Mindful Eating vs. Distracted Eating

 #WellnessWednesday with Registered Dietitian Christine (MS, RDN, CSSD)
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Consider practicing mindful eating versus distracted eating by putting away your devices during a meal. You may find that you enjoy the meal more because you are paying attention to the smell, taste and texture as well as being in tune with your feelings of fullness!

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National Seafood Month

It’s National Seafood Month! October is all about sustainable seafood around here. Everyone knows that seafood is an excellent component of a healthy diet, but overfishing, bycatch, and seafood fraud can make it challenging to decide which fish to eat. We asked our partners over at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program to share some advice for buying seafood that has been fished or farmed responsibly. Your seafood choices are critical to a healthy ocean, so grab a Seafood Watch guide or the app, and let’s go shopping!

CHECK OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

To find the right seafood recommendation, you’ll need to know three things: the species (what kind of fish is it), where the seafood is from and how it was caught or farmed. For example, if salmon is on the menu, find out if it's Atlantic, Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, or Sockeye salmon. Next, ask where it’s from and how it was caught or farmed. Sometimes it can be hard to find out how seafood is caught or farmed. Often just knowing the country of origin will tell you whether to buy a product. Also, check to see if we have recommended an eco-certified option. If in doubt, choose a different Best Choice seafood.

CHOOSE A BUSINESS (OR FISHERMEN) YOU TRUST

Many businesses have already made commitments to sustainable seafood. Shopping at a restaurant or grocery store with commitment means that you can do your research before visiting and be confident that what is offered meets your sustainability expectations. If you have access to a local fisherman, that’s another great way to learn more about the seafood you’re buying and the people that harvested it.

ASK QUESTIONS

The easiest thing you can do is ask the question: "Do you sell sustainable seafood?" By doing so, you help drive change in the marketplace. The more businesses hear support for sustainable seafood, the more interest they have in providing it as an option. We encourage you to thank the businesses that sell sustainable seafood and ask those that don’t to visit SeafoodWatch.org.

CONSIDER BUYING WHOLE FISH

Whole fish may seem outside the comfort zone of home chefs, but it is more affordable, versatile, and is less likely to have fraudulent labeling. If you have our Seafood Watch recommendations handy, whole fish can be a great way to guarantee you’re getting the sustainable product you paid for. Finally, if whole fish is available, ask the store to clean, gut, and portion it for you.

BE ADVENTUROUS

In North America we mainly eat five seafood products: canned tuna, shrimp, tilapia, salmon and pollock. Considering Seafood Watch has recommendations for over 300 species, that is a very limited menu! Next time you buy seafood consider trying something new: from arctic char to clams to seaweed, there are hundreds of Best Choices for you to explore!

 Reference:

1. Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Program. https://www.seafoodwatch.org/.

Written by Julia Jordan

OCTOBER 2020

weeatlivedowell.com

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FOOD AND MOOD

We have all probably experienced a time when our mood influenced our food choices. Whether you crave comfort foods when sad, or lose your appetite when stressed, we know mood can influence how we eat. But what if what we eat can also influence our mood? Research suggests that this might be the case.

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?
What we eat can impact many of the systems in our bodies that influence mood, depression, anxiety and other aspects of our mental health. These connections are still being investigated, but according to a recent research review, three areas seem likely to play a role. Eating patterns that lead to frequent changes in blood sugar trigger hormone responses that may alter mood. Brain health has been tied to inflammation and certain foods have been associated with either increased or decreased inflammation. And finally, our gut health, which is closely tied to the way we eat may also influence our mental health.

WHICH FOODS ARE INVOLVED?
Rapid and frequent changes in blood sugar are usually connected with refined carbohydrates often found in sweet snacks, sugary drinks and grains that are not whole . Limiting high sugar, low fiber foods or pairing them with other nutrient rich foods can help avoid spikes in blood sugar. Foods that provide omega-3 fatty acids such as fish, nuts and seeds are thought to help reduce inflammation. For gut health, probiotics (yogurt with active cultures, fermented foods) and prebiotics (high fiber foods like oats, asparagus, apples) can help support.

