Grad students provide nutrition tips during grocery tours

Helping people make healthy eating choices and developing good habits is part of the goal of National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association.

A group of graduate students at Southeast Missouri State University spent a week giving grocery store tours at Schnucks, talking to customers about healthy cooking and food safety and showing people how even simple changes in eating styles can decrease the risk of various diseases.

The students were Deidre Trammell, Myra Hester, Elizabeth Foster and Kelly Stirtz. Here are some of their impressions:

During the promotion week, grocery store tours were given on two different days. These tours provided information on the healthiest foods to choose, while still getting the lowest price. The students talked about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, which provide many vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that have been shown to lower risk for certain cancers and heart disease. Brightly colored vegetables, such as red and green peppers and leafy green vegetables such as spinach, are good choices. Vegetables also contain fiber, a non-digestible carbohydrate shown to lower risk of certain cancers and heart disease.

Read the labels

Participants of the tours were taught to read food labels in order to choose grain products, such as cereals and breads, with the highest amount of fiber. And they were encouraged to choose breads that contained 100 percent whole-wheat flour and cereals that contained bran and/or whole wheat in the ingredients.

Most Americans are not meeting the recommended daily allowance for dairy products and therefore are not getting enough calcium from their diet. It is important to get adequate calcium to prevent osteoporosis. Good sources are milk, cheese and yogurt.

The last area of the grocery store tour was the meat section. It is recommended, based on the food guide pyramid, that all healthy people eat 2-3 servings of meat per day. Each serving of meat is 3 ounces, or the equivalent of a deck of cards. When shopping for meats, especially ground meats, look at the label to be sure it is lean. Ground meats need to be lean when used in an entree where the grease is unable to be drained off. Buy leaner cuts of meat and shave off excess fat before preparation.

Starting, ending the day

The events of National Nutrition Month at Schnucks included several cooking demonstrations that focused on breakfast and dinner.

Both of these meals are important aspects of nutrition because they are healthy ways to begin and end the day. One demonstration included a complete meal that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes, while the other emphasized some important aspects of eating breakfast.

Everyone has heard how important it is to eat breakfast every day. However, it seems that many people continue to skip this meal. Not only will breakfast jump-start your metabolism, but also it can serve as a nutritious meal. Many times breakfast includes a whole-grain product, such as cereal or toast for fiber, milk for calcium and some type of fruit juice for vitamin C. If you skip breakfast, you miss out on several vitamins and minerals. Also, as you get hungry later on you will be more likely to grab a less nutritious, often high-calorie, high-fat snack to tide you over.

Making breakfast easy

Understanding why breakfast is important is not always the problem. Many people feel they just do not have time. However, there are ways to make breakfast easy:

Freeze leftover waffles and pancakes to eat later in the week.

Enjoy a breakfast smoothie by blending low-fat yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese and ice.

Consider that eating a bowl of cereal only takes around three minutes. That is less time than it takes to sit in a morning rush at a fast-food restaurant.

Finally, remember that breakfast does not always have to be "breakfast food."

Some important things to remember about making good food choices:

Americans of all ages benefit from healthful eating, physical activity and lifestyle choices.

Trying new foods and new physical activities can jump-start your plans for health.

Personalize the Food Guide Pyramid as your road map to eating a variety of foods, using moderation when selecting portion sizes and balancing your choices over time.

Taking the first step forward making healthful choices can be easy if you enlist help from friends and family.

Start today for a healthy tomorrow.