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Healthy Talk - In this edition
Nutrition Month
Almost half of all Canadians find it challenging to eat a balanced diet. To help address this, Dietitians of Canada organize Nutrition Month every March to provide guidance aimed at making it a little easier for people to choose and prepare nourishing, enjoyable meals. This year’s theme is Unlock the Potential of Food. Check out Nutrition Month resources, which help show how food has the potential to: fuel our bodies, inspire healthy habits in children, prevent chronic diseases, promote healing and bring families and friends together. Sandra Ace, Health Services Registered Dietitian, will explore some timely, misunderstood or controversial topics 
that you may have heard about, read about or wondered about. Be sure to check the Daily Bulletin regularly to catch all the crazy myths. Please forward comments to Sandra Ace at: sace@uwaterloo.ca.
Canada's Food Guide 2019
Canada’s new food guide has been released and quite a few changes have been made. 
The guide now recommends plant-based protein over animal protein sources. In general, it gives great significance to fruits and vegetables, suggesting that half of our plate should consist of these. To learn more about the new food guide, visit Canada's Food Guide.
Mac and Cheese with a Veggie Twist
Looking to make something healthy yet delicious, try this mac and cheese recipe by Health Canada:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Directions:
- In a pot, bring water to boil. Add macaroni and cook for about 6 minutes or until pasta is tender but firm. Drain well and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat margarine over medium heat and cook onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add carrot, red pepper and zucchini and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in flour and cook, stirring until flour is absorbed. Slowly pour in milk and stir until smooth. Add thyme. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until starting to bubble. Stir in cheese, mustard and pepper. Remove from heat and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in cooked macaroni until well coated.
Ingredients:
- 375 mL (1 ½ cups) whole grain macaroni or fusilli
- 10 mL (2 tsp) soft non-hydrogenated margarine
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 125 mL (1/2 cup) finely chopped red bell pepper
- 125 mL (1/2 cup) grated zucchini
- Pinch fresh ground pepper
- 30 mL (2 tbsp) all-purpose flour.500 mL (2 cups) skim milk
- 250 mL (1 cup) shredded light old Cheddar cheese
- 5 mL (1 tsp) chopped fresh thyme or 2 mL (1/2 tsp) dried thyme leaves
- 5 mL (1 tsp) Dijon mustard
Lunch Breaks are Important!
Studies show that one third of Canadian workers don’t take lunch breaks. From the percentage that does, about half take a break at their desk, while browsi
ng on their phone or computer.
Taking lunch breaks away from the desk are absolutely necessary for employees, not only to refuel and recharge, but also to mentally de-stress themselves from the workload.
There are numerous ideas that can be implemented in a workplace to encourage employees to take lunch breaks, and further increase team engagement. Listed below are some great ideas:
- Organize Lunch and Learns, where the team gets together to have lunch, while attaining knowledge about different topics of interest.
- Play games and activities, such as bingo or trivia during lunch hour.
- Have a potluck! Not only do you get to engage with your coworkers, but you also get to try out new dishes and cuisine.
- Organize team barbecues (of course that is once the weather gets better).
Lunch and Learn with Sandra Ace 
Does your diet need a springtime renovation? Are you confused by conflicting advice on how to do it? Finding practical strategies for heathy eating just got easier with the revamped and research-backed tools recently unveiled by Health Canada. Learn about the highlights and how you can integrate these into every day practice with Sandra Ace on March 19th at DC 1302, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
If you plan on attending, please email occupational health at occupationalhealth@uwaterloo.ca to reserve a spot as we have limited space.
Hope to see you there!
Useful Contacts
Looking for a dietitian, consider getting in touch with one of the following: