The Ovation Power Grid

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Amanda Beaudry
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The power outage from several weeks ago left many people with a story to tell. Everyone experienced the outage a little differently, and everyone certainly walked away from the experience having learned a little something about themselves and the lives they lead. One of Ovation’s own was moved by his experience during the power outage – in more ways than one. This is his personal story.

“A 2 hour storm wiped out 98 percent of power in Farmington where we live. My family and I rode out the storm that first Saturday night with just a flashlight and some candles we had scrounged from our house. On Sunday morning, my wife and three boys and I started our trek to Farmington High School where there was heat and hot water for us to warm up in. When we checked into our luxurious suite in the health and wellness classroom at Farmington High, what I saw was beyond belief.

I thought I was at a trauma ward in a hospital rather than a high school. The room was packed not only with local families looking for relief from the storm, but many diabetics, elderly, and the chronically ill. The shock at seeing all these people crowded into the same room opened my eyes to the number of people who are affected by chronic disease in this country.  Just as CL&P restored power to the town, I realized the importance of the work Ovation is doing; we’re on a mission to restore people’s good health – one grid at a time.”

- Steve Dillon, Sales Associate 

Steve is a member of Ovation’s talented sales team. It is his job to help spread the word of Ovation’s mission to improve the health of our country’s workers by encouraging companies to adopt a workforce wellness solution. While many people walked away from the outage with a greater appreciation for the comforts afforded to us by this great country of ours, many of Ovation’s team members, including Steve, walked away from the outage with an even stronger dedication to restoring America’s health through the prevention of chronic disease.


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Learning to Like Mushrooms

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Amanda Beaudry
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Courtesy of Bill Mauke, our Workforce Health President, everyone in the office has been watching Forks Over Knives, a documentary that explores scientific theories about the health benefits of eliminating animal proteins from our diets. To compliment these theories were the personal experiences of people that have had success in reversing some of their serious health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.

I am currently enjoying really great biometrics by virtue of either “good genes” or my 14 – year old habit of consuming at least two mangos a day. However, I had to admit that I’ve been taking it all for granted and that I haven’t been proactive in doing much to maintain (or deserve) such numbers.  On a certain level I am starting to wonder when my luck will run out.

For longer than I care to remember, I’ve been living on mangos, protein drinks and lots of dinners out.   I don’t remember the last time I purchased fresh ingredients and actually cooked an entire meal.   As a single mom with only one teenager at home part-time, it seems I have dispensed with the entire “cooking at home” process, especially since there’s hardly ever anyone around to cook for.  These days California Pizza Kitchen cooks more meals for my daughter than I do.

I hit a personal low last week when my “dinner” consisted of equal parts ice cream, kettle chips, peanut butter, and a banana.  After feeling sick to my stomach, I realized that what I had just consumed did not make me feel good about how I was living (eating) or how my stomach was trying to process all those disparate foods at the same time.

Since it was a long weekend and my usual “lack of time” was not a valid excuse, I decided I wanted to make a healthy meatless meal. After looking at numerous recipes I realized I’ve avoided mushrooms all my life but never stopped to wonder why.  I guess I’ve been discriminatory–I don’t like the way they look with their drab gray coloring, weird texture, and perceived lack of flavor. Nevertheless, I was determined that I would at least try them.   And could it be divine intervention that “Mauke” and “Shitake” rhyme?

So on Friday morning I found myself back at Whole Foods, recipe in hand, and bought Cremini, Shitake, and White mushrooms.  The recipe called for mushrooms, spinach, onions, orzo, and goat cheese, to which I added some butternut squash pasta sauce that I’ve been meaning to try.   I sliced, diced, and actually cooked something delicious, despite making a few rookie mistakes, like not realizing how much water you need when cooking a pound of orzo.  And since I had leftovers, I have a healthy lunch today.   Admittedly a small victory in my effort to live a healthier life, but I’ll take it.  Who knows what I’ll try next!  Any suggestions?

Blog post courtesy of Lisa Hathaway, Ovation’s Office Manager 

Posted in Health & Wellness, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Personal Change | 1 Comment

Liquid Calories

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Karen Carew
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Here at Ovation, we’ve all been working really hard at making healthy changes to our diet and exercising regularly.  What we may not realize is how many hidden calories are in drinks.  Calorie laden drinks may quench your thirst but they don’t fill you up and satisfy your hunger as well as the calories from solid foods.  You may be sabotaging your diet by drinking unhealthy things!

A recent study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared beverage intake and weight changes in more than 800 men and women ages 25-79. The research found that when subjects cut 100 calories of liquids from their diets, they lost more weight than when they had cut 100 calories in the form of food.  That said, do you know how many calories you’re drinking?

Listed below are the calories associated with some commonly consumed beverages:

  • Light Beer – 103
  • Regular Beer – 153
  • Coffee – 2
  • Starbucks Caffe Latte – 200
  • Club Soda – 0
  • Tonic Water – 124
  • Water – 0
  • Cola – 136
  • Sweetened Lemonade – 395
  • Eggnog – 343
  • Gatorade – 63
  • Hard Liquor (vodka, gin, rum, whiskey) – 96
  • Red Wine – 125
  • White Wine – 122

You may be thinking “Great – the holidays are here and therefore it’s going to be really hard to control these types of calories!”  I’m here to tell you that it is not necessarily the case!  Just think before you drink and follow these helpful suggestions:

  • Coffee lovers should always get their coffee drinks made with fat-free or low fat milk.  Forgo the sugar-sweetened, high-calorie flavor syrups, and skip the whip cream.
  • Have one glass of  wine – not three
  • Stay away from frozen drinks (they sometimes have more calories than dessert)
  • Avoid pre-made drink mixes (they are usually nothing more than corn syrup and artificial flavors and sweeteners)
  • Make the switch from tonic to soda water – or better yet, plain old WATER
  • Dilute your wine (try adding soda water to make it a spritzer)
  • Avoid fancy cocktails and martinis  (they are full of calories)

Now that you know what you are sipping, enjoy your evening.  Eat (moderately), drink (responsibly), and be merry!  Cheers!


Posted in Health & Wellness, Health Improvement, Kitchen Table Chat, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Personal Change | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Healthy Thanksgiving Meal

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Karen Carew
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Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for family, friends, good health and great food!  This year, instead of serving the old standbys – turkey smothered in gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie – try some healthier recipes. Also, with access to fresh herbs and seasonal fruit it’s easy to impact the flavor of foods in a healthy way.

Next Thursday, I will be hosting a mere 33 for Thanksgiving!  I sat down and tried to figure out everything that would round out a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  I then went to the internet for some healthy recipe ideas.  Here’s just a few of the recipes I chose:

So what do you think?  Lots of variety and the traditional dishes are made with a “healthier” twist.

One other suggestion ….get outside and expend a little energy. Play a family football game or take a long walk and enjoy the fresh air and smell of fall!

For those of you who end up trying some of these recipes for either this Friday’s Ovation Pot Luck or your own Thanksgiving, I’d love your feedback!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Turkey Day!

 

 

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