Welcome to our January update and Happy New Year!  
Wendy Gammons, MIIA Wellness/Health Promotion Manager  
 
We are thrilled to announce a new feature: Success Story Corner. Every few months we will highlight a member who successfully reached their health goals. We hope these are inspiring stories and if you or a colleague would like to be highlighted, please let me know at [email protected].
 
Most of us look forward to the New Year, but the winter months can be tough for some and the holiday season can be depressing. Check out Tira's article on Winter Blues and SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). To learn more about your or a family members mental health, take our free, confidential, online screening that also offers helpful resources.
 
Check out our NEW January Smorgasbord Challenge to learn about legumes and why we should all eat more! Moroccan White Bean Soup (Loubia), is a delicious dish made with legumes.
 
Know someone who has had a stent procedure? Did you know a large number of these procedures are not effective and can also do harm? Read our "Six Things" article and become a savvier health care consumer. Our vaping article highlights the new MA law around flavored vape products and menthol cigarettes. The New Year is a great time to set a quit vaping or smoking goal!
  
Program of the Month
Love Your Legumes   
A 3-week Challenge Starting January 13, 2020
  
Legumes are a uniquely rich plant source of protein, are high in dietary fiber, and supply an impressive array of vitamins and minerals, including iron. They also provide health-promoting antioxidants and phytochemicals. Not only do legumes provide many health benefits they provide benefits to the environment as well! Eat just ½ cup a day and earn cool prizes as well.

The Wellbeing Smorgasbord Challenge!   
Complete at least 7/12 monthly self-directed activities and earn a $75 Amazon gift card! 
 
Find the activities in each Monthly Newsletter like Love Your Legumes. We offer a smorgasbord of exercise, diet and other wellbeing activities. Each program includes educational information, tips and strategies. Only MIIA/Blue Cross health insurance subscribers are eligible for the $75 Amazon.com gift card.
 
  
  
Success Story Corner   
Slow and Steady Yields Big Results

Jen Clune, an employee with the Dartmouth school system reached a personal goal with the help of the Town of Dartmouth's MIIA wellness program. She shed over 45 pounds over the past year. As a result, she reports many positive changes such as feeling better, more energy, feeling proud that she achieved a personal goal, and enjoying more physical activity. Read more about her story.


Take It Easy  
Feeling Blue or SAD? (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
Tira Hanrahan, MPH, CWWPM, BSW, RYT, MIIA Wellness Representative 

Colder temperatures, snow, loss of daylight, and more time spent inside can challenge our moods during the wintertime in New England. Feeling more tired or a bit down during the winter months is fairly common; it is known as the "winter blues". Discover a few ways to manage the winter blues or SAD.
  
  
Smoking Cessation  
A New Year, A New Law, and a New YOU!
 
With the start of the New Year, now is a great time for a "quit attempt" from smoking or vaping, especially with the new MA law banning sales of all flavored tobacco. MIIA/Health Benefits Trust subscribers are eligible for a free, 24/7, confidential, online cessation program Living Free! This 12-module online video program helps you stop smoking or vaping by teaching you powerful techniques that change the way your brain responds to smoking and vaping.


Six Things Employees Need to Know About Stents (Part 1)
Al Lewis, Founder Quizzify, MIIA Health Care Consultant
 
A stent is a little tube inserted into a blood vessel, to unclog it. Roughly 1.8 million are implanted in Americans every year. Could it really be the case that humans are so ill-evolved that without stents our arteries would remain clogged and many more of us would die? Learn what you need to know before getting a stent implanted.
  
  
Try Recipe of the Month
Moroccan White Bean Soup (Loubia)
Mahjouba Ezzammoury
Nothing is more satisfying in the middle of winter than a nice warm bowl of soup.  This traditional Moroccan white bean soup is filled with the fragrant spices cumin, turmeric and paprika as well as fresh parsley and cilantro.  This quick version uses canned beans so you can make it in well under an hour.  Of course, with any soup, the longer you let it stew the better!  Enjoy!


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