Holistic eating for the busy woman

Brittany Pearson is full of encouragement and resources for busy women who want to achieve realistic and maintainable wellness goals. Founder of Healthy Catholic Moms, Pearson combines her passion for health and fitness, delicious food, and her Catholic faith to walk alongside women in their health journey. 

Exercise and healthy eating are two sides of the same coin, and Pearson has tips and tricks for both. She says that focusing on fueling your body with healthy, nutritious food is a great place to begin. 

Philosophy of food 

Brittany’s philosophy of food is all about finding the middle ground between ultra restrictiveness and complete excessiveness. 

“Food is a deeply personal topic. Food is comforting, food is communal, food is bonding, food is tradition-bearing, food is unitive, food is healing, food is nourishing, food is hospitality, food is bonding, and so much more,” Pearson said. 

“Some fitness professionals will emphasize the point that food is just fuel and that we should only be putting the best quality into our bodies at all times. But I feel like it is really an oversimplification to just say, ‘Food is fuel,’ and leave it at that,” she explained.  

To find the middle ground, Brittany promotes and practices 80/20 eating. 80 percent of food intake comes from whole, clean sources and 20 percent of caloric intake from treats and indulgences. 

This philosophy of eating allows a balanced, healthy approach to eating. 

Brittany recommends approaching most days looking at food as fuel and finding ways to best power and feed the body for that day. But if a special occasion comes up, such as a date night or an outing with girl friends, go ahead and enjoy it because every single meal doesn’t have to be only looked at for how it is fueling our bodies. 

“If we are able to do this, I find it to be the most peaceful place to be — where we can mostly choose nourishing soups or protein-packed salads but also go out for ice cream with our family every now and then, totally guilt-free,” Pearson said. 

Focusing on whole, clean food

With 80/20 eating, it’s important to make sure the 80 percent is actually whole, clean food. Avoid highly processed foods and focus on food that comes from the ground or from animals Pearson advises. 

Great protein sources include chicken and turkey, omega 3-rich food like salmon, vitamin- and mineral-packed grassfed beef, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. Healthy fats like cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, avocados, and olive oils are excellent choices. Fruits and vegetables, especially dark, leafy greens, are all part of the 80 percent. 

Plan ahead for cravings

Cravings will hit, and it’s important to have a game plan. Brittany explains the choice is to either indulge a little of the real thing, or find a healthier option to enjoy more often. For example, Brittany makes “nice cream” when she has a craving for ice cream. To make “nice cream” blend frozen bananas, a splash of milk, cacao powder, dark chocolate chips, and a little vanilla whey protein, topped with peanut butter. 

“It is a nice healthier ice cream swap that I can enjoy several times a week, again with no guilt, and I wouldn’t count that in my 20% treats category,” Brittany said. 

Meal planning is a key to success

When planning meals, Pearson leans heavily on two styles of eating – Mediterranean style and Paleo style. Both of these styles highlight whole, clean foods and have plenty of resources, both online and in cookbooks. Brittany promotes seasonal eating and suggests rotating cookbooks from the library to keep things fresh and exciting. 

Brittany recommends the book Genius Foods by Max Lugavere and suggestions from nutritionist Kelly Leveque. She also finds Dr. Amy Shah’s system of 30-30-3 helpful for meal planning and enjoys Dr. Vonda Wright’s podcast and book Unbreakable, which specifically includes how women approaching perimenopause or menopause should be eating. 

Meal planning is a key factor in healthy eating, especially in the busy seasons of life. 

Brittany’s top meal planning tips and tricks: 

1. Whatever you make, double it. From ground beef to zucchini bread, if you’re going to dirty bowls why not set yourself up for plenty of leftovers to pop in the refrigerator or freezer? 
2. Lean into easy meals during the week, such as sheet pan, one pot, and crockpot dinners. Make sure to always make enough for lunch the next day! That leaves bandwidth for more extravagant meals on the weekend.
3. Let your appliances work for you! Pull out the crockpot for an easy dinner of pulled chicken or cook a whole chicken in an Instant Pot. 
4. Have your “bail-out foods” ready. These are foods that aren’t perfectly “clean” but are a bit healthier and cheaper than take-out. Cauliflower crust pizza or grilled chicken nuggets are good options to have on hand for a day that’s tough to get dinner on the table. 

Brittany’s sample day of clean, whole foods: 

Breakfast: 3-egg omelet packed with veggies and cheese, sprouted grain toast, fruit

Lunch: Big turkey taco salad packed with veggies, guacamole, salsa, and tortilla strips

Dinner: Sweet potatoes, baked chicken fingers, roasted veggies

Snacks: Cashews and sunflower seeds, apple with almond butter, Greek yogurt with granola