UnDiet...Week 48

Santa is watching, UnDieters...drop that cookie!

Hello UnDieters! 


Just a few weeks to go in 2011...hope you are starting to enjoy the glitter of the holiday season without submitting to the all too pervasive stress of it all.


As the days get darker and we get more sedentary, I would like you to explore your nighttime noshing. Usually when we eat after dinner, it is for one of two reasons: we didn't eat nearly enough during the day or we are simply in the habit of snacking in front of the television. After a long day, we rush get dinner on, kids fed, bathed and tucked in and then we crash in front of the television to decompress. Potato chips in hand. And before you know it, you are passed out in front of The Office and the potato chips are gone. 


It is exactly this kind of behaviour that can result in massive weight gain over time. At night, we are less likely to need those extra calories we are ingesting and far less likely to burn them off if we eat them. This week, let's try and break from routine. If you want to eat after dinner, eat only vegetables. You still get to engage in what is probably a deeply engrained habit but you will be eating healthy, low calorie food that contributes to making you a healthier human. We can capitalize on our propensity to overeat and work towards getting our 10 daily servings of vegetables!


To make this task easier, as you grocery shop this weekend, buy extra vegetables and then wash and chop them right away. Place the chopped veggies in an airtight container in the fridge so that if you have a snack attack, you have emergency snacks at the ready.


Ever tried to overeat broccoli? Trust me, you will thank me later.


To your health,
Desiree

UnDiet...Week 12

Hello UnDieters!


March 21st is the first day of spring, so why not celebrate with a bit of spring cleaning? This week is your first cupboard clean up assignment: it's time for an oil change. You do it for your car...but what about your body? The days of low fat, high sugar living are over but you can't afford to overlook the quality of the oils you put into your body.


Why? Dietary fats have a multitude of influences on your health. Fats are incorporated into the membranes for all of your cells and can deliver a glow to your skin. The oils we eat can help raise or lower your cholesterol; they can deliver important fat soluble vitamins and antioxidants to help improve our health and they can cause or calm inflammation. Just as important, fats help carry flavour and provide a wonderful texture to the foods you eat. 


This week, follow my 5 step plan to cleaning up your act...


Step One: Remove all products from your cupboards that contain trans fats. Don't look for trans fats on the nutrition facts as foods that contain small amounts of trans fats can still legally be labelled as trans fat free. Look for the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" on all of your ingredients lists. If packages are unopened, donate food to your local food bank.


Step Two: Smell all of your cooking oils. The healthier an oil is, the quicker it turns rancid. If oils start to smell like paint thinner, it's time to toss. 


Step Three: Toss out oils that are high in omega 6 fats, such as soy and corn oils and margarines. Also ban cheap vegetable oils that are chemically processed such as canola and sunflower oils. Our North American diet is already too high in omega 6 fats, which contribute to inflammation, a contributor to chronic disease. 


Step Four: Stock the following: a small amount of butter (organic if possible) for occasional baking or as a treat on good bread. Keep it in the fridge. Buy extra virgin olive oil for everyday use (salads and sautéing) and virgin coconut or good quality peanut oil for high heat frying.
Keep your liquid oils in a dark, cool place. Not by the stove!


Step Five: Ensure you buy only what you can use in a couple of months. Use the sniff test often to ensure that your oils are fresh and healthful. If you want to buy value packs of oil, keep them in the fridge and leave only a small amount at room temperature. Note that olive oil will turn cloudy and semi-solid in the fridge. This will not affect the oil and can be reversed by bringing oil to room temperature.


Spring has sprung!
Desiree

Ask me...

Have a question about something you see on the blog? Or have some burning nutrition question you would like me to answer? Feel free to write a comment...or send me an email!


My email address is askdesireerd@yahoo.ca !

Cheap Tricks...to help you slash calories and beat the bulge

Now that you know what calories are...I will show you a few easy ways to slash them! Anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of radical diets but realistically speaking, we still live in a world where most of us are gaining weight year over year. So what is the answer? Looking for little ways to cut the fat (pun intended) out of your life, for good! No fuss, no muss...no starving yourself only to dive into a whole pint of Haagen Dazs 12 days later. I speak from experience...

By cutting out what doesn't really matter you can still enjoy the things that bring you culinary and sensory joy - be it garden fresh corn smothered in butter, homemade pecan chocolate cookies or grand dinners out - no calorie counting necessary. Here are 4 "cheap tricks" to help slim out your routine!

Swap your starch: we snack constantly on processed carbohydrate foods which are super easy to overeat and don't really fill you up (or provide real nourishment!). So switch your snacks to fruits and veggies: try carrots dipped in hummus, apples and cheddar, pear dipped in almond butter or just pure, unadulterated fruits and veggies instead of granola bars, crackers and pastries. Feel fuller, longer and nourish your body with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants instead of empty calories.

Example of your calorie savings: 12 baby carrots instead of 12 Ritz crackers: 156 calories

Make over your yogurt: Most yogurts on the shelves are little more than a bunch of food byproducts covered up with food cosmetics to make them sickly sweet. Real yogurt is a health food, "yogurts" made from modified milk ingredients, stabilizers and artificial flavours and sweeteners are not. And varieties made with sugar can have a massive calorie count, even non fat versions! So switch to plain, non fat yogurt made with only milk and live active cultures....I love Greek yogurt for its extra protein (thanks to its lower water content) and beautiful creamy texture. Taste buds not ready for plain? Sweeten on your own with a bit of honey or better yet, real fruit!

