March is National Nutrition Month, so to celebrate we’ve put together a list of fun, easy, delicious ways to up your nutrition game!
1. Eat a meal more mindfully. Put your electronics away at mealtime and savor everything you love about food, without distractions.
2. Put a fruit bowl on the table. This neat trick will remind you to munch on a nutritious snack. After all, fruit is nature’s candy, and it’s full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, plums and peaches all keep for about one week in a fruit bowl.
3. Give a vegetable you don’t like another chance! You may need to try a food several times before it grows on you. Maybe you hate boiled Brussels sprouts, but what about roasted ones? Change your cooking technique, add your favorite herbs and spices, or find a new recipe on Foodsmart!
4. Join in #meatlessmonday. A plant-based meal can be healthy, delicious and nutritious, and it can even help the planet! A few plant-based proteins we love: quinoa, beans, lentils, edamame, tofu and tempeh. Browse our recipes to find your new favorite vegetarian dish.
5. Take a cooking class. Cooking is a skill that pays dividends in the long run. Home-cooked meals are usually lower in fat, calories and sodium, not to mention less expensive than restaurant meals.
6. Build a healthy-eating plate for dinner. A healthy-eating plate is well-balanced, and here is how you build it: Fill half of your plate with vegetables. Fill one-quarter of your plate with lean protein and the remaining quarter with a whole grain. Not only does this give you a healthy balance, seeing all of your meal in one place on one plate helps you think about portions.
7. Spend your lunch break with co-workers. Socializing while you eat can help you de-stress, enjoy your food and form stronger relationships with your colleagues.
8. Read a life-changing nutrition book. Here are a few of our favorites: The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Diet for a Small Planet, The Mind-Gut Connection and The China Study.
9. Start an indoor herb garden. Cilantro, chives, parsley, mint and basil are fantastic herbs to grow indoors. Your herbs will make food taste better and bring a little life to your kitchen decor.
10. Take a break from eating out for a week and donate the money to charity. How much money do you spend each week eating out? Take a week to keep track. Then, the next week, cook and pack lunches and donate your savings to a charity you love. You get a chance to be generous, and to pause and think about your restaurant budget.
11. Make family dinners a priority. Eat with your spouse and kids, and without the electronics. Give everyone a turn to tell about their best and worst moments of the day. Bonus points if you cook or clean up together!
12. Visit a farm or farmers market. Support local produce, pick up healthy, fresh ingredients and meet the people who grow your food.
13. Make a whole-grain switch. Try whole-grain bread instead of white, or whole-grain pasta, or brown rice instead of white rice. Whole-grain foods keep you feeling full longer and they’re packed with nutrients.
14. Fall in love with your refillable water bottle. Drinking plenty of water during the day can help prevent headaches and keep your mood up and your concentration sharp, and it can even keep you regular.
15. Pack a healthy snack. Skip the vending machine and bring something tasty and homemade to snack on at work. Try out easy recipes for satisfying snacks like granola and roasted chickpeas.
16. Enjoy a sweet treat. Take a moment to indulge, savor and set your worries aside.
