5 Must-Have Salad Ingredients for a Healthy and Delicious Meal

No more sad salads!

No more wilted lettuce and a sad tomato staring up at you - these new salads are full of LIFE!

Building a satisfying salad can be an easy way to eat healthier meals more consistently because they require less prep than more complicated recipes.

Key Tips:

• they need to be BIG enough to satisfy you

• they need to be multi-textured to keep your interest

• they need to be quickly prepped so you will repeat them
  

Salads pack tons of veggies, hot or cold, but also provide the perfect landscape for protein to shine.

Here's how to build a salad you love:

1. All about that base: choose high-volume, non-starchy veggies here to build a solid foundation.  I use about 1-2 cups of greens or shredded cabbage to be the base.  Alone, they may seem boring, but it will end up catching all the other flavors as you scrape the bowl!

2. Add another, but make it different: I love to add leftover roasted veggies from dinner to add texture, but you can also add other raw veggies you have to use up.  Asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower are great partners for the greens.

3. Protein Power: THIS is why you will be satisfied.  Sure, the fiber in the veggies helps fill you up, but the protein will keep you fuller longer.  I use leftover proteins (like the shrimp in this salad) but also love a quick serving of cottage cheese on top.

4. High-Fiber Carbs: I don't know about you, but I need a crunch! So, air-fried chickpeas are my favorite! But, there's always a carb there for energy to make it through the afternoon or to finish hitting my goal at night.  Beans, quinoa, or even roasted sweet potatoes are a staple.

5. Healthy Fats: the toppings!! This is where the calories can multiply if you aren't mindful.  Choose one or two to add to the beauty you have created. Cheese, avocado, seeds, nuts, and dressing are all common fats found on salads.
   

6. BONUS 1: making your own dressing cuts down the fats and measuring these guys is recommended if you also have a fat-loss goal. Subbing dressing for plain balsamic vinegar or salsa is another option!
   

7. BONUS 2: add enhancers! Pickled onions, fresh herbs, seasonings, can all elevate your salad experience!

5 Simple Strategies for Boosting Your Daily Water Intake

Why bother?

Increasing your daily water intake can help provide lots of benefits like...

- increase energy

- help digestion

- reduce snacking

- reduce headaches

- improve skin

When you choose more water, you also choose LESS higher calorie options.

But sometimes this is easier said than done. Especially, when you're away from home or always forgetting. Here are some tips for bumping up the H20!!

Goal: Ideally, you want to drink at least half your weight in ounces per day. However, an increased amount typically means increased benefits and your body may begin to crave it more.

You will also want to increase water for exercise and/or warm temperatures.

You should always check with your doctor to see what the best water goal is for you.

If you're panicking because you're nowhere near that ..... don't! I started out only drinking a few sips each day and pretty sure I went through all the 80s with none! I slowly built it up using these tips:

1. Set a time goal for how much you want to finish by each marker. Example: 15 ounces by 9:00 AM. Take the daily total you want to achieve and divide by however many markers you want to use (3 work well for morning, afternoon, and evening - also helps you stagger for when you'll be closer to a bathroom!).

2. Increase in small amounts. Instead of trying to add 100 ounces to your day at once, start with small increments. Aim to drink 10 more ounces than yesterday. Once you hit that goal consistently for a few days or a week, then increase by another 10 ounces.

3. Track it. Like anything else you want to change or improve, you need to know how much you're having (rather than guessing) to know how much you need to add. Using an app helps you keep track on the go.

4. Flavor it. Maybe you don't love the taste or don't think about it until it's super hot outside. Very common! We tend to lean towards things with taste, so why not do the same for water? Use flavored seltzers (they count!) or unsweetened tea (counts!) or fruits or water enhancers to make it more interesting.
   

5. Make it your BFF. You can't drink it if it's not with you, so bring it everywhere you go! In the car, at birthday parties, on the sidelines of youth sports, school pick-up. Become THAT (hydrated) person!
   

3 for 30 : March Edition

These 3 core habits can help navigate all the days/events/ surprises March may deal us. Anchor your days with these 3 actions can help build - consistency - confidence - flexibility

What is the 3 for 30?

I created an easy habit system that can be repeated daily to create foundation for health. These core habits can start a journey or bring it to the next level. Mastering & modifying them to fit what you need each day helps to make every day a healthy day!

The goal is to begin by repeating these 3 habits for 30 days. Committing to this will help launch a lifestyle change based on action. The three habits are:

- Drink 3 bottles of water (any size)

- Eat 3 servings of veggies (all the same or different, all at once or throughout the day - 1 serving = approx. 1c)

- Move for 30 minutes (all at once or broken up - any activity)

They don’t have to always look the same each day but having them present each day will make sure you’re:

fueling with veggies hydrating moving