It's that time of year! March is National Nutrition Month®, and we're getting ready for this year's theme to “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.” Eating right can be challenging as healthy foods are often misunderstood to be bland, flavorless, boring, and not worth the time, but this isn't always true! Eating right can be delicious, flavorful, quick, and easy, and – most importantly – you can enjoy it too!
Adding salt is a popular way to add flavor to meals, but that doesn't mean it's healthy. In fact, most Americans are getting too much sodium from the foods they eat, increasing the risk of chronic disease. Try these sodium-busting tips to make your family's meals healthy without banishing the flavor:
- Choose fresh foods that are naturally low in sodium such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs and milk
- Skip the salt and kick up the flavor with herbs, spices or fruit juices
- Drain and rinse canned vegetables to reduce the amount of salt
- Read the Nutrition Facts label to choose low-sodium foods and look for terms like “no added salt”
Eating right can be difficult at any time of day, especially first thing in the morning when you'd rather snooze for another hour or two. It's not uncommon for us to skip breakfast altogether or quickly shove a naked piece of toast in our mouths before hurrying out the door. Are you curious to know what it's like to actually enjoy eating right in the morning? Find out by making traditional morning meals more nutritious and delicious at home or on the go:
- Top oatmeal or low-fat yogurt with chopped nuts or slices of fresh fruit
- Blend a quick breakfast smoothie with low-fat milk, strawberries and a banana
- Spread peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla, add your favorite fruit or granola, roll it up, and you're ready to head out the door
- No time to make breakfast in the mornings? Make a breakfast burrito the night before so it's ready for you to grab and go. Stuff a whole wheat tortilla with your favorite filling like scrambled eggs, low-fat cheese, and black beans
To learn more about National Nutrition Month® and for more tips on eating right, visit www.eatright.org/nnm