empowerme

Spend Valentine's Day with your friends and family. Instead of sitting around snacking - get moving, run, skate, play, bowl and have fun!

Add more fiber to your diet - eat whole grain breads and yummy beans.

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

Lunch at school? Get your friends together to petition for more vegetables or a salad bar at school. Already have one? Be creative and put veggies on foods you already like such as pizza and burgers and always grab a banana or apple to eat.

 Look at newspapers and flyers for activities that your whole family can do together, like a community fun run, walk or a car wash.    

Get together with your friends and work out with a DVD or fitness class on TV.

Keep a set of light hand weights handy and use them to work your arms when you're at your desk or on the phone.

When its cold outside, visit an indoor pool, ice-skating rink or basketball court at a local gym, school, or community center for some fun.

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.

Fruits and vegetables are the best way to get important vitamins and nutrients, like vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and fiber, into your body. It is hard to understand the importance of fruits and vegetables, and it is sometimes even harder to learn to like how they taste. But fruits and vegetables can be fun to explore, prepare and eat! Give them a try--you may even find a new favorite food! 

Spend time before the holidays planning healthy snacks to prepare. Make a grocery list and stick to it. Whether you are a host or guest, be the one to create healthy alternatives to the typically not-so-healthy holiday menu.

Cut the fat out of your gravy by refrigerating the pan juices and scraping off the solid layer of fat before making your gravy, or use a fat separator.

Looking for a healthy Valentine's Day gift, make a fruit bouquet using strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew and other colorful fruit. They are filled with nutrients and vitamins.

Add flavor and nutrients to your chicken or turkey salad by adding some dried fruit and nuts.

Take your veggies for a dip! Try carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower or celery, and dip your favorites into low-fat or fat-free dressing.

When you cook, use vegetable oils and soft margarines low in the bad fats, like saturated and trans fats, which can be found in fried foods, chips, cookies, and crackers.

Find ways to add healthy foods into foods you like. You can put blueberries in pancakes, chopped fruit on cereal, or small pieces of broccoli in macaroni and cheese.

Choose low-fat or fat-free milk or 100% juice to get vitamins, build strong bones, and reduce the risk of illness. Aim for 3 cups of milk a day and drink only 100% juice.

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.

Drinking H20 gives you more energy so you’ll feel good! Try drinking more water for one week and you’ll feel the difference.