Finding Enjoyment

Healthy eating is only part of the story. To lead a healthy life you also need to include regular physical activity.

"Health Canada recommends building 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity into daily life for adults and at least 90 minutes a day for children and youth." Start slowly and work your way up.

As with weight, I tell people not to compare themselves to others. People come in all shapes and sizes and people find enjoyment in all kinds of activities. I work with people to create lifelong changes and the same applies to physical activity. Find something that you enjoy so that you are more likely to stick with it. This might mean that you have to try a few new things before you find enjoyment, but then you will start to look forward to it. Grab a friend or family member and plan activities together.

Healthy eating combined with regular physical activity will help you feel better and have more energy!

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Warm up with some Lentil Soup

It's been so cold lately that it makes me want soup. I tried this recipe from about.com a little while ago because I had some dried lentils around the house. I had never made lentil soup and I thought it was pretty good. I also like it because it includes simple ingredients which most people can find in their own cupboards on a regular basis. I am conscious of the high salt/sodium in most soups available today, so when I made it I used fairly dilute chicken stock (I used 1.5 oxo cubes for 4 cups of water). Try it out to get some meat alternatives into your day!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot sliced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• dash salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

In a large pot, sautee the onions and carrot in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes until onions turn clear.

Add the vegetable broth, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and salt.

Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice before serving. Makes 4 servings of lentil soup.

Steph Wheler

www.nutrishus.com

How is 2011 going?

We are now settling into the year 2011. Many people like to set resolutions for a new year, but they are often unrealistic and hard to stick to. Did you set a resolution or a goal to start the year? If you are struggling to meet your goals, Something Nutrishus Counselling & Coaching, can help you set specific, realistic goals that you can achieve through small steps.

If you haven't set a goal, but are interested in educating yourself on nutrition and healthy eating there are many places to look for information. Make sure you read from reliable, credible sources with experts who have legitimate educational backgrounds and research to back their claims.

If you don't know what you know about nutrition, you can take this short quiz from the Globe and Mail for a little bit of fun (well I think nutrition is fun!).

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Strengths

I've recently become very interested in finding out more about my strengths. Through my work I was able to attend Landmark Forum and begin to think more deeply about my life. As a dietitian I am always striving to eat healthy, as a former athlete and active individual I am always striving to improve my physical performance, as someone who practices yoga I am always working on inner peace. It seems that many of the choices I make are aimed at being the best me I can be! I am the person who applies sunscreen so I don't burn, who goes to bed when I'm tired - I make a lot of choices to try to be a healthy me. I feel that this also involves my mind. I read a lot of nutrition books, I read some books for fun, but I also read personal development books. I've been reading more about management lately too.

At the Landmark Forum we had to think about our strong suits - the person we are without even thinking about it. This was an interesting realization, because I knew right away that one of mine would be my competitive nature. I always hear stories about being competitive as a child, I know that I hate to lose, and I also know that it helped me through my great athletic career. When I came home from the Forum, I read First Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. The theme of the book is more on management and learning the strengths of the people around you. The idea that I like is that the book focuses on developing an individual's strengths, rather than focusing on weaknesses the way we tend to.

I then went on to complete StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath to find out my own strengths. As mentioned earlier, one of my top five talents was competition! Then in order to better understand my strengths I started and am currently reading Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. I enjoyed learning my strengths so much that I gave StrengthsFinder 2.0 as a Christmas gift this year. It seems to me that the more I know about myself, such as my strengths, the more I can continue to develop myself in a successful way.

This is the time of year when many people start setting resolutions. I've never been much for resolutions and as a dietitian I would rather see people set SMART goals as opposed to resolutions that often just set them up for failure. I think along with the theme of a new year and a better me/you, it would be a great idea to do some personal development. Maybe you aren't interested in your strengths, but what are you interested in? Take time to become a better you as you prepare for 2011!

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Vitamin Water - RD Perspectives

I often receive questions about Vitamin Waters when I am doing sport nutrition presentations. They are becoming more widely available and more people are reaching for them. All too often people are looking for a quick fix rather than turning their life around to create life-long healthy habits. If you eat a well balanced, varied diet you are likely getting the vitamins and minerals that you need from their source. It's important to remember that more isn't always better and vitamins and minerals do have upper limits.

Check out this article in Flare magazine for more information.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Homemade Hot Cocoa

I love making things from scratch. It lets you have control over the ingredients and I have been known to modify a recipe or two. I came across this comparison of instant hot chocolate and homemade hot cocoa on the Health Castle website, so I thought I would share. When it gets cold outside I know I like to curl up with a warm drink.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Perfect Plate Prize!

Tell me what your favourite plate of food consists of. I'm not just looking for a favourite food or recipe, but what would be included in the entire meal.

Once you start following the Something Nutrishus blog and submit your favourite plate, you'll be entered to win a Dietitians of Canada Simply Great Food cookbook!
Steph Wheler www.nutrishus.com