Time to Deep Clean the Freezer

Sorry about the lapse of time between this week’s blog and the previous one. I wanted to make sure I gave you enough time to clean your pantry out and your fridge. Without any further delay it is time to deep clean the freezer! The following are helpful hints to improve the food choices in your freezer to help you to achieve your weight loss and health goals.

Meats

Red meat and fish are two important meats to have available in your freezer. Are you shocked? Don’t be. Both have a lot of nutrients and health benefits when consumed in the right amount and the right type. Many people think they are being healthy by avoiding red meat because red meat has been labeled as “bad for you”. Is fried chicken good for you? No! Neither is a fatty red meat. Red meat actually has a lot of healthy vitamins and nutrients, like iron and B vitamins. The following are considered “red meat”: ground beef, steak, bison, pork, ham, long horn and venison. The key to buying red meat is you want to buy meat that has less than 10% total fat, which means there is not much saturated fat. On the label, you want it to read 90% lean/10% fat or 93% lean/7% fat or 97% lean/3% fat. Don’t worry, if you buy red meat that has more that the above recommended fat, you can boil it to get the fat out of it. Try to limit red meat consumption to 2-3x/week unless you are anemic (low in iron) then you should aim to eat it more like 4-5 times per week. Fish is another important meat to have in the freezer. Fish can be high in fat but it is usually healthy fat and is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are thought to lower triglycerides, which are a form of bad cholesterol, and decrease inflammation in the body. It is recommended to eat fish 3-4x/week. Aim to get a variety of fish. Remember that the most important thing to consider with any animal meat is the portion size. Aim to eat no more than 2-4 oz of any animal meat per meal or 4-8 oz per day. Yes, that is even true for men! To help with weight loss, it is a smart idea if you can freeze the meat in the right portion size. There are great frozen meat alternatives to consider having in one’s freezer. Spicy Black Bean/Veggie Burgers add a lot of fiber to ones diet and decrease the intake of saturated fat. Next time you are at the store look in the freezer isle for these options.

Vegetables

Aim to buy a freezer full of the free, non-starchy vegetables. Can’t remember which vegetables are free? Let me remind you. The following vegetables can be eaten all day and will still aid in losing weight: artichokes, carrots, okra, tomato/veggie juice, artichoke hearts, celery, onions, turnips, asparagus, cauliflower, pea pods, water chestnuts, green beans, cucumbers, all peppers, watercress, bean sprouts, eggplant, salad greens, zucchini, beets, greens onions or scallion, sauerkraut, kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, spinach, all types of greens, brussel sprouts, leeks, summer squash, radishes, cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, bok choy, bamboo sprouts, chayote, jicama, daikon, and rutabaga. It is a great idea to keep frozen vegetables. They do not spoil easily and are easy to add to any meals. Look for the steam-able bags to make cooking them easier.  

Fruit

Many people say the reason why there fruit is not routinely in their diet is because fresh fruit goes bad too fast. That is why frozen fruit is a great alternative. Frozen fruit can be used in smoothies, desserts or added to any meal to increase the nutrients. Remember, it is recommended to consume 3-4 servings of fruit per day. As a result, it is a good idea to keep a variety of fruit in one’s freezer.

Pre-Made Meals

Try to limit pre-made meals. They are usually filled with empty calories and refined carbohydrates. When in a bind, the best pre-made meals are healthy TV dinners, like Smart Ones, Healthy Choice, Kashi, Eating Right, etc. or frozen soups. Aim to purchase pre-made meals where the total dietary fiber is more than 4 grams per serving. Try to also keep that total amount of fat and saturated fat to a minimum. Remember the 1 serving of fat is 5 grams. If you do eat a TV dinner try to add a salad to it or a side of non-starchy vegetables. Non-Starchy vegetables are a good source of potassium, which will limit the absorption of the sodium from the TV dinner.

Desserts

Everyone has a sweet tooth.  Some have it more often than others. Try to keep healthy dessert options available when you need something sweet. When buying ice cream, aim to get fat free not sugar free. If you consider buying sugar free ice cream to reduce sugar intake and calories, make sure that there are no sugar alcohols added to the products. Sugar Alcohol is a man made product, which when over consumed, can cause side effects such as intestinal cramping, gas, bloating and diarrhea.  Nothing fun! Sugar Alcohol will usually be listed on the food label under the total sugar grams. If not, you can always check the ingredients list. Any words that end in “tol” are considered a sugar alcohol.

