J U N E 2 02 0

DILL A N D

GRILL

PRACTICE

POSITIVIT Y

CONNECTION A N D

PURPOSE

Positively Connecting This

Summer

2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces

6 Tbsp mayonnaise

3 green onions, sliced with ends re-moved (about ¹⁄³ cup)

3 Tbsp diced dill pickles

1 ½ tsp dill pickle juice from jar

1 ½ tsp stone ground mustard

½ tsp salt + extra for boiling water

Pinch of dried dill (about ¹⁄8 tsp)

¼ tsp paprika

DIRECTIONS:

Fill a pot three quarters full of water. Add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Carefully add chopped potatoes to the water. Cook the potatoes on a low boil for 10 to 12 minutes, until the potatoes are just a smidgen past al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, green onions, diced dill pickles, dill pickle juice, stone ground mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and dried dill. Add the drained potatoes to the bowl. Use a spoon to fully combine everything. Sprinkle paprika on top as a garnish. Cover and refrigerate until cool.

SERVES: 4

NUTRITION INFO: (per serving)

Calories 320, Fat 13g, Carbs 43g, Protein 5g, Sodium 278mg

Pillowy potato salad comes alive with the flavors of dill. With dried dill, a splash of pickle juice, and diced pickles, this classic summer favorite just got even better. Make with egg-free mayo for an easy vegan side dish! Serve it at your next backyard barbecue, or pop it in a picnic basket alongside sandwiches.

Dill Pickle

PotatoesWhile bananas are revered for their

potassium, potatoes offer even more. Just one potato contains about 25% of

the daily recommended amount. Not only that, the humble spud is

packed with phytonutrients, vitamin C, fiber, and B6.

From the Kitchen of CADRY NELSON // Cadry is the writer, photographer, and recipe creator at Cadry’s Kitchen, a vegan food & lifestyle blog. She shares plant-based comfort food classics that are ready in about 30 minutes. Cadry has been featured on Today, Reader’s Digest, Shape, and Huffington Post.

E AT W E L L

POTATO SALAD

About CADRY NELSON // Cadry is the writer, photographer, and recipe creator at Cadry’s Kitchen, a vegan food & lifestyle blog. She shares plant-based comfort food classics that are ready in about 30 minutes. Cadry has been featured on Today, Reader’s Digest, Shape, and Huffington Post.

by CADRY NELSON

Add Color to YourE AT W E L L

Summer means long sunny days, leisurely afternoons by the pool, and grilling out. Sure, a lot of popular BBQ standards are far from nutrient dense. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Grocery produce sections are bursting in hues of green, red, yellow, and orange. While so much vibrantly colored fare is in season, it’s the perfect time to celebrate produce at the front and center of your cookout.

Upgrade Your Appetizer

Instead of toting along a bag of potato chips to the barbecue, bring a raw vegetable platter with cauliflower, carrot sticks, sugar snap peas, and celery. Serve with a cup of homemade or store-bought hummus for dipping. The protein in hummus makes this starter even more satiating.

Grill Those Leafy Greens

Leafy greens like romaine and bok choy do beautifully on the grill. Their mild flavors let the smokiness shine.

Grilled bok choy is a terrific side dish. Charred romaine makes a flavorful base for a salad with tomatoes, red onion, and your favorite dressing.

Embrace a Seasonal Classic

Nothing says summer like corn-on-the-cob. It doesn’t take long to cook. Leave it in the husk, or put it right on the grill with its kernels exposed. It picks up charred, smoky flavors like a dream. Plus, corn is a whole grain, replete with fiber, potassium, and protein.

Give Burgers the Night Off

Burgers get all of the buzz this time of year, but flame-kissed fajitas are marvelous on the grill. Simply toss your favorite vegetables with a drizzle of oil, squeeze of lime, and a smattering of chili powder, cumin, paprika, and salt.

For the vegetables, I recommend even-sized pieces of asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, and onions. Put the vegetables into a grill basket and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Finally, throw some corn tortillas on to the grill. Assemble your fajitas, and finish with a generous scoop of guacamole.

Don’t Forget Dessert

Grilling fruit brings out its inherent sweetness. The heat helps the sugars to caramelize, and of course, everything is more inviting with grill marks.

Some fruits that work particularly well on the grill include skewered pineapple, halved peaches, and halved bananas.

