Reply #8: Eat raw carrots without guilt.

[Gormy Cuss]

There's about 30 calories in a large peeled carrot. If you cut it into sticks and eat one or two over the course of a day that's very little caloric value and some good nutritional value.

Rather than drink soda or fruit juice, drink carbonated water with a generous squeeze from lemon,lime,or orange wedges. You'll get a small amount of vitamin C that way.

Try steamed broccoli tossed while still hot with a generous amount of fresh lemon juice or with a small amount of red wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper if you like. The acid brightens the taste and I've had compliments when I've served this to people who weren't fond of broccoli.

If you like tomatoes, green beans and tomatoes together are a good combo too. Saute onion or garlic and add the green beans, some dried oregano or herb of your choice and chopped tomatoes. Simmer until the beans are done.

This will sound weird but try some vegetables with salsa. Some raw vegetables work with salsa as the base of a dip. Plain salsa and celery or cucumber sticks is one of my favorite snacks. Salsa mixed with some zero fat sour cream is a pretty healthful dip for even more raw vegetables.

Eat fresh and in season fruit for dessert. I find that I like a mix of fruits on the plate rather than one type so we'll have a slice of melon and some berries or a mix of sliced peaches and plums in the summer, sliced apple and pear in the fall and sliced grapefruit and oranges in the winter. Again it sounds odd but plating the cut fruit makes it more appealing to me than just chomping into a whole piece of fruit. Eating seasonally means that the boredom factor is under control, LOL.