Eating on a Budget

Join co-hosts Amber-Rose and Lexa Ingram in a discussion with Northern Arizona University Nutrition and Food majors Ramsi Geiser and Samantha Soulsby about the nutrition and health journey and trying to find what works for you. They will be sharing 8 budget grocery shopping tips, budget-friendly meal planning, sharing recipes, and snack ideas including tips for diabetics and prediabetics, how to read a nutrition label, and more. We appreciate your continued support!

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This podcast was sponsored by the Arizona Department of Health Services through federal funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration, with support from the Navajo Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) Partnership between Diné College and Northern Arizona University through federal funding from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, award number S06GM142121. The views expressed are the sole responsibility of the program staff and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arizona Department of Health Services or the United States Government.

Transcript

Introduction
Ya'at'eeh. Welcome to the MCH podcast where we discuss maternal and child health topics and provide strategies for improving the health of Navajo families. Amá dóó áłchíní ats’íís baa áháyá baa yadelti (Translation: We will be talking about the health of mothers and children).

Amber-Rose Begay
I am your cohost Amber-Rose Begay. Hashk’ąąhadzohi nishli, Táchii’nii bashichiin, Tábąąhá dashichei, Naakai Dine’é dashinali. Nataani Nez denashaa. I’m originally from Shiprock, NM where I live and work at Diné College as a project coordinator of the Navajo Maternal and Child Health Projects. I am a Navajo woman and mother of 2.

Lexa Ingram
Hello, my name is Alexandrea Ingram, but I prefer to go by Lexa. I am born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, however, I have been residing in Flagstaff for the past few years to attend Northern Arizona University. I am currently completing my last semester of college and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences: Public Health and minors in Biology and Psychology. I am excited to be a part of this podcast to serve native families and our listeners, thank you for listening and showing your support. 

In today’s episode, we are going to cover nutrition and grocery shopping budgeting tips including meal planning and the sharing of healthy recipes with our two special guests.

Today, We are joined by Ramsi Geiser and Samantha Soulsby. Ramsi and Samantha, can you please introduce yourself?

Ramsi Geiser
Yes. Hi, everyone. My name is Ramsi; excited to be here with you all. I'm currently a senior here at Northern Arizona University in the Department of Health Sciences, and I'm studying nutrition and foods. I am currently doing my internship at U.C.A.N. which is a health service coaching here at NAU, and I'm just super excited to be here with you all.

Sam Soulsby
Hi everyone, my name is Samantha, but I prefer to go by Sam. I am a senior here at Northern Arizona University, majoring in nutrition and food, and I am Ramsi's co-manager here at U.C.A.N. as well.

Amber-Rose Begay
Awesome, thank you both for joining us today. Before we begin, I want to start this episode noting that Navajo Nation covers 27,000 square miles, I believe it's the size of West Virginia, and only has 13 grocery stores which means our people have to travel long distances to shop for fresh and nutritious food. We have gas stations and convenience stores but they hardly have food and beverages that are good for us. There has been some work on this area in Navajo. There was a policy change in 2014 called the Healthy Diné Nation Act and taxes food and beverages with little to no nutritional value at 2% and, I believe, healthy foods are not taxed. So this money goes back into the Navajo communities and I personally have seen the benefits of this. This community in Shiprock, they have, I guess, upgraded the local park and really made it very nice and fenced in. I am really appreciative of this act and all that it's done for Shiprock community, and I’m sure there has been other changes in other communities as well. Even still with inflation, grocery shopping is more expensive than ever.

I’m a mom of two children, and I drive 30 miles to get groceries and with gas and food prices, I only go at least once a week. I don’t typically like to shop at my local Bashas because it's more expensive, but sometimes when I just can’t make it to Farmington, I do shop here and even then I'm wincing at the prices and the total. Usually, I’m pretty mindful about what my kids and I eat to make sure they have their share of fruits and vegetables, but they like to snack and it’s those snacks that are expensive. A bag of chips is now what, five or six dollars. And, I used to be able to spend $150 on food, per like payday, but now I’m spending around $250, and even that only lasts like a good week until I have to buy food again. It would be really great Ramsi and Sam if you could share some tips for shopping on a budget.

Ramsi Geiser
Yes, of course. So we have these really fun eight tips that we like to go by, which may change if grocery stores are farther away, but I feel like most of these kind of go towards all grocery stores, kind of a well-rounded tip for everyone. And I'd love to kind of start off with two of them and then we can kind of switch off Sam.

One of our first tips is making a list, which kind of would help you decide what you have for meals that week. And the best thing about making a list is you get to see what you already have in your refrigerator, in your pantry, so that you're not buying multiples of things, and then something is going bad can also help you kind of reduce some of those little tiny foods that you might want to buy, but they're not on your list. Our second tip is not to shop while hungry, since we've noticed that if you are shopping while hungry, sometimes you might go towards the aisles that have more of those sugary fat, sugary foods, fast and easy food choices that maybe are a little bit more expensive these days. And so, what we recommend is plan your grocery shopping after you've either had a meal or a snack, whether that's in the car or at home so you're not starving as you're kind of walking through and then just buying a bunch of things that maybe you don't necessarily need, but you're just hungry.

Sam Soulsby
Yeah. So a third tip you could use for shopping on a budget is definitely going to be strategically buying perishable items. By perishable items we kind of mean things like fresh produce, fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, meats, all the things that could go bad definitely more quickly than nonperishable items. You kind of want to buy foods for the week that you know you're going to use. When like, when you're making that list have some recipes in mind and definitely only buy perishable items for those recipes, so, you know, you're going to cook them within that next week. And then you also want to make sure you're looking at things like expiration dates just because you don't want to buy a whole gallon of milk and then realize it expires in like two days because that would be really unfortunate and you'd have to throw more food away. And then you also kind of want to take advantage of maybe freezing some perishable items. An example of this could maybe be like some berries or bananas for like a smoothie or even freezing some vegetables and just reheating them for dinners as like a side.

And then another tip kind of going off of this third tip is going to be to purchase more nonperishable items when you can. Like canned foods or canned vegetables, rice, different types of nut butter. It's just that these foods are going to have a longer shelf time and, you know, you can buy them and they're not going to go bad with within the next week like perishable items may.

Ramsi Geiser
So the fifth tip that we would recommend is consider buying in bulk. So these are nonperishable items that may be cheaper per unit if they're bought in bulk. So some of these could be your oats, it could be your beans, and so one thing that comes to mind is Sprouts has a really big bulk section, which Sprouts may or may not be in these areas, but definitely bulk in maybe your nuts section. Just buying things that may be a little bit bigger, maybe a little look more expensive, but per unit they actually are a little bit cheaper, which you can see on the little tag in front of them that says the price as well.

Another tip could be considered generic brands. So usually there is name brand items and generic brand items, and the generic brand usually is cheaper. And we've seen that usually that's only because the name brands are usually advertised and marketed more and so therefore they cost a little bit more. They are going to be the same, the same products in each of them. And so some of those name-brand differences could be Wal-Mart- it's going to be Great Value, at Fry's it's going to be Kroger, Safeway- Signature Select, the ones that we could think of as generic brand and name brands.

Sam Soulsby
Our seventh tip is going to be clipping coupons with caution, and definitely, coupons can be super helpful, especially when they involve ingredients you may be using for your meals that week. But, you just want to be careful that you're not using coupons just to use them just because it may cause impulse buys and just you buying like food or snacks that you probably don't really need for the rest of the week. And so options like free memberships like Fry's has a free membership where they have sale prices and then there's still the option of Sam's Club, but you just have to be aware that there is a membership fee for that. And then our final tip is going to be buying produce in season. So depending on the season, it may have cheaper fruit or vegetable prices. For like in the summer, a lot of like citrus fruits and pineapples are in season, so they might be a little bit cheaper at the store than they would be like during the fall or the winter time. 

Lexa Ingram
Thank you for sharing. I think those were some really good tips, especially for not shopping while you're hungry. I know I've definitely gone to the store one or few times and I pick up a few items I definitely was not planning on. And my budget, I'm like, Why did it go up like $40 when I'm home? And I look at my, my counter, I'm like, Oh, got some donuts and I got some chips, and I’m like, Oops, my bad. And it's definitely something I got to keep an eye out for, so it's a good tip to point out, and I also think coupons are as well. I know sometimes I'll just see a coupon and it be an item I never even thought of before, and I'm like, Oh, I can save $0.50, maybe I should try it. So I definitely have to keep in mind and be mindful that just because they're saving me a couple cents, everything does not mean I should go for it and get that item. 

