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“A healthy outside starts from the inside.” -Robert Urich
Brittany Watkins graduated from Academy Canada in 2016 and has been practicing as a Registered Massage Therapist for just over a year. She will be celebrating her one year anniversary with InMotion in November. Brittany enjoys an active lifestyle and is a regular gym goer. She is also a huge animal lover, enjoys hiking and has a passion for cooking. Today Brittany shares with us a little bit about where her love of healthy eating comes from and some of her favorite healthy meals.
Tell us a little bit about why you love cooking?
I started to fall in love with cooking at an early age, I have my mom and grandmother to thank for that. I have many memories of being in the kitchen and cooking up something fantastic to eat! Cooking for other people is very realxing for me and it helps me unwind after a busy work day.
How has being a health care professional affected your diet?
Now that I am an RMT, eating healthy along with staying active is my number one priority. It’s physically demanding so it’s very important I make sure my body gets the proper nutrients to replenish and repair itself. If I have a bad day of eating, for example, a not so good breakfast or just not having the time to eat enough, it impacts my energy levels and mood during the day. I’m groggy, tired, and even my strength and endurance are affected.
When I eat a good healthy breakfast with minimally processed food such as fruits and healthy lean protein I feel fuller longer, my energy levels are great and it generally makes me feel better during the day. I also find if I eat a healthy breakfast my food choices throughout the day are better as well!
How can eating healthy help with the recovery process?
Eating healthy can help the recovery process in many ways. When you eat the right, healthy food it gives your body the tools to help you recover quicker.
Here’s an example, the spinach you just ate provided your body with Magnesium which is a mineral used as a muscle and nervous system relaxant! Low-grade magnesium deficiencies are common and can cause headaches, muscle spasms, tightness and supportive of healing soft tissue injuries. Magnesium is high in spinach but it is also found in pumpkin seeds, chard, yogurt/kefir, almonds and black beans.
Do you have any tips to help busy people include healthy foods into their regular diet?
For me preparation in advance is key. I’ll take an evening of preparing freezer meals, portioning snacks into containers and preparing a few days before hand. Usually, a day that I have an evening off or a day during the weekend. When those cravings for sugar or junk food creep up I can always opt for a pre-portioned container of strawberries or a small bag of popcorn. These cravings for me usually strike when I am extremely hungry and I am too impatient to wait around to prepare something. This way I can have something healthy in place of that bag of chips or chocolate bar I would have grabbed.
Go-to recipes
Snack: One of my favorite go to snacks right now is yogurt! I usually mix half plain Greek yogurt and half of the Greek vanilla yogurt. I’ll add fresh sliced peaches and instead of granola, I’ll top it with special K vanilla almond cereal.
Dinner: For weekdays after work, I’ll toss together strips of onion, carrot, potato, and turnip, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, onion powder and garlic powder with a bit of cooking spray. Roast in the oven until tender and golden brown. This is a great side dish with any protein!
The post Healthy Eating with a Massage Therapist appeared first on InMotion Health Centre.
This content was originally published here.
