What do you think of when you hear the word, #snack? Something crunchy? Something sweet? Something to satisfy your hunger between meals? Maybe you think of snacks as #fattening# or #bad.#Have you ever had a #snack attack#? I know I have!
At a party I attended recently, everyone was asked to bring a snack food to share. I saw cheesy corn curls, flavored corn chips, potato chips and chocolate chip cookies, both homemade and store-bought.
I brought a fruit salad. We cut up a few nice ripe peaches, some fresh strawberries and almost half of a seedless watermelon. Finally we tossed in some fresh blueberries. It took less time to make than the chocolate chip cookies, and it was really very pretty with all of the different colors.
With all of those goodies spread out before us, which snack do you think everybody dug into first on that hot July afternoon?
That's right, the fruit salad was the most appealing snack food on the table. There was none left over at the end of the day, while many half-eaten packages of chips were taken home.
It wasn't expensive, either. The peaches came from the local farmer's market, and the strawberries, blueberries and watermelon were cheaply purchased at the grocery store, because they're in season. The total cost for well over a gallon of fruit salad was about $6.50.
Of all the offerings, the fruit salad was also the lowest in calories, the lowest in fat and sodium (ZERO is pretty low, isn't it?), and the highest in beneficial nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants.
Snacking doesn't have to be fattening or guilt-inducing. It's normal to get hungry between meals.
Having some fresh, seasonal fruit available to satisfy your snack attacks can be a real help when you're trying to watch your weight.
A friend of mine has found that if she sets out a bowl of whole, fresh fruit on the table, it might sit there untouched, but if she takes a few minutes to cut it up, it disappears in a flash.
Consider buying a fresh seedless watermelon and cutting it into chunks, keeping the bowl in the refrigerator. When your children ask you for a sweet snack, you'll have something ready for them, and they'll have a delicious, nutritious treat on a hot afternoon.
Most of us are not getting the USDA recommended two cups of fruits each day. Take advantage of the summer's bounty of fresh fruits at the local farmer's market, and enjoy a nutritious, low-calorie, fat-free snack today.
Cornell Cooperative Extension's Becky Crawford is taking a well-earned vacation this week, but she'll be back at the Auburn Farmer's Market next week.
Becki Johnson is a nutrition educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension
I brought a fruit salad. We cut up a few nice ripe peaches, some fresh strawberries and almost half of a seedless watermelon. Finally we tossed in some fresh blueberries. It took less time to make than the chocolate chip cookies, and it was really very pretty with all of the different colors.
With all of those goodies spread out before us, which snack do you think everybody dug into first on that hot July afternoon?
That's right, the fruit salad was the most appealing snack food on the table. There was none left over at the end of the day, while many half-eaten packages of chips were taken home.
It wasn't expensive, either. The peaches came from the local farmer's market, and the strawberries, blueberries and watermelon were cheaply purchased at the grocery store, because they're in season. The total cost for well over a gallon of fruit salad was about $6.50.
Of all the offerings, the fruit salad was also the lowest in calories, the lowest in fat and sodium (ZERO is pretty low, isn't it?), and the highest in beneficial nutrients like vitamins and antioxidants.
Snacking doesn't have to be fattening or guilt-inducing. It's normal to get hungry between meals.
Having some fresh, seasonal fruit available to satisfy your snack attacks can be a real help when you're trying to watch your weight.
A friend of mine has found that if she sets out a bowl of whole, fresh fruit on the table, it might sit there untouched, but if she takes a few minutes to cut it up, it disappears in a flash.
Consider buying a fresh seedless watermelon and cutting it into chunks, keeping the bowl in the refrigerator. When your children ask you for a sweet snack, you'll have something ready for them, and they'll have a delicious, nutritious treat on a hot afternoon.
Most of us are not getting the USDA recommended two cups of fruits each day. Take advantage of the summer's bounty of fresh fruits at the local farmer's market, and enjoy a nutritious, low-calorie, fat-free snack today.
Cornell Cooperative Extension's Becky Crawford is taking a well-earned vacation this week, but she'll be back at the Auburn Farmer's Market next week.
Becki Johnson is a nutrition educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension
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