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80 Great Ways to Celebrate National Nutrition Month
March 2nd, 2011
General
These are ideas you can use all month long.
- Define good nutrition: Learn about what good nutrition really is.
- Think about making calories count: Rather than labeling foods good or bad, consider the vitamins, minerals, and fiber available in foods.
- Always have water available: Make sure that there's always water ready and waiting for you to drink.
- Set reasonable goals: Start making small changes you can live with.
- Be optimistic about food: Think about food as nourishment and fun.
- Consider supplementing: Although you may be reaching all of your nutritional goals, a vitamin or mineral supplement can help ensure that you're getting everything you need.
- Be patient: Instead of settling for food with immediate gratification, take your time and enjoy what you eat.
- Indulge: Don't forget to allow yourself to indulge when appropriate.
- Plan ahead: The more you plan, the better you can control your nutrition.
- Eat frequently: Becoming a frequent eater will allow you to eat more often in smaller portions.
Take part in these activities and make nutrition month a fun experience.
- Take a cooking class: Spend some time properly learning how to prepare foods with a cooking class.
- Write down everything you eat: This month, take the time to track everything you're eating, so you get a better idea of what exactly you're taking in.
- Join a food club: Have fun with food and friends in a food club.
- Play with your food: Dress your food up into edible art for a little fun.
- Watch Super Size Me: Consider how fast food can affect your body with Super Size Me.
- Join a CSA: Becoming a part of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) will enable you to eat well and support community farmers.
- Eat something fresh: If you've never tried anything but canned pineapple, try a fresh one.
- Read about good nutrition: Find books that celebrate healthy nutrition.
- Visit a farmer's market: Find fresh, local, and even organic produce and other items at a farmer's market.
- Pack a bento box lunch: Have fun with lunch by creating a bento box at least once a week this month.
- Attend a nutrition class: Learn more about good nutrition with a class.
- Look at labels: Before you buy or eat food, take a good look at its nutrition facts.
- Enter a diet contest: Submit a recipe to a contest.
- Create an emergency food kit: If you're out and about and become hungry, you're likely to turn to whatever's available-make sure you've got a healthy food kit ready to go.
- Go on a picnic: Eat great food in the great outdoors.
- Visit a farm: See where your food comes from by visiting a farm.
- Watch Food, Inc.: Learn more about the way your food is made with Food, Inc.
- Make a healthy menu: Plan meals ahead of time for the entire month, so you'll have great nutrition all month long.
- Enter a cooking contest: Participate in a cooking contest in your community.
- Eat local: Practice sustainability and a connection with your food by eating local.
Celebrate nutrition this month by taking these ideas to your grocery store.
- Buy fresh food: The fresher the food, the more nutritious, so buy as fresh as possible.
- Try a new grocery store: Get a new perspective on available foods at a new store.
- Avoid shopping when you're hungry: Avoid impulse buys by shopping when you're full and rational.
- Look for whole foods: Choose simple, whole foods that are the closest to nature for more nutritional bang for your buck.
- Purchase organic products: Try some organic products, like milk, meat, or produce.
- Stay away from ingredients you don't recognize: If you can't recognize, pronounce, or spell an ingredient, don't buy it.
- Stick to the outer aisles: You can find produce, meats, fish, and eggs in the outer aisles of grocery stores.
- Find produce in season: Get fresher produce by shopping in season.
- Read labels: Although most foods with great nutrition won't require labels, be sure to look at the ones that do to be an informed consumer.
- Don't buy desserts or munchies: Treats are fine, but make them worth it by making them from scratch yourself.
- Shop for colorful foods: Get a variety of phytonutrients with colorful produce.
- Don't believe everything: "All natural" or "fat free" labels can be deceiving.
- Write a list out: Before you head to the store, make sure you've got a list ready to go.
- Learn to recognize all forms of sugar: Refined sugar can come in many forms so look for corn sugar, fructose, caramel, syrups, and more.
While you're dining out, you can use these tips to celebrate nutrition.
- Visit a new restaurant: Go to a new restaurant you've been meaning to check out.
- Find out how your food is prepared: Consider whether your food is baked, fried, or prepared in another way.
- Add a new fruit or vegetable to every meal: Try something new each time you cook.
- Educate yourself before going to a restaurant: Go to the restaurant's website to learn about the nutrition for the items available on the menu, so you can make a healthy, informed choice.
Nutrition can take center stage at home with these tips.
- Make a healthy eating plan: Create a plan for eating a balanced diet at home.
- Buy a new cookbook: Find a new healthy cookbook to spur interest in new recipes.
- Get an illustration of the food pyramid: With a food pyramid, you'll have an easy reminder to eat a balanced diet.
- Balance it out: Eat a good balance of foods for good nutrition.
- Practice family mealtime: Eat together, and teach children a healthy attitude toward food.
- Create a rainbow on your plate: Find a rainbow of foods to make a plate rainbow.
- Try a new recipe once a week: Find a new recipe to check out each week of National Nutrition Month.
- Measure with a tablespoon: Instead of a knife, use a tablespoon to measure and spread on condiments.
- Cook with your kids: Get kids interested in nutrition by having them help you cook.
- Increase the amount of times you eat at home: At home, you're better able to control what you're eating, so aim to increase the frequency of your mealtimes at home.
- Go meatless once a week: If you're a big meat eater, consider going meatless at least once a week.
- Prewash your vegetables: Buy vegetables washed, or wash them when you get home from the grocery store, and you'll be more likely to grab and go veggies as a snack.
Try to work these daily habits for good nutrition into your routine this month.
- Get a better night's sleep: When you're well rested, you're less likely to turn to junk or comfort foods.
- Find a tip a day: Get a tip a day nutrition calendar, or sign up for email alert every day.
- Take a vitamin: Make sure you're reaching all of your nutritional needs with a vitamin supplement.
- Stick to serving sizes: Read the nutrition facts to find out the proper serving size for the food you're eating.
Put nutrition on your windowsill or in your backyard with gardening.
- Teach kids about nutrition in the garden: Kids can get an understanding of gardening for health with your help.
- Start a garden: Plant vegetables, fruits, and herbs, so you can enjoy your very own harvest.
- Garden with meals in mind: Plant items that can be used over and over again in the meals that you plan to cook.
- Plant a row for the hungry: Set aside a section of your garden to donate to your local food bank or soup kitchen.
Use these ideas to make food and nutrition a social affair.
- Explore food science: Learn about the science of food to appreciate it more.
- Find a new food blog: Check out a new food blog every week this month.
- Cook for friends: Invite people over to enjoy dinner at your home.
- Plan a foodie trip: Plan a trip to a fun food festival.
- Blog about National Nutrition Month: Let others know that you're celebrating National Nutrition Month by posting about it.
- Visit festivals: Seek out food, wine, or beer festivals to enjoy more gourmet food.
- Share recipes: Start a recipe exchange with friends and family.
- Give away your produce: Share extra produce from your garden.
- Get active once a day: Manage your body weight by being active for an hour every day.
- Take part in a fun activity: Join a race or adventure dash to get exercise in a fun way.
- Introduce weight training: Become lean to put your nutrition to good use.
- Take a walk as a family: Spend time together as a family and get active with a walk around the neighborhood.
- Meditate: Give yourself time to collect yourself and focus inward with meditation.
(source: nursingschools.net)
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