Blog / Recipes

Beware of Free Food in the Workplace!

Happy business colleagues having lunch on table at office cafeteria

Does your workplace offer free food at meetings,events or in the common area? Turns out that all of this free food can be adding about 1,300 empty calories to your week!

A one of a kind study in the USA analyzed the food and beverage choices of over 5,000 employees who either purchased food from on-site vending machines or the cafeteria, or obtained food for free in common areas, at meetings or at workplace social events. The preliminary results, presented at last month’s meeting of the American Society of Nutrition, found that nearly 25% of the employees obtained food from work at least once a week which added up to almost 1,300 calories by the end of the week. The bad news is that the food and beverages tended to be high in empty calories which contain little to no nutrition. Even worse news is that over 70% of the calories consumed came from free food that was offered in the workplace such as pizza, soda, cookies, brownies, cake and candy.

Bottom line:
About 87% of Canadian employees have personal goals to eat healthier foods. Workplaces can play a huge role in helping employees eat better and improve their food habits. Start by creating a workplace healthy eating policy to ensure access and availability of healthy options in foodservice, vending machines and at workplace meetings / events. We can assess your current offerings and help you build and implement a winning workplace healthy eating policy that will boost productivity and performance! Contact me for more details and / or to book an inspiring workplace wellness presentation for your team.

Get ready for International Year of Pulses!

The United Nations has declared 2016 as International Year of Pulses!

Dried peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas are examples of pulses. Packed with nutrition, pulses are are a super sources of fibre, iron and protein.

Research from the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that eating 1 serving (3/4 cup) of pulses three times a week lowered the “bad” LDL cholesterol by 5%. Because pulses are a low Glycemic Index food, they cause a slower rise in blood sugar – that’s good news for people with diabetes or anyone watching their blood sugar levels.

Here are some of my favourite pulse recipes which I’ve collected over the years! Enjoy!

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie (made with lentils)

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Red Lentil & Vegetable Dal

Chickpea Chocolate Cake (you’ve got to try this!)

The Hottest Vegetable for 2015 (hint: It’s not cauliflower)

Move over cauliflower! After two years of being crowned as the veggie of the year, there’s a new kids on the block that’s won my heart and taste buds. Say hello to kalettes!

Kalettes are a non-GMO vegetable developed through traditional hybridization in which kale is crossed with Brussels sprouts. Developed by the British vegetable seed house Tozer Seeds, it apparently took 15 years to create the right balance of sweet and nutty flavour. Kalettes resemble a tiny cabbage with greenish purple leaves, and can be roasted, grilled, steamed, stir-fried and even eaten raw.

Since 2010, kalettes have been available in the UK market under the name “Flower Sprouts”. In the US, they were first introduced last year as “Lollipop Kale” (cute name!) Kalettes are finally entering the Canadian market – I found them at a small local Loblaws store.

So far, I’ve tried kalettes roasted as well as in a stir-fry. Just like Brussels sprouts, the kalettes turn dark and didn’t really appeal to my family. But in a stir-fry, the kalettes are absolutely gorgeous with their brilliant purple colour! What I love about kalettes it that they cook quicker than Brussels sprouts because they’re less dense. And best of all, my husband went back for seconds! Needless to say, kalettes are on my weekly grocery list. Can’t wait to try them in different recipes!

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