Invite Yourself to Eat Healthy Foods

In anticipation of holiday treat platters inviting me to sample sugary treats all week, I decided to build a small perimeter of defense.  I spent a bit of time last Sunday evening chopping vegetables, lettuce, spinach and kale to assemble some stacked salad combos to have ready for lunches all week.  The hard-cooked eggs, garbanzo and black beans were ready to add protein to the salads to sustain us through the day.  It had been more than year since I spent a Sunday evening chopping and preparing salads for lunches.  I think at one point, I had a salad for lunch most every work day for six months.  Isn’t it strange how a disruption can throw you off of a good habit?  A year or so ago, I was preparing the salads in wide-mouth quart jars.  They looked so pretty lined up in my refrigerator.  Last week, I put the salads in glass bowls instead.  Since I layer the salads, they are not as easy to eat from a jar.  The salad fixings mix better while I’m eating them from a bowl.  I suppose I could use plastic storage containers, but somehow the opaque plastic hides all the inviting colors of the tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and beans.  It seems if the food is prepared, easily accessible and visible, it gets eaten.  I suppose knowing that simple fact is half the battle in daily health habits.

It is surprising how we unwittingly invite ourselves to make food choices.  It is no surprise that the plate of chocolate fudge, peanut butter balls, caramels and cookies that is on a glass platter sitting on the counter invites us to nibble and nosh, even when we didn’t mean to do so.  I may have just gone to the kitchen for a glass of water, but if that goodies selection is sitting there staring at me, it is unlikely that I will leave the kitchen with just my glass of water.  The good news is that we can learn to make healthier foods just as inviting.  Have you ever done a household food andnutrition assessment? 

Instead of coming home from the market and putting the produce in the vegetable drawer, prepare it in ready-to-eat packaging.  A bag of carrots can sit in the back of the vegetable drawer for a long time without anyone being “invited” to eat them, but, get them out and peel them, chop them and put them in a glass container in the front of the refrigerator and they’ll invite every person who opens the refrigerator to consider the carrots as their next snack.   There are many consumer and food psychology principles we can put to work for us.  One of my favorite consumer psychologists is Dr. Brian Wansink.  A quick web sear

ch will reveal many videos as well as a list of books he has authored.  Dr. Wansink is famous for the discreet food invitation.  From school cafeterias to business lunches, he purposefully revamps food service opportunities as part of his research.  He has spent considerable time discovering the subtle changes in where foods are placed, how they are served, what containers we use and how it all comes together to suggest and influence our choices – healthy or unhealthy.  In one school cafeteria makeover, placing fruit at the front of the line in an attractive bowl dramatically increased fruit consumption.

 

Store nutritious foods where they are easier to access than less nutritious foods.  It is easier to keep on a healthy track if the healthy choice is the easy choice.  I invite you to think about your own food and nutrition environment and how you can invite yourself to make healthy choices.  

Eleven Months Left for New Year's Resolution!

During January, I’ve covered the topics of identity theft, security freeze, credit reports and credit scores.  You may have set your own New Year’s resolutions, but I’ll bet you have figured out that I think taking care of your personal identity and credit record should be one of them.  I encourage you to set aside some time this week, even just 30 minutes to assess your personal situation.  The following week, set aside 30 more minutes to address any issues that were revealed in your assessment.  By setting an appointment with yourself, you are much more likely to get the business handled.  Also, according to some time management classes I’ve taken lately, setting a timer can eliminate the drudgery of a task.  The suggestion from the class was to set a timer for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break.  For me, it always seems like I spend more time dreading a task than actually doing it.  The same may be true for you. 

While you are assessing your credit and data security information, you may want to take an identity theft risk assessment test . The risk assessment is broken into sections: checking for evidence of identity theft, destroying sensitive personal information, and limiting access to sensitive personal information.  There are great questions that point you to important behaviors, like checking your credit card statements against your receipts, so that you are able to tell if there are unauthorized charges.  When I looked at the risk assessment web

site, it reminded me that I had a charge on my credit card that I wanted to investigate.  It is surprising how many good practices you can learn from a simple quiz. 

The section on limiting access to sensitive personal information is especially important.  Be sure not to give out your personal information on an unsolicited phone call or allow someone to access your computer remotely.  There are plenty of frauds out there.  If it seems suspicious, it probably is.  If a caller presses you for information, hang up.  If it is a legitimate call, they will follow up using other methods.  You may also want to opt out of prescreened credit offers, phone calls and junk mail.  You can do so by going to the opt-out portion of the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

Another place to be cautious is at the check-out stand.  Do not leave your credit card sitting out where others could see the numbers.  With today’s pervasive technology, someone near you in line could take a photo of your card without your knowing.  I try to keep my card covered while in the cashier’s line right up until the card is swiped. 

If improving your personal information security is one of your goals this year, I encourage you to set aside 30 minutes this week toward that endeavor. 

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