Category: Nutrition

When you start a new diet, you’re still probably going to get cravings for junk food. Your body is used to getting nutrients from unhealthy sources. So when you crave something, you aren’t craving the actual junk food. You’re craving an associated nutrient. Here’s a guide from our nutritional coaches to what your body might actually want when you have a craving and what you can eat instead:

1. Sweets: When you crave sweets, your body is usually telling you that you need chromium, phosphorus, sulfur, or tryptophan. Here’s what to have instead:

● Chromium: Mushrooms, beets, broccoli, grapes
● Phosphorus: Nuts, fish, chicken, eggs
● Sulfur: Garlic, onions, cabbage, cauliflower
● Tryptophan: Raisins, sweet potatoes, spinach, yogurt

Craving sweets can also be a sign that you are dehydrated and your body is craving water. So try drinking a glass of water before reaching for the desserts.

2. Salty Snacks: Craving salty snacks like chips, pretzels, or popcorn can be a sign your body needs chloride. Try eating a chloride rich food like olives, tomatoes, celery, or lettuce. A simple tossed salad is a great option when you are craving a salty snack.

3. Fried Foods: Craving fried foods like fast food french fries usually means your body is looking for calcium. Grab a snack of plums, dates, kale, or broccoli instead.

4. Carbs: If you are eating low-carb but are still craving breads and pastas, your body is probably telling you that you need nitrogen. Try eating beans, oatmeal, peas, or lentils. These are a great option because they can also substitute carbs in most meals.

5. Carbonated Drinks: Craving a soda or pop usually means your body needs calcium. Good sources of calcium include oranges, almonds, spinach, and broccoli.

6. Chocolate: When you crave chocolate, it usually means your body wants magnesium. Healthy sources of magnesium include nuts, seeds, and most fruits and vegetables. The good thing about craving chocolate though is you don’t have to give it up. Chocolate is really healthy for you if you choose the right chocolate. Skip the sugary and dairy-healthy chocolate bars and grab a bar of dark chocolate with 70% cacao or more or just much on a handful of cocoa nibs.

Understanding how to manage your cravings can keep you on track to your fitness goals. This isn’t always easy, but fortunately, the nutritional coaches at Everlasting Changes are here for you. Call us now for 3 risk-free, complimentary sessions. We include a 30-day guarantee on all of our packages.

Here’s the too-tasty-to-believe one-pan recipe that you should be making for dinner tonight…

Buttery, flaky salmon fillets and crispy roasted broccoli are perfectly seasoned with garlic and lemon in this simple, nutritious dish. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What You Need

Serves 6

For the Broccoli:

2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For the Salmon:

5 (6 oz) salmon fillets, skin-on
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
½ teaspoon sea salt
ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon, cut into 5 slices

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil.

2. In a large bowl toss the broccoli ingredients together, seasoning generously with sea salt and black pepper. Mix until well combined.

3. Spread the seasoned broccoli in a single layer over the prepared baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, drizzle the olive oil over the salmon fillets and evenly sprinkle with the minced garlic, lemon zest and dried marjoram. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.

5. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and move the broccoli to create open spaces for the fillets. Place the salmon in the empty spaces and put back in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the salmon is flaky and cooked through. Top each fillet with a slice of lemon and place under the high broil for 1 minute. Remove from the oven. Enjoy!

Nutrition

One serving equals: 401 calories, 19g fat, 12g carbohydrate, 8g fiber, 356 mg sodium, 3g sugar, and 42g protein.

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!

There’s no better way to start your day than a morning coffee run. However, many of the coffee drinks at our favorite shop are very unhealthy. Though a caramel mocha macchiato with extra whipped cream may sound delicious, they are loaded with sugar. The worst thing you can do is start your day with that much sugar, because you will have a hard crash mid-morning which can screw up your entire day. You can still get something delicious at the coffee shop without consuming a week’s worth of refined sugar.

Three Tips To Ensure You Always Order Something Healthy

Here are some really easy guidelines to follow when looking over the menu at your local coffee shop:

1. Stay away from sugars, syrups, and even artificial sweeteners. If you want to add a little flavor opt for cinnamon or nutmeg instead.
2. Check the calorie count and try to keep it under 100 calories. If you stay under 100 calories you won’t derail your diet.
3. Stick to the basics like black coffee, tea, and espresso. These drinks are low carb, low-calorie, and delicious all on their own.