Amber-Rose Begay
I do also want to say that since I've been a little bit more mindful in shopping so me and my family, we're lactose intolerant, so we buy almond milk, we buy the Lactaid, and that last much longer than just regular milk. So, I really do appreciate that it does last longer because I don't like having to buy, you know, milk all the time and I'm usually wasting it, too, because it'll go bad before we use it all. I know we could buy like the half gallons, but in Lactaid, you know, it works for us. Check out the Lactaid, check out So just another tip out there. If you're I think I feel like I've heard that Navajo people be more lactose intolerant. So, you know, check out the Lactaid, check out the almond milk; they do sell like the great value brands or the generic brands. So you're not paying like more money for brand names like Lactaid or almond milk, so. 

Lexa Ingram
Yeah, thanks for sharing that, I think that's a great tip. I think, it also reminded me when I go grocery shopping, I'm not sure what it's called, but I know when I look at the prices in the top left-hand corner, they tend to show you the unit price per ounce or liter that you're buying. So I'll look at that to see what's cheaper overall for the product versus something that's more expensive. Because like looking at generic brands versus the name brand, like if I go buy a Great Value peanut butter versus Jif, Jiffy, I tend to notice that the great value is like $0.10 per ounce, whereas the Jiffy might be like $0.15 per ounce.

And then we're going to move on and I'm going to ask you a new question. So I was wondering, do you guys have any tips for budget-friendly meal planning?

Ramsi Geiser
Yes, we do. So a lot of it comes down to that preparing and that planning. And so some really easy tips for planning these budget-friendly meals could be really beneficial to just take 30 minutes to kind of sit down and list out the meals that you really enjoy making because we all have those comfort foods or those meals that are probably easy for us to make and all of our family members or friends like it. And so creating that list, we usually recommend like between 10 to 15, if not at least seven so you can have maybe a meal for each day of the week if you were wanting to switch it up. And so having those meals before you even choose the meals for the week could kind of give you a baseline of what meals you could do and you're not sitting there stumped of like, what could I make for this week? And so lots of fun websites such as Pinterest, there's also Budget Bytes that just give you a lot of fun recipes that you can try out if you're just stumped of what you actually enjoy to eat and maybe need some new recipes to try out. Also, recommend once you have this list, kind of choosing however many meals you're going to make that week, say you're only going to be eating dinner with your family maybe three out of the seven days or five out of the seven days. Choosing those three to seven meals from your big list, help you to narrow down and maybe save some time on what you're actually going to buy, and then you'll actually have that list when you go into the grocery store.

Sam Soulsby
I definitely think that taking the time to sit down and write out like 10 to 20 meals, as we mentioned, is definitely super helpful. It doesn’t, like, how like help you get in that runt of just making the same things every week. Like, I know I'm guilty of that where I’ll make the same pasta, the same soup recipe, like a smoothie, and that works and it's great, but I notice like a month later, I'm just like, so sick of what I'm eating. And I just want, I tend to eat out a little bit more just because I don't want what I have at home. So that's kind of helps like prevent that and making, and like having, making new recipes like more fun and exciting. And like Ramsi had mentioned, Budget Bytes is a really great resource, it has so many different recipes. If you kind of need help sparking a little interest in like what you should be making, that.

Amber-Rose Begay
That is very helpful, especially for myself because I, I usually just tend to stick to my usual list of food to buy and it's kind of the same old boring things. And I told myself that I would make more soups and stews this past winter, but I have not. And I think it's just because I want to, you know, buy the, the like soup pans like really nice just the pans for soup that, you know, make the soup very well, and I just haven't been able to, to do that. And I am also very busy so I tend to just go back to the same old food that I make. But thank you for sharing that. I know that you have a lot of great recipes to share based on the presentation, so, are we able to upload these recipes? And if you have food demonstrations, are we able to maybe link it to our social media pages for our listeners? 

Ramsi Geiser
Yeah, definitely. We have these really, we can even send you, like, little PDFs of these recipe cards that we made. So it has like how long it took, it has the ingredients, and the directions, and also kind of what the food looks like. And then we've uploaded the cooking demos for four recipes we tried just to YouTube so, if you have that link, you can definitely watch those videos. 

Amber-Rose Begay
Awesome. Which one, have you made any of those and which one is like the, the best or your favorite, should I say?

