empowerme

Outside? Get creative! Get a group together to play any sport you like. Create an obstacle course or play Olympics with different made-up activities you can do in your neighborhood.

Take the Challenge . Challenge your friends to try all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Have everyone keep track of the different kinds of fruits and vegetables that they eat and see how many you can all try. Make it a competition and the winner gets a meal made for them with their favorite fruits and vegetables.

Thin Crust It. Go for a thin-crust pizza with veggies instead of a thick-crust with meats and extra cheese.

Did you know sweet potatoes have vitamins A & C, potassium, and fiber? Sprinkle some orange juice on half a sweet potato and pop it into the oven. Yummy!

Add it On. Add fruits and vegetables to foods you already love. Try adding frozen peas to mac'n'cheese, veggies on top of pizza, and slices of fruit on top of breakfast cereals or low-fat ice-cream.

Improve healthiness of your meal by swapping out white rice for brown rice.

For a delicious after dinner treat, bake apples or pears.

Go colorful! Fruits and veggies come in a rainbow of colors. Look for new ones in the stores and try them all! Who knows? You may find you like a vegetable or fruit you'd never even heard of before.

Sit down to a meal with your friends and family. Having a set time and place for eating will help maintain good eating habits, and gives you time to catch up with people throughout the day!

Improve your balance by standing on one leg at a time!

Use whole grain bread and pasta to get more nutrients than processed white bread.

A good question is: do you even like what you're watching? You can try activities you enjoy instead of watching shows you don't - get pick-up games going with friends outside or indoors if the weather is bad, or get your groove on to your favorite music.

From squash to green beans, colorful low-cal veggies make awesome side dishes.

Keep yourself moving by walking more throughout the day. Doesn't have to be all at once but a little bit at a time goes a long way.

A great way to strengthen your calves and ankle muscles is by rising up and down on your toes 10 times and then repeating two to three more times.

Avoid Double Meat and Bacon. A serving size of meat is 2-3 ounces - about the size of a deck of cards.  You're probably getting well over that with a single meat patty.  Bacon is also high in calories and fat.

Try carrying around a water bottle to refill during the day. Keep a pitcher in the refrigerator so it’s cold and refreshing.

Dish it out: You'll tend to eat more if you eat directly out of a container or box. Put a handful of crackers on a plate instead of reaching into the box, and put ice cream in a bowl instead of eating it out of the carton.

 Eat dinner as a family at least one night a week, and then go for a walk together.

Choose fruits and vegetables more often than juice since fiber is found mainly in the peel and pulp.