The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has announced the theme for National Nutrition Month(R) in March of 2023, Fuel for the Future.  

Fuel for the Future helps everyone realize the importance of a plant-based diet for health and food sustainability issues. It is an excellent time to teach about global warming, world population growth, and the future of food systems.

But each teacher and practitioner can adapt the theme to their audience. Fueling for the future can mean eating better for a healthier future and can talk about a plant-based diet, reading food labels, meal planning, and budgeting. It can also fuel a passion to be more sustainable.

Since MyPlate is 3/4 plants (1/4 whole grains, 1/4 fruit, 1/4 veggies, 1/4 protein), it is the perfect icon to help visualize what it means to fuel for the future. It can be made vegan with a vegetarian protein option like beans/legumes, tofu, or a vegetarian burger. There is no need to give up all meat, but it might be time to emphasize it less to improve an eating plan or spend less money. There are also more sustainable choices in the grocery aisles today.

It might be helpful to discuss how to choose healthy vegetarian and vegan options.

Check out our partner site with its vegetarian and plant-based educational resources.

Resources to learn more about sustainable foods:

• Handout: Sustainable Eating Made Easy

• List of Top 50 Sustainable Foods

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03565-5

• https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sustainability/

Pick your topic to help your clients fuel their futures. Topics for nutrition and health professionals to teach nutrition have always been popular with our readers. Basic ones include:

• Dietary Guidelines

• MyPlate

• Nutrition Facts Label Reading

• Cooking

• Meal Planning

• Mindful Eating

• Combatting fad diets

• Family Meals

We often get asked for ideas about what to teach, and often it comes down to the literacy of an audience along with their goals. Do they need to learn about fad diets? Basics? Meal planning? Shopping? Cooking? Eating Out? Fiber and Gut Health? Math and Nutrition? Cravings? Combatting substance abuse? There is always a way to spin National Nutrition Month® with an audience’s own interests.

View our most popular nutrition month ready resources here: