Clarity Wellness

Everywhere I go on social media this month I see posts on how to stick to your dietary plan over the holidays, nasty ingredients that are in your favorite dishes, and recipes for healthier options.  I'm all for eating healthier (obviously!) but aren't the holidays stressful enough?   Case in point: one of my family favorites at Thanksgiving is a corn pudding that we've been eating for as long as I can remember.  It's pretty basic—corn, butter, yogurt, and a corn muffin mix packet.  I saw a post this week on the ingredients in the corn muffin mix that was quite horrifying, along with a link to a healthier option you could use.  The price difference?  Twelve dollars!  Now, I'm all for healthier options (especially the gluten-free varieties), and quite honestly, I don't recommend eating corn muffins—even the twelve dollar ones—at all, but if you're only eating them once a year, why break the bank and stress over it? I will be making the cheaper versi...

Yes, I’m in the business of building meal plans for people who want to improve their health and (usually) lose weight. Most people, however, use my meal plans as “training wheels” to ultimately build their own meal plans, and that's the way it should be. Building a healthy meal plan doesn't have to be complicated.  In fact, the easier the better, IMHO. Here are the basic tenants that will start you on the road to better health almost immediately! 1.  Eat   two or three full meals a day . Build nutrient-dense, satiating meals, so you won't feel the need to snack later. If you find yourself getting "snacky" between meals, add a little more protein to your meals, drink plenty of water, and take a look at whether or not you're really hungry. You might just be bored, upset, or in the habit of eating at that time.   2.  Start with a savory,  protein-packed breakfast (whenever that is) .  Save your carbs for later in the day. Eggs, Greek yogurt, a prote...

  5 "healthy" foods I don't eat anymore I have been interested in nutrition for as long as I can remember, and the more I learn the more my diet evolves.  Here are five things I used to eat that I've realized were really not as healthy as I thought. 1 .   Dried fruit .  Sure, dried fruit has fiber and a few vitamins, but it's also a highly concentrated source of sugar that will spike your glucose and insulin levels quite quickly.  And yes, that goes for dates too.  Eat your fruit whole, and preferably with some fat or protein to blunt the glucose spike. 2 .   Fruit smoothies or juices .  If I make a smoothie these days, it includes a lot of protein, some fiber and fat, along with a small amount of fruit--usually in the form of berries.  Most juices have as much, if not more, sugar as a soft drink, with no fiber to slow down the sugar rush. 3 .   Whole grain bread or pasta .  I know t...

  I noticed this morning during my walk that I was ravenously hungry about an hour into it. This doesn't usually happen to me. I can typically go all morning without a twinge of hunger. However, I've had a couple of weeks of not-so-low-carb eating and I can definitely tell a difference! Give me a teacher appreciation donut, some graduation cake, or a couple of pizza slices with the kids, and boom! I'm right back on the blood sugar rollercoaster.  You know how I can tell? I wake up in the middle of the night a hot mess, I run hot periodically throughout the day, my brain is foggy, my running injuries are aching, my nose is stuffy, and I'm hungry more often than usual. I'd like to think that I can have a little bit of sugar and feel ok, but every experiment fails and I find myself scrambling to get off the rollercoaster and back onto solid ground. Here are some key ways I've found to get back on track and feel better soon. Get it out of your house (and work...

I know you already know that you can save money on food if you cook at home more often and plan your meals so you don't throw so much out. Right? Then why don't we do that? Time? Energy? What to make? The key is in the prep work. Here’s how to do it so you can hold onto that hard-earned cash and reduce your food waste: 1. Look at what you already have. Shop your fridge and pantry before planning your meals for the week. That way you won’t end up throwing things out that go bad before you can use them, and you won’t buy things that you didn’t realize you already had. Make sure you have a few basic staples on hand to use in an emergency—frozen produce, cans of tuna or salmon, eggs, etc. 2. Check out the grocery ads and download your coupons before you go shopping. If something is on sale, now may be a good time to stock up on things you use often, like meat or in-season produce that you can freeze. 3. Decide on a meal plan. Look at your schedule for the week, taking into acco...

