Ellie Wilson
MS, RDN, CDN
How are you? We hope this finds you well, and that you will find some of the information shared here as the resource it is meant to be – an opportunity to nourish and nurture the health of your heart and mind, as we kick off February, nationally recognized as American Heart Month. Did you know, there is a “recipe” for enjoying delicious food that protects your heart health, and your brain function? You may not – we are all busy, stressed and focused on almost everything but what is for dinner. Please read on to see the “recipe” for a healthy life. Think of it as a “business case” to help you keep eating well on your plate as a priority. This business case is set up like a recipe, for good reason – how you eat over the course of your life is critical to all your efforts to have a happy life. If you think of your heart, mind, and health as something you own, that needs maintenance and care, and that nourishing food brings compounded benefits and “profit” over the course of your lifetime, you will create the foundation you and your family need to enjoy a healthy, happy life and the ability to reach your goals. Learn more about this recipe, and how we can help you make the best choices. We heart your heart!
Business Case:
Assets – Assets are the resources an entity uses to increase capacity, manage business, or otherwise generate value. In your community, your grocery store is an asset. Individually, we all have two primary assets:
1 Heart
– Beats 100,000 beats per day
-Beats 35 million beats per year.
-Beats about 2.5 billion times in your lifetime – your engine of health.
-Is protected and empowered by eating well, and being mindful of what we drink.
1 Brain
-Actively working 24 hours per day/every day of your life
-Has 100 billion neurons, 500 trillion synapses moving the molecules and electricity – your data manager of health.
-Powers thinking, seeing, moving, learning, creating, and storing memories, feelings and skills, supporting physical activity, and more.
-Is protected and empowered by eating well and being mindful of what we drink.
Favorite Recipe for a Healthy Life
Ingredients
-Family favorites and cultural foods that are familiar and good for you.
-Flavor-full – Herbs, spices, oils, and flavors that inspire joy and excitement.
-Plant-forward – Fresh, frozen and canned produce items.
-Powerful proteins – Diverse protein foods, including plants, seafood, dairy, poultry and lean pork and beef.
-Food and nutrition information, education and if needed, medical nutrition care to empower a health life, plate by plate, bite by bite.
To Prepare:
Find – wonderful recipes at Healthy Eating, American Heart Association
Shop – smart, including using Price Chopper, Know Your Colors and My Plate to choose foods and meals that make eating well easy.
Choose – colorful, delicious produce, and include them in most of your meals and snacks. Each time you eat, make at least half of your meal or snacks fruits and vegetables. The nutrients, vitamins and minerals in produce help your body manage blood pressure, maintain flexible arteries, protect your kidney function, and provide antioxidants to support cell and brain health.
Add – powerful, savory, satiating protein foods to fuel growth in children, healthful weight for all, and strong immune systems.
Mix – with your favorite family foods, along with low or no salt seasonings,
Enjoy – All foods, including treats, in servings that allow you to eat well, with your heart in mind!
Diabetes - Shopping Well On A Budget
Ellie Wilson
MS, RD Senior Nutritionist
Everyone is on a budget, which impacts most purchases, including the food we buy. For those managing diabetes, smart food choices are recognized as key to overall wellness. Balancing the budget and balancing health is possible, with a few insights and a little planning.
Planning is the first hurdle – everyone is so busy; we find it easy to ignore the concept. However, most of us plan “accidentally” – we have a set routine for meals/foods we eat throughout the week, as well as typical items we buy or prepare for lunch, dinner and snacks. It changes seasonally – salads in summer, with meat on the grill, soup in the fall and winter, as well as air fryer/Instant Pot or slow cooker meals. The first step to planning is just putting your “usuals’ down on paper, with dollar amounts you usually spend (or the budget amount you are trying to stick to!) Then, determine if there are a few tweaks you can make to put better-for-you in the basket on your budget.
It may be tough to find a good starting place. If you have diabetes, or are at risk, personalized nutrition care from a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist (RDN) is the gold standard. If you haven’t seen a dietitian in the last year, consider getting a referral from your healthcare provider. Your health needs change over time, along with research and food items available, medications – make it personal “policy” to meet with the RDN at least once per year. Check your grocery store for nutrition information and resources – like the Know Your Colors nutrition guides at Price Chopper/Market 32, and the Diabetes AdvantEdge program Diabetes AdvantEdge program at the store pharmacies. Food and medications are increasingly important to health and care, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the resources your grocery store offers.
Tips and Hacks
Hate to cook on Monday? A Price Chopper Rotisserie Chicken could be a problem-solver. Serve with a scoop of frozen broccoli microwaved with a small potato – done, healthy, fast, and cheap. Both the frozen broccoli (as well as any other frozen vegetable or fruit) and the potato are smart/budget-buster choices for eating well.
Breakfast is essential to blood sugar management. Eggs are an inexpensive source of good protein, and easy to mix up with leftover/frozen vegetables for an omelet. Like toast with that? Check the shelf tag or online for Carb Smart choices and read labels to be sure they meet your needs. Carb Smart, Low Sodium, Heart Smart and more tags can be found on the shelf and online – you can plan your smart shopping in a snap. Enjoy eating well when you shop at Price Chopper and Market 32!