Uncategorised – Heather Boomer

Most of my other blogs in my series of exploring a healthy lifestyle have been focusing on the physical ways that I can improve. For this post I wanted to look further into what I am consuming and how that can have effects on my overall health. All of the information I will be sharing in this blog post has come from the Canadian Government website and is found under the health tab, you can directly go here by clicking this. Since the 2019 update of the Canadian Food Guide a meal is suggested to consists of 1/2 plate of vegetables/fruit, 1/4 plate protein and 1/4 whole grains. This differs from the old guide which included dairy as a staple of every day consumption, more specifically two glasses of milk should be drank each day. Meat and alternatives has been replaced by ‘proteins’ which suggests that meat does not need to be consumed in order to get these nutrients.

Previous Food Guide

A lot of vegan choices such as nuts, avocados and legumes hold the amount of protein needed for a healthy individual. I have tried my best to stick to a lot of these suggestions in the last two weeks and I find myself struggling the most with choosing water as my drink of choice. While exploring the food guide website I have noticed a lot of different recipes and tips that help with providing healthier options. There are many ongoing arguments around the idea that healthy eating costs more money, which in most cases is true but in my opinion the benefits natural unprocessed food gives to your body is worth it. Vegan dairy and meat alternative products can be very expensive but there are ways to get the same nutrients on a smaller budget. Organization seems to be a popular trend across the guide, making sure you have a list when you go to the grocery store and planning out your meals/snacks ahead of time is recommended. Snacking is something I am guilty for and I see myself to be a bored eater, I never have them planned out in advance so I find myself seeking easily accessible snack foods. Watching TV or being distracted while eating is one of the worst things you can do because your mind is not focusing on your intake and usually you eat much faster than your body can handle. This is also another reason why having snacks ready to go and portioned out is a good idea.

2019 Food Guide

I have set myself a SMART goal which is something the Canadian Food Guide encourages, it stands for; specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. My goal is to only drink water as my beverage of choice, besides 1 cup of coffee in the morning. I am also going to start preparing snacks that either include a vegetable/fruit that will not be eaten when I am preoccupied doing something else. I plan to keep these goals until the end of the term and be able to reflect on my successes.

After attending the last lecture, where Jesse Miller shared some insight on social media usage in the classroom, I also watched a documentary on Netflix called “The Social Dilemma” which has been recommended to me by many of my peers. Overall first thoughts, were terrifying I immediately became self-conscious of how often I was using my social media platforms, what I was using them for and started noticing how my feeds were full of posts relatable to my interests. I think that my generation (Gen Z) had the first real exposure to social media during middle school years, whereas now it has developed to a point where primary aged children are accessing these applications. I remember snapchat coming out when I was in grade 8 and many kids had it downloaded on their iPod touch because they did not have a cellphone yet. It’s crazy to me because that was only 8 years ago, in such a small timeframe technology has evolved at an alarming rate and is drawing in younger users more and more. Jesse mentioned how some educators allow their students opportunities to access their phone during the day for small time intervals. This is simply to alleviate their thoughts of what they could be missing out on because that is what all their concentration is focused on instead of class material. Children are becoming so dependent on their phones that without them they feel anxious and lonely. I believe that social media poses a huge distraction to students, whether that is in class or at home. There is this fear of missing out that is instilled in them so they feel the need to constantly be connected as much as possible. For the younger children growing up now they may not have their own personal social media accounts but they most likely have parents who are heavily engaged in those platforms and they are first hand witnessing it. Parents are setting an example to their children that being glued to a screen for hours in a day is a normality. Technology’s purpose was always to be a useful tool for sharing information, communicating and completing certain actions. It was never meant to mold societies, cause mental illnesses or become an addiction. This is a very controversial topic and I find myself siding with those who think technology’s downfalls outweigh the positive aspects. I am certainly grateful to have access to a lot of resources it provides, but honestly after finishing that documentary I have put time restraint on my social media platforms because I can’t control urges that I didn’t realize were a problem. I open my phone countless times in a day without even realizing it. There is no specific purpose, my brain is just programmed to constantly check and that just scares me. Check out this documentary, I guarantee it will make you think twice.

learning blog of a teacher to be

Category: Uncategorised

Canada Food Guide

Social Media in the Classroom