National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. NNM also promotes the Academy and its members to the public and the media as the most valuable and credible source of timely, scientifically based food and nutrition information.
Choose low-fat or fat-free milk. Swap whole milk for low-fat or fat-free milk. Low-fat milk has the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk, but less fat and calories. (To see how whole milk and fat-free milk compare in calories, fat and nutrients, check out the MyPlate Food-A-Pedia tool.) If you're lactose intolerant, try lactose-free milk or a calcium-fortified soy beverage.
Drink real juice. All fruit beverages are not created equal. When choosing juice, look for "100% juice" on the label and enjoy fruit juice in moderate amounts. Some fruit drinks are mostly water with fruit flavoring and sugar or other sweeteners. These drinks don't pack the nutritional boost you get from 100% juice, and they're high in calories.
Cut back on fancy coffee drinks. Plain coffee without added sugar and cream has only 2 calories and no fat per 8-ounce serving, but two teaspoons of sugar adds 32 calories, and a tablespoon of half-and-half adds 20 calories. If you drink multiple cups of coffee with cream and sugar daily, the empty calories quickly add up. Watch out for fancy espresso drinks too. Sweetened coffee drinks like mochas with whipped cream often pack 500 to 700 calories a drink—more calories than a fast-food cheeseburger. Keep your coffee simple. If you must add sugar, do so sparingly, and add low-fat or fat-free milk instead of cream.
Watch your glass size. People losing weight sometimes trade large dinner plates for smaller ones to create the illusion of larger portion sizes. This trick works for drinking glasses too. To see how your glassware stacks up, pour one cup of water into each type of glass. Observe how different the same portion looks from glass to glass.
Mix it up. If you're trying to beat a soft drink habit, try subbing in water or seltzer water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or mix a few ounces of juice with equal parts water or seltzer water. For a refreshing change from coffee, try a new kind of tea—green, white or a blend in place of black tea. Mint, fruit and herbal teas are flavorful and also calorie-free (if you don't add sugar or milk).
Click here to play the ------> Fact or Fiction Nutrition Game
~All information from http://www.eatright.org/