BOTTOM LINE
Our mental and physical health are complex and can be influenced by many factors. Even if one food is found to show benefits, our overall diet as well as physical activity, sleep and stress levels will also play a role. The good news is that healthy eating has almost no side effects and many potential benefits. Healthy eating patterns, like the Mediterranean Diet, promote physical health and may also help to support our mental health.

Reference: Firth Joseph, GangwischJames E, BorisiniAlessandra, Wootton Robyn E, Mayer EmeranA. Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? BMJ 2020; 369 :m2382

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
AUGUST 2020
weeatlivedowell.com

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PICNIC SAFELY

Getting outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather is one of the perks of this time of year. If picnics are part of your plans, you might be wondering what extra steps you need to take to do so safely in this era of COVID-19. Here are some tips:

SPREAD OUT
If your typical picnic set up includes one big table for all of the food, consider breaking it up. You can put sides on one table, desserts on another and so on. Spacing out the food will help to naturally space out your guests too.

REDUCE HIGH TOUCH AREAS
While the risk of spreading COVID-19 through surfaces is thought to be low, it is one that is relatively easy to address. Instead of putting a serving spoon in each dish, encourage people to serve themselves with their own, clean, disposable utensil. Use toothpicks for smaller items. Focus on individual items instead of bulk dishes like casseroles. Many popular casseroles can be made single serve by preparing them in muffin tins. Pre-plating items can also help reduce the frequency of everyone touching the same surface. Make utensil roll-ups for each person with fork, knife and spoon wrapped in a napkin.

FOLLOW YOUR LOCAL RULES
Each area of the country is at a different point with the spread of COVID-19 and local rules around staying at home or social gatherings generally reflect this.

IF YOU ARE SICK, STAY HOME
No one wants to miss out on fun activities but if you are sick you really need to sit this one out and encourage your guests to do the same.

BEYOND COVID-19
While our current focus is on preventing COVID-19, foodborne illness at picnics is still a very real risk. To make sure that illness doesn’t spoil your outdoor eating, make sure to wash your hands often, maintain food temperatures and handle leftovers carefully. More food safety tips can be found at
homefoodsafety.org.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
JULY 2020
weeatlivedowell.com

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TIGHTENING YOUR FOOD BUDGET

If you find that your income has been reduced by the current COVID-19 pandemic, or simply
want to lower your food budget to free up money to be more charitable or support local
businesses, we have put together some tips to help.

PLAN AHEAD & BE FLEXIBLE
This may sound like conflicting advice, but both can be helpful strategies. Plan ahead by listing out
the meals and snacks you and your family will have. Start with doing inventory of what you have
on hand. Plan to use ingredients before they go bad by building them into your meals and snacks.
Group common ingredients so that you can plan for leftovers. If you are going to roast a chicken
for dinner one night, consider having chicken tacos a day or two later so that you can utilize the
leftover chicken. Within your overall plan, allow for some flexibility. You may find that some items
are sold out or that others are on sale. Look for swaps that keep your overall plan in mind but let
you take advantage of items that are on sale or seasonal.

STOP FOOD WASTE
Nothing can derail your food budget like throwing away food. Keep your refrigerator organized. It
can be easy to forget that you have strawberries waiting to be eaten if you can’t see them behind
the milk. If possible, store leftovers in clear containers so they are easily visible. Date your food so
you don’t have to rely on your memory of when something was opened or prepared. Use your
freezer! If you have fresh items or leftovers that you won’t use before they go bad, freeze them.
Make clean-out-the-fridge recipes. Soups, stir-fry meals, frittatas and smoothies are perfect for
using up a variety of ingredients before they go bad.

CONSIDER COST VS CONVENIENCE
Individual packs of snacks and drinks can be handy if you are packing lunches, but that
convenience comes at a cost. Bulk items are usually less expensive. To make them more packable
and control portion size, use reusable containers to repack them yourself. This will cut costs and
send less packaging to landfills.

