In this continuation of last week’s episode, we return to FLOWS — Fresh, Local, Organic, Whole, and Seasonal — not as a rigid rulebook, but as a flexible, feel-good philosophy to support your health in real life.

In Part 2, Dr. Wendy Bazilian explores the science behind FLOWS: how whole and fresh foods interact in the body, why texture and food form matter, and how patterns of eating can support long-term health and vitality. You’ll also hear personal reflections — from weekend crafts with her daughter to the story of a woman’s daily routine of collecting water in her bucket  — reminding us that nourishment isn’t just what’s on the plate, but also how we move through life.

You’ll also take away simple, practical ways to apply FLOWS in everyday moments — from grocery shopping to meal prep — and end with a calming Mindful Minute to carry this sense of flow into the rest of your waking minutes.

WE DISCUSS:

(1:47) A quick reminder of what FLOWS means — how it’s a framework, not a checklist

(7:47) A personal moment about “what flow means” from Wendy’s 6-year-old daughter

(11:05) The woman and the bucket of water

(15:44) Whole foods, nutrient bioavailability, and the food matrix

(19:41) Satiety, texture, and what helps manage hunger and blood sugar

(21:35) Dietary patterns and why what’s on the plate matters more than isolated nutrients

(25:15) Positive nutrition and the power of focusing on what to add over calories or avoiding

(28:38) A Mindful Minute 

(31:24) Practical tips for applying FLOWS at the store, in your kitchen, and dining out

(38:26) Final thoughts and a reminder that FLOWS is about rhythm, not rules

CONNECT WITH WENDY

Follow on Instagram: @1000WakingMinutes 

Visit the website: wendybazilian.com

Email: 1KWM@wendybazilian.com

PLEASE SUPPORT

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Thank you for being part of this journey — together.

A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators including our production and marketing teams, Gabriela Escalante, the ultra-talented Beza for the theme music, Pearl Preis for photography and design, Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell — and of course, Wendy’s family and everyone working 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.

There's a saying that the

river doesn't complain about the

rocks in its path, it

simply flows around them.

And that's a good reminder

for us today as we

continue exploring FLOWS, and how

our daily choices can move

with ease, even when things

aren't perfect.

In this episode, we'll look

at what the research shows

about these small choices, plus

a few simple ways to

bring FLOWS into your life

each day.

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.

Hello and welcome back to

1,000 Waking Minutes.

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and

I'm really glad you're here

with me today.

If you're just joining, you're

actually in the perfect place.

And if you caught the

first part of this conversation,

well, you know what we're

talking about today.

And that's FLOWS.

It's an idea of a

flexible food philosophy.

It's more of a rhythm,

if you will.

And it falls within eating

well, eat well, move daily,

be healthy is the name

of the game.

In the last episode about

FLOWS, we explored what FLOWS

stands for fresh, local, organic,

whole, and seasonal.

And maybe more importantly, what

it feels like to flow.

Because flow is not about

perfection.

It's about feeling guided, but

not confined.

And it's a little bit

like having a road map,

so to speak, but still

enjoying the scenery along the

way.

So think of that.

It's like the map, but

you're allowed and you're able

to look around and enjoy

the scenery.

And you might have even

started to notice FLOWS showing

up in your own life,

maybe at the grocery store,

noticing the berries that are

actually starting to be in

season, or just having a

moment where you pause and

think what's one small choice

that I can make today

that feels good within sort

of the FLOWS philosophy.

So I think about flow,

not just in food, but

in life.

There's a psychologist who wrote

an incredible book called FLOW.

And his name is

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

I'm sorry, I'll spell

it out in the show

notes for you.

I've never been good at

that name, but a beautiful

name.

He's a psychologist.

And he talks about moments

of flow, when we're completely

immersed in what we're doing,

when time almost slips away.

And while he's not specifically

talking about what's for dinner

or food, in this case,

I'm certain that there's a

connection there.

Those times when things seem

to shift distractions fade away.