Nutritionist-Recommended Coffee Shop Drinks

If you follow the guidelines you’ll be able to make sure you order something that supports your healthy diet. If you are still a little lost, here are some ideas on what you can order:

1. Chai Tea Latter: Use a low-fat milk or milk substitute and ask them to skip the sweetener.
2. Skinny Latte: Many coffee shops offer low calorie, sweetener-free lattes in a variety of tasty flavors.
3. Iced Tea or Coffee: An ice tea or coffee, even blended is a really healthy option and perfect for a summer day. Consider getting a flavored tea or coffee, just make sure there’s no extra sweeteners.
4. Cappuccino: If you want something creamy, get a cappuccino. Just make sure you order it with a low-fat milk option instead of cream.
5. Americano: Americano is a espresso shot mixed with water. It’s delicious and will give you a strong burst of caffeine.

You don’t have to give up your morning coffee routine to stick to a healthy diet. Instead, just remember these nutritionist-approved tips. The nutritionists at Everlasting Changes understand how important your lifestyle is to you. So we work with you to make sure that you can still do things like grab a morning coffee from your favorite spot. We just make sure that you know how to grab the healthiest option. For more nutritional tips for your life, call now for 3 risk-free, complimentary sessions. We include a 30-day guarantee on all of our packages.

A light healthy dinner that’s centered around protein and veggies is the perfect way to end your day. Today I have an innovative recipe that delivers big in both flavor and fitness.

This Fit Turkey Goulash is a fun way to serve up wholesome ingredients that the whole family will enjoy. Making smart substitutions, like using zucchini noodles instead of traditional pasta noodles, is a great way to eat meals that help propel you towards your fitness goal. Lucky for you this wholesome meal is packed with flavor!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What You Need

Serves 8

3 strips bacon, chopped
2 pounds ground turkey
sea salt and black pepper
2 apples, seeded and diced
2 yellow onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
juice of 1 lemon
2½ cups broth (chicken or bone)
5 medium zucchinis
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
non-fat, plain Greek yogurt (optional)

Instructions

1. Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.

2. Add the ground pork to the pot in the bacon drippings, cook, breaking it into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the apples, onions, bell pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in the paprika and cumin.

4. Return the bacon back to the pot, along with the lemon juice and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the goulash thickens.

5. Use a veggie peeler to peel the zucchini into flat noodles in a large bowl. Toss with the olive oil and season with sea salt. Mix in the parsley and dill.

6. Serve the goulash warm over zucchini noodles with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Nutrition

One serving equals: 360 calories, 18g fat, 19g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 37g protein.

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!

Most snack foods that you’ll find at parties, at the movies, or at amusement parks are filled with refined sugar and unnecessary fats. Making your own quick and wholesome snack, like these Spiced Party Nuts, is a fantastic way to avoid those fattening snacks without missing out.

This recipe is super quick to make — literally 10 minutes of prep. Put a bowl of these out when you have company over, take a bag of them with you for an on-the-go snack, or give it away as a healthy hostess gift.

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What You Need

Serves 16

4 cups mixed nuts – pecans, almonds, pistachio, walnuts, cashews, and/or brazil nuts
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup water
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. In a large bowl combine the nuts, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder, ginger and garlic.

3. In a small skillet combine the coconut sugar, water and coconut oil over medium heat. Mix until the sugar has dissolved, about one minute. Pour the mixture over the nuts and spices. Mix until fully coated.

4. Spread the coated nuts over the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven and then stir. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden.

Nutrition

One ¼ cup serving equals: 135 calories, 12g fat, 139mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 3g sugar, and 4g protein

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!

When you start a new diet, one of the biggest hurdles is food cravings. If you’ve been eating unhealthy foods for awhile, your body becomes dependent on them. You may crave sugars, fats, and simple carbs. These cravings can be really tough to overcome. However, your body only needs these things in moderation, so it all comes down to willpower. Here are some ways to ensure that you beat even your toughest food cravings, so your diet stays on track.

Recognize The Difference Between Hunger And A Craving

When you are first changing your diet, one of the things you need to learn is that hunger and cravings are different. Hunger is your body telling you it’s time to replenish. Cravings are, on the other hand, is part of detoxing off of unhealthy things. For example, your body is addicted to the spike in blood sugar from an afternoon candy bar. However, if you eat a healthy diet, you don’t need that sugar burst. When you crave something you usually picture it in your mind, which can be really distracting. Once you know the difference between hunger and cravings, there are steps you can take to battle them back.