Sam Soulsby
The recipes that we have made, we've made at the breakfast burrito, we've made a tortellini soup with kale and sausage, and we've also made date Snickers as well as like a dessert option. I feel like after making all of those, my favorite is probably the date Snickers. I, I just love like, a dessert, like chocolaty peanut butter recipe. And I don't know, it definitely, like, does taste like a lot like a candy bar, which is kind of crazy since it's just like a date and dark chocolate and peanut butter, but it's so crazy how much it tastes like a candy bar. It's like a little bit addicting and I had never had them before doing this food demo, so I'm definitely, like, now obsessed, and it's definitely a recipe that I'm going to start making all the time for sure.

Ramsi Geiser
They really addicting, we ate like maybe 15 of them as we were filming the video, so I definitely second that, that I think the date Snickers would, are definitely one of those things that just like, it just hits your craving of like that chocolate but salty. And so that one definitely was one of our favorites. 

Lexa Ingram
That recipe definitely sounds super delicious and I love that it uses the dates instead of obviously like the nougat and all the random ingredients that are in the Snicker bar, and then you can just make it at your home. And then also the dates are like helpful for fiber and antioxidants, so it's a good way to get that in while also treating yourself to a little dessert. 

Ramsi Geiser
Yeah, definitely. I feel like there's so many benefits with just like, which you wouldn't even think because of the dates, like being in there, like, a lot of people don't enjoy the taste of dates, but with the chocolate around it and the peanut butter and sea salt you like can't even taste it. So, it's a great way to add it in if maybe it's not your favorite food, but you need extra fiber or some healthy fats from that peanut butter. 

Lexa Ingram
Thank you for sharing Ramsi and Sam. Those recipes sound amazing. If you are interested in learning how to make the Snicker Date recipe, other food recipes, or the food demonstrations Ramsi and Sam have completed, be sure to check out our social media pages.

To view these yummy recipes you can find them on our Facebook page: @Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Diné College or on Instagram: @navajomch. Again, you can find them on on our Facebook page: @Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Diné College, or on Instagram: @navajomch.

Thank you for listening and let get back into our discussion with Ramsi and Sam. One of your tips mentioned making a list before you go grocery shopping, with that being the case, I was wondering if you had any recommendations for staple products that you recommend individuals should try to incorporate into their daily diet. For instance, are there any superfoods that you recommend individuals try to incorporate into their daily diet?

Sam Soulsby
Yeah, definitely. When it comes to that, it can always be like a little bit tricky just because no fruit and vegetable is like, better than the other, like, obviously you're eating fruits and vegetables, that's like, amazing. But, when it comes down to it, definitely we like to say like the darker the color of like the fruit or vegetable, kind of like kale or like spinach, it's definitely going to be more nutrient dense and have a lot more of like those vitamins and minerals that you're looking for in your daily diet, for sure. But, we definitely like to say like eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is amazing just so you can hit all of the vitamins and minerals just because not one of them has like everything that you could possibly need for the day. So I definitely say like eating a wide variety, like when you can is like the best way to go for sure. 

Ramsi Geiser
There's this fun little acronym from a dietician, his name is Dr. Ferman. He actually, I think he's a dietitian, I beleive so, but he gave this acronym of G-BOMBS. So the G stands for greens, the B stands for beans, the O stands for onions, the M stands for mushrooms. The second B stands for berries, and then the S for seeds. And so these are just a lot of foods that have a lot of minerals and vitamins in them. And so these ones could always be good ones to kind of add in as a snack or to little meals that you're making, which is awesome because they're all little things that can be added into smoothies, to omelets, to trail mix. So, just a bunch of different things that can be added to maybe everyday foods that you're maybe not already incorporating. And so these ones, like Sam said, all foods have different minerals, mineral content, and vitamin content, and so getting a little bit of everything can definitely help yourself. And I think the best way to go about grocery shopping and like what your body needs in the superfoods is just like being able to tune in to what maybe your body needs. If you're lagging in something, maybe getting more fruits and vegetables, or if you need more protein, getting in some more chicken or whatever type of protein you enjoy. Maybe even getting in some more grains if you feel like you need that extra energy throughout your day as well. 

