Nutritious choices made simple®
Choose 70% dark chocolate or higher to get the most flavanols. I will caution that chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa solids are more bitter and less sweet. You can add sweetness to your snack or treat with natural sugars from fresh or dried fruit. Add nuts to your chocolate and fruit for a satisfying crunch and a source of healthy fat and protein.
It’s January, which means it is New Year’s resolution season. You probably have heard coworkers, friends, and family talk about which foods they are cutting out of their diet in order to get back on track after the holiday season. I want to give a gentle nudge during this time of increased attention on what and how we choose to eat: let’s try to focus on eating more nutritious foods rather than trying to stop eating foods or entire good groups altogether, like grains. It may sound better to phrase a goal as trying to eat more of something rather than eat less, but I promise it’s not just semantics. Smaller, incremental change is more feasible and supports long-term success.
At Guiding Stars, we have empowered people to make more nutritious choices since 2006. From our beginning, we held the belief that small shifts in food choices can make a big difference. This month, we’re launching a new Nutritious Nudges blog series to demonstrate why small, positive changes are worth making.
The holiday season is here and with that comes an inevitable abundance of treats in our offices, homes and basically everywhere else. And who am I to complain? This dietitian has a sweet tooth and enjoys a cookie swap as much as the next person. Yet, with extra sweets available at work, a plate of your neighbor’s famous fudge delivered to your doorstep and multiple holiday parties to attend, it’s easy to lose balance.