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We all can agree that eating enough vegetables, and in particular, greens, are beneficial for our health. 
But, it can be challenging to figure out ways to get more greens into your day. I’ve found that many times when people think of eating greens they think of salads or cooked veggies. 
While those are two great options, that can be a little limited or even difficult to eat plenty of vegetables at meal.
So I’m sharing a few hacks you can use to eat more vegetables at each meal! 
Why Is It Important to Eat Vegetables at Every Meal? 

Greens and fiber-rich vegetables also known as non-starchy carbohydrates are great sources of nutrition! These are your leafy greens like arugula, kale, wheatgrass, barley grass, alfalfa, spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and so many more.
Non-starchy carbohydrates are part of my food philosophy and approach to simple mindful nutrition, called the Foundational Five, which is my system I’ve used to help clients and members eat balanced and nutrient-dense meals. 

The Foundational Five is made up of five elements that go on your plate at each meal: non-starchy carbohydrates, starchy carbohydrates, healthy fat, protein, and the flavor factor. If you want to learn more about this, you can download my free guide that shares some of the ingredients that make up each element. 
One of the most challenging elements of the Foundational Five we see many people within the Nutrition Stripped community face how to eat vegetables aka non-starchy carbohydrates at each meal!

Non-starchy carbohydrates are so important to consume several times a day, because these carbohydrates are known for their fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, and minerals.
Fiber is so important to any diet as it balanced cholesterol levels in the blood, regulates bowel movements, regulates blood sugar levels, regulates your satiety levels, lowers the risk of certain types of cancer, reduces the risk of diabetes, and aids in digestion overall. 
In addition to fiber, greens typically contain vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin E, calcium, folate, manganese, potassium, and a host of antioxidants. 
10 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables and Greens
Sometimes getting enough vegetables and greens can be tricky, especially when you’re first getting started trying to be more mindful about eating more of them. 
These are a few different ways for how to eat more vegetables and you can pick and choose which ones sound best for your lifestyle and taste buds!
1. Befriend Zucchini and Spinach in Your Smoothies
Smoothies are a great vehicle to add vegetables in, especially if you’re a slightly picky eater. Many times you can toss the vegetables right into a smoothie and you would never even know they are there! 
Both zucchini and spinach are mild in flavor and pair really well with so many other things to make a tasty and creamy smoothie. 
Zucchini blends into a creamy texture similar to bananas, it’s packed with vitamins and fiber, it’s lower in sugar and you’d never even know it was in there, so it’s a great place for beginners to start eating more vegetables. (perfect for kids too!)
There are also so many great spinach smoothie recipes that are light and don’t taste like super “green” smoothies, but still give you all of those nutrients. Find a couple that you like and you’ll have an easy way to get more vegetables at the start of your day.
2. Add in a Powdered Greens
Powdered greens are another great option to have on hand to add to your smoothies, even when you don’t have fresh greens on hand. I recommend Green Superfood® Antioxidant by Amazing Grass®. In just one scoop, there’s one full serving of fruits and veggies, plus key vitamins and minerals to support your health!

3. Try Homemade Soups and Stews as a Tasty Way to Eat More Vegetables 
Soups and stews make it easy to get a ton of vegetables in one serving. 
When you make your own veggie stock, it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals from the vegetables you used to create the stock, even though you scoop out the vegetables themselves. This allows even picky eaters to get the benefits without having to actually eat the vegetable itself! 
When you make stocks, you can also use veggie scraps which reduces food waste and allows you to get another meal out of the produce you already have. 
Plus the full soup or stew recipe also likely will call for a variety of vegetables, making it nutritious and delicious. 
4. Make Homemade Sauces and Dressings
Tasty and nutrient-dense sauces and dressings are another easy and convenient way to add vegetables and greens to nearly any meal without needing to cook anything new. 
At the beginning of the week, make a batch of homemade pesto, tomato sauce or green goddess dressing that you can use in many different ways throughout the week! 
5. Use Sprouts as a Garnish
Sprouts and microgreens contain 40 times more nutrients compared to their mature counterparts! 
Whether you buy sprouts at the store or farmers market or make your own, they make a great garnish to almost any dish and you don’t need a lot to get the benefits. 
Alfalfa and broccoli sprouts make great toppers to things like avocado toast, salads, veggie burgers, and pasta dishes. 

