Anti-Inflammatory Meal Planning Made Easy
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Kara Wada, MD: Welcome to the Becoming Immune Confident podcast, the show where we dive deep into the science of living a vibrant, energy-filled life, free from the fog of inflammation. I'm your host, Dr. Kara Wada, joined by the autoimmune dietician, Jenifer Tharani. And today we are here to empower you with the knowledge, insights, and personal stories you need to reclaim your health and vitality. In today's episode, we're exploring anti inflammatory meal planning made easy.
For those of you maybe who haven't, or you know, are kind of joining us in episode 3, if you missed episodes 1 and 2, you can go back and listen to those after this one. You don't have to necessarily listen in order. In episode 1, both Jen and I shared our stories, how we ended up doing this work, doing the work we're doing. And then in episode 2, we talked all about the importance of Food and Symptom Tracking, which is a really critical tool that we can use on our journeys and really honing in on our shared philosophy, which is what can we add? What can we, you know, add to our diet? What can we add to our lives rather than eliminate.
Jenifer Tharani: Absolutely.
Kara Wada, MD: And today we're going to talk all about how we can start implementing and putting that into action. So maybe we could start, Jen, by just going through, like, what are the fundamental principles of an anti inflammatory diet?
The importance of fiber: balancing soluble and insoluble fiber for optimal gut health
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Jenifer Tharani: I want to start off with fiber. Everybody's probably heard of this beauty. However, as Americans or in the American diet, the sad American diet, people don't often get enough fiber. However, we just have to be a little cautious when it comes to fiber, right? Like we are either on extremes. Either we are getting too much fiber, and then I have to like tell my clients, don't create a bowl of gas, please, because that's going to aggravate your GI symptoms if you have IBS, and then that's going to lead to a flare.
So, and we also don't want to be on the other side of the spectrum where we are barely getting in any fiber. So, that is one really, really, really important principle of an anti inflammatory diet. And there are two types of fiber, soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. The other one is plant based protein.
Again, Kara and I both are not opposed to animal protein. Honestly speaking, it all needs to be individualized because not everybody can follow or can tolerate a fully vegan diet, which is very, very high in fiber. Or,
Plant-based protein sources and their role in reducing inflammation
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Jenifer Tharani: if they're not being very conscientious of, you know, following a vegan diet properly then they probably are not getting enough fiber as well as protein.
So, when I say plant-based protein, I just want to give a few examples like beans, lentils, whole grains, soy, like tofu, edamame beans, etcetera, can be a great addition if you're not already adding them to your current diet.
Omega-3s: why you should include oily fish and plant-based sources.
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Jenifer Tharani: Omega-3s from fish and plant sources like chia seeds, ground flax seeds, I often encourage clients if they can eat oily fish, please do that because your body is going to absorb the Omega-3 EPA DHA from fish. There's a lot of misconception out there where, you know, people say that, well it is science backed that we do convert the ALA type of omega 3 from ground flax seeds and chia seeds into EPA DHA, but the conversion is not good at all. And we need a good amount, like 2000 milligrams almost of Omega-3s every day per research to help with inflammation.
So that being said, including oily fish, on a very regular basis can be beneficial. Poly and monounsaturated fatty acids from nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, can be a really, really good addition. Also to reduce that inflammation and a lot of autoimmune illness warriors are predisposed to heart disease, diabetes. So these can really, really help protect your heart.
And lastly, probiotics and prebiotics. So I'm a huge proponent of getting your probiotic from fermented dairy. Today's topic is not to dive into details about, you know, why dairy, fermented dairy is good for you but just know that based on research it's a really good way to get your probiotics and make sure that they are surviving the acidic stomach environment and that was my whole master's degree on. But we know that in the dairy matrix these probiotics are, you know, kind of protected and they go to your gut and they multiply there by eating fiber. And then prebiotics like garlic or artichokes, Jerusalem artichokes and things like that can also be really good sources of fiber. But overall, if your diet includes all of these principles, you're well on your way to, you know, be following an anti inflammatory diet to lower inflammation.
The art of meal planning and prepping: making it enjoyable and sustainable.