It is official! We have accomplished one of the hardest tasks to weight loss and overall better health, which is getting rid of food sabotages.  Making your own kitchen weight loss friendly and full of healthy choices is the first step to reaching your goals. It will limit temptations and guarantee success. Until next time…

XOXO!

The Dietnista

Make Valentine's Day Even Sweeter

Another empty calorie and sugar filled holiday is just around the corner, are you ready? The good news is that the bulk of the holiday season has come and gone. Valentine’s Day is usually the last major holiday of the season that revolves around food.  Let me give you some tips on how to make it through Valentine’s Day without moving the notch out on your belt.

Tips to get you through Valentine’s Day:

1.       If you are going to eat candy, try to eat dark chocolate. Try to avoid all of the sugary based and high fat calorie candies such as milk chocolate.

Unlike other candy, dark chocolate contains antioxidants, which have health benefits when eaten in the right amount. Antioxidants are different minerals, and vitamins that are found in a variety of foods that significantly slow and/or prevent one of the processes that damages our body and it’s DNA.  This damaging, oxidative process forms free radicals, which are thought to contribute to the progression of disease states such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and other diseases that are associated with an aging body. When you consume foods that are high in antioxidants, they counteract the damaging effects that the free radicals have on the body. In fact, it is thought that antioxidants actually convert free radicals to harmless waste, which is then removed from the body. There is still a lot that we need to research and learn about antioxidants and their health benefits before we start recommending that you add supplements of them to your diet.

2.       If you are making desserts for that special someone, try to reduce the amount of fat and sugar in the recipe and increase the fiber.

To increase fiber, use whole wheat flour/pastas/bread and rice in recipes where these products are needed. You can also add in fiber supplements such as Benefiber, Metamucill and Konsol Psyllium fiber to increase fiber content.  In some instances you can use products such as, Fiber One, All Bran or oatmeal to enhance your crust or breading in your recipes.

To reduce fat in recipes, lighten up the ingredients when there are lower fat options available (i.e skim milk/low fat sour cream/fat free condensed milk/2% cheese/light butter/light cream cheese).  Try using pureed fruits, such as prunes, or applesauce as half of the needed oil/shortening/margarine/butter in the recipes. Instead of using fat in recipes to add flavor, try calorie free seasonings and herbs.

To reduce the sugar and keep the recipes sweet, use artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to reduce the overall calories in the recipe. Make sure that you are using the version of sweeteners that can be used in baked goods. Splenda and Equal both make a version of sugar and brown sugar that can be used in cooking.

3.       Portion Control, Portion Control, Portion Control!

Every food can fit into a healthy, weight loss diet when eaten in the right quantity. Just remember that Valentine’s Day is only 1 day out of the year. No need to go overboard.  Moderation is the key!

4.       Try to think outside the box when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts.

Communicate with your loved one or significant other. Explain to them that this year you are trying to improve your health, eat right and lose weight. Suggest getting each other Valentine’s Day gifts that do not involve junk food.  Consider getting each other gifts that are outside the box yet still romantic, like gift cards or passes to a cooking class you both would enjoy or passes to a dance class that you can learn together or a private boat ride on a lake. Why has candy become the standard gift given at Valentine’s Day? What is romantic about candy? Show your loved one or significant other that you love them by helping them to get healthy and eat right too.

5.       Throw any leftover candy/holiday food away within 2 to 3 days of the holiday.

Remember that the average American will usually gain over 5 pounds between October and March. How did you do?  Many people are shocked when they realize that they have gained weight over the holidays.  It seems like such a short period of time to increase your waist line. The scary thing is that it is not as hard to do as it might seem. As I have said before it takes 3500 extra calories on top of the normal amount of calories that you consume to gain 1 pound of weight. As a result consuming just 120 more calories a day over a 1 month time frame will easily put on 1 pound of weight. This could be the calorie equivalent of eating 2 regular pieces of candy per day. If you have gained some weight over the holidays, there is no time like the present to get rid of it.  There is no need to add extra weight on over Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!

XOXO! The Dietnista