Tips For Beating Cravings With Nutritional Coaches

Here are some things you can do so you don’t give into cravings:

1. Drink a glass of water. We sometimes mistake thirst for a food craving.
2. Beat them proactively by providing your body with the sustenance and nutrients it needs. If you have plenty of energy from a healthy diet, your body will be less likely to crave energy from unhealthy sources.
3. Substitute your junky favorites with a healthy version. Got a craving for candy? Eat a piece of dark chocolate or some fruit. Want some salty chips? Grab a handful of nuts or seeds.
4. Find a healthy way to get your mind off of a craving. Take a walk, focus on work, or call a friend to chat.

These simple times will help make sure that when a craving strikes you are ready.
Another way to ensure that cravings don’t get to you is to work with a nutritional coach. A nutritional coach will help tailor a diet that meets all your body’s needs so you have less cravings. At Everlasting Changes, we include both nutritional coaching and personal training in one great package to help you achieve your goals faster. Call now for 3 risk-free, complimentary sessions. We include a 30-day guarantee on all of our packages.

Our kids are eating too much junk. And who can blame them? Junk food tastes great.

The good news is that healthy food also tastes great. Here are simple ways to help your kids eat healthier:

1) Choose Whole Foods

Processed foods are the biggest problem with our modern diet. Packaged and refined food products are devitalized and filled with empty calories that quickly lead to weight gain. Unfortunately, processed foods make up a large portion of the diet of many children.

Offer your kids whole foods, rather than packaged ones. Whole foods are foods that are in their natural state. An apple. A piece of sprouted grain bread spread with natural peanut butter. A piece of hormone-free chicken. A bowl of beans. You get the idea.

2) Add Color

Adding bright and colorful fruits and veggies to your child’s plate will get their diet on the fast track to health. Fresh fruits and veggies are filled with fiber, vitamins and minerals that are essential to good health.

Make it fun! Serve veggies with salad dressing as a dip. Cut fresh fruit in the colors of the rainbow and place them on a skewer. Serve a color themed meal – all green, all red or all orange. Use your imagination and you’ll come up with an endless number of ways to make fruits and veggies fun to eat.

3) Make Smart Substitutions

Kids love pizza and pasta and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and that’s not going to change any time soon. Rather than fight your kids on their favorites, try making smart substitutions to make their favorites more nutritious.

Pizza: Up the nutritional content of your pizza by opting for wheat crust over white, adding veggies to the toppings and sticking with lean meat toppings. You could even make “Pizza Eggs” by adding marinara sauce, cheese, and pepperoni to an omelet and avoid the crust altogether.
Pasta: Make spaghetti with veggie noodles – see the recipe below!
PB&J: A PB&J, made with white bread using sugar-filled peanut butter and corn syrup-filled jelly, is fairly void of any real nutritional value. Instead make a PB&J with sprouted grain bread, pure peanut butter (with only peanuts and sea salt), and fruit-only jelly. This will provide real wholesome fuel for your child’s day.

4) Ban Sugary Drinks

One of the best things that you can do for your child’s good health is to instill in them a love for water rather than sugary drinks. Soda pop, juices, smoothies, and blended coffee drinks are filled with empty calories that cause weight gain.

The easiest way to do this is to stock your house with lots of pure, filtered water. Don’t have fruit drinks or soda pop readily available so that they grow accustom to drinking only water.

While I presented these tips as improvements to be made to your child’s diets, these tips will also do wonders for your diet. Practice these tips for 30 days and I guarantee you’ll look and feel better.

Parents all want good things for their children. Now how about doing something good for yourself as well? You are your child’s biggest role model on how to live, for better or worse.

Treat yourself right by calling or emailing today to get started on an exercise program that will change your life for the best.

Call or email now to reserve your spot.

Just A Few Minutes

Do you put off doing your daily exercise? Research shows that by spending just a few minutes doing the dreaded task you’ll feel an urge to see it through completion. These initial few minutes of activity is all you need to get into the swing of it. Before you realize it, you’ll be sweating, smiling, and feeling great!

One Pan Spaghetti

You’ll never make traditional spaghetti and meatballs again. This lightened recipe combines butternut squash noodles with tender meatballs and savory red sauce for a healthy meal that tastes downright naughty. Every family needs a reliable spaghetti and meatball recipe, and it’s a happy bonus that this one is light and lean.

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need

Serves 6

1 pound ground beef
¾ cup grain-free bread crumbs
⅓ cup Basil pesto
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
6 cups Butternut squash noodles
1 (24 ounce) jar of marinara sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with olive oil.

2. Use your hands to combine the beef, bread crumbs, pesto, sea salt and black pepper. Roll the mixture into about fifteen 1-inch meatballs. Place the meatballs in the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the meatballs, setting aside on a plan, and drain off any liquids from the pan.

