The Protein Corner

Mindful Eating for Emotional Wellness: How to Use Mindfulness to Cope with Stress, Anxiety, and Other Emotions As a mindfulness-based registered dietitian with a decade of experience, I have seen the transformative power of mindful eating in improving emotional wellness. Stress, anxiety, and other emotions can often lead to unhealthy eating habits that may exacerbate mental health issues. In this article, I will discuss how mindful eating can help you cope with stress, anxiety, and other emotions. Additionally, I will share specific practices and mental health resources to help you navigate these challenges and find balance in your life. Mindful Eating for Emotional Wellness The Connection Between Emotions and Eating Habits It is not uncommon for individuals to use food as a coping mechanism during times of stress, anxiety, or emotional turmoil (1). Emotional eating , or eating in response to feelings rather than physical hunger , can lead to overeating , weight gain, weight loss, ...

Mindful Eating: The Raisin Activity and Guided Meditation Have you ever found yourself reaching for a bag of chips or a candy bar without even realizing it? Or maybe you’ve eaten an entire meal while distracted by your phone or television? Here’s a mindful eating guided meditation . It happens to us all! One way to practice mindful eating is through the “raisin” activity, a mindful eating guided meditation that can help you become more mindful of your eating habits. Remember that food is so much more than just the physical nourishment for our bodies, it’s also about enjoyment, connection, tradition, social experience, cultural experience, creative expression, and joy! It’s normal for us to experience eating alongside emotions or distraction.  Mindful Eating: The Raisin Activity and Guided Meditation Many of us struggle with mindless eating or eating without being fully aware of what we’re putting in our bodies. But there is a solution: mindful eating. By practicing mindfulnes...

The Difference Between Mindful Eating vs. Mindless Eating As a mindfulness-based Registered Dietitian and coach, I often talk about “ mindful eating ” and “ mindless eating .” While the two concepts may seem similar, they actually have very different impacts on our health and relationship with food. In this article, we’ll explore the differences between mindful and mindless eating, and why it’s important to pay attention to how we eat. Mindful Eating vs. Mindless Eating: Understanding the Difference and Its Impact on Your Health What is Mindful Eating? Mindful eating is the practice of paying attention to the present moment and being fully present while eating. This includes paying attention to the sensory experiences of food, such as taste, texture, and smell. It also involves being aware of our physical and emotional states while eating, including hunger and fullness cues, as well as any emotional triggers that may influence our eating behaviors. One of the key principles of mi...

Herb Tahini Dressing This amazing Herb Tahini Dressing will add so much flavor to your next salad or grain bowl. Our core belief here is that balanced eating should be both nutrient-dense and delicious-dense! One of the unique elements in our Foundational Five system for creating balanced meals is the Flavor Factor, which is all about adding ingredients that help make your meal taste delicious and even more nutritious, including sauces, dressings, spices, and herbs. Made with tahini, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, chives, and dill, this Herb Tahini Dressing will turn into a staple dressing for all of your spring and summer salads. Make this Flavor Factor recipe on your batch cooking day and you’ll be able to enjoy it in a variety of ways throughout the week!  What Is The Foundational Five Flavor Factor?  In case you’re new to the NS Community and the Mindful Nutrition Method, the Foundational Five system is part of how we teach you to build balanced meals. It makes it ...

Dark Chocolate Avocado Mousse Dark chocolate avocado mousse has a unique main ingredient to use in desserts, avocado! This is a dairy-free mousse with all the great qualities of a traditional mousse — it’s thick, creamy, velvety, rich in flavor, and pairs perfectly with ripe fruit. It’s a good source of fat, fiber, and micronutrients in comparison to most mousse recipes, not to mention it’s absolutely delicious! What Are The Health Benefits Of Avocado? Avocados are an excellent source of healthy fats, particularly monounsaturated healthy fats. Fat is important in our diet for a variety of reasons and is the main macronutrient responsible for keeping us full and satiated throughout the day. Avocado does a great job at doing this because they also contain fiber, another food component that keeps us fuller longer. Nutrient Breakdown of Avocados: *Per half of 1 avocado Protein | 2g Fiber |  7g Fat | 15g Vitamin C | 17% DV Vitamin E | 10% DV Vitamin K | 26% DV Folate | 20...

How To Stop Dieting Are you constantly yo-yo dieting? Where you’re always trying the newest diet or trend? Keep reading to learn how to stop dieting for good. It’s so easy to get caught up in the diet cycle. They’re satisfying because they allow for little to no ambiguity, and they’re addicting because they give you quick, fast results. But unfortunately, the results never last. As soon as you reach the last day of your diet, you go, “back to normal”, and find yourself right back at square one.  This constant cycle can be exceptionally frustrating and feel never-ending. But thankfully, it can be stopped.  How to Stop Dieting  To learn how to stop dieting, you need to learn sustainable, maintainable habits pertaining to food. You need to ditch the short-term, diet mindset and learn how to find balance. Keep reading to learn how you can get started.  5 Steps to Take to Stop Dieting for Good Take these 5 steps to stop dieting and build a balanced relationship wit...

How Pippa Overcame an Unhealthy Relationship With Food and Found Peace Has food become all-consuming, where you spend most of your day thinking about it? Before joining the Mindful Nutrition Method , Pippa struggled to implement all of the knowledge that she had about nutrition into her life. She said this made her feel like a failure and that she lacked self-discipline, leading her to feel worthless. As she searched for some way of eating that would stick for her, she found herself in the start-and-stop cycle, always looking for the next food rule she could try that might work. This took a big toll on her relationship with food. After working through the program, she realized that she had all of this information about nutrition, but she struggled to implement it into her life because she didn’t have the tools, practices, or skills to do so. Now that Pippa was guided on how to integrate her habits into her life through small yet impactful practices and using simple tools, she feels...

3 Steps Ann Took to Stop Emotionally Eating Do you feel like you have a challenging and frustrating relationship with food? Well, Ann, one of our Mindful Nutrition Method students , found that she was feeling this exact way. She was very frustrated with food and had a bad relationship with food. She realized that she had issues with binge eating and overeating, which was really starting to impact her life. She experienced issues of self-confidence, low self-worth, and stress that really took a toll on her emotions, which then impacted her eating habits. The good news is she’s now aware, empowered, and present around food fully to where she is more conscious of her eating habits which he’s her from overeating or binging. The level of awareness she built using tools inside the Mindful Nutrition Method, gave her clarity to connect emotions and her food habits so she could take the actions she wanted — to stop overeating or emotional eating. You’re not alone if you’re feeling this way...

Our Favorite Nourishing Holiday Recipes Looking for some nourishing holiday recipes to include on your menu this year? We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite options that are made from nutrient-dense whole foods. All of our recipes are also free of dairy and gluten for those with sensitivities who need variations of some traditional recipes! It’s great to enjoy the original versions of these recipes — no matter what the ingredients are. But sometimes, you need a nourishing option for one reason or another. It’s about being intentional and having a balanced mindset! Find that area right in the middle — where you’re nourishing yourself and also having space to experience joy around your food experience. Here you’ll find a few holiday recipes that are great nourishing choices. These are all easy to make and store well for leftovers! How to Make Balanced Meals Throughout the Holidays One way to bring more balance to the holidays is to build a balanced plate at each meal. The way we ...