The birds are singing, the snow is melting and the sun is shining—spring is finally here! As I giddily flip through the recipes in my 2016 Milk Calendar (available every year on albertamilk.com), I’m reminded how much spring brings out my inner foodie. The vibrant colours and smells in the air make me want to reach for the most colourful produce and spices, making food as enjoyable to make and look at as it is to eat. And what a perfect time to talk about food and the benefits of eating a healthy diet—March is Nutrition Month in Canada!
Nutrition Month has been planned and delivered by the Dietitians of Canada for over 30 years. Each year, the campaign finds new and exciting ways to support Canadians in making healthy food choices. Themes for the campaigns are chosen based on input from members of the Dietitians of Canada as well as Canadian consumers. This year’s campaign theme is “Take a 100-meal journey. Make small changes one meal at a time” and is designed to encourage small, simple, doable changes and offer realistic strategies to help sustain healthy-eating.
Many communities and workplaces across the province and country host annual events during March to recognize Nutrition Month. At ASEBP, we're in our second year of Nutrition Month festivities. Last year, a few interested people came together, formed a planning committee and are currently working to plan events to promote healthy eating as part of a holistic approach to health. A few events currently in the works are a lunch n’ learn with an internal dietitian, a post work-out snack station near our fitness room and a cooking demonstration. Alberta Health Services is also promoting nutrition month—offering resources and information on their website.
The Dietitians of Canada have loads of resources available for you to kick start your own activities:
- Take the pledge. Take the pledge to make a small change during Nutrition Month and encourage others to follow suit!
- Get the facts. There are five bilingual fact sheets to use during the month to spread the campaign messages.
- Promote like crazy. Simply download this ready-to-use ad to promote your workplace campaign.
- Get mobile. Phone apps like eaTracker, Cookspiration can help your campaign get legs outside of the office.
- Just a click away. There are countless other tools and resources available to you. Just visit the Nutrition Month resources section and you’re as good as gold!
Take the pledge and see what big impacts a few small changes can make in your workplace—happy (and healthy) eating!
Stéphanie Caron-Roy
As a Registered Dietitian and a former ASEBP workplace wellness liaison, Stéphanie enjoys living a healthy lifestyle and believes healthy eating is all about balance. In fact, she’s as good on her feet as she is with her food. With her bilingual superpowers, Stéphanie’s favourite moniker, “The Frenchie,” seems absolutely appropriate.
