Are you ready to rethink the way you approach food—not as a set of rigid rules, but as a philosophy that flows with your life? In this episode, Dr. Wendy Bazilian introduces her original framework called FLOWS, an inspiring and flexible guide to eating well every day.

You’ll learn how Fresh, Local, Organic, Whole, and Seasonal choices aren’t about perfection, but about possibilities,  and how FLOWS can  help you find a rhythm with your meals and snacks that feels natural and empowering.

WE DISCUSS:

(4:32) How FLOWS was born: An empowering philosophy, not a rigid rulebook

(6:25) The FLOWS Philosophy: What it means and how it can be used to guide your choices

(9:33) Fresh, flavorful produce

(12:01) Locally-grown and locally-produced foods that you Love

(14:02) Organic options, sometimes

(19:57) Whole foods and whole grains 

(23:23) Seasonal foods that are satisfying and sustainable for you and the planet

(25:39) A few practices you can try and a moment of gratitude and reflections on our time together

CONNECT WITH WENDY:

Follow on Instagram: @1000WakingMinutes 

Visit the website: wendybazilian.com

Email me: 1KWM@wendybazilian.com

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Join the conversation! Share your thoughts or questions by visiting wendybazilian.com or connecting on social media.

Thank you for tuning in to 1,000 Waking Minutes and being part of this journey—together.

A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators including our production and marketing teams, and Gabriela Escalante in particular. To the ultra-talented Beza for my theme music, my lifelong friend and artist Pearl Preis Photography and Design, to Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell, and of course, my family and everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes.

HEALTH DISCLAIMER:

The information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individual medical or health advice. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medical treatment.

As Lao Tzu, the ancient

Chinese philosopher said, "Those who

flow as life flows, know

they need no other force."

Today we're embracing that wisdom

as our guide and as

an acronym for eating well

by adopting a food philosophy

that flows.

F-L-O-W-S

We experience 1,000 waking

minutes on average every day.

How are you spending yours?

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian and

you're listening to 1,000

Waking Minutes.

I can't wait to connect

with you here with practical

ways to eat well, move

daily, and be healthy to

optimize every waking minute you

live for a happier, healthier

life.

Thank you for sharing some

of your waking minutes with

me today.

Let's get started.

I'm saying yes to better

days, yes I'm on my

way, yes It's gonna be

okay, yeah. Hello, I'm Dr.

Wendy Bazilian and you are

here with me on 1

,000 Waking Minutes and I'm

so glad you're joining me

here today.

Happy Spring!

I hope that we have

some good moments to share

today.

I have a basic tenet,

a basic mantra that we

live by, the eat well,

move daily, be healthy.

Like the word 'well' that

I've talked about in a

previous episode and bring up

from time to time when

we're talking about eating well

in particular, there's another word

that I really, really love

and use a lot, which

is 'flow' or 'flows', because

I like the movement and

I like the dynamic nature

of it and I also

like the sort of calm

that comes when I think

of the word flowing, that

it's sort of going along,

meandering.

It's not necessarily chaotic, but

it may have bends and

turns and all those different

things.

So today, I'm going to

be talking about FLOWS in

a different context, but flow

is one that for me

is so soothing and it's

flexible and dynamic, as I

mentioned, of the steady action

forward.

It's moving, so it's not

blocked and it's not stagnant.

Rivers flow into seas, words

flow on a page, if

you're lucky, and when our

bodies, our mind and body

and our spirit are sort

of in a state of

balance, so to speak, our

vital force energy, or chi

as some have called it,

is said to flow freely.

So from an Eastern perspective,

eating well or 'eating with

flow' is about creating gentle

ripples rather than tremendous waves

of excess such as calories

or sugar or fat or

volumes of food in general

that suddenly flood our bodies.

It's more about a constancy

and avoiding maybe some of

the drama that comes with

ups and downs, like forgetting

to eat all day and

then feeling like I could

eat that table right in

front of me.

A lot of us have

come to almost crave that

drama, you know, going without

food and overeating, a snack

time and beyond, you know,

and we've all fallen into

this at times, so it's

not about perfection.

But as you try to

keep your body in a

food flow and maybe a

little bit more stable, you'll

start to crave that instead.

And then imagine a day

where you just sort of

cruise along without the drama

of hunger or overeating, and

it can actually feel so

good to have that flow.

You may not even recognize

it in the beginning.

It's just sort of like

a day well-lived or

you didn't have, you know,

yet one more decision to

make or it just sort

of was an easier day.

