Employee Wellness Plans : Worksite Health Promotion Program Ideas: Low Fat Foods Sampling

Often people avoid low fat foods because they think these foods do not taste great. To help inform employees, 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 employees to bring and share their favorite low fat or healthy dishes.

Considerations:
• Make sure the selections actually taste good.
• Give a “fact sheet” with the names and price of the various products to help participants if they want to purchase these products from the supermarket.
• Give other written information on great diet for any interested participants to take. Make use of websites and other resources specified in the Resource Section at the end of this guide.
• Provide 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 support a meal.
• Plan the tasting room after lunch so participants can go in on their own and sample.
• Keep an eye out for overly sweet items…sometimes low fat means elevated sugar – so be sure to read the label.
• Typical purchases for a worksite sampling could include: 2 boxes of healthy 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.
• Place 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.