6. Stock Up on Ingredients for a Go-To Salad 
One of the simplest ways to ensure you’re getting your greens is to tack on a side salad to whatever you were planning on eating or serve your nourish bowl right over a bed of greens. We do this almost every night by starting with a big salad with all of our favorite toppings and then moving onto the main course.
Find a leafy green that you enjoy as your base (or a couple) and make sure you have some on hand every week. Then also keep a few salad toppings, like sunflower or pumpkin seeds, peppers, olives, etc. and a homemade salad dressing on hand so that it’s ready to go — no cooking needed to get those veggies in!  
7. Give Juicing a Try
If smoothies aren’t your thing, or you simply prefer something like oats, eggs, yogurt bowls, or pancakes most mornings, then juicing may be an option for you. 
Juicing allows you to get a lot of vegetables at once and adds a nutrient boost to meals that wouldn’t otherwise have greens. Since juice is lighter than a full smoothie, which tends to be more like a meal, it makes it easy to enjoy alongside your favorite breakfast rather than be a full meal.
8. Eat More Vegetables as a Snack  With Your Favorite Dip
Snacks are meals too you can pair sliced veggies with a tasty homemade hummus, cashew cheese or pea dip (bonus — pea dip is a veggie itself!) 
What’s great about snacks when you’re wanting to eat more vegetables is that they help you add in another serving in addition to your main meals. So if you’re already eating some vegetables for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snack time gives you one or two additional servings! 

9. Use Heartier Greens as Wraps and Taco Shells
Kale, romaine, chard, and collard are hearty options to use instead of wraps, bread, or taco shells! This tastes especially great during the summer months when a crisp and fresh outer wrap adds a refreshing element to a dish.  
10. Add Them to Whatever You’re Eating — No Fuss 
If you’re about to have a meal and you realized the dish is lacking in veggies, don’t feel like you have to go make a formal side dish of veggies. Add a handful right into whatever you’re making! 
Frozen veggies come in handy in moments like these. You can add a handful of frozen peas, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, or whatever you enjoy right into a pot of the pasta or layer them onto homemade pizza or toss them into a stir-fry. Don’t overthink it!
Putting These Tips for How to Eat More Vegetables Into Practice
Now that you have a few creative ways to eat more vegetables throughout your day, let’s focus on one to get started with! Which one of these options sounds both the easiest for you and the most appealing from a taste perspective? 
Try it out this week and see if you notice yourself eating more vegetables and greens at each meal.

