Unhealthy Snacks

I do believe that healthy snacking is an important part of eating a balanced diet.  Eating a healthy snack, like fruit or low fat yogurt, between meals helps to keep you feeling satisfied throughout the day and helps you not to over eat at meal time.

However, unhealthy snacks can cause spikes in your blood sugar, leaving you with that afternoon "crash". Here is a list of a few snacks to avoid:

1. Doughnuts. High in sugar, trans-fats, and calories doughnuts are not only bad for your waistline, but bad for your energy levels as well. The high sugar content is likely to end in a midday crash. If you crave a doughnut, try a piece of whole-grain toast with 1 TBSP all natural peanut butter.
2. Soft Drinks. There just isn't anything nutritious about soda, whether it's diet or regular. Don't be fooled because the drink is diet - there is nothing healthy about them and in fact diet drinks can actually make you add on extra pounds!  Instead of a soda, try some sparkling water with lemon, unsweetened tea, or just plain water.
3.  French Fries: Actually anything fried - from chicken to potatoes to vegetables - should be avoided. Deep-fried foods contain trans fats that are bad for your body. If you want finger foods, opt for carrot sticks, low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, or grapes.
4. Chips: Chips of any kind are usually fried so are therefore high in fat and salt.  Instead of chips opt for healthier choices like cut up fruits and veges, apple slices, or a hand full of almonds.  This way you still get the crunch without all the calories.

Easy Tricks to Stay on Your "Diet"

The word diet is truly a four letter word.  I do not use the word in the context of starving yourself through-out the day or denying yourself all of your favorite foods.  Diet should refer to a lifestyle of eating healthy foods on a regular basis.
One of the things I often hear is that when someone goes on a diet they skip breakfast.  This actually has the opposite effect on the body that you are hoping for.  By skipping a meal you can cause a dip in your blood-sugar which can leave you sluggish, irritable, and ravenous at lunchtime.  Sound like someone you know?
This is what I do to stay on track:
1. Eat a healthy breakfast: Skipping breakfast can also make your brain crave high-fat foods.  So don’t leave the door without eating something healthy – even if it’s quick - like whole grain cereal or oatmeal with berries and skim milk. 
2. Eat one or two healthy snacks through-out the day:  If you are watching your weight the idea of eating a snack may seem preposterous.   But eating healthy snacks between meals helps to keep your metabolism up and running and keeps your blood sugar from dipping too low.  A couple of good choices are low-fat yogurt with a handful or almonds or berries, a banana with 1 TBL natural peanut butter, or cut up fruits and veges.  If you have them already cut up in baggies they are easy to grab on the go.
3. Get plenty of Sleep:  We all have busy schedules but lack of rest can be detrimental to our “diet” plan.  Lack of sleep can decrease our smart decision making abilities including what food choices we make.  The optimum amount of sleep is 7-8 hours every night.  Just 2 nights in a row of less than 7 hours can impair your decision making ability, leaving you vulnerable to making poor food choices.
4. Don’t Deny yourself all the foods you love: Unless it’s a doughnut that is!  I love pizza, wine and chocolate.  I could not go through life happily if I was not allowed to eat those foods again.  So I choose to make my own healthy pizzas: light on the cheese, no meat, and heavy on the vegetables, go easy on the wine, and eat only good quality dark chocolate in very small amounts.  This way I can continue to enjoy my favorite foods, not feel deprived,  and keep my “diet” on track.

UnHealthy Snacks to Avoid

I do believe that healthy snacking is an important part of eating a balanced diet.  Eating a healthy snack, like fruit or low fat yogurt, between meals helps to keep you feeling satisfied throughout the day and helps you not to over eat at meal time.

However, unhealthy snacks can cause spikes in your blood sugar, leaving you with that afternoon "crash". Here is a list of some snacks to avoid:

1. Doughnuts. High in sugar, trans-fats, and calories doughnuts are not only bad for your waistline, but bad for your energy levels as well. The high sugar content is likely to end in a midday crash. If you crave a doughnut, try a piece of whole-grain bread with 1 TBSP all natural peanut butter.
2. Soft Drinks. There just isn't anything nutritious about soda, whether it's diet or regular. Don't be fooled because the drink is diet - there is nothing healthy about them and in fact diet drinks can actually help make you add on extra pounds!  Instead of a soda, try some sparkling water with lemon or lime slices- you'll get the carbonation without all the empty calories.
3.  French Fries: Actually anything fried - from chicken to potatoes to vegetables - should be avoided. Deep-fried foods contain trans fats that are bad for your body. If you want finger foods, opt for carrot sticks, low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, or grapes.
4. Chips: Chips of any kind are usually fried so are therefore high in fat and salt.  Instead of chips opt for healthier choices like cut up fruits and veges, apple slices, or a hand full of almonds.  This way you still get the crunch without all the calories.

Go Nuts - Again!

I don’t know about you but I used to shy away from eating nuts because they are high in fat. But now I have started snacking on them in small quantities. Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein and they are rich in fiber. Almonds, which are actually seeds, may improve digestion and boost your immune system.

