National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year’s theme, “Personalize Your Plate” highlights that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and health. We are all unique with different bodies, goals, background and tastes!
Personalize Your Plate: What It Means
I love the theme this year because it was only as a junior in college entering the field of nutrition when I discovered that I didn’t have to eat animal protein. You know the trend right now, “I was ______ age when I discovered”. Well, for me, I was 20 years old when I realized that I didn’t have to obtain my protein from foods that I didn’t ultimately love. I went too many years eating foods just because I thought I had to. Little did I know that entering this field of nutrition would help me to realize that my nutritional needs could be met without proteins I didn’t like! It took and still takes not only education but also careful planning.
My hope as a dietitian is that I’m able to show people that they can fill their plates with the foods that they love. Whether it’s because of a taste preference or whether it’s a cultural preference, food is so much more than just fuel. We should all be ‘Personalizing Our Plates’ since we are all different and unique!
As a side note, it’s why I often prefer to not put a label on myself as to how I eat. I was for many years a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, meaning I would predominantly eat plant proteins along with dairy and eggs. However, in the last 5 years or so is when I did begin to include seafood. Technically that would make me a pescatarian. The truth is I eat what I want when I want. There are some weeks I’ll have shrimp for some of my meals and then there are weeks where shrimp doesn’t sound good to me at all.
I’ve begun to really listen to my body and go with ‘what sounds good’ in the moment. I take into account my nutritional needs for the day but I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that some days will have animal protein and some days will not. That’s okay for ME! My encouragement has and will always be to find what works for YOU!
National Nutrition Month All Year Long
It’s true that I post about National Nutrition Month® every year. I do so in order to draw attention to how important nutrition is, but the truth is I’m always teaching about nutrition. It’s great to come together in one defined month to draw even more awareness. Stay tuned through the whole month on my IG for more posts and stories and all things nutrition! The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will be hosting Twitter Chats every Wednesday as well! Stay tuned!
Small Changes Big Results
When I do my nutrition presentations I throw out a LOT of ideas where people can reflect to see what they can do to improve/ change their diet. Some people start writing down all the changes they want to make and some people get frustrated. You can see it on their faces. Many throw their hands up in the air because they just don’t know where to start. Starting off with my question and thinking of just one change makes it more realistic and something people are willing to do. Changing habits/lifestyle is a marathon and not a sprint. This year’s National Nutrition Month® theme, ‘Personalize Your Plate, begin to reflect and see if there might be something you can do to improve your health through your plate (whatever that means for YOU!)
Throughout this post I’ve been sharing pictures with my small changes/additions that I’ve been making throughout this past year. Sharing with you what I’m doing because as I write my blog I feel like we’ve become friends. Thanks for being here friends!. Remember to reflect and see what changes YOU can make for yourself. My changes are not meant to be changes for you, although they might spark an idea!
Improving My Health
1. Experiment with new foods. We all become creatures of habit and begin to eat the same things over and over. Sure is easy to do. Am I right? I’ve tried to do better at including new fruits and vegetables every so often. Enter broccoli rabe. Broccoli Rabe has a bitter taste that’s also a bit earthy and nutty. It’s one of those foods that is popular in Italian cuisine and seeing that I am a 1/4 Italian I thought I’d start to embrace some of my traditional cuisine! Best when sautéed or blanched to soften the stalks and leaves. Tried this for the 1st time this week. Definitely wil need to re-do and fix it another way before sharing!
2. Herbs. I’ve always wanted to start an herb garden and guess what? Finally did!! My basil is still alive as is my rosemary. Also recently planted some other vegetables that seem to be sprouting up. Let’s see if they produce in the next couple of weeks. My brother gave me a papaya seedling (still waiting to see if it’s a male or female) and I’m going to get a passion fruit vine started on my back fence. Decided I had to stop saying that I didn’t have a green thumb and just GO FOR IT! Will add a few more herbs. There really is nothing better than going out and cutting just a few leaves for a recipe when you need them. Parsley and mint are next!
3. Sourdough – Started a new sourdough starter this quarantine. Her name is Rye-ly. Used a little Rye flour in the beginning and thus her name was formed. Haven’t been baking as often as I’d like as of recent, however, this too was a lesson for me. Acquired the starter from King Arthur Flour (KAF) I really had wanted to start one on my own. But after a month or so of trying to get it going to no avail, I ended up using a starter that was already successful from KAF. Had to accept that I wasn’t able to get it going from the start, but with a little help have been successful in making bread.
4. Recipe Development & Food Photography – Only recently started writing down my recipes and sharing with you all. I’ve always had an affinity for creating recipes but simply never wrote them down. And with creating new recipes and easy ones for the most part I also started trying to take better pictures. Always loved food photography and by mixing my two loves – food and photography, I’ve created quite a few masterpieces! Continue to explore in the kitchen, whether it’s a new recipe or whether it’s a new video. The key is showing that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated!
5. Dessert – Started the hashtag #thisdietitianeatsdesserts because I really do. Many people don’t believe that as a dietitian I include them. People often ask as a dietitian why I would promote eating desserts. My response is that you always want to find a way to include vs exclude foods (whether they be sweet or salty, whichever you prefer). Definitely a hard concept to grasp and implement with all the diet culture that lurks. Because I include desserts here and there and they aren’t restricted in any way, I never feel the need to overdo any. Knowing to expect them throughout the day or week helps. Sure I could be more mindful at times with the portions that I’ve taken, but then that’s a practice I’m still working on in many facets of my life.
Remember I share my small changes/things I’m currently doing/working on not for you to think that’s what you have to do. Rather to show you that even I as a dietitian can continue to make changes to improve my health and how I feel. A lot of these weren’t necessarily about improving my health, but rather helping me to grow in the field of nutrition. Regardless, I hope throughout this month you see some inspiring posts, recipes, and more from other dietitians and myself. Decide how you might make a small change that can lead to big results! Happy National Nutrition Month®
