November 25th, 2008 — Meals, healthy eating, trigger food
One of the main things that keeps people from trying low fat foods is the fact that a lot of them taste, well, pretty bad. It's all too easy to brush it off as "rabbit food," and convince yourself that you need real food. However, there are many low fat foods that are actually quite flavorful and there are methods that you can use that can enhance flavors without adding fat. Low fat food doesn't have to taste awful and we'll show you how you can actually start enjoying it with a few tips.
Let's look at a popular low fat food, skim cottage cheese, that is high in protein and very helpful for anyone that is on a diet. If you're used to eating regular cottage cheese, or none at all, the flavor in the skim or fat free variety can be a bit off. Try adding a little black pepper on top, or even some paprika. If you like it spicy, try adding a little shot of Tabasco sauce to it. Look for seasonings that are fat free and that will add to the flavor of your low fat cottage cheese.
Now, let's move onto low fat cereal. In some cases, it may be better to call it low fat cardboard. The same is true with low fat chips. They really can taste a little flat and pretty unappetizing. If you're eating low fat cereal and barely choking it down, try adding a little Splenda to it. This is a great calorie free sweetener that can really help and it doesn't affect your blood sugar as opposed to Nutrasweet or saccharin. You can also try using vanilla flavored soy milk instead of regular milk. You'll be getting the benefits of soy protein and the vanilla flavor helps mask the tastelessness of the cereal. For fat free chips, try dipping them in fat free salsa. Once again, you're tricking your tastebuds and it really does work.
Salsa is a great additive for a lot of foods that can spice things up without adding any fat. Use it on lean chicken to make it less boring, or add it to some celery for an extra kick. Anytime you would normally use high fat dip, replace it will fat free salsa. This gives you that feeling of being able to enjoy dipping foods without the guilt.
The main key is retraining your palette. Let's face it, high fat foods taste pretty good and that's why they are so hard to quit. However, here's an experiment you can try. Eat low fat foods for one month and then allow yourself a small sample of the foods you used to enjoy. Chances are, that high fat food is going to taste pretty awful. You'll be able to literally taste the oil and it may even make you a bit nauseous. The human palette is highly trainable and if you can convince it that low fat tastes better, you'll never be in danger of falling off the wagon again.
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October 9th, 2008 — Meals, Weight Loss Journal, alternative ideas, diet, drink, food, goals, healthy eating, nutrition, sodium, sugar
For many of us, trying to consume fewer calories can be very difficult. If you are someone that has a hard time feeling satisfied on little meals, or you just can’t seem to make any headway with your calorie count, there are a few ways that you can dramatically reduce how many calories you are eating without feeling the pinch. These tips are about some small switches that you can make to get some big weight loss results.
1. Remove temptation.
If you are someone that will go through an entire bag of chips without thinking, it’s difficult to look at that big bag and not keep reaching in. One of the easiest ways to control this is to make use of the smaller kid’s size bags. You’ll still be able to eat chips, but you will have that automatic portion control already figured out for you. The key is to keep as few of these bags around as possible, so that you don’t make up for what you’re missing by eating a bunch of small bags. Possible calories cut: 150 – 600.
2. Try tasty replacements.
If you just have to have those salty snacks and the little bags aren’t cutting it, it’s time to find a different way to get your salt fix without eating too many calories. One of the easiest switches to make is to try some air popped popcorn, lightly salted. You can have three popped cups of this for what nine potato chips would cost calorie wise. This is an easy way to feel more satisfied and you won’t have to worry about eating unhealthy oils. If you can’t do without butter, try a light 1 second spray of butter flavored spray oil. It’s a lot easier to replace chips with popcorn than it is with celery. Possible calories cut: 150 - 600
3. Get that dressing on the side.
If you are eating restaurant salads and wondering why you’re not losing weight, the dressing is usually too blame. Restaurants slather salads with high calorie dressings. Look for a non-cream based dressing, or better yet, go with a vinaigrette. Get your dressing on the side, and dip in the lettuce. You’ll be surprised at just how much is left over. Possible calories cut: 50 to 500 depending on the dressing.
4. Forego the cheese and mayo based toppings.
If you must eat out, get a plain hamburger instead of a cheeseburger. Use plain ketchup and mustard and forget about any special sauces. You’ll still be eating something you enjoy, but you’ll also be saving on calories. Possible calories cut: 50 to 250.
5. Replace soda with flavored sparkling water.
Sparkling water still has that zing of carbonation, without all the empty calories of soda. There are some great flavors out there and once you get past the caffeine issue, you’ll be on track towards losing a lot of weight. Possible calories cut: 100 to 600 (depending on the amount of soda you drink)
All told, these are five easy ways to carve anywhere from 500 to 2550 calories a day. Now that’s significant!
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