And there's a sense of

effortless momentum in life.

That's flow.

There's something about these moments.

And when it comes to

mealtime, when everything sort of

comes together without overthinking it,

you pull together what you

have, it feels nourishing, you

sit down and you eat

maybe with a sense of

ease instead of stress and

like chaos that can be

mealtime at times.

And that's flow.

It's a pretty great feeling

if you've experienced before, and

I'm sure you have.

But maybe you haven't always

paid attention or called it

flow.

Because let's be honest, we've

all had exactly the opposite

of that.

I know I have days

where meals feel rushed.

Choices feel sort of like

a chore at times.

And we can get caught

in the endless loop of

what should I be eating?

What should I avoid?

What do I have in

the refrigerator?

All these micro decisions and

choices in front of us.

FLOWS really is about something

to soften your internal dialogue

there.

It's not about getting every

letter of FLOWS every time.

It's about helping us sort

of adopt a purposeful philosophy

gently to guide you and

to make food feel like

a part of life's flow,

part of it, instead of

something you have to wrestle

with.

So today in part two

of talking about FLOWS, I'm

going to build on that

foundation with you.

F, fresh and flavorful.

L, local and lovely.

O, organic.

W, whole, as in whole

foods and whole grains.

And S, seasonal, while also

being satisfying and sustainable.

Yes, for the planet, but

also sustainable, something you can

do ongoing.

Flows, fresh, local, organic, whole,

seasonal.

So today we'll talk a

little bit about the research

because yes, there's actual science

that sort of led me

to this approach and some

updates there that I think

will be fun to share.

We'll look at what happens

when we choose whole foods

and fresh foods, show how

they work together in the

body in ways that isolated

nutrients don't or can't.

The way that heavily processed

foods just don't work the

same at times.

We'll talk a little bit

about satiety, that good, satisfied

feeling after a meal or

as you're engaging in food.

And even the exciting concept

of the food matrix, something

I love to talk about,

not the matrix, the movie

series or franchise, but it's

almost as interesting as that,

maybe more interesting.

I'm going to put a

hard line on that.

The food matrix is just

as interesting as the matrix

movie franchise.

I'll also share some practical

tips because at the end

of the day, to bring

FLOWS into your life, I'm

going to paint some scenarios

that you might recognize, some

moments at the store at

home that you might wonder,

you know, what's the right

choice here for me?

And of course, we'll take

some time together to be

in the moment, to carry

the sense of flow beyond

conversation and into your day.

Before I get into the

research, though, I wanted to

share a little story.

I've been thinking about this

idea and when to share

it for a long time.

And, you know, since, well,

I've been teaching this for,

gosh, I have a handout

probably that's back in the

early 2000s with FLOWS, just

FLOWS.

And it said at the

top, adopt a food philosophy

that FLOWS and left it

open so that when we

used to use pen and

paper more often, we had

the opportunity to write it

in with some notes.

But anyway, I was thinking

about this episode and planning

for it and thinking about

how FLOWS shows up, not

just in science, but really

in our everyday moments, as

I mentioned.

And I was having a

conversation recently that really stayed

with me.

And this conversation was with

my daughter, who's six years

old.

We were doing some crafts

together.

Sometimes on Saturday morning, we'll

get up early.

We'll sort of lay out

a whole bunch of craft

supplies and just sort of

let our minds and hands

meander after a long week.

And so we were sitting

there.

It was like one of

those wonderful, easy Saturday mornings.

We were chit-chatting.

And I asked her, what

do you think FLOWS means?

Or when you hear the

word flow, what do you

think of?

So she thought for a

second and her hands were

twisting pipe cleaners.

And without looking up, she

said, "it's like water."

It's so simple, so true.

"It's like water," she said,

something that actually FLOWS, something

very tangible.

And then she went back

to doing her pipe cleaner.

I think we were making

flowers or something like that

and making curly twists on

a pen.

But then I asked her,

"well, then what's the opposite

of flow?"

And she seemed to give

that a little more thought.

And then she said, "well,

maybe it's like not being

okay with something."

And that was the part

of the statement that she

said, and sort of had

a little bit of a

question mark on the end,

if you know what I

mean, like her voice lifted

up as if she was

both clear on it and

checking in with me.

And it really landed for

me at that moment.

I wasn't expecting not being

okay with something to be

the opposite of like, it's

like water, the flow.

And I was a little

surprised.

But as I thought about

it, so much of what

gets in our way is

like that, not being okay

with something, the feeling of

resistance or feeling stuck, or

not okay with how something

is or not quite knowing

how to navigate around or

out of something as happens

in life.

And it happens also with

food FLOWS is really about

softening those moments and not

forcing and not aiming to

have a singular new and

flexible approach, but allowing our

choices to sort of unfold

with a little more ease

and to flow a little

bit more like water.

So I took that in

my mind.

And I've been thinking over

the last many weeks and

thinking about this episode.

And as I was doing

that and preparing and writing

down some thoughts, and I

thought about what my daughter

said several times.

And out of the blue,

you know how we old

stories, you sort of unearth

them, or you remember them

later.

This is what happened.

I was thinking about I

was writing, I was like,

Oh, my gosh, I remember

a story, a fable of

sorts.

I've heard years ago, it

just seems it just came

to mind.

And it seemed to be

like seem to fit.

It's something that I've always

loved.

So I took pause and

sort of collected my thoughts

on it.

And I think that this

actually captures the idea of

FLOWS so well, too.

So I wanted to share

it with you briefly, not

perfectly, it's out of my

my recollection, and someone's read

it to me, and probably

people read it to them

before.

But there's an old story,

a fable, and maybe you've

heard of it, of a

woman who walked to town

every day to collect water.

She carried her bucket faithfully

down the hill to the

well, filled her bucket up

and proceeded to march back

up the hill to supply

her needs, her family's needs.

But over time, the bucket

developed a small hole, just

a little hole.

And day after day, as

she passed other people going

up and down the same

hill, water trickled out in

small drips along her path,

until the point where other

people were noticing that she

was wasting or losing some

of her hard earned work

in that bucket.

And it seemed like almost

wasted effort to others, all

that water lost before she

even got home.

But one day she noticed

something beautiful.

Along that path where the

water had spilled, flowers had

started blooming without even realizing

it.

I always get emotional at

stories like this.

Are you with me?

I'm sure that there's some

fellow sympaths or empaths or

whatever this is, but without

even realizing it, her daily

effort, even though it felt

imperfect, it looked imperfect, it

was consistent, and it had

been nourishing the earth along

her way.

It was making the path

beautiful for her and her

community.

And that's really, to me,

what FLOWS is about.

Also, it's not about getting

everything perfectly.

It's not even about having,

you know, all the exact

right tools to make it

happen.

But it's about daily effort,

simple practices to nourish ourselves,

even if the path or

our tools like the bucket

aren't perfect.

Because these are the small,

steady choices we make every

day that add up.

They're watering the path that

we're on.

They're quietly supporting our health,

our well-being.

And sometimes, in a way,

we don't even see that

right away.

We don't even see the

results, the outcomes that add

up over time until one

day, things blossom and we're

aware.

And actually, that's where I

want to take us today.

So what does the research

say about these small daily

efforts?

What's the return on investment,

as I call them, the

ROI of FLOWS?

What's blooming beneath the surface

when we follow this kind

of approach to eating and

living?

So returns on investment, to

accomplish any goal, we need

a plan in life.

Teachers make lesson plans, architects

draw building plans, pilots make

flight plans.

I'm sure you can name

some others.

In business, think about that.

Strategic planning keeps teams and

workers, worker bees, the me's

and you's of the world

in sync.

And it points us all

toward that positive outcome, toward

the goal and the task

at hand.

So our FLOWS philosophy is

a plan with a similar

end or similar benefit.

