- A tip for your toast: Try all-fruit jam instead of butter for a low-fat start.
- Have instant breakfast with a bowl of instant cooked cereal topped with honey or cinnamon.
- Drizzle a crispy toasted English muffin with honey or jam for a high-carb breakfast you can eat during your morning routine.
- Spread pizza sauce on a bagel, pita, or English muffin, then add low-fat cheese, basil and garlic: broil until cheese bubbles.
- For a tropical twist, try raisins, citrus peel, and low fat pineapple yogurt with macaroni noodles for a cold salad option.
- Pick up pita pockets and stuff with tuna, chicken or fresh veggies for a power-packed lunch that is easy to fix.
- Turn plain soup or salad into a meal. Add a variety of lower-fat crackers for texture, taste, and energy rich complex carbs.
- Bag up mini-bagels with peanut butter for a just-the-right-size, energy rich snack.
- Got a sweet tooth? Grab graham or animal crackers. They are lower in fat and higher in carbs.
- Bag your favorite cereal and you’ve got an instant carry-out snack that will bag you another serving from the grain foods group.
- Tantalize your taste buds with toast fingers. Spread low-fat peanut butter or cream cheese on whole wheat toast. Sprinkle with crushed cereal, and slice into strips.
- Get the fried chicken taste without the fat. Roll skinless chicken in egg whites and low-fat milk, dip in bread crumbs, crushed crackers or cereal and bake.
- Toss fresh or dried herbs with spinach flavored fettuccine for a fresh twist that works as a main dish or on the side.
- Mix freshly steamed vegetables with bulgur or couscous to combine two food groups in one.
- Try an exotic tabbouleh dish for some different. Mix chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro, lemon juice, and garlic, and add to cooked couscous, quinoa or brown rice.
- Pass the bread. Pile bread on a plate and pass it around the table every night. It’s an easy way to slip in another serving or two from the grains food group.
- Try low-fat granola type cereals as a topper for fruit or frozen yogurt.
- Treat yourself with angel food cake. Top with strawberries, raspberries, or other fresh fruit.
- Enjoy a few vanilla wafers with a fruit cocktail cup or fresh fruit salad.
- Instead of an ice cream sandwich, mash some bananas with light-whipped topping for a graham cracker sandwich filling.
Published April 2018
Stanford Health Care © 2018