HG's Summer's (Almost) Here Survival Guide!

Healthier_Me

Everyone knows Memorial Day weekend is the first unofficial weekend of summer.
And we’ve got summer secrets, supermarket must-haves, and some important stuff
you may have missed. Check it out! And BTW, there'll be no News this Monday 'cuz
of the holiday. But we'll be back on Tuesday with a rockin' breakfast recipe!

Summer Staples and Snacking Secrets

Everything you need to kick off the summer season with a guilt-free bang!

H20 Alert! - Staying hydrated over the summer is key. It can keep you from snacking when you're really just thirsty. If plain old H20 doesn't do it for you, check out Metromint, Minute Maid Fruit Falls, Special K20 Protein Water, Hint Water, Crystal Light On The Go, SoBe Lean, and Lipton Iced Tea To Go. But watch out for over-caloried waters like Glacéau VitaminWater, SoBe Life Water, and Snapple Antioxidant Water -- those each have 100 - 150 calories per bottle (yikes!). When it comes to bottled water, reading labels is KEY.

Girl on Grill Action - Keep guilt-free grillables on hand for cookouts at home, and feel free to take 'em along to a pal's BBQ, too (just bring enough to share!). Go for Boca meatless burgers, Gardenburger veggie burgers, Amy’s veggie burgers, fat-free or nearly fat-free hot dogs (like Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks, Ball Park Fat Free Franks or Bun Size Smoked White Turkey Franks, Yves Meatless Hot Dogs or Tofu Dogs, and Hoffy Extra Lean Beef Franks), boneless skinless lean chicken breast, and seafood (shrimp and scallops for skewers, and your favorite filets). Yum!

Fun with Frozen Fruit! - Keep grapes, blueberries, and other bite-sized fruit in the freezer for an all-natural, guilt-free sweet treat that takes a while to eat AND cools you off. We also like frozen mango chunks and peach slices...

Ice Cream Aisle Checklist - Forget the ice cream man (who wants to chase a truck anyway?!). Stock up on Breyers Double Churn Free fat-free ice cream, Edy's/Dreyer's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream, No Sugar Added Fudgsicles, Sugar Free Popsicles, The Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers, and low-fat ice cream sandwiches (like the ones by The Skinny Cow, Weight Watchers, and Slim-a-Bear).

Fruit, Meet Grill! - Sweet fruit with groovy grill marks all over it makes us giddy! Toss some pear, apple, plum and pineapple slices on the grill, or skewer up chunks of the stuff (everyone loves food on a stick!).

Extra, Extra - Condiments and other meal toppers are KEY for good summer food. Check out KC Masterpiece Classic Blend Barbeque Sauce (only 10 calories per serving -- http://www.kcmasterpieceproductlocator.com/food_products.aspx ), HG's own Not-So-Secret BBQ Sauce - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/13617-hg-s-not-so-secret-bbq-sauce?hl=BBQ+sauce#posts-103575 (37 calories for a huge serving!), Hellman's/Best Foods Dijonnaise, Vivi's Original Sauce, giant lettuce and steamed cabbage leaves (you could skip the bun altogether with these!), juicy tomato slices, and crunchy pickle spears.

Healthier_Me

Everyone knows Memorial Day weekend is the first unofficial weekend of summer.
And we’ve got summer secrets, supermarket must-haves, and some important stuff
you may have missed. Check it out! And BTW, there'll be no News this Monday 'cuz
of the holiday. But we'll be back on Tuesday with a rockin' breakfast recipe!

Summer Staples and Snacking Secrets

Everything you need to kick off the summer season with a guilt-free bang!

H20 Alert! - Staying hydrated over the summer is key. It can keep you from snacking when you're really just thirsty. If plain old H20 doesn't do it for you, check out Metromint, Minute Maid Fruit Falls, Special K20 Protein Water, Hint Water, Crystal Light On The Go, SoBe Lean, and Lipton Iced Tea To Go. But watch out for over-caloried waters like Glacéau VitaminWater, SoBe Life Water, and Snapple Antioxidant Water -- those each have 100 - 150 calories per bottle (yikes!). When it comes to bottled water, reading labels is KEY.

Girl on Grill Action - Keep guilt-free grillables on hand for cookouts at home, and feel free to take 'em along to a pal's BBQ, too (just bring enough to share!). Go for Boca meatless burgers, Gardenburger veggie burgers, Amy’s veggie burgers, fat-free or nearly fat-free hot dogs (like Hebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef Franks, Ball Park Fat Free Franks or Bun Size Smoked White Turkey Franks, Yves Meatless Hot Dogs or Tofu Dogs, and Hoffy Extra Lean Beef Franks), boneless skinless lean chicken breast, and seafood (shrimp and scallops for skewers, and your favorite filets). Yum!

Fun with Frozen Fruit! - Keep grapes, blueberries, and other bite-sized fruit in the freezer for an all-natural, guilt-free sweet treat that takes a while to eat AND cools you off. We also like frozen mango chunks and peach slices...

Ice Cream Aisle Checklist - Forget the ice cream man (who wants to chase a truck anyway?!). Stock up on Breyers Double Churn Free fat-free ice cream, Edy's/Dreyer's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream, No Sugar Added Fudgsicles, Sugar Free Popsicles, The Skinny Cow Skinny Dippers, and low-fat ice cream sandwiches (like the ones by The Skinny Cow, Weight Watchers, and Slim-a-Bear).

Fruit, Meet Grill! - Sweet fruit with groovy grill marks all over it makes us giddy! Toss some pear, apple, plum and pineapple slices on the grill, or skewer up chunks of the stuff (everyone loves food on a stick!).

Extra, Extra - Condiments and other meal toppers are KEY for good summer food. Check out KC Masterpiece Classic Blend Barbeque Sauce (only 10 calories per serving -- http://www.kcmasterpieceproductlocator.com/food_products.aspx ), HG's own Not-So-Secret BBQ Sauce - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/13617-hg-s-not-so-secret-bbq-sauce?hl=BBQ+sauce#posts-103575 (37 calories for a huge serving!), Hellman's/Best Foods Dijonnaise, Vivi's Original Sauce, giant lettuce and steamed cabbage leaves (you could skip the bun altogether with these!), juicy tomato slices, and crunchy pickle spears.