Fresh Focus

Fresh Focus Episode #100 It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve made it to our 100th episode! This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible Veterans and their family members who listen to our episodes and support Fresh Focus. As we look back, we are filled with gratitude and amazement at our episodes that have been full of insightful conversations and inspiring stories. To celebrat...

For today’s rewind episode, lets take it all the way back to episode one. This episode was titled “Keeping it Simple,” and it was our kickoff episode into the healthy plate method. Anyone that has worked with knows that I am a big proponent of simplifying nutrition, removing the unnecessary complications and confusing misinformation, and getting back to basics. We know that if we build a good foun...

The Fresh Focus Podcast offers Veterans, their families, and caregivers' credible nutritional advice from VA dietitians. On this episode listen in as Victoria discusses food security and insecurity.   Food insecurity in the Veteran population is an important issue that affects millions of Veterans, impacting many factors of their health and well-being. If you are facing food insecurity, grocery sh...

Being in the home versus the clinic setting allows us to have a hands-on approach to see how the patient lives from day to day, what they have access to regarding food for meals, and what they have available to prepare meals.   Find out ways the Home-Based Primary Care Inter-disciplinary Team can assess if the Veteran has adequate equipment to prepare the food in the home or adequate fluids in the...

Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) at the VA is unique because each member of the team works closely together to provide Veterans with the very best care. Listen in to this episode to find out more of what Dietitians and Occupational Therapists do overall, and as part of the Home-Based Primary Care program.  HBPC dietitians visit Veterans in their homes so they can assess nutritional status and identi...

Are you a Veteran or do you know a Veteran that has a hard time getting out of their home for their medical appointments? Listen in to learn about a VA program called Home Based Primary Care (HBPC).  This program is for Veterans that have complex and chronic disease(s) for which routine clinic-based care may not be effective. HBPC is commonly referred to as a primary care clinic on wheels because...

Tune into this episode of the Fresh Focus podcast featuring Renal Nutrition, hosted by advanced practice renal dietitians Morgan O’Hara and Annelle Tschida. This episode filters through the latest in kidney health and the risks of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Did you know that 1 in 7 adults in the U.S. have chronic kidney disease, yet a staggering 9 out of 10 don’t even know it? Early-stage kidne...

Fresh Focus Episode #93:  Application of Intuitive Eating  Have you ever noticed any food restrictions that you follow but you are not sure where they came from or how they have impacted your relationship with food? Tune in to this episode where VA dietitian, Erin, provides 5 ways to start applying the principles of Intuitive Eating . Step one begins when you are able to notice strong emotions tha...

Fresh Focus Episode #92: Intuitive Eating Myths  There are a lot of myths surrounding Intuitive Eating.  VA Dietitians review one possible cause being that people can still be connected to a dieting mentality, which makes it difficult to change your thinking and reconnect with yourself.  Tune in to this episode to find out more information about how this journey may be for you.  Intuitive Eating i...

Fresh Focus Episode #91:  The Pursuit of Intuitive Eating Intuitive eating is a strategy to improve your relationship with food.  VA dietitians on this episode share the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating . Learn how intuitive eating can help you come back to yourself by relearning your own internal cues and signals while becoming better able to trust yourself, make peace with food, reject the diet...

Fresh Focus Episode #90: Top 3 questions asked to an Intuitive Eating RDN If you are asking whether intuitive eating means you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, listen in as VA Dietitians discuss the top questions they get asked by Veterans each day.    Learn about how intuitive eating isn’t a diet and doesn’t include food restrictions. It doesn’t mean just eating whatever you want whe...

Fresh Focus Episode #89: Introduction to Intuitive Eating Intuitive Eating is a non-diet approach to eating that focuses on our internal cues such as hunger, fullness, and cravings to help guide our food choices.  Tune in as VA dietitians dive into how Intuitive Eating can teach us how to listen to what our bodies are telling us and give us the tools to respond in a way that honors our bodies and...

