To Glove or to wash; the debate and risks of using just one method in your kitchen
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- Look at every food item in your food spread one to two times before making any decisions to plate and eat.
- Make a concerted effort to (and habit of) chewing each mouthful of food for 5-10 seconds longer than you normally would.
- Have one (8oz) glass of water before each meal.
- Choose (and seek out) smaller sized plates and bowls to eat from.
- Stick to opaque serving dishes. Avoid transparent serving bowls and dishes.
- If you go for seconds, choose only vegetables or protein (such as lean meat, legumes).
- When you’re serving desserts, cut and serve them in halves for guests. When you’re eating desserts that are served whole, take half and share the other half with someone else.
- Choose special holiday desserts. Avoid convenient, everyday dessert items.
- Send your guests home with food in an effort to moderate your own leftover intake.
Dispelling Nutrition Myths & Misconceptions
March 23rd, 2012Hello everyone,
My inspiration for this month’s B-Fit entry is the 2012 theme for Nutrition month. The Dietitians of Canada nutrition month theme for 2012 is interesting, challenging and important for the profession. But you’re probably wondering what’s in it for you? We can all benefit from accurate nutritional information from credible sources so there is a lot in it for all of us.
Now that I have hopefully managed to build some level of intrigue about our topic, I will reveal it. Nutrition Month 2012 carries the theme of dispelling myths in food and nutrition. Basically, the goal is to debunk some of those popular food and nutrition myths in circulation. There is an overwhelming electronic database of food and nutrition information, numerous floating claims, and a large network of self-proclaimed nutrition “experts.” The challenge then is determining what information is valid and who we can trust to acquire the hard facts.
Moving ahead in our myth-busting journey…
Given the tremendous amount of information to filter through and myths to bust, I have chosen three popular myths/misconceptions that I have encountered in personal practice and will do my best to shed light on some truth in these areas. Given the diversity of incredible backgrounds and experiences here at Burlodge, I may simply be re-iterating information that you already know. The way I see it- if I clarify one or two points for even a few people, this communication will well be worth the effort. With that, here we go!
Nutrition myth/misconception #1- All salads are healthy.
Language is one of the most important professional elements. In Food and Nutrition, the powerful role of language is no exception. The general message that salad= healthy is a very common one. First of all, what is healthy? What is healthy to you? I find that we habitually use binary terms to evaluate. Food is no exception- good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. It is important for us to recognize that there is a level of risk when food is classified this way.
As nutritional needs are individual, and intolerances, allergies and disease complicates our nutritional profiles, what is “healthy” or “good” for some may not be so healthy or good for others. Sure a beautifully coloured garden or spinach salad can be a healthier choice for many people; it is not a health-promoting choice for all. And since household and commercial salads have transformed so much (for “better” and for “worse”), dietitians must now assess salad intake more carefully to determine what salads look like when evaluating quality and suitability for individuals.
Still, the evolution of salads is amazing. Today, some of the most remarkable and exciting salad bars and makers afford us salads with fruits, nuts, seeds, delicate cheeses, meat slices, legumes, croutons, and dressings I can barely keep up with. Further, these state of the art salads are increasingly replacing lunch and dinner meals, suggesting that we have to look more closely at the composition of these meal replacements, and additionally assess ingredient serving sizes. It is important to balance our salad meals as we would any other meal in the day to be sure that we meet our daily food group servings, and ultimately, our nutritional requirements.
Knowing that salads have evolved beyond iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, we need to consider how we are diversifying our salads and specifically look at what we are adding to them and eating them with.
If your salad is part of meal that already includes appropriate servings of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, your salad should:
– have at least 2-3 vegetable servings (1 serving = approximately 1 cup leafy vegetables OR 1/2 cup fresh, frozen or canned vegetables)
– use a controlled portion of salad dressing if desired (approximately 1 tbsp or less) or use a fresh lemon wedge instead!
– use controlled portion(s) of additional fat if desired- remember that nuts, seeds, cheese and dressing are all additional fat sources that should be moderated
– use a controlled portion of additional carbohydrate if desired- make an effort to choose whole grain sources i.e. whole grain croutons, breadsticks etc.
