Let’s Talk: Nutrition Trends

Nutrition trends I actually like…

So dietitians sometimes get carried away (myself included) about hating on fad diets, people making false nutrition claims, supplements, etc so let’s talk about the things I actually do like!

Meal Prepping

All the Instagram and Pinterest hype about meal prepping is awesome! I always encourage my clients to prep meals for the week and I totally participate in #mealprepsunday too. It helps a lot of people make healthier choices especially those with busy schedules and fast food temptations. Having balanced meals planned out for the week is a great way to meet nutrition goals, not to mention less stress and more organization. #Adulting Tip: I use these awesome meal trays divided into compartments.

Eating “Whole” Foods

Eating more foods that are minimally processed is always a great idea! Do I believe you shouldn’t ever have processed nacho cheese or a chocolate chip cookie? HECK NO. But I do like the challenge of coming up with meals mainly using produce, lean protein and starchy vegetables. It’s helped me realize how many processed foods I consume and helps increase my fruit and vegetable intake! Just out here trying to get my 5-10 servings a day!

Less Added Sugar

A recent alternative I found is Sugar 2.0 with probiotics!

The game-changing Sugar 2.0 is a natural, gluten-free, non-gmo cane sugar product, has debuted a second product, Sugar 2.0 + Probiotics. Both products contain half the sugar and a third fewer calories than regular sugar, along with soluble fiber. Both deliver the same familiar taste and mouth feel as real sugar, and produce the same results in recipes. Made with real cane sugar and no fake ingredients. While other sugar substitutes rely on synthetic, man-made ingredients to simulate the sweet flavor of real sugar, Sugar 2.0 cuts the volume of sugar in half by replacing it with natural, soluble fiber. 1 teaspoon = 2 grams of fiber. Sounds too good to be true, but it is! Every teaspoon of Sugar 2.0 provides 2 grams of soluble fiber. How cool?!

Veggies in New Shapes and Sizes

Spiralized Vegetables
Pasta still has a special place in my heart but…you’ll save about 150 calories and 35 grams of carbohydrates per one cup serving if you switch to zoodles! Another bonus is the additional fiber and antioxidants! Cooking Tip: Some stores have frozen spiralized veggies to save you time, effort and mess but if you’re looking to try it yourself, check this spiralizer out!

Riced Cauliflower and other Veggies

I mean it actually does look like rice! Cauliflower rice is a versatile veggie option that is low calorie, low carb and full of nutrients! Did you know it’s a great source of vitamin C? Try fried rice, sneak it into mashed potatoes, use it in soups or a curry dish, the possibilities are endless. Cooking Tip: same as the spiralized veggies, I buy the bagged riced version ready to heat up without the mess.

Collagen 

I love unflavored collagen peptides for an extra source of amino acids and protein. It easily blends into my coffee adding additional nutrients without added fat or sugar. I like that it is flavorless and only has one ingredient! So for those early morning workouts before I’m ready to eat my breakfast, I add a little collagen to my AM bevie!

Speaking of Coffee…

I love it all. I’m always in search of hipster coffee shops where brewing coffee looks like a science project. The French presses, the pour overs, the cold brews, the percolators, you name it. The experience and presentation of some of these contraptions may be a placebo but I don’t need the added cream and sugar when I have freshly brewed coffee, so bring on the fancy coffee brewers!

Matcha

Matcha is a green powder made from the green leaves. It’s the only tea where the leaves are consumed as part of the drink rather than being infused in hot water. This attributes to higher antioxidant content, and let’s not forget about L-theanine, an amino acid unique to tea! Why not add this delicious beverage to a healthy diet? Be careful with some of the “matcha flavored” beverages, they may contain unwanted added sugar and calories!

Protein Nut Milk

A combination of almond and cashews, Silk Protetin Nutmilk is creamy and delicious. I love it in my oatmeal, smoothies and coffee. It packs 10 grams of 100% pea protein per serving! It’s less sugar and has more calcium even than dairy milk!

So there it is! My list of favorite nutrition and food trends! I’ve linked some of my favorite brands and products in the content so you can see what I use 🙂