Heart Healthy Wildly Nutritious—Fruit Snacks

By Anthony J Sepe

http://fromadietitiansperspective.blogspot.com

(*This post is dedicated to the person that asked me the question and to my friend Kim)

 

I was asked recently about fruit, and how I am able to meet my fruit requirements.  Fruit happens to be somewhat easier than other things, but not that the other things such as grains, vegetables, cheese etc are not important.  Let’s see.

 

Next time your sweet tooth acts up and you are craving a real sweet snack, reach for a nutritious and health fruit snack.  Fruits are bursting with flavor and loaded with lots of nutrients like Vitamin A, or Vitamin C or both—along with potassium and fiber.

• Freeze your favorite juice.  Take and ice cube tray and fill with your favorite 100% juice. 
• Cut up mango, papaya, apricots and freeze them, too.
• Freeze some grapes

 

Here are 3 of my very favorite ways to snack on fruit:

1.  Take a banana—peel it; slice it; sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with waxed paper. Freeze.  Now you have slice banana swirls!

2.  Take a banana—peel it; place a stick in it.  Dip in fat-free yogurt and dip in caramel sauce and roll in crushed nuts.  Freeze.

3.  I absolutely love, and I mean, love—Dole Wildly Nutritious Signature Blends Mixed Fruit.  It also comes Frozen and is Sliced strawberries, pineapple peaches and mango.  These happy chunks of fruit are all natural fruit; all rich in vitamin C; help maintain a healthy heart and just as nutrition as Fresh Fruit, as it states on its label.  It’s great for smoothies and for snacking.  80% Vitamin C in just 3/4 cup fresh frozen cut-up fruit !!! Can’t beat it and, it comes in a 6 lb. bag too.  For $8 and change at your local Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Wegman’s or others,  it’s worth it with to package into smaller bags for handy-dandy snacks!!!  So, this is how I manage to get in some of my fruit requirements.

Have fun too! *

~Anthony

Easter is comin’: Portion-siZe, does matter !

By Anthony J Sepe

http://fromadietitiansperspective.blogspot.com

 

With Easter coming, and, just around the corner, here’s some of my handy-dandies to keep in mind: Each serving has approximately 4-5 gms of total fat:

• 1 tsp. stick margarine or butter
• 1 tsp. regular mayo
• 2 tsp. of salad dressing
• 3 tsp. (which = 1 Tbsp) of light margarine
• 3 tsp. of reduced-fat mayo
• 3 tsp. of cream cheese
• 4 tsp of a light cream
• 4 tsp. of sour cream

The big thing here: notice the amount of each item, despite the fact that each is still typically 4-5 grms of total fat.  Everything in moderation, and, portion-size does matter, but we can still have fun and still enjoy our food.//