0. Modern Twist on the Old Fashion- serve with melted healthy butter substitute (without any hydrogenated fats!)
0. Parmesan-Garlic Popcorn- sprinkle with parmesan and garlic powder
0. Popcorn Trail Mix- add dried cranberries and roasted unsalted almonds or mix it up with raisins, walnuts, pecans, or any of your favorite dried fruit and nut combinations
0. Chili Powdered Popcorn- spice it up with salt and chili powder
0. Italian Popcorn- flavor with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese
0. Apple Cinnamon Popcorn- include diced apple pieces and sprinkle with cinnamon; serve quickly after combining ingredients to keep apples crunchy!
0. Garlic Popcorn- season with dried dill, lemon pepper, garlic powder, ranch dressing seasoning mix, and garlic salt
0. Rosemary Popcorn- add crumbled dried rosemary, salt, and cayenne pepper
0. Sugar n’ Spice Popcorn- for dessert, sprinkle with cinnamon and a teaspoon of sugar
0. Honey Nut Popcorn- add peanuts, honey, and cinnamon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and wellness coach with a Masters in Nutrition Education. She is the coordinator for several nutrition courses, including Functional Family Nutrition that provides the latest research on eating attitudes, super foods, food behaviors and earth-friendly eating. She is founder of SuperKids Nutrition Inc where she is "saving the world, one healthy food at a time." Discover how nutrition can help you live your best life through on-line nutrition courses at www.nutritioned.net.

1)     Be prepared to open your eyes and expand your mind –Food staples that you may have thought to be healthy may not be so wonderful after all.

• Food: Trader Joe’s Salsa, a product we buy often received a low rating. Why? Because it was low in vitamin C, which is unusual since tomatoes are typically high in Vitamin C. You might ask, what makes it so low?  Well, there are a number of possibilities, including poor soil quality.  I’ve read about the possibility of fungicides in the soil, which lower the vitamin quality of the tomatoes. If this were the case, it would have been enough of a reason for me to switch salsa brands.  Our family typically buys organic or local tomatoes in an effort to avoid ones grown in regions where the weather is not conducive to tomato production and/or fungicides are used.
•  The result of our discovery -switching to organic salsa or choosing one of the alternative options Fooducate recommends
  

2)     Narrow down food selections before you begin to scan within a food category:

• It helps to know some basic facts about the foods you are interested in purchasing before scanning.  For example, why even start scanning crackers before you’ve eliminated the ones that have added sugar. You want to avoid crackers that have sugar because you are likely to eat more of them.  When scanning cereals, narrow your options down to those with less than 6 grams of sugar per serving. When choosing pasta brands, scan 100% whole grain brands first. Offering some basic guidelines such as these to a client who you’ve recommended the fooducate app to will help them avoid scanning too many options.
  

3)     Consider what’s best for you or your client when two options receive high scores.

• A pasta brand like Dream Field that contains enriched semolina may get an A- because it has 5 grams fiber per serving, whereas a brand like Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta that is 100% whole grain my also get an A-.  Although they both rate high with Fooducate, always choose the option that has the most whole grain if your client enjoys the taste of whole grains.
  

4)     Read on, there’s more than just the letter grade!

• Be sure to scroll down the page to view product details, as you may find out some interesting facts about the foods you love. For example, all Trader Joe’s branded products are non-genetically modified.  You can educate yourself on the variety of names of sugar alcohols, or share tips with your clients, like cooking pasta “al dente” to lower the glycemic index of your meal, or checking ingredient features noted to make sure a food doesn’t have sulfates.
  

5)     Remind yourself and your client that B-rated foods are okay for every day

• Lightly salted Lundberg Organic Brown rice cakes are healthy yet get a B rating. These cakes can be an excellent substitute for bread. They are tasty and convenient, (no toasting involved) and are perfect when topped with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, hummus and fresh basil for a quick and healthy lunch.  Unless the rating was lower than a B-, don’t second guess your intuition.  Use Fooducate in conjunction with your food knowledge to guide your clients in making healthier choices.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and wellness coach with a Masters in Nutrition Education. She is the coordinator for several nutrition courses, including Functional Family Nutrition that provides the latest research on eating attitudes, super foods, food behaviors and earth-friendly eating. She is founder of SuperKids Nutrition Inc where she is "saving the world, one healthy food at a time." Discover how nutrition can help you live your best life through on-line nutrition courses at www.nutritioned.net.