March 28, 2021

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Snacking has gotten a negative rap, but if done correctly, it can be a very important and beneficial part of your diet. Having a healthy snack in between your meals can help provide your body the nutrients that you’re missing or not getting enough of. They also can help keep you from getting so hungry that you over-eat at meal times. Snacks are very important for individuals who are unable to eat meals on a regular schedule. If you need help, or support from a nutritional and wellness consultant, please contact me anytime! I’m located in the Greater Boston area, but I can consult clients virtually from anywhere.

Tips for healthy snacking:

When choosing a snack, think about what food groups you may not be getting enough of. For example, if you haven’t had fruit yet that day, have one of the snacks listed below that contains fruits.
Also consider what you may be getting too much of. If you’re meeting your macronutrient goals from eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, snacking may not be necessary or beneficial.
Preparing snacks in advance, when possible, may be helpful in sticking to your healthy choices.

Eat what feels right to you and enjoy!

Living Balance Wellness Healthy Snacks

Snack	Ingredients	Recipe
Antioxidant & Omega Fat Fruit Snack	½ avocado (finely chopped) 1/2 c blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries 1 tbsp hemp Seeds 1 tbsp flaxseed (finely ground) 1 tbsp raw cacao powder or nibs 1 tsp Manuka honey drizzled over top (optional)	Place avocado in a large bowl and layer fruit on top. Sprinkle with hemp seed, flaxseed, and cocoa powder. Drizzle with honey.
Applesauce	Applesauce (with no sugar added) Chia seeds Coconut flakes	Combine unsweetened applesauce, chia seeds, and coconut flakes and enjoy.
Avocado Apple Snack	1/2 avocado 1/2 crisp green apple Sprinkle of goat cheese or feta (Optional)	Combine chopped avocado and apple. Sprinkle goat cheese over top (optional)
Beef Jerky & Veg	Beef jerky Celery/carrot sticks.	Pair beef jerky with celery and/or carrot sticks.
Dates & Butter	Dried dates Nut butter Crushed pistachio (optional)	Stuff dates with a nut butter such as almond butter or sesame butter (tahini) for a sweet and satisfying snack. Top with crushed pistachio (optional).
Fruit & Avocado	Apple and/or pear Avocado	Dice the apple/pear and avocado and toss together in a bowl. Add Celtic salt if desired.
Fruits & Nuts	Variety of fresh fruit Variety of nuts	Combine a single serving of fresh (preferably organic) fruits and nuts and enjoy.
Pineapple & Macadamia	Pineapple, fresh or frozen Macadamia nuts or nut butter	Chop pineapple and combine with macadamia nuts or dip in macadamia nut butter.
Crackers & Tahini	Rice crackers Raw cucumber Sesame butter (tahini)	Slice cucumber. Spread tahini over rice cracker and top with a slice of cucumber.
Trail Mix	Coconut flakes Pecans, almonds, and/or cashews Pumpkin seeds Dried apples or banana chips Dried mulberries (optional)	Mix ingredients & enjoy.
Veggie Sticks	Carrot sticks Celery Sticks Hummus (olive oil based), almond or sesame butter (tahini), or raw nuts and seeds	Dip carrots and celery with either hummus, nut butter, or just pair with raw nuts and seeds.
Nut Milk Yogurt & Fruit	Almond, coconut or cashew yogurt Fresh or frozen berries	Top yogurt with a handful of berries.

by Aubrey Thompson

March 20, 2021

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One Man’s Food . . .Is Another’s Poison

Did you know that you are actually very different, biochemically speaking, from every other person who ever was or ever will be? It’s true. Your body’s biochemical makeup is as unique as your fingerprints!

For genetic reasons, we’re all very different in the way that our bodies process foods and utilize nutrients. Throughout man’s evolutionary history, people all over the world have been forced to adapt to widely varying environmental circumstances – including very different climates and food supplies.

As an example, traditional Eskimos thrive on very large quantities of meat and fat, while people born in the tropics stay healthy eating fruits and grains and other light vegetarian fare. For decades, scientists have observed that people who eat according to their genetically based dietary needs have virtually no incidence of cancer, heart disease, or any other degenerative ailments. Do you know your unique genetically based nutritional needs?

