“This is the best dinner ever!”
When my children eat something they really enjoy, they are unusually quiet.
They sit in their chairs properly.
They don’t whine or play with their food. I get a glimpse of an almost perfect mealtime.
“So this is what suppertime is supposed to be like,” I think to myself.
The only thing preventing me from fully enjoying my meal is the fact that we are eating Tim Horton bagels with butter for supper. While my inner dietitian critiques the lack of colour and diverse nutrients of the meal, it has been one of those days and I cannot argue with the peace, the ease, and the absence of dishes to clean at the end of the meal.
Sometimes healthy eating feels like a lot of work.
March is Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Take a 100 Meal Journey. Make small changes one meal at a time.”
The idea is to inspire Canadians to make small positive adjustments to their meals and snacks. Each month, we eat almost 100 times; therefore, we have many opportunities to make better choices.
Here are some simple ideas you could try:
• Drink a glass of water in the morning before you have a coffee
• Add some nuts or berries to your morning bowl of cereal
• Add a piece of fruit to your lunch
• Fill half your dinner plate with vegetables
• Wait ten minutes before taking a second helping
• Choose fruit or yogurt for dessert
• Prepare cut-up veggies in your fridge for snacking
• Keep your meat portion to the size of a pack of cards
• Try to include beans or lentils into one meal a week
Making small changes every day just takes a little bit of effort and awareness.
A small change I could have made to my children’s bagel meal is to pour a glass of milk and throw a few veggie sticks on the table.
By taking little steps to make every eating opportunity healthier, we move towards adopting healthy eating habits for a lifetime.
-Serena Caner is a registered dietician who works at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.