February Weekly Dinner Challenges

February is right around the corner and it might feel like your "new year's diet" is already feeling a bit stale. Here are a few ideas you can use to challenge yourself to get creative and stay committed to your health and wellness goals this year!

Try a new vegetable every time you go to the grocery store.  There are tons of options for different fruit and vegetables, but many of us just stick to the same few that we know.  Challenge yourself by selecting something new, or something you haven't had in a while each time you go to the grocery store for a month. Frozen dragonfruit in your morning smoothie sounds exciting! Or quinoa stuffed acorn squash would be wonderful this time of year!  Get creative and get inspired.

Have at least 3 different colors on your plate at the same time. You've heard that you should "eat the rainbow" so challenge yourself to have 3 foods on your plate that are all different colors each night for a week.  Play with variety by introducing new colors like the rich cranberry color of craisins in your quinoa salad, or the vibrant magenta of beets on your salad!

Speaking of adding in new vegetables and variety, challenge yourself to have 2 vegetables every night with dinner one week.  Vegetables are not only nutrient dense, but full of filling fiber which can help curb future hunger/food cravings.

Whenever you feel like your diet is starting to get stale, boring or routine - take it to the internet and research new recipes.  This is prime time to use your slow cooker or instant pot, so find 4 new recipes and challenge yourself to try them over the course of the month!

Have fun with some new ways to mix things up a bit and take on the challenge with us.

And if you are interested in getting more help with your weight loss goals want more info on how our medically supervised weight loss program works for our patients, call our Sparta NJ office at 973.726.0801