Healthy Choices

Healthy Snacking Ideas

Sometimes we can’t help but get hungry in between meals. Making wise snack choices plays an important part in our total intake of calories for the day. This, in turn, translates into that number we see on the scale each week. Remember 3,500 calories = 1 pound. Here are some strategies for snacking:

• Avoid refined sugars, white flour and baked goods.
• Try a slice of low fat turkey wrapped inside a lettuce leaf with mustard.
• Try celery sticks or apple slices with a small amount of peanut butter.
• Try frozen low fat, low sugar yogurt, or frozen fruit bars.
• Dip whole wheat pretzels in mustard or a have a whole wheat pretzel stick with a piece of low fat swiss cheese wrapped around it.
• Dip celery or carrot sticks in hummus but make sure to read the serving size for the hummus – it’s less than you think!
• Serve salsa with veggies.
• Prepare fresh fruit slices dipped in non fat yogurt.
• Try mixing a little Splenda with nonfat, plain yogurt and fresh fruit or add a spoonful of low sugar preserves to the nonfat, plain yogurt. It is much cheaper than the pre-mixed, supermarket brands too!
• Try freezing grapes or berries for a crunchy, refreshing afternoon snack.
• Send any of your healthy snack ideas to HRWellness@fcps.edu to be compiled into a list for others.

Keeping Hydrated With Water

• Keep a bottle of water at your desk and when it is time to refill it, walk to the most distant water fountain to do so.  This way you are also increasing your activity.
  
  
• Put a reminder on your outlook calendar to drink water. You probably know the 8x8 rule. Try to drink eight -8 ounce glasses of water a day. Another general rule to figure out just how much to drink each day is to divide your weight by 2 to get the number of ounces per day as in: 140lbs÷ 2= 70 ounces. See the Mayo clinic guidelines for further information.
  
  
• Drinking water has many health benefits some of which include helping to suppress appetite. The next time you are hungry, try drinking a glass of water and waiting 10 - 15 minutes to see if you still feel the urge to eat.
  
  
• If you really hate drinking water, some people do, try adding fresh fruit to it such as lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, or strawberry slices to enhance the flavor and get some of your fruits in for the day.
  
  
• Remember, caffeine drinks cause us to lose water, so try to cut down.

For additional information, visit Healthy Choices Resources.

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