You Can’t Pour from an Empty Pot: Nutrition for Busy Women on Women's Day

As women, we are not given the credit that we deserve. In Trinidad and Tobago, women can be seen as the backbone of the family. Usually, women either mothers, sisters, cousins, friends are awake before everyone to prepare meals, organize school bags, head to work, attend school meetings, care for aging parents and somehow cooking, cleaning, helping with homework to keep everything running smoothly. When are we actually taking a moment to care for ourselves? Our days can be busy but if we don’t prioritize our health, we will not be able to pour from an empty pot.

The truth is simple. Habits make up our lives.These are a few routines we tend to neglect but can be used to regulate our health:

1) Skipping Meals

Eating on time is a habit that is usually forgotten because of the multiple tasks that we do on a daily. Unfortunately, for busy women, eating breakfast is the first sacrifice. Maybe we slip in a caffeinated drink on the way.

Skipping meals slows down metabolism, significantly affects blood sugar levels and can increase mood swings, irritability, headaches and fatigue. This can also contribute to weight gain which increases risks for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

Simple breakfast options include:

l  Roti and vegetable choka e.g.tomato or bigain.

l  Cereal mixed with fresh fruit, oats, mixed nuts, chia, flaxseed powder, wheat germ, low fat milk, low fat yogurt and peanut butter

l  Sandwich with eggs, lettuce, cucumber, tomato for balance

l  Nutritious smoothie with banana, peanut butter, oats, low fat milk, cucumber

My favourite go to breakfast is the cereal mix when in a rush. It’s a perfect balance with nutritious combinations. I usually choose a low sugar cereal.

2) Lacking Balance

Nutrient deficiencies can occur in women when we don’t get to eat the right combinations based on the food groups we need daily. This may seem as a small oversight, but can lead to a common deficiency such as iron deficiency anemia. Foods that we can include to reduce this risk includes:

l  Dark green leafy vegetables e.g. callaloo

l  Beans and lentils

l  Fotrified cereals

Combining iron rich foods with vitamin C, from foods such as sweet peppers, citrus fruit, can improve absorption.

A healthy meal can include your favourite fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrate of choice, protein and beans. My favourite balanced meal is macaroni pie, stew chicken, callaloo.

3) Avoiding snacks

Snacks are often given a bad name, but we can snack more nutritiously to ensure that we get a variety of nutrients to fuel our bodies. Include both healthy and unhealthy snacks to boost your mood, energy and metabolism! My favourite due is a fruit e.g. banana and nutritious treats from Didi’s Healthy Living Cafe. I love anything with dark chocolate.

Putting it all together, we can accomplish this only with a plan! You deserve to feel and look your best with the right nutrition. Amazing energy levels will be accomplished as we focus on batch cooking, choosing a day to plan for the week and distributing tasks to other family members e.g. helping to wash wares and get market goods. Small and steady movements will create ever lasting lifestyle changes. Start today!

By: Dr. Didi, PhD

Dr. Candida Khan, PhD MSc. RD.

Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist