Healthier Snack Promotion

cookingcooking demosnutrition month
Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII
Cathy Fitzgerald, MS, RD, and the MFit nutrition staff at the University of Michigan Health System would like to share some activity ideas that they have done with small groups of up to 30 people.
Choosing Healthier SnacksThis activity focuses on making healthier choices when there aren't really healthful foods around, such as fresh fruit, vegetables or whole grains.1. Pass out various snack choices from convenience stores and vending machines.2. Teach the participants how to read the nutrition label for calories, total fat and saturated fat adjusting for how many servings are in the package.3. Recommend choosing snacks with fewer than 5 grams of total fat and less than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving.4. Then, the participants read the labels sharing the information with the group.For both activities, it helps to give the participants general daily guidelines for total calories, total fat and saturated fat so they have a reference from which to start.
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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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