How a Nutritionist Really Eats
Maya Vadiveloo spends most weekdays studying food. As a dietitian and associate professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island, she delves into large data sets to help people make healthier decisions at the grocery store.
But in the evening, when she comes home from work, perfect nutrition is not the priority.
“I obviously spend quite a bit of time thinking about food,” she said, but as a single parent of an 8-year-old daughter, she tries to model balance and fun rather than perfection and rigidity.
Here are seven tips she shared for maintaining that balance and eating well when you don't have much time.
Make vegetables your 'lazy' snack.
Dr. Vadiveloo always has carrots, cucumber slices or celery sticks on hand for a quick snack. That helps her reach her goal of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and it means the easiest choice is a healthy one.
“It's amazing how content I can be just having a bag of baby carrots on my desk,” she said.
Focus on the outline of the supermarket.
Most supermarkets place fresh, unprocessed foods such as fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and fish on the outer edges, with processed and packaged foods in the center aisles.
Dr. Vadiveloo spends most of his time in the produce department, comparing prices and selecting seasonal fruits and vegetables for smoothies, lunches, snacks and dinner side dishes. She tops that off with a stop at the chest freezer, where she picks up a few versatile and budget-friendly favorites, like frozen broccoli, green beans, edamame, corn and berries.
Read the nutrition labels on packaged foods.
Dr. Vadiveloo buys the same types of yoghurt, tofu and whole wheat bread every week. But when she picks up an unfamiliar brand, she scans the nutrition labels.
For bread and cereal, for example, she looks for products that contain whole grains as the first ingredient and that contain at least three grams of fiber and less than five grams of sugar per serving. She tries to stay below the same sugar level when she buys flavored yogurt for her daughter — and she often opts for unsweetened yogurt and adds her own honey and vanilla at home.
For canned soups and jarred sauces, which can be quite high in salt, she chooses those with lower sodium content.
Get creative with smoothies.
Smoothies aren't just for breakfast, and they're not just about fruit. They can be a satisfying meal with protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. And unlike juices, they contain all the fiber from the fruits and vegetables you throw into the blender.
One of Dr.'s favorite lunches. Vadiveloo is a smoothie made with frozen banana and mango, fresh spinach or kale, kefir, almond or peanut butter, chia seeds, oatmeal and milk or almond milk. It's quick, delicious and includes all food groups.
Discover your food cravings.
When she notices that she is craving something tasty, Dr. Vadiveloo takes a moment to ask herself what exactly she is craving at that moment. Is she really hungry? If the answer is yes, she starts with a nutritious snack such as trail mix, yogurt, a piece of fruit or carrot sticks.
When she's craving even more, she asks herself: Do I want something sweet, salty, or cold? She has found that identifying the specific desire and fulfilling it is more effective than trying to stave it off or substitute something else that isn't quite what she wanted.
Meal preparation on the weekend.
On weekends, she has time to slowly simmer large quantities of her favorite comfort foods: chicken broth from leftover bones, tomato sauce, chili, vegetable soup.
To cook stock from scratch means it has less sodium and more flavor than packaged stock or stock cubes. And dr. Vadiveloo freezes its stocks, sauces and soups in smaller portions that can be used in the coming weeks or months.
a large pot of beansseasoned the way she likes them, can also be a quick and nutritious base for the coming week's meals: tacos one day, a burrito bowl the next.
Don't deprive yourself of the foods you love.
Dr. Vadiveloo calls herself a “connoisseur” of soft pretzels – studded with salt and dipped in gooey melted cheese – which she sometimes orders as a main course when she's out. “It's not a balanced meal,” she said, but it's something she enjoys occasionally, without an ounce of guilt.
Depriving yourself of your favorite food can be counterproductive, research suggestsbecause you can crave it more, which can lead to overeating.
“Sometimes simply allowing something to happen makes it easier to maintain a healthier pattern,” she said.