Struggling with eczema? Dry, irritated, inflamed patches of skin that don’t seem to go away no matter how much lotion you apply?I know how incredibly painful and frustrating it can be. I had bouts of eczema myself at the beginning of my health journey.
But the good news: eczema doesn’t need to be a lifelong struggle.
The key to healing eczema lies in identifying and addressing the root causes.
So often, we treat skin conditions as purely cosmetic or topical issues with topical solutions. But our skin is a mirror, reflecting everything happening within the body. 
After all, the skin is the body’s largest organ and all aspects of the body system are so intimately connected.
And so when looking to heal or address eczema, we must look to heal or address the root causes. This is the key to long-lasting results and relief.
Impaired Gut Health and Inflammation
Not only are digestive issues uncomfortable, but they’re a significant source of chronic inflammation as well. Since eczema is an inflammatory skin condition, it’s important to do as much as possible to calm inflammation.
Related: 4 Root Causes of Chronic Inflammation
“Leaky gut” or increased intestinal permeability is a particularly common cause of chronic inflammation, and a significant eczema trigger. “Known as ‘leaky gut’, a compromised epithelial barrier allows toxins and antigens in the GI lumen to enter the bloodstream.” (Source) The body then launches an immune attack on these toxins, accompanied by inflammation. This can lead to a number of health issues from food intolerances to acne and eczema.
The gut microbiome — the balance between the “good” and “bad” bacteria living in the large intestine — can also profoundly impact skin health and eczema. Research has found that certain strains of unhealthy bacteria and pathogens in the gut microbiome release toxins that trigger an inflammatory response, whereas beneficial bacteria create anti-inflammatory compounds. This is why a healthy balance of gut microbiota is essential for healthy digestion, a healthy body, and healthy skin.
Since digestive issues can be quite complex, we use a comprehensive diagnostic test called the GI Map to guide the process with each of our clients. Remember testing is just one small part of the process.
Food Intolerances
True food allergies and food intolerances are very different — whereas an allergic reaction can be very severe and even life threatening, symptoms of food intolerances can be more nuanced. 
Belly bloat, gas, and diarrhea are the most common symptoms of food intolerances, though they can also include nausea, fatigue, headaches, brain fog, and a runny nose, plus hives, rashes, and eczema.
But before you run out and spend a lot of money on a food sensitivity test, know that they aren’t the most accurate! And if you have a lot of food sensitivities, this is often rooted in digestive issues like “leaky gut.”
Impaired Immune Function
According to the National Eczema Association : “People with eczema tend to have an over-reactive immune system.”
The absolute best thing you can do to support your immune system? Address leaky gut and support digestive health since about 80% of the immune system resides in the gut.
Eating a nutrient-dense, real food diet rich in a variety of colors, vitamins, and minerals also supports immune health.
Dry Skin
Dry skin can feel itchy, tight, and irritated, so it’s no surprise that dry skin can trigger or exacerbate eczema.
Skin hydration and moisture should be supported with an inside-out and topical approach. Be sure to drink plenty of water to keep hydrated, include healthy fats in your diet, and moisturize often.
Topical Irritants
Many skincare, makeup, and home cleaning products (including laundry detergent) contain chemicals and fragrances that irritate the skin, causing dryness, itchiness, and redness.
In fcat, “contact dermatitis” is closely related to eczema and is caused by contact with an irritating substance. Personal care and home cleaning products are the most common triggers.
Stress
When the body experiences stress — either physical or psychological — it experiences a spike in the stress hormone cortisol.
When we experience chronic or ongoing stress, the increased cortisol increases inflammation throughout the body. This can lead to skin inflammation and an eczema flare.
Hormonal Shifts
Hormones’ influence over skin doesn’t stop at acne! Hormones can also have a profound impact on eczema. 
Estrogen seems to wield the most influence — estrogen is known to keep skin smooth, supple, and moisturized, so a decrease in estrogen causes the skin to lose water, impairs its ability to maintain moisture, and can lead to dryness, making eczema worse.
Estrogen levels drop during menopause, pregnancy, and the very end of your menstrual cycle (right before your period starts), and so you may notice that your eczema tends to flare at this time.
So how can you start healing your eczema by addressing these root causes?
Eat An Anti-inflammatory Diet
Generally speaking think: a wide variety of whole fruits and vegetables, spices and herbs, protein, and healthy fats. But guess what? Depending on your case some foods like fruits and vegetables may actually be irritating to the gut and actually increase inflammation. For some with big gut issues plants can be very hard to digest and healing needs to happen before reintroducing.
As an upgrade, look to include the anti-inflammatory superfoods turmeric and ginger in your diet as much as possible.
Related: Turmeric Dust (For Easy Turmeric Milk and More)
You may also consider ditching dairy and reducing other common allergens like gluten, corn, and soy to see how your skin responds.

Support Gut Health
The digestive system is vast and complex, but it’s always best to start with the foundations:
Work to eliminate processed foods from your diet
Take a deep breath and relax before eating
Take your time and actually chew your food!
Eat mindfully, being sure not to overeat 
Incorporate probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods in your diet, or supplement with a high-quality probiotic supplement
If your eczema or any digestive symptoms (bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, etc) persist after implementing these foundations, then it’s time to consider moving on to functional diagnostic testing to pinpoint where exactly to focus your efforts.
Related: Common Causes of Stomach Bloating + 5 First Steps to Beat the Bloat, How Probiotics Really Work (and Why They May Not Fix Your Digestion), 4 Myths about Probiotics
Switch to Non-Irritating Skincare and Home Cleaning Products
It’s important to make sure no products coming into contact with your skin — and this extends beyond skincare products to cleaning products, including laundry detergent — are causing any irritation, inflammation, or dryness. 
Skincare and cleaning products should be simple, natural, and fragrance-free (including free of essential oils).
Beautycounter is my top suggestion for clean skincare and makeup products that perform as beautifully as they are safe. A few of my favorite eczema products include Baby Daily Protective Balm (even adults have success with it) or the Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm.
Destress
Of course, it’s impossible to eliminate all of our stressors. This is why it’s equally important to build stress-management skills and make stress reduction a key feature of your daily wellness routine. 
I enjoy and often recommend meditation apps like Headspace and Calm, though stress reduction looks different for everyone. For you, it may be reading for an hour before bed, taking a relaxing walk during your lunch break, snuggling with a pet, or practicing a hobby. Whatever it is, do more of it!
Work with us to help you put all the pieces together
Working with a qualified health practitioner is the best way to clearly identify the root causes of YOUR eczema.
Ready to say “yes” to better health once and for all? Ready to stop the frustration? Apply for a free discovery call to discuss if our program is right for you and to learn how we may be able to help. See what our clients say about working with us on our Testimonials page.
CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO APPLY TO WORK WITH US

As a Registered Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, my team and I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to transform their health.

