Want to stay fueled and alert? My dietitian tip is to combine protein with produce at every snack! Protein foods give you staying power, satiety and alertness. Produce offers a medley of antioxidants to boost your health and wellness. That’s a powerful combo, right?
Try these snacks the next time you’re heading out on the trails, camping or even studying for exams. Which snack combo is your favourite?
The doorbell rings. The dog is barking. A load of laundry sits in the hallway. There can be a lot of distractions when working from home! Here are a few tips to help you stay fueled and focused.
Stick to a regular eating schedule. Get into a routine by eating your meals at the same times every day if possible. Routine gives us a little sense of control during these uncertain times. Plus, you’ll keep your energy levels steady to power through your work day. (Ditto the routine message for sleep and exercise.)
Cook extra for tomorrow’s lunch. Now that you and everyone else in your family are staying home, you’re likely eating all your meals at home too. No more lunch meetings or buying lunch at the food court. Plan to cook extra and portion them out so they’re ready to reheat for tomorrow’s lunch.
Snack on nourishing foods. During times of crisis, we all stress eat. Food can offer us both comfort and nourishment. Give yourself permission to enjoy ALL foods without guilt. If you’re finding that you’re frequently eating to deal with stress or emotions, reach out to a friend, family member or health professional for support.
Stay hydrated with water. By the time you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Keep your water bottle nearby. Other beverages like coffee, tea and milk count towards your fluid intake too.
Take a break. Stand up and stretch. Do some shoulder rolls. Go out for a walk. This helps minimize mindless munching at your desk. To reduce eye strain, follow the 20-20-20 rule – every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Keep well, everyone!
The costumes are ready and the kids can’t wait to get their Halloween treats! Here are my tricks for managing tomorrow’s candy stash.
1. Sort it out. When the kids get back from trick-or-treating, sort though all of the candy and get rid of the ones that are opened, unwrapped or look a little sketchy.
2. Decide on a reasonable limit. If you have young kids, perhaps 1- 2 small treats is a fair amount to enjoy and celebrate the evening. Even better, offer the treats with a glass of milk or hot chocolate. For older kids and tweens, a more realistic amount might be 3-4 small treats that evening. Remind them to floss and brush before bedtime too.
3. Ration out the treats. Talk to your kids about how much and how often they can enjoy the remaining treats. You might tuck in one small treat in their lunchbox a few times next week, or offer a small treat after dinner. Always try to offer the Halloween treat as part of a healthy snack or meal.
4. Be creative with the extras. Use leftover candies for baking or for your kids’ crafts. Donate the extra candy or look for a local agency or dentist’s office that may “buy back” the candy from you. After a couple of weeks when the excitement settles, hide the candy – out of sight, out of mind! If you have preschool boys, throw a coloured candy in the toilet and let them use it for target practice during toilet training! (Blue Smarties worked for us!)
5. Get in some good family time. Carve the pumpkin together. Scoop out the pumpkin seeds and bake them with a sprinkle of salt. Don an awesome Halloween costume and head outside for some fresh air with your kids. It’s a great chance to meet and greet your neighbours.
Happy Halloween!
Well, we’re finally settled into a new schedule that’s packed with school team practices, extra curricular lessons, and after school clubs. Now that my kids are teens, I’ve learned a few things and have had to adjust my eating plan for them.
1. My teens go to sleep late. What’s happening is a change in their melatonin which is a hormone that regulates the wake-sleep cycle. In young kids, melatonin is released early in the evening, triggering an early bedtime. In adolescents however, the melatonin isn’t released until 9 pm or even 10 pm, meaning that my teens aren’t feeling sleepy until at least 11 pm.
The food fix: Keep plenty of grab-‘n-go foods in the kitchen. With dinner typically at 6 pm, my teens are often hungry for a snack around 9:30 or 10 pm. By creating an environment of healthy food choices such as bagels, tortilla chips, grated cheese, yogurt, fresh cooked meat, fresh fruit and fresh veggies, they can make their own smart snacks while I’m catching my ZZZs.
2. Teens like to sleep in. This is a corollary to lesson #1 above! My teens might have only have 15-20 minutes on a weekday to get up, eat breakfast, change, groom themselves, print out their homework assignment, pack their bags, text their friends, slap on some sunscreen, and then finally jump out the door.
The food fix: Keep it simple in the morning. 20 minutes is definitely doable in the mornings, but to keep things moving along, we focus on easy to eat, protein-filled breakfast options. Some of their favourites are Greek yogurt smoothies, fresh fruit, grilled cheese sandwiches and eggs.
3. Teens can have changing lunch times. Last year,my daughter’s lunch period was at 12:45 pm. This term, it’s at 11:15 am. Next term, her lunch period switches to 12:15 pm.
The food fix: Pack a snack.To ensure that she’s hungry for her early lunch, we try not to have an overly big breakfast. By the time 3:30 rolls around though, she’s absolutely starving, so we pack a little something extra in her lunch bag for those after school munchies.
4. Teens like to buy their lunch. Like all teens, my crew is becoming quite independent and enjoys the freedom to buy their lunch from the school cafeteria or nearby quick service restaurant.
The food fix: We follow the 80-20 rule. On most days of the week, my teens will bring a packed lunch to school. Once a week, they buy their lunch. We talk about healthy choices and money sense. But I never judge them on their choices. I do however, sneak in an extra fruit or veggie at breakfast and suppertime!
