Happy National Nutrition Month from Manhattan Nutrition Clinic!

Each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sponsors a campaign to promote the importance of good nutrition for all

individuals. Healthy food choices are important every day of the year, but in March we take time to celebrate the good that a healthy diet brings.

This year, the campaign theme is Beyond the Table.

The food choices we make, whether at a single meal or our lifelong dietary habits,have effects that extend beyond what we

put on our plate (possibly at a table). Our food choices provide flavor and nourishment, comfort and fun, and vitamins and minerals. How we choose to fuel ourselves can impact our focus, our energy levels, and our health. Beyond ourselves, the choices we make can influence our friends, our family, and our world.

You may have heard that you are a combination of the five people with whom you spend most of your time. We can say the same about our eating habits. Making healthy food choices can encourage those around us to make better food choices. This is especially true for children learning to be healthy eaters as their parents model healthy eating behaviors! Our food choices can influence the choices of others.

The key focus, however, of the Academy’s Beyond the Table is the impact our food choices can have on the environment.

Measuring environmental impacts can quickly become complex. It can be challenging to think about emissions and miles traveled, all the effort that goes into producing our food. It takes many steps to go from field to plate, and all those impacts add up. Choosing the “best” foods for environmental health is difficult.

A simpler way to think about how our food choices extend beyond the table may be to recognize that it took effort and energy to prepare the food for our consumption, and just like we don’t waste electricity (we turn off the lights when we leave a room) or water (we turn the faucet off while brushing our teeth), we can work to waste less food and use less energy through our food

choices.

Waste Less Food. We can reduce food waste when we shop with a plan and buy only what we will eat. We can use the ingredients we purchase before their expiration date and be creative with produce that has gotten wilted or wrinkly. We can freeze leftovers and share excesses with our neighbors.

Eat More Locally. Transporting food requires energy. If we can purchase locally produced food that does not need to travel far, we can use less energy (and support local businesses and enjoy fresher food!). Farms and farmers' markets are great places to look for local foods. Another strategy is to think seasonally. Foods that are in season are more likely to be grown

regionally than those that are not.

Our food choices are complex. We work to decipher what’s nutritious, what’s tasty, and what’s good. Our food choices are important. They shape our health and our environment. Not every food choice we make needs to be overthought and stressful, but if we can choose foods that are nutritious and planet-friendly, we can help build a healthy world Beyond the Plate.

Not sure what a healthy diet looks like for you? Reach out to our team of dietitians; we’d love to help!

(785) 560-2566 or admin@manhattannutritionclinic.com