Choose cereal with 150 calories per servings and whole grains on the ingredients list. Add 1 cup of skim milk and 1 cup of fruit to your cereal for a healthy breakfast!
Look on the label to make sure your frozen meal has around 300 to 400 calories and 800 mg (or less) of sodium. Round out your meal with produce.
Here Dawn, myLifetime.com’s Nutritionist, recommends to always pick non- or low-fat milk and yogurt. When picking a cheese, make sure the saturated fat content is under 20%. As for eggs, use eggs and egg whites.
In this clip Dawn recommends sticking to 2 healthy snacks per day between meals. Each snack should have about 100 to 200 calories. Some good options are pistachios, low-fat yogurt, or a granola bar.
{ 212 comments… read them below or add one }
The three cup method mentioned in the first video is something I am going to try, I often skip breakfast or get something on the run, never good for me. It helps knowing what frozen meals I need to look for. I am also going to try what I learned about snacks. I think with the snack tricks, I can leave out the junk food.
I liked the three cup method too. I can just as easily eat this on the run by preparing my fruit in a baggie, put my dry cereal in another,(I like crunch) and just drink my 1% milk with it. This may not be for everyone but it would work for me.
Everybody I think will benefit seeing this viedo and learning what snacks are better for us.
I agree. Cheap and quick snacks don’t always have to be unhealthy. We should all take lessons from these videos.
I thought those were both good ideas i’m going to try also.
Breakfast is something that i need to work on too, so i am gonna try the cup method too
I always thought frozen foods were unhealthy. I remember reading that the nutrient value is decreased because of being frozen. Interesting tips
I always thought frozen foods were unhealthy as well. Thats what the media pounds into our heads anyways.
Same here, my brother use to always yell at me for eating frozen foods.
Don’t feel bad I thought the same thing! I never really ate frozen foods until recently!
Frozen foods are my favorite- they’re so convenient and easy to fix. I’m super happy I can still eat my kid cuisines. Can’t live without snacks either. Actually, my lunch at work seems to just be continuous snacks..
yes convenient for those who are busy. I agree I usually pick up frozen dinner entrees and sometimes I don’t always pick up the fresh ingredents and make a home cooked meal, I just have to do a little more research when shopping.
I love the 3 cup quickie in the first video. Its a good way to combine cereral, fruit, and low fat milk all into a breakfast for champions. I like the idea of oatmeal being healthy and keeping me full till lunch, because I have to eat every two hours or I become really cranky. So the idea of healthy snacks such as pistochios, low-fat yogurt, and even popcorn, would help me to hold over till lunch.
I always thought frozen/processed foods werent really healthy. Im going to starting look for them with 300-400 calories and 800mg or less of sodium. I can eat frozen vegtables but veggie burgers and hotdogs? I could never force myself to eat that again. But I like the idea of porition control. It gives you just enough to get what you want but, not too much were it is unhealthy. Cookies, chips, ice cream are so addictive. Once you have some you keep coming back for more but, Im going to start putting the packages away and stay with the porition control.
I dont do breakfast. I usually am rushing out the door and then i am not really hungry. I usually dont really eat until dinner. But i do like the 3 cup quickie might have to try it. I do always eat any kind of fruit i can for a snack most of the time. This videos are very helpful to try to get me on track about eating right.
I’m the same way. I’m not really a breakfast person and then if I eat at lunch it makes me tired so supper is my favorite meal too. I’m eating healthier after taking this class though
I am the exact opposite because I have to have breakfast or I can’t function till I get some food inside of me. I have to eat usually every 2 hours or I will start to get cranky.
I don’t usually do breakfast either, but I try to on test days so that I am doing my best. I also have days that I don’t eat until dinner because I am at school all the time or in clinicals so I eat a lot of mcdonals. Not good at all for me i know.
breakfast for me is typically a coke/dr pepper for the morning and maybe a bag of chips, lunch is usually a salad or rice and a piece of meat, and then the days I have classes til 9, I have a small dinner when I get home. Maybe I should be more prepared and pack a head of time doing the 3 cup idea.
What??? You don’t do breakfast?? I eat three times a day. Breakfast is usually a bowl of cereal, lunch is fruit and grain bars with snack crackers that I snack on while I am at work, and dinner is a healthy free for all and I eat quite a bit. My weight has been stable so far. I am getting ready to start working out again that my body has adjusted to my diet and I can workout to build body mass and not keep weight off. I owe most of my eating habits to this nutrition class.
There are a lot of things in these videos that I already do. A lot of the foods that I buy are portion controlled just for the simple fact that I hate to waste food. We all have that bag of something that goes stale after only eating a few pieces of it. I also love Yogurt.
i love yoghurt too.i even use it in making pancakes.it gives it such a great taste n consistency.
