healthy morning snacks

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When You Want an Easy (and Healthy) Measure...
Limit your morning snack to 100 calories or less—the amount in a large apple, says Anne McTiernan, MD, PhD, a professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, whose (aforementioned headline-garnering) study found a connection between midmorning snacking and slower weight loss. While her advice for dieters is to avoid the 11 a.m. snack unless they're genuinely hungry, the single-piece-of-fruit suggestion is a good rule of thumb for anyone else. Keeping it under 100 calories is easy: one banana, pear or small mango (100 calories each), orange (60 calories), nectarine (65 calories) or peach (40 calories).

How much: A single piece of fresh fruit. (Alternatively, measure and bag 100 calories worth of the following dried fruits: 3 prunes, dates or fresh/dried figs, 1 tablespoon of raisins, 2 tablespoons of dried cherries or 8 dried apricot halves.)

Extra perk: Fruit is rich in dietary fiber