For some patients, the SHAPE Nutrition Protocol is daunting and unfamiliar. Vegetables are sometimes a whole new food group, let alone how to prepare or even eat 4 cups per day. Raw sauerkraut? Yuck! Bok choy? Collard greens? It’s like we’re speaking a foreign language!
The first SHAPE visit can be so overwhelming. I find that having a display of SHAPE-approved product recommendations helps in navigating the first steps. Clear off a bookshelf, fill a tote bag or a big wicker basket with recommended products and include your personal favorites. Offer suggestions on where they can find them. Taking a photo with their phone serves as a reminder of what they’re looking for when they head to the store. The discussion could include how to read a label to sleuth out added sugars vs. naturally occurring sugars.
Products to include:
- So Delicious Coconut Milk (Unsweetened Vanilla is my go-to)
- Muir Glen canned tomatoes
- Raw sauerkraut
- Approved crackers: Nut Thins, Flackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Simple Mills (when sharing a sample, often the response is “Hmm, good! I can do this!”)
- Sweet Leaf Stevia (Sample by putting a couple of drops in a small cup of water. Consider selling in your office. Available direct or through Emerson Ecologics.)
- Yogurt, kefir or cottage cheese containers
- Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos
- Celtic Sea Salt (Make samples available. Offer for sale in the office. Available from Selina Naturally or Emerson Ecologics.)
- Veggetti Spiralizer – all the rave on the Facebook page
- Food scale – we love the Oxo Good Grips 11-Pound Digital Scale with Pull-Out Display
- SKIN Healing Lotion (always have a sample bottle available)
- MOOD Balance
- pH Concentrated Minerals
- SHAPE ReClaimed: Simple Recipes for Phase I cookbooks
- 30-Day Anti-Inflammatory Challenge (Phase II/III cookbook)
Many companies offer coupons, samples, and promotional point-of-sale brochures for their products. Contact their marketing department to see what promotional support is available. Removing some of the anxiety at the start will help in setting your patients up for success.
Submitted by Linda Howes
