Liane Claassen, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:

Alere Wellbeing is a healthy behavior company. It thrives to help people live healthier lives. Alere Wellbeing also likes to walk the talk by offering quarterly challenges based around health to its employees. This quarter we have the chance to complete the Healthy Harvest Challenge. The goal is to increase daily consumption of fruit and veggies, and if we are lucky we might win a prize. I know I will be lucky once I’m aware of the steps I have to take to increase my daily consumption. I feel balanced and well when I eat fruits and veggies, and drained and depressed when I don’t, and yet I favor cheese and butter over vegetables or fruits.

My goal is to eat 3 servings of each per day. I just finished my first week of the challenge and consumed roughly 25 servings of fruit and veggies during that week. Last night, I had consumed 3 servings of fruit over the course of the day, but no veggies. The plan was to share a beet dish with my husband, but then watched him eat it all without interrupting him. I ended up eating more cheese w/ bread and butter instead, and while I was savoring the melted butter on my toast and the yummy cheese that went so well with it, I felt guilty but remained silent nevertheless. Well, it’s called a challenge for a reason, isn’t it!

So, I started to analyze myself. If I know my needs, I can start planning for them. What I noticed about myself is that I don’t like raw vegetables. I also noticed the servings have to be ready to eat by the time I want to eat them. So, putting an orange on my desk won’t work because I’d have to peel it first and that’s messy. One of the main insights I gained is that I have to be on some kind of a schedule where I eat fruit or veggies in the same situation.

Here is what I have come up with:

• The rule is to have fruit/ and or veggies with each meal or snack. A serving is mostly ½ cup, whether that’s fruit or vegetables.
• Frozen ready- to- eat fruits and veggies are my best friend. This allows for no more excuses as I don’t need to prepare anything! I have frozen fruit with my cereal in the morning. I add a serving of veggies to each canned soup I eat. You get the picture. All you need is a microwave and a bunch of different bags for variety. To add flavor I usually add a little olive oil with salt and pepper or herbs if I eat veggies by themselves.
• I also get fresh fruit and veggies delivered once a week. I cook all the vegetables, and sometimes some of the fruit, all on the same day of the delivery. Now I have tasty dishes ready in the fridge. I can use them as part of the main meal, or as little snacks in-between.
• I eat fruits or veggies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition I started to put a serving of fresh cut fruit on my desk. If I haven’t eaten it by the end of my shift I’ll eat it then.
• I won’t deprive myself. If I feel like having something like cake, then I have fruit with it as well. If I feel like having something like cheese or meat, then I have vegetables as well.
• When I order in the restaurant I always order a vegetable dish, a bowl of fruit or fruit juice (if it’s 100%) along with my dish. If I order coffee, I also order something healthy, like a banana.
• When company comes over for a visit I cut up some fruit and present it on a plate.
• I’m trying to change the way I look at dinner. Instead of saying “We are having steak tonight” I might say “We are having kale and potatoes with steak tonight.” The proportions on the plate will be mainly veggies and grains plus some steak.

I’m feeling pretty accomplished about this and know I can easily incorporate these rules into my life. The pumpkin ice cream in the fridge is calling to me...I bet those frozen mangos next to the ice cream go well with it.