or 1 dipping sauce size honey mustard.  You can use the dipping sauce ranch or honey mustard as a more portion controlled salad dressing compared to the dressing packets.  With the grilled chicken and balsamic dressing, this salad has 620 calories, 35 grams fat, 51 grams carbohydrate and 28 grams protein. Save some sodium by using half a dressing packet.  

If you haven't tried the fruit cup as a side dish at Chick Fil A, try it!  It actually has fresh fruit in it - sliced strawberries, blueberries and chopped apple.   

Camping and glamping are popular means of vacation or just a change of scenery the last two years.  The 2022 North American Camping Report showed camper households increased drastically in 2020, going from 4% increase in 2019 to a 21% increase in 2020.  If you are planning a camping trip or living the camp life while working from anywhere, take these healthy, quick camping meal ideas with you.

Grilled Pita Pizzas:  a family favorite since everyone can choose their own toppings.  Try one of these for a healthy, high protein pizza.  Start by lightly toasting whole wheat pitas on the grill.  Remove from the grill and choose your toppings:

Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza:  spread 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce on one side of each pita.  Top with your choice of:

• Cooked, diced chicken 
• Black beans
• Corn
• Black olives
• Red onion
• Cheddar cheese
• Chopped bell peppers

Grilled Greek Pita Pizza:  spread 1 to 2 tablespoons hummus on one side of each pita.  Top with your choice of:

• Marinated quartered artichoke hearts
• Sliced olives
• Cooked, diced chicken
• Red bell peppers
• Feta or mozzarella cheese

Grill 5 to 6 minutes or until the bottom of the pita lightly browns; or cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Veggie Packed Foil Packets: these are versatile and easy to clean up!  Make them with lean meat like shrimp and a variety of non-starchy vegetables for a low carb option.  Start with a large piece of foil (about 15-20 inches).  Try any of these combos:

Greek Chicken and Potato Foil Packets

Shrimp Boil Foil Packets

Chicken Fajita Foil Packets

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Hawaiian Overnight Oats: camping and hiking?  Definitely make overnight oats for a morning energy boost or mid-day snack.  These are good for 3 days once mixed up.  In a small dish with a lid or mason jar, combine:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder 
• 1/2 cup water

Stir to combine and top with pineapple tidbits, shredded coconut, chopped macadamia nuts or pistachios.  Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning cold or warmed up.

If you are looking for a gift your camping/glamping friends will love and use, check out this cookbook from Claire Thomas and mini waffle maker that you can make MUCH more than maple laden waffles with.  Claire makes everything from pizza waffles to perfect on-the-go breakfast sandwiches.  Get the cookbook and waffle maker here and be sure to follow Claire on Instagram to see all the fun ways she uses her waffle maker on her van-life adventures.  

For people with prediabetes, diabetes or those looking to lose weight, a balanced snack that has protein and fiber-rich carbohydrates can help decrease hunger pains between meals and help reduce blood sugar swings. Here are 5 options for healthy snacks for people with diabetes or prediabetes:

1. Greek yogurt with berries: look for a Greek yogurt with at least 10 grams protein per serving and no more than 15 grams carbohydrate per serving, like Chobani Less Sugar.
2. Beef stick and 2 to 3 cups popcorn: this hearty snack is perfect for those who want more volume and a more filling snack. Popcorn is lower in carbohydrates than other salty snacks like pretzels, crackers or chips. These 1st Phorm protein meat sticks come in 4 flavors and have 20 grams of protein. The breakfast sausage flavor makes a great morning meal on the go, paired with an apple and handful of almonds or pistachios.
3. Cheese and crackers (done right): 15 Triscuit Thin Crisps with 2 slices cheese and 2 slices reduced sodium deli turkey. Be sure to get the Thin Crisp Triscuits. If you have the regular/square kind, the serving size is 6 crackers.
4. Veggies and Greek yogurt ranch dip: to make this high protein dip, mix 1 packet of ranch seasoning (like Simply Organic or Fresh Thyme) with 2 cups plain Greek yogurt. Serve 1/2 cup of the mixed dip with your favorite veggies and Harvest Snaps pea crisps.
5. Protein cereal: get the recipe here. Choose a cereal with 4 grams fiber or more per serving, like Kashi Warm Cinnamon Oat cereal. For the protein, choose a meal replacement protein, like Level-1, not a post-workout protein.

Get a list of high protein, low carbohydrate foods here to create more snack ideas of your own.

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"I'm just not motivated to do it."

