Ask a Dietitian

As seen March 4/03
MARCH IS NUTRITION MONTH – HEALTHY EATING… TASTY AND EASY!

Despite their best intentions to eat well and be more active-women are often too busy juggling work and family life to make this happen. Women still bear most of the responsibility for their family’s nutrition and well-being. Typically, women are the one’s making the decisions about what and how their family eats, as well as doing most of the grocery shopping and meal preparation.

Dietitians of Canada, Kraft Canada and Dairy Farmers of Canada have just released a report based on an online survey investigating women’s nutrition concerns, their perceived roadblocks to healthy eating and ways to solve these issues. Report: “Kraft Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada and Dietitians of Canada 2003 Report on Healthy Eating Challenges Facing Women”

The key concerns raised by women aged 24-45 are:

• Time to plan, purchase and prepare healthy foods
• Preparing meals the whole family will eat
• Fast convenient meals that taste good and are economical

The key challenges: Time to plan and prepare healthy meals, fitting in the 4 food groups and achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Healthy eating means making healthy food choices part of your everyday lifestyle.

Fast and Easy Meal Strategies

• Have a grocery list divided into categories: grain products, vegetables and fruit, milk products, meats and alternatives- this not only helps you to see how your food choices balance out, but it also saves time as most of the foods are located together.
• Get organized- stock your cupboards, fridge, and freezer with pantry basics that will help you pull together nutritious meals in a hurry.
• Make a plan- choose three or four main supper meals to have during the week and make a list of items needed. Make sure to buy all the ingredients you need ahead of time to avoid unnecessary trips to the store.
• Menu planning initially is a time investment, but over the long run saves time and money, decreases stress and improves nutrition.
• Post it- Keep your supper menu plan on the fridge so everyone know what’s for supper and whoever gets home first can start the preparation/cooking.
• Keep it simple- Your main supper meal should be quick to prepare and easy enough for older children and partners to help out. Leave the recipe handy and let them try following it.
• Share the tasks- Younger children can set the table, older kids can help with food preparation and all can help with the cleanup. Assign jobs so everyone knows what is expected of them.
• Make life interesting- Try a new recipe every once in a while- ask family members to find and suggest recipes that they would like to try. Remember variety is the spice of life!
• Prepare meals in advance or partial preparation the night before to shorten prep time after work.
• Try brown beans and cheese rolled in a tortilla…or scrambled eggs, toast, orange and milk for supper. Healthy eating can be done without a recipe and in a limited amount of time.
• At a family conference, list all the foods everyone likes so you have ideas for your shopping list.
• When you try a new recipe add appropriate margin notes – “tastes amazing”, “substitute carrots for peas” etc.
• Pack nutritious snacks and meals to eat on the run
• Visit Dietitians of Canada website www.dietitians.ca/eatwell and get involved in “One Day @ A Time”. This is a new interactive section presenting healthy eating challenges and solutions through nine scenarios which provide practical, healthy eating advice and tips for common situations women and mothers find themselves in on a daily basis.

Eat meals together with your family as often as possible to ensure your family is eating well and to set a good example for healthy eating.

Key strategies for family meals include:

• trying to schedule activities so you have some time available each day for your family meal
• accommodating different family schedules by being flexible with meal times
• encouraging family members to participate in the meal preparation and clean up – children who help with meals learn about healthy eating while being proud of their contributions
• making meal times simple and enjoyable – turn off the TV and enjoy discussing the days events
• keeping everyone interested by taking turns choosing and trying out new meal ideas

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on Global TV’s Noon News Hour!