Optimize Your Health by Customizing Your Diet

Healthexcel’s Metabolic Typing is an easy-to-use, proven technology that allows you to rapidly identify your own highly individualized dietary needs. This extraordinary technology represents the combined efforts of some of this century’s leading medical researchers – people who are well known for pioneering achievements in nutritional science.

Now you can benefit from this simple system to identify your metabolic type. Then you’ll know how to select just the right “body fuel,” – foods, food combinations, and nutrients – that will enable your body to function at peak efficiency. With this leading edge dietary technology you may:

Prevent and reverse chronic illness
Optimize your physical energy and your mental clarity
Lose weight naturally and maintain your ideal weight
Strengthen immunity
Slow down the aging process
Enhance athletic performance
Overcome mood swings and depression

Eat According To Your Metabolic Type

Over the last two decades, we’ve witnessed an extraordinary nutrition revolution here in the U.S. Yet in this time the health of Americans has declined greatly. Obesity, cancer, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, digestive maladies, chronic fatigue – all these problems have reached epidemic proportions.

Our poor health is a direct result of serious dietary deficiencies and imbalances. These problems persist because we have lacked the technology necessary to evaluate and correct nutritional problems on a case-by-case basis. Dietary solutions need to be tailored to individuals, because what works for one person may have no effect on another person, and may make a third person worse.

But that technology is here at last in the form of Metabolic Type Testing. Now you can look and feel far better than you ever thought possible. Contact me if you’d like more information on Metabolic Typing, the nutritional science for the future. It’s the solution you’ve been waiting for!

by Aubrey Thompson

March 13, 2021

Living Balance Wellness Nut Butters

Nut butters are a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and protein – they are also nutrient-rich in Vitamin E, B6, folic acid, magnesium, zinc, copper, and potassium. Eat your nut butters with fruit or on toasted gluten free bread or waffle. As always, stick to the macronutrient breakdown from your metabolic type. Enjoy!

Nut Butter	Ingredients	Recipe
Cinnamon Pecan Butter	2 cups Raw Pecans 1 tbsp Ghee Cinnamon (to taste) Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt	Blend ingredients in food processor or high powered blender such as a Vita-mixer until creamy. Double recipe to make more. Store in refrigerator.
Macadamia Coconut	2 cups raw macadamia nuts 1 tbsp unrefined organic coconut oil pinch of Celtic sea salt 1/2 cup raw unsweetened coconut flakes optional: 2 tbsp raw honey	Combine macadamia nuts, coconut oil and coconut flakes in a high powered blender such as a Vitamix or food processor. Blend until creamy. Small dash of Celtic sea salt over top. Optional: Blend in 2 tbsp raw honey.
Chocolate Almond	2 cups raw almonds 3 tbsp unrefined organic coconut oil 2 tbsp raw cacao 3 tbsp dark maple syrup (Optional) pinch of Celtic sea salt	Combine raw almonds, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp cacao, 3 tbsp maple syrup (optional), pinch of celtic sea salt. Blend in high powered blender such as vitamix or food processor. Store in refrigerator.

by Aubrey Thompson

February 7, 2021

The menus in this category are to stimulate ideas based primarily on a carbohydrate type food list. In this previous post, I explained how your metabolic type is determined and the benefits you reap from eating according to your type. If we determine that you’re a Carbohydrate Type, you’ll eat according to this macronutrient breakdown: 50-55% Carbohydrates + 25-30% Protein + 10-15% Fat per meal.

Please adjust according to individual taste preferences and macronutrient needs. Suggestions and ratios may not work for everyone. Be aware of how you feel after each meal. You should have energy, minimal to no cravings, and be satisfied between meals – if you are not, then you need to adjust your ratios or food choices.

Be creative and add foods you enjoy, staying within your macronutrient ratio. It is important to use all natural or organic foods at least 85-90% of the time.

Some of my lunch ideas for Carbohydrate Types:

Meatball Cassava Wraps
Orange Rosemary Chicken Salad
Quick and Easy Open Faced Tuna
Lentil Wild Rice and Vegetables
Salmon Teriyaki Tortillas
Apple Molasses Protein Shake
Greek Style Salad
Zoodle (Zucchini Noodle) Salad
Chicken Pear Arugula Salad

Your Metabolic Type Diet is easy to follow and I’ll help you every step of the way. Just stick to your Recommended Foods as closely as you can. You do not need to weigh your foods, measure out serving sizes or count calories. Eat according to your appetite. Eat at least three meals a day. Snack if you need to and always try to eat before you get hungry to stabilize your blood sugar. Eat protein and fat with each food intake. Although you can eat any of your foods in any combination, here are some meal suggestions to help get you started. Eat grains and other starches only if required as per your Diet Check Record Sheet reactions.