So I've also developed the

FLOWS that came to me

years and years ago when

I was sort of instructing

on a very regular basis,

doing classes multiple times a

week and often repeating them

two times within an hour

or in a couple hours

because of the nature of

how we designed the programming

when I was working as

the head of nutrition at

the Golden Door Spa, and

I would be teaching about

eating and food and nutrition,

all kinds of topics about

herbs and spices, about the

garden, about, you know, many

things that we'll continue to

talk about within my profession.

And I sort of dawned

on me one day that

there's a type of flows,

an acronym, that you could

apply to your life, whether

you're at like a health

mecca farmer's market or even

a convenience store.

You could be at the

big supermarket with tons of

choices or you could be

at a little bodega.

It could be something that

you apply when you're eating

dinner in the company of

others with friends or your

family, when you're out eating,

or even when you're home.

And it's sort of about

choosing something, choosing along a

course that flows.

And because the word is

really cool, it's a good

way to remember also that

balance is something that we

can pursue and that that,

again, is not static, it's

dynamic, just like our health

and just like our lives.

So what does flows stand

for?

Well, it stands for Fresh,

Local, Organic, Whole, and Seasonal.

And there's some builds on

that and there's some flexibility

within that.

But I'm going to talk

to you today about FLOWS.

This practice, sort of having

a roadmap or a mantra

or an acronym, especially one

like FLOWS, can allow you

to have a practice to

provide you with a handy

mental checklist for shopping and

meal planning.

And it can help ensure

that you eat well with

healthful and nutritious foods.

And it can also ensure

that you pursue energy enhancing

foods most of the time.

So whether you're looking at

a menu or choosing off

a buffet or you're stocking

your own pantry or your

office cabinets or cupboards, if

you tick off a few

of the words flows, you'll

have a framework and you'll

feel confident that you're making

good choices most of the

time.

So again, F-L-O

-W-S.

We're going to go in

detail into each of these.

And then what is a

diet that flows?

So when it comes to

making easy decisions while cleaning

up your diet, however the

word may strike you, changing

up your dietary choices, shifting

your eating style, this can

also be a handy acronym

and a great bet.

Five letters and they're simple

to remember.

They can spell out a

foundation for eating well.

So every day we navigate

at least 200 food exposures

most of us in 24

hours by some estimates.

If you're out and about

the world like micro decisions,

you see a food, you

see an advertisement for food,

you see a word on

a page.

You know, not everything is

about, is this going into

my mouth?

But we're getting food exposures

constantly and on average up

to 200 or more daily.

So FLOWS can help us

throughout as well.

It sort of distills and

simplifies and provide some structure

along with some fluidity because

that's the point of flows.

So there are no absolutes

here.

It's not necessarily a strict

set of rules.

It's just something that I

wanted to share with you

today in this episode so

that you can have something

to be thinking about.

And I would encourage you

to, as you're thinking about

these, as you're integrating this

into your own thought process

and what resonates with you,

what you relate to, how

you want to choose it.

But I would encourage you

to think about aiming to

get two or more of

the flows met at every

meal.

So it's not about like

let's get them all on

the plate all the time,

but aiming for like sort

of a tick list to

get in a checklist are

two or more represented at

this meal and even snacks

or throughout the day if

you think about the patterns

of eating.

So number one is F

and I said that.

That's fresh.

I also put in there

flavorful, but let's get the

acronym first.

Fresh, also flavorful.

You can let your feet

guide you to the fresh

produce section in your supermarket.

You can be guided by

the delicious looking foods, eating

the rainbow.

The fresh fruits and vegetables,

they can provide a sort

of maximum matrix, maximum nutrients.

They're beautiful.

They've got the whole package.

If they're a fiber source,

they've got more of it.

If they're a water source,

they've got more of it.

If they're antioxidants, they generally

have more of it.

Frozen, another F, is a

second alternative and it's a

great backup plan.

So F could be fresh,

inspired by fresh, picked, and

then frozen because that's what

happens.

It's picked and preserved at

peak ripeness and frozen if

you have frozen vegetables or

fruits that you purchase.

In fact, even frozen fruits

or vegetables, they can ensure

that sort of freshness even

if they travel longer distances.

So there's seasons where we

may not be getting the

seasonal best and we'll get

to 'S-Seasonal' soon, but you

can keep some frozen berries

and vegetables, some broccoli or

spinach or string beans on

hand, whether you got them

fresh during the summertime or

you grew them yourself or

if you buy them frozen,

knowing that they were picked

fresh and last frozen or

frozen quickly when they were

at the peak of ripeness

to ensure that you have

that.

