Courtney Southwick, Author at Clean Plates

6 Mediterranean Diet Sheet Pan Recipes for Easy Weeknights

By Courtney Southwick / May 3, 2024 / Comments Off

Sheet pan meals are always very popular, and for good reason: They’re a fantastic time saver. You can toss a variety of delicious and healthy foods onto the same sheet pan and voila: dinner is ready quickly and clean-up is a breeze. And here, we’re combining easy with healthy — we’ve rounded up six Mediterranean diet…

6 Healthiest Foods at HEB That Nutritionists Love

By Courtney Southwick / October 5, 2023 / Comments Off

If you live in Texas or Mexico, you’re probably a fan of HEB grocery stores. The stores are always bustling and have friendly, helpful employees. The product selection is huge and the produce section is always full of beautiful, vibrantly colored fruits and veggies. The variety can be downright overwhelming! We reached out to some…

I Reduced My Sugar Intake and Drastically Changed My Heart Health. Here’s How.

By Courtney Southwick / August 28, 2023 / Comments Off

Heart disease and type 2 diabetes run in my family. Several close family members have been living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) for a long time, and both of my parents suffered from heart issues. I have been worried about it all of my life. Obesity also runs in my family and once I hit…

8 Iodine-Rich Foods You Need In Your Diet, Says Science

By Courtney Southwick / August 14, 2023 / Comments Off

If the word iodine makes you think of salt, you know what you’re talking about. Iodine is a mineral that is found naturally in some foods and specific types of salt. Iodine is important because your body uses it to make thyroid hormones. Without the right amount of thyroid hormones, your body can’t regulate many…

veggies and dips on a board with crackers

10 Healthy Snacks for Diabetics Dietitians Approve Of

By Courtney Southwick / July 11, 2023 / Comments Off

If you have diabetes, you might be wondering how best to eat to manage your blood sugar numbers. It’s a common question because diabetes and prediabetes are very common in the United States. But what are healthy snacks for diabetics? The key to managing diabetes well is to keep your blood sugar from spiking. A…

person holding bags of mixed frozen vegetables

7 Frozen Vegetables Nutritionists Always Have On Hand

By Courtney Southwick / June 8, 2023 / Comments Off

It’s a familiar scenario: you have good intentions to eat more vegetables. You go to the grocery store, see all the beautiful, bright veggies, and bring them home. But life gets busy and before you know it, you’ve forgotten a few and they’re left rotting in a refrigerator drawer. It can make you feel guilty!…

9 Choline-Rich Foods To Protect Your Brain, Says Science

By Courtney Southwick / February 27, 2023 / Comments Off

More than 90% of Americans are deficient in choline, an essential nutrient found naturally in dozens of foods. So why are we not eating enough choline-rich foods? What does choline do for our bodies and how much do we need to have each day? Choline is a nutrient that is required for your central nervous…

New Study Shows Eating This Grain Can Reduce Your Stress Levels

By Courtney Southwick / February 8, 2023 / Comments Off

We’ve known for a long time that eating antioxidant-rich foods can reduce stress levels. One of those foods — brown rice — is full of health-promoting substances like fiber, B vitamins, and minerals. But researchers have just identified a new compound in brown rice responsible for a lot of that goodness. A study published in…