Celebrating National Nutrition Month®®

March is National Nutrition Month®! Every year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics runs a campaign to educate the public on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. The theme of this year’s campaign is Eat Right, Bite by Bite. The emphasis is on making small changes to improve your health.

If you haven’t visited the eatright.org page, check it out sometime. It is full of articles, tools and resources you can use to educate and answer all of your burning nutrition questions. Whether you are looking for information for yourself – or for someone else in your family – there is so much there about nutrition for people over 50, diabetes, children, pregnancy, the elderly, vegetarians, etc.

You could do just a little – or a lot – to improve your nutrition this month. One small thing (with big benefits) is to trade up a product that is in your regular rotation for one that has better nutrition. You can do that by comparing the Nutrition Facts Panels and Ingredients Statements. Remember that a shorter ingredients statement is usually better.

Here are 3 products that are in my kitchen pantry – that were not about one year ago.

Banza Pasta: This amazing pasta is made with chickpeas. I’ve been eating “alternative” (aka gluten free) pastas for almost ten years now. I had pretty much settled into brown rice pasta as my favorite when my husband brought home a box of Banza. I love the protein boost that comes with a serving (23 grams!) To compare, a typical brown rice pasta has 5 grams of protein. And the super-short and wholesome ingredients list is fabulous. The bonus with Banza is that you trade up for better nutrition and taste. It’s so delicious! Oh – and one more thing – it’s not expensive! You can typically find it at Target for under $3.

Siete Grain Free Taco Shells: Whole 30 Followers and Gwyneth Paltrow fans may be familiar with the Siete Foods Family. I stumbled upon this amazing group of products when I tried their corn chips made of cassava flour. These shells have an interesting ingredient list (avocado oil and pumpkin seed meal are included), and less saturated fat, and less carbohydrates than other gluten free shells I’ve seen. And they are delicious!

Flackers: I found these powerhouse crackers hiding on a shelf in Whole Foods. I love them for their incredibly short ingredients list (Organic Flaxseeds, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Sea Salt) and nutritional benefits (high fiber, anti-oxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids). When I’m hankering for something crunchy, it’s so much better to reach for a Flacker than a gluten free pretzel.

Take a look at the ingredients in those gluten free pretzels: Corn Starch, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Palm Oil, Dextrose, Cellulose Gum, Baking Powder (sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate), Salt, Citric Acid, Yeast, Soy Lecithin, Soda.

Just wow.

Do these little changes add up? I think they do. I happen to have a GI disorder that requires me to be on a restrictive diet (it’s called Low FODMAP). At my last testing, my GI doctor was pleased to tell me that she saw zero inflammation. Also, my primary doctor tells me every time I see him that I have the best cholesterol testing he’s ever seen. I’ve still been known to eat a gluten free pretzel (or ten!) too.

Whether you are perfectly healthy or if you have some sort of health challenge or goal, we can always improve. So, for National Nutrition Month, I challenge everyone to trade up – even just one little thing – and find something new – with better nutrition.