| Get With the Program! Basics |
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| The healthiest vegetables are always green. Greens are undoubtedly healthy, but vegetables and fruits in other colors—red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple—all bring different nutrients to the table. You’ll get the most antioxidants, vitamins and minerals if you keep your plate colorful. |
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I think that snacking, which is often considered taboo, can be a good thing—even when you’re trying to lose weight. For one thing, snacks, just like meals, give your metabolism a boost, increasing its calorie-burning ability. Having a snack may also help increase your energy—and the more energetic you feel, the more calorie-burning moving around you’ll do. Snacks can keep you from overeating, too--they prevent you from becoming so ravenous that you eat too much once you sit down to a meal. Naturally, I don’t advocate snacking on donuts and chips, but having a healthy snack is a great idea. Here are some suggestions. listed according to what you might crave.
| Smooth & Creamy |
Salty |
Sweet |
Crunchy |
| Pureed vegetable soup |
Handful of pretzels |
Baked yam |
Carrots, red pepper, jicama, cucumber, celery and other raw veggies with fat-free ranch dressing |
| 1 oz. low-fat cheese |
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Low-fat frozen- yogurt bar |
1 or 2 brown-rice cakes |
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1 cup air-popped popcorn |
Frozen fruit bar |
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| 1 cup non-fat yogurt with sliced fruit or chopped dates |
1/2 baked potato topped with salsa |
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Handful of non-roasted peanuts, almonds or cashews
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| Tablespoon of peanut or almond butter |
1 cup edamame |
Cup chamomile tea or green with a teaspoon of sugar |
Celery stalk with 1 teaspoon peanut butter |
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1/2 cup Asian rice crackers |
Fruit of any kind (cluster of grapes, cup of blueberries, a banana or mango, slice of pineapple)
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3 whole-grain crackers |
Low-fat, low-calorie natural cereal bars |
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