New Program Helps Educate Nebraskans About Healthier Food Options – NTV

Choose healthy here are labels you’ll find next to unhealthy and healthy options guiding you in making your choice the healthy choice.

“Just to show people that there are healthy options available, just educating them about those and maybe changing their old recipes into healthier ones,” said Heather Easton, Two Rivers Public Health Department.

 The Two Rivers Public Health Department and Nebraska extension received a grant to raise awareness and educate Nebraska communities on eating healthier.

They’re focusing on Kearney and Lexington to kick off their pilot program.

“Encouraging people to try to be a little bit more selective than what they’re buying and making sure that you have all of the different food groups on your plate, which is basically what ‘my plate’ is,” said Carol Schwartz, Nebraska Extension.

It’s also an effort to help grocery stores make those healthy options more visible to customers.

“There’s healthy food at the end of every aisle so try to promote a little bit and then we also have it in with the regular items, we’ll have “healthy” besides that,” said Dusty Luther, Family Fresh Market.

According to Heather Easton the perimeters of the store is where you will usually find the best food choices

“You’ve got your produce, you’ve got your meats and you’ve got your dairies; everything towards the inside is a little more processed so just kind of keep that in mind,” said Easton.

Setting a strong foundation of healthy eating habits starts at home offering kids two healthy options instead of snacks with added sugar, salt and fats.

 “Say to the child ‘I have an apple or an orange, which would you prefer?’ that way they are going to pick, both of them are good options, but if you say, ‘well I have a cookie or an apple, which would you prefer?’ said Schwartz.

But choosing the right foods is not the only way to live a healthy lifestyle getting active is important and it doesn’t have to be expensive to work.

“What we are doing in those communities is raising awareness in walking, walking does not just have to be for leisure, it can be a mode of transportation, it can also be a mode of exercise,” said Easton.

The community is invited to participate in a demo this Friday where they will be offering free samples of yogurt topped with fruit and granola from 5 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Family Fresh in Kearney.

Participants will also have a chance to earn five dollars after filling out a health survey.

from myhealtyze http://www.myhealtyze.tk/new-program-helps-educate-nebraskans-about-healthier-food-options-ntv/