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Nutrient Hacks For a Balanced Diet Plan
Choosing what to eat can seem like a daunting task. Particularly when you are looking to lose weight, choosing between a gluten free diet, a paleo diet, or a vegan diet can add immense confusion to the topic of nutrition. What foods should you be eating? What are the right amount of quantities of food? How many meals should you eat?
Choosing the Right Foods
While these are some very important questions that need answering, the most fundamental and basic rule for eating right is choosing to eat real foods. That’s it, it’s as simple as that. Choosing foods that can be traced from farm fresh to your plate.
This may sound somewhat basic, however, how often do we find ourselves choosing foods with ingredients we can’t pronounce or with chemicals that require a Ph.d in biochemistry to understand. No matter what diet you choose, eating whole foods is the most important step in your health and wellness journey.
Introducing the Fit Five
Here at Courthouse Fitness we focus on what we call the Fit Five, five fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle:
- Eat Whole Foods
- Drink Plenty of Water
- Sweat
- Get Your Rest
- Practice the 90 Ten Rule
They are the five pillars of not only losing weight, but living a happy and healthy life.
Choosing to Eat a Balanced Diet Plan
In honor of the Fit Five and consuming a balanced diet plan with whole foods, let’s discuss five of our favorite foods that pack the biggest nutrient punch:
Spinach
Spinach has been called one the world’s healthiest vegetables. This leafy green is perfect for making salads, delicious green smoothies, or sautéing in some of your favorite dishes. Spinach is loaded with vitamin K, vitamin C, and magnesium. Vitamin K helps to regulate bone density and blood circulation.
Spinach Hack
Not big on eating spinach raw or from a can. You don’t have to consume spinach like Popeye to get your fill of this nutritious ingredient. Next time you’re in the mood for a savory snack, instead of reaching for potato chips, grab two cups of raw spinach, mix with a splash of coconut oil, and season with Mrs. Dash. Place the spinach on a cooking sheet and bake for eight minutes in a 325 degree oven. Once your spinach chips are cooked, you will be ready to enjoy a fresh, delicious and nutritious snack!
Cabbage
Cabbage can be prepared in a variety of fashions, from a healthy coleslaw to sauted with other vegetables. Similar to Spinach cabbage is filled with vitamin K, promoting excellent bone health. Cabbage is also packed with vitamin C, one serving of cabbage can provide 87 percent of your daily allotment. Vitamin C is essential for a healthy diet, helping to provide the body with important antioxidants.
Cabbage Hack
Not sure how to prepare cabbage for a nutritious meal. Instead of buying a whole head of cabbage to boil later, grab a bag of precut coleslaw mix. Take ⅓ of a cup of greek yogurt, mix with ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, ½ tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and combine with 2 cups of raw coleslaw mix. Take your greek yogurt coleslaw and pair it with your favorite barbecue chicken to enjoy a sweet and savory meal that’s not only delicious, but also healthy for you.
Onion
From street tacos to tasty soups, onions can provide that essential crunch in almost any dish. Onions are full of the vitamins biotin and manganese. Biotin, also known as vitamin B7, is known to help with the strengthening of hair and fingernails, keeping you looking younger and healthier.
Onion Hack
Tired of looking like you watched the the latest tear-jerker every time you cut onions? Instead of chopping onions on your kitchen island, chop your onions underneath your microwave vent with the vent running to capture the tear inducing odors of your onions. Now instead of a steady stream of tears running down your cheeks, you will be able to chop tear free, allowing you to cook and look your best.
Almonds
Almonds are easily added to both sweet and savory dishes, providing essential fat into your dietary intake. Almonds are loaded with vitamin E, manganese, and, similar to the onion, biotin. Vitamin E helps with the growth of muscles, as well as provides an excellent source of antioxidants. One study found that individuals who eat almonds are 31 percent LESS likely to gain weight than those who don’t consume almonds on a daily basis. So while it may sound counterintuitive, eating fat to lose fat is essential for your health.
Almond Hack
Tired of eating just raw almonds? Combine your almonds with your favorite meat dishes to create healthy “breaded” foods. Instead of abstaining from breaded chicken in your balanced diet plan, place raw almonds in a food processor and pulse until you have crushed almonds. Place your newly crushed almonds in a bowl and dust raw chicken until you have a nice “breading” evenly coated. Once your meat is cooked you will be able to indulge in “breaded” chicken without the harmful ingredients.
Avocados
Similar to the almond, avocados are loaded with essential fat. Avocados are not only great in creating the perfect guacamole dip, but they are also the perfect ingredient to help you lose fat. Avocados are high in vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid, an essential nutrient that helps regulate blood sugar, promote a healthy metabolism, as well as increase energy throughout the day.
Avocado Hack
There’s nothing worse than picking up a bountiful collection of avocados at your local grocery store, only to come home to find that they are rock hard. Despite this frustrating situation, there is a cure to the rock hard dilemma of unripe avocados. Instead of waiting for your avocados to ripen, or worse trying to eat an unripened avocado, wrap your avocado in tinfoil and place it in an oven preheated for 200 degrees. After 10 minutes your hard as a rock avocado will become a smooth and delicious treat.
Fat Loss Made Easy
Eating whole foods is an essential part of our programs at Courthouse Fitness, making food not only healthy, but also delicious. Our focus on the Fit Five is the first step in creating a healthy lifestyle for all of our members.
For members who are specifically interested in started their fat loss journey, we created the Kick Start program, a four week introduction to nutrition, exercise and healthy living. To find out more about the Kick Start program, click on the link below and start losing fat today.
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