Blog 2 — Krystal Clear Nutrition

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These “ingredients” should have NO place in your eating world! Food should not hold so much power over us. The stress of restricting and obsessing over every calorie is not worth the damage that it causes to our mental health ❌ Leave the diet rules, restrictions and labels behind ✅ Work towards giving yourself permission to eat ALL foods. This may not be easy, but it’s so worth it in the end (I promise 😉) ✅ Eat foods that make you FEEL good - I mean, REALLY make you feel good. Energy-wise, mood, digestion, performance. The whole she-bang! ✅ Make your food choices from a place of self-compassion, freedom and autonomy! Only you know what you want in any given moment and honoring your cravings and preferences will breed feelings of self-respect and wellness! ✅ Above all, remember that food is meant to provide us with nourishment, fuel, joy and connection. It is not meant to make us feel bad about ourselves. Diet culture would way rather us buy into fear and rules - well-being just isn’t sexy enough 💰 🤣 🙅‍♀️Guilt, shame, fear, judgment, anxiety, perfectionism and negative self-talk are NOT ingredients for developing and maintaining a healthy relationship with food and your body 💕Reclaim your freedom, choose foods that align with how you want to feel and practice self-compassion at every turn! ✨I don’t know about you, but that sounds way cooler 😎 to me than any diet out there ✨ I hope this message finds you well today and gives you the strength you need to change your script when talking about food (and yourself!) Xoxo Krystal ❤️ #foodfreedom #healthyfoodrelationship #foodingredients #antidiet #antidietculture #bodyliberation #bodypositivedietitian #intuitiveeating #foodhealing #healthyeatingjourney #removeguiltfromfood #guiltfreefood #foodislove #foodismorethanfood #disorderedeating #disorderedeatingrecovery #dietculturedropout

WHY DIETS DON’T WORK 👎🙅‍♀️ Have you ever “successfully” lost weight on a diet only to regain the weight back again? If you’ve ever felt like a failure because you couldn’t stick to a diet, you’re not alone. But please do NOT beat yourself up over it – this does not mean that you don’t have the willpower or discipline to lose weight and keep it off. It’s simply a matter of participating in a system (ie. “diet culture”) that sets you up to fail! 🤔 If diets truly worked, the multi-billion dollar diet industry would tank overnight because there would be no repeat customers   Why don’t diets work over the long term? ⭕️ Diets are just rules – they involve meticulously counting calories & grams &/or they restrict entire macro groups altogether (carbs, protein & fat), all of which your body NEEDS! Your body does not love this & responds by lowering its metabolism, which contributes to weight gain when you eventually go off the diet. Because let’s face it, rules are meant to be broken 😂 ⭕️ Diets consume your energy – see above! All that counting, weighing and measuring of your food is straight up exhausting & takes the fun out of eating ⭕️ Diets intensify cravings – this boils down to a classic case of deprivation and wanting what you “can’t have.” Once you lose that initial weight on a diet, your body eventually increases hunger hormones so that you seek food ASAP to reach your natural set point weight. This is because human beings are hard wired to survive, not starve! ⭕️ Diets teach you to ignore your internal cues – the diet is telling you when and how much to eat instead of recognizing and responding to your hunger/fullness signals Ditch the diet mentality and embrace food freedom by focusing on: ✅ Mindfulness - what tastes good & satisfies you? ✅ Health promoting behaviours - sleep, stress management, social connection, joyful movement ✅ Reconnecting with your hunger & fullness cues ✅ Removing restriction, guilt and shame & focusing on nutrition through addition ✅ Cultivating body respect & acceptance #ditchthediet #foodfreedom #dietculturedropout #dietmentality #bodyacceptance #mindfuleating #nondietapproach #dietculturedetox #foodforfoodies