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Kara Wada, MD: So I can see our listeners. So I'm putting myself back in, you know, my shoes a few years back, right? Of thinking, "Oh my gosh, this sounds like a lot. How am I actually going to do this?" And you've created some really helpful tools, you know, kind of the whole teach a person to fish, pun a little bit intended, but that, you know, I'm able to use this now to kind of go down a little checklist in my head as I'm putting together a plate you know, from the fridge if I'm throwing together a quick meal, like a lunch while I'm working from home. Or, you know, one of the ways that I've told you that this has really helped for our family is I have to plan ahead. We have a lot going on with the kiddos, and for us what's worked best is I sit down once a week, I pick out the recipes that, you know, the new recipes I want to try. A couple of my old standbys that are really, you know, I know my kids like them and I've already kind of optimized them nutritionally using these principles. And I can go ahead, plan that all out, get my grocery list, get everything ordered and together and prepped so that I am ready for that week ahead.
Jenifer Tharani: Yeah, I think meal planning and prepping is so so important and I think what resonated with a lot of our clients in our group coaching call recently that just came to mind about meal planning and prepping is like it doesn't even have to be that boring, right? Like a lot of times, we know that many people may not like to cook, you know. Like I love cooking, but honestly, also when there was a time, recently when I went to India and I wasn't cooking and I was only like pampered, like truly pampered. When I came back from India, it took me like a couple of weeks to even get back like my mind on track, even though I had bought groceries.
So that was step number one. Maybe I didn't cook all of the things that I wanted to during those weeks, but at least doing grocery shopping was really important, right? So even like thinking about like, how can you make your grocery shopping more fun or how can you like have like 30 minutes on a weekend where you have your candles on, maybe a diffuser, with essential oils, asking your husband to take the kids or if the husband is away with the kids, taking that self care time, maybe going in the bathtub, bubble bath while you do your little like mental, you know, grocery list.
So I think always it's very important to combine a very boring task with a fun task. Then it's like, you know, "Oh my God, now I can really like have fun with this," right? So another way is like when you're cooking, putting on some music or just like dancing a little bit or like bringing your kids in and making like fun out of that instead of thinking and dreading like, "Oh my God, I'm so tired," which we completely understand. It is very normal, right, with autoimmune illness and even without that, right? Like I come home, I'm tired. I lay in bed for like 15, 20 minutes, right? So it's very common, but with autoimmune illness, it's even worse. So yeah, meal planning and prepping doesn't even have to be boring, and Kara has a very good masterclass, if you guys haven't already taken that one on meal planning and prepping.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. The one thing I have done lately, I have gotten hooked on some of these real estate shows on Netflix. They are like my guilty pleasure. Selling Beverly Hills just released a new, um, series, a new season.
And so, you know, I like having just a little something that I can kind of, you know, I don't have to really pay attention to but it does make some of these tasks more fun. Folding laundry is the task that I don't like at all. And so that I save Schitt's Creek for that. That's my favorite, like, comfort show to turn on.
And so I love that idea of, you know, task bundling so that you're able to really work smarter and not harder. And that's what I talk so much about in that masterclass is we know that we are going to get hungry, right? It's going to happen several times a day. And if we know that our body is going to go into that fight or flight or what I lovingly refer to as lizard brain mode, that hangry mode, I know, and I would think most of you probably see this too, I know I'm not alone, that when I get into that mode, I don't have very good self control when it comes to making decisions that are better for future me. I'm really thinking about satiating right here, right now. It's like I'm like a little toddler inside. So if I have things already kind of in the works or planned or easily accessible, those groceries, you know, using your grocery haul, you know, module. Having that stocked, having things that look good and are ready to grab and easily have available, using that human planning part of my brain called the prefrontal cortex, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of the time, that gives me flexibility to have fun. Like tonight, after we're done recording, we're going to go out for family date night. We've kind of planned in that this was our night to kind of do whatever we wanted in that 80 to, you know, that 10 to 20 percent and it still allows for some spontaneity and some fun and not having to play by the rules all the time.
Jenifer Tharani: Right, right. No, I absolutely love that. And this is one of the biggest barriers, right, like with a lot of clients is if it's complicated, our brain just checks out. And if it's complicated, we either really like force ourselves to do it anyway because in our brain we are thinking, "This is good for me." But asking yourself, "Is this process enjoyable? Is this going to be sustainable? All this stress, is it helping me?" Because, yeah, nutrition can be great and all, but if you're constantly in this stress, chronic stress mode, you haven't slept well, and now you're literally really, really tired and fatigued in the evening and you're still trying to cook from scratch, that's not something that we recommend either, right?
So in those circumstances and instances, we always want to make sure that we have some meal components on hand and that could come from smart grocery shopping, being able to read nutrition labels, and also knowing what are minimally processed foods available to me in different grocery stores. And I can leverage those in the evenings ,you know, like a salmon burger that's already, the fillet is done for you. All you do is like kind of cook. You have a bunch of arugula sitting in your fridge. You make an arugula salad with some avocado like it doesn't have to be complicated.
