For my post this week, I decided to use a resource I found on choosemyplate.gov titled “10 Tips Nutrition Education Series.” The material itself is a list of many different categories; the categories encompass pretty much any topic you can imagine, such as “Eat Seafood Twice a Week,” “Choosing Whole Grain Foods,” and “Eating Better on a Budget.” When you click on one of the links, it directs you to a print-out with 10 tips about that category that you can incorporate into your daily life. The print-out is highly convenient for families to post on the fridge, in the car, or anywhere else they might see it on a day-to-day basis. This is such a cool resource; MyPlate makes these print-outs highly accessible, so anyone can print them out and post them or hand them out. The tips included on the print-outs are easy to read, fun, and make it easy for whoever is reading the handout to infiltrate one or two of the tips into their lives.
What I found most surprising about this resource was how much information was on each hand-out. For example, when I opened the print-out titled “Make Better Beverage Choices,” I expected to read the same spiel about how you should cut out soda, drink more water, etc. However, as I read through the tips, I discovered that there were many I never even had heard of that I could easily try out on my own. This particular print-out mentioned a resource called Food-A-Pedia which lets you compare the calories and sugar in your beverage choices. This sounds like something that could easily and quickly be done by anyone so you could compare what kinds of beverages you’re choosing. Also, the handout lists fun facts that I didn’t know about before I read through it. For example, it stated that children and adults drink upwards of 400 calories a day just in beverages. Who knew beverages contributed that much?
What was most interesting about this resource is the fact that it isn’t necessarily just for people that are living unhealthy lifestyles and are looking for a change. There are tips for people who want to “makeover” their fridge, for people that exercise and want to eat the right foods, and for people who want to try new foods from different cultures. There’s also tips for any occasion; if you want to eat healthy on a holiday, there’s a print-out for you. If you want to learn how to grocery shop better, there’s something for you, too.
Nutrition educators could easily use these for a variety of purposes. These are so easy to print out and either post or just hand out to people. They could be posted in college dining halls (specifically, “Be Choosy in the Dining Hall” or “Stay Fit on Campus”). They could be handed out to children in schools who could then take them home to their parents who could incorporate the tips into their daily lives. They could even be handed out in grocery stores as people do their shopping so they could utilize the tips immediately. These could serve so many purposes and are so easy to use that more people should know about these. Spread the word!
Check it out here: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips/ten-tips.html