✨ Is Sugar Truly Addictive? Separating Fact From Fiction 🍬🤔 🌟 Let’s dive into the science and research-backed facts🤓 ⭐️ Important‼️- a lot of hype around sugar is in reference to “added sugars” aka sugar in its simple form that exists on its own (table sugar, 🍯, maple syrup) or is added to foods 🍪🎂 **🔬🧫The Science Behind Sugar and Addiction: 🧠 The idea of sugar being addictive comes from studies showing that sugar can activate reward centres in the brain via a dopamine release, much like addictive substances ➡️ FACT: studies fail to highlight that getting a hug 🤗, petting a puppy 🐶, holding hands 🙌 & listening to music 🎶 stimulate these very same reward pathways 🙋‍♀️Anyone “addicted” to puppies😂? ** 📚What Research Says: 🤷‍♀️ Here’s the catch: addiction is a complex issue and comparing sugar to drugs like opioids or nicotine is an oversimplification ➡️ FACT: according to the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th edition (DSM-5), substance-related disorders are categorized into 10 classes (ie. alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, opioids, to name a few). Sugar, nor any food for that matter, is NOT ❌ on the DSM-5 list of addictive substances ➡️ FACT: while sugar can trigger pleasurable responses in the brain, it doesn’t create the same addiction patterns seen with substances like drugs ➡️ FACT: true addiction involves tolerance, withdrawal and compulsive behavior, which aren’t consistently observed with sugar ⁉️If Sugar Isn’t “Addictive,” Then Why Do I Crave It? ⭐️ It gives us an energy boost 📈 - this is why you might want it when you’re feeling tired or sleep deprived ⭐️ You may be short on carbs or calories or you’re straight-up “hangry” 😩- your body will crave high-sugar/calorie-dense foods in these situations ⭐️ You think of sugary foods as “bad” or “off-limits”🙅‍♀️- the more you restrict it or set rules around it, the more you want it ⭐️ It’s a source of comfort or it may be linked to certain memories 🤗 - food is more than just about taste - we can eat it for social and/or emotional reasons too 😉 #sugaraddiction #nutrition #sugar #sugarcravings #dietitian #nutritionfacts #healthychoices #mindfuleating #sugarawareness

True Story 📚 Our bodies NEED carbs!! Here’s why ➡️ 1️⃣ Fuel for the Body 🚙 ⛽️: carbs are the body’s main and preferred source of energy. They provide your body with glucose, which is directly converted to energy for use by all of our cells, tissues and organs (especially muscles and the brain) 2️⃣ Boosts Brain Function 🧠: your brain relies on glucose from carbs to support cognitive function, memory and overall neurological health. ⁉️ Did You Know - Your body needs roughly 110-145g per day to sustain normal brain function! 3️⃣ Regulates Blood Sugars🩸: fibre-rich complex carbs (vs simple sugars) lead to a more gradual rise and fall in your blood sugar levels, which helps prevent energy crashes 📉 4️⃣ Prevents Ketosis 💥: adequate carb intake prevents the body from having to draw from its fat stores, which produces ketone bodies (can have negative effects such as kidney stress, fatigue, electrolyte imbalances and GI issues) 5️⃣ Preserves Muscle 💪: by providing the body with a constant supply of glucose, this prevents the body from having to break down protein (muscle tissue) for energy. ⭐️ BONUS: muscle is the most metabolically active tissue, so by preserving lean body mass, this optimizes metabolic efficiency 🔁 6️⃣ Optimizes Athletic Performance 🏃‍♀️: Simple sugars 🥤 before a workout provides you with quick, fast-acting energy, while complex carbs 🌾 at meals tops up your muscle glycogen stores, helping you perform better and recover faster 7️⃣ Supports Digestive Health 💩: fibre-rich carbs promote regular bowel movements and provides nourishment for beneficial gut bacteria. 8️⃣ Regulates Appetite 🍽️: complex carbs contribute to feeling full and satisfied after meals 9️⃣ Delivers Essential Nutrients 🥗: carbs (from whole grains, fruits & veggies) are loaded with vit C, folate, B vits, K, Mg, Ca and antioxidants, which supports immune function, energy metabolism, fluid balance, muscle & nerve function and bone health. #carbsareessential #carbsforenergy #bodyneedscarbs #carbsarefuel #carbsfeedyourbrain #carbsfeedyourmuscles #carbscarbscarbs #carbsarelife #guthealth #balanceddiet #carbsforbloodsugars #essentialnutrition #appetiteregulation

📌 SAVE this smoothie recipe for a balanced breakfast, lunch, snack or post-workout recovery drink🥤 ⭐️This recipe has all the ingredients for a balanced meal, including complex carbs 🌾, fibre, protein 💪 and healthy fat! ➡️ BONUS - it’s easy to prepare and only requires a few ingredients, making it a great addition to your simple everyday nutrition repertoire 🍏 🗓️ FRUIT & FLAX SMOOTHIE 🫐🍓// 1 cup milk 3/4 cup Greek yogurt 1/3 cup oats 1 cup berries 2 tbsp flaxseed 1 tsp honey #balancedsmoothie #fruitsmoothie #balancedmeals #healthyeating #healthybreakfast #healthylunch #healthysnack #postworkoutsmoothie #foodisfuel #foodislove #foodislife #fuelyourbodywithwholefood #complexcarbs #protein #healthyfatandfibre#simpleeverydaynutrition #nutritionmadesimpleandclear

