March is here! It has been deemed National Nutrition Month since 1980. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics uses this month to promote nutrition on a national level, as well as the value of a registered dietitian in your personal health journey. This year’s theme is “Personalize Your Plate.” This is a great and timely theme. At a time when there is a lot of “nutrition noise” out there, I am constantly trying to reinforce this idea of personalized nutrition. We are all different and have different needs. It is very difficult to generalize nutrition advice which is why it is also important to consult with a registered dietitian when making these decisions.
This year, the month has been divided into 4 weeks of mini-themes. This first week is : Eat a variety of Nutritious Foods Every Day. I cannot emphasize this enough! Healthy food is important but incorporating a larger variety of foods into your diet helps bring in a diverse group of nutrients to meet your body’s needs. Many times when we try to make lifestyle changes, and incorporate more of what we think is healthy, we end up eating the same foods over and over again. This may lead to food fatigue and ultimately, abandoning ship! By incorporating variety, we can avoid this, and in reality end up with more nutrients (vitamins and minerals in particular) in our diet.
Some great ways to increase variety into your diet: Choose a new recipe every week that has ingredients you are not accustomed to, add extra plants to meals you make regularly to give them a new spin, and choose an ingredient that you have never tried and build a recipe around it.
I have so many ways to help you build up that variety, enjoy your food, and feel awesome! I always use personalized nutrition and build on my understanding of your needs when developing goals and plans with you.
I am excited to bring everyone lots of great content this month in celebration. I hope you enjoy what you read and maybe try a few new things along the way.
Rachael
