myplate

Looking for ways to brighten your meals? Stock up on goods from your local Farmers’ Market! Or try out your green thumb by growing your own food.

Gardening and agriculture go hand in hand with MyPlate. When planning a garden, start by thinking about foods that adapt well to the cool, fall season.  Many vegetables that are planted in the summer produce their best flavor when harvested in the fall such as broccoli and carrots.  This way you can focus on ingredients that are both flavorful and easy on your budget.

Para la versión en español de este blog, por favor visite: http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/09/25/celebre-el-mes-nacional-de-la-herencia-hispana-con-miplato

National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15^th to October 15^th, pays tribute to the history, culture and traditions of Americans with Hispanic ancestry.

To celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month and increase awareness about MiPlato – the Spanish complement to MyPlate – the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is launching new resources for Spanish-speaking audiences.  Visit ChooseMyPlate.gov and click on En Español to find the latest addition to the 10 Tips Nutrition Education Series, Disfrute Comidas de Varias Culturas (Enjoy Food from Many Cultures).  The new tip sheet celebrates ways to prepare healthier foods to meet diverse ethnic and cultural preferences.

For an English version of this blog, please click here:
http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/09/25/celebrate-national-hispanic-heritage-month-with-miplato

Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana, se celebra cada año del 15 setiembre al 15 de octubre, para rendir tributo a la historia, cultura y tradiciones de los Estado Unidenses de origen Hispano.

El USDA a través del Centro de Políticas y Promoción de Nutrición está lanzando nuevos materiales en español para la audiencia Hispana, en conmemoración del mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana y para incrementar el reconocimiento de MiPlato – el complemento en español de MyPlate.  Visite ChooseMyPlate.gov y haga click en En Español para encontrar la última edición de las Series de 10 consejos – Educación en Nutrición: “Disfrute Comidas de Varias Culturas”.  La nueva en la serie de 10 consejos de nutrición, celebra nuevas maneras de preparar comidas saludables y al mismo tiempo satisfacer preferencias culturales y diversidad étnica.

Today the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) along with their Honorary Chair, First Lady Michelle Obama, launched a campaign encouraging Americans to drink more water more often. The ‘Water: You Are What You Drink’ campaign is a collaboration between PHA and stakeholders across the public and private sectors. The initiative brings together leaders from industry, government and Hollywood with a shared goal: to excite, inspire and engage people in drinking more water.

This nationwide effort comes during National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, when much attention is already focused on the impact diet plays on the health of our nation. USDA works to educate consumers on the importance of making healthy dietary choices. Choosing healthful beverages is one part of that equation and drinking more water is something that all Americans can benefit from.  Increasing water intake, “drinking up”, is an easy change every one of us can make every day. Tap, filtered, bottled, carbonated- it all counts!

A picnic is an easy and relaxing holiday activity. USDA's MyPlate resources can help take the “labor” out of your Labor Day picnic. You can enjoy an easy, healthy meal by following this simple MyPlate formula: 5 food groups + family and friends = fun! When planning your picnic, be sure to include more healthful choices of menu items from each food group (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy) and water or 100% juice to drink.

Fruit
Celebrate the end of summer by enjoying seasonal fruits. You can make an easy (and portable) fruit salad by dicing up fresh fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, plums, kiwi, and strawberries. If you choose to include apples, bananas, or pears, just add a splash of citrus (like orange juice) to prevent browning. And if you’re feeling more adventurous, try this refreshing MyPlate watermelon gazpacho recipe. You can bring it in a lidded container, or divide into jars for individual portions.

The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion launched a new initiative this past March, MyPlate On Campus, to help spread healthy eating messages to young adults during their college years.  MyPlate On Campus is a unique program that encourages students to improve their own eating and physical activity habits as well as promote healthy eating to their peers. Most college students are emerging out on their own for the first time and perhaps vulnerable to the busy days of assignments, eating on-the-go, and making their own food decisions.  MyPlate On Campus provides students around the country with the tools to communicate the messages supporting the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to their campus community.  Students who are interested in promoting health and wellness are invited to sign up as a MyPlate On Campus Ambassador and become a member of the USDA/CNPP Nutrition Communicators Network.

Back-to-school is an exciting time of year that provides new opportunities for teaching and learning.  The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion offers great nutrition resources for young children, parents, and educators for this upcoming school year.  ChooseMyPlate.gov now features MyPlate Kids’ Place, a new section of the website designed for children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. MyPlate Kids’ Place offers fun resources for kids, such as games, videos, and songs, that encourage them to make better food and physical activity choices throughout the school year.  In addition, resources for parents and educators are available to engage their children and students in “teachable moments” that will influence their food decisions.

Here at USDA, we’re on a mission to help all of our nation’s children have the best possible chance at a healthy life.  So, we’re very encouraged by some recent news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):  the rate of obesity among low-income pre-school children appears to be declining for the first time in decades.

The declining rates show that our collective efforts are helping to gain ground on childhood obesity, particularly among some of the more vulnerable populations in our country.  Low-income children are often at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the food they need to grow up healthy, which is why USDA’s nutrition programs and resources are so vital.

The summer months often present more leisure time for families and friends to gather together.  These celebrations, like celebrations throughout the year, usually involve food. The USDA wants to make sure that your festive meals are healthy and that’s why the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) has released a new resource offering 10 tips to wisely celebrate healthier foods and customs. The new tip sheet, which is part of the 10 tips Nutrition Education Series, shows you how to embrace the favorite foods of your culture, as well as foods from other cultures, in a healthier way.

Enjoy Foods from Many Cultures, available for free download at ChooseMyPlate.gov, highlights ways to maintain a healthy diet while preparing and enjoying the food we love.  I recently talked about this with Taylor Durkin, a summer intern at CNPP, who reflected that “One of my favorite tips from this resource is to add a touch of spice. I always use herbs and spices like basil, cilantro, and ginger when I cook. It adds freshness and flavor to my meals!”

On July 9^th, budding young chefs gathered at the White House for the Let's Move! Kids’ State Dinner, hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama, to celebrate their culinary accomplishments in the Epicurious “Healthy Lunchtime Challenge”.  Let’s Move!, Epicurious, the U.S. Department of Education, and USDA collaborated on the challenge and honored the 54 finalists who created the winning recipes at last week’s celebration. Contestants were challenged to come up with healthy recipes using USDA’s MyPlate food icon for inspiration.  The winning recipes reflected the appealing symbol, with healthy amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy.

I was honored to be USDA’s advisor and a judge for this year’s competition, and attend the Kids’ State Dinner with the winners. Here, at the USDA, we are proud to see this national example of how MyPlate is helping children make healthy choices when preparing and consuming food.  Events such as this encourage other children to adopt good eating patterns and pursue healthy lifestyles.