nutrition and fuel
This "H" in the HALT acronym reminds us that low blood sugar can often feel exactly like anxiety, anger, or irritation.
What is Hungry?
This basic, free, and immediate physical action stimulates the vagus nerve to slow down a racing heart during a moment of high anxiety.
What is Deep Breathing? (Accept: Breathwork or Box Breathing).
Doing this before you walk into a grocery store is the single most effective way to prevent impulse buys and stay on a strict financial budget.
What is Making a Shopping List?
This specific type of light emitted from smartphones and televisions blocks your brain from releasing sleep hormones if used right before bed.
What is Blue Light?
This universal, free, 3-digit phone number can be called or texted 24/7 across the United States to connect directly with a mental health or crisis counselor.
What is 988?
Found in brown rice, oats, and whole wheat, these types of carbohydrates digest slowly and prevent extreme blood sugar crashes.
What are Complex Carbohydrates?
This is the body’s primary stress hormone; high levels of it can cause sweet and salty cravings, digestive issues, and poor sleep.
What is Cortisol?
These shelf-stable, low-cost proteins can be bought in bulk, don't require refrigeration, and can easily extend a meal like chili or tacos.
What is beans? (Accept: Lentils or Legumes).
It is highly recommended to stop consuming this popular, stimulating chemical at least six hours before your planned bedtime to ensure deep sleep.
What is Caffeine?
A community space where anyone experiencing food insecurity can go to receive free, non-perishable groceries, fresh produce, or bread without judgment.
What is a Food Pantry? (Accept: Food Bank).
This specific macronutrient is essential for repairing physical tissue and rebuilding brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) damaged during active addiction.
What is Protein?
_________ is something you set with old acquaintances or high-stress environments to protect your baseline physical peace.
What is a Boundary?
Found on the grocery store shelf tag below the main price, this small number tells you exactly how much a food costs per ounce or per pound, helping you compare different sizes fairly.
What is the Unit Price?
This is the term for your body’s natural, internal 24-hour clock that regulates when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy.
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
This is the three-digit phone number used across most of North America to easily find local community resources like housing assistance, utility help, or legal aid.
What is 211?
On a standard nutrition facts label, you should look past the total carbohydrates and check this specific line item to see if extra sugar was poured into the food during manufacturing.
What is Added Sugars?
A physical grounding technique used during overwhelming cravings where you deliberately name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, and 1 you can taste.
What is the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique? (Accept: Grounding).
Choosing this type of item over brand-name items usually saves you 20% to 30% on your grocery bill for the exact same nutritional value.
What are Store Brands? (Accept: Generic Brands).
Doing this at the exact same time every morning—even on weekends—is the most effective way to anchor your sleep cycle and stabilize morning mood swings.
What is Waking Up?
This federal program provides monthly electronic benefits (via an EBT card) to low-income individuals and families specifically to purchase healthy grocery food.
What is SNAP? (Accept: Food Stamps)
This common, affordable food ingredient is a "complete protein," meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids your body cannot make on its own.
This is the term for the biological connection between your digestive system and your brain, explaining why stress immediately causes butterflies or an upset stomach.
What is the Gut-Brain Axis?
This kitchen practice involves cooking a large amount of a base food (like chicken or rice) on Sunday to use in different meals all week, saving both time and utility money.
What is Batch Cooking? (Accept: Meal Prepping).
This hormone is naturally produced by your brain in response to darkness, signaling to your body that it is time to transition into deep, restorative sleep.
What is Melatonin?
This type of community center offers free access to computers for job hunting, physical books on health, air conditioning during heatwaves, and local community group meetings.
What is a Public Library?