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If you are a strong participant in the H-E-B Community Challenge, then you already know that a ‘Healthy Selfie’ is a fun and easy way to gain points for your community!

Healthy Selfies involve taking a picture of yourself participating in a healthy act. This could include exercising or eating healthy food! I love food, and food can love me back when I am eating healthy. I have learned that it is easier to eat healthy during the week rather than the weekends, especially if you take your lunch to work or school with you. However, during the weekends you’re more likely to go out to eat and celebrate a birthday or meet up with friends for dinner.

This is where the challenge comes in, because you don’t want to get off track (or miss out on a chance for more Challenge points)! Well, it’s very possible to eat healthy while eating out and still take those Healthy Selfies. Several restaurants have recently created healthier menu options. Some have even dedicated a separate menu to these options, including Olive Garden and their Lighter Fare menu, Applebee’s Pub Diet (although I loathe the word diet. Diets imply something short term while healthy eating and living is a lifestyle!), and Chili’s Guiltless Grill. These are just to name a few!

Some Tips For Dining Out:

-Don’t hesitate to use your smartphone and look up nutritional facts for the restaurant where you’re eating.

-Look for adjectives that imply healthier eating like roasted; baked; braised; broiled; seared; grilled; steamed; or sautéed.

Keep making smart choices and snapping those Healthy Selfies to get points for your city,  even when you’re dining out!

-Written by Allison Stinnett, IT’S TIME TEXAS Engagement Intern, University of Texas-Austin ’15