If your salad is a meal, your salad should:
– have at least 2-3 vegetable servings (1 serving = approximately 1 cup leafy vegetables OR 1/2 cup fresh, frozen or canned vegetables)
– use a controlled portion of salad dressing if desired (approximately 1 tbsp or less) or use a fresh lemon wedge instead!
– include an appropriate portion of fat which can come from salad dressing, nuts, seeds, cheese etc. – they will help your body to absorb fat soluble vitamins
– include a controlled portion of carbohydrate- make an effort to choose whole grain sources ie. whole grain croutons, breadsticks etc.- keep in mind that colourful fruits and vegetables are also considered carbohydrate sources
– include an adequate protein source [ie. approximately 3oz of lean chicken or turkey, or legumes (lentils, black beans etc.), cheese, nuts etc.]
Why is salad colour important?
To close this topic, I will briefly touch on the importance of eating a colourful salad. Vegetable and fruit pigments key players. In a nutshell, plant colour pigments (ie. carotenoids (such as red lycopene, orange carotene, and yellow lutein), green chlorophyll, and blue-purple anthocyanins) are examples of some of the infamous antioxidants that are being raved about in nutrition buzz. Each pigment has a slightly different profile and potential health benefit. These “colours” can potentially help protect us from cancer and are consistent with Canada’s Food Guide recommendations. What better reason to paint your plate!
Re: Nutrition myth/misconception #1- It is not accurate to classify all salads as “healthy” and it is important to be aware of the way that we design and dress our salads.
Nutrition myth/misconception #2- We should all consume as much omega fat/”good fat” as possible to protect ourselves from chronic disease.
What is the omega fat hype about? What exactly is it? For the sake of keeping this discussion relatively light and interesting, we are dealing with polyunsaturated fats (PUFA’s). Basically, they are fats that are required by the body because the body is unable to make them. Omega-3 and omega-6 are these essential fats.
With increasing communication supporting increased omega-3 intake, we are learning that omega-3 is “good” and that we should integrate it into our diet as much as possible. While there is a lot of information about omega-3, there is less information about omega-6 and the benefit of establishing an appropriate balance of omega 3: omega-6 in the diet.
What is the role of omega-6 in the body?
Omega-6 fat comes from foods like nuts, seeds and oils such as sunflower, safflower, and corn. There is a need for omega-6 in the diet but some omega-6 fats can promote inflammation in the body, initiating and possibly worsening diseases such as allergies, arthritis, heart disease etc. The typical North American diet tends to incorporate approximately 10-25 times more omega-6 than omega-3. So, the importance of increasing omega-3 fat intake and renegotiating our food choices to better balance our omega-3: omega-6 ratio is significant.
Big picture: omega-6 fats are considered more inflammatory in nature and are more readily consumed in the diet.
What is the role of omega-3 in the body?
Omega-3 fat is sourced from fatty/oily fish (such as salmon, herring, tuna, sardines etc.) and oils such as flaxseed. Omega-3 fats are also essential in the diet and are considered less/anti inflammatory, possibly preventing and managing inflammatory diseases.
Big picture: omega-3 fats are considered less/anti inflammatory in nature and are less readily consumed in the diet.
Omega 3: Omega 6 Ratio
Omega-6 and omega-3 compete in the production/prevention (respective) of inflammatory molecules inside of the body, so it is very important to promote omega-3 consumption and strive for a ratio closer to 1:5 (omega-3:omega-6).
The grey area
Rarely is anything black and white. As foods provide a range of nutrients in varying amounts, we run into grey areas with foods that provide both omega 3 and 6, many of which provide significantly more omega-6 than omega-3. This makes our goal of achieving a better balanced ratio of these essential fats more challenging.
