December Newsletter

 

In This Issue
Fix Women's Sports
NE joins Empire Tri Club's Holiday Giveaway!
Introducing NE's Newest RD!
Healthy Habits to Start Up/Keep Up Between Now and The New Year!
Quick Holiday Recipes
Nutrition Energy
In the News!

Lauren Antonucci, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDE, CDN

Lauren Antonucci, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDE, CDN

Nutrition Energy

Uptown:
57 W 57th St, Suite 1211
New York, NY 10019

Downtown:
55 Broadway, Suite 201
New York, NY 10006

Phone: 646-361-6803
Fax: 212-759-7400
Email: info@nutritionenergy.com

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Issue: #110 December 2019

Fix Women's Sports: A Panel to Address Women's Health & Athletics

Nutrition Energy would like to thank all who spoke and all who attend this #FixWomensSports event at FinishlinePT!  

While not everything about women's sports is broken, or needs fixing, there certainly are aspects that need our help - and the important conversations are now happening.

To learn more or follow the speakers of the event, find their Instagram handles below:
Coach Cane @coachcane
Marci Goolsby @marcigoolsby
Colleen Quigley @steeple_squigs
Jacqueline Elbaz @jay_e
Mary Johnson @itsamarython
Mary Cain @runmarycain
Stacey Younge @staceyyounge




Nutrition Energy joins Empire Tri Club's Holiday Giveaway!


Nutrition Energy is excited to announce that we'll be donating a Sports Nutrition jump-start package  to Empire Tri Club's Holiday Giveaway!  

This package includes
  • one (1) 60 minute nutrition consultation with a Registered Dietitian in either our midtown or downtown location
  • one (1) Resting Metabolic Rate test 
  • one (1) race-ready nutrition session to discuss race day needs and strategy! 
  Are you an aspiring triathlete  but held back from entering the sport because you can't afford the necessary equipment and resources to get started?  Apply now for a chance at an AWESOME tri starter kit from the top brands in tri. Happy holidays!   https://empiretriclub.com/2019/12/13/holiday-giveaway/


Introducing Nutrition Energy's New Dietitian


We are excited to introduce Melissa Gallanter RDN!

Melissa is a Registered Dietitian who works to help clients find balance in their diets and achieve their health goals while maintaining (or building) a positive relationship with food. Melissa uses her background in public health nutrition to help break down the many barriers that often make reaching health goals much more challenging than they need to be. She works with her clients to find individualized solutions that work for their needs, environment, and budget and lifestyle

We hope you join us in welcoming Melissa to Nutrition Energy!  Melissa will be working afternoons on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays in our Uptown location.  Please call our office at 646-361-6803 to schedule an appointment!

Healthy Habits to Start Up/Keep Up Between Now and The New Year!


The holiday season is somehow already here again! We all know that although this time of year is "supposed" to be happy and jolly, it can also be stressful and filled with a few too many things to do and events to attend. While we hope you make time to spend some extra moments with friends and family over the last few weeks of 2019, we are here to help you set an intention to maintain a few key healthy habits along the way. 

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today certainly applies here. There is no need to wait until January 1st to make your New Years Resolutions, or to give up on all notion of healthy eating and exercise between now and then. Balance is the key to most things and your nutrition and health are certainly no exception. We encourage you to join all of us at Nutrition Energy while we enjoy some extra holiday treats but also continue to stick with some of our tried and true healthy habits at this time of year. Believe us when we say that is absolutely possible to continue your mindful eating habits and still indulge in holiday treats this season! 

The following are some of our Nutrition Energy Dietitian's favorite healthy habits. Please feel free to choose a few below, or create your own mindful habits you can pick up now, even before 2020 begins. 

 

1. Plan ahead and pack a healthy snack. 

Eating a healthy snack between your meals can keep your energy on the right track for the rest of the day. Fuel your body with a fruit or vegetable and a side of nut butter, cheese or guacamole. Combining both of these items will not only taste great, but will also help you stay both satiated and energized until your next meal. Getting in the habit of snacking on fruit is also a great way to ensure you get a serving of fruit in each day. Easy ones to try include apples, celery, or banana with nut butter, baby carrots with hummus, or pears, cucumbers and strawberries with cheese.


