Serving Up a Heart Full of Love: Creating Heart Healthy Gifts for Coworkers

Jennifer Hamilton

DFM 655

December 9, 2014

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Introduction

In many corporate offices around America the tradition to give and receive sweet and

salty treats during holiday times exists. Multitudes of cookies, flavored popcorn tins, 10 pound

boxes of chocolates, homemade toffees, rum balls and much more are in abundance. The

holidays coincide with the end of year stresses at work: will the employee make the end of year

deadline, will there be a bonus, and will they be let go after the New Year? It is easy to see how

many turn to the comfort of sweet and salty foods during this stressful time. In some industries,

such as the insurance industry, there is a high population of middle aged women that make up the

workforce. The job consists of long hours at a desk with little physical activity. The combination

of these factors can have serious consequences.

Physical activity levels, as well as age, ethnicity, genetics, and diet are some risk factors

for stroke. There is a strong correlation between blood pressure, hypertension, and stroke; which

can be compounded by extra stressful times in corporate offices. Stroke is the fourth-leading

cause of death in the United States according to the American Heart Association. Per the CDC

Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012, women

between the ages of 45-64 years are more likely to suffer from hypertension or stroke than men.

They are also more likely to be inactive or sufficiently inactive, which increases their risk for

stroke. There are several ways to reduce the above stated risk factor by treating it non-

pharmaceutically and/or pharmaceutically. For the purpose of this conversation the non-

pharmaceutical approach will be discussed.

The suggested ways to reduce the risk of stroke are to increase physical activity, avoid

smoking, lose weight if overweight, and have a diet that is low in sodium, high in potassium, rich

in fruit and vegetables, and incorporates nuts (Meschia, J.F., et al., 2014). In small serving sizes,

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nuts (in particular walnuts and almonds) can improve heart health. Wu, et al (2014) study found

a correlation between consumption of walnuts and a decrease in non - high density lipoprotein

(HDL) cholesterol, which lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease. Walnuts are high in omega

3’s and almonds are a good source of calcium, fiber and vitamin E (MacMillan, A., 2012). These

nuts can help lower low density lipoprotein (LDL) and increase HDL, which ultimately can help

lower the risk of stroke and hypertension.

As previously noted the holidays can be a time inundated with sweets and salty treats

given as gifts. Therefore to help provide alternative ways to show that you care for your

coworkers, the teaching presentation will teach people how to create a heart healthy gift that is

nutritious, fun to make, and enjoyable to receive. The target audience will be the people working

in a cubicle environment found in corporate America with an emphasis on middle aged women.

For the purpose of this lesson classmates will assume the role of corporate office workers. Based

on a pre needs assessment, see Appendix A, 43% of classmate’s snack all the time while

working, while 46% snack sometimes while working. Classmates preferred both salty and sweet

snacks as opposed to one or the other. In addition, they felt pretty confident in being able to

select a heart healthy snack as well as determine a serving size. Since my classmates are dietetic

students they may be more knowledgeable about heart healthy snacks and serving sizes

compared to the general population. However, teaching people the basics of how to determine a

serving size and to demonstrate how to assemble a gift that is heart healthy, is a good skill and

knowledge base to have.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) will be used for this teaching lesson. Bauer, Liou, &

Sokolik (2012), define SCT as a dynamic interaction of personal factors, behavior and the

environment with a change in one capable of influencing the others. By the end of the lesson, the

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participants will be able to see there are alternatives to sweets and salty treats as gifts to give

coworkers. They will be able to identify an example of a heart healthy option, understand serving

sizes and be able to create their own gift for a coworker, family member or friend. This new

understanding may impact the person’s behavior of gift giving and therefore changing office

culture.

