It’s a new year, a new decade, and often the time many of us are pondering a fresh start with our health and seeking more balance in our lives.
As a holistic nutrition and mindset coach, I’ve learned that balance doesn’t mean perfection. Balance is the art of setting reasonable expectations that you can actually achieve, and then building on them.
There are two reasons for this. One is that, when we start small, we set ourselves up to actually meet our goals. The second is that when we meet our goals, we prove to ourselves that we can trust ourselves and can follow through on what we say we will do. This is huge!
So often the “failure mindset” is what stops us in our tracks; we plan for perfection and then beat ourselves up for “getting off the wagon.” We convince ourselves we’ll never be able to make the changes we seek, so we might as well just quit or start the diet again next week, right?
Instead of launching off on some uber-strict diet that relies on willpower alone, try an 80/20 or 70/30 diet, where 70-80% of what you eat is nourishing, and 20-30% of what you eat is what I call “fun food.”
Get really solid at that, prove to yourself you can follow through on what you say you’ll do, and then consider adding on.
I like to think about food choices in terms of abundance, rather than restriction. Instead of less this, or no that, try focusing on what you get more of: fresh, delicious goodness, like this Deconstructed Spring Roll Bowl.
This nourishing bowl is full of nutrients and flavor, and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
DECONSTRUCTED SPRING ROLL BOWLS
Makes 4 servings
- 4 cups mixed greens
- ½ small head red cabbage, chopped thin
- 4 carrots, shredded
- 2 avocados, cubed
- 4 green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 lime, sliced
Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup unsweetened sunflower butter (can substitute peanut or almond butter)
- 2 dates, soaked in warm water until soft (10–15 min)
- ½ cup date soaking water
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- Place all sauce ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. You can add more of the date water if it’s too thick.
- Place salad greens into bowls.
- Top with red cabbage, carrots, green onions, and avocado. Drizzle the peanut sauce. Sprinkle with cilantro and black sesame seeds. Top with a squeeze of lime.
For more like this, check our Dine section here.
