Tag Archives: Whole grain

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Is Your Breakfast Making You Fat?


Reblogged from: Yahoo Health                                                                                                                                                        Is Your Breakfast Making You Fat?                                                                                                                                                             Despite what your barista says, a jug-sized latte, even with all that milk and sugar, isn’t a meal. “For most busy women, breakfast is based on convenience, which can backfire nutritionally,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D., author of Read It Before You Eat It. Your brain needs certain nutrients early on for all-day concentration and problem solving. Plus, people who start their day on empty are 75 percent more likely to be overweight than regular A.M. eaters, Preventive Medicine reports. Rethinking that Trenta iced coffee yet? Read on for great morning meal suggestions. And you can get even more slimming breakfast options by signing up for our Drop 10 plan.

ANATOMY OF A PERFECT BREAKFAST

A too-big start can make for a too-big you. Shoot for getting 25 to 30 percent of your daily calories: about 400 if you’re trying to lose weight, 500 if you’re maintaining or 625 if you’re very active. Here’s the ideal breakdown.

53% carbs

“During the night, while you sleep, you burn through your stores of blood sugar, which is your body’s preferred fuel source,” says David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Optimal Life Foods. “Carbohydrates replete these stores quickly.” But simple carbs (muffins, doughnuts, sweetened cereal) are a no-go: They burn fast and trigger crashes and cravings. Instead, opt for complex ones (oatmeal and whole-wheat bread) that are high in hunger-fighting fiber, digest slowly and give you sustained energy. Your goal 35 grams to 65 g carbs; 6 g fiber

27% fat

Go for the heart-healthy unsaturated fats found in nut butters or whole nuts, avocado and olive oil. Avoid the saturated fat in butter, bacon and full-fat cheese. Fat digests slowly, preventing those midmorning munchie attacks. Your goal 7 g to 15 g fat

20% protein

“Protein makes you feel full longer by turning on and upping levels of natural hunger-busting hormones, like cholecystokinin, and keeping the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin in check,” Grotto says. You may need to combine multiple sources (e.g., egg whites, nonfat yogurt and skim milk) to get enough. Your goal 15 g to 25 g protein

5-MINUTE MEALS

In a SELF Facebook poll, nearly 30 percent of you said you skip breakfast at least once a week. Not a good way to start the day! Instead, whip up one of these delish, super speedy eats.

Sweet Cheese Pita With Green Tea

Spread 1 teaspoon honey mustard on a 6-inch whole-wheat pita. Top with 1 3/4 ounces thinly sliced light Brie and 5 halved red grapes; microwave until cheese melts, 30 to 45 seconds. Serve with 1 apple and unsweetened green tea. THE SKINNY 401 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated), 64 g carbs, 10 g fiber, 19 g protein

Peanut Butter–Banana Smoothie

In a blender, process 1 sliced banana, 1/4 cup quick-cooking oats, 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup 1 percent milk, 1/2 cup crushed ice, 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter, 1 tsp maple syrup and a pinch of nutmeg until smooth. THE SKINNY 386 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 59 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 17 g protein

Lemon-Ricotta Waffles With Blueberries

In a bowl, whisk 1/3 cup part-skim ricotta with 1 tsp grated lemon zest and 1/4 tsp chopped fresh thyme. Spread on 2 toasted whole-grain waffles; top each with 1/4 cup blueberries. Serve with 6 oz low-sodium vegetable juice. THE SKINNY 377 calories, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 52 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 16 g protein

CHOW NOW

Flawless grab-and-go picks can be hard to find. These tasty options come pretty dang close.