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN
JUNE 2020
weeatlivedowell.com

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Continue To Fuel

Whether you are an athlete, or you work out on your own or following group fitness classes online. It is vital to continue to fuel your body each day.

Due to the current situation with the stay at home guidelines, you are not able to participate as a team or with a group for workouts. If you are continuing to work out and exercise on your own, it is essential to continue to fuel your body properly. When I say fuel properly, this means to continue to eat meals and snacks throughout the day, and it also means not skipping meals, restricting, or limiting food choices because you feel like you might be working out less often. If you are working out less often than you were before staying at home, then you do not need to eliminate meals or snacks. You should work on choosing foods that provide a feeling of fullness as well as satisfaction- meaning choose foods with taste and that you feel good about eating. Feeling good about your food choice(s) does not mean that you made the “right” choice or the food you “should” choose. It means that you picked the foods that have flavor and adequately provide a feeling of fullness. When we choose foods, we enjoy and eat them until we are satisfied/comfortably full, then we are more likely to give ourselves adequate energy needed throughout the day.

Fueling will likely help you continue on with your day being productive in school, work, and exercise. In order to provide yourself with consistent energy, you should think about the food balance. It is essential to incorporate foods from various food groups- protein (plant or animal), whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and fats. When you make balanced choices, then you are more likely to feel satisfied with your meals and snacks. Consider eating meals (with at least 3-4 food groups) and snacks (with at least 2-3 food groups) throughout the day from the groups listed in this table.

Protein	Grains/Carbohydrates	Fruit	Vegetables
Yogurt	Whole grain bread	Apple	Carrots
Milk	Pita bread or a wrap	orange	avocado
Nuts	Rice	banana	cucumbers
Peanut butter or another nut butter	pasta	peaches	broccoli
Chicken, turkey, ham, cheese, tuna, hummus	crackers, pretzels, graham crackers, whole grain cereal	Berries (strawberries, blueberries or raspberries	Salad (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes)

Sample snacks

• Apple with cheese or peanut butter
• Cucumber, carrots and/or pretzels and hummus
• Cereal with milk
• Graham crackers and peanut butter or almond butter

Sample meal

• Peanut butter, banana on 2 pieces of bread with a cup of milk
• Turkey, cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato on a wrap with an apple 

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Time To Garden

Whether you have a green thumb or not, this could be the perfect time to start a garden.

Research suggests that gardening may offer benefits to both our physical and mental well-being. With the current recommendations for both kids and adults to avoid going out to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we all need more home based activities. Gardening is something for all ages and skill levels that doesn’t rely on screen time.

If you are new to gardening, here are some tips to get you started:

• Evaluate your space. Gardening can be small, large and anywhere in between. If you live in an apartment, check out which windows offer the most sun throughout the day. If you are in a house, check for both indoor and outdoor spaces with good sun and room for plants.
• Figure out which zone you live in. You can enter your zip code into this interactive map from the USDA to determine your zone. Knowing your zone will help you know which plants will do best in your area.
• Grow things you like! If your garden does well, you won’t want the bounty to go to waste.
• Check out kidsgardening.org. Don’t let the name fool you. They have great resources for kids, but the site is helpful for adults who are new to gardening too.
• If you do have kids, involve them. The team at KidsGardeninghas put together a list of easy parent and kid gardening activities. They also have lesson plans that help you bring science, math and nutrition concepts to life through gardening.
• It’s okay to cheat a little. Waiting for seeds to germinate can be a long process. While a lesson in patience is probably good for all of us, starting with seedlings is a great way to jump start your garden with something green that you can see right away.
• Have reasonable expectations. If you are new to gardening, you might want to start small with a few plants in containers. As your knowledge and skills increase you can expand to a raised bed garden or something larger.

Reference:

1. Soga, Masashi et al. “Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis.” Preventive medicine reports vol. 5 92-99. 14 Nov. 2016, doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.007

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RDN

MAY 2020

weeatlivedowell.com

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