By following your own roadmap,

by checking in with yourself,

whether something's fresh, local, organic,

whole, seasonal, not all of

the above all the time,

but some of the above

most of the time, and

the associated terms that go

with it, as we talked

about flavorful with F also,

satisfying with S also, you

can start to streamline your

decisions about your food choices.

And you can have a

template to drive your self

-awareness, keep you on track,

and keep you in the

spirit and mindset of FLOWS,

which is such a nice

term, I think, about thinking

about how we can move

through life.

So let's take a look

at those ROIs, the benefits,

so to speak, of FLOWS.

And of course, they're not

financial, although they may feel

like it, because you may

gain life and vitality.

And I think that that's

almost like a financial win.

But it's the kind that

matters really deeply to our

energy, our vitality, and how

we feel our minutes of

our daily life as we

live them.

These are the benefits that

show up in small ways,

and sometimes surprising ways, mind

you, when we follow a

path that's fresh, local, organic,

whole, and seasonal.

So here are just a

few of the ROIs and

benefits that the research supports.

So number one, we can

get better nutrient absorption, bioavailability,

better nutrition overall, thanks to

the food matrix.

So there's that word again.

When we eat, it's not

just about the nutrients, like

just making sure that you

tick the boxes on nutrients,

or the nutrient facts label.

Those are important if you're

reading packaged foods to maximize

the quality, along with the

nutrition.

But it's about how our

bodies actually use them.

You know, reading with our

mind or digesting the information

is not the same as

how we digest the food

and the nutrition.

Researchers from Chile, these are

researchers from different studies from

Chile and France, have shown

that nutrients in foods like

fruits and vegetables and whole

grains are better absorbed and

used by the body when

they're eaten in like their

natural form.

They may be minimally processed,

or they may be cooked,

but the more toward the

food matrix form, the whole

form, they do better.

Our body assimilates them better.

In the Chilean study that

I mentioned, Dr. Aguilera emphasized

how the physical and chemical

structure of foods, like fiber

and vegetables or protein lipid

bonds in dairy, how those

can enhance the bioavailability of

different nutrients.

They can help slow digestion

in a beneficial way.

And meanwhile, French researchers Fardet

and Rock have done extensive

work, many, many published papers

looking beyond nutrients to the

food matrix and a holistic

look at foods and food

patterns beyond the nutrients themselves,

the way our food is

naturally structured and the benefits

on its health they've looked

at.

So in one of their

more recent papers, they propose

that it's not just about

those individual key nutrients or

the calorie count, but really

the integrity of the food

itself that matters most.

They explained that the natural

food matrix can be degraded,

like with heavy processing.

So they talk about the

ultra, ultra processing and heavy

processing, and that we can

lose some important health benefits,

such as better nutrient absorption,

or some of the benefits

that would help us feel

more satisfied, the satiation effects

of certain foods, and even

lose some of the blood

sugar regulating effects of foods

in their more matrix or

full form.

And they even introduce a

concept called the 3-V

index, which describes the value

of foods that are real

and plant-based and varied.

And as they put it,

and this is in quotes,

the calorie quality matters more

than the calorie quantity.

I thought that was an

interesting way of putting it

so we could appreciate it,

that the calories, the energy

that comes from it, but

the calorie quality matters more

than the calorie quantity.

And they also posit that

foods really aren't like drugs

where isolated ingredients alone can

solve an issue or target

something in the pathway.

It is really the whole

structure of the food that

makes the difference.

So it's not a stretch

to understand really that when

we disrupt the structure of

a food through heavy processing,

we can break the flow

literally and figuratively.

So choosing whole, that W,

and minimally processed food, like

in FLOWS, choosing fresh when

it makes sense, helps us

get the full benefit of

the nutrition that mother nature

intended.

So benefit number two is

about satiety and metabolic support.

So the texture, the form,

and our real fullness, how

we can be impacted by

FLOWS.

So if you've ever wondered

why chewing a crunchy carrot

seems more filling than sipping

a smoothie, we have research

from wagging, and I have

a lot of wordplay in

this episode, and it's incredible,

Agriculture University, and I always

trip on the name, Wageningen

University in the Netherlands, and

they found that food form

matters, and it matters a

lot.

In one major review from

the Netherlands, they analyzed experimental

studies showing that solid foods

with more intact structures, like

whole vegetables, grains, and legumes,

think fresh and think it

was the local and think

of the whole and maybe

seasonal, they slow the rate

of eating, they can promote

earlier fullness, and they can

even help regulate blood sugar

even more effectively than soft

or liquid forms.

So the textures naturally enhance

satiety signals, they slow us

down, they help contribute to

healthier metabolic outcomes, and this

is independent of calorie count

or the macronutrient breakdown.

The macronutrients are your carbs,

fats, protein, the key macronutrients

in our diet.

So this is really the

power of foods form, you

know, and FLOWS encourages us

toward fresh and whole foods,

not just because they're nutritious,

but because they help our

bodies respond in real time.

It sort of honors our

hunger and satiety cues and

helps us keep feeling good

as a result of the

foods that we choose and

how we eat.

So the third benefit is

that whole dietary patterns, not

just individual foods or even

individual meals, but whole dietary

patterns can improve health outcomes.

That's like the long-term

benefit and impact of how

we choose our food now,

today, at this meal, and

this afternoon, and this evening,

and tomorrow.

So instead of the focus

on sort of cutting a

macronutrient, like cutting carbs, or

even of counting calories, which

is a little bit out

of fashion, but people still

keep an eye on calories,

what if we focused on

the pattern of what's on

the plate?

In a global symposium a

couple years ago that was

held in Washington, D.C.,

and a paper came out

of it from Dr. Martini

from the University of Milan,

from Dr. Mattis from Purdue

University, from researchers out of

Baylor and Leeds, and a

university in Salvador, Bahia in

Brazil.

The message here was clear,

that public health guidance is

really shifting from those isolated

nutrients to whole dietary patterns

and their impact on health.

So while it's important to

know what a nutrient does,

how it functions, what we

might be deficient in, really

the impact on whole health

and on health promotion really

depends on whole dietary patterns.

And research, our population research,

and what we're finding is

that that really does matter.

The evidence has pointed and

shown that.

So the work from the

symposium really encouraged us to

really think about the meals

as a sum of their

parts into other meals, and

emphasizing variety and quality and

the cultural relevance over specific

numbers at any given single

meal.

So this was really important.

Then in tandem with that,

a review in 2022 that

was published in the European

Journal of Internal Medicine explored

how nutrition and lifestyle changes

influence our health overall.

And these findings were really

powerful, and they sort of

underscore some of the information

I've shared in other episodes,

that healthy eating patterns like

the Mediterranean diet, there we

go again, can make a

real difference.

They can help as a

pattern lower the risk of

chronic diseases, support heart health,

boost life expectancy, or help

us with vital longevity.

And they do so by

the combination of their natural

anti-inflammatory nature and antioxidant

properties.

They focus toward getting some

total of better fiber, fruits

and vegetables, and sort of

steering and veering away from

the, again, ultra-processed, not

just processed because processing is

a normal part of how

we treat our food to

get it ready to eat,

but the ultra-processed, highly,

highly processed foods.

So veering away from that.

This way of eating, this

pattern of eating has shown

to help reduce sort of

systemic or chronic inflammation and

keep the immune system healthy

and supported over time.

So together, these studies and

these types of studies, these

are just a couple, show

the power of how we

eat really, how we eat,

not just what we eat

is relevant.

And FLOWS gives us a

simple way to approach those

patterns, building your meals with

at least two of the

FLOWS elements in mind.

And if you get to

there, you're on the right

track and you can feel

good about how you're eating

toward a well-lived and

well-nourished day and life.

So another benefit I want

to share with you, and

this is one of the

most encouraging shifts in modern

nutrition is focusing not on

what to cut or restrict,

but what to add.

