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Thursday, 26 June 2008 01:01 |
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Everyone enjoys a night out. Days are filled with commitments,
obligations, meetings, errands, chores, and a myriad of other
responsibilities that color our daily lives, even our very
existence. To step back from this cycle of activity and go to a
restaurant, have someone else serve you, cook the meal, wash the
dishes, and clean up is a mini-vacation we all can appreciate.
When you dine out, you can’t leave your good sense or your
healthy eating habits on the wayside, to be picked up when you
return home. It doesn’t make sense to work so hard to attune
yourself to health-wise eating habits, and possibly undue all
the good work with one calorie-laden, overly fat, sugary, and
empty calorie meal. Your heartburn will gladly remind you of
your sins.
When you go to a restaurant, eat smart. There are a few tips so
that you can thoroughly enjoy your evening, and go home
refreshed, relaxed, and in great health. You will have nothing
to be sorry for from a nutrition standpoint and you won’t have
to run the high school track field to get back to the point you
were at before you had dinner “out.”
Salads are great accompaniments to any meal. Ask for your
choice of dressing on the side. This way you are sure you are in
control of the amount that is poured onto the delicious salad
ingredients that should be appreciated for their particular
taste. Two to three teaspoons of dressing on a side-plate salad
is an ample addition to your salad. You can also ask for oil and
vinegar cruets and mix your own dressing.
Avoid foods that are fried, even though fried foods are a tasty
morsel. Choices of roast turkey, broiled chicken, lean ham,
flank steak, broiled shrimp, broiled cod, steamed crab,
spaghetti, are a few very smart choices from a restaurant menu.
You can also sabotage your great decision with a lot of sauces,
or gravies. So just use these as flavor enhancers and not flavor
cover-ups.
Fresh fruit is a great choice for dessert. How about adding
some angel food cake, sherbet, or jello. You can have your
dessert and eat it too.
Eat modest portions and try to appreciate the food’s flavor
without a lot of additional items that take away from its
natural goodness. Fruits and vegetables are taste sensations
when eaten alone, but you can add a few touches to satisfy your
sweet tooth. Also remember that an occasional splurge is nothing
to feel guilty about. Your mind will never tell your stomach, so
it will never know to add those calories to your weight scale.
Enjoy your meal out and have fun with family or friends. You
deserve it! ©Arleen M.Kaptur
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Wednesday, 18 June 2008 22:01 |
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1. Learn to enjoy eating healthy yourself.
Example is, hands down, the best teacher. Training yourself to
like eating healthy will also give you the confidence to guide
your children on the same path.
2. Curb their taste for processed sugars.
Sugar keeps your kids on an emotional roller coaster, causes
disagreeable behavior and continually sets off cravings for more
and more sugar. Never offer sweets as a reward or bribe.
3. Teach them to like pure water.
Children need liquids, but they don’t need calorie laden, high
sugar colas and juices. Clear water leaves room for good food.
4. Substitute whole grains for the processed ones.
Whole grain breads (especially sprouted ones), brown rice and
whole wheat pastas should be your grains of choice. You may have
to start with half and half and keep adding more of the good
stuff until you eventually reach 100% whole grains.
5. Eliminate random snacking.
If your kids are full when they get to the table, they won’t
want the good foods you fix. Make sure they’re hungry enough to
eat what’s put in front of them.
6. Help them learn to like nutritious fruits and vegetables.
Carrots and apples only taste sweet to children who don’t eat a
lot of sugar. Serve vegetables when children are hungry and
fresh fruit for dessert.
7. Offer only good healthy choices.
Don’t give them anything but nutritious foods. If their only
choice is a tuna sandwich or natural peanut butter and
unsweetened apple butter on whole grain bread, they’ll
eventually choose one of your healthy offerings.
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Wednesday, 07 May 2008 07:00 |
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Here"s a meal-by-meal guide to eating for energy and managing
your mood with food.
Breakfast
Eating a good breakfast boosts your concentration and revs your
energy, particularly in the morning when you may need it most.
Without breakfast, you"re more likely to make that second pot of
coffee by mid-morning.
Instead, keep your blood sugar on an even keel with complex
carbohydrates. Avoid refined carbohydrates, such as white bread
and white sugar. These have a high glycemic index, which can
cause spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels.
The right complex carbohydrates provide your brain and muscles
with the steady flow of the energy they need. Grains are great
sources of B vitamins, which aid in the metabolic production of
energy. The best carb choices for breakfast are natural
whole-grain breads and cereals.
For the best breakfast, add a low-fat protein, such as yogurt,
cottage cheese, or skim milk, and watch your fat intake as well
as your meat consumption (meat takes more energy to digest).
Mid-morning snack
Turns out, snacking may not be such a bad idea. Eating every few
hours helps your body use nutrients more efficiently. It
stimulates your metabolism, keeps your blood sugar levels
steady, reduces stress on your digestive system, and decreases
hunger, which means you"ll be less likely to overeat when
mealtime finally rolls around.
If you"re craving carbs, which many of us do at this time of
day, choose whole-grain bread, cereal, or fruit.
Fruits and vegetables deliver a low-fat, high-fiber alternative
to the vending machine choices. Raw carrots and sugar snap peas,
for example, provide a crisp, satisfying crunch and won"t zap
your energy. Challenge yourself to eat at least five servings of
fruits and vegetables each day.
For maximum energy throughout the day, avoid foods that are
laden with simple sugars, such as cookies, pastries, candy bars,
and sodas, which can bring on erratic blood sugar levels.
Instead, try some lean protein (low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese
or lean meat) to help tide you over until lunch.
Lunch
At midday, go light. Because a hefty helping of carbohydrates
can increase the amount of seratonin in the brain and cause that
sleepy feeling, focus on low-fat protein.
Protein can actually raise energy levels by increasing brain
chemicals called catecholamines. Eat a lunch of low-fat cheese,
fish, lean meat, poultry, or tofu.
Mid-afternoon snack
Choose something that will keep you satisfied until dinner. A
little bit of fat is fine. It gives those carbohydrates and
proteins some staying power. My favorite? All-natural peanut
butter and a few crackers.
Before your work-out
Carbohydrates are fastest to digest and pack quick energy. Add
protein for staying power, but stay away from fats. They can
make you cramp.
Dinner
The agenda for the evening can dictate what you"ll eat for
dinner. Need to stay on overdrive for back-to-school night?
Choose low-fat proteins. If you"re in relax mode, indulge a
little.
Whatever"s on the menu, remember the Pie Test. Envision your
plate as a pie. Seventy-five percent of the pie should be filled
with fruits, vegetables, and grains and 25 percent with other
foods, such as diary products and meat.
Before bed
Before turning in, a carbohydrate-rich snack can supply
seratonin to help you fall asleep. But go easy. Too much food
can reduce the quality of your sleep.
Eating for energy is one of the most effective, powerful, and
fast-acting mood-boosters. Try it today and see!
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