If you've ever felt this way about healthy eating or exercise, you are not alone. It's something I tend to hear in the 5th or 6th visit. We get off to a great start when we feel "motivated" and then time passes or vacation happens and motivation drops. Here are a few tips to get over the motivation slump:

1. Your results have less to do with being motivated and rely more on your ability to stick to a plan when you don't feel like doing it.  This is where you build confidence and perseverance to do hard things.  Motivation will always come and go.  Instead of fighting yourself over lack of motivation, step up to the challenge of exercising when you don't want to or passing up the drive-thru when it's the easy choice.  Make the hard choice and watch your confidence and determination grow. 
2. Expect a motivation slump to to happen at some point and have a plan in place. When you reach that point, recognize it and stick to your basics, perhaps going for walks and getting healthier convenience foods like a rotisserie chicken and bagged salad instead of fast foods. Don't forgo everything just because you don't feel like it. Would you just stop going to work if you didn't feel like it?  If your answer is yes, we have bigger problems!
3. Make sure you're doing enough each day.  When there is less to do in a day, we plan less, including exercise and meals.  When a schedule is full, we plan.  For a complete motivation, and really a total lifestyle, overhaul, commit to a program like 75 Hard and the Live Hard program.  It is NOT a diet or fitness program.  75 Hard is a mental toughness program with components of movement and following an eating plan, among other daily tasks like reading 10 pages of an educational book and taking a daily progress photo.  On this free program, you will learn to make time for everything you need to do in a day, no excuses.  If you are tired of your own excuses and want to improve your mental toughness, learn more about 75 Hard and the Live Hard program at andyfrisella.com. I do not suggest it for anyone with current or a history of eating disorders as you will follow a diet of your choice during the program.  It is far from easy, but that's the point.  
4. Step out of the people pleaser role.  Many clients say they don't make time for their own needs because they have to take care of others.  The classic "pouring from an empty cup" person.  Sure, you can get by, but when your health starts to fail, it will be incredibly hard to turn the tables and take care of yourself.  And then, everyone suffers.  People pleasers find it difficult to say or identify what they really want, so this is a first step.  The next time you're doing things for others and that voice in your head says, "I would love to go do (activity), but I need to help them," take note.  This can help guide you in identifying what you want.  A mental health professional can help too.  

Stop waiting on motivation to improve your health.  It's a fickle friend!  Take steps towards improving your health by working with a registered dietitian, trained in nutrition counseling and behavior change.  Book an appointment in minutes.

Weight loss and better health are complex issues.  There are many things that can help or hinder results.  If you are sick of asking Google, "Why can't I lose weight?" read how these 3 behaviors can hinder your results.

You aren’t believing in the value of the compound interest of your efforts. 

Would you rather:  go on a 1 month diet of no carbs, lose 20 lbs and go back to your old habits gaining back 25 lbs over the next 2 months; OR commit to 3 small and specific tasks to do each day, lose 20 lbs over 3 months and keep them off?  Sadly, many will say the 1 month diet.  We live in the present not wanting to wait for the sum of our efforts to pay off when we can get faster results now.  If going to extremes when it comes to dieting and nutrition hasn’t worked for you in the past, it’s time to try something new. 

Your main focus in any past health attempt has been the scale and not your behaviors. 

Guess what?  The scale is playing tricks on your mind.  Have you ever felt great about your nutrition and exercise only to step on the scale, see that it’s up 2 pounds, and feel completely discouraged?  We all have.  Stop letting the scale dictate your mood and progress when you know you’ve been consistent in your healthy behaviors.  The scale will change day to day; keep consistent.  Set other benchmarks for your success.  Examples:  

• Use a habit tracker chart, like in James Clear's Atomic Habits, to track how often you are doing the behaviors you set out to do.  Review it at the end of the week and make any changes at the end of the month as needed.  
• Instead of just the scale for a weight loss target, measure your waist circumference monthly too.  This is an important measure in heart disease risk.  Women with a waist size greater than 35 inches and men with a waist larger than 40 inches are at higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  
• Daily energy or mood check.  If you struggle with one of these, check in daily and keep track.  Look back at the end of the month and see if something you’re doing is effecting these.  Do you have more energy when you do or don’t eat breakfast?  Is your mood better or worse when you eat more fruits and vegetables?  How does exercise effect your mood and energy? 

You are comparing yourself and your results to others based on what you see. 

What you can’t see are all the little details, good or bad, that got them there.  We can do really unhealthy things to look good.  Next time you are scrolling social or admiring a fave celebrity, stop in the moment and ask if you feel better or worse looking at this?  If the answer is worse, unfollow!  

Get help with your nutrition and changing behaviors.  Work with a registered dietitian through online visits.

A sink full of half-rinsed dishes and those nearly-finished but completely stale 5-day old box of donuts don't exactly scream, "this is my kitchen, it is my sanctuary."  A kitchen is a starting place for your health.  If you are blessed to have a functioning kitchen, here are 10 tips to turn it into a healthy environment.  

