← Strong & Nourished Momma | Quick & Healthy Meals, Postpartum Weight Loss, Boost Energy, Workout Routines, Nutrition Habits
Strong & Nourished Momma | Quick & Healthy Meals, Postpartum Weight Loss, Boost Energy, Workout Routines, Nutrition Habits
09 | How to Build a Balanced (& Healthy) Plate to Fuel for Your Busy Day as a Mom
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Have you ever been so busy running around, whether it's for your kids, running errands or even during the busy workday, that you end up skipping meals or just grabbing whatever's convenient? Like maybe you're in the office and there's candy from Halloween and you're like, okay, I just, I need to eat something because I'm starving, so let me have this. Mini Snicker bars for lunch. Or you're at home and your kid has leftover, you know, breakfast that they didn't eat this morning so you grab that and eat it. Has that ever happened to you? We're going to be fixing that today. I am going to be sharing how to build a balance plate so that you can fuel for your busy days as a working mom. This is so important and I'm going to be sharing five key components of a balance plate. So really what's involved with creating a balanced plate? And it is so easy. Easy to wear whether you're at home, easy if you're at a restaurant on the go on travel a balance plate to make sure that you are fueled for the busy day ahead. I also going to be sharing why this is so important for your energy, your focus and sustaining busy days. As moms, we need to make sure we are fueled up and ready to go. Don't forget to subscribe to my email list because what you're going to be getting is a freebie of how to create a balanced plate. Everything's listed out. It's nice and beautiful and you can put that on the fridge, have it at work wherever you need to so that you are reminded, oh yeah, this is what I need to build a balanced plate. It's super easy. I don't need to make it difficult because life's already crazy enough. Let's make nutrition super easy. So get on my email list. The link is in the show notes. I hope you enjoy today's episode. Grab a notebook and pen. Let's get into it. Hey mama. If you are struggling and would like to meet one on one for nutrition coaching, I am ready to meet with you. Please schedule your free 15 minute consult with me. We can see what you need. I can make sure I'm a good fit for you and then we can schedule whether that's individual sessions or or a package type of session so that you can get the help that you need and I can support you on your wellness journey as a busy mom. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out the link to schedule your free 15 minute consult is in the show notes and I can't wait to work with you. Enjoy today's show. Welcome Mama. If you're tired of wondering what healthy meals to make, feeling like you're running on empty or struggling to make exercise feel fun and achievable, you are in the right place. I'm Val, functional sports dietitian, prenatal and postpartum fitness coach and a first time mama myself. I've created a simple plan that lets you live healthy without strict rules or sacrificing delicious food. A plan that helps you fit and exercise, reach your goals and still have time for the things you love. All without spending hours in the gym. It's time to embrace a fun, sustainable lifestyle where health doesn't compete with a busy schedule. So grab your coffee, settle in and join me on this beautiful journey to becoming a strong, nourished mama. How can you build a balanced plate to help you fuel for your busy days? That is what we are talking about today. There are five key components of a balance plate. 1. Protein, 2. Fiber rich plant foods, 3. Healthy fats, 4. Complex carbohydrates and five flavorful extras. I had to say that slowly because it's a mouthful. So let's start with protein. Protein is going to help us build and repair tissue it's needed for the development of baby when you're pregnant as well as postpartum to help maintain your lean body mass. This is key when you're pregnant. We need those amino acids from the protein to be able to help with the development and the growth of your baby. But also to help support your own body and lean body mass when you're postpartum, especially when you're breastfeeding, it feels like everything's being sucked out of you to feed your baby. So of of course we have to make sure we're eating enough. And I talk about this in episode three. So go back and check that out if you haven't listened to it yet. But we have to make sure that we are getting enough protein to be able to maintain that lean body mass. And it also is going to help with staying satisfied our satiety. We're going to feel full longer. So protein is what we want to build our plate around. Number two is fiber rich plant foods. We don't want to forget colorful plant foods to add to our plate. And I am mostly talking about those non starchy plant foods. So your leafy greens, radishes, tomatoes, green onions, garlic, bell peppers, your cucumber, your celery, like the list goes on and on. And if you are on my email list, you are going to be getting a list of all of this, which is so great. So don't forget to get on that. The link is in the show notes. Of course, your fiber rich plant foods can come from other plant sources such as your nuts and your seeds, your legumes, your whole grains and your fruits. Those are going to be providing different macronutrients. And so when we're saying fiber rich plant foods, we're really talking about those non starchies that are pretty low in carbs and pretty low in calories, but they're very high in fiber and phytonutrients. These are going to be the what gives the plant food their color, high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and polyphenols. We need that. Now, number three is healthy fats or your fat source of some sort. Okay. Your fat is going to support energy and brain health. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, then you will need a moderate amount of healthy fats to support baby as well as you. So we definitely don't want to cut back on our fat intake. In fact, our essential fatty acids are omega 3 fatty acids that you're going to find primarily in fatty fish such as salmon, but also in some plant foods like walnuts or ground flaxseed and chia seed. This is going to be essential for development of the nervous system, the brain. And you also need fat for your cells. It's a phospholipid bilayer which is so important for our cells and we need fat for that. Fat is also delish and it's going to just like protein, help keep you fuller, longer. Some sources of fat are going to include avocado, olives, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and even some of your proteins such as salmon or chicken thigh will have some fat in there as well. Now, of course, depending on where you're eating and what's going on, you're going to be getting fat sources from other things. And that can include dressing, for example. So that's why, number three, number five, flavorful extras. They kind of go together and we're going to get into that in a minute. Number four is complex carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body's primary energy source. I don't want you to be afraid of carbohydrates, but I do want to make sure that we are balancing our carbs with our protein, our fiber and our fat so that we can make sure that we're having really good blood sugar balance. Now, some complex carbohydrate examples include brown or black rice. If you haven't tried black rice, it's delish, go try it. It has a high amount of antioxidants and in fact has more antioxidants than blueberries. That blue, black color in that rice is going to be very, very high in these antioxidants and polyphenols. Quinoa, sweet potatoes or other types of potatoes, purple pot potatoes, Japanese sweet potatoes, and your whole grain bread and other whole grains are going to provide your complex carbohydrates. Some whole grains that you can consider would be oats or farro and as I mentioned, quinoa. Now, the amount of your protein, your fats and your carbohydrates are all going to depend on you. It's very individualized. It's going to depend on your physical activity, what your body needs and is requiring. Are you breastfeeding? Are you pregnant? Are you a year or five years postpartum? What is going on? And also what are you craving? What sounds good? What does physical movement and activity look like? We have to be able to individualize this, okay? And that's okay. And it's going to depend even for yourself from day to day or week to week, especially if you are a menstruating female, you are going to. Your needs are going to differ throughout the menstrual cycle. If you need something more satisfying, maybe you add a little bit extra fat to that meal or to that snack. If you just finished a heavy workout sesh, maybe you add a little bit more carbohydrates and match that with some protein. If you're chasing around your toddlers and you need some energy again, maybe you add in a little bit more carbs to that. But we all have to make sure that when we are building our plates, our bowls, our meals, our snacks, that we have some sort of protein source, we have some sort of colorful plant food fat source as well as carbohydrates. Now, number five, flavorful extras. This includes your herbs and your spices. It's going to add lots of flavor to your meals. So don't forget about these as well as sauces to keep the meals exciting. Now, your sauces, your dressings, those are going to contain fat more than likely. So that's why your flavorful extras number five kind of go with your fat source number three. So as a recap, to build a balanced plate, we need five things. One, protein. Two, fiber rich plant foods. Three fat sources, healthy fats whatever that is. Number four, complex carbohydrates and number five, flavorful extras. Now when you are building your plate or you're creating your meal or you're out to eat and you're wondering what to get, we can use a very simple method to be able to create this balanced plate. It is known as the plate method and it's very generalized. If you're wanting to dial in your nutrition to reach specific goals such as fueling for a specific workout or exercise event, maybe you're training for a half marathon, a marathon or a cross fit event, or you want to increase your lean body mass, then your plate's going to look a little bit different. And that's something that I can definitely help you with. Want with one on one nutrition coaching. So what does your plate method for very general building a plate look like? Well, we want about a quarter to a third of the plate protein. Now depending on your protein source, you're either just going to get protein or you may get some fat. Especially if you're having salmon or chicken thigh or maybe some sort of beef with fat, maybe you're having a plant source of protein like tofu. Then you may be getting some other macros in that as well. So a quarter to a third, a plate of protein about the size of your palm. We want about 30 to 40 grams of protein. We'll talk about that more in a minute. And then a quarter of your plate complex carbohydrates, again, your carbs are going to be your main energy source. The amount is going to depend on what your specific goal is. But if we're talking general fueling or about a quarter of your plate carbohydrates, maybe 2 ish tablespoons of fat, your tablespoons are going to be about the size of your thumb and then half of the plate or two handfuls of those non starchy colorful veggies. That's what we want when we're looking at the plate method. So you don't have to worry about tracking. Now if you want to track, that's definitely something you can do. But that takes a lot of time. So when we are busy running around doing a thousand things, how can we make sure that we are building a balanced plate meal or snack? This is what we're going to use. We're going to use the plate method. So how do balanced meals support a mom's lifestyle? As I mentioned, your protein in your fat, that's going to help you stay satisfied longer. Protein is needed to activate muscle protein synthesis along with a thousand other things. So we want to make sure we're focusing on protein. 30 to 40 grams of protein is what research shows that we are going to need per meal, especially for your first meal and your last meal of the day. Now, if you, Your needs are 130 grams of protein per day, then obviously we're going to evenly distribute that throughout the day. Typically, what Americans do and what moms do is barely any protein in the morning, maybe a little bit more at lunch, and then we're overdoing it at dinner. We need to be able to evenly distribute that. And as I mentioned, to be able to activate muscle protein synthesis, which is muscle building, we need to make sure we're getting 30 to 40 grams first thing in the morning to activate that. And as we get older, when we're reaching perimenopause and then post menopause, we actually need even more protein to activate that muscle protein synthesis. Now, your total energy or protein needs are definitely going to depend on what you are personally doing. So we can talk about that one on one. If you like, your fiber and your complex carbohydrates will help balance blood sugar so that you're not spiking to a high blood sugar and then dramatically dropping to a super low blood sugar. Your fats and your proteins are definitely, definitely going to support this as well. But complex carbohydrates compared to your simple carbohydrates, that's what's going to make sure that you're not spiking with blood sugar dropping and then getting those nasty like lightheaded, irritability, dizzy, I just don't feel good type of symptoms. And then you're just reaching for anything to make sure to get your blood sugar up. Now, I'm not saying that you can't have simple carbohydrates. You totally can. It's just when we are trying to fuel for our busy day, those complex carbohydrates and our fiber foods such as whole grains, your legumes, that's what's going to be really helpful and supportive for blood sugars. When we have imbalanced blood sugar, we aren't going to feel energized and we're not going to feel good. And it's going to be harder for us to reach our health and our wellness goals. It's going to also negatively impact hormones and overall health. It's important to fuel your body to avoid irritability and fatigue, especially when you're chasing kids around, taking them to practice, cleaning the house, trying to work trying to do literally all the things that we do day in and day out. We have to make sure that we fuel our body so we are not getting irritable or fatigued. Now I'm not saying to graze all day long. I'm just saying to make your mealtime a priority. If you are noticing that you keep skipping lunch, then try to get curious and ask yourself why. Do I need to set a reminder? This goes back to our habits. Do I need to set a reminder or put a sticky note somewhere? Or make sure I have something prepared and in my car so that I don't forget to eat? What is it that I need to do? And again, this is something that I can help you with. When you have balanced meals, you're going to sleep better. Who doesn't want to sleep better? Oh my gosh. Recover from exercise faster and have reduced stress. So what are some tips for building a balanced plate when you're short on time? Batch cooking and I'm going to have future episodes more on this. But let's talk about batch cooking real quick. You want to be able to prep foods so that you have it in the fridge so that you can grab it, create some type of meal and go. So maybe that's prepping proteins, grains and veggies in bulk. Maybe you put a few chicken breasts in the crock pot with some different spices and bone broth. Maybe you have chopped veggies and you put it on a sheet pan and roast it so that you have veggies to throw. And you can make all sorts of different meals with these foods. So batch cooking is key and you can do that on the weekend. Do it real quick in the morning and then you can run around all day whatever you need to do. Some quick assembly ideas for breakfast Greek Yogurt bowl with fruit, nuts and granola. You can easily get 30 to 40 grams of protein with a Greek yogurt bowl. Lunch turkey and avocado wrap with a side salad so you're getting everything you need. You're getting your fat, your carbohydrate, your protein and your colorful veggies. And then dinner. Maybe it's a stir fry veggies with tofu. Or maybe it's a different type of protein. Maybe you have leftover chicken from another meal or ground beef and you pair that with brown rice or black rice and whatever veggies that you want. These can be quick meals that you can assemble during the busy week. You also have to make sure that you are stocked with a balanced pantry with a staples like canned beans, frozen veggies, quick proteins. Again, we talked about this in episode 2 so if you haven't listened to that why meal prepping and meal planning is essential as a busy mom, go back and check that out or listen to it again. Alright, so let's recap what is important for building a balanced meal for a busy mom. We want to make sure that we have our protein, our fiber rich plant foods, our fat source, our complex carbohydrates and some flavorful extras. We want to make it fun and delicious. We want to use the plate method when building our meals, our snacks and we want to make sure that we're focusing our meals on adequate amount of protein as well. Now I encourage you to try building one balanced meal today. You can even do this when you're going out to eat. Try to identify your protein source, your fat source, your carbohydrate source, and see if you can add in some veggies to that meal. I invite you to share your favorite balanced meal with me or some meal prep tips on social media. Elness by Val Underscore I can't wait to hear from you. And don't forget when you subscribe to my email list you are getting a free balance plate guide so that you can have this in the kitchen, put it on the fridge wherever you need it and it's going to be super easy for you. The link to subscribe is in the show notes and don't forget if you need to schedule a one on one with me, we can definitely do that. You deserve to feel strong, nourished and energized. So let's start with what's on your plate and you got this Mama. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Strong and Nourished Mama. If you enjoyed today's show and found value in it, I would love for you to leave a written review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback helps me reach more mamas like you and I truly appreciate your support. Stay strong, stay nourished and I'll see you next time.