Welcome to Nourishing Nuggets for Better Health

Nourishing Nuggets for Better Health is the new nutrition and wellness blog of the Western Maryland Health System to help you move beyond the headlines and get facts you can use to help improve your health.
There will be many authors -- from Registered Dietitians to Wellness Coaches. Today's post comes from Theresa Stahl, RD/LD.

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This March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, celebrates the 40th anniversary of National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day,” encourages personalized healthy eating styles and recognizes that food preferences, lifestyle, cultural and ethnic traditions and health concerns all impact food choices. 

Here are a few tips from AND to help you eat right every day:

1.  Get Cooking  Cooking at home can be healthy, rewarding and cost-effective. To help you learn cooking and kitchen basics, AND has a collection of videos called “How do I” videos on their website at www.eatright.org/howdoi.

2. Dine Out without Ditching Your Goals Research shows that people who lose weight and keep it off successfully, don’t ditch their goals when they eat out.  You can stick to your healthy eating plan when you eat out! The key is to plan ahead, ask questions and choose foods carefully. Think about nutritious items you can add to your plate—fruits, veggies, lean meat, poultry or fish—and look for grilled, baked, broiled or steamed items.

3. Eat Family Meals Research shows that family meals promote healthier eating. Plan to eat as a family at least a few times each week. Set a regular mealtime. Turn off the TV, phones and other electronic devices to encourage mealtime talk. Get kids involved in meal planning and cooking and use this time to teach them about good nutrition. For family mealtime tips, visit www.kidseatright.org.

Here are some of our National Nutrition Month events:

• Weight Management Support Group - Every Tuesday in March from 5-6 pm in auditorium 3 at WMHS. For more information, click here: http://www.wmhs.com/New-Weight-Management-Support-Group-Starts-March-5.html
• Heart Healthy Nutrition Class – March 26 at 1 pm.  For more information click here: http://www.wmhs.com/nutrition-counseling.html
• And for more information about great nutrition programs from WMHS, visit our website: http://www.wmhs.com/nutrition-counseling.html  or here: http://wmhs.com/diabetes-management.html

Remember to make your own healthy choices every day. Happy, Healthy National Nutrition Month!  Let us know your questions and share any tips you have for eating healthy every day! Hope to see you at some of our events!