We've all heard "you are what you eat." We care about you and encourage you to make healthy choices. Below is some guidance from Wendy Barber (pictured in top, right photo with a spoon), Certified Health and Wellness Coach and Southside Outreach coordinator. Whether you already know the information below (or not) - all of us can benefit from these healthy reminders and tips!
Think of food as fuel for your body; some foods provide better fuel than others.
Complex carbohydrates
are a good source of energy
and convert into quick energy. They’re a good choice for an energy slump, or if you are getting ready to exert energy (such as yard work, a long walk, or a work out).
Proteins help build and repair tissue and maintain muscle mass. Sarcopenia, or muscle loss, occurs as we age. It starts in our 30’s, at a rate of 3–5% per decade. As we lose muscle mass, we gain fat -- our middles become thicker and our legs and arms, thinner. The older we get the more we need to (1)
make sure we are getting adequate protein
in our diets and, (2)
add weight training to our exercise regimens.
Foods high in saturated fat take a lot of energy to digest. They can make you feel lethargic. These fats tend to be stored rather than used for quick energy. Think fatty cuts of beef, pork, and lamb, dark chicken meat, chicken skin, coconut oil, and high fat dairy foods (whole milk, butter, cheese, sour cream, ice cream). Examples of
good fats
, which provide our bodies with Omega-3 fatty acids, are avocados, dark chocolate, pastured eggs, fatty fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, seabass and trout), nuts and nut butters, flax seeds, chia seeds and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
Think of carbohydrates and proteins as foods with “health benefits” and foods high in saturated fats as foods with “no benefits.” Whenever possible, eat more foods with health benefits and eat fewer foods with little or no benefits.
Try this exercise
: Take a sheet of paper and divide it in half the long way. At the top, on the left hand side, write “Health Benefits” and on the other side write “No Benefits.” Recalling what you ate yesterday, place the foods you ate in the “Health Benefits” or “no Benefits” column. How many foods do you have in each column? What can you do differently to get more foods in the left column and fewer in the right?
Author, Wendy Barber
, Certified Health and Wellness Coach and Southside Outreach Coordinator; Edited by Audrey Byrne, Communications Coordinator.
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Check out (below)
Tips for Eating Well, Resources, and Recipes
Donations are appreciated to support the on-going programs of the Tallahassee Senior Center & Foundation. Now more than ever, your support is very important to make this possible – to donate, please click
Tallahassee Senior Foundation.
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Tips for Eating Well
1.
Plan
– The day before grocery shopping, plan your daily menu for the next week. Give yourself 3 meals and up to 2 snacks per day.
2.
Make a grocery list based on the perimeter of the store.
Start out with the produce section. You will spend most of your time here. Load up on four types of fruit to keep your taste buds happy, five to six salad ingredients, and four to five vegetables to go with your entrees. Try and fill your cart with foods that are in season. (See “
Four Seasons of Freshness
“chart).
Here’s an example of what that might look like:
·
Fruits to keep your taste buds happy
(apples, berries, any kind; oranges, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, nectarines, dates, figs, lemons, grapefruit, melons of any kind and bananas).
·
Vegetables for salad
(romaine lettuce, head lettuce, Bibb lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes, green onions cilantro, cabbage, carrots, parsley).
·
Vegetables to accompany your entrée
(carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, yams, squash, any kind, garlic, ginger, asparagus).
·
Next, go to the protein/meat section.
Choose three types of protein for the week. For example, you might select chicken, beef, and lamb for week 1. For week 2, you might select turkey, pork and fish. For week 3, you might select shellfish, duck and beef. Whichever types you select, make sure you get enough for the week.
·
Next go to the dairy and egg section of the store.
Select yogurt, any milk or cheese products you need, pastured eggs as well as butter or a butter substitute like
Earth Balance
.
·
You’ll also need some nuts seeds, and oil.
Pick up a pound or two of one type of nuts and seeds, preferably raw and unsalted.
·
Pick up some gallon jugs of bottled water (recycle the empty bottles) if you don’t have a filtration system on your water faucet at home.
Hydration is important!
·
Then finish up the grocery store visit with a trip to the frozen section.
There you may find frozen berries or other fruit and frozen vegetables. You might even select an ice cream with low sugar content, frozen yogurt desserts or a pie for an occasional good dessert during the week.
What you want to stay away from as much as possible is processed and packaged food.