Lexa Ingram
That's awesome. Yeah, I definitely love trying to eat a whole variety of fruits and vegetables. It definitely helps that I am a vegetarian, so that is my main go-to food items, but I try to eat like a rainbow of colors because I heard that's really good for you to try to make sure you get everything in there. And I also do try and incorporate food items into like healthier food items I haven't thought of before. Like if I make tomato sauce, a great way I found to do them is if you add more vegetables like I if you do like spinach or maybe zucchini and carrots and use an emulsion blender to get them all blended together, then you won't be able to tell that they're in there for more picky eaters. I was able to use this on my sister before, who swears she'll never eat any vegetables and she did not notice that it tasted any different. I just added a couple more seasonings to cover up the vegetable taste and it was great because I was able to help her get more veggies into her diet without her even knowing. 

Ramsi Geiser
That’s so funny that you added it to the pasta sauce. I like always forget that you can add it to little sauces. I always think like smoothies, like adding the greens and you never taste it, but definitely adding into pasta sauces or mac and cheese definitely hides those vegetables, but can help get it in for those people who maybe don't love the taste of it plain. 

Lexa Ingram
Yeah, another, that just reminded me too, I've found like if you do like different alternatives for noodles, how they have like the zoodles out there. You can use like spaghetti squash, zucchinis, and that covers up and replaces the noodles itself. And that's a great way to get into. I've also even made a cauliflower mac and cheese and again, I was able to get my sister in that one and tell her I made it with cauliflower instead of normal noodles because I knew she would not be interested in trying it. But then after she like ate it and I told her, she was like, Oh my gosh, she's like I ate cauliflower and I didn’t even notice. I was like, Yeah. I was like, It's good, right? I was like you just got to try new things every now and then. Don't be afraid, experiment and I think it's also great too because you can always season something to your taste, whether it be adding more pepper or salt just so you can make sure you like it.

Amber-Rose Begay
So my mom got really into juicing during the pandemic, and I for some reason I was kind of apprehensive at first. I was kind of like, Uhh, no, it kind of looks, you know, funny. And after all of the veggies that she added, you know, I was kind of like, uhh it's probably not going to taste good. It was so sweet. It was so good. And she added things like celery, spinach, beets. I was just amazed at how great it tasted. So what is, I guess, what is, what are your stances on juicing Ramsi and Sam?

Ramsi Geiser
I think so juicing is like an awesome way to get in some of those fruits and vegetables, whether like you don't enjoy them by themself or maybe if your fruit or vegetable is about to go bad. I know a lot of people would juice like apples and stuff if for some reason if just, they have that saying where they take their apple to work and then bring it home so they never get to eat it. So they juice use those apples that never get eaten. So I think the juicing definitely has a lot of antioxidants from those fruit. Obviously, you get a little bit loss from kind of the pulp and the outer skins of like the apples and things like that. So you're losing a little bit of nutrient density in those fruits and vegetables. But, being able to kind of get that in is an awesome way if you love doing it and kind of enjoy it, so. 

Sam Soulsby
Yeah, I feel like juicing is definitely a great option, especially for somebody who is very busy and on the go and busy with work and everything and they, they're not going to be able to like meal prep their food to get in like their fruits and vegetables for the day. But, and I definitely feel like there's no harm to it. Like Ramsi said, you definitely lose maybe a little bit of the vitamins and mineral contents you're talking about and definitely like maybe a little bit of fiber from like the skin of like apples or other fruits. But definitely it's a great option for people who are super busy and like, they're still finding a way to get in their greens and their fruits. 

Amber-Rose Begay
Awesome, yeah, I totally agree. It was a, a great way to experience all of those; the combination of fruits and vegetables and it was really good. I really want to buy a juicer soon. So going on to our next question. So just a little bit of, I guess, backstory about me. As I'm getting older, I am in my early thirties, but I've noticed changes in the way my body processes sugar and I have been told that I am pre-diabetic. So I have been working on that, you know, making sure that I get in a good walk every day. Do you have any recommendations for healthy snacks for diabetics to consume to help their blood sugar levels?

Sam Soulsby
Yeah. I feel like when it comes to different like snack ideas that for pre-diabetic or people who have diabetes, it's definitely important to kind of focus on protein, fiber, and healthy fats. So I guess a few ideas that I have for some healthy snack options could definitely be an apple and peanut butter or even like celery with an apple and peanut butter homemade egg bites that like you can get from Starbucks or freeze them and just heat them up in the morning, or even it has a lot of really good protein in it, or maybe even like a Greek yogurt bowl as well.

