The food stays good up to 3 days after delivery. Meals you receive on Tuesday are good to eat before Saturday, while meals delivered on Thursday are good to eat before Monday. The meals are delivered cooled, not frozen.
2. "Oh no, I missed the order deadline! Can I still order meals?"
If the delivery days (Tuesday and Thursday) are still visible on the weekly menu page after the order deadlines have passed (Sunday 6 PM for Tuesday deliveries and Tuesday 11 AM for Thursday deliveries), you can still place your order for those delivery days.
We manually adjust the delivery dates on Sundays and upload the new weekly menu on Tuesday, so it is possible there is some delay which gives you a chance to place a late order which we can still accept for the upcoming delivery day.
3. Do you deliver in city "X" and at what time can I expect my delivery?
We currently deliver in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.
Estimated delivery times can be found here. We also added an evening delivery option so you can receive deliveries between 17:00 and 20:00. When making your order, select "Daytime delivery" or "Evening delivery" in the list of delivery options. If you have doubts or are not certain if the delivery times will work for you, get in touch and we can answer your questions.
We hire our own delivery drivers, whom communicate clearly with your during the day of the delivery in case there is an issue.
4. Can I pay with lunch vouchers?
Yes, you can - find all the info here.
5. I want to take a subscription but can I skip delivery weeks if needed?
Yes, you can. Once the subscription is created, you can easily skip delivery weeks in your account. Even if a payment would go through, you can let us know before Sunday 6 PM if you do not want to receive meals that week. We either then do a refund or let the earlier payment cover one of the upcoming delivery weeks. We will not charge you and not deliver meals.
If you take a monthly or 3-monthly subscription, you can let us know by email if there would be a week you do not want to receive meals. We then manually push the payment date back accordingly.
Do you have any more questions or doubts? Check our FAQ page or no do not hesitate to get in touch.
Tämän kerran teemana on palautuminen, mihin ruokavaliolla (katso edellinen postauksemme blogista!) on todella suuri vaikutus. Voit lukea Hämäläisen otteita palauttavaan ja hyvinvointia tukevaan ruokavalioon sarjan ensimmäisestä postauksesta.
Olet yksinyrittäjä ja rakentanut ja johtanut nyt paria eri brändiä, joiden päivittäiseen pyörittämiseen kuuluu paljon erilaisia, muuttuvia tehtävänkuvia ja paikoin stressaavia, pitkiä työpäiviä.
Mitkä ovat sinulle palautumisen kulmakivet?
“Yhtenä tärkeänä on tietysti uni, mutta laajemmin kyse on tietynlaisesta tasapainosta ja rytmistä elämässä. Miten se näkyy arjessa? Treeni ja lepo ovat tasapainossa, samoin työ- ja vapaa-aika. Samalla on tarpeeksi asioiden viemistä eteenpäin ja liikettä, mutta myös paikallaan oloa ja ihan vain olemista. Vaalin tasapainoa kaikessa – ylläpidän esimerkiksi terveellistä ruokavaliota, mutta voin myös hakea itselleni laskiaispullan. :-D
Vaikkakin elämä on mun mielestä sellaista aaltoliikettä, niin pyrin tasapainottamaan asioita, joihin voin vaikuttaa. Pyrkimys on, ettei jää liikaa kiinni mihinkään pieniin nyansseihin, vaan miettii kokonaisuutta. Olisi itselle sopiva ateriarytmi, unirytmi ja työn ja vapaa-ajan rytmi. Etenkin yrittäjänä on tärkeää, että osaa vetää rajoja, sanoa ei, ja pitää kiinni vuorokausirytmistä. Ajattelen, että nämä kaikki ylläpitää ja tasoittaa myös hormonitasapainoa. Tavallaan, että jos on joku yksi asia, niin mikä toimii sen vastapainona, ja mitä kumpikin puoli vaatii. Jos mulla on elämässä joku iso asia, on sen vastapainonkin oltava myös tarpeeksi painava, jotta osaan irrottautua yhdestä – esimerkiksi crossfit-aikoina, jotta olisin osannut irrottautua treeneistä. Se on tosi tärkeää. Ja kuten mainittua, olen super tarkka unesta – enemmän kuin vain, että “uni on tärkeää”, vaan ennemmin ymmärrys siitä, että itse nukkumiseen vaikuttaa niin moni asia ja se itsessään vaikuttaa niin moneen.
Näkisin, että ihmisen tulisi katsoa elämäänsä kokonaisuudessaan ja miettiä, mitkä on niitä sulle tärkeitä ja isoja asioita ja mitkä toimii niille vastapainona. Jos kaikki keskittyminen on joissain yksittäisissä asioissa – oli se sitten vaikka täydellinen palautumisrutiini, magnesiumin ottaminen oikeaan aikaan ja niin edelleen – mennään metsään. Tuntuu, että nykyään on jotenkin pakko “suorittaa” kaikkea koko ajan, kehittää itseään ja kuunnella ja lukea kaikkea kehittävää ynnä muuta. Ja siis, been there done that, mutta palautuminen on osa elämän rytmiä, eikä sitä tulisi suorittaa.”
Mihin itse panostat palautumisessa?
“Itse tarvitsen paljon sellaisia maadoittavia, rentoja asioita. Esimerkiksi joululomalla se oli vain Harry Potter -äänikirjojen kuuntelua.”
Mihin sinun mielestäsi ihmisten tulisi yleisesti kiinnittää huomiota palautumisen suhteen?
“Tärkeää on tunnistaa, kuka ja millainen minä olen. Joillekin se voi olla kavereiden kanssa olemista, joillekin sitten yksinään oloa juurikin jonkun ei-suorittavan tekemisen parissa. On tärkeää, että tunnistaa, että tällainen tyyppi mä olen ja tällaiset asiat kuormittaa tai palauttaa mua – mikä voi olla jotain aivan muuta kuin vaikka parhaalla kaverilla. Ja jos näkee somessa, että tämä henkilö toimii näin, niin se ei tarkoita, että sama asia toimisi sulle. Pitää osata pysähtyä ja miettiä itseä. Kuormittuminen ja palautuminen riippuvat niin paljon siitä, millainen persoona sä olet.”
Kerro lisää ajatuksistasi uneen ja nukkumiseen.
“Tavoittelen sellaista rytmiä, että heräisin ja menisin nukkumaan suht samoihin aikoihin riippumatta siitä, onko arki vai viikonloppu. Lisäksi pyrin saamaan aamulla tarpeeksi (mieluiten) luonnonvaloa (10 000 luxia on suositeltu) ennen aamukymmentä, sillä on tosi iso vaikutus ns. unihormonien (melatoniinin ja serotoniinin) toimintaan. Tätä olen itse vasta viimeisen vuoden priorisoinut. Mulla on sääntö, että iltaisin ihan viimeistään kello 18 on lopetettava virittynyt toimiminen – voi olla, että katson leffaa tai sarjoja Niken [kumppani] kanssa, tai soittelen tai viestittelen kavereille.
Iltapalalla varmistan, että saan hyviä, hitaasti imeytyviä hiilihydraatteja ja hyvälaatuisia rasvoja, jotka tasaa verensokeria, vaikkapa kauraleipää, jotta verensokeri pysyisi yön mittaankin tasaisena. Eli hyvä iltapala, jota sitten tuen magnesiumilla.
Tärkeintä kuitenkin on varmaan se rytmi, että on mahdollisuus unplug illalla. Mulle ei sovi mikään tosi tiukka tai strukturoitu rutiini tähän, vaan joskus iltaan voi kuulua venyttelyä, joskus vaikkapa johonkin hevosaiheeseen tutustumista tai muuta rentoa.”
Mitkä ovat vinkkisi hyvään työrytmiin yrittäjänä & työstä palautumiseen?
“Koetan olla tosi tiukka siinä, etten tekisi töitä viikonloppuisin, mutta samalla olen siinä tosi huono :D Se on mun fokus tänä vuonna, vaikka toki joskus pitää joustaa vaikka viikonloppujen kanssa, jolloin on kuvauksia tai muuta. Ajattelen sen niin, että en halua laittaa itseäni “epäonnistumaan” sopimalla työasioita vapaa-ajan päälle.
Toinen tärkeä asia on, että pidän kiinni sovituista lomista, kuten myös loma- ja vapaapäivistä. Yritys ei kaadu siihen, että pitää hetken vapaata.
Lisäksi ajattelen arkeakin hieman niin, että joka neljäs viikko olisi niin sanotusti “deload”, jolloin kroppa ja mieli saa levätä enemmän. Pyrin siihen, että mun työnteko mahdollistaisi mulle paljon vapaa-aikaa. Ja kun on vapaata, niin en halua käyttää sitä mihinkään tyhmiin juttuihin.
Töissä automatisoin kaiken, mitä voin. Olen esimerkiksi opetellut paljon sähköpostin ja valmennusalustojen hallintaa ja viestinnän kehittämistä ja luonut systeemejä, etten olisi koko aikaa sähköpostitulvassa.”
Millä tavoin itse purat kertyvää stressiä?
“Se riippuu hieman fiiliksestä, mutta mulla on käytössä erilaisia tapoja:
Kiitos Laura juttutuokiosta ja vinkeistä, näillä kevääseen! Voit seurata Lauran elämää ja työtä hänen IG-tilillään @laurahoooo.
]]>Laura Hämäläinen on yrittäjä, fysioterapeutti, yksilö- ja online-valmentaja, hevosen- ja piakkoin talonomistaja sekä esteratsastaja että entinen crossfit-urheilija. Monille meistä hän saattaa olla tuttu hänen visuaalisesta ja asiantuntevasta Instagram-sisällöstään koskien treeniä ja harjoittelua, aktiivista ja kokonaisvaltaista elämäntapaa sekä holistista suhtautumista hyvinvointiin. Se pitää sisällään muun muassa hänen näkemyksiään ravitsemukseen, uneen sekä muihin oleellisesti palautumiseen ja terveyteen vaikuttaviin tekijöihin liittyen.
Tämän kaksiosaisen haastattelun ensimmäisessä osassa juttelimme Lauran kanssa ravitsemuksesta.
Vaikka puhumme laajemmin hyvinvointiin vaikuttavista tekijöistä, niin aloitetaan ravitsemuksesta. Sinulla on kokemusta tunnollisesta kilpaurheilijan elämästä (punnittuine ruokineen ja makroineen), yrittäjänä bisneksen luomisesta ja johtamisesta sekä viimeisimpänä kohta parin vuoden ajalta paluusta hevosurheilun pariin urheilijana ja yrittäjänä. Lisäksi taustalla on pari merkittävää loukkaantumista. Kaikki tämä taustalla, mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat tänä päivänä ruokavalioosi?
“Tällä hetkellä mun fokus on tavallaan energisyydessä – että ruoasta tulee oikeasti hyvä olo, ja että kaikki mitä teen, tukisi sitä, että voin hyvin. Siinä on tapahtunut iso muutos, jos vertaa huippusuorittamiseen silloin crossfit-aikoina. Silloin fokus oli täysin suorituskyvyn optimoinnissa. Nyt, kun mun elämä on tietyllä tapaa “normaalimpaa”, niin ravitsemuksesta on tullut mulle ehdottomasti yksi hyvinvoinnin kulmakivistä.”
Mikä on sitten näkemyksesi terveellisestä, hyvinvointia tukevasta ravitsemuksesta?
“Ehdottomasti ruokavalion monipuolisuus ja värikkyys, se kertoo, että lautasella on asioita, jotka ovat ravintoainerikkaita. Yksi asia jota mietin on, että lisääkö tämä tai tuo tulehdustilaa mun kehossa vai vähentääkö se sitä.” [Kirjoittajan huomio: jotkut tutkimukset osoittavat eri ruoka-aineiden mahdollisesta vaikutuksesta kehon matala-asteiseen tulehdustilaan; 1,2].
Mitkä on sinulle tärkeimpiä asioita ravitsemukseen liittyen?
“Mä en laske lainkaan, miten paljon mä syön (tässä mulla on toki vuosien ruokien tarkan punnitsemisen tuoma kokemus ja “mutu” taustalla), vaan sen sijaan mietin, mitä mä syön – onko ruoka mahdollisimman laadukasta. Laadulla tarkoitan paljon kasviksia, marjoja, hyvälaatuisia hiilareita, laadukkaita proteiininlähteitä ja hyvälaatuista rasvaa, mikä on mulle aivan ykkösjuttu.
Ehkä suurin muutos tai ero siirtymisessä kovan treenimäärän urheilijan elämästä tavallisempaan arkielämään on hiilarien määrässä ja laadussa ja verensokerin tasaisuudessa. Verensokeriin voi hyvin vaikuttaa sillä, mistä lähteistä hiilihydraattia nauttii. [Tutkimuksissa on osoitettu kuitupitoisen ruoan tai ravintokuidun positiivisista vaikutuksista sokeri- ja rasva-aineenvaihduntaan; 3] Urheilija ja aktiiviurheilija tarvitsee sitä usein eri lähteistä – jos esimerkiksi crossfit-urheilijalla on tarve saada 400 grammaa tai enemmän hiilaria päivässä, ei sitä kaikkea voi tai kannata yrittää saada vain bataatista tai uunijuureksista. Tavallisemmassa arjessa, jossa treeni on erilaista ja istun aika paljon töiden puolesta (vaikkakin olen aktiivinen), en tarvitse niinkään esimerkiksi valkoista riisiä tai muita simppeleitä hiilarin muotoja.
Jos jostain “pihistän”, niin joustan välillä ateriarytmistä. Aina ei ole hyviä eväitä vaikkapa kiireisenä päivänä mukana, ja voi olla parempi syödä jotain kuin olla syömättä. Toki en halua syödä ihan mitä tahansa, niin joskus saatan venyttää ateriaväliä ja täydentää sitten myöhemmin.”
Miten takaat terveellisyyden, kun elämästä tulee kiireistä?
“Sunnuntait ovat todella tärkeitä minulle: silloin tykkään käyttää aikaa siihen, että preppaan alkuviikolle jotain perusruokia, lisukkeita tai välipaloja, jotta mun ei tarvitse murehtia kokkaamista työpäivän aikana tai jälkeen. Inhoan kaupassa käymistä etenkin, jos sinne pitää mennä illalla pitkän päivän päätteeksi ja vielä sen jälkeen pitää alkaa kokkaamaan. Eli valmistautuminen on todella tärkeää. Pyrin myös varmistamaan, että mulla on hyvää välipalaa saatavilla joka paikassa, minne menen. 😊
Tavallaan ajattelen, että tällä lailla valmistautuu menestykseen. Jos en esimerkiksi valmistele itselleni tuorepuuroa edeltävänä iltana tietäen, että seuraava päivä on kiireinen, saattaa käydä niin, että syön vain banaanin tai pahimmillaan en mitään. Siksikin ajattelen, että jo tunnin preppauksella pääsee todella pitkälle.”
Sinua somessa seuraavat tietävätkin, että kokonaisvaltainen hyvinvointi on sinulle intohimo. Mikä rooli ruoalla siinä on?
“Ajattelen asiaa kolmen peruspilarin kautta – liike, uni ja ravinto – ja ne kaikki ovat yhteydessä toisiinsa. Mitä me syömme vaikuttaa uneen ja toki siihen, miten me toimimme ja palaudumme. Olen nähnyt niin monia ihmisiä, joilla on vaikeuksia juurikin unen kanssa, ja he koettavat korjata asiaa esimerkiksi magnesium-ravintolisällä tai jollain muulla. Ja sitten jos katsomme tällaisen henkilön syömistottumuksia, on siellä paljon varaa parantaa, mitä tulee hiilareiden laatuun ja tasaiseen saamiseen.
Itsensä kunnolla ravitseminen vaikuttaa myös sun hormonitasapainoon, mikä linkittyy myös sun kropan kykyyn säädellä kylläisyys- ja nälkähormoneja. En voi painottaa liikaa sitä kuinka tärkeä rooli ruokavaliolla asiassa on.“ [Lisätietoa hormonien toiminnasta suhteessa syömiseen esim. 4.]
Millä lailla FuelMe:n valmiit, ravitsemuksellisesti huolella kootut ateriat ovat osa sinun terveellistä elämäntapaasi?
“Yksi parhaista asioista on, miten helppoa se on – meidän sunnuntainen food prep riittää usein suunnilleen keskiviikkoon asti, ja sitten FuelMe:n ateriat kattaa loppuviikkoa. Järjestely vapauttaa meille aikaa, jota voidaan käyttää muuten omaan hyvinvointiin, kuten vaikka treeniaikatauluihin.
FuelMe:n ateriat ovat hyvälaatuisia ja maistuvat myös hyvältä, ja ne tuovat paljon vaihtelua mun lautaselle – osa aterioista on sellaisia, joita en todellakaan alkaisi itse kokata. Etenkin kasvisruoat ovat korkealaatuisia ja sisältävät paljon eri kasviksia. Haha, enpä koskaan alkaisi laittamaan vege-dumplingseja itse kotona!”
Mikä on yksi asia, jonka muuttaisit yleisesti ihmisten ruokavalioista, jos tavoite on elää ja syödä terveellisesti?
“Panostaisin verensokerin tasaisuuteen. Siis siihen, että mistä lähteistä hiilareita ja rasvoja saa ja ovatko ne hyvälaatuisia. Yksi yleinen ongelma tuntuu olevan, että hiilihydraattia saadaan prosessoiduista tuotteista eikä hyvälaatuista (pehmeää) rasvaa saada tarpeeksi.
Vinkkini hyviin hiilihydraatin lähteisiin (suosittelen usein gluteenin vähentämistä): kaurahiutaleet, -puuro ja muut kauratuotteet, kvinoa, eri vihannekset ja juurekset (kuten bataatti, puna- ja keltajuuret tai mistä nyt itse tykkää) ja toki marjat.
Vinkkini hyviin rasvan lähteisiin: avokado, pähkinät, hyvälaatuinen ekstra-neitsytoliiviöljy ja pellavansiemenet.”
Seuraavassa osassa haastattelua pureudumme tarkemmin palautumiseen, uneen ja hektisen elämän tasapainottamiseen. Kiitos Laura tästä keskustelusta!
VIITEET
Haluatko hyödyntää lounasetusi terveellisiin ja valmiisiin aterioihin suoraan kotiovellesi toimitettuna? Meillä voit käyttää kaikkia lounasedun tarjoajia aterioiden maksamiseen: Edenrediä, Eazybreakia, Smartumia ja ePassia.
Jotta saat tehtyä verkkotilauksen sivujemme kautta, vaihdamme lounasedun arvon digitaaliseen lahjakorttiin. Lounasedun arvon muuttaminen lahjakortiksi onnistuu kaikilla lounasedun maksutavoilla: sovelluksella, lounasseteleillä tai lounasedun maksukortilla. Alta löydät ohjeet, kuinka maksaminen onnistuu kaikilla maksutavoilla.
Kuinka ostaminen käytännössä onnistuu?
Lounasetusovelluksella:
1. Sinun tulee ensin maksaa lounasedun tarjoajan mobiilisovelluksella summa jonka haluat maksaa lounasedulla. Etsi siis mobiilisovelluksella ravintolamme FuelMe ja tee maksut siihen.
2. Kun olet suorittanut maksut sovelluksessa, lähetämme sinulle maksettua summaa vastaavan digitaaliseen FuelMe-lahjakorttiin.
Huom. joillain sovelluksilla on rajoituksia miten monta maksua voit tehdä päivässä. Voimme kuitenkin yhdistää useamman päivän sisällä tehdyt maksut yhteen FuelMe lahjakorttiin.
Lounasseteleillä:
Maksu onnistuu niin, että kuljettaja noutaa setelit toimituksen yhteydessä. Vähimmäistilaus tällä maksutavalla on 80 euroa. Ota yhteyttä ja kerro lounasseteleiden kokonaisarvo meille ennen tilaustasi niin lähetämme sinulle saman arvoisen digitaalisen lahjakortin ennen ensimmäistä ateriatoimitusta. Voit antaa lounassetelit ensimmäisen toimituksen yhteydessä kuljettajalle.
Maksaessasi lounasetu -maksukortilla:
Ainoa tapa on tulla paikan päälle osoitteeseen Liukumäentie 13, 00640 Helsinki. Lahjakortin toimitamme sinulle maksun yhteydessä.
Lahjakorttia voit käyttää useaan eri tilaukseen: voit maksaa esimerkiksi 100 € ePassi-sovelluksen kautta ja käyttää lahjakortista 70 € ensimmäiseen tilaukseen ja 30 € seuraavaan. Kaikkea ei siis tarvitse käyttää kerralla!
Jatkuva tilaus ja lounasedun käyttö:
Mikäli haluat tehdä jatkuvan tilauksen ja käyttää lounasetua sen maksamiseen, toimi seuraavasti:
Aktivoi jatkuva tilauksesi (tehdään vain kerran):
1. Laita meille viestiä minkä summan edestä haluaisit maksaa lounasedulla?
2. Lähetämme summaa vastaavan alennuskoodin jolla voit aktivoida jatkuvan tilauksesi. Maksa ylijäävä osuus normaalisti luottokortilla verkkokaupassa alennuskoodin syöttämisen jälkeen.
Maksaminen jatkossa:
Jos sinulla on mitä tahansa kysyttävää aterioiden maksamiseen lounasedulla, ole yhteydessä chatillä, mailitse tai puhelimella!
]]>CARBOHYDRATES, PROTEINS, FATS
Yep, it might not come as news to anyone these days that – in popular terms – macros refer to carbohydrates (starch, sugars, fiber), proteins (amino acid chains) and fats (triglycerides and fatty acids, sterols, phospholipids and fat-soluble vitamins). These are also the nutrients that provide our bodies energy essential for basic functions (in Finnish energiaravintoaineet). The word macro describes that these nutrient groups consist of different organic compounds and different forms of molecules.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In Finland, official food & nutrition recommendations are published by Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta (VRN, National nutrition authority), and the latest publication came out in 2014 (in Finnish here). The recommendations follow the guidelines set in the Nordic nutrition recommendations and are always backed up with the latest nutrition & health research and national health data and adjusted to fit national culture and eating habits. New Nordic nutrition recommendations are to be published this year (article in Finnish here).
Based on the 2014 recommendations for adults, your daily macro-intake should consist of 45-60 E% of carbs, 10-20 E% of protein and 25-40 E% of fats. Energy percent (E%) refers to the relative amount of the nutrient based on a person’s daily energy intake – f.ex. 45-60% of a daily energy intake is recommended to be obtained from carbohydrates.Table 1. Recommendations for carbohydrates, protein and fats for adults.
NUTRIENT |
RECOMMENDATION |
Carbohydrates (fiber included)
|
45–60 E%
|
Protein |
10–20 E% |
Fat
|
25–40 E%
|
Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta 2014.
Maybe a more tangible way to showcase these numbers is through case examples: two females weighing 55 kg and 65 kg and two males weighing 70 kg and 90 kg, ages 18-30. All of them have active lifestyles with physically easy jobs and do some sort of physical activities daily. For a reminder, one gram of carbohydrates and protein has 4 kcal of energy, one gram of fat 9 kcal.
Table 2. Four examples/estimates for daily energy need and breakdown for recommended ratios for carbohydrates, protein and fats (kcal / grams).
PERSON |
ENERGY NEED |
CARBS 45-60 E% |
PROTEIN 10-20 E% |
FAT 25-40 E% |
F 55 kg |
2217 kcal |
998-1330 kcal = 250-333 grams |
222-443 kcal = 56-111 grams |
554-887 kcal = 62-99 grams |
F 65 kg |
2467 kcal |
1110-1480 kcal = 277-370 grams |
246-493 kcal = 62-123 grams |
617-987 kcal = 69-109 grams |
M 70 kg |
2975 kcal |
1339-1785 kcal = 335-446 grams |
297-595 kcal = 74-149 grams |
744-1190 kcal = 83-132 grams |
M 90 kg |
3495 kcal |
1573-2097 kcal = 393-524 grams |
349-699 kcal = 87-175 grams |
873-1398 kcal = 97-155 grams |
Estimated with calculator by Sydänliitto.
NOTE: Given energy need estimates are made with the calculator provided by Sydänliitto (based on the WHO calculations) and should not be taken in as one-size-fits-all or literal recommendations! Estimates are unspecified – with any specific conditions and/or lifestyle-depending needs (athletes, chronic conditions, etc.) please consult a licensed nutritionist or registered dietician if needed.
CARBS
VRN recommends reducing the amount of added sugars (saccharide) in our diets to be maximal of 10 E%. The main sources for these “refined sugars” are sugar-sweetened drinks and juices, sweets, pastry products and in some cases sweetened dairy products (see our previous post about food packaging & product labeling). The recommended need for carbohydrates (and fiber!) can be filled from a variety of food groups & foods (Table 3). Worth noticing are grains and legumes which are also relatively fine sources of plant-based protein!
Table 3. Different sources of carbohydrates, g/100g of produce.
Grain products |
Fruits and vegetables |
Potato and root vegetables |
|
* Legumes contain a good amount of protein too! |
|
Source: Fineli.
PROTEIN
Many main sources for carbs are also a great source for plant-based protein. Moreover, vegetarians and vegans can meet their protein needs by adding products like tofu and tempeh, pulled oats or broad beans, different soy & bean products (those low in salt & fat) and legumes. Other sources are meat and fish products, eggs and milk products – note that these products usually contain different amounts of fat as well.
Table 4. Different sources of protein, g/100g of produce.
Plant-based products |
Meat & fish |
Milk products, etc. |
ground flax seeds 20–25g |
|
|
Source: Fineli.
FATSLike with carbs, nutritional guidelines include recommendations for different types of fats. While 25–40 % of daily energy intake may come from fats sources, saturated fats should be limited to a max of 10 E%. This refers to so-called “hard fats”; fat that stay solid at room temperature. Animal based protein sources are mainly higher in saturated fats compared to plant-based counterparts which should to be taken into account while making food decisions.
Table 4. Different sources of fat, g/100g of produce.
Nuts & seeds |
Vegetable oils |
Other |
|
* Coconut oil’s fat is mainly in saturated form |
|
Source: Fineli.
These are only some examples. If you’re interested in learning more, using THL’s constantly updated database Fineli is one good tool for checking and exploring. Remember that there’s rarely a food product that would consist solely of fat, sugar or amino acids, so basically all of our every-day foods are different kinds of combinations of them.
For FuelMe meals, all ingredients and macronutrients are balanced so they form a solid base for your daily energy intake. You’ll find the macronutrient breakdown for every meal on the weekly menu (click/tap the image of the meal), from the nutrition sheet attached to your order confirmation and delivery confirmation email. The ingredients are shown on the meal packaging as well!
SOURCES
Let’s start with an introduction. Could you tell a little about yourselves?
E: Perhaps I could start. I would describe myself as a somewhat all-around gal. Before starting as an entrepreneur, I worked at a law firm for four years as an IP Technology lawyer, but I knew that brands had always been close to my heart and I had a long-time dream of creating my own consumer brand. The pandemic kind of pushed me towards those dreams. In addition, I'm an athletic person and work as a group fitness instructor and it has always been important for me to lead by example when it comes to well-being.
T: I studied work psychology and media studies at the University of Technology in Helsinki. Besides that, I’ve always been interested in food and feeling good, so during my studies I started to write a blog around these themes. It was around the time superfoods gained ground in Finland when I started to explore them, motivated by my own health related issues. Eventually, what started as a hobby became a job. I never planned to become an entrepreneur, but in the last 6–7 years I’ve developed my blog, worked and collaborated with different firms mostly in the food and health industry, written a book and worked in recipe development for various customers. About a year ago Emmi and I started to discuss whether we could come up with something new. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers and have many interests in common.
How did you eventually come up with Puroa Goods?
E: We both have expertise in different fields. The idea developed last fall in 2020 and we started the company in December. We noticed that there’s a demand for a healthy lifestyle brand and at that time it was for good-tasting, wholesome snacks with good ingredients. We came up with smoothie recipes at first but since the beginning the goal of our brand has been to create and develop more than just smoothies, which is our only current product. Our products are developed for busy people, workers, athletic people, and in essence for everyone with a need for energizing and healthy snacks.
