March is National Nutrition Month: Celebrate a World of Flavor

It’s National Nutrition Month!!!  

Every year nutrition is celebrated for the entire month of March!  A new theme is announced each year by The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to encourage individuals to make informed choices regarding food and physical activity.  

Awareness and promotion of healthy eating started as just a week in March back in 1973 and was expanded in 1980 to a full month.  Over the course of the month, health and nutrition professionals share their knowledge and tips to the community centered around a specific theme. In 1980 the theme was “To Hit Your Stride, Eat Smart”.  For 2022, we’ll be encouraging you to…

Celebrate a World of Flavors

That’s the theme!  “Celebrate a World of Flavors.”  The central idea to “Celebrate a World of Flavors” is that everyone is different with unique bodies, backgrounds, goals, and tastes.  The theme encourages you to nourish yourself with the foods of your culture and embrace your diversity.  To help you do this, the month is broken down into weekly key messages:

• Week 1:  Eat a Variety of Nutritious Food
• Week 2:  See a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) 
• Week 3:  Plan your meals and snacks
• Week 4:  Create tasty foods at home

Each week will talk about different ideas and practices you can incorporate into your routine to make healthy habits.  

How to Get Involved

Liking the idea of National Nutrition Month?  Great!  We’re here to help.  All month long Simple Start Nutrition will be posting ideas, handouts, blogs, and information to help you out.  Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @Simplestartnutrition.  

Get ready to do things at home!  Ideas might include:

• Bringing home a new fruit or vegetable from the grocery store
• Trying a new recipe
• Ordering out from a local place you’ve never tried before like Thai, Indian, Mediterranean
• Talking about the weekly theme at the dinner table and getting your family involved with meal planning
• Trading recipes with a friend
• Making a meal with a recipe passed down from your ancestors
• Start planning your summer garden now
• Taking a cooking class for something you’ve never cooked before
• Refreshing your snacks with some new ideas incorporating fruits and vegetables
• Buying yourself something: a new kitchen gadget, cookbook, or spice; it makes it more fun to cook with something new!
• Get your favorite dietitian a present!  Just kidding…sort of…. 🙂

However you participate in  National Nutrition Month “Celebrate a World of Flavors”, just have fun!  I’m fully prepared to mess up one of my new recipes, or find a food I don’t like…but who cares!  Trying new foods, new recipes, and new cuisine makes life interesting, and you might just find some things to add to the rotation!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy

This blog was written by Chris Henigan MS, RD, LDN, co-founder of Simple Start Nutrition.  For more blog posts and nutrition information follow @simplestartnutrition on Instagram and Facebook.  Also feel free to contact us, by visiting our website (simplestartnutrition.com) to schedule an appointment to discuss your nutrition related needs.  We’re here to help.

For more information go to: https://www.eatright.org/food/resources/national-nutrition-month