Hey, Friends!  This post is set to auto-post, hopefully by the time you are reading this I’m having the time of my life running my first half marathon!

How did it go with last weeks healthy carbohydrate challenge?  For my challenge, I wanted to try something new and the good folks at 5-am Provisions sent me to try, some popped Amaranth!  I got it on Saturday and didn’t want to eat something completely new to me right before my half marathon so that will have to wait till next week! (Did you catch that?  I put off my challenge this week, that's okay it just means I have to double up!)

• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake
• Week 2:  15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas
• Week 1:  Tips to Drink More Water

Week 5: Healthy Fats

(Recipes in picture - spicy guacamole, lemon herb salmon, stuffed squash)

In honor of next month (aka tomorrow) being National Heart Health Month, I figured we would focus on healthy fats the next few weeks.  One of the topics I discuss most frequently with Hungry Hobby RD clients is the importance of dietary fat.  Despite being villainized in mass media for so many years, fat is an essential for countless functions in our body including:

• Mood and Brain Health- your brain is 60% fat!
• Hormones- fat is the building block for your hormones, especially sex hormones.
• Cell structure and function- fat is the primary component of our cell membranes
• Cellular signaling- dietary fat plays a role in our cells communication highway via the secondary messaging system
• Initiates satiety- fat triggers the release of satiety hormones like leptin which tell you body your full. So fat is filling!
• Energy source- fat is the primary fuel source when at rest and throughout daily activities (anything when we are not working out).  In fact, you need to eat fat to burn fat!
• Absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, K, E, and D- the presence of fat in the meal helps you absorb nutrients from all that produce you’re eating

For these reasons I encourage my clients to make sure they have some sort of dietary fat at every meal.  Variety is KEY when it comes to healthy fats because there are so many different types of fats and corresponding health benefits.

What is a Healthy Fat?

Plant Based:

• A variety of nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, macademia, coconut etc…)
• A variety of seeds (chia, hemp, flax, pumpkin etc…)
• Avocados (although technically a fruit, I feel it deserves its own bullet point)
• Olives

Animal Based Vegetarian:

• Grassfed Full Fat Dairy
• Grassfed Butter (Kerrygold)
• Eggs

Animal Based

• All seafood, especially fatty fish like salmon and tuna (wild caught is best)
• Poultry - organic free range is best
• Grass fed free range meats

15 Ways To Include More Healthy Fat

You really don’t have to go crazy since fat is more calorie dense then it’s friends protein and carbs, you just have to make sure a source of dietary fat is in each meal.  Here are 15 Ways to help you get started!

1. Try full fat yogurt and/or swap out granola for nuts, seeds, etc.
2. Use regular dairy instead of low-fat
3. Make sure to add a fat to your smoothie with high-fat dairy, flaxseedor nuts/seeds whole/butters
4. Make sure to add a fat to your oatmeal (I love nut butters, coconut cream, or coconut oil) - ( try my instant oat packs, overnight oats, or coconut cream oats)
5. Use a whole egg and/or add some avocado and/or grass fed dairy
6. Snack on a variety of nuts and seeds—> Incorporate variety to get the most bang for your buck, try a different type of nut or seed every time you go to the store!
7. Smear fruit, toast, or veggies with some nut butter
8. Use guacamole for a snack time veggie dip
9. If you are having a leaner cut of poultry/fish/meat, make sure to add some butter or oil to those veggies.
10. Use nuts and seeds in place of croutons on your salads
11. Use a higher fat salad dressing (my most recent adventure is use the oil in marinated artichokes jar as my salad dressing, it’s DELICIOUS)
12. Replace bread crumbs with ground flax or almond meal
13. Eat fatty fish like tuna and salmon for a protein
14. Replace sugary chemical loaded coffee creamers with half & half or coconut cream with vanilla extract or vanilla stevia (or try my vegan cashew date creamer)
15. Use coconut cream to top fruit for dessert or a healthy snack

52 HEALTHY HABITS IN 52 WEEKS SERIES:

The 52 Healthy Habits Series is about ditching the diet mindset and making small changes to improve health overall naturally leading to a healthy body composition, increased energy and improved health. Please follow along and check out the past weeks!

• Week 52: Healthy Habits Wrap Up
• Week 51: Nightly Reflection
• Week 50: Limit Harmful Chemicals
• Week 49: Find Your Tribe
• Week 48: Cultivating Positivity
• Week 47: Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
• Week 46: Check In
• Week 45: Mobility – Foam Rolling
• Week 44: HIIT Training
• Week 43: LISS or Steady State Cardio
• Week 42: Limit Alcohol
• Week 41: Eat White, Wait What?
• Week 40: Eat Blue & Purple
• Week 39: Eat Green
• Week 38: Eat Yellow/Orange
• Week 37: Eat Red
• Week 36: Learn Which Foods to Purchase Organic
• Week 35: Read the Ingredient List!
• Week 34: Focus.
• Week 33: Chew Your Food!
• Week 32: Meditation
• Week 31: Gratitude Journaling
• Week 30: Plan & Revamp Dessert- 20 Healthy Ideas
• Week 29: Two fistfuls of veggies per meal
• Week 28: Get In Veggies At Breakfast
• Week 27: Healthy Veggie Snacks
• Week 26: Nourishing Fats for the Gut (Healthy Digestion Part 4)
• Week 25: Keeping Regular – The Other Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 3)
• Week 24: Feed The Probiotics With Prebiotic Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 2)
• Week 23: Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics (Healthy Digestion Part 1)
• Week 22: Check In
• Week 21: What You Will Learn From Recording Your Meals (Intuitive Eating Series Part 4)
• Week 20: Eat Until 80% Full (Hara Hachi Bu) (Intuitive Eating Series Part 3)
• Week 19: Limit Distractions While Eating (Intuitive Eating Series Part 2)
• Week 18: Gaging Your Hunger Cues (Intuitive Eating Series Part 1)
• Week 17: 10,000 Steps Per Day
• Week 16: Assess Your Caffeine Intake
• Week 15: Decrease Sugar Intake
• Week 14: Healthy Coffee Creamers (upgrade yours)
• Week 13: 3 Month Check In
• Week 12: Sleep Enough & Sleep Better
• Week 11: Schedule Your Workouts
• Week 10: Pack A Healthy Lunch (5 Ways to Create Endless Combinations)
• Week 9: Prioritizing Protein
• Week 8: How and What to Meal Prep
• Week 7: Create & Stick To Your Healthy Meal Plan
• Week 6: Get Enough Omega-3’s (Fight Inflammation)
• Week 5: What Is A Healthy Fat & How To Get Enough (Include Healthy Fats)
• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate (Upgrade Your Carbs)
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake (Eat Veggies)
• Week 2: 15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas (Eat BF Challenge)
• Week 1: Tips to Drink More Water