Nourish to flourish – March is Nutrition Month 

As we come out of hibernation and feel the warm sunshine on our faces, there’s a wonderful feeling of renewal and the urge to refresh our lives.

Time to shake off winter’s heaviness and embrace the new season’s light energy with healthy resets. Spring cleaning our lifestyle habits and home spaces will truly help revive winter-weary spirits and feed our mental well-being too. 

Breathe new vibes and energy into your life by tackling home-maintenance tasks that have been weighing heavy the last few months. Spirits will be lighter and spring will sparkle when windows are shiny and yards are cleaned up with Custodia professionals lending a hand.  

Refresh and renew your lifestyle habits too, including a healthy diet do-over. March is Nutrition Month and the perfect time to focus on good eating habits. Eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet is important at all ages, but especially as we grow older. Our nutritional needs change as we age so fueling are bodies right keeps us energized and vibrant, supports strong immune systems and diminishes the risk of chronic diseases. 

Nourish to flourish with the help of leading registered dietitian Abby Langer. There are a bounty of benefits to eating well: “Disease prevention, mobility, and overall health maintenance are definitely impacted by diet. We can’t remove all the risk for these things, but diet is one factor that we have control over.”

As we get older, our risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases rises, along with mobility issues and injury. “To help prevent these things, it’s important to pay particular attention to certain nutrients.” 

• Protein helps maintain muscle mass, which naturally decreases as we get older, and its satiating effect can also help with weight loss and maintenance. 
• Fibre helps with weight maintenance, gut health, regularity, and may help prevent diseases like cancer and diabetes. 
• Calcium-rich foods can help maintain bone strength. Antioxidants from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes may help decrease our risk for disease. 
• As we get older, our insulin sensitivity can decrease. Protein, plants and fibre can help, but limiting added sugars and alcohol is also something Langer recommends.

“It’s not about one single food preventing illness – it’s the totality of our diet that matters,” says Langer. 

Meet important nutritional needs with Langer’s strategies: 

• Shop on a regular basis. If you don’t have the food in your kitchen, it’s harder to eat well.
• Build your meals around plants and protein. 
• Eat on a regular basis. Letting yourself get too hungry often leads to poor choices and overeating at the next meal.  
• Focus on variety, and eat as many whole and minimally processed foods as you can.

The aging experts at McMaster Optimal Aging Portal recommend watching your portion size. “Portion control can help prevent overeating while ensuring you get the nutrients you need.”

• Use smaller plates to manage portion sizes
• Serve meals in the kitchen rather than family-style to avoid second helpings
• Read food labels to understand serving sizes and nutritional content

Be sure to decrease your intake of processed and sugary foods for healthy aging. “Processed foods often contain high levels of sodium, unhealthy fats, and added sugars, which can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure,” recommends the portal.

• Reduce consumption of packaged snacks, fast food, and sugary beverages
• Opt for natural sweeteners like fruit instead of processed sugar
• Choose unsalted nuts, fresh fruit, or yogurt for snacks instead of chips or candy

Meanwhile, grocery prices are high so just how just how can we get biggest health bang for our food buck? “Beans and lentils – canned or dry – are my favourite foods! Packed with protein, fibre and healthy carbs, these cost-effective powerhouses are versatile and delicious,” says Langer. 

Soy foods like tofu are also fantastic protein sources that are easy on the wallet. And frozen and canned fruits and vegetables and buying in-season produce can also save you money, she adds.

Here are two recipes from nutrition expert Abby Langer that are super tasty and good for you too!

Greek BBQ Lemon Chicken

This Greek-style chicken recipe is great anytime, recommends nutrition expert Abby Langer, and especially perfect for summer grilling season.

Servings: 4 

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 4 pieces large chicken breasts, each cut into 4-5 width-wise
• Juice of 1 whole lemon
• 2 cloves large garlic
• 3/4 cup fresh stripped oregano chopped roughly
• 3 tbsp. fresh stripped thyme
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large pinch sea salt or more to taste

For the tzatziki:

• Full-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Fresh lemon juice
• Fresh dill chopped
• English cucumber seeded and chopped finely
• Crushed or finely minced garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

Marinate the chicken: Throw all of the chicken ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Marinate in the fridge for as long as you can – up to the whole day.

Make the tzatziki: Combine all the ingredients to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook the chicken: Preheat your BBQ to medium-high. Grill the chicken, flipping once, until cooked through. You can also bake it in the oven if you prefer. 

Serve with warmed pita breads, hummus, tzatziki, and salad.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burrito

Servings: 4 

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans drained
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• ½ yellow onion diced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. salt or more to taste
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 large whole wheat tortillas or 4 small ones
• Tomatoes, grated cheddar cheese, avocado, greens and any other garnishes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium heat and add the onion, sautéing until translucent and fragrant. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for another 60 seconds, then add the beans and salt.

Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

Slice the sweet potato widthwise into ½-inch slices (no need to peel, unless you want to). Brush each side with olive oil and lay the slices on a baking sheet.

Bake the sweet potato slices for around 30-40 minutes or until browned and tender, turning once. You can also make these on the BBQ, using indirect heat.

To assemble the burritos, lay a wrap on a flat surface and layer the beans and cooked sweet potato slices. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and any other desired toppings. Fold both ends of the wrap up, then roll the wrap from one side to the other.