A rough idea of the approximate omega-3 and omega-6 content of some food items:
– Almonds- dry roasted, unsalted- (100g): 12.6g omega-6 | 0g omega-3
– Peanuts- dry roasted- (100g): 15.6g omega-6 | 0.4g omega-3
– Walnuts- dried, chopped (100g): 33.1g omega-6 | 2.0g omega-3
– Tuna- white, canned in water, drained- (3 oz): 0.05g omega-6 | 0.06g omega-3
– Salmon- pink, canned- (3 oz): 0.05g omega-6 | 0.05g omega-3
– Sardines- boneless, skinless, canned-(3 oz ): 0.05g omega-6 | 0.05g omega-3
– Herring- cooked, dry heat-(3 oz): 0.1g omega-6 | 0.1g omega-3
– Halibut- Atlantic/Pacific, cooked, dry heat-(3 oz): 0.03g omega-6 | 0.07g omega-3
– Corn oil- (1 tbsp): 7.9g omega-6 | 0.1g omega-3
– Sunflower oil- (1 tbsp):3.2g omega-6 | 0g omega-3
– Safflower oil- (1 tbsp): 10.1g omega-6 | 0g omega-3
– Canola oil- (1 tbsp): 2.6g omega-6 | 1.3g omega-3
– Olive oil- (1 tbsp): 1.2g omega-6 | 0.1g omega-3
– Flaxseed oil- (1 tbsp): 1.7g omega-6 | 7.2g omega-3
– Soybean oil- (1 tbsp): 6.9g omega-6 | 0.9g omega-3
– Avocado (100g): 1.6g omega-6 | 0.1g omega-3
– Flax seed (15g): 0.6g omega-6 | 2.7g omega-3
– Chia seed (15g): 0.9g omega-6 | 2.6g omega-3
– Acorn/butternut winter squash (1 cup): 0.02g omega-6 | 0.03g omega-3
– Broccoli- boiled, drained (1/2 cup): 0.04g omega-6 | 0.09g omega-3
– Red kidney beans- canned (1/2 cup): 0.1g omega-6 | 0.1g omega-3
Now what?
So, what do we do with all of this information? Take note of foods that are a significant source of omega-3 fat (grey items) and try to include them in your daily diet so that your intake ratio of omega-3:omega-6 is less imbalanced (note: above list is not comprehensive).
Benefits:
From this initiative, your body will potentially benefit from:
– reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
– improved efficiency of cell and tissue repair
– improved brain function
– improved skin integrity
Re: Nutrition myth/misconception #2- There is a significant difference between omega-3 and omega-6 fats. We should strive to increase omega-3 intake in our diet by (learning about) and choosing foods that are high in omega-3 to establish a more equal ratio of omega-6:0mega-3 intake more often.
Nutrition myth/misconception #3- Brown eggs are more nutritious than white eggs.
This one can be quickly reconciled. It is a myth. Eggshell colour is related to the breed of hen that produces it. There is no difference in nutritional quality, taste or cooking characteristics between brown eggs and white eggs.
Re: Nutrition myth/misconception #3- There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs.
We were able to discuss three popular nutrition myths/misconceptions, but be aware that there are many others in circulation. Be smart receiving and interpreting food and nutrition information. SMART goals for getting the right information from the right people:
– Registered Dietitians are licensed professionals and trusted sources of nutritional information
– Eat Right Ontario is a free telephone/email service that connects you with dietitians to help answer your food and nutrition questions and help you make healthier food choices, www.eatrightontario.ca
– Always ask questions and think critically!
Why live in good health when you can live in great health? You hold the key to better living. Don’t settle. Start today!
B-Aware, B-Knowledgeable.
Photo Credit: Mr.TinDC via Compfight cc
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Epicurean Dining in Food Services- A Focus on the Customer Service Experience
March 2nd, 2012In case the word epicurean is new to you, I will try my best to sum up the system philosophy of Epicureanism in a few lines. It is believed that Epicureanism emerged from the teachings of a Greek Philosopher by the name of Epicurus, around 307 BC. Essentially, Epicurus’ belief was that pleasure was the greatest good. This underlying pleasure principle has informed what we now understand today about Epicureanism. Today, epicure is a word that is used almost interchangeably with gourmet and refers to an individual who is concerned with fine food and drink- a sophisticated and experienced foodie.
