Nutrition professionals from Trinity Health of Minot and the Minot Air Force Base Health and Wellness Center are teaming up this month to present a series of nutrition education events.
On Friday, a tour of the Minot Air Force Base commissary focused on learning to make nutritional choices when shopping.
"We're promoting healthier eating this month, and usually people know how to eat right, but sometimes it takes a couple of reminders," said Michelle Fundingsland, dietitian for the Minot Air Force Base Health and Wellness Center.
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Michelle Fundingsland, dietitian for the Minot Air Force Base Health and Wellness Center, walks tour participants through the Minot Air Force base commissary Friday.
"This (tour) is better than just sitting in a classroom with a PowerPoint presentation. You get hands-on experience, looking at the labels, and it helps seeing all the different choices that are out there," she added.
Through the tour, participants learned how to spot the fats, salt and fiber in foods, and how to determine their nutritional content. Participants were also invited to discuss their own specific concerns and ask questions.
"When you're shopping, you want to shop the perimeter of the store first, where they have the produce, meat, and dairy sections. In the center aisles, there is more processed food," Fundingsland said.
"By shopping the perimeter, it might seem like you're spending more, but you're actually getting more good quality food," she added.
Fundingsland provided many helpful tips for tour participants, including adding powdered milk and an artificial sweetner to coffee as a substitute for the fattier creamers, and mixing healthier whole grain pastas in with regular pasta to appease the pickier eaters in the family. She also suggested purchasing prepackaged fruits and vegetables for individuals looking to save on preparation time.
"The comments I get about fruits and vegetables is that they're hard to prepare, but you can purchase the prepackaged variety. They are going to be a bit more money, but it can make them more accessible to your lifestyle," Fundingsland said.
Tour participants themselves left with a good reminder on making nutritional choices.
"I think reading the ingredients on the label was very educational for me, and I think we should do more of that. I have a diabetic daughter and another daughter that loves sweets, so it helps to learn some of this information to help me balance out their diets," said Sheri Rodahl, who took the tour.
For those who wish to learn more about nutrition, two other public events are coming up this month. On March 30, from 10 to 11 a.m. or from 6 to 7 p.m., people can participate in a supermarket tour at Miracle Mart Arrowhead in Minot. For more information on that event, call 857-5268. On March 23 at 7 p.m., people can attend a "Eating Healthy, Spending Less" presentation at Trinity Health-Riverside in Minot. For more information on the presentation, call 857-5099.