Notice you didn’t visit the boxed cereal section, the cookies or the candy aisles, the cracker and bread section or the carbonated beverage section.
If you have planned, your grocery store visit shouldn’t take too long.
3.
Cook Once, Eat Twice!
Whatever you prepare for dinner, have for lunch the next day. If you had a chicken breast for lunch, use some of it to prepare a salad for dinner. Share a meal with a friend. Drop it off on their porch.
4.
Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables.
These are the fruits and vegetables that have the highest nutrient density score of 17 nutrients (potassium, fiber, protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, niacin, folate, riboflavin, zinc and vitamin A, B6, B12, C, D, E and K.
Consider these when shopping produce. Listed from highest to lowest
: Watercress, Chinese cabbage, Chard, Beet green, Spinach, Chicory, Leaf Lettuce, Parsley, Romaine Lettuce, Collard green, Turnip green, Mustard green, Endive, Chive, Kale, Dandelion green, Red Pepper, Arugula, Broccoli, Pumpkin, Brussel sprout, Cauliflower, Cabbage Carrot, Tomato, Iceberg Lettuce, Strawberry, Radish, Winter squash (all varieties), Orange, Lime, Grapefruit (pink and red) Rutabaga, Turnip, Blackberry, Leek, Sweet potato, Grapefruit (white).
5.
Resources
It’s easy to get your extra daily servings of fruit and vegetables with these easy recipes –
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You've heard about classes being hosted on Zoom - now it's your chance to try Zoom out!
Join TSC's enthusiastic art instructors Robin Gray, Mark Fletcher and Mariann Kearsley - Tue., Apr. 14 at 12:30 p.m.
- as they prepare to start virtual art classes for the Tallahassee Senior Center & Foundation. T
his is an opportunity for you to become familiar with using Zoom and to hear about TSC's Virtual Art offerings. Must register by Mon., Apr. 13, 10 a.m.
Upcoming Live Zoom Art Classes! Register NOW!
Hands-On Art History with Mark Fletche
r - Mondays, starting Apr. 20, 12:30 p.m. Create your own art applying and combining the methods of various artists like Van Gogh, Monet, Durer and others.
Register for first class by Thu., Apr. 16, 11 p.m.
Title: Draw With Your Eyes, Paint With Your Heart, Mark Fletcher -
Wednesdays, starting Apr. 22, 1:30 p.m. Pen & Ink with a little watercolor.
Register for first class by Thu., Apr. 16, 11 p.m.
To register for the above class(es) or for more information -
email Jennifer Haskins.
Let her know which class(es) you are interested in; she will send you a Zoom link. If you don’t already have zoom on your computer/tablet/or phone, you will be prompted to download the application and set-up a login and password, upon receiving a link from Jennifer. Sometimes these emails go to junk/spam folder – so check there first and let Jennifer know if you don't get an email invite.
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Could you use someone to talk too, a little "lift," or some help with resources – the main number is 850-891-4000 and it will be forwarded to a staff member’s phone from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
General Resource
2-1-1 Big Bend
,You can call 2-1-1 for human service information and assistance. They are available 24 hours a day to listen and provide emotional support, crisis counseling, suicide prevention, and information & referrals.
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Be a Supporter of Senior Services!
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Tallahassee Senior Services offers programs, activities, and opportunities designed to encourage active living, optimal aging, and social fitness for independent adults age 50+. The mission of the TSC Foundation is to generate funding to support programs, services and participants of Tallahassee Senior Services. Here are three ways you can support Senior Services:
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Donations, honorariums, memorial gifts, and legacy gifting are appreciated
(
click here to donate
).
For more information on membership or on becoming a Key Holder
click here.
Your membership is tax deductible. Call 891-4041 or
email Karin Caster
for information or assistance.
"A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF THE CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE or WWW.800HELPFLA.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE." Registration #CH8035.
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Host a Facebook Fundraiser!
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Be certain to thank your friends for their generosity and thank you and your friends forsharing the joy of active aging opportunities for our community!
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Choose the
Tallahassee Senior Citizens Foundation, Inc.
as your charity of choice, and every time you shop,
0.5% of
AmazonSmile
purchases
will be donated
.
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Links to programs, classes and opportunities!
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Tallahassee Senior Center & Foundation | 850-891-4000 | 1400 N. Monroe St. www.TallahasseeSeniorFoundation.org
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