The good news: Going on a whole foods, plant-based diet is one of the best ways to flood your body with nutrition and give your body and mind oh-so-many benefits. The better news: With a few straightforward meal prep tweaks, you can amp up your nutritional intake even more.
Whether youre trying to overhaul your diet completely to reach your goals for a healthier bodyor simply looking for a few easy ways to boost your nutrition intake, weve got the best strategies from nutritionists. Ready to learn more?
Why didnt we think of this.800 jars of Trader Joes Kalamata olives ago? Olives have some sodium, but a lot of nutrients, and are perfect for adding to salads and sauces like pasta sauces, explains Keith-Thomas Ayoob, EdD, RD, FAND, Associate Clinical Professor Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. You get the benefits of olive oil, but don't have to add oil per se. [Olives are] actually a good source of antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory. Plus, they add more flavor than olive oil alone. Also, there are dozens of types of olives, so add whatever you have, but go beyond the canned black ones.
Up the amount of vitamin A, you consume by adding canned pumpkin to smoothies, oatmeal, overnight oats, curries, pasta sauce, and...basically anything that will taste good with a bit of the mildly sweet root vegetable. Vitamin A plays a role in our immune systemswhich work to keep us healthy. Its important to consume vitamin A not only when youre sick, but before you get sick to prevent illness in the first place, comments Colleen Christensen, RD.
Sara De Luca, RD, CDN, CPT, a Registered Dietitian in Private Practice and at Prefusion Healthin Long Island, New York, has this genius tip for boosting the nutrition of your overnight oats with hardly any extra effort: Sneak in a scoop of protein powder into your overnight oats for breakfast. Protein is the building block for hair, skin, and nails, as well as for building and repairing lean muscle tissue after a hard workout, she says. Most importantly, protein helps prevent a spike in insulin, so you can keep your blood sugar balanced and stay fuller for longer between meals. Need a plant-based protein powder rec? Check out our guide here.
Whether its spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, arugula, or another green dark, leafy green vegetable, add these nutrition powerhouses to your favorite shake recipe for a zero-effort lift in the nutritional profile. The best part is that you wont even taste it. This is also an easy way to include heart-healthy vitamins, minerals and antioxidantsinto your diet since dark leafy greens are high in Vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, iron, and even calcium, says De Luca.
Bye-bye, empty calories. Chickpea pasta is gluten-free, has triple the protein and practically three times the fiber as traditional pasta, shares De Luca. Banza is a well-known chickpeas pasta brand in the industry that makes chickpea pasta of all shapes and sizes. From penne to lasagna noodles, there is something for everyone! The taste is superb, but if you really are a pasta addict, try going half conventional, half chickpea-based.
Taken regularly, cinnamon is anti-inflammatory and studies have shown it can improve fasting blood glucose levels, although doses in some studies were fairly high. Still, it's anti-inflammatory properties, total lack of calories and huge flavor components make it worth bringing out of the spice cabinet and putting onto the table with salt and pepper, comments Ayoob. Consider adding cinnamon anytime you make a smoothie, coffee, tea, a tomato-based sauce (gives it a Middle Eastern flair), oatmeal, a mildly sweet soup, or roasted root vegetables like acorn squash or sweet potatoes.
Add nuts [to whatever youre making]any kind really, but almonds, pistachios, walnuts or even peanuts have had the most research on their heart-healthy value, and it doesn't take a lot of them to get benefits if you have them daily, says Ayoob, suggesting the serving size at around a small handful, which is the equivalent to about an ounce.Nuts give you heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, protein, and many minerals and vitamins, as well as antioxidants, he continues. Ayoob recommends avoiding eating junk food impulsively by keeping a small tin (like an empty Altoids container) on hand with nuts inside to reach for when hunger strikes.
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7 Simple Tips to Add More Vitamins and Minerals to Your Diet - The Beet
