Let’s talk Thanksgiving Day! Too often, I hear how much anxiety a day like Thanksgiving brings to my clients. A holiday that is basically centered around how much food we can stuff into our face in one sitting terrifies many people who are on a weight loss, or health and fitness journey. I put together a quick list of my favorite strategies to help you relax and enjoy the day!

I’m not sure why our loved ones and friends think that they need to have an opinion on how we choose to eat and take care of our bodies, but they always do. It can be an uncomfortable situation and often leads us to feel bad about the choices we are making to improve our health and find balance in our relationship with food.

As the holidays approach, the number of social gatherings and parties packed into the next few weeks will be numerous. While indulging in a few treats over the holidays won’t derail your progress, a steady stream of regular get-togethers and celebrations over four to six weeks (or eight...who’s counting) can really start to add up. This can have a big impact on your ability to stay on track towards achieving your goals. Here are a few ways you can make it through the holiday party season while balancing your nutritional needs and continuing on the path to success.

Happy September! For a lot of you – that means your schedule and routine are changing. A LOT. Either you or your kids are going back to school. Some of you may even be starting new jobs. And that means that your food and meal prep routine - which worked for you so well over the summer - may need a serious makeover. Here’s what you can do to help yourself.

If you are craving Italian for dinner, then I’ve got you covered. Low carb and GLUTEN FREE. Not to mention, delicious! This was one of the biggest hits I have had with my kids in a while. This one takes a bit of work with breading the chicken, but I promise you, it’s SO WORTH IT!

Staying on track for parties and BBQ’s isn’t hard. We tend to over complicate things by not asking what food will be there, by forgetting everything that we know about moderation and nutrition, by drinking too much and losing control, by not planning ahead.

Well, these may not be low fat, but they are DELICIOUS. A great option when meal prep gets a bit dull. These are perfect for a rest day! I originally made these guys dairy-free, but the dairy-free options for cream cheese and sour cream were way too high in fat. You can certainly adjust those items if needed.

I came to BIN like a lot of women do: with a long history of disordered eating in my rearview mirror. Emotional/stress eating, anorexia, exercise bulimia, bingeing: I had dealt with them all…

My clients all know that having a positive mindset is crucial to making physical progress. A negative mindset usually means we’re stressed and a stressed body is not a happy body. Does this mean we have to be happy and pretend like everything is okay when it’s really on fire? HELL NO. There are a few categories people fall into when it comes to having a negative mindset:

Do you ever venture to a restaurant and devour their sweet sriracha fired Brussels and wonder why you can’t ever mimic it at home??? Unless you flash dry those suckers in a ton of oil, it isn’t going to happen. However, these little gems come pretty close with a lot less fat! If you need to up your micronutrient game, then these are the ticket!

Enjoy this Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce recipe that’s quick and easy!

A coach is there to guide you. Support you. Hold you accountable. Give you the tools you need to reach your goals. A coach is there to teach you and connect with you.

The great thing about this recipe is you can adjust the portions of the ingredients to work for your macros. I also suggest adding a little sambal oelek at a time in case you’re sensitive to spicy foods.

Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, honey, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then combine water and corn starch mixture and reduce heat. The longer you cook, the thicker the sauce will get, so cook based off of personal preference. Remove from heat and allow to cool. You can store in the fridge for 3-5 days in an airtight container.

I invited the BIN team over to my house last week for a change of scenery and we decided we needed to make something delicious for lunch. We’re a busy bunch and all had check-ins to do, so we wanted something quick. And it was a hot day so we needed something refreshing that could be served cold. Since we’re also talking about sustainability this month, we decided to get fish from a local fish market here in town. It was a group effort and it turned out fabulous. The only cooking required is the rice, and if you have a rice cooker you can just set it and forget it. Which is exactly what we did. We put the rice on and sat down to get our work done. Once the rice was finished we let it cool and piled on the toppings. If you’re looking for a simple, delicious, and healthy recipe, we’ve got you covered with this one!

Okay, if you are like me, you may be asking yourself, “I don’t have a big kitchen and big yard to be able to do anything *meaningful* in regards to being more sustainable and help the earth”. Or maybe you’re not thinking that and that’s just me. But sometimes I find a small mental hang-up with what I can do in my little apartment in this big city to help the world around me.

I love this month’s topic. I think that a lot of us (myself included) can get better as making this world a more sustainable place. Sometimes I think to myself, “I am just one person, what does it REALLY matter?” - but that’s the problem right there. All of our small efforts actually add up to helping our environment and help create a more sustainable world in which we live. We want this place to place, so why not put the effort in, no matter how *insignificant* it might seem?

When most of us look to change our lifestyle to lose weight we often turn towards a healthy diet and exercise. Up at 4 am for our first workout, lots of fruits and veggies, and maybe an evening weightlifting session. By the end of the week we are exhausted, hungry, and wishing for an extra hour of sleep. Is it worth it to press the snooze button and get that extra hour of sleep? Will that really help you reach your goals? You better believe it….

This Cherry Almond Oat Muffins recipe is a great option for breakfast or snacks!

Sleep. People aren’t getting enough. And that’s not an exaggeration. People are not sleeping nearly as long or as well as their bodies need. Our bodies NEED it to function, to recover, to fulfill our potential each day.