Healthfinder.gov posts a list of National Health Observances by month in which focused efforts of public awareness are made. For example, January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month and there are six other initiatives as well. As a dietitian, I would like to call attention to an important initiative that considered March as National Nutrition Month (NNM). The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics sponsors the annual NNM campaign to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

This is a great time to take advantage of special promotions offered on the Academy website here. Download handouts and try new meal recipes. Innovative classroom materials include “Fun Food Messages” and “Name the Foods. The Academy even has a web page of games that are great to play at home. Dietitians who blog about NNM’s theme, “Get Your Plate in Shape,” will add the icon above to their post.

Have fun exploring these resources for use at home and in the classroom. It’s nice to have so many wonderful nutrition materials readily available for children. But remember: the games on Playnormous.com are also fun, and available 24/7 every day of the year!

Have you noticed newly designed shelf labels in your grocery store lately? Markets are making big strides in consumer nutrition education by creating label systems using shapes, colors, and numbers to make it easier to make healthy food choices.

Hannaford has had their kid-friendly Guiding Stars system for years. Foods that don’t meet nutritional criteria have no star label. Parents can engage kids in shopping by setting star limits for foods that can be placed in the shopping cart. One star is good, two better, and three best.

Recently, Shaws Supermarkets introduced their Nutrition IQ color-coded labels based on food nutrient content. A multi-colored wheel on their site explains the details, and makes it easy to select healthy foods based on your needs.

Many markets, like Big Y, Tops, Price Chopper and fourteen other chains are using the Nuval system of shelf labels. Foods are rated a number from 1 to 100 using a complex formula of multiple variables. A score of 100 is the best. Try the “Nutrition by the Numbers” game on their website, and compare family scores.

All of these nutrition tools make grocery shopping faster and effective, and lend themselves well to creating games for kids to help and learn.

Have them search for number ranges, or colors, or star level foods. Think of it as a scavenger hunt in the grocery store. It’s a win-win game for families or individuals.

Veggie-phobia.

All of this blogging about our newest health game V for Vegetable made me think about a really pretty poster we created a while back for The Woodlands Children’s Museum that talks about picky eating and how to deal with it. After all, many childhood picky eaters don’t like vegetables. I realized that we never really shared this helpful information with you. Now is as good a time as any!

So without further ado, here are some ways that you can encourage your picky eater to try something new, like a new vegetable.

1 – Learn Together

• Stay positive–remember that picky eating is often temporary.
• Learn how to handle eating challenges together by talking about it with your child.
• Avoid conflict so your child won’t learn to use food as a way to exert control.
• Consider what your child eats over several days, not just in one meal.

2 – Shop Together

• Allow your child to pick produce at the grocery store.
• Select one new food to try eat time you visit the store.
• Describe the color and texture of fruits and vegetables.
• Offer “this or that” choices for less desirable foods.

3 – Cook Together

• As a team, read recipes or explore cookbooks.
• Name your dishes or create new ones together.
• Get hands-on with food–stir, measure, kneed, tear greens, and crack eggs.

4 – Eat Together

• Plan times to eat together by putting it on the calendar.
• Focus on food and family by turning off the TV.
• Offer the same foods to the whole family–no special meals for kids or adults.
• Teach your children about small portions by letting them serve themselves.  Teach them to start with a small portion and take seconds if they are still hungry.
• Don’t praise a clean plate.  Allow children to stop eating when full.

Get the poster.

Love these tips? Want a poster so you’ll remember them?  Our Picky Eater Poster is available today in our online store. Pick up your own today!

How much do you know about this health epidemic?

I was browsing one of my favorite websites, How Stuff Works, and thought to myself, “What would happen if I entered the phrase ‘childhood obesity.’” Much to my surprise, up popped a childhood obesity quiz. After taking the quiz, I realized I don’t know as much about obesity as I thought. I only got 7 out of 10 correct….

To see how much you know about childhood obesity and learn some interesting facts, try the quiz now. It only takes a few minutes. Enjoy!

Signed, sealed, delivered.

Just in time for the beginning of 2011, the USDA released their new dietary guidelines for 2010. Apparently they’re running a bit behind this year since it took a little extra time to get both Secretaries Vilsack and Sebelius in the same room. Regardless, we’re excited since it’s been a whole five years since the last set of guidelines.

What’s changed?

There are some interesting new changes that the USDA has made since 2005. These are outlined in their Q&A document, but here are the basics:

• Two new chapters were included: “The Total Diet” considers various health-promoting dietary patterns and “Translating and Integrating the Evidence” addresses the broader environmental and social change needed to support healthy eating.
• A flexible approach to a total diet was encouraged, incorporating individual tastes and food preferences into the Report’s individual recommendations for a dietary pattern that is acceptable without exceeding calorie needs.
• Eating behaviors were addressed (e.g., breakfast, snacking, fast food) and the association of screen time with increased body weight was assessed.
• Recommendations to increase consumption of plant foods (vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains and nuts and seeds) were included.
• Seafood consumption of 8 oz (two servings) per week was encouraged.
• The Report noted that the benefits of consuming seafood far outweigh the risks, even for pregnant women.

Line item three I found most interesting. Eating behaviors have been addressed. Perhaps behavior change is upon us…

To read more about the new USDA guidelines for 2010, including the full press release, visit dietaryguidelines.gov.