Wow, V8 is impressive!

[dancerjodi]

As part of our new 'eating healthier' thing, B and I are trying to stick to the food pyramid as a guide and eat small meals throughout the day: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm

I had a difficult time getting in all my veggies last week (besides eating some at dinner I wanted to have some kind of veggie snack in the afternoon). I don't really like munching on carrot sticks and having to bring a salad to work for a snack in the afternoon was a bit inconvenient, so I decided to go the V8 route.

The only time that my family ever bought V8 was at Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why - it doesn't make any sense, really - but having a glass of V8 along with your regular drink at dinner has been customary. As a kid I thought it was pretty gross but decided to try it again this year since my tastes have changed over the years and I was pleasantly surprised. It was really yummy and reminded me a bit of tomato soup (a nice comfort food in the winter perfectly accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich).

So I picked up some cans of V8 at the supermarket yesterday to serve as my easy and yet healthy veggie afternoon snack. This little thing is amazing! Its only 5.5 ounces, 35 calories and includes the following:
-no fat
-little carbs
-4% of the daily value of fiber
-30% of the daily value of Vitamin A (and 80% of that from Beta Carotine)
-60% of the daily value of Vitamin C
-2% of the daily value of Calcium
-4% of the daily value of Iron
-Juice from not only tomatoes but also carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress and spinach.

So I think that just totally made my health-conscious day :)

Do you have any healthy food secrets to share?

Comments

[ggirl.livejournal.com]

I also recently tuned into V8 5.5 oz cans again and I love the damn things! perfect snack for the afternoon. To get all my veggies in each day (5 servings) I pack a nice-sized salad each morning which takes all of 5 minutes to make: Use a bag of pre-packaged spring mix or baby greens (baby lettuce leaves, fresh yummy green stuff, not iceberg lettuce!), half a cucumber peeled and sliced up, some cherry tomatoes (easy enough to buy at the store for the week) and some mushrooms. If I'm feeling really fancy I throw in some sprouts. I shake on some fat free italian dressing, toss it all around in my convenient tupperware container, and bring it to work. Very filling, very healthy, and pretty easy once you get in the habit of doing it. I also like to snack on raw baby carrots out of the bag or a baby carrot/sugar snap pea mix. I also have 1 apple a day. Canned green beans heated up in the microwave for a minute are easy too.