Q: I want to eat right, but I find it hard to make the right choices all the time. Help!

A: You're absolutely right - we're always facing a choice. And here's the secret to my ability to eat healthy food on a consistent basis: I set up my environment so that I have no other choices in my moments of vulnerability.

What's a moment of vulnerability? It's when I'll predictably make the worst choice. When I come out at 11 pm after a road trip, and I haven't eaten since lunch at the hotel, and I'll eat anything in the fridge, absolutely anything. Heck, Grey Poupon with a spoon is not out of the question.

At that point, what I want is a freshly prepared salad with a delicious dressing, or a tasty wrap all ready for me. I'll eat the most convenient thing in the fridge. If there's a piece of chocolate cake on a plate, and I have to warm the soup, forget it. I'm done for!

So as I navigate my day, I focus on making good choices when I'm strong mentally, choices that will eliminate the need to choose when I'm weak.

Do you find yourself snacking on junky foods and drinks in the office? Don't try to stop snacking - habits are the hardest things to change.

Instead, keep the habit and change the content. Snack on a raw trail mix, with walnuts and cashews and raisins and Craisins (gosh, I love those little guys!) and dates and coconut and apricots.

Get a good thermos and make a frozen smoothie in the morning. It takes 3 minutes in a good blender (I like the Vitamix), and as long as you fill the blender jar with water before you go, it'll be a cinch to clean when you come home.

You can make smoothies that taste better than ice cream, better than water ices. And you can fill them with good stuff. If you put in medjool dates, frozen berries, rice milk, and a banana, do you know how much spinach, or lettuce you can cram in that baby without even tasting it? (If it sounds bizarre, don't knock it until you've tried it. Until my kids got the hang of eating green vegetables, my strategy was "Stealthy Healthy" - hide the veggies anywhere I could. And we can use the same strategies on ourselves.)