1. Clear off the counters of snacks other than fresh fruit.  Repurpose a bowl or tray to display them so when you are looking for a snack, it's what you'll see first and use before they go bad.
2. Tuck desserts and junk food away in the back of the cabinet or freezer.  Out of sight is truly out of mind.
3. Stop stocking the fridge with soda or diet soda.  It's too easy to grab one instead of water when they are cold and so easy to open and drink from the can.
4. If portions are a problem, put away larger plates and bowls.  Keep salad plates and small bowls or mugs easy to grab.
5. Invest in tools that help you make healthier options like a single serve smoothie maker, like Magic Bullet, or an Insta-pot.  Better yet, get an Insta-pot air-fryer combo, like Ninja Foodi.
6. Replace processed grains, like white rice, crackers, pasta and couscous with whole grains like brown or wild rice, whole wheat pasta, oats and barley.
7. Wash and prep most produce when you buy it to encourage you to use it first.  Try this:  fill a clean sink with water and 3 tablespoons baking soda.  Add produce and swirl it around for 30 seconds. Drain the sink and give the produce a quick water rinse. Let it dry on a towel at room temp.  This will clean the produce and help remove some surface pesticides on conventional produce.  Don’t pre-wash berries, mushrooms or other very delicate fruits and veggies until you are going to use them. 
8. Get clear containers to store freshly prepped veggies.  Think of it as a salad bar in your fridge.  You wouldn’t want to walk up to a salad bar and have to peek in each container to see what’s there.  When you open your refrigerator, you’ll see those colorful options.
9. Stock your pantry with items that can make a quick, healthy meal.  Canned beans and tomatoes, canned tuna or chicken, whole wheat or bean pastas, marinara sauce, salsa and 90-second brown rice packs can be mixed and matched into 15-minute (or less!) meals.  For instance, combine black beans, canned chicken, 90-second brown rice and salsa for a chicken taco bowl.  Add a little grated cheese, jalapeños and, my favorite, a squirt of fresh lime juice for extra flavor. 
10. Fresh is best, but a well-stocked freezer is even better.  With rising grocery prices, stocking up on items that last longer is essential.  Since frozen fruits and veggies are washed, prepped and packed when fresh, frozen produce is a convenient and time-saving alternative to fresh.  Avoid frozen fruit packed in syrup like the sliced strawberries and check the label on veggies that come with a sauce if you’re watching sodium. 

Your kitchen can be the perfect ally in your healthy lifestyle journey.  Work with a registered dietitian at Well My Way Nutrition to learn more about setting up your kitchen and entire environment for success.  

If your doctor mention something about a fatty liver or you noticed the term NAFLD or NAFL on your medical chart, be sure to avoid these foods:

• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS):  commonly found in regular soda, fruit drinks, candy, condiments like barbecue sauce and ketchup and desserts.  Choose organic or natural ingredient condiments to avoid HFCS.
• White bread and other foods that list enriched flour as the first ingredient, like most crackers, frozen waffles or pancakes and tortillas.
• Alcohol:  while this type of liver disease is not soley caused by alcohol (alcohol-associated liver disease is), consuming it will cause more harm than good.
• Highly processed food, fast food and fried foods: limit these since they tend to be low in nutritional value and high in added sugar, salt and processed fats.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when excess fat builds up your liver from reasons other than alcohol.  Experts estimate that 24% of U.S. adults have NAFLD.  

Work with a registered dietitian online to reverse fatty liver and improve your health.  Click here to get started with a free 15-minute discovery call.

Try this simple Healthy Chili Mac with bean pasta for a high protein, low glycemic impact dinner.

In a previous article, the importance of remembering your M.E.D.S. (mindset, exercise, diet and sleep), I explained how these four aspects are key to a healthy lifestyle and reduced risk of disease.  While all four aspects are important, without mindset, can the others be achieved?  Why is mindset everything when it comes to a healthy life?

Get help improving your health and mindset with nutrition and lifestyle coaching.  Book a free discovery call to get started.

Mindset is the established set of attitudes held by someone.  Start thinking of the people around you and by their actions, you might be able to guess some of their established attitudes.  The best thing about mindset, you can adjust it.  It's not determined by genes, environment or other unmodifiable factors.  It's modifiable meaning you can work to change it.  Here are five tips to achieving a mindset of health.  

