Trying to become more active? Or just motivated by numbers? Get a pedometer and aim for a 10,000 step per day goal. That’s roughly equivalent to 5 miles. Studies have shown that using a pedometer boosted people’s activity by 27%. Anything counts – park further from the store and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, pace as you talk on the telephone, take laps around the living room while the commercials run. And at the end of the day, take note of how all those little extras add up!

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Manufacturers can get sneaky. does your cereal have 200 calories per cup? Or per half cup? Does that frozen meal contain one, two or three servings? Look at the serving size BEFORE you check the calories . . . then there’ll be no surprises when you finish what’s in the box!

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I don’t love cereal. It’s often nutritionally-void and it doesn’t stick with me at all. But you might like cereal . . . and subbing a whole-grain version for your refined-grain favorite will healthy up your life a little more.

Try Kashi 7 Whole Grain Nuggets instead of Post Grape Nuts; bran flakes instead of corn flakes, or General Mills Total instead of Kellogg’s Product 19. Or why not get crazy and try oatmeal for breakfast? Just a few minutes in the micro and you’ve got a hearty, whole-grain cereal that’s a blank canvas for your favorite, seasonally-appropriate toppings (think summer berries, diced fall apples, pumpkin puree).

And here’s a bonus tip – if you do eat Total or Product 19, you DO NOT need a multi . . . there are loads of vitamins added to these two cereals, and taking a multi on top of them will send you over the RDA for all those.

Don’t even get me started on supplements, now, you hear?

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Studies show that people who eat more vegetables tend to be thinner – that’s probably because the veg is crowding out less-nutritious, more calorie-dense food. But let’s be real. How often do you try something new? Challenge yourself to one new-to-you veggie per week for a month. Use my search box on the blog here for recipe ideas!

{Big wet smooches and good veggie karma to whoever can name the veggie pictured at the top of this post.}

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Yes, it’s more expensive than buying whole fruit, but you’ll be more likely to eat it ’cause it’s cleaned and cut for you, and you’ll STILL pay less than if you ordered fruit salad in a restaurant!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Cooking your own food is one of the surest ways to eat healthily. But what to do if you’re on the road? Try the Healthy Dining Finder – plug in an address or a zip code and up pops a list of area-restaurants along with recommendations for healthier fare (complete with nutrition info – hooooray!).

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Lettuce in your salad is good. Spinach in your salad is GREAT. A 3-cup serving of the stuff has 10% of a day’s potassium (listen up, you ‘nana haters!), 510% of the day’s vitamin K, 160% of a day’s vitamin A, 40% of your daily vitamin C and folate, 15% of your RDA of magnesium and iron, and 8% of a day’s calcium and fiber. All for . . .

20 tiny calories.

Did you know that my Baby Spinach Salad, 7 Ways is one of the all-time most popular posts on Semi-Sweet? Check it out. Feed yourself spinach, today!

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Really, the best way to get your carbs is from vegetables, fruit and beans. The OmniHeart study found that diets rich in veggies, fruits and low-fat dairy foods and low in sat fat, salt and sugar lowered blood pressure and LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). But each person in this study had only 4-5 servings of grains for a 2,000 calorie/day diet. That’s NOT much bread, my friends. And sometimes, you just want to sandwich something.

Try thin, whole grain rolls like Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats or Arnold or Oroweat Sandwich Thins – they have 100 calories per bun and will let you stretch your whole grains budget further every day.

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