I have been talking about

this since the start of

my career.

And similarly, in the symposium

that I mentioned just a

moment ago about patterns, the

collective summary, really the researchers

came back to multiple times,

but the summary came back

to the move toward positive

nutrition.

Isn't that positive?

Isn't that optimistic?

Isn't that wonderful?

But that there's evidence to

support that the foods on

the plate matter at least

as much, if not more

than things that you're trying

to restrict and highlighting foods

that not only support health,

but joy, enjoyment, nourishment in

the broader sense, rather than

avoiding harm or limiting foods

because you don't want to

get something, but putting positive

spins and not spins.

I mean, literally making your

plate spin with healthy nutrition.

And the takeaway again, was

super clear that people are

more likely to thrive when

they're offered flexible frameworks.

And hopefully FLOWS will give

you that.

We know that instead of

rigid rules, it offers that

not about that you hit

every letter at every meal,

but it's about a mindset,

fresh, local, organic, whole, and

seasonal.

And I talk about that

in part one, in the

episode that preceded this, of

using this as a guidepost,

not as an absolute.

It's something that you just

sort of must meditate on.

It's a way to navigate

your day when you're looking

at your food choices.

And ultimately to bring this

all back into flow, FLOWS

gives you freedom.

Psychologists at the Masi Kampo

lab at Wake Forest showed

that having specific plans for

a goal and free up

some mental space, um, it

allows you room for other

pursuits in effect.

So in addition to helping

us make healthier food choices,

the FLOWS acronym guide roadmap

that allows you to enjoy

the scenery can let us

have room for other beneficial

stuff, other great things on

the eat well, move daily,

be healthy journey, other ways

to maximize our waking minutes

each day.

And once FLOWS becomes more

of an unconscious habit for

you, you might find that

you can actually stop focusing

so much on it and

make room for other health

enhancing tools and approaches as

well.

So whether it's improving how

we absorb the nutrients, how

full and balanced we feel,

how we nourish our bodies

over time, or how empowered

we feel in our choices,

FLOWS is not a rigid

rule book.

It's really about the rhythm

of our meals that work

through our days, the rhythm

of the meals that may

turn into snacks and may

then turn into movement and

then may turn into rest.

It's a way to gently

guide your meals and your

snacks through the lens of

possibility and nourishment.

So now let's take a

pause, a moment to reflect,

not just on our food,

but maybe on how we

move through our waking minutes.

And we're going to share

a Mindful Minute together, as

we often do in episodes,

especially after we just took

on a lot of research

and things to think about.

We want to get back

into flow.

So first, find a comfortable

position, put your feet connected

to the ground in some

way.

You could do this standing,

but if you're seated, your

feet flat on the ground,

your legs uncrossed, rest your

hands gently in your lap,

soften your gaze.

If you choose to or

wish to, you can close

your eyes.

And before we begin our

Mindful Minute together, let's take

one steady grounding breath.

So we'll inhale deeply through

our nose, exhale through your

mouth.

As we settle into our

mindful minute together, I invite

you to let the word

FLOWS, drift through your mind

like a gentle current about

the guides our breath.

Okay, let's begin.

As you breathe in, think

of F for fresh and

flavorful.

Imagine the vitality of the

food straight from nature.

As you exhale, bring to

mind L for local.

Feel the connection to your

surroundings, community, the soil.

Inhale, think of O for

organic.

Mother nature's pure expression, food

grown with care.

Think of the farmers.

Exhale, reflect on W for

whole.

Whole foods, whole grains, visualize

foods in their whole form.

Intact, nourishing.

And finally, breathe in for

S for seasonal, sustainable, satisfying.

And there you have it.

We can picture the rhythm

of the seasons, the harmony

of FLOWS, how it's something

that we can have together.

And it's one small moment,

one minute that we shared

together of breathing together as

well.

Thank you for sharing that

Mindful Minute with me.

So how do we put

FLOWS into action in our

everyday lives?