1. Shift your focus from the scale to your actions.  Many people get into healthier eating in order to lose weight, but if the scale is your main focus and measurement, it's almost guaranteed to let you down.  Weight can be one aspect of your healthy lifestyle, but measure your actions, like exercise sessions per week or reducing your fast food meals, for long term success.
2. It's you against you.  Stop comparing your progress or plan to others.  The truth is that you have no idea what they are doing behind the scenes or their personal health issues.  Picture yourself 6 months from now as the healthy person you strive to be.  Then, plan what needs to happen consistently to get there.  There will be bumps in the road that will test you and help you grow even stronger in your health mindset.  
3. Repetition will help instill your healthy mindset.  Remember flash cards for science class?  I sure do.  Flipping them over and over until the definition and image of the Krebs cycle was burned in my brain.  But it worked.  You can do the same for the mindset you want to achieve.  Post quotes or phrases that match the mindset in obvious places:  mirror, kitchen, phone lock screen, laptop background and planner.    
4. Catch and rephrase negative thoughts about your health.  "I'll never be comfortable in a swimsuit."  Not with that attitude!  When you hear yourself saying these things in your head or out loud, stop and rephrase it.  Say instead, "I'll be more confident in a swimsuit when I know I'm eating healthier and going on regular walks."
5. Find people who bring you up, not down.  Ditch the Debbie Downer's in your life.  That doesn't mean you have to completely avoid them but you can certainly tell them how to support your healthy lifestyle.  For example, tell the person who isn't supportive or constantly nagging on you about your boring healthy eating/no longer wanting to be their party buddy, you still love them and would love his or her support because what you're doing isn't easy.  Be specific, tell the person something they can do to be helpful, like meeting up for a cooking class instead of happy hour.  Nobody wants to be the last person at the party and they will do anything to convince you to stay.  Stay strong, leave when ready. 

It takes practice to change your mindset towards health.  It's also hard to go back once you reach it, making mindset 100% worth it and incredibly important to your healthy future self.  

Building a healthy lifestyle to reduce your risk of disease is about much more than what you eat.  A healthy lifestyle encompasses your day to day eating, consuming, sleeping, stressing, moving and thinking habits.

Here's a tool to remember the main components of building a healthy lifestyle. 

Remember your MEDS

Mindset- you are going to have stress in your life; focus on mindset instead of eliminating all stress.

Exercise- move more, focus on strength and don't forget about flexibility and balance.

Diet- all things you "consume" which includes food, hydration, supplementation, medications, what you read and what you watch.

Sleep- quality and quantity

A healthy lifestyle is an ongoing journey.  We all start in a different place.  If you are just getting started, pick one or two of the MEDS and set goals to improve those one or two.  For instance, if you know your sleep patterns are terrible and you don't exercise, set a goal for the week to turn off electronics half an hour before bed and take as long a walk as you can manage each day.  The walking will help you sleep and turning off electronics will help your eyes and mind start to rest.  

Work with a registered dietitian to build your healthy lifestyle and tackle all of these MEDS.  Start with a free 15-minute discovery call.  

The concept of avoiding all white foods is a blanket statement to try to encourage people to avoid bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Do you have to avoid these foods? Not necessarily. People with diabetes should, if they do eat these, look for higher fiber versions of those foods, like 100% whole wheat bread, brown rice and bean pastas. Saying all white foods are bad gets confusing though, because some white foods, like white onions or the white of an apple, are touted as good for diabetes. When it comes to other white foods, here are 4 we absolutely should include in a health eating plan:

1. Cauliflower: raw, steamed, roasted, mashed or riced, cauliflower is a non-starchy cruciferous vegetable. Cruciferous vegetables are a rich source of compounds known as glucosinolates, which may help to fight cancer.
2. White beans: examples are cannellini beans, garbanzo beans and great northern beans. Like other beans, these white beans are high in fiber and protein, making them an ideal protein option for vegans. Add them to soups, salad or blend into a healthy bean dip with garlic and spices.
3. White fish like cod: people with diabetes are encouraged to eat lean proteins, and white fish is about as lean as it gets.
4. Yogurt: Greek yogurt or non-dairy Greek yogurts are a simple way to get a protein-rich snack. Your best option is to get plain yogurt and add your own fruit for flavor. Add honey for a little sweetness. Each tablespoon adds about 15 grams carbohydrate.

Not a veggie lover but want to be?  Learn 3 ways to love vegetables.

The food we eat is made up of 3 macronutrients: carbohydrates, fat and protein. Some foods are a mix of these and some are primarily one macronutrient. People with diabetes are often told to eat more “lean” protein and eat fewer carbohydrates. Here is a list of lean protein, lower (or no) carbohydrate foods:

For a quick and filling higher protein lower carb snack:

1. Stir 1/4 cup whey protein powder into 5 ounces of Greek yogurt.
2. Top it with 1/4 cup berries and 2 tablespoons granola.

Some of my favorite Greek yogurt options are Siggi’s Nonfat Icelandic yogurt, Siggi’s plant based yogurt, Silk Non-dairy Greek Yogurt, Oikos Triple Zero and Chobani Less Sugar Greek yogurt.