One of the benefits of spending more time at home is the opportunity it provides people to prepare more home-cooked meals and deliberately choose how and what they will nourish their bodies with. The foods you buy are the foods you’ll eat, so consciously choosing more nutrient-dense, high fiber foods to include in your meals will inevitably increase your energy levels and set you up for success.

I recently received an air fryer as a gift, and this has changed my meal prep process tremendously! It’s cut my meal prep time in half and allows me to enjoy air-fried sweet potato fries (sans oil, but oh so crispy!), roasted chickpea snacks, and a plethora of other roasted veggies to round out my 30+ plant species goal for the week.

It’s recommended to include a diversity of plant species (30-40) per week- this includes fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, whole grains- as a way to diversify your gut microbiome and make you more resistant to disease and inflammation. So it’s not just quantity of vegetables (aiming for 5-7 servings per day), but in addition, the various types of plants across the spectrum of whole foods.

Some of my most successful clients have changed the focus of their attention away from counting calories to how many plant species they are consuming per week. This is a positive, health-promoting and incentivizing metric that supports optimal energy, health, immune and brain function.

But don’t take it from me. Here’s a recent testimonial of how impactful the right foods and evidence-based nutrition can have on weight and overall health:

We have the opportunity to transform our health and longevity simply by the foods we decide to put on our plate. By simply increasing the fiber-rich, nutrient-dense foods abundant in vegetables, leafy greens, beans, lentils and whole grains, we have the opportunity to raise our energy levels, vibration, and overall health. It’s not about restricting food and counting calories. It’s about nourishing our bodies. With real, whole food. The kind Mother Nature intended for us.