March is National Nutrition Month! Get Your Plate in Shape!

To kick off National Nutrition Month, I have a fellow RD (Registered Dietitian) who is authoring today’s article! Barb Andresen, RD, LDN, has many years of experience counseling clients on heart healthy eating, eating for pregnancy, nutrition for families, healthy and well-being and much more! She shares some of her tried and true tips for National Nutrition Month!

Get Your Plate In Shape

National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education 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.

Make half your plate fruits and vegetables – great advice, but “how to” increase your intake on a daily
basis takes a bit more finesse.

Here is a taste of the advice I offer my clients who are busy with work and family and trying hard to fill a
better plate. Little effort is needed for a big change!

Tips to Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables. Recipes Not Needed!

Try some of these ideas on increase the proportion of fruits and vegetables on your plate.

• Add fresh or thawed frozen berries to your hot or cold cereal – a serving is 1 cup and adds so many nutrients including phytochemicals and fiber.
• Put sliced apples and a handful of berries on top of you salad
• Try fresh sliced mozzarella and strawberries on top of romaine and arugula salad for a different spin on salad
• Thinly slice Granny Smith apples on a toasted English muffin, sprinkle with cinnamon and melt low fat cheddar cheese on top in the toaster oven (I use Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar)
• Spread low fat v
  egetable cream cheese on a whole wheat tortilla, slice ½ red pear on top, sprinkle with cinnamon and roll up
• Top baked chicken with canned tomatoes and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning
• Top broiled lean pork chop with applesauce and a sprinkle of black pepper and cinnamon (I prefer Trader Joe brand Unsweetened Gravenstein Applesauce)
• Sauté sliced onion, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms quickly in a Tbsp of olive oil and mix in bottled pasta sauce, pour over prepared light ravioli (Buitoni or other brand)
• Snack on raw sweet potato sticks and red pepper slices, can dip in seasoned Greek yogurt (plan Greek yogurt with Greek seasoning blend)
• Slice a banana in half, sprinkle with dried cranberries and drizzle with a tsp of honey
• Make a breakfast smoothie with plain greek yogurt, low-fat milk and frozen mango (or any berry)
• Put sliced cucumbers on a sandwich instead of pickles, adds crunch and flavor without the sodium
• Top a baked potato or salad with salsa (Herdez is a favorite in my house)
• Keep a large Ziploc bag or container in freezer and add any leftover vegetables to it. Soon you will have adequate amount to make a quick vegetable soup by adding no-salt added canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil and top with chopped red pepper and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

Get creative, involve the whole family and find new ways to use fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables to get YOUR plate in SHAPE!!

Brought to you by Barb Andresen, RD, LDN
BAndresen & Associates MNT Services
336-659-8622 WWW.MyMNT.net