T: Yep. Our aim was and is to create products stemming from our own needs and with a thought in mind – what would we want to have and use in our own lives? This also relates to why it’s so good to work with FuelMe since we share the same ideas and values.
E: What we do is fueled by our own needs and the values that drive us, but turning those into real products has been a journey. The whole process has been so eye-opening – all the studying of different production methods, design production, etc.
How did FuelMe come along during that journey?
T: Pieter contacted us, and after some phone calls we quickly realised how like-minded we were and that our collaboration could really work. And it has been good! We shared the same ideas and thought that we could complete and reinforce each other.
E: Our products are currently available as add-ons for FuelMe’s customers. Otherwise we have had our so-called pilot phase going on, we’ve been selling our products in different grocery stores in Helsinki for four months now and the acceptance has been really welcoming.
T: Now it’s just time to think about the next steps!
Speaking of which, what’s next?
E: Our goal for the end of the year is to scale our production processes so that we can grow and widen our distribution. One part of that is to begin to sell directly to offices and to create an online shop. We want more people to be able to enjoy easy, healthy and tasty snacks that are 100% real.
T: And as for smoothies, we have five core flavors at the moment, but we really want to expand and offer seasonal flavors as well. We’re not just a “smoothie brand” and we are developing something that’s tentatively called protein-snacks. Our goal is to create snacks that feature ingredients from Finland and other Nordic countries and value locality. We have so many amazing and healthy ingredients, especially berries that work wonderfully in snacks! So we make sure that all of our products have a Nordic twist in them.
E: The main theme is to provide only the so-called real stuff; foods that are what the label says and don’t ever contain suspicious or weird ingredients.
What do good food and a healthy lifestyle mean to you?
T: For me, it’s important to value pure and fresh ingredients and foods. I love to cook and do so with my family and friends, and it’s always been a way for me to enjoy my time with people around me. And since I’m a recipe developer, it’s a platform for creativity as well. I think food is a key way to take care of ourselves – for me, some of it stems from the history of finding ways to support my immune system and well-being, both mentally and physically.
E: I agree with Tuulia. I think food affects greatly on how we feel and how much energy we have to operate. It’s also something we all to some degree can influence. The 80/20 way of thinking fits this well, and that’s also the base on which we’re building our business. Food has a very important role in well-being, but it also doesn’t need to be all-or-nothing. We do have a will to show an example of how small, good things add up and create the bigger picture.
T: And that’s also where our name – Puroa Goods – comes from. “Puro” might be a small stream, but together with many streams it creates bigger rivers – you can reach good things with smaller things. I think FuelMe has the same kind of approach. With small, good daily practices one has a chance to ease and improve their own life.
Thank you, Emmi and Tuulia, and best of luck for the upcoming steps!
You can find both Tuulia and Emmi as well as Puroa Goods from Instagram: @tuuliatalvio, @emsuvi & @puroagoods.First up is Finnish national team weightlifter, marketing entrepreneur and weightlifting coach Saara Retulainen - formerly known as Leskinen - whose career with the weights started at a CrossFit gym back in 2013, and it was only a year later when she competed in her first weightlifting meet in 2014. Since then Saara has competed on a national and international level with great results (records being 91 kg snatch and 111 kg clean and jerk). We managed to have a chat with the athlete at the beginning of the national team’s training camp.
Hello Saara! For those who do not know you: who is Saara Retulainen?
Hi there! I’m a weightlifter and an athlete competing for the Finnish national weightlifting team.
How has life been lately?
It’s been alright! Training has gone well, my next major goal is the World Championships held in December. We had a break after the Olympic qualifications, but now it’s time to hit the competition floors during the fall.
How does your everyday life look like at this moment?
Alongside being an athlete, I’m working as an entrepreneur which means it’s quite busy. That is one of the reasons why I started to order FuelMe meals and how important it is to me. I work in marketing and PR/communications, plus I’m a weightlifting coach and an athlete, training five times per week.
How do you balance your daily routine between work, being an athlete, and free time? What are the best ways for you to relax and cut off from busy life?
With great planning I can arrange a good amount of breaks throughout the day. Sometimes I just love to watch good “brainless” TV-shows and take small breaks from my every-day life, f.ex. by going to our cottage.
How do you prepare for a weightlifting competition?
There will be one smaller meet at the end of this month and Nordic Championships will be held in the middle of November, followed by the WC. The biggest aspect, since this is a weight class sport, is to start to lose some weight to be eligible in my weight class (59 kg). This means paying more attention to my eating and increasing the intensity in training. We’re gradually moving towards bigger lifts as well. National team camps and other camps are also starting now or coming up, which is a nice change to my regular schedule.
Do you have any tips on how you stay motivated every day? And do you?
I certainly don’t, but what helps on those days are routines and a supporting environment.
What does good food mean to you, as an athlete?
Of course one part of it is that food is fuel, but I’ve always thought that I also want to eat food that tastes good and what I like. I can be a bit picky when it comes to foods, so I don’t want to eat anything just for the energy if I don’t really like it!
What kind of macros do you follow for your daily food intake? Any changes when you changed towards a more vegetarian diet?
I’m not following macros that precisely. What I do is that I try to make sure that I don’t excessively eat foods high in fats and that I get enough protein from my meals. As for carbs, I follow my gut and have them in every meal. I’ve noticed that when eating more vegetarian-based foods, the total amount of fats reduces nicely.
How did you first hear about FuelMe?
I think I first heard it when I was still living in Turku and I noticed them on Instagram. When I moved to Helsinki and started working and training here, I stumbled across it on Instagram again and then I just thought: "hmm, that would be great, they have this service in Helsinki, should contact them or not?" Luckily I did and I feel great about it!
Before you got the chance to order from FuelMe, how would cooking and eating on a daily basis look like?
It was mostly the same things over and over again: always struggling to get in enough veggies and spending a lot of time cooking and going to the grocery store. Having a busy schedule, working full-time while doing sports at an elite level I was quite puzzled trying to maintain everything in balance.
It's been so great that FuelMe helped me with that. Now my daily food intake has more variation, a lot more veggies, different kinds of carbs and different protein sources. I've been really happy to be able to eat the vegetarian dishes. I've always liked them but I just never cook them by myself.
Would FuelMe fill in the role as your lunch or dinner solution or both?
Because the meals are quite big, most of the time I get two meals out of one. If it's a smaller meal, I eat it as lunch. I’m not a vegetarian, but starting this fall I’ve been ordering only vegetarian meals; I find it an easy and convenient way to eat more vegetarian food.
What is your favourite FuelMe meal?
I think my favorite is the vegetarian lasagna. It is very good, and the sweet potato hash is really good as well (I like everything with sweet potatoes!). Lately I’ve really enjoyed the new vegetarian dishes such as bean & chickpea croquettes, other bean & vegetable patties, falafel,etc. too.
What does FuelMe mean in a nutshell to you and are there any changes you are hoping to see?
In a nutshell it means a healthy lifestyle and making everyday life easy. I've been really happy with the service and I think the meals have a great variety.
Any favorite treats or snacks?
It would definitely be everything Tex-Mex or Mexican related food, like tacos and tortillas. From the sweets I like salmiakki.
Thank you, Saara! Good luck in training and in the upcoming competitions!
To read more about Saara, give her a follow on Instagram (@saararetulainen) and make sure to check her own website saaraleskinen.com.
]]>An instruction my nutrition teacher once gave to our class. It was time for us to get to know what the different foods – those we are used to eating almost every day – in true essence are. Write it down, categorize them, analyze them... That granola bar? Ingredients: high-fructose corn syrup, rolled oats, nuts and seeds... Or that raspberry-vanilla low-fat yoghurt? Fat-free pasteurized milk, raspberry, fructose, milk protein.
That was back in 2016 and in an university in the US, but what that taught me was that the level of knowledge around food labeling, different ingredients – more to say, nutrients and different sources of them - was then, and still might be, highly varying. For some, knowing what different terms and ingredients mean comes through (self-)education, experience and/or just by own interest about the topic. For others, it might feel somewhat of a struggle to try to figure out what that sweet-sounding kind-of thing in that snack bar actually means.
This post is not about breaking down every detail about food labeling – which, some sources say, dates back to the 1800's in the US when it began to be important to mark down ingredients to avoid food-borne illnesses and in the late 1900’s developed while eating ready-made and processed foods became more popular. In Finland, food labels and lists of ingredients are known to be trustworthy, but along with the growth of the amount of processed products in the market, the lists have gotten longer. So, to be able to follow f.ex. national nutrition recommendations, knowing certain things might come handy.
In Finland, the following information must be included in the product label:
In fresh farm or meat products, the country of origin is in all cases a mandatory information. This includes meat & fish, eggs, carrots and apples, strawberry & blueberry and mushrooms. Other rules apply, both national and EU-level, in different food groups and produce and can be examined from Ruokavirasto’s guide book (here) in Finnish and EU’s Food Safety guidelines (here).
“The shorter the better” is a phrase commonly heard when it comes to lists in food products. When you start to read the backside of the package, normally the first three to four ingredients listed are the ones the product mainly consists of. In that yoghurt pint, it might be (fat-free) milk, some sort of sweetener and a fresh berry, for example.
The field that keeps getting wider. Commonly known variants of sugar are fructose (“fruit sugar”), dextrose, glucose, high-fructose glucose syrup or HCFS (not that common in Finnish products), honey, maple/agave/other syrups, invert sugar, isoglucose, levulose, maltose, molasses and sucrose. Sugar can also be mentioned in its different product forms, f.ex. granulated or caster sugar, confectioners sugar or cane sugar, to mention a few.
Sweeteners include artificial sweeteners like acesulfame K, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, widely popular stevia and sugar alcohols like xylitol, sorbitol, isomalt, erythritol, maltitol and mannitol. These sugar substitutes are meant to provide sweetness without the calories – there’s an ongoing scientific debate on their effects and quality, but while eating a normal, well-balanced diet with more fresh than processed product, consuming these in moderate amounts shouldn’t worry you too much.
Fats are divided into unsaturated and saturated fats, trans fats and fatty acids omega 3 and omega 6. The ones to avoid are saturated and trans fats whose chemical structure differs from unsaturated ones affecting the way they function in our bodies (more info in Finnish here). Saturated and trans fats are known to be connected to a higher level of LDL cholesterol and elevated risk of heart disease and other chronic disease. Depending on the product, fats are listed in the nutrition breakdown on the backside of the package, separating the amount of unsaturated and saturated fats. Worth noticing is that some of the fats can be “hidden” in the product which could otherwise sound “healthy”, like some of the “sugar-free” alternatives in the market.
Finnish diets are known, in general, to consist of too much fat, recommendations being 25–40% of your daily energy consumption from which maximum 10% from saturated fats, being around 60 to 80 grams per day for an adult. Based on FinRavinto 2017 study, about 38% of energy in Finnish diets comes from fats, out of which 21% from the recommended unsaturated fats. In Finland, trans fats are uncommon, but paying attention to the fat content of your product of choice helps you to aim for the recommendations and to know which kind of fats you’re consuming.
Producers like to mark down different descriptive markings to their products so that a consumer would get more information in “one bite” – examples like Good from Finland, Organic, Fair Trade. And, of course, markings are also used for selling their products. Some producers want to showcase potential customer conditions their farm or factory operates or how they treat their livestock – in some cases, mentions cannot be verified, though there are specific standards for using Organic and other regulated markings. A more thorough list of the markings used in Finland and regulations behind them can be found here: Ruokatieto & Kuluttajavirasto.
Worth mentioning are markings which should be considered as “red flags” – logos, testimonials, too good to be true - solutions and mentions like Natural, Healthy or Detox enhanced with vibrant colours can be misleading and don’t necessarily cover their claims with coherent scientific studies. With such products, in some cases being precise is hugely important since some of them might include ingredients potentially harmful if on a certain medication. F.ex. it doesn’t mean products labeled this way are meant to be completely avoided, but it is important to know what you’re consuming.
So why the fuss? For some, there are different biological reasons to try minimize or avoid completely certain foods including (in some cases, severe) allergens or foods that a person’s digestion system cannot properly digest; lactose in cow milk products, Fodmap-carbohydrates and fibre in legumes (otherwise great sources of protein, fibre and certain micro-nutrients and vitamins!) for example. For some, eating is a sum of different well-being related, ethical or social decisions – many of us want to know where our food comes from. And for others, eating in a certain way is a choice based on a person’s current life situation. In any case, and in a landscape of more processed food products than ever, knowing your way through it all might be puzzling.
But yes, in general, while eating foods we are familiar with, strictly going through every small print in every package does no one any good – at least socially or mentally. Food is to be enjoyed and considered without any extra stress or unnecessary “food rules”. Even though, maybe one rule could apply – eat food that makes you and the environment feel good.
Annastiina Lehtonen
Visual journalist,
Master of Health Science &
Nutrition student at University of Helsinki
Photo credits:
Alexander Mils / Pexels
Daniela Constantini / Pexels
Eric McClean / Pexels
Puute #1 Hiilihydraatit
Vain noin 30% naisista syö tarpeeksi hiilihydraatteja. Hiilihydraattien osuus energiansaannista on laskenut vuosi vuodelta, ja syyksi on luonnollisesti päätelty karppausbuumi. Hiilihydraattien välttely on johtanut myös toiseen ravitsemukselliseen puutteeseen, sillä kuidunkin saanti on vähentynyt. Terveyttä edistävien ravitsemussuositusten mukaan hiilihydraattien tulisi kattaa 45-60% päivän energiatarpeestasi. Tiedoksi, että tämän suosituksen (Suomalaiset ravitsemussuositukset 2014) taustalla on tiede – paras mahdollinen saatavilla oleva tieto ja asiantuntijat.
Mitä enemmän liikut, sitä tärkeämpiä hiilihydraatit sinulle ovat, sillä lihasten optimaalisen hiilihydraattien saannin myötä voit harjoitella kovemmin ja laadukkaammin. Lautasmalli on hyvä tapa varmistaa hiilihydraattien saanti, jonka lisäksi myös muilla aterioilla kannattaa valita lautaselle laadukkaita hiilihydraatteja. Epäiletkö syöväsi liian vähän hiilihydraatteja? Testaa rohkeasti mitä tapahtuu kun lisäät laadukkaita hiilihydraatteja (täysjyväpastaa-, leipää, perunaa, juureksia, hedelmiä, kasviksia) kuukauden ajaksi ruokavalioosi, päivittäin. Tunnetko muutosta jaksamisessa, unen laadussa tai treenien kulkemisessa?
