snacks

I go out of my way to buy and prepare food for my family that’s healthy and good for them.  Given the fact that we are, indeed, what we eat, I want only the healthiest foods going into the mouths of  those I love – including my own mouth for that matter.

Like most people, we’ve determined that snacking is one of our weakest areas.  We’re horrible when it comes to noshing in front of sports or our favorite television shows.  The thing is, this snacking can be horrendous for one’s health to say nothing of their waistline.

We’re trying to make smarter, healthier choices and I’ve actually been amazed at how easy it’s been.  Below are a few examples of things that have worked for us:

1. I’ve started buying low fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, most of the time.  Frozen low fat yogurt is outstanding.  In fact, it’s what two of my daughters and I had last night as our Biggest Loser snack. Appropriate.
2. My Halloween bowls are filled with roasted peanuts, sunflower seeds, yogurt-covered raisins, Ocean Spray Dried Fruit (more on this in a minute!), nuts, seeds, and even dried cereal.
3. I’ve started keeping a bag of Ocean Spray Dried Blueberries on my desk in my home office. Delicious. Healthy. Convenient. Addictive.
4. We’ve switched to air-popped, butter-free popcorn and actually prefer it now.
5. We keep yogurt, cottage cheese, and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables on hand and conveniently ready in the refrigerator.

I have an on-going love affair with Ocean Spray beverages and Cranberry Sauce (can you say delicious year-round?!).  Because of this on-going love affair, they sent me three bags of their dried fruit to test for Get Cooking.  I was actually already quite familiar with the Dried Cranberries – we’d been tight for quite a while but I hadn’t yet tried the Dried Blueberries (and here I am, the biggest fan of blueberries in the world!) or the Dried Cherries.  I hadn’t even seen them, to tell you the truth.

I have now!

Each dried fruit is simply delicious and I’m now hooked on each.  My youngest daughter, Stephany, fell hard for the Dried Cherries and Dried Cranberries and I can’t blame her – they’re Heavenly.  However… the dried blueberries are really where it’s at!  We debate it all the time… her with dried cranberries in one hand and dried cherries in the other and me with my mouth full of dried blueberries.

We’re a sight. Really we are.

These convenient snacks are the ideal way to get your family – and yourself – to eat healthier snacks.  Let’s face it, we’re going to nosh.  Shouldn’t we at least make the noshing beneficial?!

From Ocean Spray:

Ocean Spray’s new Dried Fruit, featuring Jumbo Dried Cranberries, Dried Cherries, and Dried Blueberries, is a fresh way for families to enjoy their favorite fruits year round.  Easy to carry and convenient to store, Ocean Spray Dried Fruit is perfect for a quick snack at home, at school, or on-the-go.  Each Dried Fruit flavor is fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in sodium and packed with a full serving of fruit in every 1/3 cup.  Look for Ocean Spray Dried Fruit in the produce aisle at your local supermarket.  –  Ocean Spray

I’ve eaten the Dried Blueberries in yogurt, Cherrio’s, and in oatmeal.  My favorite way, to be honest, is straight from the bag.  I do a lot of research on food for Get Cooking and a great deal of research on mental health and fitness for my mental fitness blog, Out of Bounds.  Healthy food has a great impact on our mental health, our memory, and our brain’s fitness.   My beloved blueberry is actually a mental superfood.

Research shows that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Below are a few of the recent articles I’ve written on Out of Bounds about Blueberries and other “brain food”:

Drink This to Improve Your Memory

The Breakfast of Mental Champions

The Mediterranean Diet for Brain Health: Delicious!

Improve Your Memory and Stay Sharp One Crunch at a Time

The more I read, the more I realize that our bodies AND our minds are only as strong and fit as we “decide” they’ll be.  We make this decision every time we make a choice – if we choose exercise and healthy foods, we’ve decided that we want our bodies and minds to be as strong as they possibly can be.  When we choose a sedative lifestyle and unhealthy foods, we’ve decided that we’re okay with risking our physical and mental health – come what may.

I totally just went off on a rant. My apologies – healthy food is something I’m passionate about, especially when it comes to young people.

I hope you’ll try these delicious dried fruit snacks from Ocean Spray.  They’re outstanding and your family will actually WANT to eat them.   Fat free, low in sodium, and low-calorie.  This is how food was meant to be enjoyed!

For a fresh and wonderful salad I know you’ll love, see Ocean Spray’s Effortless Spinach Salad recipe.  It calls for Craisins which really gives it a kicky personality.

Head over to Ocean Spray’s fun website for more information and nutritional values.  And by the way, if you don’t see these snacks in your produce section, check the snack aisle as well as the Health Food section.  My favorite grocery store actually keeps them in the Health Food area.  Sounds about right to me.