🌟Elevate Your Immunity with this Supercharged Peach Blueberry Smoothie 🫐🍑🌱⁣ ⁣ 🥤This blend of wholesome, nutritious ingredients will not only tantalize your taste buds, but also fuels⛽️🏃‍♀️ your body’s natural defense mechanisms 💪 ⁣ 🫐 Blueberries: rich in antioxidants that help shield🛡️your body from harmful radicals and oxidative stress 🍑 Peaches: packed with vitamin C, a micronutrient that fuels white blood cells and bolsters your immune response📈🍊⁣ 🌿 Spinach: a great source of iron, which helps immune cells grow and mature so that they can protect you against. It is also a great source of folate, which helps to optimize & nourish the cells involved in the immune response. 🥛Milk & Greek Yogurt : contains protein and vitamin D. Protein is an important for wound healing, tissue repair and antibody production, which helps maintain the body’s defence mechanisms against infection. Vitamin D helps modulate the function of immune cells (T cells & B cells), which are vital for recognizing and targeting pathogens like viruses and bacteria. 🌿 Flaxseed: rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduces inflammation and gives your immune system a helping hand 🧡⁣ 🌞 Turmeric: a golden spice with curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory compound that supports overall immune health 🌈⁣ ⁣ 📌 ✅Save this recipe for later to help keep your immune system going strong (and for cold & flu season) 🌿🥑🥭⁣ ⁣ ⭐️ Ingredients: 1/4 cup Greek yogurt 1.5 cups milk of your choice 1 cup blueberries 1 cup peaches, peeled and cubed Handful of spinach 1 tbsp flaxseed 1 tsp turmeric Mix all ingredients in a food processor or hand blender and pulse until smooth! #immuneboostingsmoothie #nutrientrichrecipe #siptohealtb #antioxidants #antiinflammatory #healthyhabits #nourishyourself #fightcoldandflu #balanceddiet #dietitianadvice #simplenutrition #saveforlater

☀️Start your day strong 💪 with a protein and carb-packed Peanut Butter & Pepita Seed Greek Yogurt Parfait 🍦🫐! Whether you’re gearing up for a long day at work 💼, hitting the gym for an intense workout 🏋️‍♀️, or embarking on a busy day of errands 🛍️ 🛒 , this breakfast combo has got you covered 😉! ⭐️ Carbs - the body’s main fuel source ⛽️! - Whole Grain Cereal 🌾🥣 - 3/4 cup - Blueberries 🫐- 1/2 cup ➡️ Whole grain, high fibre carbohydrates will help keep you full and give you lasting energy ⭐️ Protein - the building blocks of every cell in your body and the most satiating (filling) of all of the macronutrients! - Greek yogurt🍦- 1/2 cup - Pepita seeds 🎃 - 1/4 cup - Peanut butter 🥜- 2 tbsp ➡️ Combining protein with carbs at meals will keep you full for the long haul. Carbs on their whole (even if they’re whole grain) will cause your energy levels to tank much sooner. Carbs and protein are the dream team 🦸‍♀️ 🦸‍♂️ - together they’ll prevent mid-meal crashes and provide you with sustained energy ✌️🌾🍗 (Not specifically promoting any brands seen in this video) #proteincarbcombo #BreakfastFuel #energizeyourday #breakfastparfait #nutritionmadesimple #sustainedenergy #foodisfuel #carbsgiveenergy #proteinisfilling

🥰💁‍♀️A positive body image can take on a different meaning for each person. Loving your body 💕 is the goal, but the ever-popular body positivity movement 📱🌈 has its limitations and may not ⚠️ resonate with everyone. For those who are constantly looking at themselves through a critical lens🪞, practicing body love may be easier said than done. For this reason, body neutrality may be a better approach! ⭐️ Let’s break down the difference between body positivity and body neutrality: ⭐️ What is Body Positivity? ➡️ Body Positivity has become a super “buzzy” 🗣️ catchphrase in mainstream media 📱and has gained traction as more people are rejecting the idea of weight loss, diet culture and body standards. While it can take on slightly different meaning for each person, mindset 🧠 tends to focus more on what our bodies look like. 💬Someone who is body positive might have thoughts like: ▪️“I feel comfortable and confident in my own skin” OR ▪️“I love the way my body looks” ↔️ While body positive affirmations can help improve your perception of your body, the approach has been criticized 🙅‍♀️ for under-representing marginalized body types on the social media platform and for reinforcing society’s preoccupation with appearance. ⭐️ What is Body Neutrality? ➡️ Body neutrality is a mindset shift that encourages you to focus more on what your body can do for you rather than what it looks like. It is rooted in exercising flexibility by allowing yourself to experience positive AND negative thoughts about your body. In other words, it enables you to accept your body while at the same time being dissatisfied with it. You appreciate the importance of caring for and treating your body with respect despite any “flaws.” 💬Someone who is body neutral might have thoughts like: ▪️“I am grateful for the body that supports me every day” ▪️“My worth is not defined by my size or shape” ▪️“I choose to love and honor my body as it is” 💡🎙️Switch up your internal narrative to incorporate a body neutral approach - it may be the missing piece of the puzzle 🧩 towards achieving peace with your body! #bodypositivemovement #bodyneutrality #bodyimage #mindsetshift #changethenarrative

