Welcoming back Darcy to the blog! Darcy has endless amounts of knowledge and wisdom when it comes to nutrition, health & fitness. She has been a Registered Dietitian for 10 years, has a Masters in Medical Nutrition Therapy and tons of experience in the industry. We are so lucky to have Darcy as our current Practice Manager at Racquel Aesthetics! She doesn’t currently practice in nutrition, but loves cooking and sharing all of her knowledge! Let’s hear what your best advice is this month, Darcy!
Holidays & Nutrition Goals
We have reached that time of year when parties, gatherings, and events are plentiful. We reach for kids leftovers, snacks at parties, and mindlessly eat…. We are all guilty of this.
It can all add up super quickly and we tell ourselves that we will get back on track in the new year. So to keep things on track, still enjoy the holidays, stick to set meals (some suggestions below), walk, drink water, and get quality sleep.
Besides all of the advice we could give; honestly take some time and set goals for next year. Not resolution, you usually don’t stick to those.
In the long run, its better to have something to work towards and have things you can accomplish vs saying something you won’t do.
Set true goals, here are my personal goals for 2024 (health and fitness)
- Run 1 day per week (1-3 miles)
- Lift weights 3 days per week – increase squat, deadlift, and overhead press
- Walk 10k steps every day
- Eat whole foods and cook at home as much as possible
- Hit protein goal daily
- Overall Feel strong and healthy
Quick Meal Ideas: Trader Joe’s Edition
My favorite quick meals when you only have a few minutes, but want to stay on track and avoid eating out!
- Frozen Turkey meatballs (pre-cooked). Just heat up and add to pasta sauce and some noodles or toasted bread
- Pre-cooked sausages. My favorite are the chicken jalapeno. I like to dip them in mustard or make a sandwich.
- Frozen broccoli or frozen fresh green beans are easy to throw in the microwave to have a veggie at each meal.
- Their frozen rice packets are a game changer – they can be heated in the microwave and are ready to serve in 3 minutes
- Any of their sauces
Take a protein, veggie, and carb – throw in the microwave, add sauce and you have a meal in 5 minutes.
Snacks to keep on hand when you are feeling “snacky”, but won’t derail you
- Keep Protein high! Any meat stick or jerky, Hard boiled eggs or a protein shake
- Fruit, any kind that you like – winter in season fruits are citrus, pears, kiwi, grapes.
- Baby carrots, cut celery, peppers, or other veggies dipped in guacamole or hummus
Cheers to a happy, healthy holiday season & ending 2023 with goals in mind!
