March is National Nutrition Month



The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (at eatright.org) celebrates National Nutrition Month in March as it has for forty years.  Each year the Academy has a theme and this year it is, “Eat Right, Your Way.”  This is to focus on basic healthy eating and not any fad diets or latest trends.  In their press release, the Academy noted:

“Eat Right, Your Way”

Individual food preferences and food choices are OK.
You don’t have to give up your favorite food to eat healthy.
Eating healthy can be tailored to individual lifestyles, culture, traditions, tastes.
It is the overall eating pattern and total diet that is important. 

The Academy issued helpful hints about eating right whether you are a student, a vegetarian, busy parent, executive.  What do they suggest in this recent press release? 

Work Days:

Healthy Snacks- keep healthy snacks at your desk.   Single size servings of nuts, whole wheat crackers, peanut butter, dried fruit, canned tuna.  Keep simple snacks in your briefcase, backpack, or purse for those missed lunches.   Granola bars, peanut butter crackers, trail mix,  whole grain crackers.

Athletes
All athletes know what they eat affects their athletic performance.

Fuel – power up with healthy food choices.  Make breakfast a lighter meal if you are exercising right after breakfast.  Some foods with “staying power”?   Low-fat yogurt, graham crackers and peanut butter, or a banana, whole grain cereal and low-fat milk. 

While Exercising – keep hydrated with plenty of water or a sports drink, if preferred.

Students – busy lifestyles with little time for a meal and on a budget.  Focus on carbs for energy and protein for “staying power”.

  • Apples, peanut butter
  • Carrots and hummus
  • Dried fruit
  • Banana and low-fat yogurt
  • Whole grain cereal with fruit – Wheat Chex with raisins

Eating out cafeteria style?  Choose salad bars but low calorie dressing or vinegar and oil, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables as MyPlate suggests. 

Vegetarians – vegetarians can enjoy a very healthy diet sans the meat. 

  • Vegetarian chile
  • Hummus-filled pita
  • Veggie burgers
  • Pasta Primavera made vegetarian style
  • Veggie pizza – or order a regular pizza with veggies such as green pepper, onions, mushrooms
  • Vegetable stir-fry with tofu


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stay Hydrated This Summer

Image
At long last, SUMMER!!    With the heat and humidity, we need to focus on staying hydrated.   Water is always a good choice for hydration.    MSN has an interesting article on  5 Easy Ways to Stay Hydrated This Summer .   Stay away from the sugar sweetened beverages loaded with sugar and calories.   Yes, enjoying some lemonade is fun but it is not a juice and it is loaded with added sugar.    What are some ways to stay hydrated?   How do you know you need hydration?   Thirst is the first sign of becoming dehydrated.   Your body is telling you to drink more fluids.   Eight cups is a good goal but you may need even more when exercising outside or being outside in the heat. Unsweetened Coffee – most people think coffee dehydrates you, but coffee is a fluid and can count towards your daily fluid intake.   And coffee can help you feel more alert and keep you energized.     Unsweetened Ice Tea – ice tea is a favorite in the South.    Skip the added sugar.   Or if you must have som
Read more

Get Ready for New Food Labels!

Image
This week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced proposed changes in our food labels.    Major changes in the food labels appearing on everything from chips to soup haven’t changed much in 20 years.   So what are some of the proposed changes? Serving sizes – ever look at the serving size on ice cream.   It states one half cup is the serving size, yet who eats only one half cup?   In teaching my nutrition class, I show a video in which the dietitian notes the one half cup serving size on ice cream.   The students are always surprised it is so low.   When I told my husband, he insisted that one half cup was too low and went to the freezer to prove it.   Of course, the ice cream container verified that one half cup is the serving.   So one of the proposed food label changes is to increase the serving size on foods such as ice cream to reflect what people actually eat.   Thus, for ice cream the serving size will increase from one half cup to one cup.   FDA notes , By law,
Read more

Easy food habits to adopt for a healthier you in 2023.

Image
So many people develop New Year’s Resolutions focusing on giving up things or on losing weight.   Why not focus on adopting some healthier habits in 2023 and some healthier lifestyle changes?   Last year I discussed some recommendation by a   nutritionist in London, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, on how you can adopt a healthier lifestyle.   Below are some of her easy-to- adopt suggestions and I have added some suggestions of my own. Protein at every meal – Protein is filling and helps stave off those hunger pains between meals.   What are some high quality protein foods?   All animal foods provide high quality protein.   Focus on lean proteins like chicken breasts.   Chicken and other lean meats, provide not only high-quality protein but also many nutrients like iron, zinc, selenium and many B vitamins.   B vitamins are known as the energy vitamins as they help your body produce the energy needed for all your activities.   A top-rated protein is found in eggs.   Actually, eggs are rated
Read more