Tag Archives: Nutrients

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Happy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

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Have you ever celebrated “Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day”? Well, we haven’t! So, we are pretty excited to be celebrating, for the first time, with you today! Grilled Cheese sandwiches are one of the most versatile foods around. So, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate with you than by giving a few examples of ways to ‘spice up’ your grilled cheese, and make it a nutritious, filling option for you and you’re family!

Many people enjoy eating their grilled cheese sandwich with a large bowl of tomato soup. However, tomato soup is high in calories. So, our first change is simple, but tasty. Simply adding your favorite veggies, like tomato slices, to your grilled cheese sandwich is a great way to add nutrients and flavor. Not only are you going to get rid of unnecessary calories by subbing soup with vegetables, they are also packed with many health-promoting vitamins. Another one of our favorite vegetable additions are red peppers and onions.

Another way to cut calories, and liven up the flavor of your grilled cheese sandwich, is to switch up the type of cheese that you use. Traditionally, grilled cheese sandwiches are made with sliced American cheese or Velveeta. These cheeses are high in calories and not as full of flavor as some other options. Next time, try switching those old, boring cheeses, for a half slice of low-fat cheddar and a half slice of low-fat Swiss. This combination will give your sandwich a great new flavor, while cutting your total calorie intake.

Are you tired of eating your grilled cheese sandwich on plain, white bread? So are we! Switching out your boring old bread for a tastier option can also be healthy. Be sure to use a whole-grain replacement. You can also use new sandwich thins. Or, to really change things up, try making yourself a grilled cheese rollup, using tortillas.

In the past, you may have though of a grilled cheese sandwich as the last option, when you didn’t feel like cooking anything else. Now, with these simple changes, you can look at a grilled cheese sandwich as a nutritious, gourmet dish that your whole family will enjoy!

How do you like to make your grilled cheese sandwich both healthy and tasty? Share your comments by posting a comment on the blog, on Facebook or on Twitter.

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How do you “Right-Size” Your Plate?

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We all know that proper portion sizes are important. The struggle is having the time to focus on each plate that we fill, making sure that it contains the perfect amount of food from each food group. That’s where we come in! We want to make sure that your plate is full of all the nutrients that you need, and is void of the empty calories that don’t provide your body with any nutritional value.

There are many resources available to us today to educate ourselves on proper nutrition and serving sizes. Right here at NCES, we recently launched our “Right-Sized Portion” line of products, including plates and tearpads. These products make it fun and easy to fill your plate with the right foods.

The American Dietetic Association also offers many great resources for helping us learn how to live healthier lives. A lot of these great resources are available year-round. Because March is National Nutrition MonthTM,  they have many extra resources available at no cost. We love their interactive nutrition games. Last week on Facebook, we mentioned the “Rate Your Plate” game. This game provides a fun, interactive way to understand more about how the choices you make when filling your plate affect your overall nutrition.  If you haven’t had a chance to play yet, be sure to go check out “Rate Your Plate”, as well as all the other great games, today!

Proper nutrition is very important, and should be an important part of your daily life. At NCES, we have an on-staff dietitian who is always here to answer your questions. So, whenever you have questions about living healthy, be sure to visit www.ncescatalog.com and “Chat with our Dietitian”, give us a call or email us at info@ncescatalog.com.