The good news? Women can--and should--continue to enjoy tuna sandwiches during pregnancy. Decades of research show the benefits of omega-3s on developing brains when pregnant and breastfeeding women regularly consume a variety of seafood. 

The bad news? Many women are confused about how much seafood is safe to eat when they’re expecting or breastfeeding, or even how much seafood is safe to feed their toddlers and infants starting solids.

The fact is that omega-3 fatty acids—along with other nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, protein and iron—found in seafood are vital during pregnancy, breastfeeding and early childhood, and because of this, the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that expectant and breastfeeding moms and young children consume at least two weekly servings of seafood. 

Unfortunately, pregnant women in the U.S. consume less than one-quarter (only about 1.9 ounces) of the recommended amount of seafood each week.

Here are five things to keep in mind when considering seafood during these critical development periods.

Warm spring temperatures inspire us to open the windows and get organized. Whether you clean from floor to ceiling or just enough to lighten the load, make sure you add pantry or food cabinets to your list. 

A well-organized pantry can help boost food shopping and meal prep efficiency, lower your grocery bills (say goodbye to multiple jars of dried oregano!) and improve your health.

Think of spring cleaning your pantry as a way to streamline your food stockpile and kick-start your healthy eating habits. It’s your opportunity to throw out the old and unhealthy, and start anew. In fact, a well-organized pantry may be the easiest lifestyle change you make!

First, remove everything from your pantry. Yes, everything. You’ll find fallen spice jars and grains you forgot you bought. Then, wipe down the shelves using a wet cloth or a vinegar-water spray and allow to dry completely.

While shelves are drying, it’s time to categorize and purge! Use this opportunity to throw out the bad so you can make room for the good. 

Here are some items that you can (and should) ditch for your health.

There’s something about spring that inspires many of us to clean out our closets and our kitchen cabinets. So, it’s fitting that National Nutrition Month® falls in March, a time when we are starting to dream about warmer temperatures, bountiful summer produce and lighter fare.

National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to emphasize the importance of making informed food choices. This year’s National Nutrition Month® theme is “Put Your Best Fork Forward.” A reminder that every bite counts, this theme reflects the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for American’s recommendation to shift to a healthier eating pattern.

This idea that every bite counts also resonates closely with advice that I regularly share with my clients: small steps do add up to big changes. Additionally, I advise my clients that healthy eating can be as simple as choosing the more nutritious option between two foods, such as choosing a side salad instead of fries when eating out or a handful of nuts and dried fruit instead of a sugar-laden granola bar. This helps clarify the idea (and alleviate the pressure) of the somewhat-vague term “eating healthfully.”

Here are just a few examples of how you can make small changes that add up to a healthy lifestyle, one forkful at a time.