I am a carnivore at heart but lately I have been making a conscious effort to increase my fruits and veggies. No, I did not become a vegetarian, raw foodist, vegan, fruitarian or macrobiotic celeb dieter (side eyes at Madge and Gwyneth). Just adding more plant powers. Here are 5 easy nutrition tips I love at the moment:
1. Aloha
Aloha
Yes, Cameron Crowe’s latest film starring yummy BCoop but also Daily Good Greens. When I asked my veg friend Crystal for some ideas she had several suggestions including sprinkling this superfood powder in with smoothies. I was already making blended drinks each morning, and love spending money to have healthy things sent to me, instead of spending both money and time to go get healthy things. Aloha was stress-free considering you usually have to spend your time running around trying to find what a superfood is, which store has it, how to prepare it and so on and so forth. Just sprinkle the packet into blender with your other healthy contents. Liquefy. Feel like She-Ra Princess of Power. Berry ingredients include Coconut Water, Blueberries, Pear, Peas, Raspberry Juice, Black Currant Juice, Wheatgrass Juice, Spinach, Moringa, Spirulina, King Trumpet Mushrooms, Himalayan Pink Salt, Lemon and Hawaiian Yellow Ginger, most of which are organic.
2. Amazon for Dark Chocolate
Amazon
I know I know, I am supposed to be telling you about food pyramid stuff but just hear me out for a second. To me, not having dark chocolate in the house is like The Bachelor – (it doesn’t make sense and seems wrong). Spoiler alert, Amazon carries Endangered Species, so as you enjoy a few squares of dark chocolate with hazelnut toffee, you are spreading some good too. Ten percent of net profits are donated to organizations that support species conservation, habitat preservation and humanitarian efforts.
3. Subscribe & Save for Protein Risebars
Amazon
You can have basically your entire non-perishable household and kitchen items sent to you — which is great because running errands is a waste of time (yes, even if traffic is better now that season is over). The protein bars, such as almond honey, have few ingredients. Literally. There are three ingredients. Almonds, honey and whey protein isolate. Plus they have pictures of hot surfers on the packaging. Seriously though, the carb/protein ratio is descent (approx. 20g of each). I order the Almond Honey, Crunchy Carob Chip, and Sunflower Cinnamon (made with pea protein) by the box.
4. Sarafresh Juice
Sarafresh Juice
Okay. Back to plants. My addiction started a year ago when I picked up a Hardcore Greens (kale, tatsoi, romaine, celery, kina savoy, seasonal herbs and lemon, ginger) at the Farmer’s Market. It was flavorful, healthy and salad-y tasting in a good way. After I read about all of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health benefits of beets, I picked up some Roots (beet, celery, romaine, parsley, lime). Founder Lynn Morris, totally struck the right cord when she said, “Roots is a great post-workout beverage for my hard-core athletes.” (That’s definitely me!) If you are not feeling uber hardcore, you’re in luck, because the seasonal Sugarbaby (organic sugar baby watermelon and mint) will blow your mind. It is so refreshingly delicious that I only allow myself ¼ of the bottle a day just to make it last longer. Oh, and all of their juices are made with organic ingredients that are locally sourced and picked fresh. In addition to Saturday’s at the Farmer’s Market, Sarafresh delivers and has a super cool food truck. Check their Facebook, Insta, and Twitter for updates.
5. Trader Joes Organic Soups
Trader Joe’s
I was meal-prepping to go out of town for a week at the Staybridge Suites (read: full kitchen included) so I stopped by Trader Joe’s for some premade goodies. I was delighted to see chilled soups (anything chill is perf when you live in Florida) including Organic Creamy Asparagus and Organic Roasted Tomatillo Gazpacho. The asparagus was delicious cold — I was pleasantly surprised at how filling it was — and the gazpacho was exactly as TJ’s promised, “fresh and simple, with an exotic appeal.” While I was there I also picked up some “Just A Handful Of Raw Go Trek” mix and some raw shelled hemp seeds to add to my breakfast smoothies.
Don’t worry, you won’t ever see me in any hipster Birkenstocks but these healthy hints sure do put a spring in my fashionable footwear.
