Snacking Smart!

Does your stomach start rumbling between meals? Snacking is a great way to quiet your stomach and satisfy your hunger. It can also help you not overeat at your next meal. I know that when I’m starving at a mealtime, I will eat everything in sight and make less healthy choices. That’s why I eat a small snack between meals to hold me over until my next meal. While snacking can help improve your nutrition, it can also add a lot of empty calories if you aren’t careful. Try following these tips and some of my favorite snack ideas to start snacking smart!

Tips for Snacking Smart:

• Only snack if you’re physically hungry- not out of habit!
• Don’t eat out the food bag or package- put your food into a small bowl or on a small plate so that you know how much you’re eating.
• Pay attention to what you’re eating by turning off the TV or computer and eating at the table- focus on your food.
• Aim for 100-200 calories- look at the nutrition label to figure out how many calories you’re eating.
• Eat a fruit or vegetable as part of every snack.
•  Plan ahead and prepare healthy snacks in advance so that they are ready to grab and go.
•  Incorporate foods high in protein such as 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, a slice of cheese, ¼ cup of beans, a hard-boiled egg, or Greek yogurt to help keep you full for longer.

Easy Snack Ideas:

• Celery sticks with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 1 container of Greek yogurt with a banana or ½ cup of fresh fruit
• 1 slice of wheat bread or 6 crackers with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• Cheese stick with an apple
• 1 cup of lightly salted popcorn and a handful of nuts
• ¼ cup of homemade trail mix with nuts, raisins, and dry cereal
• Pack of oatmeal made with nonfat milk
• 1 cup of vegetables with 1 slice of cheese

National Nutrition Month

By: Kristen Herceg, VCUHS dietetic intern

The month of March celebrates National Nutrition Month with this year’s theme of “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle”.

Food is the fuel for our body. Much like a car needs gasoline to run properly, the body needs food to work in the ways it’s meant to. Biting into a healthy lifestyle can mean a lot of things. For me, I like to focus on what foods can I "bite into" more often that will help me to do the things I love, like playing soccer. So whether it’s me chasing a ball around the field or you chasing your kids around the family room, we all should give our body what it needs in order for us to do the things we love.

A food group that we all can usually afford to eat more of is vegetables. Vegetables provide many of the essential nutrients the body needs and should be regularly included in a well-balanced, healthy diet. Eating enough vegetables throughout the day is a great place to start for biting into a healthy lifestyle! For women (19-50 years old) the recommendation is for at least 2 ½ cups of veggies per day. If you’re already meeting this recommendation, then maybe your focus can be on eating a variety of different vegetables. Aim for trying vegetables that are all sorts of different colors. Frozen vegetables are a great option since they stay good for long periods of time and available in any season. Vegetables make a great snack, side, or can be a part of the main dish- try throwing some more veggies into your casserole, sandwich, stir fry or soup.

So take this month to focus on eating a few more vegetables or trying some new ones to bite into a healthy lifestyle!