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Down Home Dietitian - Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
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Browsing Tag
wellness
Gardening

Planting a Small Permaculture Orchard on our Homestead

 

We planted an orchard!

One of the first things we wanted to do this Spring was get some fruit trees in the ground since they are such an investment into food production on the property. We planted two cherries, a peach, and a pear tree to go along with the apple tree that was already on our property. These new trees should produce a decently-sized fruit harvest in 2-4 years. We plan to plant and maintain this orchard using permaculture principles as much as we are able: promoting diversity, planning efficiently, and utilizing resources fully.

The diversity of trees will be joined with a wide variety of shrubs, berry bushes, herbs, and flowers. These will help to promote a wide variety of microorganisms and pollinators, and limit damage from diseases and pests. Each plant will have different resistances to disease and pests, essentially diversifying our investment and promoting a hardy homestead. Here’s to healthy food production!

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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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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 “plan A.” The “if everything works as it should” plan. The “this 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: 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 “oh shoot, I didn’t have time for plan A” or “we 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: This is your hail Mary. The “well…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. Plan 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 “well, 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 “broken their streak.”

 

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

Cooking at home

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

Plan B: 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: 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 love all 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!

Do not 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, friends and favorite foods.

 

You Might Also Like

Why You Shouldn’t Commit to a Diet this New Year (and what you should do instead)

The #1 Thing You Must Do to Save Time Living a Healthy Life

Why Your Weight Seems to go Up and Down No Matter What You Do

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Gardening

Seed Starting for Beginners

Seed starting is a key piece of getting more from your garden sooner, especially if you live somewhere with a shorter growing season. This video will give you all you need to start seeds indoors and get a jump on tasty fresh produce!

 

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Recipes

Recipe: Berry Almond Crisp

Healthy dessert

 

This crisp is so easy to make and so delicious. With just a few ingredients and a few minutes of prep time, you can put a warm dessert that will thaw even the frostiest of hearts. I absolutely love frozen berries – this recipe is made using marionberries frozen from our local berry farm, but you can use any frozen berries you like. Mix it up with several different kinds of berries if your heart desires!

 

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Recipes

Recipe: Japchae-Inspired Spaghetti Squash

Low carb Asian noodle dish

 

Japchae (pronounced jap-chay) is a savory, umami Korean noodle dish I always get whenever I visit a local Korean day spa. It is one of my favorite things to eat and always conjures feelings of healthy, relaxed self care for me. 🙂 Typically, japchae is made with sweet potato glass noodles (you should definitely try it that way also!) but I’ve made this spaghetti squash version because I have piles of spaghetti squash in my winter food storage left over from my summer garden.

It’s also a great dish to practice your chopstickin’ skills on! Enjoy – and let me know in the comments if you tried japchae for the first (or 50th) time!

 

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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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downhomedietitian

Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
Dietitian | Exercise Physiologist | Speaker | Youtuber
Building a small permaculture homestead in WA state

Becki Parsons
Choosing to work with a dietitian is NOT "turning Choosing to work with a dietitian is NOT "turning yourself in" to the food police! It's finding a teammate to help you find the eating plan that works for you. I frequently joke with my clients that they are dating healthy changes and I am their matchmaker - it's not about forcing your life to fit a plan, it's about finding the plan that complements your life AND helps you meet your goals and feel your best without being miserable or deprived!
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Ready to give it a go? Click the link in my bio to schedule an in-person or video appointment!
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#diet #dietitian #nutrition #nutritionist #wellness #health #healthy #eathealthy #loseweight #weightloss #fitness #lifestylechange #exercise #eatwell #fuel #fuelyourbody #food
Our perennial garden is expanding with a low-maint Our perennial garden is expanding with a low-maintenance veggie you plant once and harvest year after year! Click the link in my bio to visit my YouTube channel and watch the full video.
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#garden #gardening #perennial #veggie #veggiegardening #veggies #asparagus #growingasparagus #health #healthy #homegrown #gardener #homestead #homesteading #wellness #nutrition #easy #eatlocal #growityourself #fiber #diet #dietitian #weightloss #healthyeating
Happy meets healthy: prioritizing your favorite fo Happy meets healthy: prioritizing your favorite foods!

At a restaurant, you are presented with so many options: appetizer, drinks, sides, entrees, extras, dessert...

An all-or-nothing "diet mindset" would say turn it all down - eat a grilled chicken salad with a water. Deprive, deprive, deprive.

An all-or-nothing "not dieting right now" mindset would say to get it all - absolutely anything and everything that sounds good to you. Then feel guilty for having done it. Promise yourself you'll start your "diet mindset" again Monday.

I'm here to say that all-or-nothing thinking stinks. It isn't healthy OR happy. It's miserable. Your healthy life SHOULD include your favorite foods. AND healthy foods that make your body happy.

It was a busy, restaurant-filled weekend as we celebrated our son's birthday as well as Mothers' Day. I prioritized the options at each restaurant and meal that make me the happiest - sourdough toast, two servings of sweet potato fries...HAPPY. I made changes somewhere else to get plenty of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals...HEALTHY. You CAN have both.

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#healthy #happy #nutrition #fitness #wellness #weightloss #eatingout #restaurant #diet #dietitian #nutrition #dietitianlife #loseweight #eatingwell #veggies #protein #fruit #carbohydrates
#wildflower #nocaptionneeded #wildflower #nocaptionneeded
What a great horse blessing day! Thank you to my p What a great horse blessing day! Thank you to my parents for this gorgeous new saddle pad for my birthday. A gift for my horse is a gift for me!
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If you're a horse person, you'll know the great joy it is to share your horse with a currently horse-less horse lover. For 17 years I was that horse-less person and I would have gladly cleaned stalls for hours just to be in a barn again...my aunt Mary has the horse bug too and hasn't had a horse since her sweet boy Pal in high school. This weekend she came to visit for the first time since I got Blue Belle and it was such a joy to watch Blue Belle light up Mary's face as she got to groom and ride. ♥️ Plus my mom got to ride for the first time in years, and we talked about their memories of riding their Grandma's horse Sugar. Horses are such a gift!
We just added a few hundred new members to the hom We just added a few hundred new members to the homestead! Click the link in my bio to watch my latest video on our new hive of honeybees!
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#honey #honeybees #garden #pollinators #gardening #hive #homestead #beekeeping
We recently got back from a Hawaiian vacation with We recently got back from a Hawaiian vacation with our family that's been 3 years in the making...we are so grateful to have gotten to go and enjoy all kinds of Hawaiian foods! Click the link in my bio to watch my recent video with tips for eating well - like really, really deliciously well- on vacation.
Tulips are starting to bloom! The patience bulbs r Tulips are starting to bloom! The patience bulbs require is such an effective teacher that good and beautiful things are worth the wait.
Just got back from an amazing and much-needed Hawa Just got back from an amazing and much-needed Hawaiian vacation...looking forward to taking all that restful peace back to work in the garden!

#hawaii #kauai #poipu #beach #sunset #vacation #beautiful #restful #peaceful #happy
We planted an orchard!!! Click the link in my des We planted an orchard!!!

Click the link in my description to watch my latest video on planting a small permaculture orchard on our homestead! I'm so excited about this investment into our food production - now to wait 2-4 years for a decent harvest... #patience
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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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