As a part of NBA FIT Live Healthy Week, our friends at Giant Eagle and Musselman’s Applesauce – both partners with the Cavaliers year-long “Fit as a Pro” program – have provided tips that Cavs fans can utilize to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Giant Eagle suggests the following nutritional tidbits for families:
Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day: The more colors you add to your diet, the larger the variety and type of nutrition your body receive. Plus, your plate will look great with all of those colors! Remember we eat with our eyes too! Visit www.choosemyplate.gov for more tips on eating a variety of colorful fruits and veggies!
Parents are the food role models for their kids: Be the positive food role model in your child’s life. Encouraging healthy food habits now can have large benefits that will last a lifetime.
Everyone should try a bite of all foods at meal times: Make a family rule to try a bite of every type of food on the dinner table. Use the “no thank you bite rule.” Everyone must try a bite of food as large as their own OK sign. This ensures everyone can taste the food and the bite is proportionate to the body size of the family member.
Make lunches together the night before to save money and boost nutrition: Spend time together preparing the next day’s lunches right after dinner is finished. You can save time/money to already hectic mornings by brown bagging!
Swap out sodas for water: On average, one 12oz can of soda contains at least 10 teaspoons of sugar! Cutting back will decrease the added, processed sugar in everyone’s diet and as a bonus reduces the risk of dental caries!
Meatless Mondays: Make Mondays meatless, try one vegetarian dish each week to save money and include more plant-based foods into your diet. Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of multiple diseases and cancers. Benefits all around! www.meatlessmonday.com
Include fruits and vegetables regularly as afterschool snacks: Boost any snack with a fruit or vegetable; this will add flavor, color and nutrition at a critical snacking time during the day.
Try bowling, roller skating, or walks on family fun nights: Make family night a night to be active together! Spend time outside at parks, taking walks or throwing balls around. The family that moves together creates healthy habits together!
Have at least one meal together as a family every day: Breakfast, lunch, or dinner; any time spent together as a family will help increase communication and positive feelings towards food and meal time.
Plan the week’s meals together on Sunday, and put it on the fridge for the family to see: Planning meals ahead of time cuts down on stress around the age old question “What’s for dinner?” Planning meals will assist with creating the weekly grocery shopping list, cutting costs on unnecessary purchases, while also providing a centralized location in the kitchen letting the family know what is for dinner.
Use sports practice as a time for EVERYONE to be active: Just because the kids are practicing doesn’t mean the adults can’t get up and move. If you are waiting, why not take a few laps around the building, or multi-task and make that call you have been putting off while you walk!
Choose one new fruit or vegetable at the grocery store for the family to try each week: Expand the variety of your weekly fruit and vegetable go-to’s. Set up a family taste test, kids are in charge, to try the new food and determine if it should get into the grocery rotation!
For further information, contact your Giant Eagle Registered Dietitians by calling 1-877-289-2588 or emailing nutrition@gianteagle.com. Also look for the Dietitian Pick: Seal of Approval at your local Giant Eagle as an in-store guide to make Better for You food choices!
Did you know that applesauce can be a healthy substitute in many of your favorite recipes? Musselman’s suggests the following:
Snack cravings can come at anytime. Avoid the vending machine by having a single-serve Musselman’s Applesauce cups in your desk drawer. No refrigeration needed.
Pass on the ice cream; freeze Musselman’s Applesauce cups for a slushy, cool treat.
Put warm Musselman’s Applesauce on pancakes instead of syrup.
Add Musselman’s Applesauce to your morning oatmeal to get one more serving of fruit a day.
Heat Musselman’s Applesauce in the microwave and then top with granola to make a quick apple crisp.
Add a 4oz. serving of Musselman’s Applesauce to your meatloaf recipe, keeping the dish moist without adding fat.
Freeze individual cups of Musselman’s Applesauce and use it in your kids’ lunch bag to keep food cool. It will thaw out by lunchtime, and give them a slushy treat for dessert.
Change up your favorite smoothie by using Musselman’s Applesauce instead of milk or yogurt.