I think our society is like, if it's not complicated, I haven't achieved anything. And that's something else that we love to talk about. Make sure that everybody's going in the opposite direction of complicated, right? Like we want to make things simple for you. The more simple the things are, the more likelihood of you being successful.
And a lot of these other factors, if they are in place, then nutrition will really help. Because a lot of times also you may be thinking or you have experienced this is like, "Oh, I did all this meal prepping from scratch on the weekend, spent six hours, and this week it's wednesday and I honestly don't feel like eating that broccoli like that I made on sunday, right?" Like that happens. So like you said, we need that room for spontaneity and then. So that's why I preach doing batch components that you can kind of mix and match so you're not like stuck on like the meal that you prepped for three nights in a row on the weekend and now you're like, I don't want to eat this.
Kara Wada, MD: We had that happen this week. So we had some big storms come through, some plans that were in place ended up getting rearranged and so I just swapped out nights. So like we had, you know, Tuesday night, we ate what we were going to eat Wednesday. And then, Wednesday night, we ate what we were going to eat Thursday. And so we made kind of those swaps within that.
One night I really didn't feel like eating the leftovers, you know, that was the plan. And so I was really happy that I had some avocados and some nice whole grain bread. And I was able to kind of work in some different components to build a meal from things I had on hand, along with some of the leftovers to still be enjoyable and also not kind of totally throw me off for the week.
Jenifer Tharani: Yeah, and this is such a good segue into like talking about you know, like how can you make your favorite recipes or generally speaking just come up with quick recipes that are anti inflammatory, right? Like you said, you know, when you kept saying this that I put together, I put together, I put together and I'm thinking to myself, the listeners are gonna be like, okay, she's a pro, what about us? Right? Like, she, she, you know,
Kara Wada, MD: Spill the tea, jen. Spill the tea.
tea
Quick recipe hacks: how to make your favorite dishes anti-inflammatory friendly
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Jenifer Tharani: Right. So that's why, you know, we always in our program make sure that we don't just, like, bombard you with meal plans, because, honestly speaking, I love giving meal plans, the clients love meal plans. But before that happens, I love to give a skeleton of what your meal should look like so that if you don't have something in the fridge that is called for in the recipe in the meal plan, you can make a quick swap, right? So it's that easy.
So I just want you to kind of like, make sure you have a pen and paper because this is where you want to start taking notes.
You want to ask yourself these questions, "Do I have a leafy green? Do I have a non starchy vegetable?" Examples could be so many, right? Like broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, tomatoes. What else? What else, Kara? Zucchini. We said the same thing. Zucchini, like, right? Like cabbage, bell peppers, right? I'm thinking what do I have in my fridge right now?
Um, I cook, yeah, I cook a lot of Indian vegetables too. So like okra, um, can be a good option for soluble fiber. So there are so many non starchy vegetables. Do I have a low GI carb? And low glycemic index carbohydrates is a concept we dive deep into our modules, because it's such an important topic to be covered. Because a lot of times, if you are also on a weight loss journey, you're gonna fear carbs, or maybe you fear carbs, and your intake of carb is very low, but your intake of protein is very high, right? So we need to make sure that we have that balance. Do I have a lean source of protein and do I have herbs and spices in my meal?
Like that is my favorite, like herbs and spices. That's why a lot of times when I get my nails done, I'm like, now they're going to become all yellow if I eat with my hands, like a true Indian. So then I love eating with my hands because, you know, I can kind of explore the food, right? Like, the spoon kind of disconnects me from my meals, so I like to use my hands to eat. But when I've done like a light colored nail polish, I'm like literally using a spoon because everything is yellow.
And you know, turmeric makes my nails yellow. That's just another problem. But anyways, you can use a spoon. But you know, herbs and spices, there are so many and we talk about all the different examples in our program. But just to give you a few examples is like, you know, making a quick cilantro chutney or mint chutney or, uh, what else, like adding cumin to some of your meals.
Kara Wada, MD: A pesto sauce.
