Summertime Snacks

Thanks to Gavin Pritchard, RD, Dietician-Chef with Stamford Hospital's Population Health and Prevention program for providing a cooking demo for the BetterU participants. 

Gavin focused on healthy summertime snacks including a strawberry salsa, white bean and roasted garlic dip, and fresh vegetable spring rolls. 

Summer is a great time to enjoy nature's bounty and get to the 5-8 servings of fruits & veggies daily. Eating more fruits & vegetables provides more nutrients and they are lower in calories than snacks including refined sugar & carbs--great if you're trying to get into your healthy weight range.

More healthy eating tips:

·         Eat the rainbow! Go green and red, orange, yellow, purple and more.  Serve green leafy salads or fruit salads (or a combination of both, like baby spinach with strawberries or mixed greens with orange slices) instead of mayonnaise-based salads.

·         Add avocado or leftover chicken as an accessory – not the star – of your healthy salad.

·         Dress salads lightly with low-fat dressing or just a drizzle of balsamic, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil

·         Add some crunch – and healthier fats – with some toasted walnuts or almonds.

Keep snacks, drinks and desserts healthy:

·         Need crunchy foods? Instead of potato chips, which can be high in saturated and trans fats, serve vitamin-rich raw veggies like cucumber, carrot, pepper and celery sticks; broccoli and cauliflower florets and cherry tomatoes with a low-fat dip.

·         Drink more water. Soda, energy drinks and flavored-teas are loaded with sugars and calories.

·         When drinking juice, have a small (6-ounce) glass of 100% unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice (low sodium) – not “fruit drink” or “punch."

Find more tips at www.heart.org/nutrition .