🌟 Balanced Eating Strategy: The “Base Cereal 🥣” Ok this one comes with a bit of a backstory 📚 that I’m sure you can all relate to. When I was younger, I vividly remember wanting to fill my breakfast bowl with sugary cereals like Fruit Loops, Alphabets, Lucky Charms & Captain Crunch. I mean who wouldn’t right 🤷‍♀️?! They’re delicious, sweet and come in brightly coloured boxes with cool mascots and characters (let’s hear it for consumer marketing to children 🏬 👏)! My mom, being the wise, mindful and creative 🌈 woman that she is, was quick to implement what she coined as the “Base Cereal” strategy, which goes a little something like this: ➡️ Fill 1/2 of your bowl with whole grain, nutritious cereal - -> ✔️gives you a hit of fibre, lasting energy and vitamins & minerals to start your day ➡️ Fill the remaining 1/2 of your bowl with sugary cereal - - > fills your “bucket” in terms of honouring cravings and enjoying your food 💥 BOOM - everybody wins🥇 ⭐️ If this doesn’t promote balance, I don’t know what does! 💡 Not a bad idea mom 👩, not bad at all! Thanks 🙏 for teaching me about the principles of healthy eating, mindfulness & moderation at a young age! ‼️Give this strategy a try! If you’re craving a sweeter cereal in the morning (aka one that is more processed/higher in simple sugars), ⛔️ skip deprivation and ⏭️ fast forward to giving yourself permission 👍 to eat it by pairing it with a nutritious, whole grain option. ✅ Pairing different cereals together is kind of fun 🤩! It can help break up the monotony & the mix & match possibilities are endless 🔢! #balancedeatingstrategy #basecereal #mixandmatchcereal #mindfuleating #moderationiskey #enjoyyourfood

A Dietitian’s Guide to Building A Balanced Meal 🍗 🥗 🍞 🥑 🍽️ : Save this handy blueprint for building a balanced meal and refer back to it when needed. Here’s my simple (& Krystal Clear 🍏) guide to help you create a nutritious, balanced and energizing meal: STEP 1️⃣: Pick Your Protein (1/4 plate) 🥩 🍗 🐟 🫘 🥛 Incorporate lean cuts of meat such as chicken, turkey or lean beef. Other great protein sources include tofu, beans, peas, lentils, eggs, dairy (milk and yogurt) and nuts & seeds. ➡️ Protein helps build and maintain muscle, keeps our immune system strong and it has a super satiating effect (aka helps to curb hunger). ⭐️ Meal Prep Tip: start prepping your protein first - it often takes the longest to cook. STEP 2️⃣: Add Wholesome Grains (1/4 plate) 🌾 Choose natural whole grains such as quinoa, couscous, potatoes, brown or wild rice, oats or opt for whole grain versions of bread, cereal, crackers & pasta. Grains in their most whole, intact form boosts fiber intake, slows digestion and stabilizes blood sugar levels. 🌾🍚🍝 ⭐️ Meal Prep Tip: while your protein cooks, get cracking on your starch. Better yet, batch cook your rice, quinoa, pasta. Can you say time saver ⏰?! STEP 3️⃣: Load Up On Veggies (1/2 plate) 🥗 Fill 1/2 your plate with a colorful array of veggies to get an abundance of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The fibre will also keep you full and promote gut health 🥦 ⭐️ Meal Prep Tip: wash 💦, peel & chop 🔪your veggies early in the week so that you can easily grab it from the fridge and turn it into a salad or side dish in minutes 🕚 STEP 4️⃣: Don’t Forget About Healthy Fats 🥑 🫒 🥜. People often skip fat altogether because they think they’re “bad.” Au contraire my friends🙅‍♀️! Healthy fats play a key role in nutrient absorption & hormone production. They protect our organs, give us energy, keep us warm and are also very filling too 👏 ⭐️ Meal Prep Tip: cook with small amounts of olive or avocado oil, top salads with nuts and seeds and use avocado or hummus as a spread on sandwiches! #balancedmealblueprint #healthyeatingguide #proteincarbsveggiesandhealthyfats #winningfoodcombo #mealpreptipsandtricks