2. Eat vegetables with your lunch daily.

Yes, we said lunch. Eating 5 servings of vegetables daily can seem like an impossible task, but we're here to tell you that it isn't. Start the habit of incorporating vegetables into your lunch daily. Not only will it make it easier to reach 5 servings daily, but it's also a great source of fiber, which we know can help you feel full longer, control cravings and is a must for a healthy digestive tract. *Note that afternoon exercisers might need to be careful about which produce items they choose a noon before their afternoon sweat sessions. Try ½ -1 cup cooked spinach, mushroom, tomato or carrots.


3. Energize yourself with your usual coffee or tea from home.

Notice we did not say anything about reducing your AM caffeine fix, and we are not going to-ever! Not only will you be you saving money (which I am sure will come in handy if you have any holiday shopping to do!) but making your beverage at home stands to save you from the possibility of choosing the seasonal sugar-laden beverages that are abound at this time of year. Note: A regular cup of joe contains a bit more caffeine than a frappuccino, which is important to note because let's be honest, that's what most of us are really after with this ritual.

 

4.Spice up your food instead of your coffee. 

Adding "seasonal" spices into your usual recipes will give you that holiday feel in your meals without causing you to make impulse purchases of seasonal smelling or tasting goods at the coffee shop. Try:  Cinnamon, rosemary, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Cinnamon is one of the most popular holiday spices around, and it's also easy to incorporate into your daily foods and drinks. Add it to oatmeal, yogurt, coffee, cereal, hot cocoa, baked sweet potatoes, workout shakes or even your fruit bowl.  


5. Save room for dessert!!

Yes you read that right. While this recommendation may surprise some of you, being that it is coming from a team of Dietitians, those of you who know us well know that we eat and include all foods! We believe that we should all enjoy our holiday meals and savor every bite of our favorite desserts when we really want them. With this in mind, we propose contemplating eating a bit less of your main meal and saving room for dessert when you know you're going for a slice of your family's famous apple-cranberry walnut (or peanut butter chocolate chip) pie after dinner! Doing so will help you avoid that all too familiar, " I am feeling too stuffed for dessert but really want to eat it anyway" syndrome, and allow you to both have your cake and eat it too! (Sorry, we just couldn't resist!)! 


6. Continue exercising! 

For our athletes who are currently in the off-season, this is your gentle reminder that you want to keep moving in fun ways at this time of year. You don't need to work as hard as you do during your main season, but you don't really want to take 2-3 months complete off, do you? Use the "extra" time you now have to connect with your friends who engage in other sports or activities by staying active together. For our other friends who haven't been very consistent with a workout routine in 2019, we say why not start now? Get a jumpstart on the rest of the world who will be joining you in exercise New Year's Resolutions in a few weeks. As we all know, resolutions are notorious for being made to be broken, so get an early start and begin your workout habit now. 


7. Allow Yourself To Order Takeout More...with one Caveat!

We understand that the holidays can be hectic for most of us, and cooking unfortunately tends to suffer as a result.  First of all, please know that this is completely okay! We don't need to add more pressure to our already time-pressured lives.  The caveat here is to order similarly to the way you WOULD cook at home most of the time. Meaning, just because you didn't have time to prepare lunch or dinner on any given day doesn't mean you have to throw your nutrition and health goals out the window as you order. When you are really craving a certain food, go for it. But when you are ordering only because you are time-pressured, remember that every healthy choice counts and will get you one step closer to achieving your goals. 


We, at Nutrition Energy, want you to begin and end each new year feeling better than the last, and further along your road to your best energy, health and performance. Following some of the above consistency tips should help you do just that during this busy holiday season! We truly believe that you can and should enjoy the holidays and all of the festivities while maintaining some consistency where you can. Even if you only manage to pick up one or two new healthy consistency habits before 2020, you'll start your new year one step ahead of where you otherwise would have been. 