An article featured in the Toronto Star food section inspired me to (re-)consider the idea of luxury in food services. The author qualified this broad and developing concept in the restaurant industry and described some of the changes that are taking place in high end restaurant food services. A number of these changes are challenging some of our former ideas about what gourmet food service looks like, and impressing consumers by demonstrating the simplicity of what it can look like.
The word luxury suggests delicacy, elegance, and sophistication, and is almost inevitably associated with premium pricing. With a shift in focus from cost to experience and availability, gourmet food experiences are inclusive and customer-centered. And that is a wonderful thing. Good food is always about more than just the food itself. And great food experiences involve establishing a connection with food, oneself, ones setting and one another. With a greater focus on providing excellent food experiences that are person-centered and memorable, customer satisfaction is promoted.
There are important messages to consider here for all food service organizations. Whether you are serving clients, customers, or patients, you are providing a service to individuals who all want to feel special, participative, and epicurean. Of course, improving food service is never an easy task to take on, particularly in hospital settings where budgets are tight, space and equipment are limited, and tray line efficiency is subpar. The challenging nature of institutional foodservices can make you wonder if it is even possible to meet the needs of most.
A shift in focus from food to food experience is advantageous to food service operations as it recognizes the importance of non-food factors that influence customer satisfaction. Excellent customer service is always situated at the heart of excellent food experiences, and warrants the attention it is finally being paid. It is simply not enough to offer our customers gourmet food in porcelain bowls when customers are expecting great food experiences. Focusing on customer experiences is economical, practical, and future-focused. When you fail to serve customer service, your food will always taste bland.
What can high end, cost-controlled food experiences look like for our sophisticated customers? It could include (but is certainly not limited to) some of the following:
– Enjoyable dining environments
– Excellent meal delivery by food service employees
– Excellent communication involving respectful and polite words conveyed with a warm tone, supported by engaging body language, active listening, and a positive attitude
– Superior customer service-focused employees
– Customer-service expectation development and promotion in the workplace
– Service with a smile!
Provide the experience of sophisticated food by focusing on customer service. You will discover that food service can be luxurious and affordable. Celebrate the evolution of Epicureanism.
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Ethnic Food Choices, Healing and Healthcare
February 24th, 2012Increasingly, patients and family members are insisting on the inclusion of ethnic food varieties in healthcare menus. In the countless discussions I have had with family members and patients around this topic, the importance of ethnic food availability has continuously been given emphasis to in a way that suggests that these requests are greater than basic food preferences. This leads me to question the potential of ethnic food as a therapeutic adjunct to care. It is clear that cultural foods are an extremely important resource for many individuals in acute and long term care facilities. But just how important is it? Can it be considered a component of care? And if so, what are doing about it?
Ethnic Food and Identity
Coming from a culturally diverse home and having experienced an incredible diversity of foods throughout my lifetime, I can appreciate the importance of regular ethnic food consumption. As my parents both immigrated to Canada from different countries, they brought with them a number of unique cultural recipes. These were habitually cooked in the home to feed the family and were filled with so many wild flavours that they made our taste buds dance. I grew up very connected to our food traditions, and for me, these cultural foods will always be part of who I am. This leads to my first point. Food is inextricably connected to identity. We very much are what we eat. Many of the ethnic foods I love remind me of good memories in our home and now represent a segment of my own being. When illness complicates our profiles and leaves us feeling not quite like ourselves, we desperately reach out for anything that can help restore that feeling of normalcy again. For many of us, it is cultural food that comforts us in our times of need and helps us feel somewhat re-connected to ourselves and to our loved ones. Ethnic food is a very real part of patients’ identities that should be considered in menu development to improve customer satisfaction and potentially facilitate the healing process.
Ethnic Food and Control
Lack of control is an important consideration in patient care. For ageing patients who have lost or who are gradually losing control of mind and/or body function, the need for control over food choices and intake often increases. Ethnic foods are typically requested by patients in these circumstances as many of them complain that traditional healthcare foods taste bland and are not texturally appealing. They often want foods from home that they are accustomed to eating and enjoying and spare no detail in describing the way these foods smell, taste, and feel as they remember previous food experiences. Health promotion is not typically a top priority for these residents as some of them are beginning to or already have accepted the possibility of passing. And so they fight for what they want and refuse what they dislike. Cultural foods potentially remind them of who they were and maybe even of who they have become. As their choices in life become limited by their disease states, these patients fight desperately for control over food that means a lot to them.
Ethnic Food and Connectedness
Finally, ethnic food is far more than just food. It is a cultural and familial piece and often implies processes, emotions and connections. As cultural foods are typically shared, they involve union and can strengthen bonds between individuals. It is reasonable then that patients crave and insist on being fed these foods while they are ill as they tend to feel alone during these times and can be starved for the attention of familiar faces. The flavours, appearances and aromas of cultural foods can hold memories- wonderful memories of previous times shared with important people. What are the implications of denying patients these precious experiences?
Now What?
Increasingly, ethnic food choices and ingredients are becoming available from trusted food companies that can supply acute and long term care facilities. Food adventurist populations simultaneously appear to be growing. Cultural foods are being tried out and liked by varieties of cultures- suggesting a potential place for expanding menus to include more ethnic options for everyone. With the right nutritional profiles that can be achieved by food development teams informed by registered dietitians, ethnic foods can be offered to patients and meet nutritional care guidelines. But how long will we wait? How many voices need to be heard before we begin to make an effort to meet patient needs and feed their souls?
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Burlodge China: Presentation, Presentation, Presentation.
January 20th, 2012How important is dishware in the food service industry? Crucial.
In food services, high quality meals must be delivered to customers and patients alike by the right employees, at the right time, at the right temperature. This can be extremely challenging for food service operations given the range of inherent constraints that meal production and delivery carries. Dishware is an integral component of the meal delivery system that must meet two vital but dissimilar criteria- durability and appeal. Can your dishware pass the tests of strength and attractiveness?
Inevitably, food presentation is a critical part of every dish that is prepared. Food is intimately related to its serving vessel as they travel together as a consolidated unit to final users when evaluation is initiated. Inappropriate and unappealing dishes can easily foil the evaluation process by virtue of message inconsistency. The expectation is that good food will arrive in good-looking dishes. And this draws attention to the importance of providing dishes and utensils that accent the flavours and charisma of the foods that you serve. Particularly in hospital food service where variety is limited and menu fatigue is common, it is important to use eye-catching dishware that promotes your food product (and potentially intake) by setting a high standard for the food that you are responsible for delivering.
With our continuous efforts to improve meal delivery systems by way of innovative equipment, lean tray line systems and excellent staff, we must ensure that the food that we take pride in serving is received by customers in beautiful dishes that we are equally proud of.
Burlodge China affords hospital food service with style. The attractive and durable fine china pieces enable enhanced meal experiences for patients and are available in three pleasant colours that help brighten feeding times. The china dish edges are advantageously reinforced to provide resistance against chipping while handle design strategically minimizes breakage- important considerations in hospital settings. Burlodge China pieces are fit to withstand temperature extremes which is favourable in re-thermalization and hot line systems where efficient heat retention is a must. Careful china design promotes hygiene and pieces can easily stack to save space in facilities where storage is limited.
Replacing dishware can be difficult as we must ensure that new pieces fit our existing serving, cleaning and storage processes. Burlodge China pieces have been carefully crafted to fit your purposes and are compatible with all Burlodge equipment.
It is important to find dishware that compliments and accurately represents your product while speaking to the quality and delicacy of your food choices. We have a long way to go in exceeding customer expectations in hospital food service. A big part of this challenge involves the equipment that we are using to deliver the message of high quality. Strive to complete your image with durable and attractive dishware today.
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Holiday Eating: B-Merry, B-Mindful
December 16th, 2011Hello Everyone!
With the Christmas holiday season (and party) fast approaching, I felt it fitting to discuss the topic of holiday eating. To preface our discussion, I would like to clarify that it is not my intention to deter you from enjoying the delicious food spreads that will soon be available, but rather to encourage you to eat and drink in a merry but mindful way.
What makes the holiday season so special are the unique traditions that we bring to the table. From decorations to jokes, songs, games, gift exchanges, and foods- celebration diversity is evident in each household. I’m a big foodie and I’m sure almost everyone shares my love for food, particularly during the holiday season when there are two distinct themes- variety (so many different foods) and quantity (so much of everything!).
What we tend to overlook is the fact that we celebrate an entire holiday season- not just one meal on one day in which we could reasonably justify a little overindulgence. There is an abundance of holiday food to be found at work, home, family’s homes, friend’s places, and of course all of the holiday treats scattered everywhere else throughout November and December. And quite possibly earlier if you’re surrounded by individuals who enjoy getting a really early start in October!
Take your time: Work pace should not equal eating pace.
Let’s face it- just about everything in life moves quickly. And we’ve somehow trained ourselves to keep up with the fast pace of our jobs, families, social commitments, and interests. Naturally, our food consumption pace has come to mirror the pace that we follow in these other domains of life.
With increased food variety and availability over the holiday season, we tend to inhale more food in less time. But how exactly can we train ourselves to slow down? What are some realistic techniques for avoiding the pitfalls of eating so fast that we forget what we ate, are immobile, and feel like we are about to give birth to a food baby?
Assess your options and give yourself time to make wise decisions…
Walk around and assess your food spread first. Find out what is available and what looks good before selecting and eating. Avoid mindlessly grabbing every food item in your line of sight. Instead, take your time deciding what you really want to eat and allow that to translate into what you’re going to eat. It’s not a race. Look at the amount of food on the table.
Goal: Look at every food item in your food spread one to two times before making any decisions to plate and eat.
Regress to your childhood days and take time chewing and eating…
As children, we are constantly reminded to take time eating meals and are encouraged to take small bites and chew food properly. Despite these important messages in early childhood, we somehow forget how to chew properly and pace our intake by the time we reach adulthood. When we take time chewing our food (while enjoying the aromas, textures and flavours that our food offers), we give our bodies time to inform us that we’re full- and hopefully listen and stop.
As a child, my parents encouraged me to chew each mouthful of food 15 times which often felt like a torture technique. I am not certain that a valid magic number or formula exists for chewing, but if the average individual eats like me, I would imagine that most of us do not chew each mouthful more than a few times before swallowing.
In the interest of setting a realistic goal and improving our chewing technique, I could certainly conjure up an outlandish formula here, but most people refuse to practice math skills while they eat. Respecting this, I will simply say- make a concerted effort to (and a habit of) chewing mouthfuls for a longer period of time than you normally would.
Consider some of the benefits of increased chewing time. Chewing:
– generates saliva that helps with food breakdown/digestion and contains antibacterial enzymes to help ward off food-borne bacteria
– gives your taste buds time to fully record food flavours, enhancing your overall food experience
– gives your body time to feel full and tell you it’s full
Goal: Make a concerted effort to (and habit of) chewing each mouthful of food for 5-10 seconds longer than you normally would.
Eat, drink and be merry!
Try having a glass of water to drink before eating your next meal. Many of us fail to consume adequate fluids and keep our bodies properly hydrated. Additionally, we often confuse thirst with hunger and mistakenly run to food to satisfy thirst and hunger cues alike. A glass of water before a meal can help you decide you’re full when your body has had enough.
Goal: Have one (8oz) glass of water before each meal.
Size matters: Plate size, that is.
Here is a question of which came first- the chicken or the egg? Did our dishware sizes grow as a result of our appetites increasing, or have our appetites increased with our tendency to use oversized dishes? Either way, the sizes of our dishes influence the amount of food that we eat. Large plates and bowls encourage overeating.
This one is really simple- when you have the option of choosing a small or large plate to eat from, always choose a small plate. Whenever the possibility of using small plates and bowls exists, find them and use them. Cornell professor and author of Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink warns us of the influence of large dishes. It has nothing to do with being smart enough to avoid the psychological cues to overeating. There are hidden intake persuaders everywhere that we are not immune to, so we need to mindfully choose smaller sized dishes to avoid overindulging.
Goal: Choose (and seek out) smaller sized plates and bowls to eat from.
Out of sight, out of mind.
While we are on the topic of dishware, let’s also touch on serving dish transparency, another of Wansink’s clever considerations. To avoid overeating, avoid serving food in clear dishware. It’s that easy. The temptation to overeat will be greater when food is displayed in clear dishes (ie. clear bowls). The idea here is that when serving dishes are transparent and constantly reminding us of what goodies are inside, we are continuously tempted to indulge. On the other hand, when serving dishes are opaque/non-transparent and disguise contents from certain perspectives, we can avoid these constant reminders. So be sure to serve food (especially foods that you may want to eat moderately) in opaque dishes.
Goal: Stick to opaque serving dishes. Avoid transparent serving bowls and dishes.
Strategic seconds: Vegetables and protein only.
But how can we resist the urge to fill up these small plates to a large plate serving size? It’s Christmas. By all means, help yourself to seconds- but be exclusive. Be sure to only have seconds of the vegetable and protein (ie. meat, legumes etc.) dishes. We usually don’t meet the number of vegetable and fruit servings recommended in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, so this strategy will help increase our fruit and vegetable consumption. Protein intake is related to satiety (feeling full), so an extra helping of lean meat such as boneless, skinless turkey or chicken, beans or peas will help you reach the point of feeling satisfied and cue the end of your meal.
Chances are, if you decline seconds simply because you are not interested in more vegetables or meat, you are full and ready to stop eating.
Goal: If you go for seconds, choose only vegetables or protein (such as lean meat, legumes).
Tis the season of sharing: Desserts.
If your family is anything like mine, desserts are the most anticipated meal component. But after appetizers and entrée courses, when the red carpet is rolled out, the mere thought of eating dessert feels like the impossible dream. So, we “make space” for it-
as my uncle says. Remember- there is nothing wrong with sharing. With smaller dessert pieces in hand, you will be more inclined to take your time and savour each bite.
Goals: When you’re serving desserts, cut and serve them in halves for guests. When you’re eating desserts that are served whole, take half and share the other half with someone else.
Choose your favourites: Stick to the special, seasonal dessert items.
Returning to the idea of variety- an abundance of special (typically high fat, high sodium, high calorie) foods during the holiday season is almost always a given. Masses of appetizers, entrees, and desserts fill holiday event tables and light up our eyes- making us want everything. My advice here is to choose the special holiday desserts that you only see once a year- and take time enjoying every bite. Whether it’s a decadent chocolate cake that your wife makes once a year or a pie that no one but your aunt can replicate at Christmas, stick to the special, seasonal holiday desserts.
Avoid the chips that are thrown onto the table to get eaten up or the ice cream that you already have at home and don’t even particularly like. Moderate your intake from the delight category by not wasting time with boring everyday items that aren’t even worth it- and instead focus on one (or maybe two) pieces of a seasonal delicacy.
Goal: Choose special holiday desserts. Avoid convenient, everyday dessert items.
Share the wealth.
If you are hosting any of the functions that we discussed and would like to control the amount of holiday leftovers that you consume (particularly the higher fat, higher sodium, higher calorie items), one strategy would be to send your guests home with these foods so that you are not stuck with items that you may have trouble moderating.
If you do decide to keep some of the leftovers (which is perfectly fine), try practicing some of the strategies for avoiding overeating that were discussed above.
Goal: Send your guests home with food in an effort to moderate your own leftover intake.
Summary
To quickly review our new goals:
Office Challenge
Practice makes perfect! With our holiday party right around the corner, we have a great opportunity to practice some of the mindful goals that we created.
For example, as a team we can decide to provide the option of smaller sized dishes. Having a glass of water before our meal would also be simple to accomplish. Another office party goal could be to have desserts cut in half or at least have a knife handy (close to the dessert section) so that the option for having a half portion is more convenient.
Last but certainly not least: Enjoy! The aromas, flavours, emotions and each other…
Eat, drink, B-merry and B-mindful.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
