Getting out of a "Food Rut"

Today I would like to take a break from the usual, Crohn's Talk, and introduce you to what I am actually interested in. Wellness!  I work as a health coach and help individuals loose weight and manage chronic conditions. In fact, I have a dream of starting my own health coaching business (but more on that later).

Today I would like to talk about tips on: Getting out of a "Food Rut"

Let's be real, how many of us struggle with deciding what to eat nearly every day?? I'll be the first to raise my hand! Time and time again I see my patients eating healthy but fearing that if they break routine the weight will come back and they don't know what to do other than eat those few foods that have been working.

Here are some reasons why you do not want to eat exactly the same every day:
1) Your body needs a variety of vitamins and minerals and you can achieve that from a variety of sources. For example, carrots are good but they provide vitamins such as vitamin A whereas if you eat a different fruit or vegetable you will get a different benefit.
2) Although we may become "creatures of habit" our world is never perfectly orchestrated to never break routine (covid19 is a great example of disrupting routine). You need to have the confidence to travel, eat at a family members house, date night, etc.! If the only reason you are losing weight (or managing health) is because you eat the same exact thing each day, it is time to reevaluate.

Things I've Found to be Most Helpful: 

• Make friends with leftovers!
• Cook some nights, and make enough so you don’t have to every night. 
• Purchase a healthy cookbook.
• Find recipes online: 
• Pinterest
• Eatingwell.com
• Some websites will give you recipes based upon what you already have: 
• Supercook
• Allrecipes
• Big oven
• Epicurious
• Cookpad
• Explore a local restaurant: 
• Local examples: 
• Aubergine
• Good Thyme
• Core Life
• Gingers garden cafe
• Green Me smoothies
• Ivie juice bar
• Pick a new food to introduce: 
• Examples: more green veggies, spices, etc. 
• Try a new or different method of cooking.
• Examples: instapot, crockpot, roasting veggies, etc. 
• Involve the family! Find out what they would like to try

Please comment below on what you have found to be helpful and any tips or ideas you may have!