7 minute read
LET'S CLEAN OUT — NUTRITION SIMPLIFIED
By Lydia Fowler
This year our company, Climb Performance Therapies, decided on a WOTY, word of the year, much like we had our previous two years of private practice. Due to an incredible need for this word in my own life, I brought it up in Climb’s year-end 2023 meeting. Brittany Ryan, cofounder and physical therapist, was immediately on board for a year of SIMPLIFYing! It is just the two of us who own and operate the company, but we truly take a team approach. Needless to say we are already pretty simple. That won’t stop us from simplifying even more. We can always do better for our clients and ourselves! Who else is in?!
SIMPLIFY
What do you think of in your own life when you hear the word simplify? Picturing quite the opposite from your current way of living? You could even be so bold as to call this picture a dreamland. Reign it in! Let’s be realistic. To simplify make it simpler or easier to do. In this context, how about we simplify life? Make life easier?
I wrote this on one of those beautiful snow days just inside 2024, the year of the dragon. This new year is predicted to be the year of fresh starts, as well as offer opportunities and abundance. I certainly hope you have felt some portion of that in your life so far in the new year. Keep in mind that the first couple of months of a new year are not the only time to have fresh starts. Each day is a new day to live the life we desire and are called to for a greater purpose.
Our purpose at Climb Performance Therapies is simple in concept, but impactful to each person as a whole. We have a passion for teaching others how to gain joy in body awareness, mobility, and strength while helping simplify their approach to nutrition. As the dietitian speaking for this article, I want to focus on the last part of that sentence simplify their approach to nutrition. If you haven’t been witness to the media overcomplicating nutrition, then I believe you have been living under a rock. If that is true, please let me know how and when I can join you. It is overwhelming to hear daily about the latest nutrition/diet craze. If you are over it and looking for a simplified way of approaching nutrition, we hope you can follow along this year as we lay out some realistic action steps for implementing more simplified nutrition practices into your life.
Where do I start, Lydia? Your environment! Your environment can include your home, car, office wherever you spend your time day in and day out. How you set up your environment, the things you allow to live there in that space, the things that you allow to pass in and out of it, and the feelings felt in it all play a part in your nutrition and overall health. Do you feel peace or overwhelm in your environment? A decluttered environment promotes a decluttered mind. Let’s think of spring cleaning for all of your environments!
SIMPLE SPRING-CLEANING LIST
Mindset
Clean out your mind. Focus on what you CAN do. Perfection is not the goal. Taking one step toward your goal at a time and making progress is the goal. That climb is ours and each person’s mountain is different. There are no comparisons to be made.
Inventory
Items that are not being used or not positively contributing to your health and happiness can move to either the trash or giveaway pile. This could be clutter in general or the stash of Cheez-It® snack crackers in the top cabinet. Don’t leave any stones unturned and don’t forget to cross it off the list! Ask any of my friends I hate to waste, so I get not wanting to throw anything away. If I can do it, then I promise you can too. The feeling of a fresh start can be yours!
Kitchen Clean Out
A couple of my favorite kitchen clean-out recipes are homemade granola with all the nuts and seeds I have, I’m actually baking some in the oven now as I type it smells heavenly, and a kitchen sink muffin, aka morning glory muffin, with any leftover fruits and vegetables still hanging around the kitchen. Please give them a try. It’s a great way to clean out the kitchen and eating them will bring a smile to your face every time!
Crispy Oat Granola
BY DR. WILL BULSIEWICZ, MD MSCI FIBER FUELED
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons organic sunflower oil (or coconut oil)
¼ cup 100% maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional ½ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 250º F.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut, walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon and salt.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the oil and maple syrup. Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and add the vanilla.
5. Add the syrup mixture to the oat mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread the granola in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Cool completely, then stir in the dried cranberries is using. Transfer to an airtight container and store for several weeks.
One-Bowl Kitchen Sink Muffins (aka Morning Glory Muffins)
RECIPE BY SURUCHI AVASTHI, CAMILLE STYLES FOOD EDITOR
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
8 oz unsweetened apple sauce (2 apple sauce lunchbox cups)
3 packed cups of fresh grated fruit and veg (I used 2 medium carrots, 1zucchini, and 1 gala apple) wring out as much liquid as you can with a kitchen towel
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional but I think makes a difference in the flavor)
1/4 cup oat flour (take 1/4 cup rolled oats and blitz in a blender into coarse flour, or use storebought oat flour)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Sliced almonds and rolled oats for topping
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400º F
2. Line a 12-cup muffin tray with liners.
3. Mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, and olive in a stand mixer until smooth and syrupy.
4. Add the eggs, and combine.
5. Add the apple sauce and combine.
6. Add the grated fruit and veg and combine.
7. Add the shredded coconut and combine.
8. Whisk the dry ingredients and spices together in a bowl, then add to the bowl of the stand mixer. Stir in mixer until JUST combined, finish mixing by hand with a spatula this will help prevent overmixing and tough muffins.
9. Fill muffin liner cups to the top (I used three scoops of a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop) this will help get more of a domed bakery look rather than filling 3/4 of the way to the top
10. Bake at 400º F for 23–25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean don’t overbake.
11. Let cool in muffin tray for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
The traditional Morning Glory muffin, originating from Morning Glory Cafe in Nantucket, boasts a medley of classic ingredients such as shredded coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts. It's essentially the all-encompassing kitchen sink of muffins. One of the delightful aspects of Morning Glory muffins is you can easily swap ingredients based on what you have or omit elements that may not suit your taste. So clean out that kitchen and enjoy!
Follow Climb Performance Therapies for nutrition and health tips on social media at @climb.ptnutrition and visit climbptnutrition.com for additional information.
LYDIA FOWLER, MS, RD, LDN, CPT, is a Co-Founder, Registered Dietician, and Personal Trainer at Climb Performance Therapies in Columbia, Tennessee. Follow Climb on social media at @climb.ptnutrition or visit climbptnutrition.com for additional information on their practice.
