6 Easy Additions to Your Meals for Increased Nutrients

Nutrient dense food doesn’t have to be hard.

Honestly? It’s usually pretty basic. But here are 6 easy ways to up the nutrients of just about any meal you throw together.

Do you ever find yourself needing to throw together a quick and easy meal for yourself or your family, but you still want it to be nutritionally dense and nourishing?

Literally me multiple times a week.

While I love meal prepping in large quantities, sometimes i just don’t make it happen and am stuck scrambling to throw something together.

This list of 6 ingredients can be added to just about anything for an added nutritional boost, with hardly any extra effort.

1. collagen

   To start the list, one of my MVPs- collagen. I have noticed suuch a huge difference in my hair, skin, and nails since regularly incorporating high-quality collagen into my diet.

   Like with all things, it is better to source from real food instead of a supplement (think bone broth, gelatinous cuts of meat, etc.) but again, sometimes that just doesn’t happen.

   I add collagen to my morning coffee, or any hot liquid. I will also use it in baking for some added protein.

   My go to collagen is from Perfect Supplements. Not only is their bovine collagen from grass-fed and finished cattle, but all of their supplements are third party tested. That means you are actually getting what you pay for! If you aren’t into making your own bone broth, they also have a chicken bone broth powder you can add to water that is so convenient and tasty.

2. Bee Pollen

   Truly a nutritional powerhouse that provides you with bioavailable copper, B vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. This is a great brand you can order from amazon, but you can also find it at your local health foods store or Co-op.

   You can sprinkle this on top of yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, toast, or blend it into smoothies.

   If you are allergic to bees, be cautious with bee pollen! The recommendation is to start with only one grain at first and gradually increase to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction.

3. Nutritional Yeast

   This is a deactivated yeast that comes in a flaky powder and has a nutty or cheesy flavor. It is full of minerals, B vitamins, niacin, fiber, and protein.

   I will add this to everything from salads to rice bowls and chicken recipes.

   But most often, I just sprinkle it over my eggs in the morning with some sea salt! It is so easy, and a great way to increase your vitamin B intake.

   One of my favorite recipes that includes nutritional yeast is THIS buffalo chicken casserole from The Foundation Blog. It is seriously so good and easy.

   (p.s. if you are struggling with nausea during pregnancy, this quick addition may help you out! There have been studies showing a correlation between pregnancy nausea and vitamin and mineral deficiencies, with a common one being B vitamins!)

4. High quality sea salt

   Most of today’s agricultural soil is severely mineral depleted. This means that the foods we eat that grow or graze on that soil, are also mineral depleted.

   High quality sea salt has 84 trace minerals that help to nourish our bodies!

   With my background in healthcare, I feel like a common suggestion patient’s receive it to “watch your sodium”. And for people eating the standard American diet (SAD) of processed, packaged foods and meals picked up through the drive-through, you should definitely be watching your sodium intake.

   But for people eating mainly unprocessed, whole foods— sodium is probably lacking from your diet. I love this brand and always keep it stocked in our cupboard!

5. Bone broth

   Yes, you can sip on this or add it to your drinks. But you can also use this in meals as a substitute for water!

   When cooking rice, swap bone broth out for the water and not only will it give you an extra boost of nutrients but it will make your rice so much tastier.

   You can also use it as a liquid to braise meats, or a base for soups.

   (I have a blog post HERE all about my one trick to getting jiggly, collagen-rich bone broth every time!) But if you aren’t ready to DIY bone broth quite yet, some of my favorite brands to order bone broth are Bare Bones, Bonafide, or Kettle and Fire. They all use bones from grass-fed, pasture-raised animals and use high quality ingredients.)

6. Pluck seasoning

   A couple of years ago I really began to prioritize organ meats into my diet. Not only are they nutritional POWERHOUSES, but by consuming the whole animal, it also helps with sustainability.

   Pluck is a seasoning made with freeze-dried beef organ meats and is an awesome option for seasoning just about anything. We have used it for chicken, steak, and even veggies.

   If you are wanting to try to add more liver specifically into your diet, check out this post: 5 Easy Ways to Incorporate More Liver into Your Diet

There you have it! 6 easy to incorporate ingredients to just about any meal or snack to help increase your nutritional intake throughout the day. If you are still struggling with setting up healthy habits and making significant changes in your health, maybe it’s time to work with a health coach.

As a registered nurse and integrative health coach, I have the experience and background to help women make actual change to better their health. Check out my coaching page for more information- i’d love to work with you.

-Kaelyn

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