Meal Planner Series: Crafting a Tasty, Healthy Holiday Meal

Registered Sports Dietician Bianca de la Rosa joins Coach Crystal to help you find the balance for a great holiday meal that everyone can enjoy!

Welcome to the MetPro Method Podcast. We are joined by MetPro Coach Bianca de La Rosa, a registered sports dietician.

Today, we’re discussing how to cook a holiday meal that aligns with your fitness and metabolic goals without sacrificing the joy of the season.

Prioritizing Nutrient-Dense Foods

Crystal: I am very excited to have you here. I think we should start with some basics. So, what kind of nutrition factors do we need to keep in mind as we prepare this meal?

Bianca: Yeah, absolutely. So, I always like to think about, “How can we make these meals as nutritious as possible?” And veggies are definitely a big one. You know that there’s going to be some good complex carbohydrates in there. Things that are rich in complex carbohydrates such as root vegetables, like sweet potatoes, that are high in fiber, parsnips beets, carrots, things like that.

That’s a really good veggie, to have, leafy vegetables like kale or spinach, collard greens, things like that. And then also thinking about like different ways of how we can make the actual ingredients in food more nutritious as well. One thing I like to think about is how can we make some of those swaps, which is a nutrition factor of, okay, if we’re going to be making chicken or turkey, can we somehow add like a bone broth in there and get more protein?

Oh, if you’re doing like mashed potatoes, can you add some yogurt in there to get more nutrition and more protein too? So little things like that. Um, swaps, veggies. All good stuff.

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The Greek Yogurt Hack for Creamier, Protein-Packed Mashed Potatoes

Crystal: All right. Now, I can hear the skeptics at home. Now when we add things like that. The bone broth, I feel like there’s probably not too much of a taste difference, but that yogurt and that mashed potatoes, are you sure we’re not going to taste too much of a difference?

Bianca: As someone that has actually tried this before? And I love my mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and everything else. I’m here to tell you that Greek yogurts, non-fat, non-flavored, you cannot taste it in mashed potatoes.

Wow. Um, now, I mean, of course you can add a little bit of butter, but actually, believe it or not, the Greek yogurt makes these mashed potatoes more creamy and more whipped, which gives it a nice consistency.

So, it’s one of those things that you would never think to add to something, but it really does work. The same thing with like creamy sauces or dressing, salad dressing, stuff like that. You can do easy swaps of adding in like yogurts, apple cider vinegar, things like that that just kind of like make it healthier and more nutritious.

Crystal: Okay. Is there any kind of like rule of thumb, as far as like how much you would put in instead of milk or something like that?

Bianca: So, for mashed potatoes, say that you were making like two or three pounds of mashed potatoes, I would probably put like about half a cup of Greek yogurt in there.

Um, anything more than that might taste a little bit different, but half a cup would probably be pretty good.

The Art of Balance: Enjoying Holiday Feasts Mindfully

Crystal: Okay. Is there any kind of like rule of thumb, as far as like how much you would put in instead of milk or something like that?

Bianca: So, for mashed potatoes, say that you were making like two or three pounds of mashed potatoes, I would probably put like about half a cup of Greek yogurt in there.

Um, anything more than that might taste a little bit different, but half a cup would probably be pretty good.

FAQs from Women

What is Metabolic Profiling

Metabolic Profiling is a complete step-by-step guide to mastering your metabolism. On its own MetPro is an algorithm, an evaluative process, and an engine fueled with the data you feed into it every day. It's designed to calculate the absolute best "next step" for you under any circumstance, and will do so with responsiveness and precision. Like a GPS it will recalculate your route at any destination or missed turn. Your personal results—and no one else's - will dictate each and every step the system directs you to take. Pretty cool, right?

What about medical conditions?

Medical conditions requiring nutritional therapy for things such as substantial liver and kidney disease or diabetes, fall outside MetPro's current scope of practice. See your medical professional for recommendations. Individuals seeking fitness and exercise only, may still qualify for our coaching services.

Does MetPro support my dietary restrictions?

You can follow the metpro system while still adhering to many common food restrictions, including gluten free, lactose free, wheat free, vegetarian, pescatarian, organic and raw food. MetPro also works in conjunction with nearly all popular diets including Weight Watchers, Paleo, blood type, south beach and dozens more.

Is this a no/low carb diet? My body needs carbs.

MetPro doesn’t limit itself to any “one” diet strategy therefore couldn’t be categorized as a low-carb diet. MetPro evolves to match your metabolic needs. Carb control is but one of many tools that can be applied to a lesser or greater degree depending on an individuals' propensity and response. If you don’t like cutting carbs, it’s likely you’ll learn that your body responds best with at least moderate carbohydrates. That doesn’t mean MetPro will water down our approach. We will explain what carbohydrate intake you’ve shown to respond best to and fully explain why.

Will I have to give up alcohol?

No. Now that doesn’t mean the principle of cause and effect doesn’t apply, but we’ll help you gain a complete understanding of different types of alcohol and their impact considering your goal. Bottom line, we’ll adjust on the back end to optimize for your lifestyle.

I just had a baby. Can I go on the MetPro diet?

Yes. Just having had a baby / breastfeeding is a great example of why having an individualized and adjustable program is best. If your doctor has any special recommendations, we can help you work those into your lifestyle as well.

Every diet I have ever tried fails after a few weeks. Why is this so different?

The diet failed to adapt to your adjusting metabolism. And frankly …the other diets you’ve tried weren’t designed for YOU. Perhaps you decreased when your body needed an increase or perhaps you restricted carbs when your body needed fewer calories. There are literally hundreds of factors and indicators your body gives as to what your next step needs to be –as long as someone is listening. We are here to help you listen and we don’t limit our tool box in helping you reach your goal.

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The Art of Balance: Enjoying Holiday Feasts Mindfully

Crystal: Okay. Is there any kind of like rule of thumb, as far as like how much you would put in instead of milk or something like that?

Bianca: So, for mashed potatoes, say that you were making like two or three pounds of mashed potatoes, I would probably put like about half a cup of Greek yogurt in there.

Um, anything more than that might taste a little bit different, but half a cup would probably be pretty good.

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