As a bonus, fruits are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

BACKYARD BARBEQUE

Wonderful WatermelonWatermelon is 92% water and contains only 46 calories per cup. Eating this juicy fruit is a delicious way to stay hydrated during warm weather months. Bring along a watermelon to your cookout, and reap the rewards of vitamins C, A, lycopene, and potassium.

Some individuals have that “je ne sais quoi” that makes them more motivating than others. Seems like everyone gravitates towards them, and everything they touch turns to gold. When you interact with these “positive energizers,” it makes you feel more energized, capable, and ready to take action than you were prior to the interaction. What makes them so special? And how can we all take a page from their book?

It turns out that these aren’t just good vibes; your physical body also reacts to positivity. As I explore in my book Smarts and Stamina: The Busy Person’s Guide to Optimal Health and Productivity, positivity generates more serotonin, helping us feel cool, calm, collected and more willing to bond with others. It reduces cortisol and, with it, reduces feelings of impatience and irritability. It even helps curb high-sugar, high-fat, high-salt food cravings. This new biochemical activity

also serves to decrease insomnia, foster healthy sleep, and make us more likely to implement our exercise intentions. Positive energizers don’t just promote an uptick in mental health, but in physical health too!

And it doesn’t end there. Research shows that the good vibes generated not only benefit the energizer’s direct contacts, but also their family members. What better way to build community vitality and belonging than to become a positive energizer? It’s an old fashioned ripple effect, folks!

3 Ways to Be a Positive Energizer

Here are a few things you can try to generate more positive interactions with those around you and grow into an effective positive energizer.

1 | REALITY CHECK

Draw a table with the X-axis representing your closest peers, and the Y-axis representing your favorite positivity-inducing behaviors. For example, your Y-axis could include: ‘Offer gratitude’, ‘Provide support,’ and ‘Perform a random act of kindness.’ As the week progresses, give yourself one check-mark each time you perform one of these behaviors with an individual on your X-Axis. At the end of each week, notice which behaviors you’ve performed most consistently, and which you forgot. Also, observe which individuals received more positivity, and who may need more support.

2 | DO I KNOW YOU?

Draw a table with the X-axis representing your closest peers and the Y-axis representing particulars we typically

B E W E L L

FIRE UP YOURby MJ SHAAR

POSITIVITY

know about close friends. For example, your Y-axis might include: relationship status, children’s ages, pet name, favorite holiday, etc. Try to fill in as many boxes on the grid as possible each week. This chart will quickly show you “holes” in your knowledge of co-workers and can stimulate more meaningful conversations and bonds.

3 | CONTRIBUTION ATTESTATION

If you lead a team or work group, provide each team member with a set of index cards, with each card featuring a co-worker’s name. Ask each participant to complete two statements on each card: “What I most appreciate about you is…” and “What you can do to help our team become extraordinary is…” Distribute the filled-out card to the appropriate team member, and ask them to write a paragraph summarizing what they learned, and how they plan to maintain self-accountability to deliver their best contribution on a consistent basis.

With these tools, you’ll not only make your organization or community happier and more productive, but you’ll help fellow human beings to build better lives. Positive energy truly is a gift that keeps on giving!*

*Adapted from Kim Cameron’s book, Practicing Positive Leadership.

About MJ SHAAR, MAAP // MJ is a Wellness and Motivational Speaker, and one of the most sought-after experts applying positive psychology to health promotion. Trained by the National Speakers Association, she is one of the first 50 in the world to obtain a Master in Applied Positive Psychology from UPenn. She has worked in 10 countries over 4 continents

and 4 languages. She co-authored Smarts and Stamina: The Busy Person’s Guide to Optimal Health and Performance, and contributes to Huff Post and Psychology Today.

Ask the Expert...I feel like I’m too busy to enjoy my life. How can I make a change?

Distractions that get in the way of enjoying life often come in the form of have to’s. “I have to finish this project, wash dishes, etc.” We tend not to give ourselves permission to enjoy life until we’ve completed the never-ending list. Understand that enjoying life boosts productivity. Happier people tend to be more resilient and to produce better work results. Second, remember that what gets measured gets managed. On a calendar, mark down how much fun time you collected each day. Color each day you achieved over 30 minutes in your favorite color. That visual can serve to remind you to not always put yourself last on your list, and it can serve to help you appreciate the time you do spend enjoying life.

