Ways to Eat Healthy While Traveling with the Family

Thanks to Rhonda Monfee, a certified diabetes educator and registered dietitian with Conway Regional Health System for sharing these great tips for keeping the family healthy, even when traveling.

Eating out while traveling can be a great experience and be healthy at the same time! If we can eat healthy 80 percent of the time, we can have a 20 percent splurge and still achieve our healthy, weight control goals.

While traveling with the family on vacation, here are some easy ways to navigate to healthier eating:

Have a plan, go to a grocery store and pack a cooler 

1. Ask all family members to help pack snacks so no one is skipping meals on the way and getting too hungry
2. During the trip, instead of stopping at fast food, stop at a grocery store and get milk, yogurt,  100% juice boxes , fruit, bagged veggies, nuts, hummus, peanut butter…  this helps cut out junk  
3. Eat frequently, and in smaller amounts, emphasizing protein with each meal to improve fullness feeling (will have samples- “protein” bars)  Skipping meals leads to overeating at the next opportunity.
4. When stopping at the gas station, try to avoid high sugary, high fat, deep fried foods and limit high powered energy drinks, which all add up to flaring tempers and even more stops to go to the restroom. Look for:
1. Single-serving, whole-grain breakfast cereals and cartons of milk with fresh fruit.
2. Fresh made sandwiches to order, choose turkey or ham sandwiches.

Try to choose full service restaurants that offer more healthy choices for the whole family.

• Since the body is designed to eat about every 4 hours while we are awake, small meals throughout the day are recommended.
• Meals should be approx 300-500 calories each (Break, Lunch, Supper)
• Snacks should be approx 100-150 calories each (mid-morning, mid-afternoon)
• New guideline for restaurant chains with 20 or more locations: They are required to report calorie contents of food for customers who are ordering inside or drive-through. This is important for consumer education! 

When fast food is the option, try our top picks:  (Try to limit fast food to one time per day)

• McDonalds – Breakfast – Egg McMuffin or  Oatmeal with nuts, fruit or Yogurt Parfait
• Taco Bell – Lunch – Fresco Crunch Chicken Tacos, Beans/Rice
• Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, salad on side with baked potato OR grilled chicken sandwich/chili
• Subway 6” turkey with cheese, apple slices, water
• Arby’s Roast Beef Classic or Turkey Sandwich or Roast Chicken Farmhouse Salad
• CHICK-FIL-A Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with Salad

4 Steps to Achieving the Perfect Sunless Tan

Thanks to Augusta Andrews of B. Barnett for sharing some tips for getting a summer glow...without the sun.

1.  Exfoliation is the #1 most important process when applying tanner.  There are so many exfoliating options from gels to lotions to a Clarisonic body brush!

2.  Choose your type of tanner by what works best for your skin.  You can choose a gradual tan formula or instant if you prefer.  There are tanning gels, foams, lotions, and even tanning towels.  Choose whichever is most convenient for your skin type.

3.  Moisturize your skin AFTER your tanner is applied.  Wait 10 minutes to apply your favorite moisturizer.  It will help to smooth out any spots or streaks and help you achieve a longer lasting tan.

4.  Don't forget your face!  You can use a bronzer for added color or even choose a darker tinted makeup for summer!

Thanks to Augusta Andrews of B. Barnett for sharing these great make up tips!

When it comes to finding solutions to help imperfections in the skin, your first thought may be to turn to skincare solutions. Skincare isn’t your only option though. With the right combination of moisturizer and makeup, you can have clearer, better looking skin in just 5 steps.

1. If redness is your issue, there are a wide variety of makeup lines that will solve this issue. The best counteraction to redness is to use a moisturizer with a green tint in it. The tint evens out redness in the skin and helps it get to a healthier, more natural looking tone. Not only does it provide important hydration, it also calms the skin. Moisturizer is so important because it is what provides the canvas for your makeup to go over.
2. Mineral powder foundation is my favorite choice for problematic skin. It has trace minerals in it, which promote healing over time. It also has sunscreen if needed, can be your all in one cover up.
3. Choose a concealer that is at least a ½ shade lighter than your own skin tone. It is important for problematic skin to choose an oil free concealer. Put your concealer on over your mineral powder and blend well.
4. When using mineral powder and concealer, using a finishing powder over the products will give you a smooth finish and help your makeup to last throughout the day.
5. The last step is to choose a mineral powder blush. It has the added mineral benefits to help heal your skin and will go on more smoothly and more softly over your other makeup. 

Rebecca Ward's Thoughts on Being Nice in Public

Thanks to Rebecca Ward for sharing this blog!

Years ago my sweetest daughter-in-law and I slipped away and went to a movie. It was called “Pay It Forward” and as you might suspect, the theme was how to keep kindness to others moving from person to person. Very heartwarming movie. Yet in the midst of all the goodwill being spread around on the big screen,someone’s cell phone burst into song and immediately boos and hisses rang through the theatre . Not kind, not patient or accepting were these reprimanding folk sharing the auditorium.  I almost shouted out “Hey, pay it forward” but decided silence was the better choice. The poor woman with the operatic phone sunk in her seat after frantically shutting it off.

I often think about why strangers aren’t kinder to each other. I watch angry drivers and hurried shoppers in apoplectic states when another driver stops on yellow or the shopper ahead pulls out coupons. It’s  as if the children had been sold or the house disappeared into a sink hole, big events that warrant a strong emotional response. But being delayed 3 minutes? Or 7 or whatever. No kindness, no patience.  It seems that others are not our fellow planet dwellers but impediments to our needs being met in a speedy manner.

So I was so surprised today to have several strangers do nice things for me. One nice young woman held the door open for me and wished me a good day! Another let me into traffic when two lanes turned into one..and she did it with a wave and a smile! The sales folks I encountered were friendly and helpful and seemed glad I was there instead of ticked because I interrupted their texting. Oh, and a very nice man let me ahead of him in the grocery store line because I had fewer items and he wasn’t in a hurry! Swell!

It has all been lovely and I’ve felt positive and energized by all the consideration and kindness shown to me….by strangers!! I am going to “pay it forward”. I am not going  to wait until the last minute to head to an appointment so I am stressed to get there on time and other people not being in a hurry frustrates me and I start engaging  unflattering “traffic   talk” which isn’t very nice. I will not go to the grocery store if my time isn’t flexible. I’m going  to be nicer and more considerate to others.

I’ve made up my mind.  I’m really going to do this. Wouldn’t it be grand if being nice to each other was contagious?

Rebecca Ward