Make Your Own Fruit Snacks
Breakfast, Lunch, Supper and Snacking- Practical Health foods
Everyone who is trying to follow a healthy eating lifestyle understands the need to buy quality, healthy and practical foods. Practical foods are those foods that are not only healthy but whose benefits extend beyond their mere nutritional value. Such foods are easy to use, and useful in a number of different recipes. Healthy, practical foods, when used on a regular basis, form a great part of a healthy diet, and may even lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and other common illnesses.
One great practical food is the humble tomato. It may not look much like an orange, but the tomato is actually a citrus fruit as well. As such, tomatoes are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants. In addition, tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, which has shown promise in preventing certain kinds of cancer.
In addition, tomatoes are easy to use, versatile, and inexpensive. In addition to fresh, in season tomatoes, which are delicious as well as nutritious, tomatoes are available in canned and frozen varieties as well. Tomatoes can be used in so many different ways, and in so many different recipes, that it is always a good idea to have a supply of them on hand in the pantry or the fridge.
Pastas, especially the whole wheat varieties of pastas, are another great example of functional foods. Pastas can also be used in a variety of ways, from simple preparations with simple tomato based sauces, to elaborate creations using shrimp, tuna and other seafood.
Of course, pasta dishes can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how they are topped. Toppings such as Alfredo sauce or rich cream sauces, should be avoided when trying to follow a healthy diet. As with all foods, such heavy sauces are fine in moderation, but they should not form the bulk of your diet.
Luckily, there are lower fat alternatives to many high fat pasta sauces, and these low fat alternatives should be used whenever possible. Substituting lower fat alternatives for fatty, unhealthy foods is an important skill when it comes to creating a healthy diet.
Whole grain breads, flours and grains are also good examples of healthy, practical foods. Stocking up on these staples when they are on sale will help ensure that you have everything you need to create the most healthy recipes possible for yourself and your family.
Whole grain products should be substituted for more highly refined breads and cereals whenever possible, since whole grain breads, cereals and grains retain more of their important nutrients than do more highly refined foods.
Starting a healthy eating program using practical foods is easy. Start by taking a personal inventory of your current diet, including where it is good and where it can use some improvement. Learn to assess the personal health risks created by your current diet (your family physician can be of particular help here). A physician or dietitian can be a big help in putting together a list of healthy, easy to use, practical foods you can use to change your diet for the better.
It is also a good idea to use your interest in healthy eating to create and use exciting new recipes. There are a great many healthy eating recipes available, both on the internet and in cookbooks. Seek out some of these recipes and try using your favorite healthy staples to create some wonderful dishes.
For some ideas on how to use practical foods morning, noon and night, try some of these great ideas:
Breakfast:
- Include some healthy staples, and some healthy fruits in your breakfast. For instance, pair healthy oatmeal with blueberries, or whole wheat or wheat bran cereal with strawberries or bananas.
- Try mixing a healthy cereal like All Bran into your nonfat or low fat yogurt. It will perk up your plain yogurt and give it a great crunch.
- Fresh fruit is also a great addition to yogurt. Try buying plain, nonfat yogurt and mixing in your own raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. You will save money and enjoy a healthy breakfast.
- Instead of high fat butter, spread your toast with apple butter or soy nut butter instead. Always try to use whole grain varieties of bread like wheat or rye.
- Drink a glass of 100% fruit juice with breakfast every day. Orange juice, grape juice, apple juice and grapefruit juice are all great choices.
- Blend 1% milk or soy milk with fresh pineapple for a healhy, delicious breakfast smoothie. These smoothies are great for people on the go.
Lunch and dinner ideas
- Make a great tuna salad with grated carrots, green peppers, red peppers, garlic and onion.
- Make a dish of fresh whole grain pasta and top it will homemade tomato sauce and fresh home grown herbs.
- Use healthy foods like onions and leeks, along with tomatoes, as a great side dish.
- Grill healthy fish and serve with a healthy side salad.