Walnuts are also a great choice.  They are full of protein, high in fiber, and contain Vitamins B & E. Walnuts also have omega 3 fatty acids which have been shown to lower "bad" cholesterol.  

But - go easy on your portions - A good way to control your portion is to just eat one large handful of nuts (no more than 25) everyday.

Here is one of my healthy snack recipes:

1 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed
1 Cup Sliced Almonds
1 Cup Craisins
Mix all together. Enjoy alone, over yogurt, oatmeal or cereal!

Involve your children in making healthy choices

In a world of what to eat and what not to eat we can sometimes lose track of the foods that are really important for good health.  There really should be no perplexity when it comes to eating.  When did it get so confusing?

It saddens me that when my kids ask for a certain food I have to tell them to read the label first.  I have them trained to look for certain “no-no’s” like high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils.  Their pleas of, “Come on, mom, just this one time,” sometimes make me want to laugh and sometimes make me want to cry.  As a society how can we produce and mass advertise such unhealthy food products and then wonder why we have the highest rates of diabetes and childhood obesity?

As a parent, and more importantly, as an eater, it is easy to get confused about what products are good for you and what products to avoid.  I basically try to keep it simple.  Here are some of the rules I follow:

1. When grocery shopping stay on the perimeter of the store.  Load up your cart with fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats and dairy and stay out of the aisles that contain the packaged and processed foods.  When I go down the aisles it is only to purchase a few products: whole grain breads, pasta, and rice, healthy whole grain cereals and oatmeal, almonds, green tea, and very few other items.

2. Involve your children in making healthy choices.  Yesterday when we went grocery shopping we spent 90% of our time in the produce department and I let my kids choose the fruits and veges they wanted to eat, pick them out, and bag them themselves.  It gave them a sense of pride and involvement and made them not only talk about healthy choices but also want to eat all of the good stuff they picked out!

3. Make each plate you serve be colorful.  You might not think of all the foods you need to eat ahead of time but when you sit down to have a meal look at your plate and ask yourself if it is colorful.  I may give my kids a turkey sandwich for lunch but their plates will also have carrot sticks and red grapes on them.  A spaghetti dinner also includes steamed broccoli, carrots, and fruit.  Even when we order pizza I include carrot sticks and berries alongside the oozing cheese.

I really think we don’t have to make eating so confusing.  Just stick to the basics, make wise choices most of the time, and enjoy eating.

Heart Healthy Foods

I read an article today that listed a few great foods to keep your heart healthy.  I wanted to share a few points with you.  I have posted a link to view the entire article.

Here are a few foods to add to your diet to keep your heart healthy:

1. Nuts. Especially almonds, walnuts and cashews, nuts contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Eat a moderate portion every day.
2. Whole soy protein. If you substitute whole soy protein, such as edamame or tofu, for animal protein each day, you can lower levels of homocysteine, a toxic amino acid linked to increased risk of heart disease.
3. Fresh garlic. This medicinal herb has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels. Use one or two raw or lightly cooked cloves a day.
4. Green tea. It provides EGCG, a polyphenol than may help to moderate inflammation and lower cholesterol. Substitute a cup of heart-healthy green tea for your morning coffee or afternoon soda.
5. Soluble fiber. It has a powerful cholesterol-lowering effect. Beans, legumes and whole grains are good sources to add to your diet - aim for 1-2 servings per day.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/TIP03587/Heart-Health-Best-Foods-for-Your-Heart.html

Healthy Energy Boosting Snacks

Most of us get the urge to snack through-out the day. The key is not to starve yourself so that you make unhealthy choices at meal time but to eat 2 healthy snacks between meals every day. That means eat one snack between breakfast and lunch and another healthy snack between lunch and dinner. Here are a few great choices:

1. Low fat String Cheese

2. Low fat or fat -free yogurt with a hand full of walnuts or almonds and blueberries (make sure your yogurt is all natural and does not contain artificial sweeteners. My favorite is Stoneyfield Farms brand)

3. Banana Slices and a TLB of all natural peanut butter - (Yes - Elvis Style!)

4. Cut Up Apple and a TLB of all natural peanut butter.

5. Cut up watermelon, pineapple, or grapefruit.

Cut up fresh fruit and veges give you a stamina boost, plus the nutritional benefits of fiber, vitamins and minerals without adding unhealthy fats or sugar to your daily diet.

Go Nuts!

I don’t know about you but I used to shy away from eating nuts because they are high in fat. But now I have started snacking on them in small quantities. Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein. They are rich in fiber. Almonds, which are actually seeds, may improve digestion and boost your immune system. A good way to control your portion is to just eat one large handful of almonds (about 25) everyday.

Here is one of my healthy snack recipes:

1 Cup Fresh Blueberries, washed
1 Cup Sliced Almonds
1 Cup Craisins
Mix all together. Enjoy alone, over yogurt, oatmeal or cereal!