Dr. Joel Hamilton brings awareness of the Juneteenth flag with this bonus episode highlighting the arc, which represents a new horizon.

For those with cancer, eating can become a frustrating task. Some foods can aggravate symptoms, whereas some foods can help. Your taste buds can begin to deceive you. Your appetite can vary greatly. There are many appropriate questions and concerns to have during this process, even in regards to snacking.  In this episode of Fresh Focus, Kathy attempts to answer some of these questions, and also t...

Non-starchy vegetables can be a phenomenal go-to to when it comes to snacking. They are nutrient dense, provide a low calorie source of volume, and they are very affordable! Join Beth as she discusses the benefits of vegetables as snacks, and gives us five usable tips to incorporate more into our intake!  #1 – Eat your vegetables first! #2 – Try convenient, and easy, options.  #3 – Bring life to y...

Snacking for people with diabetes !? Yes, of course!  As with anything else, proper knowledge and the appropriate incorporation of snacks can absolutely be an option for someone dealing with diabetes.  In today’s world, there are many advances to diabetes medication and insulin regimens, which allows for intake to be more individualized than ever before. Join Natalie as she shares her expertise on...

Kerri knocks this topic out of the park by getting into the ins-and-outs of concession eats! There are many options to consider at sporting events, and not often are they the most nourishing. There are so many other factors that come into play as well, including what meal of the day it may be, if we plan to eat something small to keep us tied over before a meal, if we are eating just to be eating,...

In this episode, Sieger leads us down the rabbit hole in regards to the potential downfalls of snacking. Snacks, although enjoyable and sometimes appropriate, can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. How can we identify the difference?  Sometimes we do things that aren’t quite working in our favor. Sometimes we have bad habits. It’s all about optimizing our intake and improving our relati...

Whether you’re a parent with kids at home, or a grandparent, aunt, uncle, babysitter, or friend, this episode is for you! Lauren leads us through some practical tips and ideas to make your whole family’s snacks healthier. The typical American child eats about triple the recommended amount of added sugars and about double the recommended amount of sodium per day. We can help reduce that amount by s...

Listen in as Yaqutullah and Hillary share practical tips to reduce food waste and help save you money and time with meal planning.  VA Healthy Teaching Kitchen provides numerous recipes and meal ideas to fit your taste preferences and nutrition needs.  Have a plan to use up items that you have on hand to make sure don’t end up in the trash as food waste. 

Eating a plant-based diet can provide both health and environmental benefits . Listen in as Jennifer and Becca talk about the benefits of gardening and composting.  Composting offers a way to turn food waste into something that can benefit the environment. Consider starting your own garden. Gardening not only brings more plant foods into your life, but can also be good for the environment and help...

If you are looking at incorporating more plant-based proteins in your meals and snacks, listen to this episode as Shelby and Selena talk about some of their favorite recipes.     Be sure to visit the Healthy Teaching Kitchen YouTube Channel to watch videos and find plant based food items to try at home. You can have easy, delicious food choices while being more mindful on how they affect the envir...

Working towards being more sustainable is much easier than you might think! Listen in as Jamie and Becca discuss easy steps to start with during your next grocery store trip. Try to purchase foods that are versatile, can be stored easily and foods that you can use in more than one way. Remember it is always a good practice to push older fruits and vegetables to the front to remind you to use those...

This year, for National Nutrition Month®, the team at Fresh Focus Podcast partnered with the Green Environmental Management System Committee, GEMS, to bring you information on getting started with being more sustainable by reducing food waste, eating more plant-based food items, and learning to cook and prepare more food in your kitchen. Jaime and Selena have great tips on how to start by looking...

All of the lifestyle changes that you have made in the last several weeks of this program have led to a healthier you! We want to help you maintain all of these healthy habits moving forward, which brings us to today’s episode! The last episode of the series focuses on how to maintain the progress you have made while participating in MOVE!. We will talk about some things that will help you keep th...