the long game.

​Here are just a few of our salad toppings. From left to right- pumpkin seeds, soynuts, sunflower seeds, lower-sugar cranberries.

We keep them, along with some nutritional yeast and flaxseeds, in a little bin so we can easily get to them when we are making salads.  Yes, they add calories, sugar, and (good) fat to our salads, but we are okay with that. We are okay with it because they add a level of satisfaction to our salads that we wouldn't have otherwise.

All of our meals should be satisfying. If you are trying to eat healthy by restricting or only eating steamed broccoli and chicken breasts, your body will react by giving you cravings and hunger and unstable energy.

If you are not satisfied by your food, you will probably end up overindulging at some point in the near future.  To combat that overindulgence later, add something to your meals and snacks that makes you happy. That may mean a little real cream in your coffee, or a spot of butter on your vegetables. It might look like cheese on your salad, or some avocado on your toast. It could be a little piece of dark chocolate after meals.

Yes, in the short run this will add calories. But if you are playing the long game, you will overindulge less because you don't feel like you are missing out on anything.

Cheers to playing the long game, and enjoying your meals along the way.