Ocean Companies Safety Tip of the Week – Eating Healthy
Eating Healthy
When you say “Diet” most people think weight loss. Diet is actually just what you eat every day. You can change your diet to lose weight, gain weight or just to get healthier. The diet you eat may determine if you develop chronic disease or remain healthy. Most of the people I know usually skip breakfast; grab something quick and easy for lunch, maybe a burrito or chicken out of the deli; and dinner is pretty much a full plate. In between all this are bags of chips and sodas or numerous cups of coffee.
What’s wrong with this picture?
You start the day running, on no fuel and end it by fueling up when you’re shutting your engine down. Unlike a car or a boat, that fuel changes while you sleep and does not keep you going the next day Most of the foods are high in sugar or fat and salt. And I hear people all the time tell me caffeine doesn’t affect their sleep. People who don’t get the proper amount of sleep will usually pack on the pounds. Caffeine is fine in moderation but over doing it, more that 3 or 4 cups (24 to 32 ounces) of coffee or soda, really does affect your sleep pattern.
“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”
Quote by Adelle Davis
Studies have been done and we tend to ignore them. Students do better in school and workers do better at work if they have had a good breakfast. Feed your body, feed your brain. It makes sense to start your day with a good breakfast so you have the energy to help your brain function at full capacity. What makes a good breakfast? According to http://www.eatright.org/ by the American Dietetic Association you can “Power Up with Breakfast” by eating things like the following:
- Make plain instant oatmeal with milk instead of water. Mix in raisins or dried cranberries. Top with walnuts. (for those of you who don’t like fish, walnuts are high in Omega3 oil)
- Layer low fat yogurt with your favorite crunchy (low sugar of course) cereal and sliced fruit or berries.
- Mix up a breakfast smoothie in the blender with low-fat milk (if you use soy, watch how much sugar and fat is in it) frozen strawberries and a banana.
- Buy a good whole-grain cereal (read the portion size on the box!) and top a bowl of it with sliced peaches and blueberries. Add low-fat milk and your good to go!
- Top a whole-grain toaster waffle with low-fat yogurt and fruit.
- Spread a low carb tortilla with peanut butter. Add a whole small banana and roll it up.
- Add lean ham and low-fat Swiss cheese to a toasted whole-grain English muffin.
- Break out of the norm and try almond butter on a toasted whole-grain bagel with apple slices.
- Take a half cup of left over white or brown rice, mix in some low-fat yogurt, dried chopped fruit and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Now those may not seem like breakfast for a king, but they are quick, easy and packed with the nutrients your body needs to get going.
If you pack your lunches the night before, or maybe spend a little time on the weekend preparing your lunches, you can make delicious, healthy lunches that keep you energized and your brain working more efficiently without succumbing to the desire of wanting instant food. The following ideas for healthy lunches come from http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/healthy-lunch-ideas-work/ and most are very easy to prepare:
- Soup and a sandwich made with low-fat meat and/or cheese (such as ham, turkey, tuna packed in water, etc.) and bring soup. If you buy the soup, watch for sodium content. There are many soups out there now that you can pop the lid off and stick in the microwave. However, soup is very easy to make and packing a serving of homemade soup to warm up at work is a very comforting thing.
- Peanut butter and banana sandwich. You can put this on good whole-grain bread or wrap it in a low carb tortilla.
- Put a good tuna or chicken salad in a container and bring some large lettuce leaves to have a delicious bunch of lettuce wraps. Eat a string cheese with it, or add it to the wrap.
- For an easy cheese quesadilla take a low carb tortilla, lightly brush one side with olive oil, fill one half of the un-oiled side with cheese and grill it, folding it in half. This can be warmed up in the microwave at work. Throw in a selection of crunchy veggies of all colors, such as: Baby carrots; cucumbers; broccoli; cauliflower; zucchini; red, yellow, orange, and green bell peppers; and etc. and take an assortment.
- Hummus and veggies from the list above or add some other favorites.
- Leftovers are the most affordable lunch, since we usually end up throwing a lot of leftovers away each year, bringing them to work save you from throwing good food away as well as keeping you from spontaneously spending money on a high fat and sodium fast food lunch.
- Frozen meals. Despite the negative stigma attached to them, there are really some good options to choose from. Just make sure you read the nutritional information on the meals to make sure they are meeting your nutritional needs and are not full of things you don’t need.
- Salad is always a good choice and there are so many kinds to choose from. You can make a roasted veggie salad with grilled chicken and light vinaigrette, mixed greens with dried cranberries and walnuts (also good with grilled chicken), you can add low-fat grated cheese, etc. the possibilities are endless. Be very careful of the dressings you use and how much you put on it, they can be filled with fat.
Now you have had a “Power Up” breakfast and a healthy lunch, now we are going to talk about healthy dinners and we will finish up with some good snacking ideas.
- Beer battered fish tacos with a fresh made salsa, maybe add avocado to the mix.
- Chili rubbed steak.
- Light homemade soup, such as chicken broth with cubed grilled chicken and spinach or other vegie of your choice.
- Lettuce wraps filled with leftover cooked meat and low fat grated cheese.
- Take a pita or a tortilla and spread some marinara or alfredo sauce on it and add grilled chicken and chopped fresh basil and top with thin sliced mozzarella and broil it until the cheese melts.
Snacks are a must. You should eat within an hour of waking and never go more than 3 hours without food. Just remember, watch your portions or you will pack on the pounds. Your body and mind will thank you.
- A quarter cup Nuts. Nuts contain protein and fiber that help fight hunger pangs, as well as almonds contain vitamin E, walnuts omega3 oils, peanuts contain folate (a B vitamin) and niacin.
- 5 olives, any kind
- 1 hearty multi-grain cracker spread with hummus (maybe add a slice of avocado)
- Carrot sticks and a quarter cup hummus
- Cucumber slices
- Black bean salsa and celery sticks
- Celery sticks and cheese spread or peanut butter
- 1 oz. mozzarella cheese and a half cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- Apple slices and peanut butter
How and what you eat will determine how you feel, both physically and mentally, Eating foods high in fats will slow you down, high in sugar will pick you up for a little while, but will leave you more tired than when you started and too much caffeine will keep you from a good night sleep and people who don’t get enough sleep tend to gain weight. Even if you only replace some of your less healthy foods with better choices you gain in health. If you take nothing else from this article I hope you eat your breakfast.
Sources: The importance of Breakfast, EatRight.org, Healthy Lunch Ideas for Work
– Cherie