Aren't they pretty? Hi friends, here's a little bonus I thought I'd put out.  Short, sweet, and yummy. :) If you'd like to talk to me more about creating a wellness and nutrition plan that works for you , I've got you!  I'm a certified Nutrition Coach who will create a simple, customized meal plan for you and coach you through how to implement it into your busy life.  We also talk about all the pitfalls that make it hard, and help you make it the anchor that keeps you healthy, energized, and sane through the whirlwind of your everyday life. I'd love to talk to you about the program, so  book a free consultation with me by clicking the  Calendly  button. I look forward to talking to you! Click here to sign up for my weekly newsletter Join my  Clarity Wellness Low-Carb Ladies Facebook Group

  In case you haven't seen my latest post, I recently had skin cancer surgery, and ended up popping a few stitches.  Now I have a hole on the top of my head that is healing very slowly.  It's been over a month now, and I'm still a long way from being healed.  My next stop is a wound care clinic, and then I'm on to a plastic surgeon.   Looking in the mirror in the mornings and trying to do something with my hair while hiding the mess under a headband is the hardest, and honestly, for a few weeks there, I had a really tough time dealing with it.   I'm tired of playing the victim role, though.  I know what I need to do to heal myself, and the answer doesn't lie at the bottom of a box of cookies.  Not that I had gone overboard with the junk food, but I did let things slip a little.   In my nutrition coaching business I give my clients a meal plan to follow each week, and those that do see the greatest results.  So...why was I ...

Changing your eating habits doesn't have to be hard.   There are books and books full of amazing low-carb recipes, as well as a gazillion websites dedicated to keto, paleo, and everything in-between.  I've linked to a few of my favorites at the bottom of this page. However, I've found that the easier you make things, the more likely you are to succeed.  Complicated leads to overwhelm, which leads to reverting back to even easier--which usually comes in a shiny silver package full of unpronounceable ingredients. I've had people tell me they can't figure out what to eat if they can't eat sandwiches.  Unless you've found a really good recipe for keto bread, it's easier to simply find other options.  I honestly can't tell you the last time I ate a sandwich, (except that one time last week when I put a slice of turkey and some avocado mash between two chaffles--omg!) Here are some of my favorite, easy, low-carb lunches that don't require an oven, can ...

Is the nutrition world making your head swim? Eat only meat! Eat only plants! Stay away from carbs! Sugar is the devil! It doesn't matter what you eat as long as you count your calories! I'll admit, I'm sure I add to your confusion sometimes, and I probably add to your stress levels.  My cousin recently told me, "I read your stuff on Facebook, and I just want to go eat a cookie." I'm sorry.  I really am.  It shouldn't be that confusing.  All the science out there essentially boils down to two things:  eat whole, unprocessed foods, and control your blood sugar. Even if we know the science, our relationship with food can be a complicated one.  It's doesn't have to be that way, though.  If you're not happy with the relationship you have right now, it's like any relationship.  You're not going to change it overnight.  It takes work, it takes patience, and it takes baby steps. Sometimes you're hit by a lightning bolt (a diagnosis, the de...

There have been many times in the last week that I have had to say to myself, "Keep it simple." My kids are finishing up the first semester at school and everyone's just the tiniest bit grumpy. Complicated is not an option right now. It's officially the holiday season, which means you're planning for big dinners, parties, gift-giving, housecleaning, decorating, and essentially creating a whole lotta magic in your house, especially for the little ones. Some of you even have elves creating mayhem in your house on a nightly basis!  I love to see your pictures of them on Facebook, but I'm a tiny bit glad I never had one show up in my house. ;) With all this background noise in your head, it's hard to concentrate on the here and now, and sometimes you just need to take a break and remember that you don't have to do it all.  Nor should you.  I love to cook and try new recipes.  However, I've found lately that it's very frustrating when I spend an hou...

  I have been experimenting with chia puddings lately.   I find that having a few in the fridge when life gets hectic is a great way to ensure that I won’t fall off the wagon and find myself grabbing the first sugary bar or bag of chips that might have snuck into my kitchen cupboards.    Sometimes I will grab one of these for breakfast, but more often, I have one as an afternoon pick-me-up, when I might be craving a little something sweet. I’m on my annual pumpkin kick right now.   I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to all things pumpkin , and a special section in my recipe binder just for pumpkin desserts.   It’s funny, because although I love to think about pumpkin, smell pumpkin, and look at pumpkin pictures, I’m very picky about what I’ll actually eat.   And if you get right down to it, it’s really the pumpkin spice that does it for me. I like a lot of spice, so if it's too much for you, please adjust to taste. I will often add pumpkin s...

  On my Saturday run last week I was listening to a podcast about nutrition and quickly found myself overwhelmed.   Now I’m a person who listens to this stuff on a regular basis so it shouldn’t have been a big deal.   It’s kind of my obsession.   However, in this case the person was talking about adjusting macros and calorie counts to lose weight, and the whole thing got quite complex.   It all made sense mathematically, I suppose, but in real life it sounded like a recipe for a mental breakdown.   Besides, the human body doesn’t necessarily follow mathematical rules .   There are a lot of variables to consider.   Are you stressed?    Well then, your body will produce more cortisol, which leads to insulin resistance.   Are you sleeping well?   If not, your body is looking for quick energy in the form of sugar and is probably insulin resistant. (We want our cells to work in harmony with insulin to process our blood sugar—n...