Jamba Juice

Fresh Banana Oatmeal With Fruit THE SKINNY 330 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 71 g carbs, 8 g fiber, 10 g protein

Così

Roasted Veggie and Egg White Wrap; a Tall Chai Tea Latte THE SKINNY 421 calories, 18 g fat (7 g saturated), 43 g carbs, 11 g fiber, 32 g protein

Starbucks

Apple Bran Muffin; a Tall Nonfat Latte THE SKINNY 450 calories, 9 g fat (2.5 g saturated), 79 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 16 g protein

Subway

6-Inch Egg and Cheese Sandwich on 9-Grain Wheat Bread; an order of Apple Slices THE SKINNY 395 calories, 12 g fat (4.5 g saturated), 53 g carbs, 7 g fiber, 19 g protein

Einstein Bros

Nova Lox and Bagel THE SKINNY 477 calories, 18 g fat (9 g saturated), 63 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 23 g protein

Curious what your fave celeb munched for breakfast this A.M.? Check out stars’ healthy meals at SELF.com.                                                                                                       Cook, Diet food, Dieting, Eating, Health, Healthy Ways to Lose Weight, Human nutrition, Meal, Muffin, Peanut butter, Saturated fat, Weight, weight tips, Whole grain, Wine tasting descriptors

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Kids Eating Healthy


Eat your vegetables!

Eat your vegetables! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kids Eating  Healthy                                                                                                                       Fast food is a big part of modern life these days, making it very hard to teach a child how he or she should eat healthy.  The cheapest and easiest foods are those that are normally the least healthy.  If you give your child the choice between healthy food and junk food, you normally won’t like the results.                                                                                                                Even though it isn’t possible to get a child to like all healthy foods, there are some ways to get your child to try and hopefully like at least a few of them.  You can be as creative as you like, as getting
The term “natural” is applied to many foods, but does not have a consistent meaning. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) kids to eat healthy foods can be a little harder than you may think.-  Sneak the healthy food in.  Even though it would be great if your kid understood the importance of fruits and vegetables, this isn’t always possible. If you can’t get them to eat good food willingly, there are ways to sneak them in, such as making muffins out of bananas or apples, or pizza with spinach on it.-  Call fruits and vegetables by funny names.  You can refer to broccoli as “trees”, making them more fun to eat.  There are many different names you can call fruits and vegetables, even making up your own if you prefer.  Most kids prefer to eat foods that sound fun.Make the foods taste better. Ranch dressing is great for broccoli, while peanut butter is a great topping for celery.  There are several combinations for vegetables that can make them taste much better.  You can let your child pick a topping for a vegetable, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally like yourself.

Dress the vegetables up.  Just as much as calling them names help kids eat healthy foods, making them look funny also helps.  You can do this by making funny designs on the plate, or setting them up to look like people.  Although some parents don’t like their kids playing with their food, sometimes it helps to get them to eat healthier.

There are several ways to make your kids eat healthier, but to make them enjoy it also has to be fun as well.  This isn’t always an easy task, because kids normally don’t like foods that are good for them.  It can however, be done with a bit of creativity.  Hopefully, doing this will help your child develop a love of healthy foods for the rest of their lives.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Eating, Food, Fruit, Health, Human nutrition, Nutrition, Ranch dressing, Vegetable, Whole grain

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For the Best Breakfasts, Look to Our Neighbors


For The Best Breakfasts,Look to Our Neighbors                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The benefits of breakfast are almost too numerous to list. Breakfast wakes up your metabolism after sleep and starts you burning calories. It reduces stress hormones and improves your mood. It improves your memory and your alertness, and gives you energy for work. And for reasons that are still not entirely understood, it is widely demonstrated that people who eat breakfasts are slimmer, and find it easier to keep weight off once they lose it.So it’s not hard to see that breakfast is an easy win. Yet many people are almost afraid of this simple meal because they’re unsure what they’re supposed to eat. Eggs? Cereal? Yogurt? Is there a magic recipe?

Let’s think about what people eat in other cultures. When I was growing up in Peru, I don’t remember opening a box of cereal. We ate fresh, whole foods — like whole-grain bread with marmalade, fruit, and eggs. On the weekends we often ate a sort of beef stir-fry (lomo saltado), served on a sandwich, or even tamales. If you had a hangover, breakfast was ceviche. (That’s raw fish cured with lime juice!) When I look at other cultures, I see something similar — traditional breakfasts involve whole foods that mix protein, carbohydrate and fats. In Japan, for instance, rice, fish and miso soup come together for the morning meal. In Israel, it might include eggs, bread, cheese and a tomato/cucumber salad.