So thinking fresh first, frozen

second, and canned minimally.

You know, there's better canned

options also and you've seen

the beautiful probably canned fruits

that are in their own

fruit juices and that you

can move through.

But let FRESH be your

guide toward the produce is

what I'm getting to.

So it can be the

appearance that guides you, it

can be the colorful foods,

and of course we know

flavor.

Flavor rules, that's like top

notch, that's number one even

before any other health attribute

that we may be seeking.

So flavor, the thing that

we'll eat and eat again

in eating well are foods

that taste good to us.

So thinking about this, that's

F.

And then we have L.

I use L for Local

and I also use it

for love, things you love.

So when you have a

choice, look to support your

local farmers and purchase local

produce, nuts or grains and

other food items.

In the U.S., there's

a dairy [farm] within 200 miles

of almost every metropolitan area.

Locally grown foods, locally produced

foods, they don't have to

be transported as far to

the market.

Local foods also reflect seasonal

options.

It sort of gets us

re-familiarized with what is

seasonal these days because in

a grocery store you have

all seasons represented 24-7

all year long now.

And we also know that

things tend to taste best

when they come from our

area in the height of

ripeness, the height of season,

and local.

And it supports the local

economy too.

So thinking of farmer's markets

and co-ops, we're going

into that season.

Some areas, I live in

Southern California so we have

the benefit of the growing

year-round, but I recognize

having grown up in the

Northeast and knowing a lot

about the Midwest that those

are just coming up now,

supporting farmers markets and co

-ops and roadside stands and

even in the regular supermarkets

now there's a lot that

will start labeling the local

that's available.

And of course use your

common sense when it comes

to this too.

You know, not all local

items are available year-round,

but it's more important to

eat nutritious foods year-round

than only doing local.

So again, in FLOWS, this

is one guide and also

the idea of the foods

that you love.

The foods that you love

that fit a health-inspired

or health-promising life so

that you feel good, you

feel a day well-lived

and well-nourished.

So embrace those local foods.

Oh, FLOWS, remember F-L

-O...Organic.

So I am talking about

organic and I'm going to

have a caveat to this

because you don't always have

to eat organic, but I

think we should care about

where our food comes from.

And there's some amazing agriculture

that's happening right now that

is not technically called organic

and we'll get into that

in a minute.

But let Organic be sort

of a guidepost to, again,

caring about where your food

comes from, caring about people

and planet, perhaps.

And organic foods are generally

foods that have been grown

or raised without the use

of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,

without the use of added

synthetics or unnecessary use or

preventative use of antibiotics, for

example, or fertilizers that have

synthetic chemicals, as I mentioned

before.

Organic processed foods also must

not contain artificial preservatives or

colors or flavors.

So let's face it, when

we're not eating fresh, sometimes

we're eating packaged foods.

And not universally, but 'organic'

can be one of those

benchmarks that can help you

recognize foods that won't have

those.

It's one layer as you

start reading the ingredient list.

And no organic food is

grown or handled using genetically

engineered technology.

So that's a sort of

a bonus to knowledge more

than whether it's right or

wrong.

But you can know if

it's organic that it is

not also genetically engineered.

Those go part and parcel.

If it's organic, it cannot

be genetically modified, genetically engineered.

And the ingredients inside, if

it's an organic food, cannot

be that way.

So until recently, it was

sort of hard to know

whether you were buying organic

foods at all, let alone

knowing what kinds of standards

were being maintained.

We do have a National

Organic Program in the United

States so that it helps

consumers know if something's 100

% organic or made with

organic ingredients.

And it helps us get

over and be more cautious

around sort of more vague

labeling like natural.

Natural, according to the USDA,

means the product contains no

artificial ingredient or added color

or is minimally processed.

But the food may contain

some other things that you

may not be interested in

consuming or similar synthetic chemicals

or otherwise.

So natural can be confusing,

but Organic has a standard.

It has a legal definition.

Shopping organic can be a

way also to support farmers

who are making efforts in

this direction.

Getting the organic label, however,

takes quite a long process,

and it can be expensive

for some farmers.

So I would say that

not all farmers even need

the Organic label - the official

one.

You can get to know

them if you're interested, and

it can be really fun

to know what they use

with their brains and technology

to keep pests away and

their natural and conscientious processes

that may be every bit

as good as an organic

method, but may not technically

have gone through the organic

processing and stamp of approval.