Ramsi Geiser
Yeah, I think the combination sometimes you think like, oh, I have to just eat like the proteins or the fiber. But as Sam kind of said, like a lot of the snacks combined, both of them, to kind of help your body, because I feel like our body, just like it helps digest everything at the same time. So as you kind of combine those proteins, fats, the healthy fats as well, kind of helps your body to digest it a little better. So incorporating that apple, which is like a carb and some healthy fats such as peanut butter or maybe the celery with peanut butter definitely can help. So combining those could be great snacks as well. And maybe even looking at like, if you are wanting those, because carbohydrates are so important for those with diabetes and maybe looking at more of those full grain instead of looking at more of the processed white foods. So instead of looking at white breads, or donuts, or French fries, or white tortillas, looking more at whole grain breads or oatmeal, things that maybe have a little more fiber content in them. 

Amber-Rose Begay
Thank you. Now I’m learning a lot, like about how much sugar fruits have. And I love grapefruits and I eat them all the time. But I didn't realize how much was in one whole grapefruit. So now I eat like half a grapefruit for breakfast, along with, you know, some eggs and bacon. And then I usually have Greek yogurt for a snack or maybe the other half of my grapefruit and usually have, I fell in love Cobb salad. So I have, I feel like I have that all the time. But really I've been eating a lot of different, like pre-made salads that I can buy, atWalmart, and it's cheap. It's not an expensive lunch. Before, I would probably spend like a good $10 a day just getting lunch like at a fast food place, which is very bad. So and I definitely would come back to work like feeling tired and, you know, after having that big meal. But now I don't, I feel like I just, you know, I have my salad and I'm ready to go back to work again. And I've been eating a lot more almonds if I need a snack or, you know, a quick slice of cheese for protein if I need a snack.

It's been a journey, unlearning some unhealthy food behaviors or eating behaviors. And it's been really great to become more informed about what kind of foods I should be eating and also portion sizes. So thank you. 

Lexa Ingram
You mentioned how it's important to focus on protein and fiber and healthy fat. Being a vegetarian, I was wondering if you could provide some examples I can turn to for protein instead of the usual suggestions of like chicken or steak or products like that.

Sam Soulsby
There's definitely a lot of great options for that. Kind of like I mentioned before, if you're just vegetarian and not vegan, Greek yogurt can be a really good option for something like high protein. Sometimes I like to throw that into smoothies instead of protein powder for just a little extra protein, since a lot of protein powder is whey based. And then also there's a lot of good protein pasta options, like there's the chickpea pasta and even legumes and different grains have a good amount of protein in them as well. So I feel like that could be like a lot of good options for you besides the standard eggs and like chicken and all that stuff. 

Ramsi Geiser
I definitely have to agree with Sam in that like a lot of those lentils and beans will have a good plant-based foods that are good sources of protein. And so, like she said, a lot of like the chickpeas, the lentils, edamame are great sources for that protein, as well as tofu, which is becoming a super popular thing in dishes. And there's so many different ways, we even, we were in a cooking class and we breaded the tofu in like this cornstarch and some seasonings, and it tasted just like chicken nuggets. And so it's crazy how this tofu, if it's like made correctly, has some seasonings. It tastes exactly like chicken. And so I think there's a lot of alternatives that still taste like the normal protein sources that a lot of others would get, such as chicken. But yeah, like a lot of those beans and nuts and seeds as well.

Lexa Ingram
Thank you so much for sharing, its definitely good to learn that I can turn to some simpler options, just like making some beans or grabbing some nuts to eat. And especially with tofu too. I've been on my journey of experimenting with tofu and I was successfully able to make it taste like chicken one day and I was like, Woah. I was like, I didn't think this was actually possible. I always thought people were just like, messing around with, like, it tastes like chicken because that's something a lot of people tend to say a lot of things taste like. But, it's true, you're able to make tofu taste like chicken. And I just think it's really interesting how it's a completely different plant-based option, but able to taste like an animal product itself. 

Amber-Rose Begay
I was going to ask this question earlier. Do you have recommendations for sweeteners, individuals should use for their drinks such as in sweet teas?

Sam Soulsby
So there's definitely always the option of still drinking unsweetened tea since there is zero sugar in it and like you can always put a little lemon squeeze in there or even lime or a little mint to add some more flavor to that tea. But if you really do like a sweet tea with some sweetener in some pretty good options for that could definitely be those zero calorie non-nutritive sweeteners. Kind of like stevia is on the market right now, or even monk fruit sweeteners or even things like agave as well. 