Wishing you and yours a Happy Holiday Season!!!

Quick Holiday Recipes


This holiday season we are here to help you stay on top of your cooking game with some quick, delicious and healthy recipes. We understand how busy this month is for everyone, so all three recipes we're sharing with you can be completed in under an hour and allow you to either get back to your holiday shopping or fit in a quick sweat session. We included a Vegan soup recipe that will keep you warm this Winter, an avocado fudge recipe to satisfy your holiday sweet tooth and a cajun jambalaya that will spice up your dinners. We hope you will give them a try and please let us know what you think once you do. Happy holiday cooking! 

Vegan White Bean and Kale Soup
Yield: 4

Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 (15 cm / 6 inch) sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped, stems reserved
  • 4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
  • 2 (560 gram / 20 oz) jars of cooked white beans
  • 2 cups (55 grams) chopped kale or other winter green (radish greens, chard, spinach, etc.)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons miso paste
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Fresh parsley, for garnish
Preparation 
  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and fry, stirring, until golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.
  2. Add the onion to the oil and fry until transparent. Then add the carrots, celery, bay leaves and rosemary stems and fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened.
  3. Add the stock and beans, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Use an immersion blender to blend some of the beans, being careful to avoid the bay and rosemary, until you reach the consistency you want. Add the chopped rosemary leaves and kale (or other winter green), cover the pot and simmer until the kale is soft.
  4. Remove the pot from the heat, ladle about half a cup of the soup into a bowl and add the miso paste. Stir well to dissolve then add it back into the soup along with the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper, the quantity will depend on how salty your stock and miso paste are. 
  5. Remove the bay and rosemary stems and serve, garnished with the reserved crispy fried garlic and fresh parsley.

Avocado Fudge
Source:  Tasty.co
Yields: 8 Servings 

Ingredients
  • 2 medium avocados, cubed
  • 1 ripe banana
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ⅔ cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pinch salt
  • walnut, chopped, to taste
  • coconut flake, to taste
  • Optional: ½ cup Cocoa Powder or melted chocolate chips
Preparation
  1. In a blender or food processor, combine avocado, banana, honey, coconut oil, lemon juice, and salt.
  2. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
  3. Pour mixture into a parchment lined 8x8 inch (20x20 cm) freezer-safe dish and top with chopped walnuts and coconut flakes, or your favorite toppings!
  4. Freeze for at least 3 hours.
  5. Remove from freezer and cut into squares.

Cajun Jambalaya
Source:  Delish
Yield: 4 Servings 

Ingredients 
  • 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 6 oz. andouille sausage, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 c. low-sodium chicken stock
  • 1 (15-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 c. long grain rice
  • 2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Preparation  
  1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and bell peppers and season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then stir in chicken and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook until the chicken is golden, about 5 minutes, then stir in andouille sausage, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
  2. Add chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, rice, and Old Bay. Reduce heat to medium low, cover with a tight fitting lid, and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is almost absorbed, about 20 minutes.
  3. Add shrimp and cook until pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in green onions just before serving

A Note from Lauren...


In the blink of an eye, the last few weeks of the year are upon us!   Have you already begun to reflect on any goals you made for yourself this past year that you have accomplished, which you need to adjust, and which are currently a work in progress?   Have you begun to list your goals/resolutions for the new year?  
     Reflection is good, as long as you can stay both realistic about your expectations and positive about what you have been and continue to work on.  We will be here for you through the end of next week, and again beginning in the first week of 2020, to help you focus on and achieve your goals. Whenever you are ready to get started, or to take your health and/or performance to the next level, the d ietitians at Nutrition Energy are here to help you navigate through the nutritional maze of the holidays and build both healthy and sustainable habits for the New Year and beyond. 

Have any great go-to holiday recipes?  What's your favorite holiday treat?  Tag us in your social media updates or let us know on Twitter  @NutritionEnergy , Instagram ,  or  Facebook!

Sincerely,
 
Lauren Antonucci, Director
Nutrition Energy