The manager at Kettering Health Hamilton shares healthy food tips
Starting the New Year, it’s very easy to set high goals that are ambitious to achieve. All too often, however, we actually set goals that aren’t clear or easy to measure, and a big one is “to get healthy,” or to “eat a healthy diet.”
Carla Metzler RD, LD, and Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist is the Manager of Nutrition Services at Kettering Health Hamilton (formerly Fort Hamilton Hospital). She and her team work to provide healthy meal options for patients, visitors, and staff while also providing nutrition assessment and education for patients.
As the menu at the hospital has evolved, Metzler has seen opportunities to offer healthy food options in recipes that appeal to the people who eat at the hospital. Strategies like having the healthiest items within easiest reach and placing less healthy options in less prominent positions can be just the shift people need to consider the fresher food options available.
“We create some special stations with fresh vegetarian and vegan options to get people more exposed to that kind of food,” says Metzler. “When people aren’t used to something like quinoa or roasted garbanzo beans, we’ll give a little sample and when people taste it, they’re getting exposure to that way of eating.”
Metzler helped us at the Hamiltonian develop some possible shifts you can make in your daily diet that are a lot more clear than just “eat healthier,” and often are such small steps that you’ll be eating more nutrients your body needs while still enjoying the flavors you like best.
- Consider heart-healthy fats for adding savory and creamy notes to food: avocados, nuts, and seeds all can add satisfying flavors without adding lots of saturated or trans fats to your food.
- Get adventurous with your cooking. Metzler points out that if you put a fruit or vegetable you like into the search engine on a recipes website like allrecipes.com, you’ll get a bunch of options for including that food in new kinds of dishes.
- Another adventurous step is to go by yourself or with your children to an international market and pick out a fruit or vegetable you haven’t prepared before. Find recipes to prepare it well as a family – after all, the worst that can happen is that it doesn’t taste good to you, but you might find a new favorite!
- If you find that you get sluggish in the afternoon and have low energy, your issue might not be food, but instead lack of water. Try to fit another cup of water or a cup of hot tea into your daily routine and see if it doesn’t perk you up. Caffeine-loaded sodas, coffees, and energy drinks often come with a crash after the energetic boost, but tea and water often give you a pick-me-up without jitters or a crash.
- Fresh food often makes us feel better, whether it is fresh veggies in a salad or fresh fruit for a dessert. Metzler points out that making our own foods is a good way to cut down on hidden sugars, including high fructose corn syrup. “Eating fresh fruit or adding a little honey to tea satisfies more than the highly-sweetened drinks and processed foods,” says Metzler.
- Another great way to start, especially if you rely on convenience foods and restaurant food often, is to make time to plan a menu each week. “Just making sure you have the items in the house and have defrosted what you need for a meal can help you make sure you actually cook for yourself,” points out Metzler.
Even a little more awareness of our foods can give us the space to change our diets in ways that feel good, taste good, and give us the nutrients we need to power through our days.