Singin' the Blues

Regular Diet Dish readers have told me that their favorite posts are the ones that are a bit more personal (i.e. what I eat, how Jack and I navigate eating together, etc.). So, as I sat down with my Mac last night, I thought about the past few days. Did I have any blog-worthy food/nutrition experiences? By golly, I did. Quite a few actually, but this is the very first topic that came to mind.

Thursday of last week was a tough day. I received some bad news that day, Jack was sick with the flu, everything just seemed to be “off,” and I was feeling pretty down. You know those days (hopefully they’re few and far between). And, I just did NOT want to eat. Melancholy can either bolster your appetite, or squelch it. I’ve experienced both, but lately, the latter seems to be my trend. But, being a registered dietitian, I know that my body needs nutrients – even when my hunger signals are out of kilter.

A big part of my job is answering questions from consumers, and every once in a while, this one comes up, “What should I do I when I lose interest in eating?” Here’s what I do (what I did Thursday), and what I recommend to others:

Think condensed. Choose foods that pack a lot of nutrition (and calories) in a tiny portion. Great options include nuts, seeds, dried fruit, 100% fruit juices, bananas, dense grains like oatmeal and granola, and smoothies (my personal favorite higher calorie version is blend of peanut butter, bananas, and vanilla soy milk – it’s delicious and comforting).

Graze. Eating smaller bites of calorie-rich healthy foods more often will keep you nourished without feeling force-fed.

Drink differently. Drink liquids between vs. with meals (especially calorie-free beverages like water).

Make it easy. When I’m down, the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. But, instead of skipping, I’ll order in, or pick up healthy take-out options that provide slightly more calories than my usual choices. My picks include veggie pizza, lentil soup, whole-wheat pasta tossed in an olive oil-sauce, and bean burritos with guacamole.

And on a non-nutrition note, let your feelings out. Lucky for me, Jack’s a great listener, even when his ears are all plugged up from a flu bug :)

Photo courtesy of Cynthia Sass – my pets always make me feel better (that's Toonces - he's a big cuddler who loves to give kisses!).

P.S. I’m feeling much better today, but I still thought I’d include some blues-based fun facts:
-Blues music is thought to have originated in the late 1800s
-Blues music uses blue notes and follows a 12 bar structure
-Blue notes are sung or played at a lower pitch than those of the major scale
-For more blues music history click here
-Many languages do not have separate words for blue and green
-Blue whales are the largest animals in the world (about 110 feet in length)
-A blue moon is the second full moon in a month

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