3. Spread the noodles in the pan. Pour the marinara sauce over the noodles and toss gently with tongs to coat. Add the meatballs back to the pan, gently nestling throughout the noodles. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 3-5 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from oven. Toss to coat the noodles and meatballs with the sauce. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper and garnish with fresh basil.

Nutrition

One serving equals 289 calories, 10g fat, 23g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 26g protein.

When you workout hard, you sweat. When you sweat, you don’t just lose water. You also lose valuable minerals your body needs to stay healthy. These minerals are called electrolytes and they support your body’s hydration. So after a hard workout, you want to do more than just grab some water. You need to replace these valuable minerals. An easy way to do this is with an electrolyte drink like Gatorade or a post-workout shake. However, many of these drinks contain high levels of sugar, chemical ingredients, and do not taste very good. Luckily there are other ways to replace these minerals besides grabbing a post workout drink including:

1. Grab A Snack:

A healthy snack loaded with the necessary minerals can be really helpful. One of the best things you can do is eat a banana. Bananas are loaded with 400 mg of potassium. If bananas aren’t your thing you can try potatoes or yogurt for potassium. You’ll also want to eat something with magnesium such as pumpkin seeds, nuts, spinach, or beans. Both potassium and magnesium help your body stay hydrated and reduce muscle tension and soreness.

2. Add A Pinch Of Salt To Your Water:

Salt is made of sodium and chloride. Sodium is crucial to helping you stay hydrated because it holds water in your body. If you don’t like the idea of adding a pinch of salt to your water you can consider drinking some broth or vegetable juice to increase your sodium. Drinking tomato juice will offer both sodium and chloride.

3. Have Some Dairy:

Finally, you’ll want to replace your lost calcium. The easiest way to do this is with dairy. Grab a glass of milk which has 300 mg of calcium or snack on a yogurt which has 400 mg of yogurt per serving.

4. Drink Coconut Water

Coconut water is nature’s electrolyte drink. It has potassium, sodium, and magnesium. It works as well as an electrolyte drink but without all the sugars and added ingredients. You can find coconut water nowadays at most grocery stores. They even come in a variety of flavors.

Hydration requires more than just drinking lots of water. You need to also equip your body with the right minerals like electrolytes. To ensure that you are getting all the things your body needs after a workout, the best idea is to hire a nutritionist. At Everlasting Changes, all of our personal trainers are also certified nutritionists. Not only will we make sure that your workout makes you sweat, but that you’ll replenish all the nutrients your body needs. Call now for 3 risk-free, complimentary sessions. We include a 30-day guarantee on all of our packages.

A wholesome breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.

This wrap is delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s ready in a flash, tastes amazing, and is filled with lean protein, veggies and whole sprouted grains. Try it today, but don’t be surprised if you get hooked!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What You Need

Serves 4

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup tomato, finely chopped
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup egg whites
dash of salt and pepper
2 sprouted grain tortillas
2 Tablespoons pesto (purchase it pre-made, or combine ½ cup walnuts, 2 cups basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, ¼ cup olive oil, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste.)

Instructions

1. Spread a tablespoon of pesto over each tortilla and set aside.

2. In medium sized skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until golden. Add the tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until it is soft and wilted. Remove the veggies from skillet, set aside in a bowl.

3. Pour the egg whites into the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until the egg is no longer runny.

4. Arrange half of the egg whites in a line down the center of each tortilla. Top with half of the veggies and then fold the ends up and wrap like a burrito.

Nutrition

One serving equals 288 calories, 10g fat, 28g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 21g protein.

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!

It’s important to avoid traditional breakfast foods that are filled with carbs, grains and sugar, and to instead stick with protein rich recipes like the one for Eggs in Clouds below. A wholesome breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.

These flavor-rich, fluffed, and baked eggs are great for delivering big nutrition in a fun package. The nutritional yeast adds nutty, cheesy flavor, making it the substitute for dairy cheese.

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What You Need

Serves 4

4 eggs
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
¼ cup scallion, minced
¼ cup bacon, cooked and minced
sea salt
black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks, placing the whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and the yolks in individual ramekins, being careful not to break the yolks.

3. Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold in the nutritional yeast, scallion, and bacon.

4. Spoon the egg white mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in 4 mounds. Use the spoon to create a well in the center of each mound, then bake for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and add a yolk to the center of each mound. Return to the oven for 3 minutes, until the yolk has set. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

Nutrition

One serving equals 101 calories, 7g fat, 229mg sodium, 1g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g protein

I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!