Puute #2 Rauta
Arviolta neljäsosalla hedelmällisessä iässä olevista suomalaisista naisista on raudanpuutos. Oletko sinä tietoinen omista rauta-arvoistasi? Rautaa menetetään aina kuukautisten aikana, jonka takia sukupuolten välinen ero on tämän välttämättömän ravintoaineen osalta merkittävä. Lisäksi naisilla ruokavalio on yhä kasvispainoitteisempi, ja punaista lihaa syödään yhä vähemmän (joka on toki monella tapaa erinomainen asia). Liha on kuitenkin parhaita raudanlähteitä sillä se sisältää hemirautaa, joka imeytyy tehokkaasti ruoansulatuksessa. Kasvikset taas sisältävät ei-hemirautaa, joka ei imeydy läheskään yhtä tehokkaasti kuin eläinperäinen hemirauta. Urheilu lisää raudan menetystä ja suurentaa raudan tarvetta, jonka takia etenkin urheilijoilla raudanpuutoksen riski on suurentunut. Raudanpuutos voi aiheuttaa sydämentykytystä, hengästymistä ja väsymistä, heikentäen suorituskykyä.
Raudan päivittäinen saantisuositus naisille on 15 mg. Syömällä monipuolisesti sekaruokaa voit hyvinkin saada tarpeeksi rautaa ruokavaliosta. Nykyään rauta-arvojen tarkistaminen on onneksi yksinkertaista, testejä voi tehdä niin terveysasemilla kuin apteekeissa kohtuuhinnalla.
Puute #3 Folaatti
Folaatti on B-sarjan vitamiini, jonka saanti on suositusta merkittävästi vähäisempää niin naisilla kuin miehilläkin. Tutkimuksen mukaan vain 5% suomalaisista naisista saa suosituksen verran folaattia! Tämä puutos kannattaa ottaa tosissaan, sillä folaatti on elintärkeä vitamiini muun muassa DNA-synteesissä ja punasolujen muodostumisessa. Erityisen tärkeää folaatin saanti on raskautta suunnitteleville ja raskaana oleville naisille, sillä folaatin puutos suurentaa riskiä synnyttää lapsi jolla on selkärankahalkio. Syynä puutokseen voi olla liian vähäinen kasvisten syönti. Folaatti myös tuhoutuu herkästi kypsennettäessä ruokaa, jonka lisäksi kasvikunnan lähteistä folaatista imeytyy ruoansulatuksessa vain noin 50 %. Folaattia voidaan ottaa myös purkista, jolloin se on foolihappo-muodossa ja imeytyy tehokkaammin. Tummat lehtikasvit ja täysjyväviljat ovat tunnetusti hyviä folaatin lähteitä.
Folaatin normaali saantisuositus on 300 mikrogrammaa päivässä (400 mikgrogrammaa raskautta suunnitteleville, raskaana oleville ja imettäville naisille). Suomalaisessa ruokavaliossa sopivia lähteitä ovat parsakaali, pinaatti, lehtikaali, punajuuri, kikherneet, täysjyväleipä, vadelmat, mansikat sekä kiivi. Muista syödä sekä kypsennettyjä että raakoja kasviksia, jotta folaatti ei liiaksi tuhoudu kypsennyksen yhteydessä. Noudattamalla ravitsemussuositusten mukaista monipuolista ruokavaliota folaatin saanti on turvattu.
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Kiinnostuitko selvittämään tarkemmin oman ruokavaliosi ravintoaineiden saantia? Voin toteuttaa sinulle ravitsemusanalyysin ja opastaa elämäntyyliisi sopivan terveyttä edistävän ruokavalion muodostamisessa. Ole yhteydessä!
Kirjoittaja: Tuulia Hyvärinen, auktorisoitu personal trainer, terveystieteiden opiskelija Itä-Suomen yliopistossa
Yhteydenotot: tuulia.k.hyvarinen@gmail.com
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Lähteet:
Ilander, Olli. 2018. Liikuntaravitsemus - tehoa, tuloksia ja terveyttä ruuasta. VK-kustannus Oy.
Liisa Valsta, Niina Kaartinen, Heli Tapanainen, Satu Männistö, Katri Sääksjärvi (toim.) Ravitsemus Suomessa – FinRavinto 2017 -tutkimus. Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitos (THL), Raportti 12/2018.
Suomalaiset ravitsemussuositukset 2014. Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta. Saatavilla:
https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/globalassets/teemat/terveytta-edistava-ruokavalio/kuluttaja-ja-ammattilaismateriaali/julkaisut/ravitsemussuositukset_2014_fi_web_versio_5.pdf
While valuing them, the key is to focus on the main areas and ensure that our acts support the big picture - physical and mental health and well-being. Here's my three take-aways (pun intended): Being active, creating lines and being consistent, plus eating well.
1. Move your body>> Selection is pretty much endless these days! Here are just a few examples:
>> My key take-aways or tips would be:
>> Few tips worth checking:
Not everyone has the same resources or possibilities, but let's support each other the way we can. Keep yourselves safe and healthy!
xo
Annastiina, crossfitter / journalist / visualist / master of health science
DeLight package is a new type of hybrid package, where wood fiber is enhanced with polymers. The packaging is microwaveable, oven-proof to +200°C, and can be frozen to -40°C. DeLight products can be reused, recycled and recovered in package recycling schemes.
DeLight products are made mainly from renewable raw materials. The carbon footprint of Delight products is lower compared to many competing packaging materials such as plastic and aluminium. The company won a Plastic Act of the Year award by the Finnish Plastic Association in 2010 and was nominated as a finalist for the Pro Carton/ ECMA Awards in 2012.
To deliver our meals, we use thick brown paper handled bags, carrying convenience in a paper substrate. Whether you’re carrying a sack full of FuelMe meals or only a few meals, the paper bags are proven to withstand a sizable load. Durable and practical paper bags are an effective solution for preservation and storage.
As our FuelMe experience of the month noted during a chat:
“That’s another very nice thing about FuelMe; the sustainable and recyclable packaging. This actually really impressed me and I considered it a very nice touch to the service. It makes me feel that FuelMe is a little bit more of premium service from that perspective because they do not use cheap packaging.”
With billions of tons of waste filling landfills globally every year, society is becoming increasingly environmental-conscious – from eating more sustainably to eco-friendly packaging to reusing grocery bags. FuelMe will keep making efforts to improve its use of environmentally-friendly material in the present and the future.
Hello Aaron, nice to meet you! You’ve been using FuelMe before and since the start of the new year. How did you first hear about us?
A:. “Hi guys, the pleasure is mine! I think it was a combination of an Instagram ad and a paper flyer. Then I gave the service a try. Before FuelMe, I was eating out a lot every day. Like many others, I was often using Wolt, but it becomes quite expensive in the long run if you order every day and neither is it too healthy.
Me and my family have now been using FuelMe for over 3 months and I don’t see us stopping using the service any time soon. We started out using a promo code and switched to the 8 meal subscription quickly afterwards.”
What do you value the most when it comes to the ready-to-eat meals?
A: “It is a balance of a few things: convenience, taste, and health. There are a lot of food delivery options out there but they are not always the healthiest choice. By choosing a meal delivery service on a weekly basis you want to make sure that you are not going to put on weight. At the same time, it should be quite fresh and taste good.”
Would FuelMe fill in the role as your lunch or dinner solution or both?
A: “I think dinner is more important for us. My work provides lunch and I do not like to carry my food with me to the office, as I already have a lot of things to carry. So for me FuelMe works more like a solution for the evening when I do not want to hurry to the supermarket to buy groceries, start cooking from scratch and do all the cleaning afterwards. I now simply take a FuelMe meal from the fridge, heat it up, eat a tasty dinner and then recycle the packaging.
That’s another very nice thing about FuelMe; the sustainable and recyclable packaging. This actually really impressed me and I considered it a very nice touch to the service. It makes me feel that FuelMe is a little bit more of a premium service from that perspective because they do not use cheap packaging.”
Correct, we use eco-friendly packaging! We work hard to reduce our environmental impact as much as possible. You jokingly mentioned once that FuelMe has "saved your marriage", can you elaborate?
A: “About four months ago, we got our first son. So from that moment onwards, my wife and I became even busier people. With a baby at home it meant we needed to adjust our schedules and obviously had a lot less time to do things. After my son’s birth and before I discovered FuelMe, I used to run around to buy all the groceries, cook food, clean and after that put the baby to sleep. Quite a list of things to do on a daily basis after a workday, which meant that my wife and If we did have enough sleep. It was leading to quite a stressful time for everybody at home. I had to do my things, my wife had to do hers and in the end we got upset that we did not have time to do everything as we wanted.
So I decided I would rather invest in healthy prepared meals and save time, taking out the unnecessary stresses of doing a million things at home and instead quality time with my wife and son So I started to use Wolt but it wasn’t a long-term solution: it’s rather expensive and the food wasn’t always so healthy either. So I am very happy that I discovered FuelMe. The pricing is on point (it is definitely not too expensive for what you get delivered) which makes it ideal for eating it on a daily basis. The meals are healthy - so you do not feel guilty that you eating delivered food - it’s convenient and fresh.”
Quite a busy daily schedule. Do you have time for any sports at the moment?
A: “I currently do a combination of three things: yoga, calisthenics and variations on handstands.”
Has your food budget changed a lot after switching to FuelMe?
A: “I don't think it has changed too much. Buying groceries in Finland is not cheap. Wolt is definitely far more expensive and ordering from there would translate to about €40 for a dinner at home. Using FuelMe is much cheaper in that sense because the meal price is roughly €10 per meal, meaning we pay about half of what we used to. If we then eat FuelMe 4 times a week that is €80 per week for two people, which is definitely reasonable.
Think about it this way: if I went to the supermarket to buy groceries and cook the main dish of the day it already costs me about €15 euros. A cauliflower is already about €4 (quite expensive) and a piece of steak €7 to €9. Considering the cooking part is skipped and the size and taste of the meals, FuelMe an excellent and affordable solution. After using the service it makes you think twice about going to the supermarket and spending all your free time cooking, cleaning and washing dishes. Time is precious.”
Tell us your favourite cheat meal between those healthy dinners.
A: “I like dark chocolate - a lot. It is problematic having it laying around. Yesterday I told my wife she needs to put it out of sight and not have it laying around on the kitchen table.”
Are there any future changes you would like to see from FuelMe?
A: “I think it is very important to have convenient pick-up locations, such as close to Rautatieasema or in Kamppi. Spots where a lot of people pass by on a daily basis. I don’t think FuelMe needs to have many more pick-up locations but the future ones should be located strategically well in the centre.
The weekly changing menu is nice, yet more vegan options are always welcome, definitely now that I am trying to switch to eating vegan while my wife is a pescetarian.
I am very grateful for the service and I really want to see FuelMe succeed. I like the value proposition and I think the company can still grow in many ways within Finland. I know that FuelMe started with a focus on the CrossFit segment but I think that focus is only the beginning. I believe FuelMe is a long-term solution to anybody who wants to eat healthy food and doesn’t have time.”
What does FuelMe, in a nutshell, mean to you?
A: “I would say: convenience, a long-term package solution and eating delivered food guilt-free. It saves me so much time and I now eat healthy tasty food every day.”
Kasvissyöntiä ei enää kummastella ja vegaanius on suorastaan trendikästä. Ekologiset, eettiset ja terveydelliset kysymykset ovat keskeisiä syitä siihen, miksi osa ihmisistä ei syö lihaa.
Vuonna 2014 New York Cityn yliopistossa tehty tutkimus perehtyi ruokavalion vaikutuksiin suolistobakteerien osalta. Kasvisruokavalio lisää suoliston hyvien bakteerien määrää ja hyvin toimivalla suolistolla on iso merkitys ihmisen terveyteen ja hyvinvointiin.
Jos ei lihaa, niin mitä sitten? Mistä saan proteiinia?
Kasvisruokavalion noudattajat voidaan luokitella sen mukaan, miten “tiukka” ruokavalio on. Jotkut kasvisruokailijat syövät kalaa, kananmunaa ja maitotuotteita, jolloin proteiinin saamiseen ei tarvitse välttämättä kiinnittää erityistä huomiota.Hyviä kasviproteiinin lähteitä ovat palkokasvit, siemenet, pähkinät ja viljat.
Esimerkiksi nyhtökaurassa on yhdistettynä sekä kauraa että hernettä, jolloin siitä muodostuu aminohappojen kannalta täydellinen proteiini. Myös soijatuotteet (tofu, tempe, pavut) ovat erittäin hyviä vaihtoehtoja proteiinin lähteeksi, sillä ne hipovat aminohappokoostumukseltaan täydellistä.
Jos ei maitoa, mistä saan kalsiumia?
Suomi on melkoinen maitomaa, mutta kaikkien ruokavalioon valkoinen juoma ei kuulu. Maidon tilalla voidaan käyttää kalsiumilla täydennettyjä juomia, kuten kaura-, manteli-, riisi- ja soijajuomia.
Tiesitkö, että on olemassa sellaisia ruokia, joissa on jopa enemmän kalsiumia kuin maidossa? Seesaminsiemenet ovat yksi tällaisista tuotteista. Ne sisältävät runsaasti kalsiumia ja rautaa ja lisäksi niissä on vitamiineja, sekä monityydyttymättömiä rasvoja. Paljon kalsiumia sisältävät esimerkiksi lehti- ja parsakaali, sekä valkoiset ja punaiset pavut. Muita lähteitä ovat muun muassa kala, tofu, soijarouhe, mantelit, tahini, ruusunmarjasose, mustaherukat, appelsiini ja parsakaali.
