John Farrow introduced Michelle this morning. She has lived all across Canada, worked in hospitals and with the RCMP, now runs her own business “Ace Nutrition”.- Michelle has a connection to Loving Spoonful – gives 3% of her daily revenue to them
- Her goal is to help prevent health issues and getting Kingston Healthy
- Michelle's website is http://acenutrition.ca/
March is Nutrition Month – the slogan is,“What you eat - unique, like you.”
We all have our own food preference and unique eating habits
Canada is a diverse country with the passing on of food habits from generation to generation
Factors in our unique diets;
Restrictions on health - diabetes (sugar) and high blood pressure (lower salt/ sodium content)
Family influence – did you eat a salad with each meal, or a dessert, we tend to carry these on and pass them down and merging of thing when blending families or marriages
People are looking at more Canadian and local food sourcing
COVID-19 has slowed our lives down for many and more cooking at home is now being done
Top tips to energize you (optimal energy every day) - Michelle’s Golden Rules
- No skipping meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
- Can you drive a car on no empty?
- Eat within 2 hours of getting up
- Canadian Food Guide (www.Canada.ca/FoodGuide)
- Something from every food group
- Proportional food plate should be ¼ grain, ¼ protein and ½ fruits and vegetables at each meal
- What can I add or take away from the meal?
- Put in
- Breakfast – bowl of oatmeal - add frozen fruit and nuts, seeds (for protein)
- Take out
- Hamburger – remove the cheese (lowing your saturated fat intake)
- Add value to the meal
- Add a salad
- Often we have food questions – what is on your plate
- Amount of food - do I need all the food on my plate?
- Don’t think on your fullness but rather your satisfaction
- Food ques are based on portion distortion – mentality if it is on our plate must eat it all
- Protein is the size of a deck card or palm of your hand - women should have 2 decks and men 3 decks per day (after cooking)
- More plant based nutrition
- ¾ of plate should be plant based (fruits, veggies, and grains)
- Do a meatless Monday
- Lower sodium (salt) and saturated fats in our diet – most saturated fats come from the animal protein and our dairy products, especially cheese
- Consume less packaged and processed foods
- Carbs are your best friend
- Fruit and vegetables plus grain
- 50-60% of calories should be carbs
- Carbs provide us with energy
- Complex carbohydrates such as whole grain bread and cereals – use in all our meals
- Do be afraid of carbs, unless they are the bad ones found in cakes, chips, cookies etc. as they increase our blood sugar levels fast and then crash faster
- Juice increased blood sugar therefore eat the actual fruit of veggies
- Water is the best beverage you can choose
Tips to boost your mood
- Gut Health
- Lots of bacteria in the digestive tract and we want this to flourish, include more yogurts, kimchee, kombucha, and more fiber
- Omega 3 Foods
- Increase Omega 3 eat more eggs, salmon, flax
- Carbs (your best friend)
- Grains increase energy
- Good breakfast and lunch with protein and grains – increases productivity – long term energy
- Choline
- Is a nutrient
- 90% of North Americans are deficient and thus decreases mood levels and cognitive decline
- Eggs, salmon, liver, poultry, and beef
- Vitamin D
- If over 50 minimum should be 400 to 800 international units per day with a max of 2000Iu/day
- Milk product have vitamin D
- Water – hydration increase brain functioning
Q&A
Q - Bill – at the film festival Bill watched ‘First We Eat’ about eating locally sourced foods. Most fruits especially citrus are imported, how can we fill this gap?
A - support a farmer; community supported agriculture (CSA) (https://www.kingstonist.com/food-and-drink/community-supported-agriculture-in-kingston-29883/) example Salt of the Earth buying a share in the farm before they plant and when harvested weekly you pick up your ‘local share’ of what is in season;
Michelle Chatten-Fiedorec thanked Michelle and presented her with virtual loaf of multi grain bread for presenting today