It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday season where food and drink are more available and abundant than during the other 10 months of the year.

I am all for roasting vegetables on a sheet pan but when it comes to big gourds like pumpkins and butternut squashes I would like for someone else to do the work. This is a fast and easy recipe for soup using canned pumpkin. It’s great for an easy weeknight meal for company when the temps drop a bit.

You may know these as the complex carbs (slow) and the refined carbs (fast). I call them “fast vs slow” due to the amount of time it takes them to elevate your blood glucose. Your stomach and intestines break these down at different rates depending on the amount of fiber they contain. Notice that all fruits are in the “slow” category and are considered green light foods.

Wendy Wesley is rated as one of St. Petersburg’s and Tampa Bay’s best nutritionists and dietitians with excellent client reviews and community awards.

Wendy is a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist (Florida) serving St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater and is verified through Nutritionist Near Me and Dietitian Near Me.

Your staples may be different depending on your tastes and cooking style.

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Make a Plan
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While doing IF, you delay your first bite in the morning until you feel real hunger coming on. The key word here is REAL hunger. It is not shaky hunger or angry hunger. It is real hunger that, on a scale of 1-10 (1 is starving and 10 is Thanksgiving) is around a 3 or 4.

This is a healthy, fiber-rich salad that is green, red and white for the holidays. Put on the dressing immediately before serving or offer it on the side.

Bowls are fantastic because they require assembling and not that much cooking.

This egg dish will keep you full for hours because of the protein in the eggs and the fiber in the colorful vegetables.

This 5-ingredient pesto sauce is light and versatile because you can use almost any kind of leafy green including basil, cilantro, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, sweet potato leaves or arugula.

Put all the ingredients in an old jelly or mustard jar and shake up. It keeps in your refrigerator for months.

Here’s a easy recipe to try in the fall when butternut squash and pears are in season.

Yes, this soup can be made in 30-minutes using canned black beans. I recommend using the can juice because it contains bean starch which will make the soup thick. Puree half to 75% of the beans for a velvety consistency.

According to the University of North Carolina over 60 percent of the foods in the grocery store contain added sugars. These common foods below contain added sugar.

I have made this salad at least 20 times for parties and company and it keeps impressing me. Substitute quinoa and summertime stone fruits like peaches, nectarines or plums. Because these fruits are softer they won’t last as long at the apples so consider that into your plans.

A big helping of peppers and onions add color, flavor and fiber. To finish, the sauce can be made with mayo or Greek yogurt mixed with hot sauce and chili powder.

This recipe is heavy on vegetables and light on the pasta. This can be made vegan by omitting the cream and the cheese and subbing butter for oil. Farro is a nutty-tasting and chewy grain found near the rice in the store. Orzo looks like rice but it actually pasta and is found in the pasta section.

While out with a new friend at Deccan Spice in Clearwater I tried some of her Chana Masala. Wonderful! I found a recipe and modified it for a fast dinner. Hopefully, you already have the chickpeas and tomatoes in your pantry. I had to get coconut milk and garam masala spice but I’m happy to now have these in my rotation.