Commissaries have resources to help patrons improve their health, wellness at dinner table

FORT LEE, Va. – During National Nutrition Month in March, make a point to get acquainted with all the resources the Defense Commissary Agency has designed to help you improve the nutrition quality of your diet.

“Whether trying to boost your performance nutrition, lose weight or improve overall health, the Nutrition Guide Program (NGP) at your local commissary can assist you in building a healthy eating pattern, “said DeCA’s Health and Wellness Program Manager Deborah Harris, MPH, RD, CDE (Masters of Public Health, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator). “Build your basket with mostly fresh produce, lean meats, heart healthy fats from fish, nuts and seeds, avocados, etc., and use the NGP tags to shop the center of the store to match your health and wellness needs.”

The Nutrition Guide Program is designed in collaboration with dietitians throughout the Department of Defense, identifying nutritious foods with color-coded shelf tags and a thumbs-up icon that indicates high nutrition quality and high performance food.

The program’s color-coded shelf labels point out items with key nutrient attributes – dark blue for low sodium, brown for whole grain, purple for no sugar added, light blue for low fat and golden yellow for good source of fiber. There’s also green for the lifestyle choice of USDA-certified organic.

“Thinking Outside the Box” recipes on commissaries.com offer quick and economical solutions to help our busy patrons prepare nutritious meals at home. These dietitian-approved recipes are easy to prepare, help promote nutrition education and feature ingredients offered at significant savings at your commissary. Be sure to check the sales flyer for the current Thinking Outside the Box recipe which is on sale for additional savings. A quick “Dietitian Approved” meal planner with links to the family-friendly, dietitian approved recipes featured on commissaries.com will help make your meal planning even easier.

Look for the new “Your Commissary Recipe” poster display now at your store. A dietitian-approved recipe poster highlights a display of all the ingredients you will need to make a nutritious, home-cooked meal at significant savings. Grab the ingredients you need, pull out your phone and take a snapshot of the poster, then you will have all you need to make a nutritious meal at home. 

“We understand how important readiness and resilience is to our military community so we strive to offer high performance foods and easy-to-use, quick solutions and resources to ensure our patrons meet their health and wellness needs,” Harris said.