Activate Good is located in Raleigh and offers volunteer opportunities around the Triangle. That are affiliated with hundreds of local nonprofit organizations to provide volunteers for the local charity events and programs.
Mark your calendar for April 23-29, which is national volunteer week!
I love TED talks! This one spoke to me because of the touching story and the wonderful message explaining how our spoken and unspoken words lead to actions that lead to our destiny. Powerful stuff.
“All too often our lives can be spread too thin and it becomes important to gather our thoughts and center ourselves to become whole again.” -Madison Taylor
If you don’t think you like beets, I am guessing you have not tried them roasted. This is a simple, delicious, and nutritious side dish (or dessert if you’re weird like me!).
In honor of Heart Health month, every Wednesday in February we are talking about whole grains because of their connection to good heart health. If you missed the first post do check out: Not all carbs are bad: whole grains and heart health part 1
Last week I challenged the notion that all carbs were bad and should be avoided. It is just not true. Whole grains have powerful health benefits and it is not just because of the fiber. They contain various phytochemicals that protect and fight against heart disease and diabetes.
There are many whole grain options to choose from. So, don’t limit yourself to whole wheat bread, crackers, and cereal. I CHALLENGE YOU to try something new and less processed. Pick any of the following grains to try this weekend. Notice there are 7 gluten-free whole grains below for those who need to avoid gluten for health reasons.
What do I eat it with? The easiest way, in my opinion, to start eating new whole grains is to prepare them plain and add then use them as a base for a salad or a “power bowl.” Start with a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of whole grains in a bowl and then top with your favorite veggies and protein. Lastly, drizzle with a dressing and voila! Simple and delish!
We can shift the world through love, but we must have love in our own hearts first. -Daily Om
Recently, Kristen and I read Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, which is about understanding shame, embracing vulnerability, and ‘enoughness.’
At Well-Balanced Nutrition, we see folks, mostly women, at all different parts of their wellness journey. Last week, I saw a young woman who had lost nearly 50 lbs three years ago and maintained her weight loss until recently. She put on 5 lbs after starting a new relationship and “getting more liberal,” in her eating habits. She came to see me about losing the weight after spending all of January following her healthy diet (with no change on the scale… frustrating!).
Shortly thereafter, a good friend explained her own dissatisfaction with “those last 3 pounds she couldn’t lose,” and proceeded to berate herself for eating a handful of M&Ms.
While reading Daring Greatly, I kept thinking of all my loved ones and how much I wanted them to read this book too. It’s so easy to get swept up in feeling inadequate, shameful, or unwanted. Our basic human desires are to belong and all too often that is tied to our body weight, shape or pants size. The story we tell ourselves is if those numbers don’t match the societal or our personal expectations then we’re not good enough. As Kristen put it, “We all fight the voices that tell us, if only I had ____, I would be _____. You can fill in the blanks.”
Wow. It’s February! How did that happen? I don’t know about you but it really snuck up on me. Seems like it was just New Years Day. Well, here we are in February and today is #WearRedDay for heart health awareness. Yay! Which brings me to my first of today’s favorites.
Favorite Heart Health Awareness Video: Sometimes women, myself included, care for everyone else while ignoring their own needs. If we aren’t putting our mask on first – our efforts to help others can be completely sabotaged. It’s not until we can love and care for ourselves, that we can truly do the same for others.
Favorite Heart Healthy Dessert: Sometimes fruit just doesn’t cut it and we need a little chocolate in our lives. I love that Trish at Mom on Time Out made these brownies without oil or butter so they are low in saturated fat. I would take it a step further and try this with almond flour or whole wheat pastry flour and opt for dark chocolate chips to increase the fiber, protein and antioxidant level.
Favorite quote this week: If you follow along you know that we don’t encourage regular calorie counting at Well Balanced Nutrition. When you embrace more natural foods and adopt a healthy mindset around eating it’s just not necessary. So when I came across this, I was nodding my head in complete agreement.
I hope you all have a fun and healthy weekend doing what you love with people you love.
Carbs get a bad rap. Many people are eliminating them, assuming they might be intolerant to them or just plain writing them off as evil. Poor carbs, they are so misunderstood.
Carbs (short for carbohydrates) come from many sources both natural and processed, such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, peas, corn, fruit, sugar, honey, beans, etc, etc.
This month I want to highlight one group of nutritious, delicious “carbs” and shine light on how eating them can actually HELP us. Whole grains, like brown rice, oats, wheat, barley, and rye are good for your heart. Research indicates that eating whole instead of refined grains substantially lowers total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin levels.
