November 27th, 2008 — Meals, alternative ideas, healthy eating, nutrition
All of us know that we need to start eating healthier and get more fruits and vegetables into our diets. The hard part is actually doing it. For many people, it's just hard to get past the taste. However, there are ways that you can easily add more servings of fruit or vegetables to your diet with little effort. We'll show you ways to cheat and still enjoy your food.
1. Start with salsa substitution.
If you eat a lot of dips, you're adding a whole bunch of useless calories into your daily rotation. Put away that dip and bring out the salsa. It contains numerous vegetables and fruit and the taste is terrific. Better yet, it's fat free and extremely low calorie. You can use salsa on just about anything to make it taste better and you're getting the benefit of adding more servings of these important foods to your diet with little effort.
You can use it with chips, or tortillas, on eggs or pretty much anything. If salsa is not really your thing, try experimenting with a couple of different brands or you can even try to make your own with vegetables you like. Fruit salsa is surprisingly good when combined with cottage cheese or other low fat dairy products. This is probably the easiest way to get more fruit and vegetables into your diet with little effort.
2. Add one more serving of vegetables or fruits with every meal.
At breakfast, have some low sodium tomato juice or a sliced apple. At lunch, you can add in some delicious corn or a pear. With dinner, try experimenting with a tossed salad with low fat dressing. This makes it easy to get at least three more servings of fruits or vegetables into your diet without any effort at all. What's more, these servings will help you fill up faster and avoid overeating other foods that are less healthy.
3. Retrain your palate.
Some of us simply just don't like fresh fruits or vegetables. The key here is to retrain your palate and make your brain think that you actually enjoy them. Start small and add low fat sauces or little things to make the vegetables taste better. For example, you can spread a little bit of peanut butter inside a stalk of celery. Suddenly, that tasteless stalk actually tastes good and you're getting the added benefit of more protein. This makes a great afternoon snack. Just don't overdo it on the peanut butter or you won't be getting any benefit.
Simple things can make vegetables and fruits a lot better. However, you can also try experimenting a little. Just because you don't like one fruit or vegetable doesn't mean you may not love another. Get creative and go outside your usual routine with new vegetables you've never tasted before. You can actually have a lot of fun by trying out all sorts of new foods and seeing which ones you enjoy.
Photo Credits: 1
Related Articles
Related Stores
September 25th, 2008 — Meals, blood sugar, calories, grazing, healthy eating, moderation, proteins, snacking
For many of us, it's just too hard to get through the day without nibbling on something. If you have issues with your blood sugar being too low, or you are simply hungry during the day, snacking can be second nature. While snacking generally gets frowned upon, grazing is typically recommended for many diets. The key is finding the right balance so that you don't get overly hungry and you still feel satisfied throughout the day.
First, you need to set limits for your grazing behavior. It's one thing to graze on peanut butter cups all day, and it's another to graze on unbuttered air popped popcorn. One contains loads of fat and calories, the other has approximately 31 calories for a whole cup. You can really fill up on popcorn without filling up on calories. Figure out how many calories you are allowed each day and then how much you use for your regular meals.
That will give you the amount left over that you can eat while grazing. It is best to stick to a very low calories amount so that you don't end up sabotaging your diet. For example, instead of a candy bar, try low calorie string cheese. Instead of a bag of chips, have some crunchy vegetables. By making the right food choices when you're grazing, you'll have better luck at losing weight.
If you do find it necessary to graze because you are starving, you may need to address what is causing this. Are you not eating enough during your regular meals or are you eating the wrong balance of foods? If you're not getting enough protein, then you will be left feeling hungry after your meals. By getting the right balance of carbs, fats and proteins you can reduce those cravings that make you graze.
It is almost important to remember that if you are doing a lot of brain work, you are going to be hungrier during the day. Your brain uses more than 30% of your body's blood sugar just to run and when you're really using it, you'll burn through your supply quite quickly. Just find low calories fuel to keep you going in this situation.
Snacking and grazing can be too different things. Some of us get into the habit of the afternoon snack or late night snack and we are so routinized that it doesn't matter if we are hungry or not - we're going to eat that snack. Learn to recognize true hunger as opposed to "my brain is telling me it's time to eat."
Grazing is not necessarily a bad idea and when utilized properly it can help you lose weight. You just need to make sure that you are using smart choices when it comes to the food you are grazing on. Eat small amounts of low calories and still keep track of what you eat each day to stay below you recommended amount. This is grazing at its best.
Photo Credits: 1
Related Articles
Related Stores
June 25th, 2008 — calories, diet, healthy eating, snacking
One of the major reasons that people have difficulty keeping on their diets is the urge to snack. For many of us, it's hard to get through the day without having at least one snack. However, that one snack can easily turn into ten and before you know it you're grazing all day long, adding useless calories to your daily intake. While snacking can be important, you're going to need to be smart about it to make sure that you can stick to your diet.
When we need a little snack fix, most of us reach for a bag of chips or a candy bar. It's a quick fix and provides you with that burst of sugar that will make you feel pretty good right away, but not so good later on. The key to snacking without ruining your diet is picking the right kind of snacks. It may take a little while at first to get used to eating healthier snacks, but before long, you'll be able to prefer it.
Start by figuring out how many calories you want to eat per day. Add up your three main meals and then figure out how many calories you have left over. This can be used as a guide to help you pick the snacks that will keep you on your diet. You'll also need to figure out the times when you are most likely to snack and target some changes in your regular meals to help you get through the day.
A great snack will contain enough protein to give you the energy you need to make it to your next meal without feeling deprived. Over the long term it is much more effective than carbs at keeping your body fueled right. For example, instead of that can of soda and a serving of chips, which can equal more than 300 calories, have one serving of low fat cottage cheese. This contains only about 80 calories and can actually be quite satisfying. Nuts, nuts, nuts... Almonds are particularly good for you, but almost any kind of nut is a great source of energy and in appropriate amounts nuts will fit into any diet. (5 almounds is equal to 1 protien serving on my diet. I get 14 protien a day.) Even a small block of cheese, a serving of tuna or some other small treat can be a great low calorie high protein alternative. A really great healthy snack that I just picked up at the local Costco (seriously tastes great) is dry roasted and lightly salted edamame aka soybean. 70% Less fat and 40% more protein than peanuts... one serving is 14 grams of soy protein and 2 net carbs.
Figure out what kind of protein snacks you like to eat. If you are one that absolutely needs to feed your sweet tooth, look for special protein bars that are low in calories and carbs while high in protein. These can provide a great boost of energy and keep you balanced all day.
Earlier, we mentioned that it is also important to figure out what times of the day you are most likely to snack. This is usually a sign that you are not eating a balanced enough meal before hand. For example, if you have a lot of carbs for breakfast, that sugar is going to wear off well before lunch, leaving you feeling hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is should contain enough protein to give you the fuel you need to make it to lunch.
Photo Credits: 1
Related Articles
Related Stores