Do you ever find yourself feeling a little too full, or eating when you’re not really hungry, but at the same time, you’re struggling to stop overeating? 
Overeating is really common and there are a few reasons why that’s so!
Sometimes it could be because there was a special event like at a wedding when you weren’t paying too much attention to what you were eating. This happens to all of us and that’s normal and expected! We’re not perfect and you don’t need to be because that’s not the goal.
Other times however, you may find yourself overeating on a more consistent basis. 
Consistently overeating can leave you feeling not well physically, more disconnected from your wants and needs, and also be a sign that you haven’t found how to practice healthy and balanced eating in your daily life.
You’ll learn why overeating can be so common and a few practices to start using to help you stop overeating.
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Overeating Vs. Binge Eating Disorder
How do you know if you’re overeating or if you’re binge eating? Let’s chat about the difference between the two so you can begin to determine where you fall.
Overeating
The definition is exactly what the title entails, overconsumption of food. Overeating is a common occurrence for many individuals. Whether that entails taking an extra serving of a favorite meal or indulging in more dessert than usual, it still involves a sense of control.
You know what you are doing when you are overeating and you often can understand the why or the how behind why it occurred (more on that below).
If it only happens periodically and you don’t feel as though you have lost all control over your actions, you are overeating.
Binge Eating Disorder
On the other hand, Binge Eating Disorder occurs when we do not have any control. It’s sometimes brought about by emotional triggers, but this is not always the case.
tIt also happens regularly and frequently. Perpetually consuming exceptionally large meals followed by an immense sense of guilt, self-loathing and regret are characteristics of binge eating.
Binge eating episodes can often occur without hunger and continue far past the point of discomfort. Those with Binge Eating Disorder also often eat alone for fear of judgement from others due to their large portion sizes.
Binge Eating Disorder is a medical condition, it’s one of the most common eating disorders in America.
If you’re realizing that you have regular binging episodes, consult with a registered dietitian on our team for support! You can schedule a free exploration call so we can get to know one another and share what wellness coaching would look like to help you overcome this.
What Causes Overeating
There are a few common reasons people tend to overeat, and I’m going to walk you through that so you can see if any of these are common in your life.
Distractions
One of the simplest reasons you may be overeating is because you’re distracted.
When you’re “distracted eating,” you aren’t fully present to experience your food — to fully enjoy it, notice where your hunger levels are at, and what you need.
This often happens when you’re on your phone, watching TV, at your desk working, driving, rushing to get from one task to the next, ruminating thoughts in your mind, feeling zoned out, or doing anything else while eating.
When you slow down and remove distractions from your meals, you’re able to more consciously experience your food — the way the food tastes, how it feels, what it looks like and how it smells, along with how you’re enjoying it, your hunger cues, and how your body feels before during and after a meal.
A key part of learning how to stop overeating will be to learn how to eat without distraction so you can be fully present.
Emotional Eating
Another common reason is emotional eating. Emotions like boredom and stress are something many people experience on a regular basis, and dealing with those emotions can be a struggle for some people.
This could look like reaching for the snacks in the evening when you have nothing to do but watch TV or it could look like getting home after a long, stressful day at the office and feeling called to eating comfort foods.
Other emotions like grief, which may occur less frequently can also contribute to emotional eating.
Situational or Environmental Triggers
The third thing that may trigger overeating is your environment. Environmental triggers are specific situations or places that start a period of overeating.
Common examples of this may be going to the movies and ordering popcorn, grabbing one of the candies in the bowl by the office break room wherever you go by, or going out to eat.
It’s those situations or environments that send messages to you that you should eat, and it can sometimes be challenging to remember to check-in with yourself and notice if you’re truly hungry or if external factors are guiding your eating.
Can you think of an environmental trigger that you realize causes you to overeat?

