Nutrition for Busy Parents
12 August, 2023 by Life Rituals
With the summer holidays well and truly underway, this time of year can bring a change in routine for many families. Whilst kids generally love the holidays, 6-weeks of entertaining, planning, and prepping breakfast, lunch, and dinners can seem like a burden for parents. So, it’s understandable that routines get knocked out of whack, but with challenges come opportunities.
With potentially more stressors and demands on parents’ time, ensuring you’re eating the best foods could mean the difference between a fun-packed day and an afternoon crash that ends in frayed tempers. Read further for some key tips to get optimum Nutrition as Busy Parents.
Nutrient Density for Busy Parents
Regardless of your health goals: fat loss, improved energy, less brain fog, more muscle, focusing on nutrient-dense foods is a great place to start. What is nutrient density? It’s a way of eating that focuses on consuming foods with the most nutrients per serving.
In our modern food environment, we can’t necessarily rely on our hunger and cravings to guide us towards foods containing nutrients that we might be lacking. For example, potassium and magnesium are two of the most common nutrients people are deficient in. However, foods high in these include spinach, chard, courgette, pumpkin seeds, kale, broccoli, sprouts, and chicken breast. It’s not often we ‘crave’ these foods.
The idea of nutrient density prioritises foods containing essential nutrients. The good news is that eating with nutrient density in mind often means eating less energy (i.e., calories). This is because we’re focussing on natural, whole foods, which generally have a higher satiety value than ultra-processed foods and aren’t laden with added sugar and fats to make them more palatable.
Foods to Consider – Nutrition for Busy Parents
I’ve mentioned a few already, but below is a list of some of the most nutrient-dense foods (per serving):
Animal
- pork chops
- steak
- liver
- chicken breast
- ground beef
- eggs
Seafood
- salmon
- mackerel
- mussels
- tuna
- prawns
Plants
- spinach
- brussels sprouts
- chard
- broccoli
- sweet potato
- potato
- kale
- avocado
If you can include some of these foods into your meals each day, you’ll be well on your way to improving your micronutrient intake and providing your body with the fuel it needs to operate at its best.
But perhaps the best part? As these foods – particularly animal and seafood – are high in protein and relatively low in energy density (calories), if these foods make up the majority of your diet, for most people, fat loss, improved focus and energy are likely to come along for the ride. Win-win. Of course, this is easier said than done, so start slowly and think of ways to incorporate these foods into your existing go-to meals rather than creating brand-new meals the kids might be suspicious of. Can you stir some spinach into a spag bol or cottage pie, add some broccoli onto the Friday night pizza, combine some avo and prawns in your lunchtime salad, throw some kale in your smoothie…
Apart from my tips for Nutrition for Busy Parents. If you are experiencing any problems with your energy, blood sugar levels, or gut health (food intolerances, IBS, reflux, constipation, diarrhoea, flatulence), don’t hesitate to get in touch with James Dunham who is available for face-to-face Nutritional Assessments at Life Rituals every Tuesday afternoon/evenings.
You can book a free 15-minute no-obligation discovery call by emailing James at james@liferituals.co.uk or by leaving a message on 01572 868579.
About Life Rituals
Our team of healthcare professionals provide personalised healthcare plans based on the root causes of ill health instead of the ‘sticking plaster’ or symptoms-based approach. We offer a broad range of therapies and expertise to provide integrative healthcare for all the family under one roof.
Therapies we offer – Acupuncture, Medical Herbal Medicine, Nutritional Therapy,
Counselling, Reflexology, Indian Head Massage, Reiki, Myofascial Cupping,
Zone Face Lift and Holistic Facials.
We know a combination of approaches can sometimes achieve the best results for the patient to help speed up recovery or be more supportive in long-term complex and chronic health conditions. Our practitioners can guide you.