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Wellness Tips
Recipes Wellness Tips

Recipe: Immune Boosting Winter Smoothie

 

Boy, is it cold outside! Cold outside often coincides with colds inside – winter has long been regarded as cold and flu season and with recent events, boosting your immunity can be a top priority! No one wants to be out sick from celebrations and responsibilities all winter long. Strengthening your immune system and fighting bacteria and viruses can be aided with certain important nutrients included in this cinnamon orange smoothie recipe:

 

Probiotics

Probiotic foods contain the friendly, helpful bacteria that can colonize our intestines to help digest our food, keep us regular, and defend us against harmful bacterial infections. In the case of this smoothie, the yogurt will provide a dose of probiotics.

 

Prebiotics

While probiotics are the foods that contain the helpful bacteria, prebiotics are the foods the bacteria love to eat! Orange juice, especially including pulp, contains these prebiotic fibers that can make our helpful gut bacteria thrive.

 

Vitamin C

Long recognized as one of the key nutrients supporting immunity, vitamin C provides antioxidant benefits and helps to promote the production of your body’s own natural antibodies.

 

Zinc & Vitamin D

Both of these powerful nutrients are associated with lower infection rates, and shorter infections that are less severe. The also can slow viral growth and

 

Lactoferrin

Found in milk and yogurt, this compound boosts your immunity by preventing viral entry into your cells.

 

Propolis

This compound, found in honey, has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, as well as promoting antibody immune cell production.

 

The foods in this immune-boosting winter smoothie bring all these nutrients together to support your immune system’s function throughout the cold and flu season. The smoothie tastes like chai-spiced oranges and is the perfect complement to your breakfast or as a snack during the day. To make this smoothie a meal, add a frozen banana and a scoop of your favorite plain or vanilla protein powder.

 

References

  1. Immune-boosting functional foods and their mechanisms: a critical evaluation of probiotics and prebiotics https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332220308180
  2. Network pharmacology of AYUSH recommended immune-boosting medicinal plants against COVID-19 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0975947620301078
  3. Immune-Boosting, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Food Supplements Targeting Pathogenesis of COVID-19 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7575721/
  4. Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378512220303467

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Fitness Wellness Tips

Choosing an Exercise Plan you can Stick To

 

Most of us would love to be active and healthy, exercising regularly doing something we enjoy. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to stick to an exercise plan. How exactly do you choose a workout that you’ll actually enjoy and that is sustainable? There are a handful of things to consider to help yourself be as successful as possible in your fitness. It’s important to consider some of your own personality traits, as well as some of those weird little quirks we all have. It’s amazing how much working with your tendencies rather than against them can change the game.

A few things to consider:

 

“Mood exerciser” vs. “Routine Repeater”

 

Are you someone who needs to be “in the mood” for a particular exercise in order to do it? You’re not alone, Mood Exerciser! Don’t expect to be someone who completes the same workout day after day. Have several possible workouts in your arsenal so when it comes time to exercise, you can choose the workout you’re most in the mood for. Maybe on a high-energy day you do high-intensity interval training, on an angry day you kickbox, and on a mellow day you do yoga. The choices are yours, but make sure you have some options!

If you are someone who prefers a regular zone-out routine than having a different option every day, you are a Routine Repeater. For you, it’s more important to find that one exercise that is a perfect fit for your lifestyle and gradually progress in intensity or time. If you stick with the same workout for 3-4 months, consider adding a 1-2 day per week cross-training to prevent injury and muscle imbalances.

 

“Rip-the-BandAid” vs. “Joyride” Exerciser

 

Do you want to really feel like you did something when you work out? Do you want to sweat and feel the burn? If so, you are a “Rip-the-BandAid” exerciser, and you will likely prefer higher-intensity workouts that you can get done in half the time. Some good options are high-intensity interval training or bootcamp.

If instead you are someone who needs to be enjoying yourself to exercise, you are a Joyride Exerciser. Joyride exercisers tend to love group exercise classes, sports, and workout videos like group dance classes, kickboxing, or martial arts.

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Goal Setting Wellness Tips

Working Toward Your Health Goals When Life is Busy or Stressful

 

One of our greatest frustrations with healthy living is dealing with the normal obstacles of life – the things that can stand in the way of our best-laid plans. My clients are often eager and ready to come up with their β€œplan A.” The β€œif everything works as it should” plan. The β€œthis is how I really want things to go” plan. I also encourage them to come up with contingency plans. What if everything doesn’t work as it should? What if things don’t go how you really wish they would?

