Eating Healthy in Lafayette LA Starts With A Decision

When making changes to better your current lifestyle in Lafayette LA, more often than not, your doctors at Modern Chiropractic are also coaching you towards making healthier food choices which is an inevitable departure from your current/conditioned "meat-and-potatoes" or "rice-and-gravy" meal.

One of the MOST common complaints/excuses we hear from our patients is (HINT: and it's also the one we are also guilty of sometimes telling ourselves!) … "I could eat healthier, but __________."

Fill in the blank with:

1. I had a wedding
2. I've been doing a lot of traveling lately
3. I had a work-related party/function
4. I was at a friend's house for a dinner party
5. My family celebrated a birthday/holiday
6. I've been on vacation
7. The restaurant we went to doesn't serve healthy food
8. I don't do the cooking in my house

Clearly there are a number of other excuses why healthy eating just won't work out right now! I'm not one to say you should never indulge, but if you are really serious about your health goals or you have a specific health condition that can be healed through dietary changes, it can be a good idea to learn how to live (at least for a little while) without the "trigger foods." In order to give your body a serious detox and investigate which foods are helping or harming you, we always suggest cutting out foods that contain gluten, sugar and dairy for at least 2 full weeks - no exceptions, no bending the rules, no excuses. When you're making this kind of commitment to your health, you'll want some ideas in your toolbox for how to face the more "difficult" eating situations. HOWEVER, most of the time, it just requires a shift in mindset. You always, always have the option to not put something in your mouth! How badly do you really want to feel better? The choice is yours.

Here are simple tips for sticking to a healthy eating plan anywhere, no matter what.

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A Wedding or Event
Eat something filling before you go - I suggest something with enough protein and fat to keep you satisfied for a while (eggs or other protein with avocado, a filling smoothie, etc). That way once you're at the event you'll be able to enjoy what you choose to enjoy without feeling like you "have to" eat everything that's there. As far as the alcohol? I've gone to plenty of weddings where I didn't feel like drinking, and I drank seltzer with lemon and lime all night and danced my little heart out anyway. Usually, nobody notices whether or not you're drinking unless you make a big deal out of it. If you really feel like you "can't have fun without alcohol," well…it could be a fun experiment.

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Traveling
Prepare. This is the one Yours Truly struggles with most. Since the security checkpoint confiscates water and food items before you reach your gate at the airport, finding healthy food/snack choices is an enormous challenge. (I have, however, travelled enough from coast-to-coast to know which airports have an organic café of some kind - so if you have summer travel plans coming up, please ask me and I can share this info with you.) Within the last year, I've noticed that most kiosks at the airport nowadays have water, fruit, granola and trail mix. These types of snacks are far healthier than the peanuts, pretzels and soda you'll get on the plane, so load up! Don't forget that changing altitude can be extremely DE-hydrating so guzzling water before, during and after flight is quintessential to ensuring that you sleep well and function at optimum during your trip.

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A Work Event
This is the easiest one because when you're out at a work event or entertaining clients, you can still stick to your guns about what you want to eat and drink. My trick? Eating before you leave the house! I either have a protein shake or a smoothie before I leave my house so I am not tempted to dive into the bread basket or the dessert plate. As far as drinking alcohol goes, there are plenty of reasons people choose not to drink - medications, pregnancy, training for an athletic event, being on a cleanse, simply choosing not to drink, doctor's orders, etc - use whatever reasoning makes you feel comfortable and relaxed, and stand firm in whatever decision you make! Nobody makes it weird that you have chosen NOT to drink, unless you make it weird.

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A Dinner Party at Someone's House
Bring something to the party! Call the person throwing the party and let them know you're committed to looking and feeling your absolute best so you are on a specific eating plan and that you'd love to bring a dish to share with everyone. If you're afraid of being rude or hurting someone's feelings, don't. In the end, breaking your commitment to yourself will feel far worse. We completely understand there are times when you want to just want to eat "King Cake" (thankfully that's only available once/year!) or enjoy your Great Aunt's famous etoufee. But how often is that really the case? Most of the time you really do have the ability to plan ahead - and who knows - maybe even inspire your friends or family by sharing a healthy dish which actually looks and tastes delicious.

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Celebrations/Holidays
When it comes to observing religious holidays, each person should really decide for themselves what foods to partake in. If it's not a religious reason, though, I'm a huge fan of making lots of your own healthier holiday dishes! Thank goodness for the internet, because there are so many incredible recipes available at just "a-click" including delicious sweets you can make without gluten, dairy or refined sugar. The options are endless, so create new traditions and who knows, as I said before you might just inspire others with your delicious, healthy treats!

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On Vacation
For many, going on vacation is the time to completely let loose - but you can certainly unwind and relax without totally and completely going off-course! You know that has price and once you return home you will have major damage control to do. One of the cool things about going on vacation is getting to try fresh, local foods from whatever region you're traveling to. If you treat vacation food the same way you'd treat going out to a regular restaurant (focusing on the healthiest and most nourishing options possible), you'll feel your best and have more energy to really enjoy your vacation. Get some exercise in daily and pack some healthy snacks to have handy in your hotel room.

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Out to Dinner
No matter what kind of restaurant you are at, you can focus on protein, vegetables and healthy fats (think avocado, olive oil) while avoiding the bread basket, pasta, desserts and alcohol. Every restaurant has some type of salad or soup option. You can't always control whether or not everything is organic or how much salt they have used, or even what kind of oil it's cooked in, but you CAN certainly do your best with the choices you're given!

The bottom line here is that we can all choose what we put into our bodies. Realistically, we can't be prepared 100% of the time, and that's understandable. But if you keep finding yourself making excuses about why you can't be healthier and furthermore, are continuously complaining about it - it's time to take a step back and realize that making excuses and complaining is affecting your overall sense of well-being, so saddle-up and take charge! You are the C.E.O. of "Your Own Health, LLC."

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This week's recipes are inspired my very busy schedule! Getting home after 8pm at night leaves me little to no time to prepare dinner (nor do I want to eat something heavy because I want to be able to sleep) so here's what dinner for me looks like this week:

Dinnertime Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup frozen organic dark berries (cherries or blueberries)
• 1 cup organic kale, stemmed and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup organic spinach
• 1 small apple, cored and cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 tablespoon chia seed
• 1 dash of fresh squeezed orange juice

-Place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

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Sweet Potato Fries

• One large sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (melted)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

-Preheat your oven to 375F. Scrub your potato and either slice it with a mandolin into sticks or cut it into strips. In a large bowl, combine melted coconut oil, salt & pepper well. Then toss your cut "fries" until each piece is even coated with seasoning. Spread your fries out evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 18 - 23 minutes (depending on the heating consistency of your oven. Serve hot.

By Francesca Marino D.C.