Healthy Monday: Avoid Deprivation Disaster

Don’t try to abstain from your guilty pleasures during the holidays! Learning how to balance your favorite foods will help you maintain your weight without feeling cheated. The key is portions: reduce your serving size of calorie-dense foods and fill your plate with high fiber fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains.

Enjoy a tempting food this week by planning ahead and keeping portions small. You can easily mix vegetables in with your favorite entree, start your meal with a large salad or add fruit to a bite or two of your favorite dessert. Take time this Monday to brainstorm solutions for your next party or get together.

For more tips on staying healthy, visit http://www.mondaycampaigns.org.

Healthy Monday: Make it a Family Affair

When parents eat healthfully, so does the rest of the family!

If children are exposed to a variety of nutritious foods at a young age, better options become the obvious choice.

Kids who are allowed to participate in the selection and preparation of healthy meals are more likely to try and enjoy the finished product.

Be a role model this week by trying an assortment of nutritious foods with your family.
Let The Kids Cook Monday boost their culinary skills and encourage family time and discussion.

Healthy Monday: Harness Whole Health

Nutrients are most heavily concentrated when foods are in their natural state.

Though many processed foods have health claims on the box, whole foods usually offer more antioxidants, fiber and essential vitamins. Plus, processed foods pack unhealthy extras like sugar, fat, sodium and other additives.

Purify your diet this week by choosing whole foods over more processed options; replace apple- sauce with sliced apples, choose baked potato wedges with olive oil over French fries, or opt for whole grain oats over packaged granola bars.

Healthy Monday: De-stress Through Diet

While food isn’t a cure-all when it comes to stress, what you consume has the potential to affect your body.

Alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods can contribute to mood changes, excessive stress, and blood sugar disruption.

Foods rich in the vitamin B complex, on the other hand, may help you stabilize your mood and avoid stress, while those rich in antioxidants may help combat the free radicals released when your body’s stressed.

If you feel stressed this week, increase your vitamin B and antioxidant intake by opting for veggies (especially dark leafy greens), whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.

The Monday Campaigns is a national movement backed by leading public health schools that dedicates the first day of every week to health. Every Monday, individuals and organizations join together to commit to healthy behaviors that help end chronic preventable diseases. For more information and healthy tips, click here.

Healthy Monday: Go the Whole Way

 Don’t depend on multivitamins to cover gaps in a poor diet. These isolated vitamins and minerals don’t provide the complex nutrient interactions of whole, unrefined foods. Unprocessed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans contain the antioxidants, phytonutrients, fatty acids, fiber and more that our bodies need to function at their best.

This week take one or two of your favorite processed foods and give them a whole foods makeover. Choose whole grain rice and bread over white, make a fresh fruit smoothie or replace instant soup with a batch of fresh vegetable soup. You’ll still be eating the foods you like while enjoying a nutri- tional boost!

For more information on the Monday Campaigns, click here.