National Nutrition Month!

March is National Nutrition Month and with today being the first day of spring, there are so many reasons to celebrate! Hopefully old man winter is behind us, (even though he went pretty easy on most of the US this year) which means warmer weather, with that brings fresh fruits and vegetables, outdoor activities and exercise, and fresh air and sunshine.There are so many reasons to celebrate National Nutrition Month, with obesity, diabetes, and chronic illness on the rise there is no better time than now to decide to get healthy. The Raw Food Institute reports, "...100 years ago, Americans consumed only 10 pounds of sugar a year, now the average American is consuming over 170 POUNDS of sugar a year." I was dumb founded to hear those numbers. But the more I thought about what Americans are eating every day from lattes and pastries to fast foods and desserts, I guess it does make sense. It's no wonder this country seems to constantly sick.So, for the rest of the month why not decide to do something better for yourself. Choose to make better food choices and establish good eating habits. Try one meal a day to really make and effort to eat the entire meal completely thoughtful and nutritious and try it for week!The next week, try making good choices on all your lunches or all your snacking.Commit yourself to get outside more and get more physical activity and exercise. It can be as simple as mowing the lawn or raking the leaves to walking for 20 minutes to swimming laps at your local pool. The old saying "if you don't have your health, then you have nothing," is true. You only get one body and one life! Make today the day you decide to take back your health. Choose to take better care of your family and yourself.If you live in Maryland or near the Eastern Shore in Virginia and Delaware. Here are a couple extra sites to check out! They contain information on recipes, meet up groups and events for knowledge and information from local farmers, health, and non-profit organizations. Chop Chop Magazine or you can text Chop Chop to 43186 to get information via text from this magazine loaded with information by the state of Maryland or check out Slow Food Delmarva for upcoming events and meetings for the whole family.