It is Spring Break and if you are one of the lucky ones, you are getting to enjoy some time off!  What a perfect time to take advantage of some extra minutes in your day to rid your fridge of the calorie-laden ‘comfort foods’ from winter and replace them with items to help create a lighter, leaner, healthier you!

Here are 3 things you can do to give your refrigerator a make-over for Spring:

  1. Make healthy foods visible. Did you know that we are 3 times more likely to eat the first thing we see at eye level when we open the refrigerator? All the more reason we should take the vegetables and fruits out of the crisper and keep them handy when we are hungry! Try precutting celery and carrots and keep them in a sealed jar with water to help them stay crisp and ready to eat. Store plastic bags of sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, jicama sticks and more. Make your own healthy, high-protein vegetable dip from a powdered ranch dressing packet and plain Greek yogurt and keep it beside the veggies for easy access. Keep fruit, cheese, flavored yogurts and deli meat at eye-level to help guide kids and parents alike to grab for healthy snacks!
  2. Portion Buying or making single serve snack items is such an easy way to prevent over-eating. We see a number of overweight children in our practice and many parents feel they are constantly hounding them about eating too much or making bad choices. Here is an easy solution – purchase plastic bins to keep in the fridge with parent-approved, single-serve snack items. I encourage parents to have one for protein items and one for vegetables and fruits. Set the expectation ahead of time on how many the child can select from each bin for snack. Voila! No more snack battles!
  3. Be ready with healthy meal solutions. Opting for a drive-thru dinner on busy days can be so tempting! Instead, try planning ahead by purchasing quick, easy items you can use to assemble dinner in minutes. The new chopped salads are great starters – just add a little protein such as hard-boiled eggs, albacore tuna or canned beans. FlatOut sandwich wraps are a full 9 grams of protein and are a super easy ‘vehicle’ for creating everything from mini pizzas to deli sandwich wraps!

Today’s recipe for Homemade Chocolate Fudgsicles is a refreshing healthy treat you can enjoy making with your kids for Spring Break!  P.S. Adults love them, too!