Kasvisruokavalio voi kiinnostaa myös liikkujia ja urheilijoita
Urheilusuoritus kasvattaa energiantarvetta ja energiantarve vaihtelee urheilulajeittain. Kun harjoittelun teho kovenee, kasvaa eri ravintoaineiden tarpeet. Tällöin täytyy syödä enemmän ja entistä monipuolisemmin. Erityisen tärkeitä kehittymisen ja palautumisen kannalta ovat riittävä energian saanti, hiilihydraatit ja proteiinit.
FuelMe:ltä löydät aina suussasulavan herkullisia kasvisaterioita, jotka sisältävät runsaasti kasvisproteiinia ja paljon kasviksia. Esimerkiksi artikkelin kuvassa Aasian innoittama Tofu Miso ruskealla riisillä ja vihanneksillä.
CrossFit Korjaamossa, päävalmentaja ja omistaja Heidi Koistinen kokeili meidän kasvisruokaa joulukuussa ja huomasi, että suorituskyvyssä ei ollut mitään merkittävää eroa, mutta syömisen jälkeen oli “kevyempi” olo. Heidi on todennut myös, että hänen makuunsa esimerkiksi tofu hyvin tehtynä on oikeastaan parempaa kuin liha.
Sokereilla on tärkeä merkitys ruokavaliossamme. Ihminen on geneettisesti ohjelmoitu etsimään makeaa ruokaa. Historiallisesti sokeria oli saatavilla todella harvoin ja hyvin pienissä määrissä. Ongelma on se, että altistuminen sokerille on nykyään eksponentiaalisesti korkeampi kuin esi-isiemme ja -äitiemme aikoihin.
Valkoinen sokeri koostuu 50 % glukoosista eli rypälesokerista ja 50 % fruktoosista eli hedelmäsokerista. Kehosi tarvitsee glukoosia: aivoille, munuaisille ja punaisille verisoluille glukoosi on energian lähde. Myös jokainen solu kehossasi kykenee hyödyntämään sitä.
Fruktoosi eroaa muista sokereista koska se metabolisoituu maksassa. Se mikä tekee fruktoosista uniikin tekee on se, että kehollasi ei ole sille mitään off-nappia. Sanotaan esimerkiksi, että juot litran jugurttia. Sen sisältämä proteiini ja rasva käynnistävät tietyt ruokahaluun liittyvät hormonit, jotka kommunikoivat kehollesi, että olet täynnä. Itse asiassa voisi jopa tehdä tiukkaa juoda koko litra, mutta jos joisit litran limua et tulisi täyteen. Tämä johtuu siitä, että sen sisältämä fruktoosi ei käynnistä samoja ruokahaluun liittyviä hormoneja. Se olisi kuin aivosi ja kehosi eivät edes huomaisi, että joit jotakin.
Liiallinen sokerin käyttö voi aiheuttaa hammasmätää eli karieksen, verenpainetaudin, unettomuutta, hiustenlähtöä, häiriöitä suolistobakteereihin, heikentää vastustuskykyä, tulehduksia (jotka ovat piilevä syy moneen krooniseen tautiin) sekä kohonneen riskin sairastua sydänsairauksiin, syöpään ja diabetekseen.
Mutta kyllähän sinä fiksuna ihmisenä tiedät, että sokeri ei ole ravintorikasta ruokaa ja että sen suurkulutus voi aiheuttaa ongelmia terveydellesi.
Makean syönnin syy ei siis ole tietämättömyydessä. Se on jossakin muualla. Voit uteliaana kysyä itseltäsi rehellisesti: Miksi teen niin kuin teen, vaikka tiedän sen minkä tiedän?
Kehollasi on kaksi energialähdettä: glukoosi ja rasva. Hermostolla on iso rooli päätäessä kumpaa lähdettä keho käyttää. Kun olet stressaantunut ja kehosi tuottaa adrenaliinia, se käyttää glukoosia koska se on nopeasti palavaa energiaa. Kun taas olet rauhallinen ja rentoutunut on todennäköisempää, että kehosi käyttää rasvaa energialähteenä.
Ravintoperäiset syyt
Yksi syistä makeanhimoon on ravintoperäiset syyt. Makeanhimo voi olla kehosi tapa kommunikoida, että energiatasot ovat vähissä koska et ole syönyt tarpeeksi päivän aikana. Tai ehkä kiireellisen työpalaverin takia lounas jäi kokonaan väliin. Jos epäilet ravintoperäisiä syitä voit kysyä itseltäsi: Mitä olen syönyt tänään? Olenko syönyt tarpeeksi tänään? Olenko juonut tarpeeksi vettä tänään?
Tunneperäiset syyt
Toinen syy voi olla tunneperäiset asiat. Näitä voi olla vaikeampi selvittää. Voit kuitenkin saada vinkkejä tunneperäisistä syistä kiinnittämällä huomiota, onko makean syöminen sinulle lohtu- ja stressisyömistä. Makeanhimon iskiessä voit kysyä itseltäsi: Haenko lohtua makeasta koska tunnen oloni yksinäiseksi, surulliseksi, loukatuksi...? Palkitsenko itseäni makealla stressaavan työpäivän jälkeen? Liiallisen makean syömisen taustalla voi myös olla halu etäännyttää itsensä siitä miten asiat ovat niiden ollessa toisin kuin haluaisi niiden olevan.
Tottumuksesta
Makeanhimo voi iskeä myös tottumuksesta. Jos sinulla on tapana juoda lasillinen appelsiinimehua joka aamu, makunystyräsi ovat tottuneet siihen ja himoitsevat sitä aamupalan yhteydessä. Tai viitaten alkuesimerkkiin johon liittyi sohva, elokuva ja karkkipussi. Jos elokuvan katsomisen yhteydessä on aina naposteltu jotakin makeaa, siitä on muodostunut tapa.
Jos olet huolissasi käyttämästäsi sokerin määrästä, aloita kiinnittämällä huomiosi makeanhimoosi. Pysähdy uteliaana ja ole itsellesi rehellinen selvittäessäsi himon pohjimmaisia syitä.
Tämän lisäksi suosittelisin ystävällisesti ottamaan tavaksi lukea pakkausten tuoteselosteita. Muista kuitenkin, että kun luet pakkausten tuoteselosteita, sokeri piiloutuu monen nimen taakse: fruktoosi, kookospalmusokeri, ohramallas siirappi, agave-nektari, dekstroosi, hedelmämehutiiviste, glukoosi, hunaja, palmusokeri, maltodekstriini – muutama mainitakseni.
Lopuksi haluan vielä sanoa, että mikäli olet yrittänyt vähentää makean syöntiä pelkällä tahdonvoimalla siinä onnistumatta, se ei tee sinusta huonoa tai heikkotahtoista ihmistä. Olen itsekin ollut siinä tilanteessa kun tahdonvoima ei riittänyt.
Jos haluat päästä eroon sokerista, tutustu Lempeästi eroon sokerista -työpajaani. Tilaamalla tiedotteen saat ensimmäisten joukossa tiedon seuraavista työpajoista. Mikäli haluat henkilökohtaista valmennusta makeanhimon taltuttamiseen voit lukea lisää tarjoamistani ravintovalmennusohjelmista kotisivuillani.
Pidä hyvää huolta itsestäsi!
Marika Holmström
Ravinto- ja terveysvalmentaja ja joogaohjaaja
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Mutta ei se aina kuitenkaan aivan näin yksinkertaista ole. Kiire töissä, kotona, liikenteessä, kaupassa ja missä milloinkin johtaa monesti tilanteeseen, jossa se lounaalla juotu lasillinen vettä ja pullo reppuun unohtunutta huonelämmintä kokista kotimatkalla ovat lähestulkoon ne ainoat päivän nesteytyshetket.
Pullo täyteen!
Monelle tulee kaikesta aiheen mediahuomiosta huolimatta melkoisena yllätyksenä se, kuinka kaukana omasta vedensaantitavoitteesta hän oikeasti keikkuu, ja kuinka iso määrä nesteitä päivän aikana tulisi nauttia. Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunnan yleinen suositus pyörii siellä 1-1,5 litran päiväkohtaisessa määrässä, kun ei varsinaisesti treenata tai huohotella hiki hatussa lenkkipolulla.
Tämän perustason nesteyttämisen lisäksi aktiivisen aikuisen olisi syytä juoda noin 0,5 - 1 litraa jokaista liikuttua tuntia kohden. Kun nestetasapaino on kunnossa, ei itse treenin aikana tarvitse stressata niin paljon veden tankkaamisesta, ja on luonnollisesti helpompi puskea kohti kehitystä ja niitä omia ennätyksiä pysähtymättä jatkuvasti hörppytauolle.
Fiksu ei kramppaa
Homma vaikuttaa simppeliltä, eikö? Tästä huolimatta klassinen ”minähän juon, kun janottaa” on edelleen monen itsepintainen puolustus, jolla ei pitkälle pötkitä treeneissä, eikä se itseasiassa oikein riitä normaaliin tehokkuuteen edes arjen perusaskareiden parissa. Esimerkiksi krampit, päänsärky ja huimaus ovat usein seurausta kehnosta nesteytyksestä treenikaverina. Oikea nesteytys opitaan lopulta samalla tavalla kuin mikä tahansa taito; toistojen kautta.
Kovassa treenissä on mahdollista vuodattaa jopa 2 litraa (!!) hikeä, niin uskomattomalta kuin se kuulostaakin. Tuollainen hööki suorastaan huutaa hyvän nestetasapainon perään — muuten törmätään pian oman kropan riskirajoihin. Pelkkä kiukkukaan ei siis yksinkertaisesti riitä, vaan sekin vaatii veden voiteekseen.
Kun vesi ei riitä
Mikäli jatkuva vedenjuonti tuntuu tylsältä, niin vaihtoehtoja piisaa. Me FuelMe:llä tutustuimme ja ihastuimme taannoin suomalaiseen Keveen elektrolyyttipitoisiin nesteytysjuomiin, jotka on suunniteltu eritoten aktiivitreenaajan kaveriksi. Laitammekin hyvän kiertämään — siis Kevee-näytteitä asiakastilaustemme mukana.
Urheilujuomat tähtäävät melko suoraviivaisesti kehon elektrolyyttien tehokkaampaan palauttamiseen, usein mahtipontisen markkinointisuitsutuksen säestämänä. Kannattaa pitää mielessä, että hiilihappo ei tee hyvää varsinkaan liikunnan aikana, sillä se aiheuttaa turhia vatsakipuja ja närästystä. Ei siis limsoja tai vissyjä lenkkipolulle!
Tässä vielä nesteytyksen nopeat nyrkkisäännöt:
Hanki siis hyvä juomapullo ja pidä huolta, että siitä tulee hörpittyä myös treenien ulkopuolella. Hyvää alkanutta syksyä kaikille ja kurssi reippaasti kohti omia tavoitteita!
Kemikaaliromanssi
Aivojen reseptoreissa tapahtuva ”piristyminen” alkaa nopeasti kofeiinin kuluttamisen jälkeen ja vaikutus on huomattavissa jo noin kahden kahvikupin jälkeen. Keskushermosto stimuloituu ja täten tarkkaavaisuus lisääntyy sekä esimerkiksi syke voi hieman kohota. Treenaajaa luonnollisesti kiinnostaa eritoten se, kuinka kofeiini parantaa tutkimuksien mukaan kestävyysurheilun suorituksia jopa noin 3%. Onhan se maltillinen nousu, mutta nousu silti! Ja maksimisuorituksia hakiessamme otamme toki vastaan kaiken mahdollisen avun.
Lähes kaikki suomalaiset saavat kofeiinia päivittäin ravinnossaan, eikä siitä ole suurimmalle osalle merkittävää haittaa kohtuukäytössä. Hyvältä kuulostaa, eikö vain? Mielessä kannattaa kuitenkin pitää myös se, että aine aiheuttaa riippuvuutta ja sille on mahdollista herkistyä suurkulutuksen yhteydessä. Eli siinä vaiheessa, kun sydän alkaa kahvin jälkimainingeissa pamppailemaan erityisen itsepäisesti ja kylmä hiki nousemaan ohimoille, on syytä todellakin miettiä omaa suhdettaan nautittuun aineeseen.
Jokainen tavallaan
Vaikka puhdas kofeiini on melkoista myrkkyä, näyttäisi että esimerkiksi kahvin varsinaiset pitkäkestoiset fyysiset haitat sydämelle ovat yliherkkyystilojen ulkopuolella hyvin pienet.
Lontoon Queen Mary -yliopiston tutkijat tulivat nimittäin taannoin siihen tulokseen, että jopa 25 kahvikupillisen vaikutus valtimoihin on lähes mitätön. Itseasiassa tutkimuksen mukaan koehenkilöiden sydämissä ei huomattu mitään poikkeuksellista verrattuna kahvia juomattomien vertaustuloksiin. Tässä ei toki tutkittu lainkaan tuollaisen annosmäärän mukanaan tuomaa addiktiota.
Yksi kuppi vielä
Pohjimmiltaan kofeiini on lääkkeenomaisesti vaikuttava kemikaali, joka kannattaa ottaa tosissaan. Kun turrumme käyttämään ainetta ratkaisuna väsymykseen useammin ja useammin, menetämme sen hyödyt ja päädymme pahimmillaan nakertamaan omaa terveyttämme.
Vahvaa kahvia 5-10 kuppia päivässä kuluttava kofeiiinisieppo saattaakin ennen pitkää törmätä vieroitusoireisiin, joihin lukeutuu alakuloa, päänsärkyä sekä vetämättömyyttä. Eli kaikkia niitä asioita, miltä ajattelee kofeiinin pitävän loitolla. Paha tällaisessa tilassa on enää nostaa tehokkaasti rautaa tai pysyä mukana intervallitreeneissä.
Niinpä terveen tasapainon löytäminen on avain menestykseen myös tässä asiassa. Kofeiini voi olla treenaajan hyvä kaveri, kunhan sitä ei pidä pitkäaikasena vastauksena väsymykseen tai muihin arkisiin haasteisiin. Älä siis huijaa itseäsi, muista syödä monipuolisesti, nukkua tarpeeksi ja pidä edellämainitut realiteetit mielessä kahvikoneen äärellä.
]]>We are also often blind to these daily automated habits of ours, and we can’t always seem to realize that even the smallest of changes could lead to profoundly more positive results. Knowing the path is a different thing than walking the path, and vice versa.