So don’t write off all carbs. Whole grains are complex carbohydrates worth keeping (or adding) to your diet. This begins a 4 part series on whole grains in honor of Heart Health month. We will define them, give examples, talk about how much and why they are worth including in your diet. First, let’s define them..
What does whole grain really mean?
In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains are the entire seed of a plant. This seed (also called a “kernel”) is made up of three key edible parts –the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Whole grains that make it to the shelves or your plate still contain all three parts of the kernel. On the other hand, grains that have been refined in processing are missing the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm. Without the bran and germ, about 25% of a grain’s protein is lost, and are greatly reduced in at least seventeen key nutrients.
When you think of whole grains, the most popular ones might come to mind such as whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. I challenge you to think beyond these staples, though. So many more whole grains are out there and available for your enjoyment.
So after making through the holidays without gaining a pound (!) the next 2 weeks proved to be more challenging. I gained a couple pounds – which Lucy told me was actually very normal. But here’s the great part – I knew which of my choices were problematic and I knew I was probably going to keep stress-eating for another few days. As often as possible, I made the right decision – clean eating, proper portion size, and more exercise. Sure enough, after another week I was back down to my pre-holiday weight and feeling much less stressed out.
Despite having eaten poorly for a couple weeks, one week back on track and my weight was back down and actually a smidge lower. I realized that all these months of eating properly had set me up to go right back to my new weight. Because I didn’t continue stress-eating, my weight didn’t continue going up. Like Lucy says “don’t make it up, make it back”. Rather than over-react to my slight weight gain, I just went back to what I know are the right choices for me and by golly, it worked!
Lucy has been saying for years if you want to lose weight, track what you eat. So last May I finally decided to get serious about dealing my pants size creeping up. She suggested Weight Watchers and I gave it a try.
Tracking my food was a pain but worth it. I learned so much about what I thought was healthy vs. what really is healthy for my body. It was not fun at first giving up things I love like bread, French fries and double-stuffed Golden Oreos but the results were worth it. I lost 15 pounds in 6 months but more importantly learned how to maintain the results.
Food for thought:
There’s no such thing as dieting. Every day you wake up and engage in your daily diet. Food choices are a lifestyle. Are you making the choices that will give you the lifestyle you know you’re capable of?
Favorite hiking trail in the triangle: Company Mill Loop at Umstead Park
If you’ve been following, you already know I’m addicted to walking, hiking, and playing in the woods! It’s probably my favorite pastime and often where I get inspired to write these lovely blog posts. About 7 years ago I was introduced to Umstead State Park and quickly adopted the Company Mill Loop as my “training hike” for backpacking excursions. This trail is moderate in difficulty with some beautiful views along the water. The entire loop is 5.8 miles, so be sure to bring plenty of water and maybe a well-balanced snack.
I have to admit something, I’m not really an app person; however, this one is worth sharing! A wonderful client of mine brought it to my attention and here’s why does what they say about their free product:
“Happy Scale will use fancy math behind the scenes to give you insights into how quickly you’re losing weight and when you’ll achieve your goals!
Also, you know that feeling of disappointment when you step on the scale and discover that in spite of how hard you worked, your weight barely changed? Well, Happy Scale will help you change your relationship with the scale because you’ll see your trend line moving down, slowly but surely, even when your scale won’t budge.”
Quinoa is my favorite no-plan-nutritious-meal base. I make a quinoa bowl by heating the pre-made whole grain and topping it with whatever leftover or steamer veggies are in the freezer. Then comes the protein! That may be a piece of fish, 2 fried eggs, chicken, or cheese.
Favorite quinoa recipe: A Delicious Kale-Quinoa Bowl in 20-minutes
This vegetable-lover dish can be enjoyed by the meat eaters in your family as a nutrient-packed side dish to accompany any baked, grilled, or slow-cooked creation.
I love TED talks! Have you discovered these amazing short videos that will inspire, educate, and entertain you for minutes (or hours if you go on a video binge!)? I just got done watching “How to get stuff done when you are depressed” by Jessica Gimeno, which has nothing to do with today’s topic EXCEPT that she has a very good point… We must be proactive, not reactive, in order to be our happiest and healthiest selves.
We know making healthy food choices is a heck of a lot easier when you have the right foods available. This was best demonstrated to me by Dyana, in Chapel Hill, who excitedly showed me her treasure box of snacks last summer. Many people have a drawer, locker, or secret stash of snacks at the office, but what I discovered at Dyana’s desk was unlike any treasure box I have ever seen.
