4 Nutritionist's Tips for Healthy Living

I was at a friend’s house for the weekend recently with some of my University girlfriends, when we were lounging around over breakfast. Kathryn asked ‘So I get how natural peanut butter is better for me, but I always have to throw out the end because it’s rock hard with no oil left. I told her a great little trick, and now she’s converted. I realized there are other little tips that I take for granted that may make your healthy eating just a little bit easier to maintain and improve, here they are:

1.    Store your natural nut butters upside down in the cupboard for a day before stirring. This allows the oils to migrate to the top (which is really the bottom), so when you flip it over to stir, you can actually mix all the hard stuff in to the oil. Store in the fridge after opening. My favorite – MaraNatha brand peanut and almond butters – no separation after stirring and spreadable out of the fridge!

2.    Store nuts and seeds in fun matching jars that you can see through. I save my glass wide-mouth jars, fill them with various types of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, and store them in the cupboard. They are the first thing I see when I open the cupboard for a snack, so they get eaten more often than not! Nuts and seeds ideally should be kept in the fridge to keep their oils fresh, but we go through them so quickly this way, and we keep the extras in the freezer. You can toss these on salads, oatmeal, stir fries, etc. A great way to add essential fats to our daily diet.

3.    Keep a ‘smoothie bucket’ in the freezer. I keep a baby spinach container in the freezer for any fruit that may get slightly past its eating prime or I’m going away before they can be eaten. I peel bananas, cut fruit into appropriate blender sized chunks, and toss it in. Baby spinach or lettuce that is slightly past the fresh salad stage can also go in the bucket. Smoothies are a different flavor every time! I also have a ‘soup bucket’ for any herbs, hardy leafy greens, and any soup-able veggie – a great way to cut waste and be prepared for the next pot of soup.

4.    Always know what exactly is in your fridge and cupboards. Do you know someone who is stocked with food like they’re preparing for nuclear winter or someone that is always throwing out food that goes bad before it can be eaten?  I can tell you right now what is in my fridge. We only buy what we are going to be able to get through before the next shop, or definitely before it goes bad. Most times meals get decided on based on what food has been in the fridge the longest. Anytime someone complains to me about how ‘expensive’ it is to eat healthy, I ask how much food they throw out. We make a major point to never throw out food. Even if there are three bites left on the plate, these get put into a Pyrex container and eaten later as a snack or re-invented into another meal. I also love my Tupperware FridgeSavers, which really do keep your produce fresher longer (and visible!).

I hope these tips come in handy for you – I know they help me keep my life organized and my diet healthy! Please comment on any great tips you utilize to make the most out of your food, time, and diet. They may seem insignificant to you, but they may make someone’s life much smoother!