Ways to Help Bring More Nutritional Value to Your Plate This Month
By: Mary Ellison, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Coordinator at Springfield-Greene County Health Department
March is Nutrition Month, and you know what that means — — a lot of advice columns on how to eat healthy or hire someone to help you reach your nutrition goals. But not everyone has the budget to purchase nutritionist-approved groceries like fresh vegetables and lean meat, especially during a pandemic and the highest rate of inflation seen in 40 years.
In the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, our goal is to provide nutritional education to pregnant women, breastfeeding moms, infants, and children up to the age of five.
One of the ways we improve the overall health of the families who are a part of this program is by providing food packages that include access to supplemental foods designed to meet their special nutritional needs.
This program is especially important right now, as many families are struggling to make purchases that are good for their family and won’t break the bank. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways everyone, no matter their income status, can implement foods with nutritional value into their eating habits.
1. Plan Your Recipes. This may seem like too simple of a step but planning your meals in advance gives you time to think about what you really need that week and how much you can spend. At WIC, our food packages help encourage whole grains and fiber, which are both great sources of nutrients and help you feel full. Try to plan recipes that can incorporate these ingredients with the other healthy foods that may be provided in a WIC package like canned fish, eggs, and low sodium canned beans.
2. Shop From a List. Shopping from a list when you go to the grocery store can not only save a person money, but also makes the experience quicker and easier. Going into a store with a list helps reduce impulse buys and avoid extra trips to the grocery store for forgotten items.
3. Find Ways to Stretch a Recipe. Healthy dry legumes like beans, peas and lentils keep well in the fridge once cooked and you can make large batches for cheap. This can give a family a next-day lunch or dinner which helps ease the stress of trying to find something to cook.
4. Buy Frozen When You Can’t Buy Fresh — Another benefit of WIC’s food package is increasing fruit and vegetable intake for families which can include frozen fruit or vegetables. Frozen groceries are great to enjoy out-of-season vegetables and fruit, too. If fresh produce is unavailable at the store, frozen is the next best option with your food package nutrition-wise. Frozen fruits and vegetables are a good choice if you worry about food spoilage.
5. Take a Second Glance at the Nutrition Facts Label. This is an easy, free way to check and see what you’re actually eating and the serving size. If trying to reduce sodium or saturated fat, check and see what a serving size is and how it fits into your daily nutritional intake. High amounts of sodium can put a person at risk of high blood pressure, which puts any pregnant person at risk for problems during pregnancy and after delivery.
6. Go for Whole Grain Foods. WIC-approved foods include heart healthy foods like whole wheat bread, pasta and tortillas, brown rice, corn tortillas, bulgur, whole-grain barley, and some cereals. These are all great options to use in recipes or as small snacks so you can keep your heart healthy.
There are so many more ways you can make healthy choices to bring more nutritional value onto your plate. Celebrate Nutrition Month by educating yourself, your family, and your loved ones about nutrition, food insecurity, and the food programs which help many of your community members, like WIC. For more information about WIC or to find out if you qualify, please visit https://health.springfieldmo.gov/2910/WIC.
Sources
Wicworks.fns.usda.gov/
CDC.gov