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan: “Serving Up a Heart Full of Love”

Duration: 10 minutes

Target Group: Predominately middle age women in a cubicle office environment

Overall Goal: Increase knowledge of heart healthy gift ideas during the holidays in a work environment

Major Concepts:

Heart healthy nuts

o Good nuts

o Bad nuts

Serving size for trail mix

Objectives and Learning Domains, Generalizations and Learning Experiences

1. Participants will be able to identify a healthy gift from the heart

Domain: Cognitive – knowledge and comprehension

Generalization: Nuts are a great way to improve heart health. Level 1

Learning Experiences:

Talk about holiday office culture:

o Lots of sweets and salty treats available for consumption

o Stressful time of year, prone to eating more unhealthy items

o Can feel weighed down by amount of sweets consumed

A way to provide an alternative to a sweet gift is substitute a healthy gift

An example is making your own trail mix to give as a gift

Talk about nuts

o Good nuts

Almonds – high in Ca, fiber & Vit E

Walnuts – high in Omega 3

Pistachios – good source of potassium

o Less desirable nuts

Pecans – high in calories and fat if consumed in large amounts

Macadamia – high in calories and fat if consumed in large amounts

Still good as source of nutrients, just have to be careful with serving size

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Nuts are good way to help with heart health

o The nuts just discussed can help with heart health

o They can lower risk of stroke and hypertension

o Why does this matter? Stroke is the 4th

leading cause of death in America

o Middle age women are more likely to suffer from hypertension and stroke than men.

Some significant risk factors are diet and inactivity

2. Participants will be able to measure out appropriate serving size of trail mix

Domain: Cognitive - Application

Generalization: Serving size for trail mix is determined by what ingredients go into it.

Learning Experiences:

Hold up preassembled gift bag with label hidden & ask participants how many servings of trail

mix are in the bag.

o Take several responses

o Even though there does not appear to be much in the bag, the whole bag is over 1000

calories and almost 69g of fat

Ask participants to take cup that was passed out with handout and empty contents into palm of

hand.

o Ask how much trail mix is approximately in their hand. Is it 1 cup, ½ cup, and so on.

o Wait for responses

Serving size for standard trail mix can be from 1/4 c to 1/3 c = about 200 to 230 calories.

Sizing can be deceiving. When making the gift, may want to put a label on the bag that indicates

how many servings are in the bag and/or indicate to share.

3. Participants will be able to assemble a healthy gift.

Domain: Psychomotor – set

Generalization: Creating trail mix as a healthy gift is easy and fun to do.

Learning Experiences:

Demonstrate how to assemble gift bag. Follow step by step directions on handout.

Indicate why adding each of the items or state each of the items here have multiple vitamins and

minerals which are good for the heart.

o Almonds (unsalted) – high in Ca, fiber, & Vit E

o Walnuts (unsalted) – high in omega 3

o Pumpkin seeds (unsalted) – high in protein and potassium

o Sunflower seeds (unsalted) – high in potassium & Vit E, good source of Ca, and low in

calories

o Dried blueberries – good source of Vit C and low in calories

o Raisins – high in potassium and low in calories

o Close bag and shake to mix

Initially when making the bag it looks empty therefore you can add larger items to fill space, such

as clementines. Fresh citrus is a great way to incorporate a touch of sweet that is also helping out

your body with extra Vit C.

Wrap 2-3 clemintines in wax paper and place on top of mix– good source of Vit C

Tie off with ribbon

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Materials:

1 ½ cups each of assorted unsalted nuts (2-3 varieties, such as almonds and walnuts)

1 ½ cups each unsalted seeds such as sunflower & pumpkin

1 ½ cups each of assorted dried fruit (2-3 varieties, such as dried blueberries and raisins)

6 cuties aka clementines

2, ¼ cup measuring cups

3 cellophane snack gift bags with twist tie

1 premade gift with label

Wax paper

Spool of colorful ¼ inch wide ribbon

Educational Handout

6 premade Dixie cups with ¼ cup trail mix in each

Summary:

During the holidays, office culture can be stressful and the abundance of salty and sweet foods around can

cause more stress. ”Serving Up a Heart Full of Love” is a great alternative way of showing your

coworkers you care.

What is an example of an easy, fun healthy gift to make?

What is an appropriate serving size for trail mix?

Can you replicate the recipe on the handout with ease?

I thank you for your time and hope you have fun serving up a heart full of love as a gift for coworkers this

holiday season.

Evaluation:

Hand post assessment test to participants to complete at end of lesson. Questions will remain the same as

pre assessment test to be able to determine if there was a change in confidence level for heart healthy

foods and serving sizes. For the purposes of class presentation, an online post assessment will be done.

