Food and Health Communications

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Bon Voyage Party and Vacation Class

Bon Voyage Party – have a party to say goodbye to foods that are high in saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol and also to foods that are high in calorie density.
Examples of these might include cookies, crackers, fast food, sugared cereals, fatty deli meats and other processed foods. Where are you going to? Paradise of course! Paradise is full of all of the right kinds of foods: fresh fruits, beautiful salads and vegetables, entrees based on whole grains, desserts made from nonfat dairy and fresh fruit, etc. Everyone can come dressed as a tacky tourist and they can bring a dish or recipe for foods from paradise. This makes a fun class theme for summer.Be an active tour guide. Have participants share their vacation stories and highlight ways they were more active while vactioning. Hiking, swimming, walking, bicycling, canoeing and kayaking are fun ways they can enjoy being active on vacation. Help participants develop a healthful vacation plan.Dina Aronson, MS, RD, LDN, has a tip is for those planning a road trip. Invest in an electric cooler that you can plug into the cigarette lighter in the car. Pack it full of raw veggies and dip, hummus and pita, yogurt, fresh fruit and healthful beverages. (Also, pack a bag of things such as cereal, baked tortilla chips, instant soup cups and crackers; along with plastic plates, spoons and forks and napkins). Then, once a day or so, you can splurge on a meal or snack out, but the rest of the time you’re eating healthfully. Her husband and she do this, and in the process they save money, have more time for activities, and eat really well! Their cooler even comes with an adapter so they can plug it into the wall of the room in which they’re staying.