- Try some low fat soups like spinach and broccoli soup.
- Make a great vegetable stir fry with olive oil.
Healthy snacks
- Of course no plan for healthy eating is complete without some great healthy snacks. Below are some of our favorite healthy snacks for those on the go.
- A piece of fresh fruit, like an apple, orange or banana, always makes a great snack. Keep a bowl of fruit on your kitchen counter for easy access.
- Try mixing nuts and dried fruit for a great homemade trail mix. Hikers and non hikers alike will enjoy this healthy snack.
- Treat yourself to a great glass of orange, tomato or cranberry juice before you leave the house in the morning.
- Keep a supply of broccoli florets, baby carrots and other bite size vegetables, and some healthy dip, on hand.
- Make your own fruit salad with oranges, bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and other favorites.
 Annie's Homegrown Berry Patch Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, 5-Count Pouches (Pack of 4) List Price: Sale Price: $16.55 You save: $4.97 (23%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionOrganic Berry patch bunny fruit snacks are a delicious mix of strawberry, cherry and raspberry flavored bunnies. Certified organic, these bunny-shaped fruit snacks are made with real fruit juice and packed with 100% daily value of vitamin C. Features
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 Yogurt Melts, Strawberry 8 X 1 Oz From Happy Baby List Price: Sale Price: $28.26 You save: $5.26 (16%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product DescriptionHappyBaby HappyMelts Organic Yogurt Snacks Strawberry - 1 oz. 28 gHappyBaby HappyMelts is the first organic version of popular baby & toddler snack items. Happy Baby Happy Melts Organic Yogurt Snacks are a delicious organic 3-in-1 combination of yogurt and fruit and veggie puree for babies 6 mon |
 Raw Energy: 124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body List Price: Sale Price: $10.95 You save: $6.00 (35%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionIt’s time to rescue snacks from the realm of empty-calorie packaged junk food and transform everyday pick-me-ups into healthful, satisfying mini meals. Why waste calories on cookies or chips that have no nutritional value and provide only short-term satisfaction when raw foods are delicious, simple to prepare, and bursting with natural energy boosters that everybody needs to stay fit and healthy?Thanks to Raw Energy, it has never been easier to add a full spectrum of raw ingredients to a healthful lifestyle. Author Stephanie Tourles’s 125 recipes for trail mixes, parfaits, energy bars, juice blends, smoothies, soups, vegetable chips, zippy dips, candies, and cookies combine raw ingredients in delicious snacks that are chock-full of nutrients and long-term energy boosters.Made from real, whole foods that are uncooked, unadulterated, and unprocessed, these snacks are 150- to 250-calorie packages of health and vitality, dense with naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, fiber, and enzymes. The snacks in Raw Energy do not rely on refined white flour or sugar, they are not cooked in any way, and, with the exception of honey, they do not use animal products.They do include raw nuts and seeds, nut butters, dried and fresh fruits, oats, carob, cocoa, freshly extracted juices, and vegetables. They taste great and are easy to digest. Tourles provides a complete overview of the benefits of raw foods, along with an introduction to "uncooking" techniques and an ingredient-by-ingredient food guide. For anyone looking for more nutritional punch from low-calorie snacks, Raw Energy provides 125 tasty starting points. Features
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 Fit & Fresh Salad Shaker Sale Price: $9.99 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionKeep your salads cool and crisp with the specially designed ice pack that snaps right into the lid. Features
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 Kidco Healthy Snack Frozen Treat Trays Sale Price: $6.25 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionThe Kidco Healthy Snack Frozen Treat Tray. Healthy Snacks for the toddler years. Your baby is growing into a toddler, eating foods from the five good groups, but may eat very little at a meal. Snacks are now necessary for a balanced diet and to provide energy to grow, play and learn. now you can offer quick, nutritious snacks made with these fun, Frozen Treat Trays. They have a multitude of options for tasty, refreshing frozen snacks. Try some of these great ideas: orange juice and bananas, yogurt and blueberries, any type of juice, chocolate milk...Sample recipes are included as well. Features