Prebiotics 101 🦠 📚 Plain in plain, simple, Krystal Clear 🍏 terms, PREbiotics are fuel⛽️ for PRObiotics. 🌟But wait, what are PRObiotics? ➡️ PRObiotics are live bacteria 🦠 that, when eaten in the right amounts, provide health benefits such as: - Reducing antibiotic-associated diarrhea 💩 - Managing symptoms of IBS (gas, bloating, abdominal pain 🤕) - Digesting fibre and other nutrients - Boosting our immune system 🌟So what are PREbiotics? ➡️ As the name suggests, PREbiotics are the precursors or substrate (aka food) for probiotics. Prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates 🌾 that become fermented by the healthy bacteria in our gut (aka probiotics) to form short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). These SCFA then work their magic 💨 🌈 by nourishing the cells in our gut barrier, which helps to boost our immune system and contributes to the health benefits listed above. ⚠️ Without enough fuel ⛽️ from prebiotics, probiotics have to find food from other sources and bacteria will turn to the protective mucous layer in your gut first, which is your first line of defence against foreign invader aka nasty bugs - - > hello sickness🦠 😷!! 🌟Where are PREbiotics found? ➡️ Since prebiotics are indigestible carbohydrates, this means that they are found in fibre-containing foods. However, not all fibres are classified as prebiotics. ⭐️ Examples of foods that contain PREbiotics: ▪️Fruit - apples 🍎 and bananas 🍌 ▪️Veggies - Jerusalem artichokes, onions 🧅 garlic, cabbage, leeks ▪️Chicory root (inulin) ▪️Nuts and seeds 🥜- pistachios, cashews ▪️Whole grains 🌾- oats, wheat, barley, rye ▪️Beans, lentils, chickpeas 🫘 Just like we need to eat 🍽️, probiotics need to eat too 😂! So help them to help you Jerry McGuire 🎥 and give them a nice meal! Doing so will help improve both the number 🔢 and variety of health-promoting probiotic bacteria in your gut!! (Not specifically promoting any brands or stores seen in this video) #prebioticstofeedprobiotics #healthyhappygut #indigestiblecarbohydrates #fuelforhealthygut

Plain yogurt is a healthy and versatile choice, but most people find it to be too tart, sour or bland 🤐on its own. Why does plain yogurt taste so sour in the first place⁉️ “Plain” and simple, yogurt is made out of milk 🥛 via bacterial fermentation. The bacteria’s 🦠 job is to break down, or ferment, the lactose in milk and turn it into lactic acid (to coagulate and thicken the milk to actually turn it into yogurt). The lactic acid itself is what gives yogurt its sour/bitter taste. The more lactic acid there is, the tangier it will be! 🏫 Manufacturers generally add sugar to yogurt🍦to help make it taste better. It is recommended that you limit your “added sugar” intake to less than 10% of your daily calories (for a 2000kcal/day diet, that equates to 48g or 12 tsp per day). This includes sugar from juice, syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, refined carbohydrates (cookies, cakes, pies, etc) but NOT ❌ from fruit 🍎, milk 🥛 or plain yogurt. some flavoured yogurts (including vanilla) may contain upwards of 15g of sugar per serving. If you look at their plain counterparts, they will have 4-7g sugar per serving (which is just the naturally-occurring lactose), so the flavoured version actually has 8-11g of added sugar (~2-3 tsp) 😮 Is that too much⁉️Well, it really depends on what else you eat during the day. If your daily sugar intake is adding up quickly from other sources, it may not hurt to switch to plain yogurt and flavour it with the below alternatives: ✅ Cinnamon ✅ Honey🍯 (still considered sugar, so use in moderation – because it is so sweet we often eat less of it) ✅ Nut butter 🥜 ✅ Fresh or frozen fruit 🫐 🍓 🍌 ✅ Vanilla extract ✅ Nuts and seeds 🥜 🌰 ✅ Granola or granola bar (Not specifically promoting any brands seen in this video) #makeplainyogurttastebetter #limitsimplesugars #naturalflavours #itslikethisandlikethat

10 Bento Box School Lunch Ideas (Dietitian Mom Approved)

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