Spice up your diet in 2011

Looking for some tips to spice up your diet this year?  Check out my latest article for Can-Fit-Pro and learn about 5 foods that you might not have considered recently and how they can help you reach your health and fitness goals this year.

One of the top goals heading into the New Year for both trainers and our clients is to work off those extra pounds that may have accumulated during the holidays. This is a difficult time of year for most as the excitement of the holidays is past and we come to realize that there are a few more cold dark months ahead of us. We know we need to “shape up” and “eat right”, but how should we do it and how do we make our best plans and intentions last?

As Fitness Professionals, I hope you realize that nutrition is a significant factor in the level of success your clients will have.   Even if nutrition isn’t your forte, you can help your clients by suggesting easy, quick and fun tips that can assist your clients  to achieve the results they want.

For example:  Make up recipe cards and include a different recipe each week and hand out them to your clients.  This will help show them that you care about the nutritional aspect of their wellbeing and give them something fun and healthy to experiment with each week.   Alternatively give them a new nutrition challenge each week, such as cutting back on coffee or caffeine and replacing each cup with a glass of water or herbal tea.  This approach will likely reduce their initial hesitations or feelings of becoming overwhelmed and make them more likely to establish the new, healthier routine for the long term.

Spicing up the diet is one way to help keep people interested in what they are doing.  After all, what fun is it to eat the same meal day in and day out as it soon starts to seem like a punishment!  Besides that, eating a variety of different foods is a great way to increase the spectrum of nutrients in your body and is a great way to keep you interested and motivated in good, wholesome foods.

To help you get started here’s a list of five foods that you can try and suggest your clients try to increase the variety in their diets this winter.  Each of these can be substituted into existing recipes or combined all together to make a great meal.

Celeriac is one of my favourite root vegetables.  It’s the root of the celery stalk and provides a great alternative for those of you who like potatoes, but don’t want all the starch.  With only 42 calories per cup (versus 136 cal per cup of potato), celeriac has a low Glycemic value and is a source of iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and a natural source of sodium.  Just boil or bake and puree into a soup like consistency or mash it up and serve as a side to some chicken and vegetables.

Chia Seeds (often sold under the brand name Salba) are a great alternative to flax seeds.  They are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids like flax seeds, but they don’t need to be ground up to get the benefit.  Omega-3s are beneficial to the immune system as well as reducing inflammation and can aid in weight reduction.  They are easy to use and can be toss on salads, in smoothies or on top of cereals.  Just 1 tbsp of chia seeds offers 3g of Omega-3, 3g of protein and 5g of fibre.

Brown Rice is rich in B vitamins and considered hypoallergenic grain (gluten-free) and is a great alternative to whole wheat.  Brown rice can be used as a breakfast porridge with some cinnamon and honey, or as a side to a meal or mixed with your choice of legume for a complete vegetarian meal.  While it has less protein than whole-wheat, it has a better amino acid profile.  Brown rice pasta is a great alternative to whole-wheat pasta and cooks up in less than 10 minutes.

Fish is a great, and often lean protein that is often overlooked.  The health benefits of fish have been well documented, primarily due to their high Omega-3 content which is great for reducing cholesterol.   Baking fish in a parchment paper folder is a great way to cook it healthy and keep it moist.  Toss in your veggies and a little olive oil and fresh spice and all the flavours will be infused in one tidy package.

Collard greens are the smooth version of kale but are more heat tolerant, making it great for winter cooking.  As with all dark green leafy vegetables, collard greens have excellent health benefits and are high in vitamin C, B6 and manganese offering fiber and low calories.  Collard greens are also a great source of calcium, chlorophyll and carotenes.  Try cooking it lightly with a little olive oil to decrease the bitterness and improve the absorption of minerals.  Add collard greens to lasagna, to a soup or warm salad. Better yet, add a handful of greens to a smoothie (all the fruit will mask some of the green taste, and the vitamin C will help with calcium and iron absorption) to get a dose of greens in the morning.

Make it a habit to pick up at least one new food item each time you hit the grocery store and learn what nutritional benefits it offers you. Whether you experiment with a new fresh fruit or vegetable, nut or seed, legume or protein source or whole grain, new food variations will add some spice to your diet and life!

Tara Postnikoff is a Registered Nutritional Consultant and a Personal Training Specialist in Toronto.  Tara is the owner of Healthy Eating Active Living and can be reached by email at Tara@heal-nutrition.com.  For more nutrition tips visit: www.heal-nutrition.com