Dance Magazine's healthy eating tips for all dancers

According to an article in the newsletter I received from Dance Magazine, end-of-winter snacking and raw, cold days can leave you feeling extremely tired. Some of their healthy eating tips are things we are already know, and some might even surprise. I'm just glad I love green tea and Hershey's kisses.

"Try a hot cup of green tea. It has antioxidants that may boost your immune system and lower cholesterol."

Plus the article explains how substituting one thing for another can help you find a better way to eat. For example, swapping that regular latte with skim latter cuts the calories by more than half. Oil and vinegar make a much more healthy, and not to mention delicious and light, replacement for creamy dressings such as Caesar and Ranch which pile on way more calories than the salads themselves.

Another trick, which I have recently read about in Women's Health Magazine also is to curb a sweets craving by popping a few (no more than five) Hershey's kisses rather than a candy bar. It will give you lots of energy, fulfill that craving and not pack on fat and unnecessary extras.

Soup is not only a winter staple, but a great way to fill up when you are hungry with fewer calories. Plus it helps your body generate energy, especially when you are dancing and need every ounce of energy you have to give it your all.

I love these tips and have really opened my mind up to healthy eating in the past year. My mom raised me on purely homemade food that was delicious, nutritious and sans artificial anything.

But when I got my own money, had less and less time and more responsibilities, I reverted to the soda-chugging, fast food-buying, junk food eating in general habits I had been deprived of.

I blame my mother for feeding me so incredibly well and healthy that I fell off the bandwagon.

But with the help of her, Ricky, and Women's Health (whose subscription was a generous birthday gift that I am still benefiting from and enjoying) I have been eating a lot healthier, and feeling lighter and better about dancing and eating.

Plus here's my own tip, courtesy of all the nursing majors I dance with: Eat a banana to stave of foot cramping. IT WORKS! I eat a banana before every intense dance rehearsal and class and it really does work thanks to the ridiculously high amount of potassium.