Your employee’s nutrition can impact their mood and productivity. Research suggests that there is a direct relationship between perceived stress, emotional eating, and food choice motivation. Working remote creates more challenges when it comes to food. Here are the top 4 ways to keep good nutrition top of mind at work.
Food gathers people together. It connects us with love, support, and nourishment. We give food to those with new babies, a death in the family, or recovering from an illness. Food is a universal way to show that we care about each other. Organizing a workplace recipe book is a way to bring people together through food in the workplace.
Ask employees to share family favorites, traditions, or quick and easy recipes. Have them submit memories and stories around the recipes they provide. Sharing recipes can inspire collaboration among employees driving deeper relationships and morale. As this study shows, we need daily human interaction for our social, emotional and physical well-being. A workplace recipe book can help build teams. It can even inspire employees to try new foods or learn new recipes to improve heart health.
Start an Eat the Rainbow Challenge at the workplace. Consuming plant-based foods and fruits and vegetables provides numerous benefits. Research suggests that a fruit and vegetable challenge will teach the many benefits of eating a variety of colors with each meal. Dark, leafy green vegetables can reduce inflammation. They can also help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Sweet potatoes and Red Bell peppers are rich in Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps get rid of free radicals, which can damage cells and tissues. Less free radicals in the body means fewer triggers for inflammation. Aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Here are some fun ways to encourage participation in the Eat the Rainbow challenge at work:
National Nutrition Month is an annual event with a new theme each year. The theme of National Nutrition Month® for March 2023 is “Fuel for the Future”. This year, the Academy is encouraging everyone to eat with sustainability in mind. You can provide tips that remind employees to look for foods with minimal packaging, to shop in season, and to eat more plants. If you have space, you can connect this theme to your workplace garden. Encourage participation with planning, planting, and maintaining the garden.
Virtual communities are here to stay. We now connect through virtual fitness classes, online meetings, and cooking classes. Virtual cooking classes are a fun way to bond with others. We can connect with friends, family, or co-workers from anywhere. Through an online platform, we can prepare a meal together in our own homes. Research suggests that cooking classes improve dietary intake, self-attitude, and self-efficacy. Some local grocery stores may have virtual cooking classes with ingredient packs available for pick up. Treo offers free resources online for virtual cooking as well as opportunities for live classes for your organization.
Create a workplace recipe book, run an eat the rainbow challenge, promote National Nutrition Month® or start connecting with virtual cooking experiences. These strategies can inspire positive conversation about health and wellness at work in a fun and inclusive way. Many of people are feeling the need to reconnect. By offering these types of events you are encouraging everyone to contribute.
Jill Woodward is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and a Nutrition Education Specialist. She has a Master’s in nutrition and dietetics and has worked in a variety of settings including hospitals and outpatient clinics. Jill has also worked with fortune 500 companies across the US on developing a culture of health in their corporate environments. Jill enjoys seeing people achieve their chosen health and wellness goals. Her evidence based approach helps individuals reach their goals as part of their unique lifestyle to successfully sustain their healthy habits.
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