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FAMILY LETTER
Investing in Your Health
We’re learning more and more about how foods affect our health — not just
superfoods, but everyday foods as well.
Food, it turns out, can save your life.
Our grocery stores are a natural setting for people to talk about nutrition and meal
planning, so we’re excited to introduce our new Rouses nutritionist, Esther.
Beginning this fall, Esther will be overseeing health screenings at our stores,
shopping tours, nutrition classes, and community outreach health and wellness
programs. She will also create shopping lists and recipes for our newsletters, ads
and website, and answering your health-related questions on our Facebook page:
Esther has always been interested in nutrition. After earning her B.A. at
Southeastern Louisiana University, she went on to earn a B.S. in dietetics at Nicholls
State University in Thibodaux, and is working towards a Masters in Nutrition. “I
want to be a source of factual and practical information. With Rouses I have the
opportunity to impact not just what people eat, but how they eat.”
It’s tempting to go all in when you’re starting a new eating or exercise program, but
when you overcommit, you’re more likely to quit. Esther has been teaching us that
small changes — like taking the stairs
instead of the elevator, and adding more
nutrient-dense foods to your grocery
cart — can yield big changes.
It’s no surprise that the peanut M&M’s,
cookies and Rouses potato chips on our
office desks are now secreted to drawers
below. But Esther says no food is taboo,
just the word diet. “I don’t like the word
diet. Diets don’t work. For me, it’s all
about a healthy lifestyle and making
realistic changes.”
Realistic changes means buying and
making food you know you will actually
eat. Esther was raised in Baton Rouge,
and like any Gulf Coast local, she knows
just how important food is.“On the Gulf
Coast, eating is how we communicate.
Healthy has to taste good!”
I couldn’t agree more.
Donny Rouse
3rd Generation
On the Cover
Hwy. 1 Red Beans & Rice
For Cindy Rouse Acosta’s recipe,
visit
cover photo by Romney Caruso
• • •
Esther Says:
WHAT I’M COOKING
I’ve been making a lot of curries, especially red
curries. I really like Indian, Thai and other Asian
food. Thai red curry sauce is a combination of red
curry paste and coconut milk. I add chicken or
beef, and fresh vegetables.
WHERE I’M EATING
I love Mexican food as much as Asian. You’ll
usually find me at Felipe’s Taqueria or Juan’s
Flying Burrito. I’m a huge fan of the Rum House in
New Orleans, and they recently opened another
location in Baton Rouge. I always order the
nachos — steak, black beans, jalapeños, tomatoes,
red onion, lime cream, cilantro and melted cheese.
They’re a must eat.
WHAT’S IN MY ROUSES GROCERY BAG
Kashi Heart-to-Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal,
plain Greek yogurt, Rouses Skim Milk and Rouses
Chocolate Milk, my-go-to drink after a long bike
ride. Protein depends on what I’m cooking that
week. Produce changes seasonally, but I always
buy enough to have two servings of fruits and five
servings of vegetables a day.
WHAT’S IN MY PURSE
I try to avoid a snack attack by planning ahead.
I always carry a bag of fresh veggies — bell
peppers, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and
a personal size container of Wholly Guacamole. Donny Rouse & Esther, Rouses Nutritionist
photo by Erika Goldring