Buon appetito! Salute! Cin cin!

WARWICK — March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right.”

At 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 31, St. Anthony Community Hospital and Morrison Health Care, under the direction of Mark Brezina, director of Food Services, will host a free National Nutrition Month Informational and tasting event.

Th demonstration, “Taste of the Mediterranean,” will be held in the Greenbriar Room at Mount Alverno Center, 20 Grand St., Warwick, about one-quarter mile past the hospital.

National Nutrition Month celebrates and reinforces the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

'A lifestyle approach'
“As some of you know the Mediterranean diet is more than a diet, “ said Janine Killeen, the Morrison Health Care lead dietitian of St Anthony Community Hospital and the Warwick Campus of Bon Secours Charity Health System. “It’s a lifestyle approach to healthy eating filled with delicious foods like fruit, vegetables, fish, beans, nuts and whole grains as well as other ingredients shown to promote good health like olive oil and wine along with daily physical activity.”

Killeen explained that the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet are numerous including longevity, defense against chronic diseases, fighting cancers, protection from diabetes, depression and Alzheimer’s disease among other ailments.

Pan-seared chicken, almond couscous

Everyone is invited to join Killeen, her Morrison Health Care associates Lynn Palmieri, DTR, Gigi Fried RD and Stacy Lynch, dietetic student, for a presentation, cooking demonstration and tasting.

Morrison Health Care Chef Brian Smyth will be preparing pan-seared chicken with garlic and olives, almond couscous and a colorful salad along with a dessert of baked pears and apples.

Registration is necessary and seating is limited. Call 845-987-5197.