$JXLGHWRSODQQLQJ KHDOWK\PHHWLQJV A guide to planning healthy meetings A guide to planning healthy meetings Photo credits: I Waidyatilaka, H Amadoru, M de Lanerolle - Dias © World Health Organization 2019 Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. 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The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WHO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. All reasonable precautions have been taken by WHO to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall WHO be liable for damages arising from its use. Contents 1. Organizing healthy meetings ...................................................1 2. Planning ahead .......................................................................2 Do’s and don’t’s ......................................................................2 3. Snacks, meals and beverages ...................................................3 4. Healthy food choices ..............................................................5 4.1 Mini snacks and finger foods ............................................5 4.2 Breakfast ideas .................................................................9 4.3 Healthy lunch/dinner options.........................................11 5. Beverages ..............................................................................12 Water ...................................................................................12 Other beverages ...................................................................12 6. Active breaks .........................................................................13 Activity breaks during the meeting ........................................13 7. Tobacco free environment .....................................................15 8. Healthy and sustainable meeting checklist .............................16 iii iv 1. Organizing healthy meetings Healthy meetings model healthy lifestyles through the work environment. Meetings planned with healthy living in mind confers many benefits to participants, and has the potential to create better overall health, motivate those uninitiated and catalyze further health promotional actions. Creating a culture of health and wellness in meetings goes a long way towards instilling good practices at workplaces. Healthy meetings should also include actions to promote and prioritize sustainable practices such as minimizing plastic and food waste. 1 2. Planning ahead Communicate the concept of healthy meetings to the participants right from the start. Messages must be positive and participants should not be made to feel that healthy practices are an added burden. Do’s and don’t’s x Economize on time, fuel, food and other consumables from a sustainability point of view. x Select a venue that is easily accessible by public transport or on foot, with opportunities for physical activity and facilities for accommodating differently abled participants. x Sensitize participants on the value of paperless meetings. E-communication prior to the meeting, online registration and dissemination of meeting materials will reduce paper waste. x Select foods and ingredients that are local and organic whenever possible and accomodate special dietary needs. x Provide breast-feeding support if requested. x Serve meals using the buffet or self-service instead of boxed meals or separately wrapped items; this creates an opportunity for participants to serve less and thus eat less and, will also reduce packaging waste. x Avoid serving water in plastic bottles and cans. Serve water in jars with reusable or recyclable cups. Encourage participants to bring their own reusable cup, mug or water container. x Avoid use of plastic, including name tags. Replace with paper name tags. Use recyclable or compostable products at every opportunity. 2 3. Snacks, meals and beverages When planning healthy meals, taste is a key consideration. Reducing salt, sugar and fat need not result in lack of taste - other ingredients such as herbs and spices enhances taste and flavors. Being imaginative is key. x Often, meetings provide excess food and too many options, which encourage participants to over eat. Offer fewer options, lesser amounts of foods per serving and smaller portion sizes while ensuring that foods are fresh, tasty and healthy. x Label foods with nutrition facts such as calorie count per serve to provide participants the choice for informed decisions. x Use smaller plates to reduce serving sizes. People are more likely to serve what they see first, so reserve the healthiest food items for the initial section of a buffet. x While being sensitive to cultural and local food practices, promote locally grown food for freshness and to reduce the carbon foot print. Unprocessed, raw or cut fruits and vegetables or foods which are minimally processed are preferred over highly processed tinned or packaged products. x Promote cooking methods including boiling, pressure cooking, grilling, broiling and baking at lower temperatures over deep frying . x Starch should be from a variety of whole grain products (cereal, whole grain breads, brown rice and whole wheat pasta), and from fruits and vegetables. 3 x Protein sources should favour fish, dairy, lean meats and eggs and vegetables, which minimizes saturated fat intake by participants. x Avoid serving sugar sweetened beverages. Offer tea and coffee with sugar or milk on the side. x Ensure food safety through ensuring adherence to the WHO guidance on food safety – Five keys to safer food. http:// www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/consumer/en/5keys_ en.pdf?ua=1) 4 4. Healthy food choices 4.1 Mini snacks and finger foods x Snacks should be improvised using local recipes and foods. Adding vegetables, fruit, fish or chicken to rice, noodle or flour- based foods and served in small portions can create imaginative and healthy snack options. x Local pickles and chutneys can be used with reduced salt to increase taste and variety of the meals. The liberal use of herbs and spices also helps improve taste in a low-fat, low salt context. A great variety of regional breads exist, which can be the base for snacks with healthy toppings or fillings. x Mini versions of whole wheat breads, chapati, naan, roti, and paratha breads can be utilized as wraps or pitta pockets and filled with boiled or lightly sautéed vegetables, low fat cheeses, and low salt pickles and nuts. x Mini breads such as pizza, chapati, paratha, roti, roshi, naan or crackers can be served with vegetable, chicken, or fish toppings. x Soft fermented breads such as uttapam, palappam and hoppers can be used as a base for toppings using vegetables, fresh onions, tomato, cucumber and green chillie. 5 x Pancakes or soft fermented breads such as dosai can be utilized for wraps with a healthy