Can you believe it’s already the end of March? That also means it’s the FINAL week of Nutrition Month! This week’s theme is making it stick, where you can bring together all you’ve learned to make the small changes this month turn into long term life style habits while overcoming those barriers that may prevent these goals from happening. Here’s some tips/tricks and strategies from Dietitians of Canada and myself to keep your goals goin’!

1. Short on time? Easy grab-and-go snacks and preparing ahead of time is a MUST!

• Stock up your fridge and pantry with healthy snacks so that you only have NUTRIENT dense options on hand to grab when on the go. Make a big batch of my DELISH (and easy) nutty n’ fruity granola and take this one the go – eat it on it’s own or with some plain yogurt!
• Be like me and double that recipe you’re planning to whip up tonight so you don’t have to spend as much time cooking the rest of the week. Even better, choose a recipe that’s freezer-friendly so you can portion out future meals and freeze ’em so you have something yummy yet convenient available on those busy nights. My garlic and white bean spread and braised short rib are the PERFECT snack and meal to prepare a batch of this week and freeze for future (nomalicious) nights!

2. What’s your reason for eating?

• After taking the “Craving Change” course this year, I realized there’s TONS of reasons we humans eat. Stress, emotions, habit, routine, lack of sleep, decreased exercise.. the list goes on and on! Figure out what the reason for your eating habits are since that could be the big solution to (many of) your nutrition related problems. Take myself as an example – I realized that I tend to stress eat. I use food as a distraction when I’m going through a rough-patch – it was an easy way to forget about everything happening around me. Instead of choosing food, I now use exercise as my muse – hit up the gym or even go for a relaxing walk around the block (by yourself or with your partner in crime!) Determining your reason can really help reduce the amount you eat and your choice for go-to foods.

3. Chat with a dietitian!

• Find a dietitian in your area by going to http://www.dietitians.ca/find.
• Need some advice from a local, Vancouver-based dietitian? Feel free to contact me for one-on-one nutrition advice here. OR ask me a question and I’ll answer it on the blog!

(Oh, hey! That’s me!)