Nutrition
This year's theme is Nutrition from the Ground Up!
To help you get off to a good start, here are some tips for healthful snacking, increasing activity at work and modifying recipes to decrease calories and increase the nutrition factor.
Snacking: Snacks boost your energy between meals and provide essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Make snacks a part of your meal plan and choose wisely. Remember these 3 things when you think about having a snack:
- Snack if you're hungry, not if you're bored, frustrated or stressed. Battle boredom by doing something like walking the dog or working in the garden.
- Keep portion control in mind. Use a single-serving container. Eating from the larger container can lead to overeating.
- Plan snacks ahead of time. Keep a variety of nutritious ready-to-eat supplies on hand, such as whole-grain crackers and low-fat cheese.
Here are some yummy snacks ideas.
- Tri-color veggie snack: 6 baby carrots, 10 sugar snap peas (or green pepper strips), 6 cherry tomatoes and 2 tablespoons reduced-fat ranch dressing for dipping
- Six whole-wheat crackers and one ounce of reduced-fat string cheese
- Fruit smoothie: Blend 1 cup fat-free milk, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries and 1/2 banana or 1 cup of frozen mixed berries
- One 4-ounce fat-free, ready-to-eat vanilla pudding with 1/2 cup fresh fruit and 5 vanilla wafers
- Whole wheat pita cut into wedges with 2 tablespoons hummus for a dip
- Yogurt parfait: Layer 6 ounces fat-free yogurt, 1/2 cup berries and 1/4 cup granola
Increase your activity at work:
Take extra steps at work as you can. They'll add up really fast and the results will astound you! Use a pedometer to measure your commonly traveled path to know how far you actually walk. Here are some simple ways to add steps each day.
- Take the longer route
- Take the stairs
- Park further away in the parking lot
- Go for a short walk during your lunch break
Recipe modification:
Take a traditional recipe and make it a little healthier by making some simple adjustments. Use the following as replacements to trim away fat and calories.
| Instead of . . . | Substitute |
| Almonds | 1/2 almonds and 1/2 crisp rice cereal |
| Butter | light butter, unsweetened applesauce |
| Cream cheese | light cream cheese or non-fat, pureed cottage cheese |
| Whole egg | 2 egg whites |
| Sour cream | fat-free sour cream or non-fat plain yogurt |
Get creative in your baking and cooking by trying different seasoning mixes and combining ingredients to make easy one-dish meals. To get more tips and recipes, go to the following:
http://www.eatright.org
http://www.mealmixer.com
http://www.mypyramid.gov