Example of your calorie savings: 3/4 cup non fat plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup fresh or thawed blueberries versus 3/4 cup of a typical fat free sweetened berry flavoured yogurt: 100 calories

Liquid Assets: Want to trim your waist in a major way? Stop drinking your calories! Not only do liquid calories not fill you up (except for milk, which actually turns semi solid in your stomach), your body actually doesn't recognize the calories from drinks meaning you will not compensate by eating less later on. So as hard as it might be for all you sweet tooth gulpers out there...go for calorie free drinks like water, seltzer, plain tea and coffee and you will slash your daily calorie intake without changing anything about your diet.

Example of your calorie savings: Large unsweetened iced tea instead of a large blended coffee beverage: 230 calories

Measure up: There is an old saying that goes something like this: "My eyes were larger than my stomach." However, what I have noticed is that eventually, the stomach catches up with the eyes! Larger portion sizes just prime us to eat more as our stomachs (and our behinds) expand. A great way to get your back down to earth is to actually measure what you eat. For example, most of us just pour out oil into a pan for cooking, but why not just measure a tablespoon (for a family's meal) or a teaspoon (for a smaller recipe)? And when you are serving yourself pasta or rice, why not just measure out a cup full? Using measuring spoons and cups just helps you be more aware or servings so that you can start to eyeball what is actually on your plate.

Here are some sample measurements and the caloric heft:

1 tbsp of oil: about 100 calories
1 cup of cooked pasta or rice: about 200 calories
1/3 cup of raw nuts: 275 calories
1 oz of cheese (the size of 3 dice): 115 calories
3-4 oz of meat (the size of a deck of cards): 165 calories

What are your favourite tricks to help keep your weight in check without taking over your routine? Let us know!

In good health,
Desiree

Weight Loss Tip: Eat High Fibre Foods

You won’t see me selling the crash diet mentality…or endorsing some crazy acai cleanse. If you have ever dieted and regained more than once, you know that it is no way to live. The kind of strict lifestyle it requires to get serious poundage off fast kind of sucks the fun out of living. And I bet that the faster you take the pounds off, the faster you are going to run for an extra large pizza to help you put the pounds back on. I am a big fan of the little change…pounds are gained and lost by a hundred calories here, fifty calories there. If you have a lot of weight to lose in order to reach a healthy weight, you will probably want to make more than one change at a time. But if you only have ten or fifteen pounds to lose, why not take the “slow and steady” approach to weight loss and commit to making small, permanent changes?

One of the most important changes we can make for our health is switching to high fibre foods. The average Canadian only eats about 14 grams of fibre per day but a woman needs 25 grams and a man needs 38 grams of fibre each day. Why bother with roughage?

Fibre is like a workout for your gut: it adds bulk to your stools which helps to tone the gut and ensure that all of that gunk moves through your system quickly. Why is that so important? It’s waste, right? What happens if you leave your kitchen garbage sitting too long….now imagine that inside of you. Enough said! Eating fibre is filling and when you are trying to lose weight, you want to feel full so you are less likely to eat more. Fibre also helps keep your blood sugars in check which prevents huge spikes in insulin – a barrier to weight loss.

Here are some simple ideas to increase your fibre intake…try them one at a time and be sure to drink lots of water. Your body needs a bit of time to adjust to additional fibre (and plenty of water to make sure you don’t get constipated!).

1. Switch to a sprouted grain bread like Silver Hills. Sprouted grain bread generally has 5 grams of fibre and 5 grams of protein per slice. Regular whole wheat bread rarely has more than 2 grams of fibre per slice. Sprouted grain bread will really fill you up – a sandwich with sprouted grain bread will ring in at 10 grams of fibre before the side dishes…that is more than 1/3 of a woman’s daily intake.
2. Eat bran buds. Seriously, they’re a dietitian’s best friend. Nature’s Path makes Smart Bran which has 13 grams of fibre but per 90 calorie, 2/3 cup serving. Stir this into some yogurt for a super filling weight loss snack.
3. Eat ½ cup of beans every day. Beans, beans, beans….anyone who knows me is sick of hearing me talk about beans. So why aren’t you eating them? Beans are the richest food source of fibre: a half cup of black beans has 8 grams of fibre. A half cup of chick peas has 6 grams. There are tons of recipes for bean rich main dishes but you can also cheat and add beans to almost anything….salads, premade soups, casseroles or even rice side dishes.
4. Switch to whole wheat pasta. Whole wheat pasta is an easy swap; thin pastas like spaghetti or linguine have an easier-to-love texture than shapes like penne. An 85 gram serving (a quarter of most spaghetti boxes) has 8 grams of fibre….
5. Snack on apples, berries and pears. Not only are they local in many parts of North America…they are also the fruits with the highest fibre (Pears are highest at 5 grams).

The ABCs of Nutrition

A is for Apple...long overlooked as a health food, an apple a day just might keep the doctor away.

Apples are rich in pectin, a soluble fibre that helps to stabilize blood sugars and lower cholesterol. Fibre content helps lower glycemic response, making apples a lower GI choice. Apples also contain a host of antioxidants, including anthocyanins in red apple skins that further help lower cholesterol levels. Apples are also a local food for many of us, making them an eco friendly choice. The perfect between meal snack, enjoy an apple daily on its own or with a little bit of almond butter of low fat cheese for extra staying power.