Quick Tricks: Cutting 100 Calories

Welcome to the first installment of a new section aimed at providing you with quick, painless ways to achieve your healthy eating goals.

A few ways to remove approximately 100 calories from your day:

• Snack on 2 ounces of grapes (39 calories) rather than 1 ounce of raisins (85 calories).

• Enjoy a salad with 1 medium-size 2 ounce fresh tomato (11 calories) instead of 1 ounce of sundried tomatoes (83 calories).

• Instead of 7 regular Tostitos chips (140 calories), have 10 baked Tostitos chips (55 calories). Even better, enjoy them with 2 tablespoons of salsa (9 calories) rather than the same amount of cheese dip (60 calories).

• At a Thai restaurant, go for a summer roll (89 calories) instead of a spring roll (200 calories).

• You can't go wrong with a can of tuna. But packed in water (191 calories) is better than oil (339 calories).

• Make your grilled cheese sandwich on a George Foreman grill and save yourself a tablespoon of butter (102 calories).

• Forego a typical 1 ounce serving of croutons in your salad (122 calories).

• In the mood for ice cream? Get a scoop in a cup (0 calories, of course) rather than a chocolate-dipped waffle cone (160 calories).

• When dining out, ask for your salad dressing (200 calories) on the side. Then, dip your fork into the salad dressing before each bite. You'll very likely have half of it left over after finishing your salad.

• If you're indulging on dessert, ask for a brownie (290 calories) without a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top (140 calories).

• At Starbucks, pass on whipped cream for your grande drink (100 calories).