March is National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month is upon us! This March, the goal of National Nutrition Month is to focus on making informed food choices and developing healthful eating habits. This event is an annual campaign created to help Americans live healthier lives.
Developing healthful eating and physical activity habits
This year’s theme – Fuel For The Future – goes hand-in-hand with this mission by encouraging all individuals to fuel their bodies with energy-rich foods while maintaining an active lifestyle. To make that easier for everyone, we’ve come up with our top 6 tips for taking part in National Nutrition Month 2023.
This entails eating while being conscious about the environment, seeing a registered dietician nutritionist, eating a wide variety of food groups, eating budget-friendly healthy foods, considering plant-based eating, and reducing food waste.
These tips will help you develop a healthier relationship between yourself and your diet so you can power through the month and year feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take on any challenge!
Read on if you’re looking to learn how nutrition affects your life and how you can make meaningful and easy changes to your diet.
Being conscious of the environment
As we celebrate National Nutrition Month in 2023, let’s start to think more consciously and proactively about how to fuel ourselves for the future. This starts with something simple and accessible to all of us – growing food at home!
National Nutrition Month is the perfect chance to take up gardening and grow food of your own, not just as a hobby but as an action against climate change and for healthier eating.
Planting things like fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs is a great way to acknowledge the theme of this year – Fuel For The Future – and make a positive contribution towards the environment.
There are so many wonderful resources available that can help you along this journey – blogs, tutorials, webinars, helpful apps, etc. You can also eat foods produced locally, as well as shop locally to reduce your carbon footprint. Join us in taking up this challenge to grow food that is sustainable! Celebrate National Nutrition Month by creating a fantastic backyard garden of growth.
Seeing A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
This year is all about emphasizing the importance of making informed food choices. Of course, it can be hard to identify what those should be in a crowded nutrition landscape. Take it from us – the best person to help you become an expert on fueling your future self is a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).
RDNs are highly trained experts who use the latest evidence-based approaches to evaluate your current state of nutrition and guide you toward an individualized meal plan tailored solely to your nutrient needs. Many of the meals they recommend don’t require serious meal preparation skills, so it’s not necessary to worry if you aren’t a chef at home. They can also advise you on special dietary needs or medical conditions using your personalized nutrition information. You can celebrate this month by speaking with a local registered dietitian nutritionist and finding out what works best for your body.
Finding an RDN in your area can seem intimidating, but rest assured that most credentialed RDNs are eager to help you meet your health goals!
So don’t sit there wondering if you’ve made the right decisions around healthy eating or fad diets – consult a registered dietitian nutritionist and get ahead of the game this National Nutrition Month!
Eating a wide variety of different food groups
According to food and nutrition experts, eating a balanced and varied diet that includes all food groups is essential for overall health. During National Nutrition Month in 2023, let’s commit to eating a variety of foods from different food groups and making informed choices when developing our future meal plans.
Sure, it can be easy just to eat unhealthy tasty foods or junk food or whatever is easy, but if we want our bodies to be fit and healthy in the future, eating a variety of different food groups becomes even more important! Instead of buying snacks, purchase foods that will take a little more effort but are lower in processed ingredients.
You may even be inclined to branch out and try some of your region’s healthy favorite cultural foods.
So let’s eat all these food groups with intention – fuel our future today by making informed food choices!
Preparing and eating budget-friendly healthy foods
Celebrate National Nutrition Month this March by taking the time to create healthy meals and snacks that won’t break the bank! This year’s theme, “Fuel For The Future” encourages us to make healthy choices that will provide us with energy and keep us feeling full.
Start by planning healthy meals and snacks that are budget-friendly. Buy in bulk, use coupons, and invest in your ingredients for maximum savings – remember, when it comes to healthy eating, a little bit can go a long way!
Have fun with new foods and new recipes, experiment with spices and vegetables, and reap the nutritional reward of investing in yourself this National Nutrition Month.
Considering plant-based eating
March is National Nutrition Month, and this year is no exception. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has declared ‘Fuel For The Future’ as the theme to celebrate the importance of developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.
With sustainability and making informed food choices on everyone’s minds, now more than ever, this is the perfect time to start considering plant-based eating. Not only does it have amazing nutritional benefits, but it also greatly helps reduce your carbon footprint.
Just because something is delicious doesn’t mean it isn’t green! Additionally, you can shop locally to find some of the best and freshest fruits and vegetables available. So why not challenge yourself to push beyond familiar food options and try an adventurous new fruit or veggie?
Who knows – by eating more plant-based meals, you might end up expanding your nutrition palette while doing something good for the planet too!
Reducing food waste
National Nutrition Month is the perfect chance to make a commitment to reducing food waste in your life. In recent years, it is estimated that an astonishing 1/3 of all foods produced for human consumption will be wasted or lost before it even reaches our plates!
One way to limit the amount waste is to buy foods with minimal packaging. This way, you can appreciate foods at their peak freshness while minimizing your carbon footprint.
With that said, when shopping weekly, keep a keen eye on what foods you have left over every week and take additional steps such as batch cooking or freezing foods as soon as possible.
If you do have extra food that is not expired, you can reduce waste by donating to local food banks or another community resources service.
Making active steps such as these will help you achieve the theme of National Nutrition Month; “Fuel For The Future.”
Make informed food choices throughout the month of March with Danu
As we’ve discussed, March is a special month—National Nutrition Month! It’s the perfect time to be educated and conscious about fueling your body, along with caring for and protecting the environment. And Danu is here to help you learn how to do just that!
We offer blogs on various nutrition topics, and other natural wellness educational resources. There are so many ways to thrive by making informed food choices with Danu during National Nutrition Month.
You can achieve this by being mindful of your environmental impact, making well-rounded meals with diverse food groups, preparing budget-friendly dishes, considering plant-based options, and reducing food waste by donating and buying foods with minimal packaging.
Learn more with Danu Wellness through our blogs about eating right and developing good physical activity habits. These will help set you up for optimal performance. Good luck, stay nourished, and we hope you can create healthy, happy memories during National Nutrition Month!