Chart the uncharted
It’s only natural to enjoy the comfort of “staying in your lane”: move from one task to the next, rinse and repeat - especially when it comes down to eating and working out. Picture yourself at the gym: are you going to do only workouts that play to your strengths, or are you willfully going to face something completely new? For example, the back squat makes a lot of us feel pretty bad-ass and strong, while our gymnastic skills can use some more attention. Yet most of us keep squatting away at the rack rather than spending time handstand walking.
It is understandable; we all want to experience success as much as possible. It’s a rush! The same goes for food: as creatures of habit, we play favourites and stick to what we know, so we often miss out on interesting and downright delicious or alternative healthy options.
Mundane actions in your daily life can add up to big factors in the long run. It’s valuable to stop running through your daily checklist once a while and consider where all your daily actions are headed in the long run.
The magic outside the comfort zone
Making changes or running into them rarely feels natural or easy. Just think about all those New Year’s resolutions that we intend to keep, yet rarely do. Wired for routines, we are pretty allergic to change and often want to retreat back into our comfort zone. Normalcy is safe, as it doesn't provoke fear and it allows us to live our lives without facing things that could potentially hurt us or build us up.
Yet pain and change in your life are inevitable - and necessary. Just as you cause little tears in your biceps while doing curls to make them grow afterwards, so does your life need the occasional struggle to make you grow, as a person. Ironically even at our most organized, our lives are more or less filled with change. There is the change we can control and change that is out of our hands. The uncontrollable change might sound daunting, but being mindful of this fact is essential to growing as an individual, improving as an athlete and as a human being.
All the small things
Breaking an established mindset always sounds like a huge undertaking. In reality, it’s all about the small decisions we are faced with each day, the decisions we have control over: decisions on nutrition, work-life balance, workout regimen all have a part to play in the larger scheme of things. Instead of waiting for these huge Hollywoodesque crossroad moments to pop up in our lives and make a change, we can turn to actual choices that will have an impact on our daily lives.
In the end, change is not inherently good or bad, and certainly can be either. But it’s guaranteed to occur time and time again. That’s just the nature of life and it’s up to you how to deal with it.
]]>Chocolate’s (un)healthy reputation
Thanks to unhealthy processing methods, chocolate has earned a reputation for being junk food. When cacao is processed into the chocolate that we commonly see today, it loses much of its health benefits. This is because of the high heat that is used for roasting the chocolate and the chemicals that are added during the processing, along with huge amounts of added sugar.
The candy bars on display in the supermarket shelves are certainly not good for you. But chocolate comes in many forms and not all of them should be regarded as evil. The ancient Mayans referred to cacao - the raw, unprocessed form of chocolate - as ‘the food of the gods.’ Depictions of people drinking cacao are incorporated into their artwork, and the shapes of cacao pods are found carved into their stone templates. Ancient Mayans even grew cacao trees in their household gardens (why is Plantagen not selling cacao trees yet?). Organic, raw dark chocolate has many surprising health benefits and is nowadays even considered a superfood.
Dark chocolate and its benefits
Raw, unprocessed cacao is filled with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants. Organic, raw dark chocolate contains minerals including magnesium, sulfur, zinc, iron, copper, potassium, manganese and calcium. It also contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B8, and E, and is a good source of protein and fibre.
The fats that raw cacao contains also supports your well-being. These fats include oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil and avocados, plus healthy saturated fats, which the body needs to properly function. Cacao beans are also rich in polyphenols called flavonoids, which have been found to have antioxidant properties; in fact, they contain 8 times the number of antioxidants found in strawberries.
The serotonin effect of chocolate, which is the high, happy and heavenly feeling you get for a short while eating the chocolate, also explains why larger quantities of chocolate are good to consume in winter. As many people become deficient in vitamin D during cold and dark winter months, chocolate can help balance out the winter blues.
Eat chocolate the right way
To get the maximum health benefits from your chocolate, choose raw, non-roasted cacao beans when possible. You can also find raw cacao in *nibs’, which are cacao beans that have been peeled and crushed, and cacao powder, which you get by peeling and cold-pressing cacao beans. You can use organic, raw dark chocolate in savoury dishes or combine dark chocolate with fruits such as pomegranates to increase the overall health benefit.
Perhaps it is time for dark chocolate in the form of a supplement, as the health-promoting properties of raw cacao are often hidden behind the curtain of sugar-filled chocolate choices. Enjoy your raw dark chocolate - look for at least 70% or higher cacao content in order to reduce the amount of sugar you take in.
]]>FuelMe meals and how to order
Starting with a menu of 6 meals per week, you will be able to select a variety of meals with a good balance in the nutritional profile (carbs, protein, and healthy fats) and the use of fresh, and seasonal ingredients to fuel your active lifestyle. Our focus of the meals is quality and taste. All meals, cooked by Sam McCormick, have calculated macros and over time we will display the micro-nutritional values on the website as well. You can supersize your meal, meaning you can double the amount of protein (e.g. extra delicious pulled pork) in your dish.
How to order:
If you don’t want to order every week, you can join the FuelMe community and subscribe to a meal package. That way you get a fixed set of meals delivered to your pick-up on a weekly basis. Ordering meals through the subscription is cheaper and saves you valuable time.
A fresh new menu will appear online every Friday, where we regularly will rotate through new ones.
On the menu next week: Italian meatballs with tomato sauce, pasta and kale salad.
What’s in the works?
During these sunny spring days, the FuelMe team is working hard to improve the experience for you in a number of ways. This is what is coming up:
Subscription meal picker
Those who are on a FuelMe subscription will able to select their preferred meals for next week’s delivery in their account. This was a feature very much asked for, as it gives subscribers the freedom and ease to quickly choose their preferred meals without having to actually place a weekly order.
Finnish translation and payment options
We are currently updating the Finnish version and translation of our website. Adding Finnish payment options to the check-out process is being set up as well.
Rebranding
Over the next few months, FuelMe will change it look and feel as we have a total revamp of the brand in the works. Together with Jemina Lehmuskoski, and her team we will improve the current brand and style and make sure all touch points of FuelMe have the same exciting look and feel for you.
In the meanwhile, keep working hard, eat real food, rest well and, most importantly, have fun while you are doing it. Let us know if you have comments or questions in the comment field below!
]]>Finding the right kitchen premises was no joke, but across the metro station of the up and coming district of Kalasatama, we eventually found the right food production environment. MySauna reached out to us, looking for a dynamic and health-conscious partner to share their new kitchen space with.
At MySauna you can enjoy a daily and healthy lunch buffet and at the same time book meetings rooms or saunas as a company or private person. To make sure the kitchen is used efficiently, FuelMe will be prepping and cooking meals after lunch hours and during the weekend. The kitchen is currently in the last stages of renovation and next week is set for a prepping and tasting day of our menus, combined with a video and photoshoot.
Menus by top chefs
All FuelMe menus have been designed by Sam McCormick and demonstrate a great variety in mouth-watering dishes, colourful spices and nutritious ingredients. Our head chef will magically make food appear on your plate and has worked for multiple years in different top restaurants in Helsinki such as Sandro, Kimchi Wagon and The Cock.
Claiming that all our meals are nutritious is a bold statement, yet one can definitely make. We are working closely with nutrition specialist Anu Marin who will be advising and certifying FuelMe as nutritious and essential for long-term health.
Subscribe to our e-mail list below and be the first one to know when the store is open on the 13th of May! We give all new subscribers a free meal on top of their first order.
]]>We’ve all been there. Heck, some of us are stuck living there. How can we break away from this vicious cycle to let your mind and body get the most out of the all-important nightly recovery hours?
Simple in theory, vital in practice
It should be the simplest thing: hit the bed, close your eyes, see you tomorrow! However the faster the daily pace gets, the harder it becomes to switch off. And no, sleep might not find you even if you’re ultra tired. You always need quality rest to make sure your body won’t turn on itself sabotaging those awesome, hard-earned gains.
Despite the positive changes in overall lifestyle trends, on social media you often still run into influencers claiming to be all about hustling, pushing, grinding and slaying dragons 24/7. Frankly, this mindset can lead us to have straight-up toxic ideas about never stopping, thinking, cooling down and switching off. Yet all of these things are vital for a successful training regimen and a healthy work-life balance in general.
Besides nutrition, sleep is the single most important ingredient to get after your day. Switching off for the night can still be tricky even with the correct nutritional balance. Post-workout insomnia is no joke and you want to cross the bridge from today to tomorrow without any hassle.
How to throttle down before bedtime
When all of the day’s major action is done and on replay in your head, your body is sore and you’ve still got those sweet endorphins running through your brain, there are a few tried and true general things you can do for successfully hitting that reset button.
1. Time scheduling
Try to have around three hours between the end of a workout and bedtime. Ease into the sleeping mode, as hitting the sheets straight from a workout will force your body to go to rest in a hurried and agitated state.
2. Wind down the temperature
Cool the bedroom down to anything between 16°C and 20°C. Most of our evolution was spent without central heating, so we sleep best when it is a bit colder than usual at night.
3. Relax your body
Dedicate a few minutes for a post-workout cool-down session. There are plenty of relaxing yoga or meditation routines that can be found online for free. Be mindful of your breathing and slow down the pace.
4. Eliminate blue lights
The blue light of your screens counteracts the natural release of melatonin, the signal in the brain that makes us sleepy. Turn all screens off by 10 p.m. and grab a book instead.
5. Wash off the day
Some prefer a hot bath or a shower that prepares you for sleep. Get under the warm water and come out all drowsy before you cover yourself under a pile of blankets
6. Eat at the right times
Make time for having proper meals throughout the day. This way, your body stays in the right eating rhythm and it will not have to digest too much food just before going to bed.
7. Soak up sunlightMake sure to spend some time outside during the day to increase your exposure to sunlight. Finland can make this hard during the year, so take advantage during the sunny non-winter season.
Finish the day strong, finish it right
Major insomnia issues aside, sleeping is not rocket science. Try and track different methods to find out what works best for you to increase your sleep quality. Hard work pays off, and so does a good night’s sleep.
]]>Hi Joni! A pleasure to meet you. Tell us about yourself - what is your background that got you interested in the field of coaching?
J: “Hi guys! It is not a major surprise I ended up as a PT and massage therapist. When I was 4 years old I already decided I wanted to be a PE teacher as I was surrounded by good role models. Coming from a family of teachers, it’s been quite normal to teach and receive knowledge. From a young age, I’ve also been always been a competitive football and bandy player and been mentored by some great coaches. I grew a bigger interest in coaching and by the time I was fifteen I started coaching football and bandy.”
How did you pursue this interest while growing up?
J: “I realized coaching (at times unmotivated) children is not something I want to do for the long run, so I switched to personal training where I could work with people that are already motivated and where I can actually make a difference. After being a PE teacher at primary schools, I started my personal training education at Helsingin Evankelinen Opisto. When I graduated, I began coaching at EasyFit and Fresh Fitness, growing my client base. I moved to Spain, where I completed a sports massage education through Suomen Urheiluopisto. Back in Finland, I started personal training and massage sessions in companies. In November 2017, I joined Helsingin Urheiluhieronta. The company started to grow at that time and has been doing really well since.”
What kind of customer profiles are you working with? Do they do a lot of sports?
J: “Most of them work at tech companies working 8-hour days and spend a lot of time in front of a computer. There is a big variety in nationalities so I’ve been working with clients from Argentina, Spain and Germany. Some of them have a sports background, but most of them don’t do anything. They are not interested in strength training and rather go for a run. This combined with their daily work style often results in shoulder and neck pain.
There is little understanding of how important strength training is. “It sounds tough” or “it hurts my muscles” is a common response. Doing a lot of light cardio is an easy solution to avoid it and still feel active. The fear of strength training comes from inexperience. But even starting at the age of 40, strength training has major health benefits and can prolong your life by multiple years.”
What would you advice for those that do not do any sports?
J: “If you are starting from zero: do any kind physical activity to get your blood flowing and get a bit out of breath. This can be a 30-minute walk or just 30 minutes at the gym. You should start with the basic movements and always focus on technique first. There is no need to count the repetitions and you can work on basic compound movements: squats, deadlifts, push-ups, rows or overhead lifts. Don’t reinvent the wheel or overcomplicate things. Starting with machines is an option if you feel more comfortable, but you want to be guided to more compound movements in the early stage.”
What are the most common injuries and mistakes you encounter? How severe are they for long-term health?
J: “One of the most common mistakes that can lead to injuries is while doing squats. The foot collapses towards the inside without maintaining an arch, which causes the knee and hip to fall in and eventually affects the back. This physical chain reaction is bad for your body, especially if you are doing too many repetitions with too much weight. The solution is to move the weight more towards the outside of the foot and get a better grip with your toes.”
Where does this squat mistake come from?
J: “Most of it comes from a lack of body coordination and control or the knowledge of how to breathe. Both coordination and proper breathing are very important when it comes to doing squats with a good form. It can also be individual if there is a lack of interest in moving and training is not on their list of priorities of everyday life.”
Fix your squat from the ground up
How does this gap reflect training and coaching?
J: “ For a 40-year-old person without any sports background or interest in sports, it is more difficult to get the technique right and you have to start from scratch. In general, they have never been taught how to treat their bodies. Someone with a history in playing football or hockey, on the other hand, will learn the mechanics of a movement quicker. The difference between an athlete and a regular Joe is that the first group do a lot if of sports before becoming a professional and have a genuine passion for it, while a regular person has other priorities aside from sports. From a coaching perspective, it is important to understand where the person comes from, what their daily lives look like and what place training and a healthy lifestyle have in there.”
How do you steer people starting out away from these squat mistakes?
J: “Every individual has their own strengths and weaknesses. You need to figure out how the person moves and what would be the easiest way to do the squat correctly. The first question is whether they have ever done a squat before or what a squat means. Picking up the bar and showing the current squat form gives sufficient information. After that, you start fixing the small mistakes. A lot of clients have experienced knee pain before because of incorrect form. But even with an injury, squats are still possible with the right weight and technique. ”
Rotating the knees outwards will activate the quads, hamstring and glutes
If someone experiences pain during squats, what is a good way to deal with it?