What all these breakfasts have in common is that they are not made of processed foods (other than breads — but even then, these are whole-grain breads) and they are not all from one food type (carbohydrates or proteins). They have the same qualities that make up a good dinner: fresh ingredients and a blend of protein, fat and carbohydrates. In fact, in many countries a typical breakfast is composed out of the leftovers of what was used to make traditional dinners! So if you stock your refrigerator with fresh ingredients, and keep on hand basic, healthy staples like eggs, meats, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, you will always have the makings of a superb breakfast.

Here is breakfast at the Espresso Bar. Pros: Y...

Here is breakfast at the Espresso Bar. Pros: Yummy plates. Nice big eggs. Excellent coffee. Cons: ok salad, ok bread, ok juice. Personal tilt: loved the place. Overall: 8.5/10 About The 7 Breakfasts series: My employers gave me seven free double-breakfast coupons with a certificate of appreciation thingy. Me and Moran, hopeless breakfast fanatics, decided to document each of the morning glories. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here are my four principles regarding breakfast:

1. Any breakfast is better than no breakfast. Eat something, even if it’s little.

2. Eat what you like. This is a corollary to #1. If you don’t like it you won’t eat it, no matter how much you think you should.

3. Be guided by moderation. A bagel is not a great breakfast because it is all refined carbohydrates, but it isn’t going to kill you if you eat it once a month. Try to create balance across a week, rather than be perfect every day.

4. Diversify your food types. What makes a good dinner makes a good breakfast — that is, a mixture of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Just eggs? Not great. Eggs with tomatoes and some fruit? Not bad.

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Understanding Foods Labels


Understanding nutrition claims and market tricks will allow the average shopper to make quick, healthy choices without spending hours comparing labels. Certain claims on packaged items are regulated by the FDA. A product with the following statements must abide by several restrictions,Fat Free:Less than half a gram of fat per serving,Low Calorie: No more than 40 calories per serving, Sugar Free:Less than half a gram of sugar per serving,Low Sodium: No more than 140 mg of sodium per serving,High, rich in, excellent source of: 20 percent or more of the recommended daily value of the nutrient,Less,fewer,reduced: 25 percent or less of the named nutrient, Here are some other marketing terms that aren’t standardized by the FDA.Organic: Must meet the USDA standards for organic production, without most synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics and genetically engineered ingredients. Being labeled “organic” has nothing to do with the calorie, fat or sugar content of a food. I recommend going organic for particular fruits and vegetables especially those that are considered part of the “dirty dozen.”Natural: Only regulated by the FDA for meat and poultry products.  This label means “no artificial substances.”  Companies use the term “natural” on their products hoping that it will catch the eye of a health-conscious consumer; the product may not be superior to its competition.Local: Not a monitored claim. Shop at markets and nearby farms to know that your food is coming from a “local” source. Free Range:  A USDA definition for eggs and poultry where chickens have “access to the outside,” no other specific spatial restrictions are given.”Free range” beef and pork labels are not regulated. Know your manufacturer and the company background to be safe about your meat choices. Made with Whole Grains: A general term with a broad meaning.The product may be 99 percent refined grains, while 1 percent is actually whole grains. “Multigrain” is another overused word stating that the food is made with several grains.  At least half of all grains eaten should be whole grains; make sure that “whole” is contained in the ingredient list. Lightly sweetened: Another expression that is not controlled.Lightly sweetened is variable, depending on the size of your sweet tooth! Fiber: A product “high in fiber” may contain the isolated, added fibers such as inulin, maltodextrin and polydextrose; these types haven’t been proven to offer the health benefits from fiber found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.Be wary of packaged foods that claim to be the newest, ultra-healthy solution. Cookies, cakes and snack foods are just that.They won’t ever replace your best choices: whole foods with real ingredients.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Loss Weight, diet, Dieting, Weight Loss Tips, weight loss programs, dieting programs, Top Weight loss, Health, Portion Control, Food, Human nutrition, Eating, Nutrition, Physical exercise, Fitness, Programs, Calorie

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