Lexa Ingram
I think agave is a great one. I actually have an aunt who will use agave syrup for pancakes instead of maple syrup because it has more natural ingredients, because it is agave and then also a lower sugar content. So I think it's a fun one to try out and is easy to add into different items, whether it be like tea or lemonade or something. 

Amber-Rose Begay
Do you have any different recommendations for individuals who are pre-diabetic or have been diagnosed with diabetes? 

Ramsi Geiser
Yeah, along the same lines is like the sweetened tea?

Amber-Rose Begay
Mmm-hmm.

Ramsi Geiser
Yeah, I would say it goes kind of along with the lines of what Sam had said of first looking in to see maybe if you didn't want to have all that sugar, just having those unsweetened tea, which definitely takes the fun out of it, maybe doesn't taste as sweet, but maybe adding in those citrus olf ike the lime or the lemon to kind of give it a little bit more flavor would definitely be a recommendation. But also the non-nutritive or the sweeteners that don't have a lot of calories or sugar in it, such as the stevia or the monk fruit, which it definitely is better than adding just like a scoop of sugar into your tea or anything, You could go with like a honey or like agave, I know those two are super popular for a lot of teas, just to add in a little bit of sweetness instead of just like a scoop of sugar from like a bag. And so those are probably be the ones of just like trying to limit it if you do have diabetes or are pre-diabetic. And it could also be incorporating that tea with like another food choice at the same time. So not just drinking the pure sugar so that your body like spikes in your blood glucose level. So maybe combining it with the food such as a protein snack or a fat source as well could also maybe help your body to stabilize your blood sugar a little bit so you don't have those spikes of sugar.

Amber-Rose Begay
So I heard from a few of my relatives that do have diabetes, like drinking zero sugar, say soda is okay.

Sam Soulsby
Yeah. I don't know if I know like too much about that. From my knowledge is that a lot of those sugar free or like zero calorie or even like diet sodas, they do have some form of those non-nutritive sweeteners that we mentioned. I think the chemical term there is aspartame. And although I wouldn't necessarily say like drinking soda all the time, is healthy, it's definitely a good option. Like, say, if a diabetic is going from drinking like ten Dr. Peppers a day, maybe just like starting by like weening off of it by having those zero calorie sodas at first. I definitely wouldn't say it's something that you should have every day, but it's definitely a good option just because it does have a lot less sugar than like a regular soda have. But I'm not completely sure, but I think it's just because it contains, like, more of those non-nutritive sweeteners. 

Amber-Rose Begay
That's good to know. 

Lexa Ingram
So you mentioned how it has, like, ingredients on there that you might want to look out for for it being bad. With that being the case, do you have any suggestions for logos or branding individuals to look out for on packaging or on nutrition labels when grocery shopping? And then also, how do you read a nutrition label?

Ramsi Geiser
That's a great question, something that we kind of like to look into. So there's a lot of people will label some food as good or bad. And so something that we have kind of looked into a lot of research with is kind of is looking at food more as neutral. And sometimes that helps to allow yourself to enjoy different ones and not kind of go into this dieting cycle of some foods are good, some foods are bad. And so when we look at nutrition labels, something that we always like to do is there's kind of four parts of a nutrition label. So usually at the top it'll say like nutrition facts. And then right under there's the serving information. So the serving size, whether that's one cup, whether that's however much is in that certain item and then under that's going to have the calories. And then you'll also see under those calories, there's going to be all those nutrients, such as the total fat, the sodium, the carbs, all those vitamins. And then on the right side next to those are going to be the daily value. So there's kind of four parts of it.