Conclusion

My teaching module started off well, I was collected. Throughout the presentation good

eye contact was maintained to keep the audience engaged. I felt confident, but the excitement of

teaching made me inadvertently omit some talking points that I wanted to mention. For example,

the number of calories and the fat contained in one gift bag was omitted. This information

supports why it is important to pay attention to serving size. In addition, the use of unsalted nuts

and the importance of using caution with dried fruit due to the amount of added sugar was left

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out of the presentation. Lastly, I forgot to recap the lesson and inquire what was a heart healthy

gift, what was a serving size of trail mix, and would they feel comfortable assembling this gift.

This would have been a good quick evaluation tool of whether or not people understood the

lesson. Even with these omissions, my classmates still enjoyed the presentation as they were

unaware of the omitted talking points. The message of an alternative healthy gift and appropriate

serving size for trail mix was communicated by responses of participants after the presentation.

Based on the post assessment test (see Appendix B), participants felt 57% confident that

they could choose a healthy snack and 23.8% very confident they could choose a healthy snack.

This was an overall increase over the pre-assessment test where surveyors felt 43.9% pretty

confident and 29.27% very confident. In addition, participants felt pretty comfortable choosing a

serving size for a snack. This data increased from 39.02% to 52.38%. However, this data cannot

be fully compared on a 1:1 ratio since only half of the previous surveyors responded. This made

it difficult to do a true comparison of data. From the pre and post assessment it did appear that

there was a slight increase in confidence and comfortably.

After further consideration it was realized the questions of the assessment needed to be

more specific and less general in order to truly have comparable data. For example, instead of

inquiring about the confidence level of choosing a heart healthy snack, different snacks could

have been listed from which they could choose. This would have been more measurable. All in

all beyond these limitations, the students were very knowledgeable about the subject matter. I

cannot wait to try the lesson on the intended population of middle age women working in an

office cubicle environment.

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Appendix A – Pre Needs Assessment

Picture yourself as an employee in a corporate office, where you sit the majority of the day...

1. Do you snack while working?

Yes, all the time – 41.46% (17 responses)

Sometimes – 43.90% (18 responses)

Never, I am too busy working – 14.63% (6 responses)

2. When you do have a snack it is...

Salty – 5.00% (2 responses)

Sweet – 17.50% (7 responses)

Both – 62.50% (25 responses)

Neither – 15.00% (6 responses)

Other (please specify) – Fruits & Veg, Crunchy, Bitter, and None (5 responses)

3. How confident do you feel in choosing heart healthy foods?

Very Confident – 29.27% (12 responses)

Pretty Confident – 43.90% (18 responses)

Somewhat Confident – 24.39% (10 responses)

Less Confident – 0%

Not Confident At All – 2.44% (1 response)

4. How comfortable are you with serving sizes for snacks?

Very Comfortable – 31.71% (13 responses)

Pretty Comfortable -39.02% (16 responses)

Somewhat Comfortable – 21.95% (9 responses)

Less Comfortable – 2.44% (1 response)

Not Comfortable At All – 4.88% (2 responses)

5. What is your gender?

Female – 87.80% (36 responses)

Male – 12.20% (5 responses)

6. What is your age?

18 to 24 – 41.46% (17 responses)

25 to 34 – 36.59% (15 responses)

35 to 44 – 9.76% (4 responses)

45 to 54 – 9.76% (4 responses)

55 to 64 – 2.44% (1 response)

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65 or older – 0%

7. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Did not graduate from high school – 2.44% (1 response)

Graduated from high school – 7.32% (3 responses)

Some college – 60.98% (25 responses)

Graduated from college – 21.95% (9 responses)

Some graduate school – 2.44% (1 response)

Completed graduate school – 4.88% (2 responses)

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Appendix B – Post Needs Assessment

Picture yourself as an employee in a corporate office, where you sit the majority of the day...

