Advertise on podcast: Fresh Focus

This year, for National Nutrition Month®, the team at Fresh Focus Podcast partnered with the Green Environmental Management System Committee, GEMS, to bring you information on getting started with being more sustainable by reducing food waste, eating more plant-based food items, and learning to cook and prepare more food in your kitchen. Jaime and Selena have great tips on how to start by looking Beyond the Table.  Sustainability and good nutrition are more than just what we cook, it’s how we shop, buy and store foods.  

Working towards being more sustainable is much easier than you might think! Listen in as Jamie and Becca discuss easy steps to start with during your next grocery store trip. Try to purchase foods that are versatile, can be stored easily and foods that you can use in more than one way. Remember it is always a good practice to push older fruits and vegetables to the front to remind you to use those items first! 

If you are looking at incorporating more plant-based proteins in your meals and snacks, listen to this episode as Shelby and Selena talk about some of their favorite recipes.     Be sure to visit the Healthy Teaching Kitchen YouTube Channel to watch videos and find plant based food items to try at home. You can have easy, delicious food choices while being more mindful on how they affect the environment. Check out the new VA Nutrition and Food Services  Practical Plant-Based Cooking Cookbook to find simple easy-to-find ingredient plant based recipes. 

Eating a plant-based diet can provide both health and environmental benefits. Listen in as Jennifer and Becca talk about the benefits of gardening and composting.  Composting offers a way to turn food waste into something that can benefit the environment. Consider starting your own garden. Gardening not only brings more plant foods into your life, but can also be good for the environment and help your budget too.

Listen in as Yaqutullah and Hillary share practical tips to reduce food waste and help save you money and time with meal planning.  VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen provides numerous recipes and meal ideas to fit your taste preferences and nutrition needs.  Have a plan to use up items that you have on hand to make sure don’t end up in the trash as food waste. 

Description:  You may or may not have heard of the MOVE! program at your VA before tuning into today’s episode.  However, MOVE has actually been around since 2006. MOVE!is the nation-wide weight management program designed to help Veterans lose weight and keep it off.  Using weekly sessions to keep participants involved on a regular basis, MOVE! highlights making healthy behavior changes in the areas of nutrition, physical activity, emotional eating, stress management and other self-care areas. Listen in as our VISN 15 MOVE! Coordinator reviews how Veterans can get involved in this comprehensive lifestyle intervention program to help reach our health goals! Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Navigating recipes can be a challenge when you are cooking for one. Common recipes are created for 4-6+ people. It is important to include a variety of foods to help you get all of the nutrients that you need, but how do you do this? Tune in to find out more about how a VA dietitian can help assist you in creating anindividualized meal plan for yourself! If you are worried about being able to cook the meals due to lack of experience in the kitchen, we can work with you to modify your plan and increase your confidence while cooking!     Check out the MOVE!program here at the VA for meal planning tips and what to put on your plate to make meal time a success!      Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Exercise is such a great thing for our bodies and there are numerous ways to modify activities to avoid pain and to make them more comfortable. It is possible to increase activity throughout the day no matter what your circumstance is! Listen to this episode as Dr. Raine Bradshaw, a Physical Therapist for Truman VA in Columbia, MO, speaks with Amy and shares how Veterans can incorporate physical activity with the MOVE! Program. Find out how to increase your physical activity and exercise to help reach your health goals.    Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

A weight plateau can be a challenge and barrier we face when we are trying to better manage our weight. Find out how to set yourself up for success when experiencing this issue. Tune in to this episode to find the best way continue moving forward with your goals. Aimee Wittmaier with the Kansas City VA Medical Center provides specific strategies to help you along your journey!   Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

Ever wonder about the connection between sleep and body weight? Tune in to this episode as Angie, Dietitian and MOVE! Facilitator at the St Louis VA Health Care System, talks about ways to improve your sleep hygiene and how the MOVE! Weight management program can help you reach your health goals. This episode will educate you on how sleep can influence weight and provides tips to increase sleep quality and quantity.   Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

All of the lifestyle changes that you have made in the last several weeks of this program have led to a healthier you! We want to help you maintain all of these healthy habits moving forward, which brings us to today’s episode! The last episode of the series focuses on how to maintain the progress you have made while participating in MOVE!. We will talk about some things that will help you keep the progress moving forward and ways to maintain your motivation.    Staying motivated is essential for long-term weight management success. Here are 5 tips for staying motivated. 1) Remember the benefits you’ve achieved and hope to achieve. 2) Recognize your success. 3) Keep visible signs or your progress. 4) Keep track of your weight, eating, and activity. 5) Develop your eating and activity routine.   Host Bio: Fresh Focus is a team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at the Marion VA collaborating with Dietitians nationwide.

March is National Nutrition Month® and is a chance to celebrate eating healthy. In episode #67, our VA Dietitians review tips for eating healthy on a budget. Specifically, whether you are buying groceries and cooking at home for yourself, including family members, or making the choice to enjoy food away from the home.