Get my easy lunch ideas for Carbohydrate Types as a printable PDF

by Aubrey Thompson

January 24, 2021

The menus in this category are to stimulate ideas based primarily on a carbohydrate type food list. In this previous post, I explained how your metabolic type is determined and the benefits you reap from eating according to your type.

Please adjust according to individual taste preferences and macronutrient needs. Suggestions and ratios may not work for everyone. Be aware of how you feel after each meal. You should have energy, minimal to no cravings, and be satisfied between meals – if you are not, then you need to adjust your ratios or food choices.

Be creative and add foods you enjoy, staying within your macronutrient ratio. It is important to use all natural or organic foods at least 85-90% of the time.

Division of your Macros: 50-55% Carbohydrates + 25-30% Protein + 10-15% Fat per meal. Again, these may need to be adjusted for individual needs.

Tips on following your menu guidelines:

Avoid gluten and dairy for 3 months to identify and heal from any potential allergies
Alternate your foods. Vary nuts and seeds, different meats, different fruits and vegetables every week.
Feel free to mix up the menus as long as you are staying within your proper ratios of carbs/proteins/fats
Avoid conventional animal proteins. Conventionally raised animals have been injected with growth hormones, and antibiotics, and fed an unnatural diet. Buy your meats exclusively from Whole Foods Market, or local farms.
Snacks can be used as part of a meal as long as a protein is chosen to go with them.
Avoid using the microwave, even if only to warm water.
Any fruits eaten should be “green” – not fully ripened. Fully-ripe or overripe fruits can be too high in sugar for protein types. Preferably, fruit should be eaten with some protein and/or fat like nuts or avocado.
Note: Portions are based on individual needs. Be sure you are eating enough food to feel satisfied but not too full.

Your Metabolic Type Diet is easy to follow. Just stick to your Recommended Foods as closely as you can. You do not need to weigh your foods, measure out serving sizes or count calories. Eat according to your appetite. Eat at least three meals a day. Snack if you need to and always try to eat before you get hungry to stabilize your blood sugar. Eat protein and fat with each food intake. Although you can eat any of your foods in any combination, here are some meal suggestions to help get you started. Eat grains and other starches only if required as per your Diet Check Record Sheet reactions.

Download a printable version of my favorite Carbohydrate Breakfast ideas here!

by Aubrey Thompson

January 17, 2021

Crockpot or slow cooker meals above all else, offer the benefit of convenience. When healthy meals are convenient and pre-prepared, they are much easier to stick to than when you have to prepare a dinner at the end of a long day or make a lunch when you are in a hurry.

Crockpot meals can be made in bulk in order to help with meal planning for the whole week. Also, because crockpot meals are often soups or stews, they are easy on your digestive system. Cook these recipes on low for several hours until the meat is cooked through and tender.

Included here in my healthy slow cooker recipes:

Sweet Potato Chili with ground turkey, beef, or lamb
Coconut Chicken Curry with toasted and salted coconut flakes
Artichoke Chicken loaded with veggies and black and green olives
Beef Stew
Beef Stroganoff over brown rice noodles
Fish Stew with cod and fresh herbs

Download my printable 6 Healthy and Easy Slow Cooker Recipes here!

by Aubrey Thompson

December 5, 2020

Metabolic typing is a nutritional technology that can rapidly identify highly-individualized dietary needs. It uses a series of tests to analyze how well your body is metabolizing nutrients and what it’s missing. Our health and our vitality can be the direct result of dietary deficiencies and imbalances. By correctly evaluating nutritional problems, we can tailor individual solutions.

You can look and feel better by utilizing metabolic typing technology to identify your own dietary needs. You will know how to select the right body fuel including food combinations and nutrients that can enable your body to function more efficiently. This will slow down the aging process and allow you to lose weight naturally. Through learning about your unique genetic nutritional profile, you can reduce the risk of degenerative diseases.