Jenifer Tharani: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Pesto is such a great addition. A lot of people don't like regular pesto. And so if you don't like that, you can do sun dried tomato pesto as well. So, you know, there could always be those alternatives. If you're allergic to pine nuts, then you can make it with walnuts, you know, so there's always those swaps that you can make once you have that those handouts from the program, right? But that being said, ask yourself these questions and open the fridge right away if you're at home or like later tonight whenever you get home and ask yourself these questions and you will be surprised. You will be surprised how easy it's gonna become for you. So many of my clients just like print this list and have it on their fridge and they're like, check check, check, "I don't have a leafy green. That's okay. Skip it. Can I do two servings of vegetables?" Right? That's totally fine. So you can make those swaps really easily. If you ask yourself these questions and it takes away overwhelm, I'm telling you. Like I almost want to make a promise, but not really, but it will take the overwhelm away and a lot of decision fatigue, right?
Kara Wada, MD: Hmm. That's the whole 'work smarter, not harder.' And we know decision fatigue occurs over the course of the day. So if you are able to, you know, think about these things ahead or have things at the ready, it really just does make things flow in a much more, and just with ease rather than, um, you know, I go back to that time where I was so stressed worrying about was I eating the right things? I don't know if you remember, I was so worried cause I didn't like liver. Oh, yuck. I know it is nutritionally dense, but I just cannot get over the taste of it. It honestly makes me gag.
Anyway, I tried to make it and I think it just, it took that stress away and that was, I physically felt this weight lift off of my shoulders. And you know that's the feeling of, and why I was like, "Hey, let's work together". This is like, this is such a paradigm shift of, you know, about what can we add, taking some of the pressure off. It's been huge.
Invitation to Join the Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart
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Kara Wada, MD: We are coming close to the end of our allotted time. But thank you for tuning in to another enlightening episode of the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast. We hope you found today's topic of anti inflammatory meal planning made easy, both inspiring and informative. Providing you with the tools and the motivation you need on your health journey. And remember, if you are ready to take the next step towards becoming immune confident, our Jumpstart Program is here to guide you. We've designed this program with you in mind, focusing on simple and sustainable and science supported systems to combat inflammation and enhance your well being.
Jenifer Tharani: Absolutely. Don't forget to secure your spot on the early bird, a waitlist for the Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart Program. Like we referred to so many things that we are going to be covering in this program and it's going to be time and money well spent. Enrollment opens tomorrow with exclusive access and a special discount for our early birds. This is your opportunity to join a community of women just like you, looking to reclaim their vibrant selves and get that confidence in yourself again.
Kara Wada, MD: I would love to share a little testimonial and feedback we had from one of our recent clients. It says, "I have amazing energy, which lasts throughout the day. I haven't had any flares, which is incredible since I was having them daily in the evenings for the last four months and feeling exhausted by 6 PM. I've been away twice with my family and not worried about whether I'd have any flares to deal with. And the best of all for me is I've been able to care for my two year old independently."
Jenifer Tharani: I remember this client very, very, very well because she was my first ever client when I ran the program. And after a few cohorts, you joined as one of the participants in the program. And because she was one of the first ones and she got off of her methotrexate after going through the program and that just made me so happy and not to say that that will happen for everybody, but just because she told me about it, I wanted to share with you that if you genuinely get that true evidence based nutrition education, lifestyle education, as well as like rewiring your subconscious brain that Kara does such a beautiful job of helping clients with, you definitely are going to be on right track and feel less overwhelmed and improve your symptoms overall.
Kara Wada, MD: It's amazing. And I want to thank each and every one of you for sharing your time with us today. We are here to support you every step of the way. And we want to encourage you to hop over to www.immuneconfident.com. We'll have the link in the show notes as well. And until next time, keep striving for that vibrant health and clarity that's just around the corner. Get on the wait list now so you're ready to join us and let's embark on this transformative journey together. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss next week's episode where Jen and I are going to discuss the science behind nutrition and immunity. Until then, have a great week.
Jenifer Tharani: Absolutely. Bye.
Kara Wada, MD: If you are loving this mix of self discovery and science found here on the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast, I'd love to invite you to sign up for my email list. Hop over to drkarawada.com and hit subscribe to ensure you don't miss out on any insights into new immune system science or how we can harness healing through our daily habits.
Are you ready to feel confident, energized, and more like that BA that you used to be? Here's how we can work together. Jenifer, an Auto immune Dietician and I, Board Certified Immunologist I've put together the one and only
Becoming Immune Confident Comprehensive Course Coaching and Community Membership.
What we do is we help women with misbehaving immune systems, reclaim control over their health while minimizing fatigue, fog, and pain, all caused from too much inflammation. So, if you are ready to have confidence and clarity around your immune system health, and a sense of certainty, knowing that you are doing the best for your health and the health of your family, hop over to immuneconfident.com for details on how we can work together. We can't wait to connect.
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