Dyana keeps a collection of usual suspects, such as peanut butter to curb a sweet tooth moment and hot sauce for flavoring her meals at work. However, what Dyana keeps for her afternoon snacks includes smoked oysters, sardines in olive oil, and barbecued octopus! These may not sound like delicious options to you, but I offer the thought that these protein rich shelf-stable choices help keep her appetite under control, provide energy, and reduce the 4 PM sugar crash. Also, they are not the typical granola bar, fun sized candy, or other simple carbs that offer minimal nutritional value and typically leave us hungry within an hour.
Here are a few other Well-Balanced (and more widely preferred) ideas to create you ownyummy healthy treasure box:
Single serving tuna pack
Trail mix (almonds + Craisins = my favorite)
Bean dip, yes, it’s salty but offers some protein and fiber to fill the void
Fruit cups, in its own juice
Beef jerky
Sunflower seeds
Food for thought:
There are SO many options for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Before you reach for the same old crackers or bar, first decide “Am I really hungry?” Then, see if there’s a more balanced option in your treasure box!
“…if we want freedom from perfectionism, we have to make the long journey from “what will people think” to I am enough.” -Brene Brown
I’ve admitted before that I’m a recovering perfectionist and I’ve explained that Well Balanced eating is far from perfect. Today, I share with you why we should not strive for perfection when it comes to our bodies.
Perfectionism, not to be confused with self-improvement or striving for excellence, is a never ending struggle to please everyone in order to avoid discomfort. As Brene Brown defines it, perfectionism is a belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgement, and blame.
Body shaming is when we tell ourselves we are not good enough unless we have the perfect stomach, the perfect butt or the perfect hair. And if we don’t feel good enough, we tend to judge other people for not being perfect. Then when we are feeling bad about ourselves we blame someone or something for our imperfections.
What we must realize is that our worthiness does not have anything to do with what our bodies look like. I’ve battled with body shame recently, feeling too small and not girly enough. I’m not saying this for pity and definitely not to be judged, but to help us all understand that it is normal for us to feel a little uncomfortable about our bodies. We all fight the voices that tell us, if only I had ____, I would be _____. You can fill in the blanks.
It’s not that we can’t enjoy wearing make-up to feel beautiful or go to the gym to get a fitter body. The trouble is when we start associating our worth with those things.
Your homework: Listen to your inner critic and pay close attention to how much you believe and internalize the things she tells you. It’s important to be mindful of negative feelings but then to let them go, rather than clinging on to the negativity. When you hear your inner voice say things that you would never say to your daughter or your best friend, it is time to replace those thoughts with, “I am enough.”
Happy Friday. What a week. Starting with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and ending in inauguration day it feels like an emotionally charged time for us all. Yes some people may be spreading fear and negativity, but I will personally choose to hold on tight to Barack and Michelle’s message of hope and love, not fear. And I’m seeing a lot of other people do the same. It’s easier said than done because we all get uncomfortable with change and the unknown. Just like many other things in life, if we hold on tight to each other, love with all our hearts, and practice self-compassion we will make the very best it, no matter what happens.
Favorite Inspiring quotes:
Lead by example with hope; never fear. – Michelle Obama
Favorite Paint Color: Upward. We are giving our office space a little face lift this weekend and I’m so excited to see the final result. Upward is a beautiful combination of light blue, silver and gray. I think the name just makes it that much better… this year we are looking upward and moving upward.
My new favorite paint color.
Favorite Recipe that I haven’t tried: Salmon Cakes by Tessamae’s
It is totally not my style but for some reason I am excited about this recipe to offer a bit of variety in our weekly menu.
In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains are the entire seed of a plant. This seed (also called a “kernel”) is made up of three key edible parts –the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. Whole grains that make it to the shelves or your plate still contain all three parts of the kernel. On the other hand, grains that have been refined in processing are missing the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm. Without the bran and germ, about 25% of a grain’s protein is lost, and are greatly reduced in at least seventeen key nutrients.
New Favorite app: 
Dyana keeps a collection of usual suspects, such as peanut butter to curb a sweet tooth moment and hot sauce for flavoring her meals at work. However, what Dyana keeps for her afternoon snacks includes smoked oysters, sardines in olive oil, and barbecued octopus! These may not sound like delicious options to you, but I offer the thought that these protein rich shelf-stable choices help keep her appetite under control, provide energy, and reduce the 
