Healthy Food Hacks and Ideas with Certified Health Coach Amanda Behrens
Last Thursday was all about our favorite topic - Food! And who better to talk about food with than Certified Health Coach Amanda Behrens of Get Real With Amanda which is a virtual wellness coaching business supporting real people in demystifying wellness and ditching a toxic diet culture mindset.
When asked how to set a food goal, Amanda came right out of the gate hitting us with some food philosophy that stunned us! She said, “Think about what you can add instead of what you can take away.” WHAT? How is this the first time we’re hearing this?
“Think about what you can add instead of what you can take away.”
Amanda explained that in setting a food goal, sometimes she recommends to clients to start small changes to their diet by simply adding something slowly into their meals.
For example, let’s say you want to incorporate more veggies into your diet. You don’t need to completely drop all of the other food groups to eat an entire garden everyday! That’s not healthy or sustainable. Amanda suggests that you could start off adding one serving per day 3 times a week. Once you’re comfortable, you could move to 2 servings, and so on until you reach a healty relationship with your veggies.
From there, Amanda blew our minds when she said, “Food has no moral compass.” Unless ordered by your doctor, you’re not doing something inherently bad by eating a slice of cake even if you have goals expressing that you want to cut back.
“Food has no moral compass.”
Amanda is especially compassionate and understanding of the realities of an exhausting but seditary worklife. When we asked her if it’s ever okay to eat fast food, Amanda explained that the best way to navigate this is to allot yourself a couple nights a week that you will let yourself grab some takeout. We LOVE this idea!
“Make veggies on the weekend and add them to your planned weekly takeout.”
This food strategy allows you the forethought to meal-prep veggies and freeze them for later. On takeout night you’ll just microwave them and eat them with your meal! How easy is that?
When asked what an ideal healthy food looks like, Amanda suggested that you always talk to a medical doctor first. If your doctor doesn’t have a special diet for you, the best plate should have these foods: protein, starchy food, veg, fat, and seasoning.
In thinking about the best meals we’ve ever had, we both agreed that this isn’t only a way to eat healthy, but a way to cook a great dinner your family will love!
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Watch the replay below:
Are you ready to work with Certified Health Coach Amanda Behrens of Get Real With Amanda?
-> Contact her via getrealwithamanda.com
-> Get Food Tips on Instagram via @GetRealWithAmanda