Healthy Sunday Brunch

Want to have a decadent Sunday brunch without all the unhealthy fat and calories?  Use whole wheat pancake mix and top with plain or vanilla yogurt, berries and nuts instead of butter and syrup. You’ll cut out all of the extra calories, fat, and sugar of syrup and butter and add the probiotics and calcium of yogurt, antioxidants from the berries and some extra protein and heart healthy fats from the nuts.

A friend shared this idea with me a few years ago.  I never went back to syrup; it’s that good!

Mini Inspiration

Here’s a little “Hump Day” encouragement.  This quote helps me get up and out when I am having a blah day.

It is only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis.

- Margaret Bonnano

Don’t postpone your happiness for the weekend, a vacation or some other point in the future.  Enjoy today!

Portion Distortion

We have all heard, and seen, that portion sizes in American restaurants have grown over the past several decades.  Fast food servings are two to five times larger than when they were first introduced.  Over the last few decades, a more subtle change has been taking place that has led to increased portion sizes at home as well.

Since the 1960′s, American dinner plate sizes have grown 30%.  Fifty years ago, the average plate was 8.5 inches in diameter.  Today, dinner plates are typically a foot in diameter! Since we tend to eat with our eyes, not our stomachs, this means that Americans are eating about 30% more food at every meal without even realizing it.

Try eating meals using smaller salad plates, soup bowls, and teaspoons to get the opposite effect on your calorie intake. The same goes for drinks, except water.  Allow yourself to eat as much as you need to feel satisfied.  It will likely be less than when you ate off of larger plates.  You won’t even notice that you’re eating less, but over time this change can lead to noticeable weight loss.

How nurses4wellness began

I am so excited to be part of a growing community of nurses who want to spread wellness and help others minimize disease risk.  For nearly 13 years I worked as a registered nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where my work focused on helping people to recover from surgical procedures and manage medical conditions.  It wasn’t until I faced a personal crisis affecting my own health that I became interested in wellness strategies and developed an appreciation for the mind-body connection.

As I reflected upon my personal situation and thought about the many patients and families with whom I had worked, it became clearer to me just how greatly our thoughts, emotions, mental attitudes, behaviors and support systems affect our physical health,  our happiness and our ability to navigate life’s challenges. Over the years, I have learned many ways to improve and maintain my own health and my nursing career now focuses on spreading wellness through education.

Many of the most meaningful lessons I learned were from sharing experiences and stories with fellow nurses and wellness practitioners.  I started Spectrum LifeWorks, and now the nurses4wellness community to give all nurses a place to share and learn about wellness.  All of our experiences – whether personal or professional – are valuable. I look forward to sharing mine and hearing yours.  Everyone has something to give.  Together we can help one another move toward optimum health and spread wellness to the greater community.