When your tummy is craving something yummy, you can still satisfy your hunger without packing on the pounds. Just try these quick and easy snacks:

• Spread peanut butter on apple slices.
• Make a mini sandwich with tuna or egg salad on a small whole wheat dinner roll.
• Blend low fat milk with frozen strawberries and banana to make a delicious smoothie.
• Stuff a small whole grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and granny smith apple slices tossed with a dash of cinnamon.

You can always pump up the fun factor too by getting kids involved. Food that’s fun to make and eat means kids won’t even realize it’s healthy too.

• Try making snack kabobs with cubes of low fat cheese and grapes pushed onto a pretzel stick.
• Make that old family favourite, ants on a log.  Spread celery sticks with low fat cream cheese and then add raisins as the ants. It’s crunchy, chewy, and satisfying all at the same time with a tangy touch of sweetness and minimal calories!
• Peel a banana, dip it in yoghurt and roll it in crushed high fibre cereal. Freeze for a tasty treat.

Small snacks can pay off in a big way. Eat just 100 fewer calories each day and burn an extra 100 calories per day to create a 200 calorie deficit. The result is a loss of 1 pound every 18 days or 20 pounds per year - it’s a simple solution that works like magic!

Rather than ‘exercising’, think of adding activity to your day. A 150 pound person burns 100 calories just by walking for 20 minutes. Those 20 minutes don’t have to be spent on a treadmill in a stuffy gym, either.  Instead, enjoy the summer sunshine with your dog, park the car further away and walk the last block to your errands, gather the kids for a game of road hockey or shoot some hoops in the driveway.

You can even do 20 minutes of gardening or yard work to add some activity. Exercise doesn’t have to be scheduled when you make activity part of your day.

Until next time, keep well,

Judy Foodie (Judy Scott Welden)