Having a contingency plan helps prevent the all-or-nothing feelings that can come into play when we don’t seem to be able to make plan A work. If plan A is all we have in our healthy tool belt, then we end up defeated when it won’t work for one reason or another. Your plan failed…guess you can’t be healthy today.

Not so!

Life is often not going to work out the way you hope, so be prepared! Have a plan for when the plan doesn’t work. It’s not defeatist – it’s realistic. Have a contingency plan. This is how I usually describe them:

Plan A:Β This is your best-case scenario. It is the plan that is designed to help you meet your health goals and fit into your (and your family’s) lifestyle at least half the time. If you make a plan A that rarely ends up ever working, it’s probably not the right plan A for you. Remember that it’s okay to try changes out before committing to them (in fact you should!) and it’s okay if a change doesn’t work for you. Keep looking for your best fit!

Plan B: This is your β€œoh shoot, I didn’t have time for plan A” or β€œwe can’t afford plan A right now” or ______insert reason plan A doesn’t work this time_____. This is not as ideal of an outcome as plan A, but still keeps you on track with a decent second-best. Ask yourself what might stand in the way of your plan A, and consider how you might adjust. Plan B options sometimes require a little bit of advance preparation, but then they have your back when needed.

Plan C:Β This is your hail Mary. The β€œwell…nothing went the way I planned so we will do the best we can with what we have today.” Sometimes you actually have a third-best option, and sometimes your plan C is just to let it go and try again tomorrow. Either way, make it an intentional choice, not an automatic response to a plan A roadblock.Β PlanΒ to take a day off if plans A and B fall through, and don’t feel bad if they did. This mentally helps us stay away from thought patterns like β€œwell, I didn’t complete plan A today, so I guess I’m not being healthy anymore.” It sounds dramatic when you say it out loud, but it’s the way a lot of our brains think. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard from clients about healthy changes they did great with…until that one day, then they gave up since they had β€œbroken their streak.”

 

Here are some examples of contingency plans my clients have made:

Cooking at home

Plan AΒ (best-case-scenario, works at least half the time): Make a meal plan each week and cook at least 5 dinners at home.

Plan B (second-best option, has your back with a little advance preparation): This client felt her most likely roadblock would be not having time to make the dinner on her meal plan, so her plan B was to buy pre-cooked salmon fillets and a vegetable/red potato medley to keep in the freezer so she could always have a microwave back-up option if she got stuck in traffic on the way home from work.

Plan C (do the best you can with what you’ve got, no preparation required): If she comes home late and her kids have a nighttime activity, she usually needs to bring something home or take the kids out on the way. We selected 3 different restaurants that her kids would like and where everyone could customize their own healthful option.

 

Strength Training

Plan A:Β Go to the gym before work to strength train three times per week.

Plan B:Β This client’s gym is very busy in the afternoon, so his biggest roadblock would be getting his workout in if he missed going in the morning. If he didn’t make it to the gym before work, we selected a Youtube body weight workout he could do at home in the evening.

Plan C:Β If he did not want to work out in the evening when he got home, he could either try going to the gym a different morning that week, or take a day off and try again on his next scheduled gym day.

 

The point is, that making the plan ahead of time helps prepare you for challenges and makes any of the options okay. It allows you to realistically navigate life’s curve balls while still keeping focus on your goal. All while avoiding a defeated attitude when life just doesn’t play nice. So hang in there! Make a plan, and another, and another. And don’t beat yourself up when plan A and plan B don’t work! It happens to everyone – now you can be prepared.

 

Related Articles

 

Guest Post: Health Hacks for Busy Moms

How to Make Healthy Changes that Actually Stick

How to Meal Plan to Save Time and Money (with free printable meal planning template)

 

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Wellness Tips

5 Tips for Happy, Healthy Holidays

 

Fasten your seatbelts and make sure your seat is in the upright position – we are on the runway for the holiday season! Cozy get-togethers, tasty dinners, and delicious sweets and treats await us! For some, the question is always: how can I stay healthy and still enjoy my holidays? Too many times we can struggle with this balance, finding ourselves dehydrated, bloated, and unhealthy come January, swearing “never again.” Or – just as unfortunately – stressing ourselves out so much about not affecting our health that we don’t actually spend any time enjoying our holidays. No more! Here are 5 practical, easy tips to enjoy a holiday season that won’t leave you ragged coming in to the new year.

 

1. Prioritize

Our natural tendency is to take a little bit of everything at any given holiday event. Often, though, we don’t even truly loveΒ allΒ of these treats. Skim the spread and honestly ask yourself which items are sure to delight you. Which one would you be sad to leave without? Dish up and enjoy! If there are others that aren’t your favorites, don’t take them by default. Make sure to prioritize what you really love!