But it's still, I like

the word organic because it

sort of allows us to

be thinking toward this focus

and caring, again, how our

food is grown and how

our food is treated.

So, it's not a mandate,

as I mentioned.

It's a reminder to make

choices based on the relationship

of the quality of the

food you choose.

A lot of people will

ask me, are they worth

the price, too?

You know, some foods, like

berries, maybe fruits that are

fragile or porous and can't

be scrubbed, sometimes might be

a good investment to buy

organic, especially if you look

at them and they're beautiful

and ready to eat, and

if they're affordable to you.

Other foods, like bananas or

oranges that have skins, there

are pesticides and herbicides that

can be systemic that grow

up through the soil into

the food, but there's also

topical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides

that are sprayed on.

So, if there's a peel

and you peel it off,

you know, theoretically and in

reality, you can be reducing

some of that exposure on

a conventional food.

So, these are all choices.

It can be confusing at

times, but I have to

know....

I mean, I've known many

farmers in my life, and

I value their contributions so

much that farmers overall have

their families and their customers

in mind, and they do

what they can to minimize

the exposure to any other

chemical on behalf of themselves,

their employees, their family, also

while looking at the yield

and trying to maximize yield.

So, keeping in mind some

of those things.

Organic is a great thought

guide.

I know that among FLOWS (acronym)

this one may be one

that you, you know, sort

of vacillate on a little

bit.

Maybe you've heard of different

lists that are available, and

I can go into those

in another episode.

But in general, the value

of eating fruits and vegetables

outweighs getting caught up in

the affordability or whether to

choose organic.

But it can sort of

guide us toward thinking about

the quality of the food

that we put in.

Eating them, the produce that

is, the fruits and vegetables,

conventional or organic, always outweighs

not consuming them at all.

Next, we're at FLO... without

a W.

What's W?

W is whole foods and

whole grains.

It's whole.

Fresh, local, organic, whole.

Whole foods have much more

to offer than more refined

byproducts, typically.

When we consume a whole

food, an apple, for example,

you're getting the carbohydrate, the

fiber, the antioxidants.

You're getting everything packaged as

Mother Nature intended it.

You're getting these phytonutrients that

actually protect them, the fruit

or vegetable, from the sun

exposure and the salts outside

so that they can grow

strong.

It just so happens that

we, humans, can actually take

advantage of those in our

bodies as well.

Whole has to do with

the whole food intact.

Also, some research about the

food matrix.

Those nutrients, the way the

food is packaged, is on

purpose.

There are synergies that happen,

things that happen by all

those being there together.

When we start extracting them

and making them just nutrients,

that maybe, just maybe, and

some research is bearing this

out over the last couple

of decades, maybe there's some

losses there as well.

So it's not one or

the other, but focusing toward

whole.

You think about a commercial

applesauce versus an apple or

apple juices.

They certainly have a loss

of certain nutrients.

They're often very good still,

you know, in many ways.

So it's not an all

or nothing here, but a

focus.

Remember, this is a focus

helping us have an acronym

that can help guide us

along the way.

And then there's whole grains.

Now, we are a family

that enjoys our white rice—yes,

I just said that—a-plenty.

You know, it's part of

our staple.

I could talk at length,

and I will at some

point.

Maybe we'll do a whole

grain episode about white rice

is not as problematic versus

brown rice for, not only

some people, but for health

in general.

But it's one part of

our diet, and most of

the time, choosing whole grains

gives you more.

Look for quinoa and brown

rice and barley and kamut.

First of all, it adds

variety.

And not only variety, but

variety brings extra types of

nutrients. [Think] of pastas, of crackers...

especially foods in packages, it's

really good to be guided

by the word whole grain,

whole oats, etc.

It actually adds a good

amount of nutrition there.

And when a grain is

stripped or refined, it actually

can lose not only some

fiber, which most of us

may have heard of or

already know, but up to

90% of its micronutrients.

Especially things like commercial or

store-bought breads at the

grocery store and crackers.

Choosing whole grain options, and

the USDA and the MyPlate

method is to make half

of your grains whole on

a daily basis, but certainly

choosing where it makes sense.

And then keeping your refined

grains, maybe like a sourdough

bread or your white rice,

keeping those for why you

enjoy them, when you enjoy

them, how you enjoy them,

because the rest of the

time, you're really choosing toward

the whole grain.

And finally, we've got Seasonal.

Seasonal for S.

With S, I also bring

sustainable and satisfying.

And you can add those

to the extent that you

wish, but let's think seasonal.

Eat with the seasons.

