Nutrition Month is a great time to focus on the health lessons that matter most to you and your clients. Connecting With Food is a positive lesson that helps everyone come together to support each other for healthy food choices and positive social experiences. Staying connected through healthy eating involves sharing meals and experiences that foster relationships while prioritizing nutrition. Cooking together as a family or with friends allows for bonding while exploring healthy recipes and trying new foods. Hosting potlucks or meal-prep sessions encourages collaboration and introduces everyone to diverse, wholesome dishes. Planning regular shared meals, whether at home or dining out, builds a sense of togetherness. Additionally, discussing food choices and health goals with loved ones can create mutual support and accountability, helping everyone stay motivated on their journey toward healthier eating. Sharing the joy of nourishing food strengthens both physical health and emotional connections.

The National Nutrition Month theme is "Connection With Food" - here are excellent Nutrition Month Activities:

• Talk about family meals and making a positive eating experience. For some families that might mean having everyone help with meal planning, shopping, preparation, and cleaning. For others, it might mean sharing a great conversation at the dinner table or making meals more interactive with a “build your own” type of meal.

• Do a cooking demo to introduce your clients to some foods on the handout, like lentils or local produce in season. Show them how to make a build your own meal for their table.

• Have a contest to see who can make the most exciting veggie burger. Or who can use mushrooms for dinner since they have a meatlike flavor called umami.

• Show and tell cooking utensils that make life and plant-based cooking easier. Use our top 10 list for kitchen equipment. Or add your own.

• Show how it makes a difference to compare food labels. That is undoubtedly a skill for building great meals that keep everyone healthy together!

• Join as a member to see all our handouts for Nutrition Month, cooking demos, and even more recipes.

Instead of staying up all night researching studies and creating presentations, let Food and Health do the work for you. There are always fantastic new materials in the Nutrition Education Store. We also happily create products upon request.

So, if you need some great ideas for celebrating Nutrition Month this March, visit the store or check out a few popular products below.