 

2. Set Yourself up for Success

It’s tough to enjoy a holiday when you aren’t feeling well, and we all know that certain foods (in certain amounts) affect us in uncomfortable ways. If a gathering is potluck-style, bring a food that you know leaves you feeling great. Then you know there will be at least one dish that won’t leave you feeling less than your best. If you don’t have the option to bring something, snack on some feel-good foods before you head out.

 

3. Take Your Time

Don’t rush the experience – eating holiday food is a seasonal delight to be savored. Make a plate, have a seat, and visit with a loved one as you eat. Take time to enjoy each bite and chew well (this helps with digestion as well as enjoyment)! After finishing your plate, give yourself 10-15 minutes before you go back for seconds. Our satiety signals sometimes take a bit to kick in. Waiting can help prevent painful over-fullness!

 

4. Hydrate Well

Most of the things that leave us feeling crummy after the holidays have to do with their dehydrating effects – sugar, salt, and alcohol are all culprits for leaving us dried out. That dehydration can lead to headaches, fatigue, breakouts, digestive issues, and more. You can make big strides to feeling your best by simply making sure to drink plenty of water leading up to, during, and after your holiday celebration.

 

5. Enjoy!

DoΒ notΒ let worries about your health or weight consume your holidays. Your mental health is a much larger part of your overall wellness than that Christmas cookie. Practice balance, give yourself grace, and enjoy every second with your family, friendsΒ andΒ favorite foods.

 

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Wellness Tips

How to Build a Satisfying Snack

 

Snacks! Who doesn’t love a good snack? Snacking is a great way to stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels and stave off nagging hunger. Prevent being over-hungry is also a great way to prevent nighttime cravings or bingeing. So where to start?

 

When Should I Eat a Snack?

It’s pretty simple – if you are hungry and there isn’t a meal on the docket for the next 1-2 hours, it’s snack time! If you are hungry, your body is asking for more energy to meet its energy needs right in the moment. If it doesn’t get a response from you (aka – food!), it’s going to slow your metabolism down in order to economize. If you do feed it, it knows it can trust you to take care of its energy needs, and it will fire on all cylinders. Plus, you get to eat a snack…it’s a win-win!

 

What Makes a Satisfying Snack?

You want to make sure your snack addresses both physical hunger and biochemical hunger. Physical hunger is the actual emptiness in your stomach, while biochemical hunger is a declining blood glucose (which is your body’s fuel).

To satisfy physical hunger, include a protein because it is slow digesting. This will ensure that it stays in your stomach for at least an hour or two, getting you to your next meal. Proteins you might choose for snacks include:

  • cheese
  • cottage cheese
  • deli meat
  • nuts or nut butter
  • hard-boiled eggs
  • Greek yogurt

To satisfy biochemical hunger, you’ll need a food that raises blood sugar a bit to provide the energy you’ll need for 1-2 more hours until your next meal. The only foods that directly break down into blood glucose are carbohydrates, since they are made of pieces of glucose. Some carbohydrates are made of individual glucose pieces or short chains of glucose. These are called simple carbohydrates, and because they are small they digest very quickly, and therefore raise blood glucose very quickly. Other carbohydrates are called complex carbohydrates, and are made of long chains of glucose. The long chains take longer to digest, and therefore raise blood glucose much more gradually. The gradual rise in glucose means a more stable blood sugar, longer-lasting energy, and a lower likelihood of your body storing “extra” blood glucose as fat. Choosing a complex carbohydrate is a great way to go.

There are also a couple of carb-containing foods that have simple carbohydrates, but contain a natural nutritional “buffer” that slows their digestion, making them act more like a complex carbohydrate. For example, fruit is high in fiber (which slows digestion) and milk and yogurt contain protein. Here are some great carbohydrate options for snacks:

  • fresh, canned, or dried fruit
  • Greek yogurt (bonus: also contains protein!)
  • popcorn
  • whole grain crackers
  • whole grain chips

 

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Wellness Tips

10 Tips to Steer Clear of Bad Wellness Advice

 

It’s New Year’s and the fad diets and crazy exercise trends abound. Use these tips to avoid the over-restrictive trendy madness and still make some healthy changes that might actually make it to next New year!

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Wellness Tips

Welcome to Down Home Dietitian!

Of course you want to be healthy – but everywhere you look, diet culture’s miserable mandates run wild. How are you to know what healthy really looks like? Look no further.

