What does that mean – a healthy lifestyle... and how are we supposed to bite into it?  How does one choose to be healthy?  Biting into a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be as hard as it sounds.  Making healthy lifestyle changes should be easy and positive.  Just making small adjustments or additions to your diet and lifestyle will help you become  healthier overall.

Here are five tips to help you bite into your healthy lifestyle:

Eat breakfast – taking a bite into breakfast is one of the easiest ways to improve your health.  Aim for 3 of the 5 food groups.  Try a bowl of oatmeal topped with nuts and dried fruit, and enjoy it with low-fat milk.  Or indulge in a spinach quesadilla made with a whole wheat tortilla, low-fat cheese and spinach! Need something quick?  Toast a whole wheat waffle or English muffin, add peanut butter, and run out the door with a piece of fruit.  

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables – try to add 2 servings of fruit and 2 ½ servings of vegetables into your diet every day.  Add them in as a part of a healthy snack.   Try combination snacks like carrots, or celery with hummus or peanut butter. Enjoy low-fat yogurt or cheese with a piece of fruit, or mixed nuts with some fruits or veggies.

Watch Portion Sizes – do you know how much you are actually eating?  Get out the measuring cup and see how close your portions are to the recommended serving size.  Most of us eat a lot more than we think we do.   Try using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate; you'll naturally eat less, because the plate is smaller.

Be active – Children and teens need 60 minutes of physical activity a day, adults should aim for 30 minutes to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.  You don't need do it all once!  Either go for a walk on your break, take the stairs, or park further away to sneak in extra steps.  After dinner have the family go for a walk or ride your bikes together.  It's easy to rack up the minutes when you're having fun.

Drink more water – One of the easiest healthy lifestyle changes is to drink water instead of sugary beverages.  Cutting the sugar sweetened drinks can be hard. Start by choosing a bottle of water instead of a soda, and naturally decreasing from there.  Let thirst be your guide. 

For more ways on how you can bite into a healthy lifestyle, visit http://www.nationalnutritionmonth.org/nnm/. Enjoy their resources and other tips on how to keep you and your family healthy!