When you eat a diet

that FLOWS, make an effort

to know and participate in

foods that do bring the

seasonal into your life.

Whether they're in season where

you live, we all know

that a tomato from our

area tastes best.

Well, our area.

I grew up in Connecticut,

so in the summer, my

tomatoes in Connecticut taste best.

I remember that.

Or apple pie or corn

on the cob.

I should have just said

apple there.

But corn on the cob,

peaches, berries, things that are

in season, they always just

really taste best and they

bring you nostalgia.

But now, with the seasons,

a lot of things are

available year-round.

But the in-season things

just tend to taste best.

And taste can be a

guide to nutrients at times

as well.

Not only does it support

our health, but also the

local economy when you eat

seasonally.

And that sort of registers

back to local that we

talked about before.

And S-Satisfying.

Satisfying is about energizing our

bodies, soothing our emotions, and

things that make us feel

good as well.

So take note of the

foods that satisfy you.

And not just satisfy you

like, oh, yum, brain alert

or brain sweetness or oh,

I just love this.

But the comfort that they

bring to bring you sustained

good energy, for example, or

focus during the day.

You'll notice those tend to

be the most nutritious foods

too.

So sustainable can be about

sustained energy and sustained good

nutrition.

And of course, S-Sustainable can

be about the planet.

And I think increasingly, we

should care about our food

and the sustainability of the

foods that we choose and

the whole picture.

Because we are a growing

community, a growing population.

And we want to be

well-fed, all of us,

for time to come.

So that's FLOWS.

Fresh, Local, Organic, Whole, Seasonal.

Those are the cues for

you today.

I'm going to do a

second episode on FLOWS and

tell you just a little

bit about the research in

this area about the food

matrix, about synergies that I've

talked about before, about how

the whole pattern of eating.

And just as a simple

reminder, because I'm very keen

to build in reminders for

us on ways that we

can be thinking about our

waking minutes and reducing the

decision fatigue that goes along

with our health habits to

make them more ingrained in

our day-to-day.

So that will come in

a follow-up episode that

I'm looking forward to doing

for you next week.

And as a way of

just keeping this simple today,

I really want you to

start to put this into

practice.

Get to know the word

FLOWS.

In fact, I encourage you,

write it down somewhere and

post it up.

Post it up on your

refrigerator, post it on a

bulletin board, put it on

a computer screen if you

have your calendar sort of

flashing on your screen to

look at.

Use it as something that

you can start thinking about

as you look at your

plate, as you do your

shopping, as you look in

your pantry.

Just take a look at

that and aim to get

two or more of FLOWS

met at each meal.

Perhaps, and I'll encourage you

to look and see where

the farmer's markets are and

when they open, if in

your area they're not open

yet.

Take a look.

This is a good week

to do that.

Perhaps take a look at

the CSAs, the Community Supported

Agriculture.

See if there are some boxes

or half boxes or if

you can go in with

a coworker or a neighbor

if you don't think that

you'll consume as much as

a box would provide.

It'd be a great way

of sort of making it

a really fun part of

your every week and your

time at getting involved there.

FLOWS is about being present.

It's about being proactive but

not being perfect.

So keep that in mind.

This is a conscious approach

of just saying, FLOWS.

Does my food FLOW?

Adopt a food philosophy that

FLOWS, I guess is what

I've said before.

Fresh, Local, Organic, Whole and

Seasonal.

And with that we have

Flavor also.

It's Satisfying.

We've got goodness in the

foods that nourish us.

So thank you for joining

me today.

If you enjoyed this episode,

please share it with a

friend.

Please make a comment.

Give us a five-star

rating on the podcast platforms.

I'm so grateful you're here.

Write in.

And I'm eager to hear

what you're up to and

what you're working on as

well and what you're interested

in, especially when it comes

to making your waking minutes

more nourishing toward a well

-lived day.

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian.

This is 1,000 Waking Minutes

and until next time, be

well.

Thank you for tuning in

to 1,000 Waking Minutes.

A huge thank you to

our amazing collaborators including our

production and marketing teams and

Gabriela Escalante in particular.

To the ultra-talented Beza

for my theme music, my

lifelong friend and artist, Pearl

Preis Photography and Design.

To Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen,

Joanna Powell, and of course

my family.

And everyone working tirelessly behind

the scenes.

And to you, our valued

listeners.

I so appreciate your support.

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1,000 Waking Minutes each day.

I'm saying yes to better

days.

Yes, I'm on my way.

Yes, it's gonna be okay.