Share Your Recipe
Do you have a healthy recipe you would like to share with County employees? Head over to our ‘Got Ideas?‘ page and send it our way! You might just get featured in an upcoming month.
Healthy for Life! – Ready, Set, Go!
You want to lose weight, so let’s get going. Healthy for Life! is designed to jump-start your journey to a healthier you. How much you lose is ultimately your call – the more closely you follow the plan, the more you’ll likely loose.
Before you dive in, take a moment to determine if now is a good time to make big changes to your daily routine. Take the quiz and answer the questions honestly. If your results indicate that this isn’t a good time to try to lose weight, address those factors interfering with your plans.
Healthy for Life! Readiness Quiz
How motivated are you to lose weight?
- Highly motivated
- Moderately motivated
- Somewhat motivated
- Slightly motivated or not at all
Considering the amount of stress affecting your life right now, to what extent can you focus on weight loss and making lifestyle changes?
- Can focus easily
- Can focus relatively well
- Uncertain
- Can focus somewhat or not at all
Initially, people often lose weight quickly. But over the long run, it’s best to lose weight at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds a week. How realistic are your expectations about how much weight you’d like to lose and how fast you want to lose it?
- Very realistic
- Moderately realistic
- Somewhat realistic
- Somewhat or very unrealistic
Aside from special celebrations, do you ever eat a lot of food rapidly while feeling that your eating is out of control?
- Yes
- No
If you answered YES to the previous question, how often have you eaten like this during the last year?
- About once a month or less
- A few times a month
- About once a week
- About three times a week or more
Do you eat for emotional reasons, for example, when you feel anxious, depressed, angry or lonely?
- Never or rarely
- Occasionally
- Frequently
- Always
How confident are you that you can make changes in your eating habits and maintain them?
- Completely confident
- Moderately confident
- Somewhat confident
- Slightly or not at all confident
How confident are you that you can exercise several times a week?
- Completely confident
- Moderately confident
- Somewhat confident
- Slightly or not at all confident
If most of your responses are:
- 1 and 2, then you’re probably ready to start the Healthy for Life! program.
- 2 and 3, consider whether you’re ready or if you should wait and take action to prepare yourself.
- 4, you may want to hold off on this journey. Consider contacting the Fitness and Wellness Division to discuss what you can do to increase your readiness.
To register for the Health Trip Healthy for Life! program, contact Liz Stovall at sto077@henrico.us or at 501-7556.
Next steps include:
- Preparing yourself, your kitchen and your workout gear to increase your chances of success.
- Setting up a tracking system and getting mentally prepared.
- Finding your inner motivation and selecting your start date.
Employee Health Services (EHS) offers individualized counseling regarding your nutritional journey.
This includes information on diabetes, high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol and weight loss management.
Fitness & Wellness encourages employees to set up a 30-minute consultation with a staff fitness trainer for help with designing a nutrition and fitness plan for overall good health.
Lentil Soup
Ingredients
349 cals | Per serving
Original recipe yields 6 servings
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups dry lentils
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Directions
Prep 15 mins | Cook 1 hour | Ready In 1 hrs 15 mins
Step 1
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
Step 2
Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.
Per Serving: 349 calories; 10 g fat; 48.2 g carbohydrates; 18.3 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 131 mg sodium.
Henrico County’s on-site cafeteria at the Western Government Center offers a variety of nutritious and health conscious options for employees at breakfast and lunch times. From a full, build-your-own, salad bar, grilled chicken and turkey burger options, along with steamed vegetables and low-fat yogurt, breakfast and lunch does not have to throw off your day.
Operating Hours
Breakfast: 7:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
*Self-serve areas only open from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.