Page 44 - Robeson Living Spring 2021

Eat Healthy When

Life Gets Busy

By Joanna Rogers,
Youth EFNEP Assistant

When our everyday lives get busy with work, school, and When shopping for easy meal solutions, remember to read food
home life, making great food choices sometimes gets put on labels. Avoid foods loaded with unwanted additives and not
the back burner. We typically go for fast food or food that is enough nutrients. It’s always best to go with fresh ingredients,
more convenient to grab and go. Most convenience foods are but frozen and canned foods are good as well. Check out your
loaded with sodium, sugar, and other nonessentials for our local farmers market where you can find fresh produce grown
bodies. These ingredients often lead to health problems such locally along with other food items such as jams and yummy
as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. Our bodies need treats. Our local farmers market is located on the corner of 8th
six key nutrients in order to stay healthy: carbohydrates, water, and Elm Streets in downtown Lumberton. With spring in full
protein, (healthy) fats, vitamins, and minerals. Without these swing, farmers will have a great variety to choose from.
essential key nutrients our bodies begin to slow down and be-
come sluggish. Below is one of my favorite go to recipes. It is quick and easy
and can be paired with brown rice or a lean protein.
How can we make sure we are getting what we need out of
our meals? Meal prep and menu planning can be a lifesaver
for families on the go. Sundays are always a good time to prep Super Stir Fry
meals and snacks requiring little to no food prep time for days Makes 2 servings
your schedule will be hectic; you will have a healthy meal Serving Size: 1 cup
with minimal cooking time, and all the prep out of the way. A
great example of this is salad - a meal with lots of nutrients. Ingredients
Create your own salad bar with a variety of options like meat • Choose 5 vegetables (½ cup of each)
(protein), cheese (dairy), fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat - Onion
crackers (grain). In the Expanded Food and Nutrition Educa- - Broccoli
tion Program (EFNEP), we teach youth the importance of get- - Celery
ting all five food groups in a meal. With each food group, we - Carrots
will get many of the key nutrients for our bodies. - Peppers

Page 44 Robeson Living ~ Spring 2021