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 Learning Resources Pretend and Play Healthy Food Snacks Set List Price: Sale Price: $17.94 You save: $2.05 (10%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionTeach your child how to make good nutritional choices with this pretend play food set. Includes fruits and vegetables, milk, cheese, yogurt, pretzels and crackers, all packaged in a vinyl lunch bag. Milk carton measures 2.75" x 3.25". Made of durable plastic. Features
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 Stretch Island Original Fruit Leather, Summer Strawberry, 0.5-Ounce Bars (Pack of 30) Sale Price: $13.39 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description100% Fruit snack. And now from our fabulous Fruit Leather Tree: scrumptious, flat strawberries, sweet as can be! You'll find when you eat them, they're best by the bunch, so pack a sack full as part of your lunch. Diabetics/Diet Exchange: 1 fruit. Features
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 Brothers-ALL-Natural Fuji Apple Crisps, 0.35-Ounce Bags (Pack of 24) List Price: Sale Price: $22.54 You save: $3.86 (15%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionFresh fruit is not always available for you and your family to eat. Whether people are at work, in the car, or traveling, they need to find a new alternative to get their daily fruits. Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps are the 100% freeze-dried fruit snack you want to be eating to achieve that goal. We start with the most luscious fruits from the greatest growing regions in the world and bring them to our state-of-the-art freeze drying facility. At our facilities, we gently remove over 95% of the water from the fruit which transforms the fruit into a light, flavorful, crisp fruit snack. Unlike other dried fruits, Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps retain all of the nutrients of the fresh fruit with absolutely no added sugar, preservatives, or dies. Our uniquely designed bags keep Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps fresh for up to 1 year. Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps are peanut/tree nut free, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, vegan, and OU kosher certified. A bag of Brothers-All-natural fuji apples contain approximately 1 ½ apples and only 39 calories. Features
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 Funky Monkey Snacks Variety Pack, Freeze-Dried Fruit, 1-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12) List Price: Sale Price: $26.58 You save: $7.98 (23%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionWouldn’t it be great if there was a natural snack that had the great taste and health benefits of fresh fruit, but the crunch and portability of everyday snacks? Now there is! Discover Funky Monkey Snacks - fruit that crunches! Funky Monkey freeze-dries slices and pieces of tropical fruits using a proprietary process to lock in the taste, smell, and nutrients of freshly-picked fruit while adding a fun and satisfying crunch. And every bag of Funky Monkey contains 3 servings of fruit! With nothing added - no added colors, flavors, preservatives, or sugars, Funky Monkey is 100% natural and 100% delicious, as well as gluten-free and certified Kosher. Discover Funky Monkey Snacks - tasty, crunchy, and convenient all-natural snacks with the wholesome goodness of fresh fruit. Features
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 YummyEarth Organic Lollipops, Assorted Flavors, 30-Ounce Container Sale Price: $16.15 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product DescriptionIncludes: Pomegranate Pucker, Razzmatazz Berry, Cheeky Lemon, Orange Squeeze, Wet-Face Watermelon. USDA organic. YummyEarth was born out of our commitment to feed our babies, Jonah and Rose, a diet rich in delicious organic foods that are free of yucky chemicals, pesticides and dyes. YummyEarth tastes much better than mass produced chemical candy because we choose real fruit extracts and plant friendly organic ingredients to sweeten our lives and yours. Certified organic. No chemical dyes. 100% Natural colors. 100% Natural flavors. Real fruit extracts. 100% Vegan. Allergen-free. GMO-free. Soy-free. Nut-free. Gluten-free. Wheat-free. Dairy-free. Made in Mexico. Mix of Sour Apple Tart, Pomegranate Pucker, Mango Tango, TooBerry Blueberry, Googly Grape, Strawberry Smash, Very Very Cherry, Wet-Face Watermelon Features
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