1. Do you snack while working?

Yes, all the time – 28.57%% (6 responses)

Sometimes – 61.90% (13 responses)

Never, I am too busy working – 9.52% (2 responses)

2. When you do have a snack it is...

Salty – 10.53% (2 responses)

Sweet – 15.79% (3 responses)

Both – 73.68% (14 responses)

Neither – 0% (0 responses)

Other (please specify) – Fruits & nuts, Depends on my mood & the weather (2 responses)

3. How confident do you feel in choosing heart healthy foods?

Very Confident – 23.81% (5 responses)

Pretty Confident –57.14% (12 responses)

Somewhat Confident –19.05% (4responses)

Less Confident – 0%

Not Confident At All – 0%

4. How comfortable are you with serving sizes for snacks?

Very Comfortable – 23.81% (5 responses)

Pretty Comfortable – 52.38% (11 responses)

Somewhat Comfortable – 14.29% (3 responses)

Less Comfortable – 9.52% (2 responses)

Not Comfortable At All –% (response)

5. What is your gender?

Female – 76.19% (16 responses)

Male – 23.81% (5 responses)

6. What is your age?

18 to 24 – 42.86% (9 responses)

25 to 34 – 33.33% (7 responses)

35 to 44 – 4.76% (1 responses)

45 to 54 – 19.05% (4 responses)

55 to 64 – 0%

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65 or older – 0%

7. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Did not graduate from high school – 0%

Graduated from high school – 15.0% (3 responses)

Some college – 70.0% (14 responses)

Graduated from college – 10.00% (2 responses)

Some graduate school – 0% (0 response)

Completed graduate school – 5.00% (1 responses)

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Appendix C – Handout

© December 2014 Jennifer Hamilton

Citrus is a great

source of Vit C

Serve up a “Heart Full of Love” gift for your

coworkers:

Take a small cellophane gift bag.

Into the bag measure out:

1. ¼ cup ea of unsalted almonds & walnuts

2. ¼ cup ea of unsalted sunflower & pumpkin seeds

3. ¼ cup ea of dried blueberries & raisins.

4. 1/8 cup of dried cranberries, for a little more sweet.

5. Now with one hand holding the bag shut, shake the

bag to mix.

6. Wrap 2-3 clementines in wax paper and place on

top of mix.

7. Tie off with a ribbon

8. Gift your coworkers!

Trail Mix Nutrient Composition

Walnuts: high in Omega 3

Sunflower seeds: high in potassium & Vit E, good source

of calcium & low in calories

Pumpkin seeds: high in protein and potassium

Dried blueberries: good source of Vit C & low in calories

Raisins: high in potassium & low in calories

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SMOG Readability level: 22 words = 8th

grade (± 1.5 grades)

© December 2014 Jennifer Hamilton

Citrus is a great

source of Vit C

Serve up a “Heart Full of Love” gift for your

coworkers:

Take a small cellophane gift bag.

Into the bag measure out:

1. ¼ cup ea of unsalted almonds & walnuts

2. ¼ cup ea of unsalted sunflower & pumpkin seeds

3. ¼ cup ea of dried blueberries & raisins.

4. 1/8 cup of dried cranberries, for a little more sweet.

5. Now with one hand holding the bag shut, shake the

bag to mix.

6. Wrap 2-3 clementines in wax paper and place on

top of mix.

7. Tie off with a ribbon

8. Gift your coworkers!

Trail Mix Nutrient Composition

Walnuts: high in Omega 3

Sunflower seeds: high in potassium & Vit E, good source

of calcium & low in calories

Pumpkin seeds: high in protein and potassium

Dried blueberries: good source of Vit C & low in calories

Raisins: high in potassium & low in calories

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References:

Bauer, K.D., Liou, D., & Sokolik, C.A. (2012). Nutrition Counseling and Education Skill

Development (2nd

ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Blackwell, D.L., Lucas, J.W., Clarke, T.C. (2014). Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults:

National Health Interview Survey, 2012. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital

Health Stat 10(260).

MacMillan, A. (n.d.). Best and Worst Nuts for your Health: Should you go nuts? Retrieved

November 23, 2014 from http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20585485,00.html

Meschia, J.F., Bushnell, C., Boden-Albala,, B., Braun, L.T., Bravata, D.M., Chaturvedi, S., …

Wilson, J.A. (2014). Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke: A Statement for

Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke

Association

Wu, L., Piotrowski, K., Rau, T., Waldmann, E., Broedl, U.C., Demmelmair, H., … Koletzko, B.

(2014). Walnut-enriched diet reduces fasting non-HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B in healthy Caucasian subjects: A randomized controlled cross-over clinical trial.

Metabolism - Clinical and Experimental, 63(3), 382 – 391. DOI:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2013.11.005