With metabolic typing and a personalized eating and nutrition plan, you will enhance your body’s ability to:
● maintain your ideal weight
● optimize your physical energy and mental clarity
● extract nutrients from foods
● handle stress
● strengthen the immune system
● decrease joint pain and muscle pain
● look good and feel fantastic

Are you ready to learn more about nutrition for looking and feeling your best? I offer individual consulting and testing (both remotely from anywhere and in person) so that you know how to eat for your metabolic type and start to reap the many benefits for your body. Get in touch with me to get started.

by Aubrey Thompson

October 10, 2020

Can nutrition make you look younger? Absolutely! But how?

First, it is necessary to understand that there is more than one kind of energy in food. Aside from caloric energy, there is a vitality in good nutrition which makes a difference to your health and your looks. Take for example sprouted grains: they’re growing, and that sprouting process is an energy going through that grain– it’s a vital force. The opposite would be a highly processed shelf food, which can actually affect you negatively from a nutritional basis. It is true that you are what you eat, and by extension, in a very real sense you look how you eat. The living enzymes in certain grains have a very different effect than the alternatives. You want to be eating the best quality food possible to maximize both your body’s vitality and your body’s natural ability to heal and look more beautiful. I work with clients to on a personalized nutrition plan to identify which foods enhance their particular body’s vitality and which diminish it.

Another key to getting the most health and beauty benefit when you eat is to know where to get the right kind and amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants protect our cells from oxidation, or the breakdown of a cell. It is oxidation which is one of the key causes of aging. There are several different factors that contribute to this, including:

Oxidative Stress
Too much oxidative stress. This is caused by toxins in our environment and/or our foods. “The average American consumes over 150 pounds (the average human body weight) yearly in mostly unnecessary and possibly harmful ingredients to support a multibillion-dollar food-processing industry (Elson Haas, 1982).” Those ingredients include sprays used to fertilize fields, color dyes added to improve the look of a food, preservatives added to lengthen shelf-life, hormones and steroids used to enhance profit margins, antibiotics added to animal feed, irradiation to alter food, and genetically modified materials and cells. “In addition, there are 250,000 chemicals that make their way through our food through the production, packaging, and distribution process (Haas).” I teach women and men how to avoid many of these toxic compounds in their daily life in order to look and feel younger and protect the health of their cells.

Dehydration
A second major cause of oxidation is dehydration. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Water detoxifies the body by removing waste through the kidneys and intestines. Water is also critical in maintaining the shape of cells and sustaining metabolism. Even mild dehydration slows metabolism. It also slackens skin tone. Everyone’s needs are individual and depend on factors such as body weight, diet, and activity level. I teach what an individual’s particular hydration needs are and evaluate how their body is doing at flushing out toxins.

Insufficient Micronutrient Antioxidants
A third cause of accelerated oxidation in our bodies is an insufficient supply of micronutrient antioxidants. Some of these come from healthy fats, which play a key role in both health and beauty. Unfortunately, many people do not understand how to identify which fats are healthy in general and which are healthy for them in particular. Even moderate amounts of healthy fats can improve cellular metabolism. Not only that, but one of the main functions of those fats is to protect the cells, being an important component of the cellular myelin sheath which is essential in inhibiting oxidation. Consuming the right amounts and types of antioxidants directly results in anti-aging benefits. This is to say nothing of the anti-inflammatory effects. Through metabolic testing, I can help a person identify how much of each type of fat their body needs.

Those are some of the ways nutrition can translate into enhanced appearance. But what about health? And fitness? There isn’t space in this article to address all of these, but the effects of eating quality food targeted to your particular metabolic type are just as great in these areas. As I stated before, everybody – every body– is different. That is why I use metabolic typing.

What is Metabolic Typing? Metabolic typing is a nutritional technology that can rapidly identify highly-individualized dietary needs. It uses a series of tests to analyze how well your body is metabolizing nutrients and what it’s missing. Our health and our vitality can be the direct result of dietary deficiencies and imbalances. By correctly evaluating nutritional problems, we can tailor individual solutions.

Are you ready to learn more about nutrition for looking and feeling your best? I offer individual metabolic type testing, as well as nutrition coaching for wellness.

You can look and feel better by utilizing metabolic typing technology to identify your own dietary needs. You will know how to select the right body fuel including food combinations and nutrients that can enable your body to function more efficiently. This will slow down the aging process and allow you to lose weight naturally. Through learning about your unique genetic nutritional profile, you can reduce the risk of degenerative diseases. You will enhance your body’s ability to:

Maintain your ideal weight.
Optimize your physical energy and mental clarity.
Extract nutrients from foods.
Handle stress.
Strengthen the immune system.
Decrease joint pain and muscle pain.
Look good and feel fantastic!