I am terrible about letting things go stale. The portion idea was great.
I need to get me a boat load of instant oatmeal so that I can be full for longer periods of time
I noticed she did not go for the Hungry Man frozen TV dinners…haha
Great tips on the dairy section I need to start measuring the portions I consume though. I am glad to know to keep it at a quarter cup or less.
It’s ok to allow yourself a “treat” but limit your caloric intake to about 100 to 150 calories per day.
haha i’ve been thinking about stocking up on oatmeal too! i need to add that to my list for my next grocery visit.
I really like the 3 cup method in the first video, the second video is really cool to because I sometimes don’t feel like cooking a big meal and they help me fix a quick meal, the third video was good in that I learned that the yolk is where all the cholesterol is but yet its got vitamins in them. I also liked how she does one egg and then for the rest she uses just egg whites. In the last video about the snacks I like most of the different snacks she named off which is good because least I know I do eat some healthy snacks and also I’m glad that I can still have my junk food.
these videos are quite good.they just reinforce alot of things that i already do.except for the breakfast.i hardly eat breakfast.but i know it is very important.i am always on a rush in the morning.but i have learnt to at least grab a snack
I use these methods. Its just hard because usually breakfast doesn’t fill me up too long.
Breakfast doesn’t always fill me up either but I do it because I find I eat more if I skip. Good thing we can have a snack of 100-200 calories.
Hey! Make time for breakfast. It’s my favorite meal of the day. I eat more for breakfast than I do at any other meal of the day. My mom says that you can “eat like a king” for breakfast, but “like a pauper” for supper. In other words, eat more for breakfast because you will burn the calories throughout the day but eat less for supper because you don’t want to go to bed with a full stomach and no time left in the day to burn your calories.
There were several helpful tips in these videos. My favorite has to be the 3 cup method from the first video. I had never thought to do something like this before, but I am definately going to try it.
I also like the snack ideas. I will also have to try these tips some day HAHA!!
These videos are very helpful to the average shopper. I didn’t think that frozen foods such as the ones displayed in the vidoes would be healthy. I too tlike the 3 cup method.
i hate eating breakfast !!! i just can’t bring myself to eat so early in the morning so i usually just eat maybe once or twice a day.
I like the quick breakfast idea, I have never thought of having to many calories for breakfast but I can see how it could really affect you, but overall I think these viedos are the best ones so far!
I liked the info on breakfast as well. Though I have heard that breakfast is the meal that sets the day up for you all my life, up untill now I just never gave it a whole lot of thought.
I loved the snack vidoe. I am a snack freak. I used to buy the 100 carolie packs to put with my lunches. I just got tired of them. This gave great ideas on other snack foods to eat. I had no idea popcorn could be used as a snack food for just a 100 or 200 calories.
I’m so glad to know popcorn (especially in the 100 calorie packs or single-serving packs) is a healthy snack rather than junk food, too. They have 97% fat-free kinds that are regular (butter flavored… but not super buttery) and also kettle corn. Both are fairly low in sodium, especially the kettle corn… I don’t know the actual milligrams but it’s only 9% (regular) and 2% (kettle corn) per single serving pack of your 100% recommended per day when you read the back.
I need to try the three cup quickie (first video), like her I enjoy my oatmeal, but it gets old.
I liked these videos. They were full of good shopping tips for selecting breakfast, dairy, frozen foods, snack, and junk foods.
Breakfast: 3 Cup Quickie…great idea of eating 1 cup of whole grain cereal (150 calories a serving size) with 1 cup of skim or lowfat milk, with 1 cup of any fruit.
Dairy: Always buy skim or 1% milk; yogart–look for lowfat…if you buy plain yogart, then you can add different fruits to change the flavor. Cheese–make sure that it has <20% saturated fat.
Frozen Foods: If you shop for frozen dinners with 300-400 calories with <800 grams of sodium, you can enjoy "comfort foods" such as pizzas or spaghetti in a "portion-controlled" amount.
Snack and Junk Foods: It was nice to know that even a dietician craves junk foods and give the "OKAY" to enjoy some. But a good tip: eat snacks and junk food in controlled calories and controlled portion amounts.
I am not the best cook in the world that is why I love forzen foods. They are easy to make. I eat them all the time. I am glad to see that I do get good nutrients from my forzen foods.
I completely agree! I am a college student and I practically live off of frozen dinners. Glad I can tell my mom that I am eating nutritionally.
I had never eaten frozen food until i was pregnant with my youngest son, now I tend to feed my kids frozen food on days when I have more homework than time, I feel bad about it, but i guess it’s not as bad as i thought.
