It is National Nutrition Month and the focus this week couldn’t be timelier: learn skills to create tasty meals. Let’s take a quick look at these five key components and how they can be used in your home today!
Keep healthful ingredients on hand.
Whether it be fresh, canned or frozen options be sure to include healthful choices. As we have discussed in previous posts, frozen and canned are fabulous choices. Not only do they last longer, they can also be just as packed (if not more) with nutrients as fresh options. Some examples are low/no salt added canned veggies, frozen fruit, canned tuna, freeze dried apples, peanut butter, brown rice, applesauce, and oatmeal. ***See below for a list of long lasting fresh produce.
Practice proper home food safety.
As always we should be rinsing our produce under water, wiping down food prep areas and surfaces, washing hands before and after eating, and be sure to store food safely (for example, fresh fruit on the top shelf and raw meat on the bottom).
Share meals together as a family when possible.
Make mealtimes enjoyable and a time to look forward to. Try themed meals, assign family members to different tasks such as setting the table, serving and doing the dishes. Mealtime is a wonderful place to focus on the positive and reassure each other that there is normalcy and comfort.
Reduce food waste.
Plan well, embrace leftovers and use food that will spoil the soonest first.
Try new flavors and foods.
Get creative. Looking for something to keep your family occupied? Try that recipe that you haven’t tried yet, make something new. Encourage kids to get involved in the kitchen; this can often spike their interest in trying something they may have previously been hesitant to try.
***Long lasting fresh produce: acorn squash, apples, beets, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, citrus fruit (lemon, limes, oranges), garlic, onions, parsnips, pomegranates, potatoes, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, turnips. ***