Meal Mentor

4 Power Foods That Will Keep You Energized

If you're low on energy, don't reach for one of those unhealthy energy drinks! Caffeine will only give you a short burst of energy and ultimately cause a crash.

Instead, choose foods that are: protein and fiber-rich to stabilize your blood sugar and high in water content to keep you hydrated.

Here are four energy-boosting options that will not only power you through the day, but also good for you!

Beans & Legumes Black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, edamame, lentils -- add any of these high protein and high fiber beans and/or legumes to a meal to keep your energy levels up. If you're looking for a light and easy snack, try roasting some chickpeas (there's a recipe in Happy Herbivore Light & Lean!)

Berries Thanks to their filling fiber content, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or cranberries (just to name a few) are perfect for keeping you energized -- and satisfying that sweet tooth. If they're not in season, don't worry. Frozen berries have the same benefits as fresh ones.

Leafy Greens like kale and spinach are packed with minerals, as well as calcium and potassium. If you're looking to add more greens to your life, try throwing them into a soup, adding to a sandwich or wrap, or even your morning smoothie.

Nut Butters If you're not trying to lose weight, you can easily mix protein and fiber-rich nut butters into your meals, especially Asian-inspired dishes like the Thai Stuffed Sweet Potato on this week's meal plan -- which also has edamame!

Get the current meal plan now.

7 Tips on How to Get Your Family to Eat Healthier

Getting the entire family to eat healthy can be a challenge, especially when you're first transitioning.

Here are 7 helpful tips on how to get your family on board with eating healthier!

1. Keep healthy snacks available at all times and in plain view (i.e. keep a bowl of fruit on the table or carrot sticks and hummus in the fridge)

2. Get your family involved with meal planning and food prep. Or have them choose a meal the whole family will eat one night a week.

3. Try new ways to prepare veggies. For example, the Carrot Dogs, "Beef" with Broccoli Bowl and Fettuccine Alfredo (made with cauliflower!) were all HUGE hits on the meal plans.

4. Make grocery store and farmer's market a family event. Have the kids choose one vegetable they want to try and help prepare for the week.

5. Teach your family to read nutrition labels and what ingredients to look out for (i.e. milk, casein, etc.)

6. Take it one meal at a time. Meals don't have to be elaborate or complex. Remember KISS: Keep it simple, silly!

7. Sign-up for the meal plans! The family meal plan is always kid-friendly and great for the whole family!

For more tips on how to transition your family to a plant-based diet, see the Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living!

Get the current meal plan now.

Does Not Exercising Make You Lose Muscle?

A meal plan user emailed:

"Since starting the meal plans in February I've lost 23lbs, 16 inches, and lowered my cholesterol 40 points - all without exercising! My old personal trainer wants to get together and catch up. She text me that I'm going to lose too much muscle if I don't exercise. Is she right? I know I don't have to exercise to lose weight, but I'm not sure how to respond to her. When I worked out I was in pain everyday and it really sucked."

Your trainer means well, and I believe she cares, but many trainers are so misguided, perpetuating the conventional wisdom you hear in gyms: more protein, more muscle. Little of them really understand diet, nutrition, and it's role with weight-loss. She's also trying to get you to buy her services again, too, I'm sure ;)

Regarding muscle loss, if a guy starts pumping iron like crazy -- can bench 250lbs, and then decides "forget it" and stops lifting, yes, he will eventually lose that big bulky bicep muscle because it was not natural, and Herculean efforts were/are required to sustain it.

Similarly, if you trained for a marathon, all that running would undoubtably add a few pounds of extra leg muscle to your frame, and if you decided to "retire" and never run again it would eventually go away, as you're not running 25-50 miles a week to sustain it.

See the point I'm getting at here?

Could you lose some muscle from not working out? Sure, but it would be very little and arguably more natural for your body.

Unless you're bed ridden, you're moving, so you can't lose your muscles. Trainers want us to think exercise is only something that happens in a gym, but exercise happens when we wash the car, walk the dog, clean the toilet, mop the floors, fold our laundry, play with our kids, carry groceries up the steps, cook dinner, etc.

Sure, my biceps might not be as big as if I was doing "curls for the girls" with barbells everyday, but having big biceps or being able to bench press some arbitrary number of pounds does not mean I am healthy. In fact, some of the most muscle-y guys I knew at the gym had some of the worst diets! Fast food 24/7! What do their ateries look like?

