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Community Corner

Strategies for Healthy Eating

Looking for a way to keep that resolution to loose weight and eat healthy in the New Year? It's easier than you may think. Start by making sensible choices and add more fruit and veggies to your favorite recipes.

My New Year’s resolution: To resolve to lose weight and eat healthy, again. Yes, again. Like countless of others I’m going to try to keep my resolution this year but this year I’m getting a little extra help from Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formally the American Dietetics Association).

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers a few key messages to help you stay on the path towards eating a healthier diet. First and foremost, know that there’s no “magic bullet” to weight loss and management. It’s a lifelong process.  I know, this sounds rough but it doesn’t have to be. While the ultimate goal -- Adopting a lifestyle that includes making healthier food choices with the addition of activity - start small. Even small changes can pay off big.

It’s important to realize that one diet plan that works for one person may not work for you. Ask for help from a registered dietitian to help you create a plan that best suits your dietary needs. Meanwhile, consider adding more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat protein to your diet. For example, lighten up that cheese omelet by using low-fat cheese and tossing in fresh veggies as tomatoes, onions and avocado.

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Another tip: To keep mid-afternoon cravings at bay stash a bag of baby carrots or sugar snap peas in your office refrigerator for a healthy snack. Or to satisfy your sweet tooth toss snack on a handful of frozen berries or grapes. Small adjustments like theses can pay-off big health- wise.

Pretty Delicious author and host of Lifetime Channel's Eat Yourself Thin, Chef Candice Kumai knows how to eat healthy when you’re on the go. That's why she has partnered with The Glad Products Company to create recipes that cut the cost and calories associated with eating lunch out.

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See Related article: Recipes for a More Healthy Diet

Chef Kumai's recipe inspiration, the Glad To Go reusable lunch and snack containers that feature a detachable 1.5-ounce "to go" cup that snaps into the lid. Hooray, no more soggy salads.

"Now there's no excuse for us to break our New Year's resolutions," says Kumai. "My recipes are not only healthy, delicious, convenient meal time options, but they fit into our everyday lives while helping to save money, time and calories and reduce waste."

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