March is National Nutrition Month! This year’s National Nutrition Month theme focuses on “eating right for your lifestyle.” The campaign comes with lots of fun handouts and activities for adults and kids, including Sudoku pages and word searches:
- Decode the Fun food messages to learn how to eat healthy
- It’s Sudoku with healthy foods instead of numbers
- What’s for breakfast? word search – for kids and for adults!
Eating right is only one part of overall wellness. The National Nutrition Month campaign encourages parents and kids to live the Total Body Diet Lifestyle, meaning that you strive to:
- Balance your diet with foods from all food groups;
- Get active every day with enjoyable movement;
- And make your mental health a priority by fostering a positive attitude.
To develop a “wellness state of mind” and prioritize your health, ask yourself some of these questions:
- Why do I want to make changes now? What is my goal?
- How ready am I to make this change?
- Am I willing to try new, healthier foods?
- Do I want to get more active or change my physical activity?
- Do I understand that change is a gradual process that takes time, patience and daily action?
One goal I made for myself this year to improve my mental health was to increase my eating throughout the day, to choose healthy snacks and snack more often. I had noticed my energy flagging at different times of the day, at work and on the weekends, because I needed to eat more often to fit my lifestyle. I thought this was a realistic health and wellness goal I could achieve, and it is already helping my mood and keeping my energy up! The National Nutrition Month campaign offers lots of great snacking ideas and tips. Here are examples of energizing foods:
- One whole-wheat English muffin, 1 tablespoon nut butter, and ½ cup fresh berries
- Six whole-grain crackers, 1 ounce low-fat cheddar cheese and a handful of grapes
- ½ cup cooked oats, 1 cup low-fat milk, 1 ounce pistachios, and ¼ cup raisins
- 1 cup plan low-fat yogurt, ½ cup fresh or frozen berries, and 1 ounce hemp seeds
Check out the handout on Smart Snacking Tips for Kids for more great healthy snack suggestions.
Happy National Nutrition Month, everyone!
For CalFresh information, call 1-877-847-3663. For local information, you can visit the local CalFresh offices at Inyo County Health & Human Services, 920 N. Main St., Bishop or 380 N. Mt. Whitney, Lone Pine or call 760-872-1394.