I really liked the 3 cup Quickie. It is something I am going to have to try. The oatmeal is something that will just not work for me. I know that oatmeal is good for you and will keep you full but it is one of the few things I just cant eat. I did like how the videos said that frozen foods are not bad. I will have to buy some the next time I go to town.
If you take the time to read labels you will be alot better off. Since I have been with my personal trainer I have been reading labels and trying to eat healthier each and every day. I was shocked at the amout of calories and fat that was in so much of the foods I ate. Portion control is awesome and can help alot when you are dieting. In general we can all make healthier choices that can lead to a more productive lifestyle. I also never use to eat breakfast and that is a huge no-no!! I now eat breakfast and like the video said I eat egg whites with a little bit of egg beaters reather than the real yolk. I actually feel so much better when I do eat a good breakfast now. If I do not have the time in the mornings then I drink a EAS shakle and eat a banana on the go. I have also learned that when you go out to eat that the poportions are so large that I ask for a togo box abd put half of my meal in there for later.
I already do the 3 cup method!!! I have always loved to have fruit on my cereal! Cheerios with banana or berries and Skim milk, YUM! Obviously the girl in the first video has never cooked oatmeal, It has never taken me 60 minutes for any stove top cereal……..And using the stove top method makes lots of foods( to me) taste better!
I have always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I try to eat a healthy breakfast, but it is the smallest meal I eat each day. I know that dinner should be the smallest. I need to swap the two meals around, eating more at breakfast and less for dinner.
I also heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
This is very interesting,breakfast is the most important meal of the day.I love my cocoa puffs in the morning,the smell of fresh toast and sliced straw berries…….hmmmm i love food.
That does sound like a tasty breakfast. Fresh strawberries in the morning seem like they would brighten my day.
-JB
EA
I love my cocoa puffs as well and i would love to put fruit on my breakfast but when i buy fruit at my house you would think i never feed my children. the fruit is gone quicker than i can get it on the counter. Yes i do buy large quanities but like i said they love fruit!
RE
the 3 cup method is a great idea. i love fruits and yes breakfast is the most important meal of the day and the healthier the better for you. i wished i had the time for the shopping and eating correctly but when you are a full time student, wife, mother and grand mother and you have sick family members it is really hard to do the eating right thing and then to top it off….each professor that I have thinks that their class is the only class I have BUT i still turn my work in on time and make good grade, BUT i do need to change my shopping habits as well as my eating habits
RE
I like the 3-cup rule in the first video; one I’m definitely going to try. I am a stickler about reading food labels, checking for fat, calories, and sodium. One thing that is always a problem at our house is portion sizes, so I think I’m going to look more at buying pre-portioned foods. One thing I’ve learned over the years is never go grocery shoppoong on an empty stomach. You’ll end up buying way more than you intended, more junk food, and fewer fruits and vegetables.
I absolutely love the shopping hints. They seem like great ways to buy the correct portion and calorie size. I will probably use some of these tips on my next shopping trip.
I completely agree. These tips are awesome and she made grocery shopping almost seem fun, which we all know is not usually the case.
i am going shopping tonight and i am going to use her shopping tips as well they are really helpful.
I love this!! I have a hard time shopping for “healthy” foods. This helps tremendously.
I liked the information I received from going shopping with the Dawn. She made me want to go shopping in search for the right foods.
I have a horrible time with portion control. My eyes always seem bigger than my stomach and i end up eating way too much. I have no idea why i do this because my stomach aches and i feel miserable every time. I could really benefit from learning portion control. I also have learned to read food labels correctly and they make sense to me now.
-JB
She was right about the bags of frozen veggies. I love the stem-fresh corn, I can eat two bags of it all by myself at one time. I also love the little ice cream cups they’re the perfect size. I never knew that eggs had a big amount of saturated fat…I also didn’t know that cheese could have so much saturated fat in it either.
When she was talking about ice cream, she pulled out a Skinny Cow Ice Cream sandwich container. My mom and I just bought those yesterday and they are awesome! 140 calories or so per serving. They have full-sized mint ice cream on a stick for 100 calories each and a Drumstick-like cone at 150 calories. The sugar and fat values are low as well.
I agree with her on picking low or non-fat milks, cheeses, and yogurt. I started doing this when I began buying my own groceries and could not tell the difference from the regular stuff my parents always had when I lived at home with them.
My wife switched the whole family to low-fat or fat free milk, cheese, and other dairy and we couldn’t tell either!
