Food tips for these times of high stress

When it comes to food while hunkering down at home, a little prep can go a long way. Here are a few tips to help stay nourished and healthy.

Stick to planned meal and snack times
If you are at home throughout the day, you may have noticed the constant access to your pantry. Just because you have access to food all day doesn’t mean the kitchen is open all day. Write down your preferred meal/snack times and stick to them.

Spend this extra time cooking
Bringing more ingredients home instead of prepackaged, processed foods means you’ll be cooking more. Bring out the crockpot, or get some more use out of the Instant Pot gift. Use extra time at home for cooking.

Use cooking as daily activity for kids
What a great time to include kids — they need something to do. Include kids in the rituals of eating — setting the table, etc. Add in an extra baking session of homemade cookies. This is a much healthier alternative to store-bought cookies with unhealthy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup.

Cook in bulk
In the planning process, you may want to think about cooking in bulk, so that one cooking session leaves you with meals for several days. This can be very important if you are still going into your workplace and need to take meals with you. Think chili, soups, lasagnas, enchiladas, etc.

Think simple
It doesn’t need to be fancy. Pack a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread and piece of fruit if going to work.

Buy things you will eventually eat
We won’t be social distancing forever. When shopping, be mindful of staples that will last beyond this time. Think about whole-wheat dried noodles; jarred marinara sauce; canned tuna; no-sugar-added cereals like Cheerios; canned or frozen fruits and vegetables; and frozen meats and seafood.

Be prepared to make your own coffee and tea at home
Don’t forget honey, creamer, etc., for your at-home beverages.

Refrigerate your grains
Refrigerate breads, tortillas, buns, etc., to help them last.

Have sick-day items
Be sure to have the things you need if anyone gets sick — crackers, soups, sports drinks, pain relievers, etc.

Avoid snacks you can’t resist
This is not an excuse to eat large amounts of processed foods throughout the day. Avoid bringing snacks with low nutritional value into the house. Grab healthier snacks like microwave popcorn or baking items for an afternoon activity.

Carryout and delivery
Remember that carryout and delivery is still available, so plan ahead, think healthy and remember those whose jobs depend on you.

Limiting screen time can be good for everyone

With being quartined in our houses, there might an increase of screen time for everyone. It’s okay to watch TV or play video games, but there might need to be a daily time limit set in place. Here is where setting a daily routine is beneficial to everyone.

Have a list of activites that the family can do together or your kids can do on their own.

  • family game night
    • take turns picking out the game
  • 500-1,000 piece puzzle
  • play charades
  • walk the dog
  • explore a nearby park
  • take a family bike ride
  • turn on some music and dance
  • do chores that require some physical activity
    • Vacuuming
    • Putting toys away
    • Have them make their bed everyday
    • fold and put laundry away
    • load and unload dishwasher
    • wash and vacuum the car

Having a family calendar for the week with set times for TV and video games can keep everyone accountable. Try it out for a week and see how it goes. Maybe the following week needs some adjusting, add more activities that the family enjoyed doing together.

Scource: American Heart Association

Feel Good Friday!

The news has been fairly heavy lately & feel good stories seem to be few & far between.  Not today!  Click the image below to watch a quick video of a father/daughter duo making the most of their time together & having a ton of fun in the process.   🙂

Refresh with a yoga sesh

Whether you are missing your regular yoga sessions at the gym or you have never tried yoga, you are invited to join Stephanie Fish from Norton Sports Health for a video session of yoga. This workout is appropriate for any level of yoga experience and options are offered to modify movements to increase or decrease difficulty. Maybe take a towel or mat outside with your mobile device to enjoy some fresh air or move the coffee table over and set up in front of the television. Make it your time to refresh and get the blood flowing. Namaste.

Fun, easy recipe for kids!

Looking for a fun, easy recipe to try with kids? Check out this easy to make pizza dough. Click the picture of the pizza below to watch the video!

Two-ingredient pizza dough — makes one 10-inch pizza

– 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

– 1½ cups self-rising flour, plus more for kneading

Mix ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread flour on counter top and transfer. Knead dough.

Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray and spread dough out with hands until about 10 inches round.

Top with olive oil and your favorite toppings. Bake at 500 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.

Topping ideas
Margherita pizza: tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, plum tomato slices, basil and black pepper

Balsamic, ricotta and red onion pizza: ¼ cup tomato sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, ricotta cheese, red onion, salt and black pepper

Garden pesto pizza: pesto, shredded Italian cheese, zucchini and fire-roasted tomatoes

Having gratitude can be good for your health

Having posititve thoughts and a positive attitude throughout the day can boost our morale. If we focus too much on the negative or find something negative in everything we do, it only will bring us down. With Covid-19 being all we hear or talk about right now, lets focus more on us as we seem to have a little more time.

Take a few minutes each day to practice gratitude from the HEART, recommended by the American Heart Association.

1. Health: What did your body do for you today?

Did you know you take about eight million breaths a year? Your feet can take you up a mountain, your arms can hold someone you love. Take a minute to marvel at the finely tuned machinery of your body.

2. Eat: What did you feed your body to nourish yourself today?

Was it an old favorite, something you made, or something new and different? Did you eat fruits or vegetables? We comsume a lot of meals each year, each sitting is a new opportunity to fuel or bodies. Take a minute to reflect on what nourishment you comsumed.

3. Activity: What did you do that you really enjoyed today?

Did you get outside for a walk? Or try a home workout? Take a minute to think back on one particularly awesome moment.

4. Relationship: Who do you look forward to seeing?

Is it someone who sets your heart on fire, always has a smile for you, has your back, or makes you laugh until you cry? Take a minute to smile as you think about this special person.

5. Time: What are you doing right now?

Every single day you wake up with 24 brand new hours. The past is history, the future is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present! Take a minute to be thankful for the gift of time.

Scource: American Heart Association

Tell me something good!

Welcome to your random tidbit of good news for the day. 🙂 In today’s “Tell me something good” we explore the perception that the country is becoming a more dangerous and violent place each year. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crimes peaked in the mid-1990s and have since fallen dramatically! There’s no real consensus as to why it’s happened. Economists, sociologists, and political scientists disagree.

The perception of the public may be different, but the evidence is clear. We’re living in one of the least violent periods of American history.

Working from home? Free ergonomics webinar tomorrow

If you’re spending more time working at home right now, we want to make sure you have the right setup for spinal health and to limit aches and pains.

Now is the time to ensure your temporary at-home office is ergonomically correct. The term ergonomics applies to the relationship between workers and their environment, and involves arranging things in the environment so workers can use them safely and efficiently. Proper ergonomics in the workplace is the first step in reducing the likelihood of injuries.

Briotix, Norton Healthcare’s partner in workplace performance services, shares tips below that will keep you sitting up straight and getting through your self-isolation pain-free.

In addition, Briotix is offering a free 30-45 minute educational webinar to help you avoid potential injuries to your back, neck and wrists. The webinars will be Thursday, April 2 at 9 a.m. The webinar could fill up, so please register early. Click here to register.

This program is not mandatory in any way. However, the goal of this program is to help you achieve better health.

Kick off to National Walking Day

National Walking Day is TODAY, April 1st, celebrate this day of movement by getting up and takign a walk!

For anyone who is participating in Spring into Action and reaches 7,500 steps on April 1st will not only receive 1 point towards Step 4, but will get entered to win a Fitbit Inspire. Make sure your device is synced or manually enter your steps on NGoodHealth.com for that day. Five Spring into Action participants will win!

There is still time to sign-up Spring into Action, visit www.ngoodhealth.com to join the challenge.

Earn healthy action points for the 4 steps! 7,500 steps = 1 point!

Questions?
Contact N Good Health at (502) 629-2162 or submit a service request form on Nsite.

Feel stronger with this workout!

This total body workout from the Y @ Work team can be done just about anywhere with just your “self” and a chair, bench or stair.  Be sure to do the warmup movements to prepare your body for the work and look at the pictures for good form.  It will only take 20 to 25 minutes to perform these exercises.

By including strength movements like these with cardiovascular activities like walking, running and cycling you will increase your strength and endurance, feeling stronger and more energetic.  Do it for YOU!