Get Your Plate in Shape for National Nutrition Month®

From Tammy Roberts, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist 

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics promotes March as National Nutrition Month®. This year, the theme is “Get Your Plate in Shape”. The idea is for more people to use MyPlate as a way of choosing healthful, well-balanced meals.

“March is a great month to celebrate National Nutrition Month said Tammy Roberts, RD from University of Missouri Extension. “It’s a time when New Year’s resolutions may have faultered and time for us to get ourselves back on track.”

MyPlate was launched in June of 2011. It is an icon that shows a plate with half marked for fruits and vegetables,the other half for protein and grains. There is a glass to the side to remind us we need milk. “MyPlate serves as a simple, easy to follow reminder for choosing nutritious meals” said Roberts.

There are some simple messages to promote healthful eating that go along with MyPlate. It is recommended we enjoy our food but eat less; we should also avoid oversized portions. An easy way of accomplishing both of those goals is to use a smaller plate. “The size of plates and portion sizes have increased over the past 25 years” said Roberts. “We put more food on the larger plates and don’t even realize we have done it.”

The glass on the icon is a reminder that we need three cups of milk or yogurt every day. To save fat and calories, switch to low-fat or fat-free milk. If you’re not putting milk in your glass at the meal, drink water. You can save lots of calories by not drinking sugary drinks.

A little more than one-fourth of the plate is reserved for grains. Make sure half of those grains are whole grains. “Many people think that if it is whole grain it is dry and chewy but that simply isn’t the case any more” said Roberts. There are a variety of good-tasting whole grain cereals and breads, including mini-bagels. Brown rice and popcorn can also be good whole grain choices.

For more information about National Nutrition Month, go to www.eatright.org/nnm. For more information and tips on how to use MyPlate, go to www.chooseMyPlate.gov. There are lots of tips and tools to help make healthful eating easy.