Having Foods that are “Off-Limits”
Another factor that contributes to overeating is if you have foods that you avoid.
If you’ve ever been on a diet before, this might sound like a familiar situation. You go out to eat or go to a social gathering while on a diet and are offered foods you “can’t have” which increasingly make you hyperaware, hypersensitive, and focused on that food choice.
When you’re face-to-face with these foods, you then may feel the lack mentality which causes you to want to overindulge in that food because you don’t know when you’ll be able to have it again since you’ve labeled it “off-limits”, rather than being able to enjoy a serving and be fully satisfied.
Extended Periods of Time Without Food
We only have so much willpower to use before it runs out. When we wait an extended period of time to eat, our hunger cues eventually take over which results in overeating food.
Let’s use the time period between lunch and dinner as an example. If you have lunch at 12:00 pm, then don’t eat anything until you get home and start to prepare dinner at 6:00 pm, chances are you’re going to be very hungry.
For most people, at this point we experience at least a minor loss of control. As soon as we see or even smell food, our hunger cues shoot through the roof and our bodies are looking for anything and everything to eat.
This often leads to overeating in an attempt to make up for hours without food.
Incomplete Meals
Each of the macronutrients serve a different purpose. While some are meant to give us energy, others are meant to keep us full.
If we maintain a diet that is consistently low in nutrients that provide us with satiety, we can often perpetually overeat. This occurs when we maintain a diet primarily void of healthy fat and/or protein.t
The Side Effects of Overeating
After overeating, the body tries to tell us that we’ve had too much to eat through a variety of signs and symptoms.
Just after overeating you may experience abdomen distention, nausea, fatigue, gas and generalize discomfort. You can also start to experience mild regret or guilt.
In the long run, the more we overeat the more we are susceptible to complications later down the road. It can lead to excess weight gain, disrupted hunger regulation, an increased risk of disease as well as a negative relationship with food.

How to Stop Overeating
What some people try to do when they experience overeating to try to stop it is to avoid those foods or situations. 
Maybe you’ve done some of these things.
You find yourself overeating chips, so you say you’re not going to eat chips anymore.
Or you find yourself overeating when you go out for girl’s night, so you decide it’s best to just avoid going out to dinner with your friends.
Not only do these things not solve the root cause of the problem, but they can actually heighten it when you inevitably are faced with that food or situation again. 
On top of that, it can bring up a lot of emotions, like guilt, shame, or even sadness and depression for feeling out of control and for separating yourself from friends, families or experiences that may trigger your overeating or encourage unhealthy eating behaviors that left unresolved over time, can lead to more disordered eating habits.
It’s important to give yourself compassion and curiosity when it comes to exploring the root issue or trigger of what’s causing you to overeat or use food as the main coping mechanism. 
So when you’re learning how to stop overeating, avoiding foods or situations aren’t going to support you in doing that in the long-run. 
I have hours of lessons inside of my program, The Method, that dive into how to create healthy eating habits, but I want to share a few simple tips with you that you can start practicing if you’re finding yourself overeating. 
The first step in this process is to uncover what is causing you to overeat. Once you have that awareness, you can then focus on actions that will help you navigate these things.
1. Check-in With Your Hunger Cues
First, always check in with your hunger cues and ask yourself how hungry you are on a scale of 1 to 10 to help you better understand what your body needs. 1 being very full and 10 being very hungry.
This practice will help you tune into your body and understand if you’re truly hungry or if there’s an external factor influencing your hunger. 
2. Practice Eating without Distraction
The second tip is to eat at the table with no devices. 
Removing distractions will help you be fully present for the food you’re going to eat and help you enjoy what you’re eating and also read your hunger levels as you eat.
Eating at the table will also naturally remove some of those environmental or distracted eating situations, where you find yourself eating while watching Netflix or while stressed out at work at your desk. 
3. Keep a Reflective Food Journal
The third tip is to keep a reflective food journal. If this is something you feel is a problem in your life, a food journal can really help you identify why this might be happening and give you greater insight into your eating habits. 
You can download my free guide where I share a simple yet effective food journal exercise that can help you with this. 
Over time, it’s these types of practices that help you bring awareness to your eating habits and behaviors. 
That awareness helps you make adjustments to the way you’re eating that better align with how you want to feel and act. 
How You Can Stop Overeating in Your Daily Life
Now that you know what a few of the common causes of overeating are and a few tips you can start using right away, which practice is resonating the most with you that you could give a try this week?
The key is to start taking a small action with the knowledge you have just gained to align with what you want to be experiencing.