Down Home Dietitian’s got you covered – with simple healthy recipes, informative videos, totally doable workouts, and grow-it-yourself gardening advice. If you want to be healthy and you don’t want to be miserable doing it, this is the channel for you. Subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! Because healthy doesn’t have to be hard.

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Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

Subscribe to learn how to go from a frustrated, restricted dieter to a happy, relaxed relationship with food and fitness. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!

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beckiparsons.rd.ep

I am OVER confusing advice, disgusting diets, and boring exercise.
Healthy doesn't have to be hard!
🍎 Dietitian
πŸšΆβ€β™€οΈ Exercise Physiologist

Becki Parsons, MS, RD, CEP
Speechless...😨😑 To clarify: this was not he Speechless...😨😑

To clarify: this was not her primary care provider, but a surgical specialist - this was their first appointment. Her Primary Care has been awesome.

#weightstigma #weightbias #ineffective #behaviorchange #weightloss #baddoctor #shameonyou #health #healthy #fitness #nutrition #healthyweight #healthcare #doctor #dietitian #diet #angry
Click the link in my bio to download your free pri Click the link in my bio to download your free printable meal planning template and snag your spot in my How to Meal Plan Masterclass! The live Zoom class is this Wednesday at 5 pm PST, but if you can't make it the recording will be emailed to you after. Learn how to:

- Make a meal plan that actually works for you

- Save money by using up the leftover ingredients

- Incorporate flexibility for the nights when life doesn't go to plan

Snag your spot now!

#diet #dietitian #nutrition #fitness #wellness #mealplan #mealplanning #groceries #grocerylist #eatwell #health #healthy #healthykids #healthyfamilies #recipes #healthyrecipe #healthyrecipes #freedownload #free #freebie #groceryshopping #howtomealplan #mealplanningtips
Vacation! β˜€οΈ We spent the last week on a road Vacation! β˜€οΈ We spent the last week on a road trip to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. We had a great time and enjoyed beautiful weather, wonderful people, and delicious food...here's to many more years! πŸ₯‚
.
One way I know for sure that I'm doing something right - I love vacation, but I love coming home too. β™₯️ I'm refreshed and ready and I can't wait to get back to life and my clients. See y'all around the healthy-sphere! 
.
#health #vacation #mentalhealth #roadtrip #mentalhealth #anniversary #takeabreak #backtowork #welcomehome #dietitian
Modifying exercise to work around pain or injuries Modifying exercise to work around pain or injuries is not limiting - it's empowering! It's limiting to tell yourself you "can't" and not be active, when you could celebrate and enjoy what you CAN do. Accepting and embracing the "can" could lead you to your dreams.

My husband is an amazing example of this...don't let your injuries hold you back!

#fitness #fitspo #fitspiration #wellness #exercise #sciatica #injury #injuries #kneepain #bulgingdisc #backinjury #limitations #nolimits #modify #lowimpact #fireman #firefighter #inspiration #strength #strengthtraining #cardio #jointpain #chronicpain
You can't tell how healthy someone is only by look You can't tell how healthy someone is only by looking at their weight or shape. While there are some correlations, they are far less strong indicators of health than each person's habits.

I have talked with hundreds of people of all shapes and sizes about their habits. I know many people with higher-than-"normal" BMIs (why BMI is dumb is an entire post in and of itself...) who:

- Eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily πŸ₯¦
- Exercise for 30+ minutes 3-4 days per week πŸš΄β€β™‚οΈ
- Have high quality sleep for 6-8 hours per day 😴
- Prepare most of their meals at home and even grow a lot of their own produce. πŸ‘©β€πŸ³

Research confirms these folks actually have much lower likelihoods of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and death compared with my "normal" weight clients who don't have healthy habits.

Your health is based on your habits, not on your shape or size. ❀️

#diet #health #healthy #weight #weightstigma #weightbias #healthyhabits #nutrition #fitness #wellness #eatwell #dietitian #registereddietitian #exercise #active #activelifestyle #sleep #healthynotskinny #healthyandhappy
Raise your hand if you want to learn to make meal Raise your hand if you want to learn to make meal plans that ACTUALLY WORK for your life! πŸ™‹β€β™€οΈ Click the link in my bio to snag your spot in my August masterclass and stop wasting time and money on pre-made meal plans and wasted ingredients!

