st petersburg saturday art market (Photo credit: calebism)

This morning my local dietetic association had a booth at the St. Petersburg Saturday Market. Anything that you could have wanted was there. Very much like a food truck rally crashed into a farmer’s market. Prepared foods ranged from Gluten-free to Middle Eastern to plain old Subway. You could buy locally grown produce or smoothies blended from the specific fruits and veggies that you selected. One vendor was selling “edible” plants and right next door was a different vendor selling plants to grow your own food.

My group was there to promote NNM”s message for the year by answering questions, distributing recipes and other materials and handing out granola samples. One gentleman stopped by our booth to look around, bemoaning the fact that he was trying to lose weight and that more than likely there was nothing at the open air market that he would be able to eat or enjoy.

It was all I could do not to take him by the hand on a combination walking tour/mobile nutrition lesson. The joy that I get from my career as a RDN is making sure that if you need to lose weight, when I put together your specialized meal plan I include the foods that you need as well as the foods that you can’t live without. You see boys and girls, all foods fit in moderation. And moderation means two things: eat it less often and eat less of it when I do have it.

As we wrap up March  and get ready to become April fools on Monday, the take home message from NNM 2013 is simply this: look for the opportunity to make healthy choices everyday of the year. Eat Right Your Way, Every Day.

Post by Nadine

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March 31 and the days leading up to it  this past week represent the holiest days of the year for many people across the world. May we all know peace as we reflect on all that these last few days represent for ourselves and our families.