What's On Kate's Plate This Week...

May 25-29: Chocolate Raspberry baked oats, a Green Goddess Salad with a kick 🌶️, Mexican Street Corn bowls, Honey Sriracha Salmon, and Healthier Cookie Dough Bark 🍪

It is officially Summer. Memorial day is here, and now we have more lax schedules, later evenings, and lots of fun in store.

Summer is great when it comes to food- produce is abundant, cheap, and in-season. Grilling szn makes it simple to throw together healthy meals without making a mess of the kitchen. After-school activities tend to wind down (because there is no school). There is less structure to the days, which is nice and needed.

But, on the flip side- there is less structure. (Yes I just said the same thing as a positive and a negative.) And with eating behavior we need some structure. This doesn’t have to be complicated, but having some guidelines around when and what you eat can help to reduce decision fatigue, keep your blood glucose stable (which reduces inflammation, keeps your mood and energy levels stable, reduces likelihood of reactive overeating, reduces oxidative stress, reduces insulin resistance…I could go on…), and keeps you from spending a ton of money at the pool snackbar.

This doesn’t have to be complicated, but as your schedule shifts and changes with the new season, it is important to remember that feeding yourself must remain a priority, and it’s something you have to stay on top of!

So here are some of my simple summer guidelines to help you keep feeding yourself a priority, so you can be the fun mom at the pool- not the hangry, crabby, tired mom.

Fun, Energized, and Hot Mom Summer Guidelines

1. Eat every 3-4 hours. Eat breakfast, then think about what you’ll be doing 4 hours later. Do you need to bring something with you? Is there food available? Plan ahead.

2. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. If you didn’t pack something, eating something is always better than skipping a meal (you’ll pay for that later 👀 I promise) so get that order of chicken fingers- it’s dietitian approved.

3. Think about what you can add to your meal, not what you have to restrict. Can I get an apple along with my burger? Could I have some nuts along with this handful of candy? Nutrition by addition.

4. Lean into the produce! Get lots of color on your plate by adding fruits and veggies. Adding produce will keep you full longer, add nutrients, and crowd out some of the less-ideal stuff.

5. Keep your meals balanced. Protein + Starch + Produce, make sure you are getting all of them at your meals, and at least two food groups at each snack (a carb + a protein and/or a fat)

6. Be thoughtful about your booze. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Have some guidelines around how much you are drinking alcohol and when. If you’re perimenopausal, drinking alcohol is like pouring gasoline on a fire… be thoughtful about when you choose to imbibe and make sure it’s on a full tummy. I mean, drinks are better with snacks anyway.

   (and if you want my real thoughts on alcohol… ditch it. I did 5+ years ago and I don’t miss it at all)

7. Have some items ready to go. A little prep work on the front end means you are able to grab healthy, balanced, delicious meals on the go! And here is where this plan comes in handy….

You don’t need to revolutionize your meals for the summer, but you do need to have a little bit of strategy so that you feel energized, fun, and hot all summer long. Your body can’t regulate hormones, build muscle, or participate in all the fun summer activities from a place of chronic-undereating or meal-skipping. The goal is consistency not dietary perfection (perfection doesn’t exist with nutrition). A realistic plan you can can stick to beats “cLeAn EaTiNg” every time.

Hot mom summer requires fuel.

this is how I want to talk to people that say “clean eating” It doesn’t even mean anything. Fuck off.

This is a guide, not a rulebook. It’s here to help you build balanced meals, not lock you into anything rigid. Swap ingredients, make changes, take what you need, and leave the rest. ♥️

This plan follows my OKP Signature Method, designed to reduce decision fatigue and make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Here’s the structure:

• One breakfast you prep once and eat through the week

• One lunch you prep once and eat through the week

• One snack or dessert

• Two balanced, satisfying dinners that actually taste good (make enough for leftovers if you can!)

You’ll see ingredients repeat, that’s intentional. These are foods that consistently deliver lean protein, fiber, whole grains, nutrients, and flavor.

These recipes are designed to be meal-prep friendly. No soggy lunches by Wednesday, and no four-serving recipes for a five-day workweek (unless we change to a 4-day workweek, which I fully support 😊).

The goal is simple: get you through the week well-fed and happy.

These are the kinds of meals I eat week to week as a dietitian who focuses on feeling good. There’s enough variety to keep things interesting, but not so much that you need a brand-new grocery list every week. If you like something, bookmark it and make it again. Building a roster of go-to recipes is how you start cooking from memory, riff on your favorites, and make healthy eating sustainable long-term.

Eat well. Feel good. Repeat next week.

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Breakfast: Chocolate Raspberry Baked Oats

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp almond butter

• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

• 1 ½ cups plain non-fat Greek yogurt

• 1 ½ cups liquid egg whites

• ½ cup cocoa powder (optional- this makes the flavor more chocolatey)

• 2 ½ cups rolled oats

• 4 tbsp hemp seeds

• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed

• 4 scoops (two servings) of your favorite chocolate protein powder (at least 20 g per scoop) For this recipe I am using Earth Chimp

• 1 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries

Directions: