54321 Go! (recipe included)

While watching the local news last evening, I saw a most interesting ad. A mom and her two children were exchanging questions and answers. The son asked for some chips and his mother’s reply was, “Have a banana”. The daughter asks for a soda, and the mom provides bottled water. The son asked for his video basketball game. His sister replied, “Go outside and play the real one”. A couple more exchanges followed, and the summary was to practice 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

I discovered that CHI Health is a major partner in a local group building a healthier community. The numbers refer to a daily plan:

5 fruits and vegetable
4 glasses of water
3 dairy
2 hours of computer and/or TV time
1 hour of exercise

You can even follow them on Facebook.

It is an excellent plan to begin a new year. Fruits, vegetables, water, and dairy group foods are healthy choices for snacks. Snacks are part of everyone’s day. I like snacks to count. They should provide nutrients not just calories.

What is a nutrient? Nutrients are substances that the body cannot make. They must be provided by food choices. Vitamins, minerals, fiber, water, fat, carbohydrate, and protein are nutrients. Snacks that provide both a protein and a carbohydrate are what we call, “nutrient rich”. The following list provides some examples:

Peanut butter with whole grain crackers or bread, or spread on apples or pears
Light yogurt with a fruit
Light cheese stick with vegetable or fruit
Unsalted or lightly salted nuts with baby carrots
Tuna, salmon, beef, or chicken slices or salad on a whole wheat mini bagel
Edamame soybeans on a tossed salad
Hardboiled egg with whole grain toast
Reduced fat graham crackers or reduced vanilla wafers with fat free milk
Homemade trail mix (combine favorite dry cereal or granola with dried fruit and unsalted nuts or popcorn) with fat free milk

In the winter, I enjoy hot chocolate, but I find the prepared hot chocolate packets to be so sweet or filled with hydrogenated oils. Several years ago, a friend shared his recipe for homemade hot chocolate. Give it a try. Enjoy your snack with a taste of chocolate.

Hot Chocolate