National Nutrition Month: An Educator's Guide

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has laid out a collection of 5 key messages to help people "Focus on Food" for Nutrition Month. They are as follows...

1. Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods.
2. Practice cooking more at home and experiment with healthier ingredients.
3. How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
4. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
5. Manage your weight or lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs (source)

And of course I want to get in on the fun too!Here are some links to past posts and resources that can help you communicate the 5 key messages of National Nutrition Month to your clients in an effective and engaging manner. I hope you like them!Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods.

1. Variety is the Key to Weight Control
2. Eat from the Rainbow (with a bonus handout!)
3. Change It Up Poster
4. Fruit and Vegetable Challenge
5. What's on Your Fork?

Practice cooking more at home and experiment with healthier ingredients.

1. Cooking Home Run Meals at Home
2. 10 Must-Have Tools for the Home Kitchen
3. Fun Ways to Get Picky Eaters to Try New Foods
4. 5 Strategies for Better Dinners at Home
5. Video: Supermarket Shopping for Health

How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you.

1. A MyPlate Food Diary Handout for Portion Control
2. Take Control of Your Portions Poster
3. Effective Portion Control Ideas (and activities)
4. 3 Ways to Improve Portion Control
5. Eat Less, Live Longer

Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.

1. Quiz: Are You Physically Active?
2. Beyond Weight Loss: The Impact of Exercise
3. Family Exercise: 4 Simple Tips for Building a Fun Routine
4. Poster: Exercise to Lose and Control Weight
5. Balancing Diet and Exercise 

Manage your weight or lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist.

1. A Dietitian's Cleanse
2. A Dietitian's Take on the New Food Labels
3. Tree of Nutrition Poster
4. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Tips from Dietitians and Family/Consumer Science Professionals
5. A Dietitian's Opinion of the New Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Plus, just in case you missed it, here's a great handout to help you communicate a few of these key messages...PS: March 8 is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day. How are you celebrating?PPS: Check out these amazing Nutrition Month resources... 

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Stephanie Ronco

Stephanie Ronco has been editing for Food and Health Communications since 2011. She graduated from Colorado College magna cum laude with distinction in Comparative Literature. She was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa in 2008.