Celebrate National Nutrition Month!
March 16, 2010 by thepranamama
Filed under Food & Nutrition Links, Food for Thought
March is National Nutrition Month, and the good folks at the American Dietetic Association have inspired bloggers to write a post based on this year’s theme, “Nutrition from the Ground Up.” Â In honor of their work, as well as Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood obesity, I’m happy to oblige!
As a mom, it’s hard to keep up with all the conflicting information about nutrition, especially when it comes time to feed picky kids. Â Last week, I attended a P.T.O. meeting, where a dietician spoke about the 5-2-1-0 program here in Maine, and for every tidbit of information she gave out, members of the audience commented or questioned the various guidelines. Â The talk was only scheduled for an hour, but we could have sat there all night debating whether all-natural sugar counts towards the daily recommendations, or if chocolate milk is fine if your child refuses to drink regular. Â I learned a lot, but I also left a bit confused. Â And I think many parents feel that way on a daily basis.
“Nutrition from the Ground Up” serves as a good start. Â When confused about what to feed your kids, try the most whole, fresh form first. Â An apple is better than apple juice, even if it does claim to be 100% natural or organic. Â Regular milk is obviously better than chocolate, but if your child refuses to drink milk and is constantly reaching for juice instead, a bit of chocolate mixed in won’t hurt. Â She’s getting all the benefits of milk, like Vitamin D, calcium and protein. Â Juice has none of that.
Lately I have been trying to serve fruits and vegetables more often. Â Last night I mixed spaghetti squash into whole wheat noodles, and no one questioned the dish. Â It’s also easy to make smoothies using whole fruit, low-fat milk, yogurt and ice, if you can’t get your kid to eat a whole banana on his own.
The phrase, “from the ground up,” to me means it’s okay to give processed foods when you need to, but the first choice should always be the most basic form of any type of food.  If you have to resort to something packaged, and trust me, we all do — the fewer ingredients on the label, the better.
I’m doing the best I can to feed my healthy nutritiously. Â It’s not always easy to stick within the weekly food budget on fresh, whole and organic food. Â Just this week, I cringed at the cost of quinoa, a grain widely known for its health benefits. Â I can’t buy it regularly, but if every week we make an attempt at including as many of these whole and nutritious foods as possible, perhaps our children can beat the epidemic, which experts believe currently threatens to shorten the life span of their generation.
Please visit www.eatright.org/nnm for more information about National Nutrition Month. Â And post your comments here, on what “Nutrition from the Ground Up” means to you. Â What challenges have you faced in trying to feed your family the most nutritiously? Â What ideas can you share with others facing the same challenges?
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My biggest tool for nutrition is to just shop the outside of the supermarket. I try to only go through produce and down the dairy aisle. Like you, I try not to buy processed foods – which are usually in the the middle aisles.
I heard one suggestion that if you want to eat something unhealthy (like french fries) that you can – as long as you make it yourself. I’ve been trying that, and discovered a great home made veggie gravy recipe. Instead of frying the potatoes, I bake them. But because it’s more work, I don’t have them as often.
Learning to cook Indian food has helped me get protein as a vegetarian. There are so many lentil/bean soups and dishes that are so tasty.