Portion Control: Key To Maintaining Healthy Weight

(NAPSA)—Good newsfor people hoping to control calories— the key could be your favorite snacks; as long as they’ve been portioned into 100-calorie or less packages. Convenient, portion-controlled packages are new to the market, but you don’t have to buy processed foods to take advantage of } aa } this healthy trend. For example, if sweet and juicy —_™ appeal to your taste buds, consider the orange. With only 80 calories, oranges are natuiow BD Pivonka rally portion-controlled, ready-to- go, juicy and refreshing. What’s more, because of their high fiber and water content, oranges con- tribute to the feeling of fullness, which suppresses appetite and helps prevent overeating. Citrus is a great-tasting way to makecalories count by getting more nutrition in fewer calories. Introducing kids to fruits and vegetables early in life shapes their behaviors so they choose these foods throughoutlife. A child who grows up nourished with wholesome fruits and vegetables will learn to prefer such foods. That’s why Sunkist partnered with Sesame Street’s “Healthy Habits for Life” initiative. They encourage young children and their families to establish an early foundation of healthy habits. Children and adults need a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables every day. Getting the proper numberof serv-gage ings is easy if with fruits and vegetables at every meal and make them yourfirst choice as snacks. You can learn more facts about fruits and vegetables and find great recipes online at www. sunkist.com and at www.daday.org. Healthy Snack Alternatives from Sunkist Comparedto other “low-fat” snacks, oranges come outon top. For example: One orange has over 40 percent fewercalories than a 3 '/:-cup serving of regular microwave popcorn andseven timesthe fiber, which keeps you feeling full longer for fewercalories e An orangehastwice as muchfiber as a serving of 16 pretzels and over 25 percent fewer calories One orange hasseventimesthefiber, fewer calories and noneof the fat you will find in 10 animal crackers Note to Editors: 83rd in a series of columns by Elizabeth Pivonka, Ph.D., R.D., president and CEO of Produce for Better Health Foundation. More stories at www.napsnet.com. Search: “Pivonka.”