LiveWell

Purpose:

Provide options for our customers that allow them the opportunity to enjoy the fresh, tasty and wholesome foods offered each day, with an eye on meeting a basic criteria for health and wellness

A LiveWell luncheon menu item is a complete meal that offers foods meeting:

  • 600 calories or less per serving
  • 20 g or less of fat per serving (averaging 30% of calories from fat)
  • 7 g or less of fat from saturated fat (averaging 10% of calories from saturated fat)
  • Controlled Sodium

Look for other menu combinations that meet our LiveWell criteria. These combinations always meet the LiveWell criteria and are offered daily in our cafés.

LiveWell

How to locate it:

There will always be a LiveWell meal option somewhere in the café. You will find it next to our signage with the LiveWell logo. And don’t forget to look for LiveWell snacks throughout the café. It just might be the thing you need to power out the rest of your day!

Resources for healthy living

There is a bounty of resources on the internet and places you can go to obtain health, wellness and nutrition information.    We have posted some sites here that we believe are reputable, non-biased and provide information based on scientific evidence and study and not fads or trends. As always, we are not promoting any one site, product or lifestyle.  We encourage you to seek out advice from your personal health care provider for any specific questions or concerns you have about your personal health.

Resources to consider in determining your own health needs:

What should I weigh?

Most health care professionals use the BMI, or Body Mass Index as a basic indicator of the impact of a person’s weight.  What is BMI? According to the Harvard Health Newsletter, The body-mass index (BMI) is a way of assessing people’s weight while taking into account their height. You can think of it as how much a person weighs per inch of height. 1 BMI is a simple way to check basic weight based only on a person’s height. It does not take into account sex, age or any other trait.  It is not the only way to determine a safe body weight, but a good indicator and reference point.  If you have never done, so, check out an online BMI calculator to see what your current weight status shows. There are many other, but we have outlined a few below. Visit www.choosemyplate.gov and visit their weight management and calories tab for information on healthy weight ranges.  From there look at the Super Tracker tools for ideas of eating and activity that might appeal to you.Visit http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/your-health-and-your-weight/bmi-calculator-for-adults for an easy to use BMI Calculator. Visit www.cancer.org and go to their Stay Healthy tab for a BMI calculator

What should I be eating?

There are currently thousands of diets, books, programs and phone apps for monitoring and tracking the foods you eat for health and wellness.    What one is right for you? That is a personal decision each one must make. We hope you will discuss any health care concerns with your health care provider. We have included a few sites below that you might research as a starting point for understanding what the body needs to be nourished and healthy. Visit www.choosemyplate.gov and visit the Super Tracker and Daily Food Plan pages for ideas of where to start in understanding what we should be eating. From there, look at other sites and research well respected locations.  You can use the Super Tracker information as a basic point of reference.

Does activity really make a difference in health?

According to many resources, the plain and simple answer is yes.  The American Cancer Society states that Research has shown that poor diet and not being active are 2 key factors that can increase a person’s cancer risk. The good news is that you do something about this.2 Cancer is just one of the risks of lower activity.  Harvard also states that exercise can help in the battle against heart attacks and diabetes, as well as cancers. 3

Where do you start?

Start by thinking about what you start with? Can you walk a little more, can you run a little more? Can you climb the stairs more? Can you park farther away? What can you do to start?  Then think about what you like to do.  What do you like to play at? Baseball, basketball, swimming, dancing, biking, hiking, gardening- these are all ways to get your body moving!

 How can you get help?

If you want to look at a technology application to help you, there are many to choose from.  Look at the kind of aps that track activity and give you the support, feedback and encouragement that will work for you. Everyone learns and succeeds differently, so it is OK to try out a few aps before selecting one you think might work for you.   Just because an ap is in the current top 10 or 20, does not mean it will work for you.  Take the time to select the support you need.  It is all about you! Check out WebMDs or the Mayo Clinic health sites at  http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/  or http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/basics/fitness-basics/hlv-20049447 But plain and simple, get moving more for good health!

Reading a Nutrition Label

Confused about nutrition information on a package? You are not alone! But understanding what the information on that food label means does not have to be a challenge!  Try one of these links to find simple information on what the nutrition facts label is telling you. The Mayo Clinics, and the FDA’s break down what each line of the label means. WebMD has a great article on tips to reading a Nutrition label here and the Nutrition.gov site offers a wide range of food label information.

Reading Ingredient Labels

What is in the food we eat?  Today’s grocery shelves are lined with foods created with convenience in mind.  Time savers, flavor enhancers, menu starters.  Energy bars, cereals, snacks.  All of these foods contain more, typically, than just the foods inside them.  What are these food additives, food preservatives, food enhancers? Are they safe? Are they necessary?   Some enhancements, like Vitamin C, D, Calcium or Iron are healthy and typically safe ways to ensure that we get enough of these important vitamins and minerals. Preservatives not only inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungi, and other micro-organisms, but also retard the oxidation of fats which cause rancidity. The preservatives also inhibit the natural ageing and discoloration of food such as the enzymatic browning reaction in apples which causes browning when apples are cut.  Sometimes microorganisms such as; benign bacteria, yeast or fungi is added to a food to enhance its quality or to preserve it. For example, a lactic acid bacterium is used to preserve cheese and yeasts are used in production of alcohol. 4 Are these natural or artificial preservatives?  There are both, and both are used in food manufacturing. Will they hurt you? Each person gets to make the choice to eat these foods or not. At Epicurean we believe that the less artificial preservatives and additives we ingest the better. The more natural the foods, the better. You are then taking advantage of the natural benefits of the nutrients in the foods. One common line has always been, if you cannot pronounce an ingredient, maybe you don’t want to eat it. Here are a few resources to check out information about common food additives. Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-truth-about-seven-common-food-additives FDA: http://www.fda.gov National Institute of Health’s Medline Plus  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002435.htm

Informational Nutrition Cards