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Sara on
Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 with
Comments Off on Looking for Healthy Lunch Ideas? Consider the Criteria of the DASH Diet Comments
Never heard of the DASH diet? Congratulations — that probably means you don’t have to worry about your blood pressure. However, if you’re trying to start the new year off right when it comes to your eating habits, you may want to take note. The DASH diet has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top overall diet for three years running, thanks to its flexible meal options and emphasis on heart-healthy foods like whole grains, vegetables, and moderate amounts of lean meats. While its main goal is to help stave off hypertension, don’t think of it as an old-person diet: studies have found that following the DASH diet’s high-fiber, moderate-fat, veggie-centric recommendations can also naturally lead to weight loss — even in teenage girls.
Want to take a cue from the DASH diet when it comes to your own eating habits? Here are a few of the primary guidelines of the award-winning diet, along with a few healthy lunch ideas plucked right from the eating plan’s official recommendations (one added bonus: since the DASH diet was primarily developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the reading materials and recipes are free to access).
Make veggies the star and meat the accessory.
Image source: flickr user Dalboz17
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Sara on
Wednesday, January 1st, 2014 with
Comments Off on New Year’s Resolutions at the Office: How Employers Can Support Workplace Wellness Goals Comments
We know the statistics are bleak: out of the roughly 40% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% actually keep them. Nonetheless, we try — and especially when it comes to our health.Eating right and exercising regularly are consistently at the top of the list. And given that most of us spend around half of our waking hours at work, it’s hard to deny that our workplace environment can have a significant impact on whether or not we keep those resolutions.
As the evidence continues to indicate that companies should invest in workplace wellness and employee health, it stands to reason that supporting New Year’s resolutions is worth the time and effort of most employers. Here are just a few ways to take expert tips on keeping resolutions and implement them in the office!
The boss may need to take the first step towards a healthy office.
Image source: flickr user tedeytan
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Posted by
Sara on
Tuesday, December 31st, 2013 with
2 Comments
The annual Google Zeitgeist report of the year’s top search terms can tell us a lot about our collective interests, from the unfortunately predictable most-searched person (yes, it was Miley Cyrus) to our flash-in-the-pan obsession with certain dance moves (remember Gangnam Style?). One particularly intriguing list, however, gives us a glimpse at the food habits onto which we pin our hopes of weight loss and better health: the top 10 most-searched diets of 2013.
10. Flexitarian diet
Literally, a flexible vegetarian. Rather than forbidding meat consumption for ethical reasons, most flexitarian diets encourage eating mostly plant-based foods for better health. As Mark Bittman, who writes a column titled “The Flexitarian” for the New York Times, defines flexitarians: “…those who ate mostly vegetables but also incorporated meat or fish: people who were moving their meat-heavy diets in a more vegetarian direction, as well as vegetarians who were adding meat or fish back into their meals. The word also suggests a regimen that includes more whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables than the Standard American Diet.”
Fish & vegetables are building blocks of both flexitarian and pescetarian diets.
Image source: flickr user kulinarno
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Sara on
Monday, December 30th, 2013 with
Comments Off on Office Dining in for a Wake-Up Call: Calorie Counts Soon Required on Vending Machines Comments
Picture this: as the office clock ticks closer to 3 pm, your stomach starts to grumble and you feel your eyelids getting very heavy. You know that another cup of coffee won’t cut it, and the plastic baggie of raw, unsalted almonds you optimistically brought in for a snack last week still doesn’t sound appetizing. Time to hit up the guilty secret of office dining: the vending machine.
For less than a dollar, you can reward yourself with a little packet of peanut butter M&M’s. But as you step up with your quarters in hand, you notice a new label on the vending machine. It’ll cost you 240 calories for that small bag of candy. Craving a salty snack instead? That single-serving bag of Cool Ranch Doritos will cost you 310 calories — more than a McDonald’s cheeseburger.
Less-than-healthy options at the vending machine.
Image source: flickr user drocksays
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Sara on
Friday, December 27th, 2013 with
Comments Off on New Study Says That Eating Healthy at Work Requires Planning — Not Willpower Comments
Do you think willpower is the key to achieving your diet goals and keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Think again. A new study from the University of Lisbon reports that planning, not willpower, may be the secret to successfully changing your eating habits — especially in situations ripe with temptation, like the office.
The office can be a graveyard of good intentions.
Image source: flickr user UWW Resnet
Published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, the study used detailed questionnaires to examine when and how participants ate healthy foods (fruits and vegetables). Over three weeks, more than 200 people described their eating habits, their intentions to eat healthy foods, their thoughts on how their health would be impacted if they ate more fruits and vegetables, their plans for meeting their goals, and their strategies for overcoming obstacles.
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Sara on
Thursday, December 26th, 2013 with
Comments Off on Corporate Wellness 101: 4 Keys to Creating a Healthy Workplace Comments
With health care costs rising alongside obesity rates (and related chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease), many companies are turning to corporate wellness programs to encourage employees to take better care of themselves. Wellness plans, when done right, can have a significant return on investment — many estimates suggest around $3 in savings for every $1 spent, mostly in terms of decreased health costs and lower absenteeism. The good news for smaller businesses is that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars or hire pricey consultants to achieve results.
Yesterday we talked about how America’s happiest companies make health and wellness a key principle in their workplaces. Today, we’ve outlined four key areas that are crucial to starting a successful corporate wellness program in any workplace.
Provide healthy catering options at work lunches — not just pizza and cupcakes.
Image source: flickr user foodswings
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Sara on
Wednesday, December 25th, 2013 with
Comments Off on From Corporate Catering to Wellness: What America’s Happiest Companies Have in Common Comments
The newly crowned happiest companies in America (according to rankings from CareerBliss.com) include a pharmaceutical giant, a health insurer, and whatever exactly GE is these days. What do they have in common? These companies understand key factors to employee happiness, like work-life balance, relationships between coworkers, growth opportunities, and work environment.
One other thing? With few exceptions, they all have really stellar workplace wellness programs and healthy corporate catering plans.
Healthy catered lunches are key to workplace wellness. Image source: flickr user frankfarm
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that claimed the top ranking for employee happiness, emphasizes on-site fitness centers, smoking cessation programs, and healthy cafeteria offerings as part of its “Healthy Pfizer” program. At Kaiser Permanente, the insurer who took #2, the companywide employee wellness program is centered around healthy choices: from stocking healthy food in vending machines to offering yoga classes on their campuses. GE even created an internal certification program for its numerous work campuses to be officially recognized as “HealthAhead” sites. With 50 measures ranging from smoke-free workplaces to nutritional labeling in cafeterias, GE places a huge emphasis on the personal choices employees can make to improve their overall health.
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Sara on
Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 with
Comments Off on Office Breakfast Ideas: Build Social Bonds, Increase Satisfaction, and Ditch the Donuts Comments
Looking for a double-whammy strategy to increase productivity and job satisfaction in your office? Consider implementing a casual, voluntary office breakfast once a week. It’s a relatively small investment with a potentially huge payoff — especially when you pay close attention to the scientific research and our resulting office breakfast ideas.
Socializing builds bonds and job satisfaction. Image source: flickr user Mesq
Employees who socialize together in the workplace tend to build stronger bonds. Stronger social bonds usually lead to higher job satisfaction, and we all know that job satisfaction means lower turnover. As Dr. Ben Waber, president of a workplace consulting firm, told the New York Times, “In general when we look at what makes people happy and effective at work, it’s being able to spend time with a close group of people. You need to structure work in such a way that people have those opportunities.”
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Sara on
Monday, December 23rd, 2013 with
Comments Off on Healthy Takeout: It Really Does Exist, and Here’s How to Order It Comments
If your takeout order typically arrives in a paper bag practically seeping grease from the bottom, you may want to rethink your delivery routine. You won’t even need to convince your coworkers to try the new health food place or refuse to partake when the boss orders pizza: just a few small adjustments can turn your lunch into a satisfying, delicious, and healthy takeout meal. Here are tips on how to navigate the most common takeout options without compromising your health.
Join in the office lunchtime fun without compromising on health.
Image source: flickr user massdistraction
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Sara on
Friday, December 20th, 2013 with
Comments Off on The 6 Biggest Food Trends of 2014 That Will Change Your Corporate Catering Routine Comments
If 2013 was the year of the cronut, then 2014 may be the year of the… bean?
Food writers, chefs, and consumer research firms are coming forth with their annual predictions for the next year’s food trends. Most trends have one thing in common: Americans are more concerned than ever about eating healthier foods, and restaurants and grocers are adjusting their offerings accordingly. For office managers and administrative staff who are placed in charge of corporate catering and keeping the workplace happy and well-fed, here are the top six food trends that may influence your company’s food programs in the coming year:
Nuts and other healthy snacks will be taking center stage in 2014.
Image source: flickr user TheTravellingBum
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