WELL BALANCEDTM has an impeccable reputation for providing trustworthy information to improve your well-being and create healthier work cultures. Our network of physicians, dietitians, wellness professionals, and more are here to answer your crucial health questions.

Have a question? Ask our experts by going to welcoa.org/expert. If your question is selected we will contact you directly with your answer and it will be featured in an upcoming issue*. *All questions are handled in confidence and will not, without prior consent, be disclosed or used by WELL BALANCEDTM or its contributors.

MENTAL & PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF POSITIVITY:

» Increased serotonin (the chemical that makes us feel cool, calm and collected)

» Reduces cortisol (the hormone that makes us feel impatient and irritable)

» Reduces cravings for sugary, fatty salty foods

» Improves sleep

B E W E L L

Last Friday—I started feeling a sense of urgency. I've been working from home for the last seven months since I started doing my own thing as an insight/strategy consultancy.

My clients aren't local, so zooming is part of my daily routine. I look forward to my zoom calls. But, today, living with social distancing and shelter-in-place. I have to fight the feeling of a heavy weight pressing down on my chest.

I'm writing this as we're living during a global pandemic. The things that I took for granted; going to my local bookstore browsing for inspiration, working an hour or two from my local coffee shop, and then later after dinner, hitting the gym. Those things are not happening today.

My days are busy. I grab some coffee and breakfast then head upstairs to my studio, and I could stay up there, non-stop for eight to ten hours. I shouldn’t do that—I'm a type 2 diabetic. I have to move, stand, walk to keep my blood sugar levels stable. My other challenge, staying locked down to my desk day after day in my studio, is that it is not suitable for creative thinking.

Without retreats to the bookstore, the coffee shop, or the gym. I've started improvising and planning as I've never prepared before.

Each night I write out my calendar, I guess my workload, then I write in me time. I walk the dogs as early in the day as I am able, and I weave in another walk later in the day, solo with my journal to write and doodle. That afternoon walk is vital to me, keeping my energy up and my mind awake, allowing creativity to thrive.

I want to share an exercise I do with my clients called the FIGHT. It's based on one simple question. 'What's your fight (your inspired purpose)?'

My fight is, "what can I do to help people right now?"

I hope exploring your fight will help you get to the heart of whatever it is you believe in and embrace the power of your community to inspire, empower and embolden others to join you on your mission.

We're all facing adversity and uncertainty—our world has turned upside down. We're going to come out of this. We can use this time to reflect and put our purpose on the table. I feel it in my bones that we have an opportunity to help our communities heal and move forward for the good of humankind.I believe in US!

Be safe, be bold, be courageous.

About GENO CHURCH Captain, 2x Author, Hall of Fame Marketer, Pirate for Good • The Shared Ship

Geno Church, Captain of The Shared Ship, has built youth-led prevention movements, sparked wonder and curiosity in the nation's classroom, grew a creative community around scissors, empowered people to take care and appreciate their public parks, developed a beacon of hope for those affected by addiction, and birthed a community for cheese lovers.

The Shared Ship is a consultancy focused on the power of community movements. Our small band of pirates takes over stages and holds audiences captive with a vision for a deeper form of engagement. We lead workshops in corporate and nonprofit organizations that identify our shared fight, flag, code, crew and yarn for the journeys we each must take. We also work on longer terms projects side by side with organizations committed to people and the possibilities that their stories hold. Tune in to The Shared Ship Podcast at thesharedship.captivate.fm.

My fight i s, "what can I do to help

people right now?"

L I V E W E L L

by GENO CHURCH

How to Create Moments of Connection as a Remote Employee: A Story of One Man’s Journey Through COVID-19

Our Purpose

The relationship and connection with money is the leading cause of employee personal stress. In the annual 2019 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 59% of employees cited money issues as the leading cause of their stress. Exhibit 1 illustrates the major reported areas of employee stress. This result should come as no surprise as money and how we use it impacts our daily lives and the decisions we make with our money can last for decades.

