Well Fed Nutrition​
​Winter 2022
​​Newsletter

Hello and a Happy New Year to all! May we all step into this New Year embracing the potential for positive change, optimism for a brighter future and our aspirations for overall health and wellness.

​I hope you enjoy this first quarterly newsletter of 2022. 

Seasonality
​Speaking

With each New Year comes the potential for brighter days ahead. For now, we focus on Winter with the foods and flavors of the season. Winter encompasses both warming and grounding foods; hot tea, root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and cabbages. Rich broths fill up our soups, stews and casserole dishes. 

Winter's
​Featured Food

Winter features foods such as tubers, like squash, carrots, broccoli and beets. Citrus, the likes of Clementines, grapefruit and tangerines spring to vibrant life. Avocados abound. All part of the quiet before the emergence of freshly planted gardens and Spring greens, again, more on this next quarter.
 
This winter, we feature a multifaceted favorite, the Napa Cabbage. Scientific name Brassica Pekinensis, Napa Cabbage or Chinese Cabbage, is a cool season vegetable readily available year-round. Napa Cabbage is milder in flavor that its cousins the Red, Green or Savory Cabbage, and also presents slightly crunchier and sweeter in taste. As member of the Brassica family, it is a nutritiously dense vegetable that stores well for multiple weeks in the fridge.
 
One cup of Napa Cabbage contains almost 50% of the RDA for Vitamin C, 20% for Folate and 40% for Vitamin K. This makes Napa Cabbage great for bone health, the prevention of osteoporosis and a powerful anti-oxidant. Napa Cabbage’s mineral content helps to regulate hydration, heart rate and blood pressure. Additionally, it is relatively high in both soluble and insoluble fiber, making it a great gut friendly food that aids in both digestion and by providing satiety, the feeling of fullness for longer.
 
Napa Cabbage is a convenient and versatile vegetable. Being less dense, it is easier to cut or chop and quicker to cook than other cabbages. It can be prepared fresh for delicious salads or coleslaws. Cooked, Napa Cabbage is a great addition to stir fries, soups and stews and is often found fermented as the main ingredient in the Korean dish, Kimchi. Either crunchy and cold or served warm and spicy, Napa Cabbage is a great foundation to many types of meals and dishes. Today, I share with you a quick and tasty recipe, Napa Cabbage Salad with Citrus Chicken. Enjoy!

Winter
Wellness

Today, we will discuss some intriguing research demonstrating an important association between our diet and health. Researchers are investigating which foods may benefit and which foods may harm our brains. The diet plan being studied is called the MIND diet. The MIND diet stands for the “Mediterranean — DASH intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay” which has shown the ability to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 50%. It is also being examined for its effect on heart health and in weight management.
 
What is the MIND diet?
The MIND diet is an evidence-based, dietary approach to the prevention of all types of dementia. A combination of two effective diet plans focusing on foods that promote heart health and longevity. The DASH diet, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the Mediterranean diet both focus on the increased intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, lean meats and fish while avoiding the intake of excessive sugars, salts, refined grains and oils. Together, the MIND diet lists 10 foods promote brain health and 5 foods to avoid.
 
I am sharing links to two articles that go into further detail about both the MIND diet and the associated research. The first article provides additional dietary tips for brain health. A diet low in these 4 foods could increase risk of dementia. The second article outlines the specific foods to include and avoid for the MIND diet. What is the MIND diet?  Interested in putting your MIND (diet) to the test? As always, feel free to contact me if you would like support implementing these types of health promoting changes. 

New Year's Resolution
​Dissolution

This time of year is ripe for frustration and dissolution as our culture encourages us to take upon higher expectations of ourselves. Weight Loss goals focusing on the latest and greatest industry trends, diet culture and the diet industry, bombard us with unrealistic expectations and pressures. Most often, these diets fail us somewhere between February and March, as both our bodies and minds realize these diets are not the long-term solution for our mental and physical wellbeing.  

Anyone can hold their breath, dive in and ‘diet’ for a few weeks, but it is much more impactful to implement dietary changes that complement your lifestyle and support your health goals over your lifetime. If weight loss diets ultimately fail us, then should we throw out this expectation and move on to something truly worth our time? How about developing a perspective that supports your journey into increased health and wellness? Perhaps this is where the value of intuitive eating comes into light.

Intuitive eating is not about dieting. It is about finding balance in both a non-restrictive and self-respecting way. It is about creating a healthy relationship with food. It is about self-care. It is about learning to focus on your internal cues. Intuitive eating is the process of identifying and satisfying your innate and instinctual nutritional needs. 

Want to learn more about this self-care approach to dietary health? Contact me to develop your own personalized perspectives of realistic, meaningful and sustainable goals to improve your health and wellness.

Mindful
​Messaging

Stay tuned to my Facebook page as we finish up the Winter months. I’ll be sharing more valuable information on Heart Health for American Heart Month in February and as well as during every Nutritionist’s favorite time of year, National Nutrition Month in March.

Here is a link to my Facebook page. Well Fed Nutrition | Facebook
Make sure and follow me on Facebook to keep seeing my latest information and perspectives on dietary health!

As always, I hope you are finding the foods you need to satisfy your individual dietary needs, your relationship with food and culture. If you or someone you know is interested in nutrition counseling services, please encourage them to contact me. Also, please feel free to share this newsletter with others.

Be Well, but also, be Well Fed! 

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