Healthy Eats!

I know many of us are in the same boat during quarantine where I got into a slump and its hard to want to take care of myself. I’ve been trying to incorperate more fruits, veggies, proteins, and whole foods into my daily meals to make sure I’m getting all the nutrients I should have. Here’s a few quick and easy healthy meals and snack options I’ve been loving recently.

Let’s start with smoothies!!!

My two favorite smoothies are straw-bana and chocolate PB banana smoothies and heres what I put in them.

Straw-bana smoothie: A ton of spinach (seriously, stuff it all in your blender), a handful of frozen strawberries, 1/2-1 whole banana (doesn’t matter how mushy), a scoop of vanilla protein powder, and oat milk (or any nondairy milk of your choice) to make it all come together. I love this smoothie because it tastes like bananas and strawberries but it actually has spinach in it and you can’t taste it at all. If you have one of these smoothies to start your day, you’ve already had more greens than some people have in a whole week! It’s a great way to get in your veggies if you don’t love the taste of them.

Next is the chocolate PB banana smoothie.

I take some frozen banana (or a regular banana+ice), a heaping spoonful of peanut butter, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and oat milk. When I tell you that this is literally a milkshake-trust me. It tastes just like ice cream, so sometimes I even have this for dessert so I can get my protein in for the day.

Next on the menu is overnight oats! I always hated oatmeal growing up but I have recently been loving overnight oats. The best thing about this breakfast is that it’s totally customizable. I add a 1-1 ratio of oats to oat milk, but I also add a splash of flavored coffee creamer. Recently, I’ve been using pumpkin spice creamer, but I’m excited to try a peppermint mocha flavor for the holidays. You can add whatever spices you like (ex: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, different protein powders) and then warm it up in the morning and add some maple syrup. Not only is this such an easy form of meal prepping, but it keeps me full for hours.

Next is my favorite meal- avocado toast.

I could eat this for every meal (and I have, many times) because it has so many variations. My classic avo toast uses toasted Joes Killer Bread (so good!), a little bit of olive oil, smashed avocado, EBTB seasoning (what would I do without it) and red pepper flakes. However, you can fry up an egg and add that on, as well as sautéing tomatoes with some garlic (heavenly). Avocado toast is something I cant live without and is a meal I think everyone should know how to make.

For healthy dinners, I’m honestly not a huge salad person. I love a good chinese chicken salad or a southwest salad, but most salads I have at home are pretty bland. So I mostly have protein filled dinners, my favorite being chicken made in the air fryer. My family just recently got an air fryer and we’ve been using it for basically every meal. We put broccoli, potatoes, and cauliflower with a TON of spices to make them super crispy and flavorful.

My main goal everyday is to have atleast one source of fruit, one source of veggies, and one source of protein. Some small snacks that help me reach that goal are apples or bananas with peanut butter, any veggie with hummus (I love cherry/grape tomatoes), and turkey and cheese roll ups.

These were all healthier suggestions, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad to have dessert or order takeout for dinner. Life is about balance, and a balanced “diet” is the only one that’s sustainable for a long period of time. I feel best when I fuel my body with these foods, so I hope these suggestions help you include necessary nutrients in your everyday meals!