National Nutrition Month

Home Cooking Fuels Better Health

In today’s fast paced world of work schedules and kids’ schedules it is hard to find time to do home cooking.  However, I challenge you to start cooking in more and eating out less.  In the spirit of the National Nutrition Month® theme “Go Further with Food”, home cooking is a great way to help you and your family to go further in your journey to improved nutritional health and wellness.

When you take time to do more home cooking you enjoy healthier meals. This is due to your control over three key ingredients: salt, saturated fat and added sugars. Restaurants portion sizes are huge and often high in these ingredients.  When you cook at home, you have better control over your portion sizes and your intakes of salt, saturated fats and added sugars.

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By Natalie, ago

Whole Grains, Nuts and Seeds, Oh My!

For the 4th and final week of National Nutrition Month, I challenge you to savor the flavor of whole grains, nuts, and seeds.  These wonderful foods are important staples in any meal plan to boost fiber intake. Not only do whole grains, nuts, and seeds provide fiber, but they are good sources for B vitamins (think spark plugs for the body), protein, and heart healthy fats.  Whole grains, nuts, and seeds add flavor and pizzazz to meals while satisfying your palate. (more…)

By Natalie, ago

Got Veggies?

HalloweenVeggieSkeletonGot veggies?  How fun would it be to see a campaign promoting this question?  Instead of milk mustaches, perhaps we would see kids creating funny faces using veggies.  During National Nutrition Month® I find it fun to inspire people to look at food in a new light.  This year, I hope to help people look at fiber in a new light. Fiber is not just some powder mixed in a drink or a brown twiggy type of breakfast cereal.  Rather, fiber comes in many forms and flavors such as fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.  A high fiber diet is filled with vibrant colors, satisfying flavors and a variety of textures.  The possibilities are endless! (more…)

By Natalie, ago

Creative Fruit Fiber Ideas

Fruits_Berries_AvocadosSo you want to start to increase your fiber intake and that of your family’s? But where to begin?

Adding fiber is actually easy and very flavorful.  A creative beginning is to start with fruit.  Most whole fruits supply at least 1 to 2 grams of fiber per serving.  However, there are some fruits that stand out above the rest when it comes to increasing fiber intake.  Below are some of my favorite creative fruit ideas to help you boost your fiber intake. (more…)

By Natalie, ago

Nutrition for a Better Mind?

When many people think about weight loss, they often think about the types of foods that they should avoid.  Foods like donuts, pies, cookies, white bread, chocolate, etc.  But it is National Nutrition Month®, and I would like to offer a positive twist to the typical weight loss diet.  Instead of focusing on the foods that you should avoid, let’s consider the types of colorful and flavorful foods you should be eating not only to slim your waistline, but to also protect your brain’s cognitive skills.

File:Berries (USDA ARS).jpg

Courtesy of Scott Bauer, USDA ARS [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

There are many new research papers talking about the cutting edge pharmaceutical treatments that can protect against dementia and Alzheimer’s. However, prevention may be as simple as what you eat.   There is an increasing body of research that focuses on healthy diets and their possibility to delay or even prevent cognitive decline.

When you include heart healthy fats such as omega 3s you may be able to give protection to your mind.  The same is true with an increased intake of flavonoids, such as those found in berries. (more…)

By Natalie, ago

Healthy Cooking: Shrimp Fajitas

During National Nutrition Month®, I challenge you to get into your kitchen and try some new and healthy recipes.  In this post, I wanted to share with you how to make one of my all time favorite recipes—fajitas.

Fajitas can be healthy IF you choose lean meats, control the amount of oil you use, and increase the amount of veggies to meat ratio per tortilla. Shrimp are a great alternative to the typical fajita meats of chicken or steak.  Shrimp are low in saturated fat and high in vitamin B12, iron and selenium (a powerful antioxidant that can help decrease the risk of chronic diseases).

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By Natalie, ago