The stress that is linked to money and how we use it can manifest in physical and emotional symptoms including:

» Anxiety

» Depression

» Nervousness

» Headaches

» Lost sleep

» Upset stomach

» Lack of focus

» Low energy

Left unchecked, stress becomes “distress” and it adversely affects our relationships with family, friends and coworkers. It also stifles productivity at the workplace. The 2019 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey found that 35% of employees reported that they’ve been distracted at work by financial issues. And of the distracted employees, half reported that they spent 3 hours or more at work dealing with issues related to money. This has a direct link to impaired productivity at the workplace.

Steps to Reduce Money Stress

The good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce the stress related to money and improve your financial well-being. These steps will increase your awareness of where your hard-earned money is spent and give you a foundation for reducing your debt and saving for the future:

STEP 1 | Create and follow a monthly budget. Most adults do not use a budget to track spending. Not knowing where your money is going each month is a major stress producer. Establishing and following a monthly budget will give you control over spending and should serve to reduce money stress. A monthly budget will pinpoint expenses that can be reduced or eliminated to free up money for priorities that are important to you. Most budgets can be easily set up, tracked and followed using a basic spreadsheet.

STEP 2 | Save money for unexpected financial emergencies. Unexpected expenses occur for all of us. These money “shocks” can result in financial distress when there is not money set aside to pay for an unexpected expense. Most unplanned financial expenses are under $1,000, so set an initial goal of saving in your

Emergency Fund $1,000 to start and keep saving until you have accumulated at least three months of living expenses.

STEP 3 | Reduce and eliminate credit card debt. This is the most expensive form of credit, with interest rates on unpaid balances often exceeding 19%. List all credit card debt and pay the balance with the highest interest rate until it is paid in full, while paying the minimum payment on any other credit card debt. Repeat this process until all credit card debt is paid. After all debt is paid, do everything possible to pay all outstanding credit card balances in full by the due date to avoid high interest rate charges.

STEP 4 | Contribute to employer-sponsored retirement savings plans. If your employer offers a retirement savings plan, be sure to contribute to it through payroll deduction. Some employers offer “matching” contributions. Find out if your employer matches your payroll contributions and if so, be sure to contribute enough to take full advantage of your employer’s matching contribution.

Next Steps…

If you find that you are stressed by money or personal finances, assess your options for reducing your money stress. Seek professional emotional and financial guidance if you are experiencing financial distress. By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be on your way to enhancing your financial well-being and reducing your stress.

About JEFF RUBLESKI, MBA, CFP® // Jeff Rubleski is a national thought leader, speaker, and author in the emerging employer priority of employee financial wellness. He is the author of two books including Financial Wellness @ Work,

distributed by WELCOA. Jeff’s extensive financial and health benefits experience brings employers unique insight in building employee-focused Financial Wellness programs linked to wellness and benefits priorities.

Other4%

Financial or Money Challenges

59%Health Concerns

10%

Relationships12%

My Job15%

Money MovesCONNECTING MONEY MATTERS & PERSONAL STRESS

by JEFF RUBLESKI, MBA, CFP®

M O V E W E L L

Employee Stress

50M ILLION

Number of people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of

dementia worldwide.

46Calories per cupof watermelon.

25%Amount of daily

potassium in one potato.

92%Percentage of a watermelon

that is water.

3Number of months

living expenses you should aim to save.

59%Percentage of employees that

cited money issues as the leading cause of their stress.

©2020 Wellness Council of America, 17002 Marcy Street, Suite 140, Omaha, NE 68118; phone 402.827.3590; fax 402.827.3594; visit our website at www.welcoa.org. All rights reserved. ISSN 1549-9367. The content in WELL BALANCEDTM is created for informational purposes only. The content is not to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and should not be used as such. Please refer to a licensed medical professional with any questions regarding medical conditions. Information may not be reproduced, copied, cited, or circulated in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the publisher.

J U N E 2 02 0

DILLA N D

GRILL

PRACTICEPOSITIVIT Y

CONNECTIONA N D

PURPOSE

PositivelyConnecting This

Summer

MONTHLY HEALTH OBSERVANCE • June

Alzheimer's & Brain AwarenessWorldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. There are some very simple things you can do this month to help raise awareness. Purple is the offi cial color of the Alzheimer's movement, so wearing purple and adding Go Purple frames to your social media are a great fi rst step! Join the cause by staying informed, making a donation, or becoming an advocate for those with Alzheimer's disease and their families.

For more information, contact:

Alzheimer's Association // 800.272.3900Email: media@alz.org // Web: alz.org/abam/overview.asp

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