Balanced Bartender

Stay healthy, Bar Meisters

Amie Ward The Healthtender

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Hello and Happy March, My Friends!

Spring is about to be sprung, and tis the season of new beginnings. With that, we could use this Balanced Bartender pep talk to review the basics of nutrition and learn what our bodies need to rock out behind the bar during our shifts. Our individual relationships with food can be quite complicated to focus on the nuts and bolts here. Nutrition is how our bodies break down and utilize the food products we consume and are essential for our development, health, and well-being.

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Check out Amie's St Patrick's Day Soda Bread Recipe
Join Amie for a Zoom Class & this Month's IG Challenge!

There are six essential nutrients our bodies need,

proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water—and the amount needed for each varies depending on our age, height, weight, and activity levels. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are called macronutrients, meaning they are required in large amounts and provide energy to our bodies in the form of calories. We do not have the time for a comprehensive review of each nutrient, but the most important takeaways are as follows.

Proteins

Proteins are responsible for muscle growth, as well as tissue and organ maintenance. Consuming proteins helps us feel fuller longer and keeps the digestive system firing on all cylinders. They will comprise anywhere from 12-25% of our daily caloric intake. Some great protein sources include chickpeas, tofu, cottage cheese, eggs, steak, lean chicken, turkey, fish, lentils, quinoa, and nuts.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy our bodies crave. They also prevent muscle tissue from being utilized for energy, so it is important to avoid fad diets that ask you to drastically reduce or abstain from the nutrient altogether. We need about 50-60% of our daily calories to come from carbohydrates, and foods like fruits, vegetables, rice, whole grains, and cereals are where they can be found.

Fats

Fats are vital for energy, brain development, inflammation control, vitamin absorption, and hormone production. There are three types of fats: unsaturated, saturated, and trans. Our goal is to avoid trans fats, keep saturated fats to a minimum, and let most of our calories from fat come from the unsaturated kind. Healthy fat consumption should be about 10-30% of our daily caloric intake and can come from vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, fatty fish, coconuts, peanut butter, yogurt, and even dark chocolate.

Vitamins

Vitamins are organic nutrients responsible for growth, immunity, strong bones, energy, and overall body maintenance. The body needs 13 different vitamins each day—A, C, D, E, K, and the Bs (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, B6, B12, and folate). The body is capable of producing vitamins D and K.

There are six essential nutrients our bodies need,

Proteins

Carbohydrates

Fats

Vitamins

Minerals

Minerals are inorganic nutrients required for healthy teeth and bones, boosting immunity and regulating water in the body. Sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulfur are needed in large amounts and referred to as macro minerals. Iron, fluoride, zinc, copper, chromium, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, and selenium are trace minerals that make a big impact but are only needed in small amounts.

Vitamins and minerals are found in many foods, including beans, seafood, dairy products, eggs, fortified foods (like cereals, orange juice, and plant-based beverages), fruits, dark leafy vegetables, whole grains, meats, poultry, nuts, seeds, and more. A comprehensive list can be found here.

Water

Water is a kind of a big deal because our bodies require it to survive. Water assists in vital functions like respiration, perspiration, digestion, urination, and defecation and helps remove toxins from the body and convert fats into energy. Many schools of thought on how much water you should consume daily, but my rule of thumb is to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces every day. You can fine-tune your consumption depending on how active you are and how many hydrating foods you eat (yes, things like cucumbers, peaches, celery, soups, and others contain oodles of water!). Try keeping a water bottle on your well and refill it 2-3 times during your shift to ease into your hydration game. If you need gentle reminders to hydrate, you can try phone apps like Plant Nanny, Water Minder, Aqualert, and others to get you on the right path.

There are many resources available to address how to make nutrition work for you but to get started, check out https://www.choosemyplate.gov/. MyPlate is a colorful infographic that replaced the food pyramid of old. The plate is divided into five unequal sections representing the new food group iterations—fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and proteins—and what a proportional meal should look like to ensure we consume our essential nutrients.

Thank you all for tuning in! Jägermeister and The Healthtender have another exciting movement challenge on Instagram this month, and you had better believe it will go in like a lion and out like a lamb. Our March Madness challenge is of the glute variety. Complete 30 seconds of Glute Bridge Marches (and longer if you are extra mad!), take a time-lapse video or a sweaty post-march selfie, tag @thehealthtender and @jagermeisterUSA, and use the hashtag #jmbalancedbartender. Head on over to my Instagram, @thehealthtender, for demonstrations and more details.

Stay balanced, my friends!

Amie Ward

Email: amie@thehealthtender.com

Balanced Bartender Snacks

St Patrick's Day Soda Bread

Happy St Patrick's Day

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated this month, and I thought we could whip up an Irish Soda Bread variation that was free of buttermilk and all-purpose flour—ingredients the classic recipe calls for. Whether you are vegan or have an intolerance to dairy, buttermilk just does not work for everyone. Similarly, all-purpose flour—the ingredient which binds everything together in recipes—also binds itself to our bellies. In this spec, I switch out full-fat coconut milk for the buttermilk, and a combination of almond, flax, and coconut flour for the all-purpose flour. This ramps up our intake of good fats and oodles of protein, and still tastes delicious. You can top this with whatever jam, butter, or butter-alternatives you prefer, and enjoy with a side of Jägermeister Cold Brew!

Dry Ingredients

1 cup Blanched Almond Flour
¼ cup Flaxseed Meal
¼ cup Coconut Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Sea Salt
¼ cup Raisins or Dried Apricots, chopped

Recipe Continued & Nutritional Info

Wet Ingredients

3 tbsp Full Fat Coconut Milk
2 Large Eggs, room temp
2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Coconut Nectar or Agave

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. If you are using dried fruits, add these here!
In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
Pour wet ingredients to dry and combine to form a dough.
Mold the dough into a 7-inch diameter circle and place it on the baking sheet.
Use a knife to cut an X on top of the dough.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool before slicing.
Makes 8 hearty slices.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice
Per Serving: Calories: 169; Total Fat: 11g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 40mg; Sodium: 257mg; Carbohydrates: 11.8g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 2g; Protein: 6g

Get to Know The Healthtender

Amie Ward

Amie Ward is a Veteran Bartender,

exercise physiologist and has been outspoken on her fellow service industry members' health and wellness. When she is not pulling trucks and training for Strongwoman competitions, you can find Amie appreciating the finer things in life like Jägermeister.

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Room: 443 336 2417
Password: 112233

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March 2021