Check out this post, too: My Weight-Loss Fail: Why a Personal Trainer Didn't Work

"When I worked out I was in pain everyday and it really sucked." Then there is your answer.

If you start to feel worried about your muscularity, start walking and doing some yoga. Deep clean and move furniture ;)

"Is she right?" Not in the way she means.

Hope that helps! Lindsay

Get the current meal plan now.

Work Lunch Ideas without a Kitchen

A meal plan user emailed:

"We subscribe to the Family Plan and I have a question with leftovers. My husband's an electrician and oftentimes eats in his truck. I don't give him sandwiches because I fear the bread will get soggy. It has always been a challenge for me as to what to give him. Do you have any suggestions for people who work outside the home with no access to a kitchen?"

My husband used to have that kind of work environment so I kept his bun, bread or wrap separate from the "filling" and he assembled the sandwich before eating -- it didn't get soggy that way. I did that for salads too, usually keeping the dressing separate.

Soups in a thermos work great! He loved beans and rice, and leftovers (things like "meatloaf" and veggies, or mac n cheese, or casseroles) since those things are fine if they are kinda room temp. (And if pulled from the fridge, they lose their undesirable "cold" temp by lunch).

Some moms freeze smoothies and put it in a thermos so its a smoothie and not an ice pop at lunch, if he likes those.

Enjoy the meal plans! Lindsay

Get the current meal plan now.

3 Easy Tweaks for a Healthier Life

While "ripping the bandaid off" is sometimes the best way to start living a healthier life, even the smallest changes can make a difference.

Here are three easy tweaks on how you can start living healthier today!

Keep "kryptonite foods" out of your home Sometimes you just need to know your boundaries -- and where your personal weaknesses are. Mine's brownies, Scott's is peanut butter (you can read more about my battle with weight, yo-yo dieting and food addictions here). By keeping these foods in the house, it makes it that much easier to reach for them when those cravings hit. That's what's so great about the meal plans! Each day you'll have a healthy meal ready and waiting for you (or one that comes together in minutes), and you won't be tempted by those other kryptonite foods.

Drink Water If you're drinking too many calories, trade in your usual beverage for water. If plain water sounds boring, try jazzing it up with slices of fresh fruit, frozen fruit instead of ice or even a splash of juice.

Move more Even though I advise against exercise if you're trying to lose weight (calorie restriction + exercise often slowed my client's losses), light exercise like walking or yoga is great.

If you're looking to eat healthier, I can't recommend the meal plans enough! They make it easy to eat delicious food and stay healthy!

Get the current meal plan now.

5 Healthy Tips For Dining Out

In a perfect world, I would make every meal I eat, but "dining out" is a social aspect of our lives.

If you're unable to eat off the meal plan because you're going out to eat, here are some tips on how to make your meal a healthy one.

Make special requests Don't be embarrassed about getting creative with the menu or asking if your dish can be made oil-free. With so many dietary restrictions these days, it's not "weird" to inquire or ask for adaptions. Plus, you're paying to have our meal cooked to order.

Choose your dressings carefully Dressings can be sneaky calorie bombs! Skip the dressing and ask for lemon or lime to squeeze on top instead. You can also try salsa or balsamic vinegar.

Forget about cleaning your plate Restaurants are all about large portions -- they want you to leave feeling full and satisfied. Instead of cleaning your plate, eat half and take the rest home for another meal. Alternatively, eat a salad or filling broth-based soup before your main meal to prevent overeating.

Drink smart Alcoholic beverages, especially cocktails, are high in sugar and loaded with calories. For your health, limit alcohol, but when you do indulge, be responsible (first and foremost!) and try something like orange-flavored vodka with soda water with a slice of orange.

Make the best choice possible Consider what meals might be the healthiest choice for you in the circumstances you're in. This distinction is important. You have to consider your circumstances, not utopia. Use your intuition. You know what's healthy and what isn't. Make the healthiest choice possible and if you end up making a less-than-great-choice, don't beat yourself up! It happens! The best you can do is step forward and make your next choice a great one!

For more tips on how to navigate dining out, there's a huge section in my book, The Happy Herbivore Guide to Plant-Based Living.

Get the current meal plan now.