And one thing that we like to look at: so, instead of looking at calories as more something you should be either having this much calories or in taking a certain number of calories, we like to look at the calories as just fuel for your body instead of trying to get in a certain amount of calories, but instead listening to your body, which is sometimes a little bit harder in our society because not a lot of people can tune into those internal signals of how much their body needs. And so instead of looking at those calories, looking at what your body feels as you're eating it, the one thing we love to look at, or actually it's like four little things when looking at that nutrition label, is the nutrients to get more of and the nutrients to get less of. And so those nutrients to get more of, you're always going to see that dietary fiber on your nutrition facts, which is kind of crazy to look at. A lot of them don't have a lot of fiber. So looking at that fiber, it could also contain the vitamin D, calcium, iron, potassium, those minerals and vitamins as well. And some things to maybe not look at or nutrients to get less of could be that saturated fat the sodium and then added sugars. And so something that's really cool and a lot of new nutrition facts labels is it's differentiated in the sugar section. So you'll have the total sugar and then you'll have the added sugar. And so I know it was brought up a little bit. So total sugar is going to be, you’ll have that added sugar that's going to be added into the food as it's being created. And then you have those natural sugars that your body actually uses as kind of like an energy source. Those sugars that aren't added are going to be those natural sugars which actually aren't bad for your body, and so we all need those natural sugars. And so something to look out for is the added sugars, if that makes any sense. I don't know if that made sense, but the also cool thing, which I can kind of explain a little bit, is that daily value, which a lot of people kind of look past those little percentages on the side. We aren't always taught what it kind of means. So if you're looking at those, it's the percentage of daily value that you're getting in that certain item in that serving size. And so if it has about 5% or less, that's considered pretty low. So the nutrients are really low that you're getting. And if it's 20% or higher, that's considered high, which means you're getting a lot of those nutrients. And so looking at maybe your dietary fiber, trying to have it as a high percentage or your protein or your vitamin D or calcium, having those as high percentages and maybe looking at having lower percentages of maybe the total fat such as saturated fat or trans fat or even the sodium. And so those are some of the things we kind of look for when we're looking at that nutrition facts label. 

Amber-Rose Begay
All righty. Well, this has been very informative to me and I'm sure to our listeners. Is there anything else you'd like to share with our audience that we haven't covered? 

Ramsi Geiser
I think one thing that I always like, so we take on a lot of coaching clients at U.C.A.N. and so one thing that I feel like food is a big part because we have to eat in order to survive. And so that's always a big part of everybody's goals and that they want to accomplish in their life is maybe having better food choices. And I think, the thing that I've learned is everybody is so individual, like no one person is going to be the same, and so really finding out what works for your body, what works for you, is going to be the biggest kind of takeaway in your life. I feel like in regards to eating is finding out what foods you enjoy eating, letting yourself kind of enjoy those foods, whether it's having dessert, and so just figuring out what your body enjoys eating so that you have, you can find that pleasure in food because it's, it would be so sad to see someone go through life just always stressed around food. And so something we always try to help is just having people create those pleasurable moments around food because we eat it all day long. And so being able to be comfortable and enjoy the foods that you're eating can help somebody so much.   

Sam Soulsby
I totally agree with what Ramsi just said. Really, there is no perfect eater out there. And, you know, we see so many people from different cultures and people who have different food preferences. We just want them all to find a way to fuel themselves and just really enjoy what they're eating, healthy or not sometimes, depending on your cravings. But we want them to be in tune with their hunger and fullness skills and not to feel any guilt or shame around food. Food should be enjoyable, it shouldn't be scary. And that's just really what we try to share with all of the clients that we see.

Amber-Rose Begay
That was very encouraging. Thank you for ending on that note, I just want to thank you both again for joining us this evening and sharing your knowledge and your expertise in this area. I feel like I've learned so much, thank you. 

Lexa Ingram
I also just wanted to thank you for coming on here and sharing all your tips with us and budgeting advice. I definitely learned a lot and I'm definitely going to be trying those date Snickers. I’m really looking forward to that, and that'll be on the top of my recipe list I'm going to be creating so I can get my budgeting and plan out for once instead of just going to the grocery store and just hoping for the best. So I'm looking forward to it and hoping my budget is going to be saved finally. So thank you for everything. 

Ramsi Geiser
Yes, thank you again for having us. It's been so fun getting to talk to you guys and we highly recommend the date Snickers. So, they're a fan favorite.

Sam Soulsby
Yeah. Thank you so much for having us. And yeah, everybody should try those dates Snickers. They're literally amazing and will satisfy all of your sweet cravings that you have. 

Lexa Ingram
Thank you for listening to our podcast episode. We appreciate your support for our channel. As a reminder, if you're interested in checking out the food recipes and food demonstrations Ramsi and Sam have shared can be found on our *Facebook page @Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Diné College or on Instagram @navajomch

Outro
Ahe’hee. Thanks for listening to the MCH Podcast. For more information about the Navajo MCH Project, please visit us on Facebook at the Navajo Maternal and Child Health Project at Diné College.