TEXT ON SCREEN: Sun Life and YMCA of Three Rivers

TEXT ON SCREEN: “Healthy eating doesn’t have to break the bank” – Laura Baum

Xania: “How do you work with your clients to not feel like they have to trade off food and still really be part of the family meal...?”

TEXT ON SCREEN: Xania Khan, Host, Director Content Strategy, Sun Life

Xania: "… Or maybe even invite the family into meal planning and meal prep?"

Laura: “You should not have to…"

TEXT ON SCREEN: Laura Baum, Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator, Member of Sun Life’s provider network

Laura: “… give up your favorite stuff, or that pizza night, or that mac and cheese night, or whatever it is. But that yeah, maybe it's saying there is this pizza here, and I'm going to add my bag of salad that I bought from the grocery store that I want to add to have my plate a little more balanced here, and I'm going to have the pizza and I'm going to have some water with it, and I'm going to have my bag of salad, and everyone's going to eat this together, and it's going to be great, or it's the mac and cheese and I'm going to add some protein inside. You know, I've like I used to have mac and cheese and tuna and it's delicious. So maybe there's ways that I could add some creativity. Or I have raw veggies on the side where I can rinse it and eat it and enjoy. 

And that can be part of something that everyone again, should be having and eating. And you shouldn't have to feel isolated or give something up. Yeah, it comes down to the like things you want to ask yourself, like how much, how often and with what else. But if you think of those things, then everything can fit.” 

Xania: “Let's look at a different scenario. Maybe it's someone on their own. Maybe it's someone who isn't as financially stable as a family might be or assumed to be. And they have some tough decisions to make.”

Laura: “Yeah, right.” 

Xania: “Do they eat healthy or do they pay their bills? How would you empower someone? What advice do you have?” 

Laura: “Yeah, that's a great question. And that's really, really a tough situation that you hope no one or no Canadian should have to be in. But the truth is, is that that is sometimes the reality. Healthy eating does not have to be expensive. And through probably practice and through learning where to go and how to do it and what to buy and what you'll actually eat and not waste all of those things.

You will learn how to make quick, healthy, easy, cost effective, especially if it's for one person, right? Like, how do I buy or freeze or share with others or contribute as part of a larger meal? Like how do I actually use what I have and how do I use it? Well, and how do I use it in a health promoting manner? 

There are a lot of great resources…” 

TEXT ON SCREEN: One example: Diabetes Canada offers lots of tips and resources. 

Laura: “… in Canada that we could try to hopefully rely on, and utilize to make those decisions easier.” 

Xania: “Okay. Laura. Rapid fire. I've got $10 and I want to make two meals. Can you give me two meals? That would cost me $10 each. The ten-buck challenge.” 

Laura: “Ten-buck challenge, I love that. Okay. One would be taco night. So let's say I do canned beans. Let's say I do frozen shrimp. I do little wraps and then I buy that like slaw mix. It's already in a bag because I'm not buying three types of cabbage and carrots and shredding. And I am not doing that. 

Then you can buy some like canned salsa or go crazy and do some corn or avocado or whatever, but you can really add in everything you want. Kid friendly, family friendly. You can change the proteins. And then I would say a stir fry. So coming back to that frozen veggie mix. Keep that in your freezer whenever you just need something like dump in that bag so you have your vegetables. 

Then you need a carbohydrate and you need a protein. So the protein could be whatever you have, whatever you need to use up. So whether it's maybe some tofu you buy in a brick, maybe it's any chicken that's on sale, any kind of chicken, maybe it's some extra lean ground beef or some beef strips and then you use some kind of carbohydrate.

So maybe it's rice, maybe it's quinoa. The world is your oyster in terms of what you want to add in. So you could do that. Maybe some quick, budget friendly snacks would be like peanut butter and apples, or any type of fruit that you like. Peanut butter, bananas. Always fun. Peanut butter can last for a long time.” 

Xania: “When you look at cultural complexities and what you maybe can and cannot eat, anything you've come across in your experience with that.” 

Laura: “Yeah, I think that's a great question. And I think it does come back to the social where like obviously depends on what's offered. Right. And you want to try to choose certain choices that fit within your nutrition goals. But the truth is, is that all cultures and all cuisines have more like thicker, heartier, like calorically dense, fattier, richer dishes. 

And then there's often ones that, whether it's a few small tweaks or whether it's choosing ones that lean more into the fruit and the veggies and the protein, and then being mindful, the carbohydrates or mindful the fat, there's nothing that we need to like. This is a no meal, and this is something you want to have all the time. 

But within your culture and cuisine, trying to make health positive substitutions or, cook with different ingredients that might still be super tasty and fit within what you're looking for, but might be a little bit of a healthier choice.” 

TEXT ON SCREEN: Explore more support for people with diabetes. sunlife.ca/diabeteshealth

This is meant to provide general information only. It’s not professional medical advice, or a substitute for that advice.