Often people avoid low fat foods because they think these foods do not taste great. To help inform staff members, purchase a variety of low fat foods and put them out in a conference room for an hour or so for a drop-in tasting session. Or, arrange for low-fat potlucks encouraging staff members to bring and share their favorite low fat or healthy dishes.
Considerations:
- Make sure the selections actually taste great.
- Offer a “fact sheet” with the names and price of the various products to help participants if they want to buy these products from the supermarket.
- Offer other written information on great nutrition for any interested participants to take. Utilize websites and other resources specified in the Resource Section at the end of this guide.
- Offer small tasting spoons or wooden ice cream tasters.
- It doesn’t take much of each item to give participants a taste of the food or dish. It is not crucial to buy enough, or bring enough, food to provide a meal.
- Set up the tasting room after lunch so participants can go in on their own and sample.
- Watch for overly sugary items…sometimes low fat means high sugar – so be sure to look at the label.
- Typical purchases for a worksite sampling could include: two boxes of low fat crackers, a package of low fat cheese, a box of low fat cookies, two or three low fat spreads such as hummus, low fat cream cheese, a package of honey nut or other flavored rice crackers, and one or two other low fat items.
- Put signs on the table gently reminding participants that the idea is to sample, not have a meal.
Provide a beverage such as a new kind of fruit juice or herbal tea.
Golds Gym
15 Industrial Drive
Middletown NY 10941
845-344-4653
