Diversify Your Dishes (and Your Diet) In 2023 With This Dietitian’s Flavor-forward Meal Plan

This month, together, we will celebrate flavor! I will encourage you to make mindful and intentional choices about food based on what is accessible to you.

Diversify Your Dishes (and Your Diet) In 2023 With This Dietitian’s Flavor-forward Meal Plan

I’ll help you make culturally-relevant food choices that are free of shame or guilt—all while reminding you that you deserve to be well-nourished and satisfied.

Diversify Your Dishes (and Your Diet) In 2023 With This Dietitian’s Flavor-forward Meal Plan

The many delicious dishes you’ll be making this month require a well-equipped kitchen.

Day 1: Get Your Kitchen Equipment Arsenal Ready

Now that your kitchen tools are stocked and ready for use, we can focus on your pantry. If you ask me, a well-stocked pantry can save a meal; it can take it from lackluster to spectacular.

Day 2: Conduct A Pantry Audit—and Consider Adding A Few New Nutritious Staples

Start by jotting down health goals in a journal, then try brainstorming some ways to make progress on them that fit within your current lifestyle.

Day 3: Identify Realistic, Attainable Health And Nutrition Goals That Work For Your Body And Lifestyle

In order to be a savvy shopper, it’s important to be able to parse out the important information from the superfluous claims. Ultimately, you will need to decide what is valuable to you. Below are some common claims and their current definitions.

Day 4: Study The Most Common Food Label Claims To Be A Savvier Shopper

Organic (as defined by the USDA): – Produce: “Produce can be called organic if it’s certified to have grown on soil that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest.

Day 4: Study The Most Common Food Label Claims To Be A Savvier Shopper

– Animal proteins: “Regulations require that animals are raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors, fed 100 percent organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones.”

Day 4: Study The Most Common Food Label Claims To Be A Savvier Shopper

– Packaged and multi-ingredient foods: “Regulations prohibit organically processed foods from containing artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors and require that their ingredients are organic, with some minor exceptions.”

Day 4: Study The Most Common Food Label Claims To Be A Savvier Shopper

Follow this template as a starting point: Sample Grocery List – Fresh produce – Frozen produce – Canned goods – Dry goods – Boxed and jarred goods – Fresh herbs and spices

Day 5: Craft A Personalized Grocery List That Will Set You Up For Success

– Dried herbs and spices – Dairy products – Meat and/or poultry – Seafood – Prepared foods – Partially-prepared foods – New-recipe needs

Day 5: Craft A Personalized Grocery List That Will Set You Up For Success

Nutrition providers—myself included—have been shouting the phrase “Shop the perimeter!” (aka the section of the grocery store where fresh fruits and vegetables are typically found) for many years now.

Day 6: Get To Know The Whole Grocery Store

Now that we've studied up on label claims, we know not to get too caught up on the front of package labeling like “organic” or “gluten-free.”

Day 6: Get To Know The Whole Grocery Store

All that tells you is that the product is organic or gluten-free, right? Instead, flip the package over and read the ingredient list. The first five ingredients make up the majority of packaged goods

Day 6: Get To Know The Whole Grocery Store

The goal is to start a pattern of eating that includes all the foods you love and keeps you excited about the new flavors and nutrient-rich foods you might be trying—this is a more sustainable method, and therefore likelier to “stick” in the long term.

Day 7: Make Space For Expansion And Diversity In Your Diet

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