Healthier Living Thread Part IV

Zoe--good for your mom. It gives me hope that someday I'll have the education I'd like to get, too. And it's nice to know that sanity isn't the *only* option . Good job on your pants. It feels so free to work out in shorts after the long pants of winter. I've got this pair of flowered shorts that is so cute and comfortable, but I only wear it when I run in the dark because they're a little flashy and a little short

Tweety--good job on your workouts. Good exercise, good food and good sleep . . . it doesn't get much better than that :) I bet you do feel great!

Blue--I'm glad things are dryer at your house. I have a friend who LOVES the laundromat. She gets rolls of quarters at the bank on payday and takes a week's worth of clothes down to the laundromat and gets the job done in a couple of hours. She makes me laugh--but it works for her! I'm glad you enjoyed your lunch.

Sarah--it's fun to be in meetings with nurses, isn't it? Cream soup on salad? It actually sounds pretty good although I don't think I would have come up with the idea. I think I'll try it, though.

Gardendove--good going on the Lenten "diet". I should give up sugar, but it seemed too hard. You should've carried your graduated cylinder with carrot juice in it down the hospital hall wearing a concerned look while walking quickly--I bet people would have jumped out of your way

Hi again. I just made a bunch of fresh carrot juice and am drinking some instead of a second cup of coffee. I have a quart set to take to work, along with spirulina. I happen to like the taste of spirulina, but it's appearance seemed to shock my co-workers.

As far as the vegetarian thing, I'm going to see how my daughters take to it and maybe we'll go more in that direction after Lent. I was vegetarian years ago. They don't seem to be having any problem with it.

I also made a wheatgerm, ground nut, ground flaxseed mix with raisens and put it in a tupperware container. When I get to work I can just add milk and have a healthy cereal. I'm really feeling much better since starting this health regieme.

I find that my workplace only pays lip service to healthy living, unfortunately. They keep a candy drawer well stocked and the employee development nurse who does all the inservice ed stuff, who is morbidly obese with terrible health habits, is constantly handing out unhealthy treats. It's her way of being nice, but I'd like to see the hospital encourage us to develop healthy eating habits, not constantly tempt us with unhealthy snacks.

... my brother is coming in from out of town today, only here for a little over 24 hours before he heads home.

Is he staying with you? If so, good thing the toilet is fixed!!

Good morning everyone. I have been on an end of winter, Lenten clean up my act health program here and thought I should join this thread....

Yesterday I arrived at work with fresh carrot juice and spirulina for my breakfast, which of course became the subject of many humorous comments. So, I put it in a graduated cilender and pretended I was drinking some sort of gross bilous bodily fluid. I don't think I will live it down so I might as well do the same today.

GD, this is great that you are doing this for yourself, and setting a good example as well!

Now what is spirulina? If it's that much like bile, you could put it in a (CLEAN!) suction cannister and go to "change" it, and drink the contents in front of some unsuspecting victim ... lol (similar to the "apple juice in the clean urinal" trick)

I have a friend who LOVES the laundromat. She gets rolls of quarters at the bank on payday and takes a week's worth of clothes down to the laundromat and gets the job done in a couple of hours

Actually I DO enjoy going to the laundrymat, once I get my stuff to the car!! It takes two-two and a half hours whether I have 1 load or 8.

... "What is that???"

Yep, I am guilty of "what is that"itis as well...

... I'd like to see the hospital encourage us to develop healthy eating habits, not constantly tempt us with unhealthy snacks.

I worked on a chem. dependency unit for a couple years - the Med director would bring us HUGE boxes of donuts and pastries - kind of ironic don't you think?

*3 Ways to Dress Your Veggies

Your veggies don't like to be naked. And what couture do they prefer? Try a little healthful-fat finery.

A bit of unsaturated fat can help your body better absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in your vegetables. Here are three different looks to try:

1. Skip the fat-free ranch dressing. Instead, toss your greens with an olive-oil-based dressing like balsamic vinaigrette.

2. Make your fat crunchy. Season peppers, corn, carrots, or squash with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and then top with slivered almonds or toasted sesame seeds.

3. Go Thai. Create this Spicy Peanut Sauce for dipping lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower . . .

In a recent study, people who tossed their salads with a dressing that had some fat in it absorbed more carotenoids from the vegetables than the people who used a nonfat dressing.

Carotenoids are potent antioxidants found in brightly hued produce -- think red, orange, and yellow. But the small intestine needs a little fat to absorb these power nutrients. So do several other fat-soluble vitamins, including: * Vitamin E (found in spinach and broccoli)

* Vitamin K (found in cabbage, cauliflower, and turnip greens)

* Vitamin D (found in some fish and in fortified dairy)

When you're dressing your veggies, remember the Brylcreem jingle: "A little dab'll do ya." You can nearly undo all the good in veggies by turning them into high-calorie, high-fat side dishes. So don't drown them in sauces and oils. Think lightweight summer ensembles -- a little dribble of olive oil on a sliced tomato or a smattering of chopped walnuts on your spinach salad. Or a bit of Thai peanut sauce on your steamed broccoli. Check out this spicy peanut sauce recipe below.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter

2 tablespoons "lite" coconut milk

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl until smooth.

Per tablespoon: 50 calories; 4 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 0 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 0 g fiber; 97 mg sodium.

from

http://www.realage.com/news_features/tip.aspx?v=1&cid=17738

Gardendove, my employer seems to have quit their wellness programs and doesn't even pay lip service. They give the people what they want. What the employees line up for are burgers, frieds, fried chicken fingers. We do have a nice salad bar. We used to get incentives and discounts on insurance for being the right weight, having vitals signs WNL, etc. but don't do that anymore.

I think we, as health care workers, should do our best to role model good health habits and that the hospital should support us in our efforts. I remember, years ago, one of my sons was tranfered to Loma Linda hospital down in Calif after an accident. They are an Adventist run hospital and they appeared to walk the health talk there, judging from their vegetarian cafeteria menu.

I worked on a chem. dependency unit for a couple years - the Med director would bring us HUGE boxes of donuts and pastries - kind of ironic don't you think?

I think so.

*3 ways to dress your veggies

your veggies don't like to be naked. and what couture do they prefer? try a little healthful-fat finery.

a bit of unsaturated fat can help your body better absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in your vegetables. here are three different looks to try:

1. skip the fat-free ranch dressing. instead, toss your greens with an olive-oil-based dressing like balsamic vinaigrette.

2. make your fat crunchy. season peppers, corn, carrots, or squash with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and then top with slivered almonds or toasted sesame seeds.

3. go thai. create this spicy peanut sauce for dipping lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower . . .

http://www.realage.com/news_features/tip.aspx?v=1&cid=17738

thank you, those suggestions are great and the thai sauce sounds really good! i love slivered almonds on top of green beans. something about the crunch is very satisfying.

gardendove, my employer seems to have quit their wellness programs and doesn't even pay lip service. they give the people what they want. what the employees line up for are burgers, frieds, fried chicken fingers. we do have a nice salad bar. we used to get incentives and discounts on insurance for being the right weight, having vitals signs wnl, etc. but don't do that anymore.

tweety you are right. people say they want healthy food but don't actually buy it enough for employers to profit from it. what do you think would happen if they just got rid of all the fried and greasy stuff? and just offered grilled foods, salads, and sandwiches? i think they would buy it. then again maybe they'd all start going out for lunch:mad: .

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