All of her tips can be worked into my everyday life. She was helpful in pointing out ways to round out the quick meals in the frozen section. I don’t have enough frozen veg. on hand and can see where it could speed dinner up if you are stir frying , which we do often. The only problem with the portioning was the fact that you still have to have self control even if you have divided the cookies into packs of 2 or 3. Right now I am not able to control myself at times so I rarely have these things in my cupboards.
Much like everyone else I liked the 3 cup quickie tip! I’ll probably start using it in all honestly. I really need to try to eat breakfast everyday and sadly I have never had any milk besides 2%. I need to try a different milk as well as take the time to read labels, it’d would probably do me some good and help me with my weight problem.
My husband does not like skim milk – he always drinks 2% but prefers Whole Milk. Whole milk is obviously not a healthy choice if you are over 2 but I drink only skim-milk. It tastes the same to me and I know that I’m sparing myself the fat without skimping on the calcium.
I like the three cup quicky rule so I will probably try it and it will get me to eating breakfast since I don’t really eat in the mornings. I am glad to be reassured on the frozen veggies because I love the frozen broccali. Also I am glad to hear I don’t have to give up all my snacks, that makes me very happy.
i love the 3 cup quickie!!! Since i am really going to try to fit in at least 3 meals a day these videos gave me so great ideas. I love oatmeal and fruit so there is a start!! I hope if i really give these ideas a try i will not only lose weight but i will feel better too.
I like the portion ideas for snacks. I buy those skinny cow ice creams for my kids all the time they love them!!
I just don’t know if I could stomach the veggies burger or corn dogs. I know that the veggie kind are good for you, but I just don’t think I could deal with the taste.
Until this semester, I used a lot of canned veggies, Lately, I’ve been using steamfresh only.
I was doing the same thing and not thinking twice as to how much healthier the frozen veggies are compared to canned.
I thought that these videos offered some good ideas and guidelines on healthy eating. When I was working, the 3 cup trick would have been perfect. These days I have plenty of time to eat breakfast at home before class. (No excuses there) As far as dairy and snacks – I LOVE cheese so it’s hard for me not to smother everything in it. She’s right, 1/4C is very small. I always drink skim-milk and those 100 cal packs of popcorn are great! I like the Kettle Corn bc it is a mix of salty and sweet all in 100 calories.
I often skip breakfast, which I know is not good. I am going to try the 3 cup method.
I loved all of these videos!!! The 3 cup quickie is a great idea that I will bw trying in the morning. I am very busy during the day and find it hard to eat healthy at lunch time. I never knew that frozen meals were healthy, I have always stayed away from them……I will be going to the store tomorrow!
I agree, I’ve always tried to stay away from the frozen meals also!
I enjoyed all the videos! adding skim milk and fruit to cereal sounds really good! I’ve never had skim milk nor have I added fruit to any cereal that i’ve eaten! I may have to start looking at the calories of the cereal being that is something I never do!
Being pregnant one of my major food groups is cereal. I do have my good cereals and my not so good for you cereals. Bananas are the BEST in your cereal. Give it a shot!
These videos weren’t really anything I didn’t already know. Sometimes it is hard to shop for the right foods being on the go all the time. I do try to watch my sodium intake but sometimes it just doesn’t work. I am very good at eating a healthy breakfast and once a month I cheat and go all out with fried potatoes, biscuit, and sausage just to cure my craving. I also make sure I have healthy snacks with me but will improve on some of the things I take.
I kinda felt the same way. There wasnt much in these videos that I didnt already know.
I found these videos to be somewhat informative. I to enjoy Morning Star foods. They make GREAT veg burgers. I was kinda put off by her suggestions to eat microwave dinners, frozen, veg, ect. I have always been taught that microwave dinners can have little to know nutritional value and that microwaving foods basically is zapping all the nutrients right out.
Morning Star Boca Burgers are the BOMB! They actually are pretty tasty. Best way to cook them is in an iron skillet in the oven. Pure delicious
They have a variety of foods to try; their “Chicken stuff” is pretty yummy too!! Funny thing is you find all of this is the frozen food section at Walmart- and they are pretty healthy for you.
The three cup rule sounds pretty legit! I’ll definitely have to give it a try. Here recently though I have been trying to eat oatmeal in the morning for breakfast and help tide me over. I catch myself snacking during the day but 12 hour shifts are killers! When I get up at 4am I am usually pretty hungry by 8 and need lunch by 12 and hungry again around 4pm…. makes it kind of hard to eat dinner with the family if I eat at 4.
I found this video very helpful because I seldom have time to eat breakfast so learning what things that I can snack on early and on the go was so exciting!
I liked these videos, I love eating bananas in my corn flakes! I’ve never tried skim milk though! I’ve only drank whole or 2%!
I need to practice more on portion controll. I like the way she says dont call it treats its a snack.