A fresh new look at what we're eating on March 2

A special shout out to endorse “Fresh - New Thinking About What We’re Eating,” a movie by Ana Sofia Joanes, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the Gifford Elementary School, 8332 Northwestern Ave. (Highway K) Racine. The movie will be followed by a presentation by Will Allen of Milwaukee’s Growing Power who was recently named one of “100 History Makers in the Making.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the program is sponsored by Eat Right Racine, a new lively non-profit started by a group of health-oriented mothers who want to encourage everyone to pursue good nutrition. Keep in mind that good nutrition not only nourishes our bodies, it also helps our minds, thoughts and feelings function at their best, giving us good mental health.

Download poster here to share with others.

What we eat affects our mental health too

Eat Right Racine gave a beautiful gift to our community on Wednesday night – the chance to learn about healthy food.

This a very important project for our community. Congratulations to the three energetic women with the vision to put this program together and the many, many others who lent their time and skills.

What we consume not only affects the quality of our physical health, it also affects the quality of our mental health. It has now been shown that foods and beverages impact our brain and nervous system and ability to learn and retain information – as well as our memory and our ability to think clearly. We can also experience depression, anxiety, mood swings, PMS, and addictive cravings related to what we eat and drink.

For more information, see Elizabeth Somer’s newly updated Food and Mood: The Complete Guide To Eating Well and Feeling Your Best and Barbara Stitt’s Food and Behavior: A Natural Connection who actually relates certain foods to criminal behavior.

I suggest both books to my clients who come with depression and anxiety and don’t want to start with medications to address their mood swings or cravings. Also, check out Eat Right Racine for more ways to learn and get involved.

Publishers Weekly said this about Somer’s book:

"What at first glance would appear to be yet another look at the relationships of food with emotional state is, instead, an extremely well-researched probe of what a good diet can mean to both body and mind. Somer, editor of Nutrition Report, dispels many of the myths about specific foods and diet patterns, putting in their place scientific studies showing the links between mood and diet. Among the topics she discusses are food cravings, stress and diet, food allergies and intolerances, eating disorders, premenstrual syndrome and how food can affect sleep patterns. More than 100 tables, charts and worksheets help readers evaluate their diets and make appropriate changes. Menus and recipes are also included, and the need for supplements is discussed. Readers will appreciate Somer's no-nonsense style and the absence of contrived anecdotes to make important dietary points. Although some may find that the book gets off to a slow start, those who stick with it will find a valuable nutritional sourcebook."

Time to Eat Right Racine!

Make Racine more healthy!

Yes, this is a worthy goal, and has been one of my missions for some time now. And just yesterday I got a sneak peak at a wonderful new movement called Eat Right Racine that you’ll be hearing more about.

Eat Right Racine is a small group of people, including my energetic friend Heidi Fannin, a massage therapist and nutritional consultant, who are getting ready to educate people, parents, schools and community leaders. They want to see our city become healthier, happier, and more educated about the food that we eat.

I like this. Count me in, Heidi. For years, I’ve been preaching about the importance of healthy food, not only for our bodies but also for our minds and spirits. There’s mounting evidence that people who eat poorly – junk food, sugar, soda and the like – not only gain weight and develop physical health problems but also suffer mood swings, depression and anxiety. There's more. Cravings -- often caused by processed foods that contain appetite stimulants -- can cause shame and pain due to compulsive overeating and even start and exacerate addictions to alcohol and other drugs.

That’s where Eat Right Racine comes in. Its goals:

• Improve the quality of food that is fed to the students that attend schools within the Racine Unified School District.


• Help educate parents on nutritional issues so that they can feed their families healthy and delicious food that improves health, wellness, and self-esteem.


• Teach the residents of Racine how to find and prepare locally grown food.


• Encourage others to become informed about food so that they can teach these healthy habits that can change lives.

I love this and I'm going to do all I can to promote this project.

The new site Eat Right Racine includes ideas for children’s lunches, easy-to-prepare recipes for healthy meals plus interesting links about food, including Alice Waters' and Katrina Heron’s article for The New York Times on redesigning the traditional school lunch program.