At Integra Health and Wellness, we believe that nutrition is a key part of overall health. Eating well gives your body the vitamins and energy it needs to function properly. Proper nutrition may even kickstart the immune system to begin the healing process.
You wouldn’t believe how many chronic illnesses are linked to a poor diet.
And yet, we sometimes let our diets slip over the holidays. We eat rich, delicious foods as we celebrate with friends and family. We also take home containers full of leftovers.
So, while we aren’t going to tell you to skip holiday meals with loved ones, we’d like to suggest a nutrition coaching menu that you can cook up in between feasts. In this post, we’ve listed four of our favorite recipes from our coaching menu. These meals taste great and pack a powerful nutritional punch. And they’ll be sure to break up the monotony of potatoes, turkey, and fruit cake.
Four Recipes to Try off Our Health Coaching Menu
Every once in a while, Integra Health and Wellness likes to share healthy recipes on our site. We’ve picked four that buck the holiday trend. As you’ll notice, this coaching menu focuses on fish, salads, and liquids.
Flavorful Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon
It’s hard to beat the taste of well-cooked salmon. Rich in flavor without being too heavy, it’s an excellent source of protein and healthy fats. This recipe is perfect for chilly holiday evenings and even fits into busy schedules with its 30-minute cook time. The butter in this recipe is infused with lemon and garlic and adds so much flavor.
Try this sheet pan lemon garlic butter salmon.
Spinach and Pomegranate Chicken Salad
This salad recipe can be adjusted to fit any pantry or fridge. Substitutions abound! But spinach and pomegranate, the main ingredients, are bound to provide a broad range of flavors for your meal. In winter, we like to add in warm and tasty lentils.
Try this spinach and pomegranate Chicken Salad.
Fresno Green Spinach Supreme Smoothie
Next on our health coaching menu is an incredibly tasty smoothie. This green concoction provides a number of key nutrients on the go. Throw it in a cold thermos to enjoy later in the day. It contains proteins, fibers, and enough essential vitamins and minerals to give your body the energy it needs while Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and visiting family.
Try this Fresno green spinach supreme smoothie.
Tomato Cucumber Feta Cheese Salad
This delicious tomato cucumber salad is light and refreshing – perfect for a casual dinner or feeding a crowd at a holiday party. We used red cherry tomatoes, but you can substitute for any locally grown fresh tomatoes. As always try to use organic when possible. If the dark days of winter get you down, this light salad will remind you of warm summer days.
Try this Tomato Cucumber Feta Cheese Salad.
Any Foods to Avoid this Holiday Season?
There aren’t really any “bad” or “good” foods to eat. Our team does recommend whole organic foods over heavily-processed foods, but every food in the food pyramid has a role to play. Instead, you might want to think of nutrition imbalances. Is your body receiving all the nutrients it needs? In our coaching menu, we want you to avoid restrictions.
You don’t need to “earn” your calories or skip meals. Simply check in with yourself and see if the food you’ve been eating is properly fueling your body. Perhaps you’ll want to have some fun by learning one of the new recipes above.
Make Nutrition Part of Your Functional Medicine Wellness Plan
Diet and nutrition should always be part of a holistic wellness plan. Focusing too much on what you eat (or what you weigh) often takes the focus off uncovering underlying health issues. Our health coaching menu is just one part of the wider health journey.
In functional medicine terms, dieting is more symptom management than it is root cause treatment. Weight loss is generally a byproduct of holistic care. It’s not often the main goal of functional medicine.
For example, a routine of over exercising and undereating can deprive the body of much-needed nutrients. Perhaps the strain exacerbates a hormone issue that’s leading to weight gain. If we can apply functional medicine to the hormone issue, then we may be able to achieve weight loss in a way that works with the body, not against it.
Weight management is always linked to other root causes and it’s imperative that those are addressed and understood.
When you work with Julie Helm, she will create a complete coaching menu that goes well beyond simple diet. She will put together a number of treatments and lifestyle changes that take your genetics, underlying conditions, and preferences into account.
In short, functional medicine is medicine that works. Why? Because it takes your unique situation into account and works on treating root causes, not surface symptoms.
To learn more, schedule a one-on-one consultation with our practitioners. We’re excited to share how functional medicine and nutrition can transform your health.