In the first episode of

FLOWS, part one, I shared

a couple of ways to

start thinking about it.

And I want to build

on that here with some

clear, simple steps and maybe

some scenarios that you can

carry into your week.

So maybe you've already begun

to use FLOWS, the acronym,

as a lens through which

you look at your meals

and your menus.

And I encourage you to

use it as a fluid

yet conscious approach toward nourishing

your body during our waking

minutes each day.

So we talked today again

about how FLOWS gives us

like a flexible framework.

And it's not just a

checklist to follow perfectly, but

rather a guide that helps

us like a map where

we can then check out

the scenery along the way.

So remember what I said

in the first episode.

And I'm going to say

it again here in case

you forgot or haven't heard

that one yet.

But print out or post

the word FLOWS as a

reminder.

Set it on your calendar.

Ping you around meal times.

Maybe set a little ping

or notification of sorts.

Or when you're planning your

grocery shopping, maybe put it

at the top of the

list so you see FLOWS

before you see the other

things on your list.

And in general, aim to

get two or more of

the FLOWS met at each

meal or snack.

So let's imagine just a

few real life scenarios where

FLOWS can sort of quietly

step in and help.

First, the grocery store.

We've all been there when

we're after a full day,

you have to get to

the grocery store.

Or on a weekend day,

maybe you have to fit

it in between activities.

Sometimes you might be standing

there in front of the

produce section, and maybe your

energy and focus are fading

a little bit.

You know the feeling.

We've all been there.

I know this inherently.

And instead of overthinking every

choice, just let FLOWS gently

guide you as you look

at choices that you're selecting

off your list or off

the shelves.

For example, you spot some

apples.

Well, maybe there's a sign

up there.

There's choices.

There's so many types of

apples these days.

But maybe there's a sign

up there.

Obviously, right there, they're fresh,

which is great.

Maybe there's a sign that

says local, local apples.

You know, we're moving into

that season.

That would be also your

L.

Without making it like a

quiz or a checklist, just

let FLOWS sort of point

in the direction, make the

decision and be done.

Next, bring it into your

own kitchen.

Maybe it's lunchtime and you're

staring in the fridge or

pantry wondering what to put

together.

Maybe you've grabbed a pack

of this and maybe one

of that.

But FLOWS can be a

great tool here too.

You can scan and maybe

see a can of organic

beans in the pantry.

Maybe you can go to

the refrigerator, you see some

fresh greens, maybe see a

lemon in your fruit bowl

and you can put them

all together and make a

nice salad.

You've got your O for

organic in the beans, you've

got your F for fresh

in what you've taken out

of the refrigerator and out

of the fruit bowl.

And with the beans and

greens, you're also hitting the

W, the whole food.

So this doesn't have to

be like fancy.

It just needs to flow

from what you have and

where you're at.

It FLOWS in the action

of it too, right there

in your own kitchen.

And more broadly, I like

to think of FLOWS like

that.

Like think of FLOWS like

a river that's moving through

its course.

When you look at a

river, it FLOWS around and

over the rocks and pebbles.

It doesn't see them as

barriers.

In fact, they shape the

water's path, those rocks and

pebbles, giving it character and

energy.

So sometimes the little bumps

or obstacles actually help guide

the flow to something even

more beautiful.

And our days and our

choices, our meals and our

snacks can all be like

that too.

We might not have the

perfect conditions every day, but

we can still move or

flow and move with the

flow and not against it.

Another way to live FLOWS

through planning is by not

making it complicated when it

comes to thinking about the

season or thinking about what's

going to be on your

menu.

If you're curious about how

to do more local or

seasonal in the area that

you live or that's sort

of newer to you, or

maybe it's just a check

-in.

Aha, it's springtime.

I forgot.

Let me get in touch

with the CSAs, the community

-supported agriculture.

And I certainly encourage you

to do that.

