Peter Jaret
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVE

Eating well doesn't have to take a lot
of time. Some of the simplest meals are
delicious and loaded with nutrients. Try
the following tips for tasty, nutritious
menus that you can throw together in
15 minutes or less.

Breakfast

Drink your breakfast

Start your day with a smoothie: Just
spoon a cup of low-fat yogurt, some
frozen berries, fruit juice, and banana
in a blender. Then add a quarter cup of
powdered nonfat milk for a satisfying
meal that also packs 625 milligrams of
calcium -- more than half of what you
need for the day.

Get in the pink

Try pink grapefruit for breakfast. It packs 25 times more beta-
carotene than its paler cousin, and it's usually sweeter. Pair it
with a cup of oatmeal topped with an ounce of chopped almonds
or a quarter cup of dried apricots, and you'll have a complete
breakfast with about 7 grams of fiber, a third of the daily
recommendation.

Juice up your routine

Break out of the orange juice rut. Try a different one each day:
Pineapple, grapefruit, tangerine, tomato, cranberry, and grape all
contain different antioxidants that can help prevent a range of ills
from cancer to heart disease to urinary tract infections.

Lunch

Choose "A" for avocado

Spread a quarter of a ripe avocado on
your turkey sandwich instead of mayo,
and you'll end up with plenty of flavor
and half the fat. Avocado also offers
magnesium and potassium. Add some
tomato, sprouts, and mustard, and
follow up with a piece of fruit for a
complete, healthy lunch.

Try new-age coleslaw

Use shredded broccoli stalks instead of cabbage in your next slaw.
(You can find them near the packaged salad in the produce
section.) A half-cup gives you nearly four times the vitamin C and
beta-carotene. Toss with shredded carrots, a little chopped red
onion, and a teaspoon of rice-wine vinegar for a super-healthy
side dish.

Get back to basics

Recent studies have turned peanut butter into a health food by
showing that peanut products can actually lower your LDL or
"bad" cholesterol as effectively as olive oil. But go for the old-
fashioned or "natural" kind. Other brands that use partially
hydrogenated oils to give their butters a creamy consistency and
keep the oil from separating can raise your cholesterol.