Tip #24 The Colorful Lunch

Quarter-pound cheeseburger: 450 calories
Large french fries: 500 calories
32-ounce soda: 300 calories

Add it up and you get 1250 calories and 45 grams of artery-clogging fat. Yikes! Most of us need only 2000 calories and 65 grams of fat in an entire day.
Today, don't eat a bland lunch that consists only of dull yellow, white, or brown colors. Eat a salad for lunch- and go for color! Choose dark, leafy green (like spinach, romaine, or endive), and top the salad with chunks of crisp veggies like carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, peas, tomatoes, or celery. Add some lean chicken, fish or beef if you prefer, or top it with a small sprinkling of nuts and a sensible portion of salad dressing- about two tablespoons on the side. Leafy greens serve as the perfect medium in a variety of healthy foods. But salads can go awry, so don't eat "taco salad" (with loads of cheese, meat, and sour cream) or add too many fatty toppings like cheese and dressing.

Credit: Melanie Douglass