J: “Going to see a doctor and getting your pain killers is only a temporary bandaid and will not fix the root cause of your pain. Pain can be muscle-based, an impingement or general tightness. It is better to see a physio, osteopath or get a sports massage. Nowadays people want a quick fix, so they outsource the treatment. But a lot of fixing can be done by themselves over time with accessory work. A coach is there to help, teach and push you to a new limit so you can do movements in a safe way and put in the work. Problems do not get fixed overnight - habits or routines work better. Getting coached by the right person can be a kick-starter for healthier physical routines."
Great info and insights. Thanks, Joni!
You can get in touch with Joni for any questions.
]]>
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is our body’s response to injury or stressors, including tissue damage you get from exercise. When you do a workout, your break down muscle tissue and the body creates inflammation to get more cells into the area and repair the tissue. If the stressor is acute and short-lived with enough time to recover, inflammation is a positive part of the response that makes you stronger and makes you adapt to handling the same or greater stress in the future: i.e. you grow.
To reduce the delayed onset muscle soreness (also known as DOMS), we already mapped out how you can make use of different ways to recover your body. Besides these simple tools, one of the best ways to help reduce inflammation is through nutrition by eating anti-inflammatory foods. These are foods that help soothe your body instead of agitating it.
Anti-inflammatory foods
1. Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) play a key role in regulating inflammation and other processes like blood clotting. They are essential as the body can’t produce them and we need to source them from food. You can these fatty acids in fatty seafood such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna. The supplement krill oil is also beneficial to flush the inflammation out of your body.
2. Berries
Anthocyanins found in cherries and other dark berries like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries have an anti-inflammatory effect. They are the perfect snack to grab after a workout: blend them in your favourite smoothie, add them to a fresh salad or a mix them in a bowl of plain Greek yoghurt for a healthy post-workout snack.
3. Whole grain carbs
Unless you have a gluten allergy, whole grains are a great food source that will fight inflammation and speed up your recovery. The best sources are made with the entire grain kernel, such as whole-wheat flour, oats, bulgur, brown rice, and quinoa.
4. Spices
The best spices that have anti-inflammatory properties are turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon. These are easy spices to add to yoghurt or your post-workout smoothie for added flavour and recovery benefit. Turmeric has an anti-inflammatory, pain-killing compound called curcumin, which you can mix in a soup or add to stir-fried vegetables.
5. Leafy greens
One good inflammation-fighting choice most of us don’t have enough of is dark leafy greens. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, chard, arugula, endives, broccoli and Brussel sprouts contain concentrations of vitamins and other nutrients that reduce inflammation and won’t cause a spike in blood sugar.
Inducing and reducing inflammation
Some foods are at the root of causing inflammation and muscle soreness. In order to reach peak fitness, it is a good idea to reduce your consumption of these foods. Examples of inflammatory inducing foods are alcohol, refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pastries, and junk food like French fries, soda, and processed meats. Not only food, but other life factors like physical and psychological stress, lack of sleep and hormonal balance can cause inflammation to endure.
To reduce levels of inflammation, aim for an overall healthy food intake, which is high in vegetables and fruits, whole grains, fish, nuts, and healthy fats. Having a healthy inflammation response is the key predictor for living a long healthy life. Besides lowering inflammation, a less processed diet will have noticeable effects on your physical and emotional health.
Here is an overview of ways how you can recover faster and better so you can build the greatest amount of strength, muscle, power and endurance in the long run.
Tip #1: Eat protein and carbs
Your muscles need two sources to recover: protein, the raw material to build muscle mass, and carbohydrate, which is stored as glycogen and serves as the main source of energy for your muscles during exercise. As you make little tears in the muscle fibres during a workout, it is the protein that needs to come in to repair these muscle tissues. At the same time, the glycogen levels of your muscles are depleted and need to be restored up again by carbs.
Tip #2: Embrace the cold
Many athletes dip into an ice bath to reduce inflammation after a competition. If you live in Finland, you know how rejuvenating taking trips between a hot sauna and the ice cold sea can feel. Cold-water immersion and contrast water therapy will boost your immune system and reduce muscle soreness significantly while preserving strength. Sitting in the ice water for an hour will not benefit you, so make sure to find the right balance between the cold and heat therapy.
Tip #3: Active recovery workouts
Having light sessions on days between your toughest workouts can improve the blood flow in your recovering muscles, which provides nutrients and carries waste products out. The purpose of an active recovery workout is to break an easy sweat and walk out of the gym with high energy. Try not to let your heart rate go below 120 beats per minute during the entire workout and go for about 30 minutes. Even a decent walk or bike ride along the seaside can be considered as active recovery.
Tip #4: Eat enough calories
Thinking you do not need enough calories on off days is a mistake. As your body is still recovering from those 100 thrusters you did yesterday, undereating on off days can negatively impact recovery. Muscle protein synthesis - the process by which the body makes muscles bigger and stronger after to training - continues at a higher rate than average for 48 hours after a workout, so not giving your muscles the nutrition that supports that development will interfere with your gains. Having slightly fewer carbs is ok, but your protein and overall calories should be the same as on training days.
Tip #5: Hydrate
Rehydration after training has a big impact on your recovery. As warmer and (hopefully) hotter summer days approach it is crucial to replenish the liquids, electrolytes and sodium lost during a workout. Studies have shown that coconut water helps to rehydrate the body after activity to about the same degree that sports drinks and water do, while it also provides essential electrolytes like potassium and sodium. Although cold water may feel quenching, it will take longer to be utilized than room-temperature water, which does require energy to be absorbed by the human body. Focusing on hydration will give you the extra boost you need to recover from a hard workout and get the most out of the next one.
Tip #6: Foam roll and stretch
Self-myofascial release (SMR), also known as foam rolling, is not only recommended before workouts but can be useful right afterwards and on days you do not train. You can improve your range of motion by relaxing tight muscle groups and promoting blood flow. We recommend rolling the upper back, lats, piriformis (the side of your glutes), and quads. By following up the rolling with extra stretching you can take advantage of the increased range of motion that the rolling gives you. During the stretching, pay extra attention to the lats, pecs, hip flexors, groin and calves - these are usually the tightest muscles.
Tip #7: Sleep
You have heard it before: you need at least eight hours of sleep per night. Sleep is your body’s chance to reorganize the brain and recharge the body after a long day of work and training. A deficit in long-term sleep will negatively impact growth hormone release and insulin sensitivity. In other words: you will get weaker and fatter. Get as much sleep as you can by making your room completely dark, going to bed and getting up at the same time daily and blocking out (stressful) distractions before sleep. It is time to get that body into recovery mode.
]]>Why should you take supplements in the first place?
Imagine living a thousand years ago. You sit around a campfire with your tribe, all skin kissed from the sun, roasting the hunt of the day above a roaring fire. You will eat the whole animal, organs and all. As for snacks, you found some foraged roots, berries or leafy greens, grown in mineral-rich soil. The water you drink comes from a nearby stream or captured rain. You are eating animals that fed on wild vegetation full of nutrients, plants that are grown in fertile soil and fish caught from streams. Most likely you are in an excellent and deep squat position before going to sleep with the darkness just as you woke up with the dawn, all in rhythm with nature.
Fast-forward ten thousand years. You cut up some pesticide-aided vegetables and throw them with some factory farmed eggs in a pan. Once your breakfast is done and you have gulped down your meal, you dash off to work. You go from your climate-controlled home to your climate-controlled office, where you will hunch over or stand in front of a screen all day. Compared to our ancestors, this artificiality and hypersterility rob our bodies of the natural conditioning and necessary bacteria that come from being outdoors and eating food that grew in the earth or ran, swam, or flew on it. In our current sterile way of living, we are surrounded by processed food that even some insects won’t eat. We have become prey to the bacteria and are more vulnerable and get sick more easily.
Roast of the day in 2019
The above two scenes point exactly to two main reasons why you should take supplements. The first reason is that we face different and more stresses than our ancestors; they did not deal with chronic stress, had to stay up late to answer emails or eat korvapuusti as a snack. Second, our environment is robbing us of a lot of nutrients and minerals that used to be part of our food intake by default. Even just decades ago, grown fruits and vegetables were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the ones most of us are getting today. This all makes sure that our food supply and the environment leave our body at a disadvantage.
Correcting the disadvantage
Supplements can help you because good supplements work. What supplements do is upgrade the places in your body that are not easily optimized by food and exercise alone. If done right, supplements can bring you better health, clearer thinking, and energy that our ancestors would have been jealous of. Supplements stack the odds in your favor - you will survive without them, but you will thrive taking them.
Essential supplements
Greens Blend
Everyone needs a balanced range of vitamins and minerals in their food intake, and the best way to do that is to eat with variety and consume different earth-grown foods. It is not always easy to maintain this variety. Grab a multinutrient “green food” mix, which will cover a lot of your nutrient bases. A good green blend is nutrient-dense and will have a good mix of freeze-dried foods, as well as enzymes, antioxidants, herbs, fruits, grasses, leaves - i.e. stuff you probably never put in a salad yourself. Go for a quality greens mix so the vitamins are delivered into your system similar to how they arrive in your regular food.
Magnesium
Taking magnesium as a supplement will give you less: less stress, less static, and less anxiety throughout your body. As we noted before, magnesium citrate is ideal to take before going to sleep and feel relaxed. Magnesium will also help you fight inflammation after for example a heavy leg day.
Krill oil - Omega-3
Many breakfasts today are high in fats: they contain chia seeds, flax and other nutritional sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Even though it is hard to find, organic fish oil is an ideal supplement. Even better is krill oil: the omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) will reduce inflammation in your body, while krill oil is also more potent than fish oil.
Vitamin D
Over a billion people are lacking vitamin D and the list of consequences is extensive. People are sicker and weaker than they need to be, as vitamin D is a free supplement through lovely sunshine. Living in Finland, days with sunlight can be counted on one hand during winter times, so it becomes essential to supplement ourselves with vitamin D.
Active B Vitamins
B vitamins are involved in loads of bodily processes and regulating your energy levels. When taking vitamin B, you will feel it: more energy, more resilience, more bounce in your step. Not everyone handles the absorption of B vitamins well, so pay attention to your body and make sure you supplement with the ones that are packaged the best for your system.
Take note
Not all supplements are created equal in quality. The key is to find a good company that makes quality products. In general, try to avoid supplements that make medical claims (because drugs treat medical conditions, supplements do not), companies that do not perform clinical trials on their own products and watch out for supplements filled with caffeïne. Caffeïne is added to pretend the “effect” of the supplement while actually covering up the weaknesses of it.
Optimize yourself
A first change should come from improvements to your food intake and lifestyle. But sometimes this is not enough. Bridging the gap between deficient and optimal is a good reason to take a supplement, so you can conquer mineral and nutrient deficiencies. Keep in mind that supplements are not a substitute for solid food and physical activity. A pill of vitamin D will not prevent you from ever getting sick again, neither will a supplement replace something entirely or act as a substitute. By taking supplements, your goal is to boost your nutritional profile and increase your daily performance over time.
]]>Among our investors are guys with many years experience in the food and restaurant industry, different technology startups and growing international businesses. Jumping into our adventure as investors will be Tatu Mäkilä and Jari Malmivaara (Vapaus, Tahto), Tuukka Autio (Emmy, Shopworks), Ville Heinonen (TableOnline), Ilkka Lavas (Eat and The City, City Magazine), Purnachand Valluru (PULS Nutrition) and Tio Tikka (Carelia, Tin Tin Tango, Ravintola Kuu).
With the backing and support of these investors, our hungry team members, experienced advisors and new partners, we are now getting ready to switch to a higher gear, making sure FuelMe is as good as it can possibly be for our customers.
FuelMe kitchen
To become that best version of what we can be, we decided to set up our own FuelMe kitchen. With the help and experience of Samuel McCormick (Kimchiwagon, Gold&Green Foods), we are deciding on a new FuelMe Headquarters and setting up all kitchen processes. Our menus are designed by Sam himself, in cooperation with a new FuelMe head chef. All meals will always be made from scratch with tasty and fresh ingredients, with a focus on nutritional values. We will introduce and interview our chef in a future blog post.
Besides our own kitchen, we have many exciting things in the works such as new pick-up points, extra delivery channels, re-branding of our service, a revamped website, a new type of meal offering and different partners that stand behind our vision.
We have many tasks to accomplish over the next couple of weeks and are working our oversized and trained glutes off get everything rolling again, and eventually make our vision come true: to offer tasty and real food to conquer your day like a superhero.
]]>Onko intuitiivinen syöminen kuitenkin pelkkää utopiaa? Voiko vähemmällä ruokailun kontrollilla saavuttaa pysyvämpiä tuloksia hyvinvoinnin, terveyden ja kehonkoostumuksen suhteen?
Epäsäännöllisestä syömisestä kohti intuitiivisuutta.
Miten edetä kohti intuitiivista syömistä, jos syöminen on tällä hetkellä retuperällä? Ehkä syöminen on epäsäännöllistä, käsi eksyy karkkipussille joka ilta tai viikonloput menevät herkkuja ahmiessa. Yrität korjata tilannetta tiukentamalla kontrollia; aloittamalla sokerilakon tai uuden dieetin. Olet ehkä kokeillut kontrollin karsimista, mutta tuloksena onkin ollut täydellinen kontrollin menetys.
On hyvä muistaa, että vain harva syö vahingossa hyvin, vaan hyvä syöminen on usein harjoittelun tulosta. Ennen intuitiivisen syömisen aloittamista sinulla on oltava käsitys siitä, mitä terveellinen ruokailu oikeastaan on. Lisäksi on järkevää luoda selkeä rutiini elämään ja tiettyjä sääntöjä syömiseen. Tämä mahdollistaa sen, että kehon viestijärjestelmät (esimerkiksi nälän ja kylläisyyden tunteet) toimivat normaalisti, jolloin intuitiivinen syöminen on helpompaa.
Ala ensin pohjata syöminen seuraavien periaatteiden varaan:
Opettele nämä hyvän syömisen periaatteet yksi kerrallaan. Jos jokin periaate tuntuu aluksi haastavalta, koeta pilkkoa se pienempiin osiin. Voit esimerkiksi kokeilla lisätä kasviksia aluksi vaikka vain yhdelle tai kahdelle aterialle. Kun tämä sujuu, lisää kasvisten määrää myös muille aterioille.
