March is (Inter)National Nutrition Month
Posted on 6 March 2007 under Cookbooks, Nutrition
Some news outlets are reporting that March is National Nutrition Month. Normally such events are seemingly national events with no international equivalent. However, the CBC is reporting that Canada has the same thing going on right now. From the article:
“Brandishing the slogan ‘Cook It Up Healthy,’ the Dietitians of Canada are using March’s Nutrition Month to encourage people to prepare home-cooked meals throughout the week, says Caroline Dubeau of Toronto, a spokesman for the 5,500-member organization … ‘Recent studies have shown that people are more and more eating convenience foods, takeout and we want to bring them into the kitchen,’ she says.”
While the U.S.-based American Dietetic Association offers a few recipes on their web site in the form of a four-page PDF, the Canadians are going all-out. (Yes, I know the ADA offers other cookbooks, but none of them are linked to this event.) You can order a copy of the cookbook “Simply Great Food” from the Dieticians of Canada. This cookbook contains 250 recipes and 50 pages of editorial info on nutrition. While the Minestrone with Turkey Sausage recipe seems a dieter’s dream, other recipes, such as the Slow-Cooked Chili Flank Steak or Brisket and the Best-Ever Chocolate Cookies are simply mouth-watering.
The Canadian Dietetic Association also offers two other cookbooks; their “Cook Great Food” cookbook and their ”Great Food Fast” cookbook from their 2000 National Nutrition Month campaign.
I just like the Canadians’ take on this. It seems a bit more fun, less stoic.
But there’s something about all of this that bothers me …
Take another look at the last line in my reference to the CBC article:
“‘Recent studies have shown that people are more and more eating convenience foods, takeout and we want to bring them into the kitchen,’ [Caroline Dubeau] says.”
Why would such a statement bother me? It implies two things that simply aren’t true;
- “Takeout” is always less nutritious than what you can make at home.
- Anyone who cooks at home is preparing nutritious foods.
I can head to restaurants just about anywhere and pick up nutritious food for my family. I can also cook up some of the most nutritionally nasty food you’ve ever eaten.
(I just spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what to use for “most nutritionally nasty” and am still not sure I got it right. Sorry if it looks strange …)
You see, it’s all about moderation, both at home and when eating out. The film “Super Size Me” supposedly shows how bad McDonald’s is for you. But honestly, if you were to eat at McDonald’s for the same amount of time he did, while also making intelligent choices about what you eat from their menu, you’ll actually lose weight.
Families should be eating home more often than they do now in an effort to promote family togetherness. Talk about your day, take the time to chew your food well while listening to a family member, care about those people, what they’re saying, as well as what they’re eating.
Make sure you also take the time to go out to eat with those same people. Make intelligent choices about where you go, and include fun places such as McDonald’s along with more high-end places such as the Frog Leg Inn or Evan’s Street Station. My family likes to eat at some of the Chinese buffets in and around Monroe County. The unanimous favorite item, even among the kids? Those long green beans, particularly when they give a nice ’snap’ when you bite into them.
Think about what you eat. It’s that simple. Nutrition doesn’t have to be difficult, with all the intense number-crunching some folks seem to care about. Use your God-given common sense.
Or even buy a cookbook from a bunch of Canadians, eh? Thanks, I think I will.
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6 March 2007 @ 11:29 am Posted by Mary
So what they are saying is, “The sky is falling and we can not think for ourselves”?
Thanks for your worthy opinion!