By:Lindsay Keach Bronstein (MS, RD, LDN, HC)
These delicious patties are wonderful any meal of the day. I often recommend them to clients who want an easy “non-egg” protein option for breakfast, but they are equally great as an addition to a lunch salad or with some veggie sides for dinner. Ground turkey is a lean protein option, and the addition of fruit and vegetables to these patties makes them a great choice both for your heart and your waistline. Double the recipe if you like to cook once and eat twice – these freeze well wrapped individually in plastic wrap. This recipe is adapted from Rebecca Katz’s lovely cookbook One Bite at a Time.
Want to satisfy your sweet and chocolate cravings with a snack that will keep you satisfied for hours? Try this chocolate cashew chia pudding. It is naturally sweetened and packed with fiber and healthy fats from the cashews and chia seeds.
Are you on the hunt for a tasty, crunchy, crackery vehicle for hummus, guacamole, or other dips? Look no further – Mary’s Gone Crackers (Original and Superseed) are organic, whole grain, gluten-free, vegan, and delicious! Because they are packed with seeds (like sesame, flax, pumpkin, and poppy) and whole grains (like quinoa, brown rice, amaranth) just one serving of the Super Seed variety (12 crackers) offers a whopping 3 grams of heart-healthy fiber, 3 grams of protein, and 5 grams of healthy fat. Compare this to two servings of Ritz crackers, which don’t even offer one full gram of fiber! Fiber is helpful for everything from making you feel fuller faster to keeping your blood sugar levels steady and lowering your “bad” LDL cholesterol. You can find Mary’s Gone Crackers at Whole Foods, Star Market, and in the natural aisle of most grocery stores.
If you’re not, you should be! These colonies of microscopic bacteria make up about 70% of our immune system, and they outnumber our human cells by 10-fold. This community of over 100 trillion microbes living mostly in your gut helps your body with just about every process, from supporting digestion, to manufacturing neurotransmitters and vitamins, to keeping your hormones balanced and even helping you to think clearly. We’re learning more every day about the impacts that our gut flora may have on health, weight, mood and disease.
We often speak about healthy foods that we can incorporate into our diets, but allowing ourselves to indulge at times is also important. After all, healthy eating is about balance, variety, and moderation, not perfection! Slowing down and tuning in while eating allows you to enjoy your food more and to increase awareness of the signals your body is sending you. Building this awareness will help you to avoid overeating or eating mindlessly without appreciation or true enjoyment. The more you can focus on, and enjoy, the smells, textures, and flavors in your food, the more satisfied you will feel!