Kuten huomaat, hyvän syömisen periaatteet eivät sisällä kieltoja tai rajoitteita. Et tarvitse niiden toteuttamiseen grammavaakaa tai ruokavaliota. Tavoitteena ei ole syömisen vähentäminen, vaan syömisen laadun parantaminen. Laadukasta ruokaa saa syödä runsaasti! Kun hyvän syömisen periaatteet ovat osa arkea, syöminen ohjautuu automaattisesti hyviin uomiin. Näin ollen voit vähitellen luopua säännöistä ja alkaa kuunnella yhä enemmän intuitiota siitä milloin ja mitä haluaisit syödä.
Muistathan, että syömisen hallintaan vaikuttavat myös uni ja stressitekijät. Tästä syystä on tärkeää, että syömisen periaatteiden lisäksi luot rutiineja jotka tukevat palautumista, vähentävät stressikuormaa ja parantavat unta.
Tiukasta kontrollista kohti intuitiivisuutta.
Jos ruokavalio on ollut pitkään tarkkaan kontrolloitua, voi intuitiiviseen syömiseen siirtyminen tuntua pelottavalta hypyltä tuntemattomaan. Usein kontrollifriikit ovat niitä jotka ovat ehkä liiankin tietoisia mitä tarkoittaa terveellinen ruokavalio ja pyrkivät tekemisessään täydellisyyteen. Ruokavalio voi myös olla itseään toistava ja yksipuolinen. Pelkona kontrollin vähentämisessä on usein esimerkiksi painonnousu. Kontrollin vähentäminen kuitenkin vähentää ruokailuun liittyvää stressiä ja näin ollen tekee elämästäkin rennompaa ja hauskempaa.
Kaikkea ei kuitenkaan tarvitse muuttaa kerralla, vaan intuitiivisen syömisen opettelu kannattaa aloittaa yksittäisestä ateriasta. Kokeile esimerkiksi syödä intuitiivinen aamupala. Pysähdy aamulla miettimään mitä haluaisit syödä? Unohda säännöt, syö sitä mitä huvittaa ja kuuntele milloin olet mielestäsi riittävän kylläinen lopettaaksesi. Intuitiivisen aamupalan jälkeen jatka päivää normaaliin tapaasi.
Kun koet olevasi valmis, kokeile samaa taktiikkaa johonkin seuraavaan valitsemaasi ateriaan, esimerkiksi lounaaseen.
Lisää tietoa intuitiivisesta syömisestä ja ruokavalioista laihdutuksen näkökulmasta löydät kirjastani ”Laihdutuskoodi - Kolme vaihetta kohti hoikkaa ja vahvaa kehoa” (Otava 2018). Jos haluat kirjan omistuskirjoituksella, tilaa se suoraan Rebel Liftersin verkkokaupasta.
Anu Marin on 29-vuotias tietokirjailija sekä ravinto- ja voimaharjoitteluvalmentaja.
]]>More meals to pick from
You now can select from a total of 14 meals in our weekly meal plan. We will offer our best and most popular meals every week, and rotate between a couple of new ones. The weekly meals can be ordered for Monday as well as for Wednesday delivery. We are currently revamping the order page so it will be more user-friendly to pick your meals.
Vegetarian options
Are you keen on more plant-based meals? We hear you! You can choose a number of our vegetarian meals. Some of these might seem familiar, others are entirely new. The vegetarian options are divided into our Vegetarian Sport and Vegetarian Premium meals.
Fresh and tasty salads
Select one our fresh and big salads! They are ideal for a proper lunch at work or even serve as your dinner. Whether you would like a tuna, chicken, goat cheese or Greek salad - there are some excellent and lovely options to choose from.
Breakfast you say?
Based on the feedback and increasing customer demand, we tuned our add-on selection by giving more options: breakfast and lunch choices, snacks and new protein choices. At the same time, your favourite sauces can now be added to your cart as well.
The add-ons, vegetarian meals and salads can all be purchased separately, without having to select a weekly meal set. The minimum purchase amount is €35, which includes the delivery.
Order in time
With this increase in the variation of meals, comes that more time is needed to source ingredients and prepare the meals. That is why the order deadline is Thursday midnight for both delivery days. On Friday a new menu will appear and you can order for the week after again. If you are too late and still to order meals, drop us a message and we might be able to squeeze your order in.
At the moment we are working on a customizable meal plan where you select your source and size of carbs, protein, vegetables and spices out of a list of options. We will also offer a 5-day week plan with 10 meals (5 lunches, 5 dinners) in the form a weight loss program.
Do not forget we have a running subscription model where you do not need to remember to order every week and still get your favourite meals delivered at a lower price than a regular meal set. Over 50% of our current orders come from subscribers and they are loving it!
]]>Hi Wim! Pleasure to see and hear you again. Where did you first bump into FuelMe?
W: “Pleasure to see you too! I saw FuelMe for the first time on social media, through an ad in Facebook messenger. My first thought was: “What’s that?”, very quickly followed by the second thought: “Okay, what the hell!? That’s it!”.
I visited a dietician right before seeing the ad. Training and going to the gym is one thing, yet I sit down all day and have a lot of meetings so it’s absolutely not a very physically active job. To stay in shape food and nutrition is even more important in that sense; “you can’t outrun your fork”. So I had been Googling for a meal prep service or similar.
The lunch here is self-service and there has been a period I took even pictures of my food and sent it to my dietician to get a better grasp on my calorie intake. Not really #foodporn, but I had a hard time to estimate how much rice, vegetables and meat for example I needed to put on my plate. The advice was to take less, which with a buffet is not easy.”
Then FuelMe suddenly popped up.
W: “I knew right away this is it for me: I know what I eat, I have portion control, there are no added sugars and I do not have to cook or do grocery shopping myself.”
You have a hectic and not very regular “Finnish” lifestyle regarding work-home balance. Can you explain?
W: “I work in Helsinki during the week and leave for Belgium on Fridays for the weekend, to return to Helsinki on Monday morning. I know it is not very common, but it works very well and I have been doing it for 10 years now. The balance is ideal, as my weekdays are work-focused and structured from Monday to Friday afternoon and the pressure is off during the weekend.
I work long hours during the weekdays and try to train Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. There is no time for cooking, let alone grocery shopping. During the weekend I like cooking as a hobby though. But during the week - no way I have time for that. So I was looking for something that could give me food on demand and where I knew what I was eating in terms of macros and calories.”
10 years without having meal prep service, how did you eating behaviour look like during that time?
W: “I tried to prep meals myself occasionally, but with my schedule that is a bit tricky and it never lasted. So mostly I ate at our local lunch place where I did not have control over the portions and added sugars. Actually the realization that food is equally important - or even more important - as doing sports has grown during those years. So food intake did not always have the same importance as it has now. I’ve always done sports and never really had problems with my weight. But I know that if I do not pay attention to my food intake or stop doing sports, I will gain weight.
FuelMe has been an incredible life-saver in that sense. Of course I can make time for cooking and food in general, but I want to spend it here in Finland on work and at the same time stay in shape even though I have an intellectually challenging but rather sedentary job. It is appealing to stay at your desk all day and munch on junk food. Healthy food intake gets too little attention.”
What kind of sports do you do at the moment?
W: “I have been training with a PT during the week and during the weekend I use my home gym or I’d go running or mountain biking with my wife in our home area. We keep a good level of sports besides our busy work life.”
Did the switch to FuelMe have a significant impact on how you were feeling on daily basis?
W: “I started ordering from FuelMe in March and the results during the following months came rapidly. I lost weight very fast and also at the gym I noticed I had gained strength and was using heavier weights than before. After a month or two I realized that it was all going in the right direction and I was feeling great. It seems that from one day to the other it all changed and for me that was the convincing story."
Do you order FuelMe meals just for yourself?
W: “At first, yes. But in my unit there are quite a few people that like to talk about food and also during the lunch meetings people were starting to notice the meals I was eating. It didn’t take long before others jumped in and we started making group orders. And colleagues like it as much as I do, not just for the time-saving aspect but as much as the health reasons. We pick up the meals in turns from StadiFit, which is within walking distance from the office. More people in our office are joining our “FuelMe Gang”.
How do you and the others like the meals?
W: “The taste is excellent. Today I had Chicken Harissa - top dish. And I hear the same feedback from the other gang members. It’s nice to have variation every week when it comes to taste, but also in terms of calories where you have meals with less calories for instance.”
Would FuelMe fill in your lunch and/or dinner?
W: “I grab FuelMe for lunch and I think that goes for most of us here. Breakfast is decent and covered with for example an egg, avocado, some toast or a bowl of oats with blueberries. FuelMe then takes care of the most difficult time frame of the day, which is between noon and evening. A few hours later I’d have some nuts or a piece of fruit for example. Then pre-workout, post-workout and then something small, like a salad with some bread. I train quite late, so I do not want to have too much food during the last moment of the day to not disturb my sleep.”
Have you noticed any physical differences before and after ordering FuelMe?
W: “My weight has been much more in balance and under much better control. I now have way more control over my food intake comparing to the past. I lost weight, even though intake has been the same and I have not started to train harder or more. It’s been a huge positive difference.”
What’s your favourite meal?
W: “Hmm, I actually like all of them! The Chicken Harissa was very good, pulled pork meals have always been excellent and the new Salmon Teriyaki was very tasty. The Paleo Fish Taco Bowl is popular too.”
What do you value the most when it comes to the prepped meals?
W: “I know what I eat and I know there are no added sugars or processed ingredients. As a biochemist I want to know the content of what I eat. At the same time, I can adjust my food intake based on the portions and whether or not I am training that day. Flavour is a big plus.”
What is your guilty pleasure?
W: “That would happen more during the weekend when there are Belgian beers available and the social setting makes it easy to have one (or two). Or a piece of chocolate at times, but not in extreme amounts. I can easily save it up during the week and enjoy the Belgian pleasures later on.”
Amen to that. What does FuelMe, in a nutshell, mean to you?
W: “Quality, tasty and portion controlled meals. It gives me valuable time to focus on other things and I can trust the food is of high quality.“
Are there any changes you have noticed since the beginning and are there things you would like to see appear in the future?
W: “The add-ons are a nice idea, it gives some variation for breakfast for example. Some light dinners or salads for me would be great.”
A separate salad menu is added to the website very soon actually. Thank you, Wim!
Great - now we got you drooling ánd we got your attention, let us dive a bit deeper into the implications of eating (too much) junk food for the human body and your mind. Before we can get a better idea of these effects, we need to quickly understand what is considered junk food.
What is junk food?
Junk food is a term for food that contains a high number of calories from sugar or fat with little fibre, protein, vitamins or minerals. Many of these are high in saturated fats, sugars, carbohydrates, emulsifiers, artificial flavours, salt and/or alcohol. Examples: see above in very first sentence. Picture: see below.
A green salad creeping up on a burger and his greasy friends.
Let’s say you give in to those cravings and you find yourself suddenly covered in BBQ-sauce, milkshakes, chicken wings and ice cream (preferably Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough). Dude... What happened?! We know, you could not help yourself. But consider these 6 facts next time you fall victim to the overwhelming call of junk food.
5 Negative effects of eating junk food
1. ObesityFast foods are loaded with fat and calories. Eating junk food without any restrictions will have adverse effects on your weight as you will take in more calories than you can expend. And then you will expand. Shortly stated: no amount of trans fat is good or healthy.
Obesity itself increases the risk of potentially fatal heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers, as well as sleep apnea and respiratory problems.
2. Cardiovascular impact
In line with fact, number one is the consequence for your heart. Eating foods that contain it can increase your LDL (bad cholesterol), lower your HDL (good cholesterol), and increase your risk for type 2 diabetes.
The magical combination of fat, sugar, and lots of sodium (salt) makes fast food seem tastier. Food intake high in sodium can lead to water retention, which is why you may feel puffy, bloated, or swollen after eating fast food. A diet high in sodium is dangerous for people with blood pressure conditions. Sodium can elevate blood pressure and put stress on your heart and cardiovascular system.
3. Sex lifeA healthy heart equals healthy sex. Any eating habit that’s bad for your gym game is also bad for your sex life. The foods you eat, how much you eat, and how often you eat them can mess with your energy levels, blood flow, and hormones - all critical players in supercharging your sex life.
Diets that are high in sugar are going to impact your overall cardiovascular health, which subsequently impacts the health of the little man below. Too much sugar will also lower your libido by reducing testosterone levels.
“Hmm... Pizza or burgers? I’m not sure what I feel like tonight.”
4. Mental
Not only does fast food add inches to your waistline, but scientists and researchers have also indicated through various studies that junk food can cause severe damage to your brain. There are certain nutrients that we need for the different functions in our bodies to work effectively, and the brain is no different.
If we are not making healthy food choices and eating enough of nutrients that our bodies need to function correctly, it makes sense it is going to be harder for us to be mentally healthy as well as physically healthy, People that have higher intakes of junk and processed foods are more likely to suffer from depression.
Individuals with low levels of healthy food (vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, lean protein - food that sustains health) are also at an increased risk. Even if you're eating good food, if you're also eating a lot of junk food, it can be a problem.
5. Environmental impactThe way food across the globe has changed over the last 30 years is profound and mainly for the worse. This has had a significant impact on the health of the world population and the state of our planet itself.
In light of recent climate reports (and protests), cutting down your junk food intake can have a significant impact on the health of our planet. Only a few food-related environmental impacts to consider are the not so eco-friendly used packaging, the emission of greenhouse gasses/CO2, food waste, fuel consumption for production and supply for fast food.
“But, I still want my junk food injection from time to time?!”
And that is fine. Not everyone goes down the same road, but it is essential to be aware of the impact of overeating on junk food. Keep in mind the list above is not a finite one.
A first step to avoid going down the junk lane food too often is to find the right balance in your food intake. Eat yourself happy with clean, nutritious food. Besides that, do regular sports and exercise on a daily basis - any physical activity that gives you a rush and makes you crave to do it again later that week. Combine these two pillars and you can answer the call to junk food at the right moments without major worries.
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