Have more questions? Ready to begin? Contact me to learn more.

Reference: Hass, E. (1982). Staying Healthy With Nutrition. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Co.

by Aubrey Thompson

September 20, 2020

Thanks to nutrient depleted foods and high stress lifestyles, more than 60% of people aren’t getting enough vitamin c according to an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study. Are you in this group? If you have been experiencing high blood pressure, changes in your skin, eyes, gut, heart or immune health then chances are the answer is YES.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning that your body doesn’t store it. You have to get what you need from food and/ or supplement form. It is essential for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It helps the body make collagen, an important protein used to make skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. It is also key in healing the gut and wounds, reducing bad bacteria, and for repairing and maintaining bones and teeth.

One of the biggest risks show in recent research is that atherosclerosis ( the buildup of plaque in your arteries) is now thought to be “scurvy of your blood vessels”. Too little vitamin c will lead to an increase in plaque in your arteries and that is when the big problems like high blood pressure, impaired vision, stroke and heart disease show up.

Just by getting 125 mg daily you can begin to lower your risks and improve your health. Lucky for you, many of the common foods available to you are high in vitamin c so just by incorporating these into your daily diet, you will lower your risk and improve your health.

Vitamin C containing foods: Oranges, green peppers, watermelon, papaya, grapefruit, cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, mango, broccoli, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, raw and cooked leafy greens (turnip greens, spinach), red and green peppers, fresh tomatoes, potatoes, winter squash, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and pineapple are all rich sources of vitamin C.

It’s important to note that vitamin C is sensitive to light, air, and heat. To ensure that you get the highest amounts from the foods you are eating, be sure to eat them raw or lightly cooked.

From the foods you eat to the supplements you take, you can start improving your health today- go grab an orange and some greens, your body will thank you.

by Aubrey Thompson

September 4, 2020

Looking for an energy boost that will supercharge your brain and body? You hold the key to energize your body, strengthen your mind and optimize your health each time you eat. Too often we miss meals or choose easy over nutritious. Today I want to help you discover how you can power up your energy, health and life- with super snacks.

Watch Out for Power Drainers!

Before you can increase your energy- you need to be aware of what can actually rob you of it. Store-bought and packaged snacks, chips, crisps, cookies and candy are snacks that zap your power despite the false sense of energy that comes from a “sugar high”. It can be hard not to choose them. They are fun, and hit the taste sensors! But they are often full of sugar and chemicals that cause havoc to the receptors in your brain and hormones in your body that will quickly breakdown and begin to destroy your health.

Power drainers cause headaches, fatigue and brain fog, so watch out.

The Dynamic Duo

Fruit and nuts are the perfect energy duo. They taste great and deliver a dose of blood sugar stabilizing energy with healthy fat, protein and carbohydrates.

Apples with Almond Butter, Berries and Walnuts, Bananas and Peanut Butter, Grapes and Pecans.

Fruit and Nuts are rich in vitamins that give you just the boost you need to carry you through your day with focus and vitality.

Almonds are Rich in Calcium and Magnesium
Apples are filled with Vitamin C and are great for heart, gut and immune health.
Berries are loaded with Antioxidants and Vitamin C that boosts your immunity.

Vitality Veggies

Veggies are the goldmine for nutrition and make for some pretty delicious snacks. The help to promote a healthy microbiome, deliver essential nutrients and are fun to crunch! Next time you need a boost, try carrots and hummus, celery and guacamole, cauliflower in a ranch dip made out of greek yogurt. Your taste buds will thank you!

So, the next time you need a boost of energy- step away from the chips, cookies and coffee and give your body what it really needs- power packed nutrition for energy, health and vitality. Grab your favorite and be sure to tell us your favorite combos below.

The Right Way to Snack (with 12 Healthy Snack Ideas)

Optimize Your Health by Customizing Your Diet

Three Delicious Nut Butter Recipes

Easy Carbohydrate Type Lunch Ideas

Metabolic Typing Recipes: Carbohydrate Type Breakfasts

6 Healthy and Easy Crockpot Recipes

Metabolic Typing Benefits Your Body

Better Than Botox: How to Use Nutrition for Beauty

Do You Need More Vitamin C?

Power Up Your Energy with Super Snacks