Many local farms offer seasonal

boxes of produce and you

literally help support the local

small farmers to bring you

fresh local food right to

your doorstep or nearby pickup

on a weekly basis or

every other week.

There's a simple way to

find a CSA in your

area.

I'll be doing an episode

on farmers markets and CSA

soon, but you can go

to localharvest.org and you

can enter your zip code

and you can find opportunities

there.

So even there's some resources

there to make it easier

for you to live the

local and the seasonal a

little bit easier.

And it's a beautiful way

also to let the season

sort of guide our meals

naturally and a simple way

to invite FLOWS into your

home one box at a

time.

And finally, I encourage you

to keep FLOWS in your

mind even when you're dining

out or traveling.

You might not have full

control over the menu and

that's totally fine and it

can be fun, but you

can still look for the

options and sort of feel

aligned.

Maybe it's a dish that

highlights seasonal ingredients or something

that's built around whole fresh

foods.

So FLOWS can be about

progress and not doing all

things all the time or

all at once.

Even noticing one element can

sort of set you in

the momentum and can help

you feel connected to your

health goals.

It's all about creating the

flow and remembering again that

FLOWS is not about all

five letters at every meal.

It might be even rare

that you hit all five

letters at a meal, but

it is about movement and

it's about creating milestones along

the way and eating the

patterns, recognizing that eating in

patterns can be nutritive and

nourishing and beneficial for your

health.

Even one mindful choice can

make you feel like you're

back in the flow if

you feel like you've stepped

out.

And remember that those rocks

and pebbles can actually help

create the path as well.

So it's a rhythm and

I think that's important for

us to continue to remember.

So as you think about

your day ahead, even the

next meal, remember FLOWS.

Keep in mind the fresh,

the local, organic, whole, seasonal.

Even noticing one or two,

aim for two, along the

way can make the whole

experience better.

It could be a moment

at the market when you

choose something.

It can be the whole

ingredient in your pantry.

It might be just a

simple act of pausing to

consider, does this flow?

Is the choice that I'm

making, does it feel good?

Does it help ground me?

Does it nourish me?

So today in sum, we've

explored a few ways that

FLOWS can support our health

and wellbeing by looking at

some of the science that

sort of substantiates or support

or sort of was a

springboard to me sort of

finding my flow about FLOWS

from the whole fresh foods

and how they work together

in the body, how structure,

the form and flexibly support

us, not just nutritionally, but

also mentally and how FLOWS

can help us feel more

present and empowered in our

daily choices.

And we discovered that FLOWS

isn't just a nice idea.

The research really does back

it up.

How choosing whole fresh foods

can help our bodies absorb

nutrients better, how the textures

and forms can help support

fullness and metabolic health, the

real deal, and how it

can free up mental space,

give us some freedom to

make other nourishing choices in

the eat well, move daily,

be healthy choices and practices

in a well-lived life.

And of course, we wrapped

with some practical tips to

get into the flow.

And I had to get

into the flow.

You heard me say it

pun intended.

So that's the episode for

today of 1,000 Waking Minutes.

I'm Wendy Bazilian, your podcast

friend, and your health supporter.

And we're on this journey

together toward a well-lived

life.

I think that our 1,000

waking minutes are our life's

currency.

And it's a great equalizer

among us.

And if you like this

episode or found something meaningful

in it, I hope you

will write to me and

share it with a friend

as well.

It really does help us

grow helps me know you're

out there and listening.

And I hope that what

I bring to you can

help us grow our community

and make it vibrant.

You can always leave a

comment, which I appreciate.

You can also find me

directly at wendybazilian.com

or email me at one

1KWM@wendybazilian.com

.com.

So as we close, I

leave you with this thought,

just like the river FLOWS

around the rocks in its

path.

It's gentle, it's persistent.

We can also move through

our days with that same

grace, the rocks don't disappear,

but we find our way

around them.

That's the power of flow.

And until next time, be

well, thank you for tuning

into 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.

If you enjoyed today's episode,

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Until next time, find some

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Transcribed by https://otter.ai