Have you ever wondered how you can create healthier and better balanced meals?
Do you have questions about cutting out dairy or gluten after a food allergy diagnosis?
Are you struggling to find the right foods to eat while living with high blood pressure or managing diabetes?
A nutritionist can help answer your questions and create a healthy diet that will help you feel better and eat healthier.
GIANT offers the services of a nutritionist at select stores. You can stop in and ask the nutritionist questions, get free information from handouts offered at the nutritionist’s office, or set up an appointment for a low cost consultation. The appointment costs $20, but you earn $20 in gift cards when your consultation is complete. Essentially making it free!
In addition, to personalized information you can find classes at select stores to help you tackle topics like ‘Dinnertime Drama’ or ‘Navigating Food Labels.’
I had the opportunity to meet with Rabiya Bower, RD, LDN at my local store. Rabiya works at two stores- in Exton and Flourtown- to provide families with nutritional information and personalized help with their nutrition questions. Rabiya is a licensed dietician/nutritionist and registered dietician. It’s important to have someone help you who has a degree and training in nutrition.
We met the last month for an hour and had a one hour consultation that provided some background information about her role at GIANT and some personalized ideas for help with some questions I had for our family.
Rabiya is available at both stores for individuals, she provides classes in both stores, and she also spends time in her office at each store several days a week. This allows shoppers who have questions while they’re shopping to ask questions and get recommendations.
I met with her in the Exton store in her office which is next to the pharmacy. It’s tucked away in behind the pharmacy, so if you don’t see it at first just ask and someone in the store can point the way.
Balance our Meals
One big issue we face in our family and I know many of you struggle with as well is providing a variety of foods that are balanced in our family’s diet. It’s easy to rely on cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch, but I wanted to know what her recommendations were for creating a more balanced menu.
Rabiya recommended cutting back on carbs at mealtimes while focusing on rounding out our meals with more protein, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Americans consume more carbs than anything else so cutting back allows for more room for filling protein and vitamin filled veggies and fruit.
Snack on Protein
One big recommendation she made was to focus on more snacks that are high in protein. Since I’ve recently cut back on dairy her favorite recommendation, plain Greek yogurt, was out, but would work great for most people. We discussed some other options like hardboiled eggs, nuts (in moderation), beef jerky, and even just slices of deli meat with bit of mustard.
This has been a huge help and kept my energy level up during the day. It’s been especially helpful this month though since I’m cutting back on coffee.
Get Plenty of Vegetables and Fruits
My kids love most vegetables and fruit, but making sure they remember to grab an apple instead of a bowl of chips is always a challenge. While we do keep some junk in the house I try to make sure they include a fruit and vegetable in their lunches and their dinner. Snacktime after school usually involves fruit, too. Even with that effort I still feel like we could be eating more fruits and vegetables. Rabiya recommended trying some new after-school snack ideas that included veggies and protein so the kids would be less likely to grab junk food for their snacks.
We’ve implemented some of the ideas she shared, but by far the biggest win is getting plain yogurt for snacktime instead of the sugary stuff. It fills the kids up and they can add all kinds of toppings like frozen berries, dried fruit, or even honey.
Review of the GIANT Nutritionist Experience
Overall, it was an hour well spent. I walked away with lots of pamphlets, ideas, and recipes to try as well as the knowledge that we’re on the right track when it comes to our diet. The best part is I know I can contact Rabiya for a followup anytime I have questions or new concerns. I would highly recommend it since I left with not only information but $20 in gift cards I was able to use to create some healthy snacks for everyone in our family.
Find more information about the nutritionists, and online resources at GIANT.com. You can also find contact information for the nutritionists as well as a list of current classes.
Kelly
Disclosure: GIANT sponsored this post. All opinions and information provided are my thoughts.
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