#diet #dietitian #mealplan #mealplans #howtomealplan #healthymeals #healthymeal #nutrition #nutritious #foodprep #mealprep #nutritionist #weightloss #loseweight #lowcarb #keto #fatloss #diabetes #seattledietitian #masterclass #olympiadietitian #eatwell #healthyandhappy #healthymealsforkids #healthykids #easyhealthyfood
I've said it for years - food is my love language! I've said it for years - food is my love language! Cooking tasty food, growing tasty food, preserving food, talking about food, you name it - most of my day is about food! β™₯️

#food #ilovefood #foodismylovelanguage #ilovetocook #ilovetoeat #yum #delicious #nutritious #dietitian #nutritionist
It's not healthy to live a life that makes you sad It's not healthy to live a life that makes you sad. Plus, your body needs carbs, yes, even if you want to lose weight. That is all for today.

#keto #lowcarb #diet #dietitian #nutrition #antidiet #weightloss #loseweight #nourish #dontcutcarbs
Everyone talks about food, all the time. πŸ‘‰ You Everyone talks about food, all the time.

πŸ‘‰ Your co-worker lost 45 lbs on the latest fad diet.
πŸ‘‰ Someone you went to high school with is sliding into your DMs, selling supplements guaranteed to fix all your problems.
πŸ‘‰ Nutritionchick98 swears by lemon water in the morning for perfect skin, raging metabolism, and a perfect poop every day. πŸ’©
πŸ‘‰ Your brother's bro-science buddies at the gym are all about the latest muscle-building protein shake with raw-egg combo.

It doesn't mean that any of them are experts or that what they're selling is right for you.

You need someone who can:
✨ Give nutrition and fitness recommendations based on a thorough review of current research - research that evaluates your whole-picture health, not just one aspect.
✨ Understand how foods and nutrients work together and are metabolized and teach you what you need to know in ways that make sense.
✨ Advise you which supplements are safe and effective for your desired outcome, and whether or not they will have gnarly side effects or interfere with your medications.
✨ Ensure your exercise plan is balanced, effective, and safe - not to mention enjoyable!
✨ Understand and interpret your medical conditions to ensure that your plan supports your best health.
✨ Help you translate evidence-based recommendations into habits that fit your lifestyle, budget, personality, and food preferences.

You need a registered dietitian and a certified exercise professional. It doesn't have to be me, but I am right here if you need anything. πŸ˜‰

Photo by In Your Element Photography

#nutrition #fitness #exercise #nourish #nourishment #trainer #wellnesscoach #healthcoach #health #healthy #dietitian #registereddietitian #exercisephysiologist #nutritionist #healthyyou #healthyandhappy #healthyme #supplements #nutritionexpert #fitnessexpert #youcandothis #inyourcorner
Where do you want to be six months from now? . Res Where do you want to be six months from now?
.
Research consistently shows that low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, low-anything diets result in loss at first, then regain - usually more than the weight that was lost. There are significant metabolic and hormonal adaptations your body makes in response to that kind of restriction to preserve its fat stores.
.
If your goal is fat loss, reframing your expectations about the outcome and what it takes to get there will serve you immensely well. Focusing on healthy habits and letting go of the number on the scale (your habits are far more important) consistently results in a lower weight in the long run than a hard-hitting, over-restrictive diet that ends up in regain 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 months later.
.
✨Some weeks your weight may drop, some it may stay the same, some it may go up. That is reflective of far more than your habits - stress, water retention, hormones, sleep quality, muscle mass, and more all play into the number on the scale. 
✨ Expect to lose far slower than any restrictive diet you (or anyone you know) may have ever followed. FAR slower than weight loss TV shows. This is where letting go of the outcome will help - it's a stressful mental game to play if you're so focused on that number and its pace that you give it enough power to defeat and undo your healthy habits if it doesn't play along. Weight lost slowly is much more likely to stay off.
✨ Focus on your non-scale victories. How do you feel? How's your energy? How's your digestion? How's your skin? Are you able to focus with mental clarity? If these signs are getting worse based on your weight-loss efforts, take that as a red flag. 🚩 If they are improving, don't let the scale tell you you're failing - it's a pathological liar.

#weight #weightloss #health #healthy #wellness #diet #dietitian #registereddietitian #nutrition #fitness #fatloss #loseweight #losingweight #losingfat #lowfat #lowcarb #lowcalorie #restriction #restrictivediets #moderation #healthyhabits #exercise #healthynotskinny #healthyandhappy #nonscalevictory
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  • Planting a Small Permaculture Orchard on our Homestead
  • How Much to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Recipe: Immune Boosting Winter Smoothie
  • Choosing an Exercise Plan you can Stick To
  • Working Toward Your Health Goals When Life is Busy or Stressful

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