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

How to Detox Your Pantry

As I said in my last posting, many people do not realize that the key to a healthy lifestyle is found at home, and that the most common diet and health sabotages are found in their very own kitchen.  Last time we looked at how to detox the refrigerator to improve overall health and meet one’s health goals. This week we are going to get the problematic foods out of the pantry. Here are some guidelines to get started:

Grains (Bread/Crackers/Pasta/Rice/Tortilla)

It is recommended that a majority of the grains you consume should be whole. You can tell a grain is whole by looking at the ingredients list. The first word in the ingredients list should say “WHOLE”. If you see the words enriched, bleached, unbleached or wheat flour, it is most likely a white floured product that has been dyed brown to look whole wheat. Be careful of the food label claims such as, Whole Wheat, Multi-grain, Seven grain, 9-grain, 12- grain, honey wheat, split top wheat and whole grain white bread.  The food label can be very deceptive. In most of the above cases, the product has been labeled to lead you into thinking it is healthy when in fact it is not. Another tall -tail sign of a whole grain product is how much dietary fiber it has.  If a product is truly whole wheat, there should be at least 3 grams of dietary fiber.  When adding pasta and rice into your diet, make sure you watch the portion size. 1 serving of whole wheat pasta or brown rice is usually 1/3^rd cup cooked. As a result, it is very easy to over consume both products.

Breakfast Items (Cereal/Cereal bars/Granola Bars/Muffins/Oatmeal)

When buying breakfast foods, there are two things to consider: 

1.      How many grams of dietary fiber are in the product?

I recommended that breakfast items need to have at least 4 grams of dietary fiber per serving.  Fiber is one of nature‘s miracle phytonutrients, which is component found in food that has added health benefits. Fiber is the part of complex carbohydrates that your body cannot breakdown/digest and therefore is not absorbed into the bloodstream. Since your body cannot absorb fiber, it is not able to absorb the calories or some of the carbohydrates from fiber. The most common complaint about fiber is the side effects of bloating and gas. Gas increases because our bodies do not have enough of enzymes needed to break down fiber. Have no fear, there are nonprescription items like Beano or gas-X to help relieve these side effects until your body gets acclimated. Increasing your intake of fluid, especially non-carbonated fluids like water and tea, will also help alleviate the unwanted side effects. Studies show that fiber can help lower cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure, weight and certain cancer risks .Fiber is found in the plant sources in our diet, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds. There are 2 types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. On a food label it will list how much “Dietary Fiber” there is in a product and then below breakdown how much of the dietary fiber is from soluble vs insoluble foods sources. Both types of fiber have their benefits and play an important role in overall health.  To review the differences between insoluble and soluble fiber check out blog #6 (Fiber Every Day Helps Shed the Pounds Away).

2.      How many grams of carbohydrate are in 1 serving?

For most weight loss diets, it is recommended to consume 60 grams of carbohydrate at breakfast.  Carbohydrates at breakfast help to boost your metabolism and wake up your brain cells, especially when eaten within 30 minutes to 1 hour after waking up.

Fruits (Dried/Canned/Packaged)

                It is a good idea to keep a variety of fruit in one’s pantry. When buying canned or packaged fruit, aim to buy fruit that it is prepared in its own juice, not in syrup. Some canned fruits are packaged and labeled as “sugar free” or “no sugar added”. If you consider buying this type of canned fruit to reduce sugar intake and calories, make sure that there is 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.

Vegetables (Canned) and dried beans

Aim to buy a pantry full of the free, non-starchy vegetables. Can’t remember which vegetables are free? Let me remind you. The following vegetables can be eaten in 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, brussels sprouts, leeks, summer squash, radishes, cabbage, mushrooms, tomatoes, bok choy, bamboo sprouts, chayote, jicama, daikon, and rutabaga. Another great vegetable group to have in the pantry is beans. Beans help to add fiber and plant protein to every meal, along with other vitamins and nutrients.  When adding beans, corn and peas to ones diet, watch the portion size. A ½ cup of beans, peas and corn is one serving. On most diet plans it is recommended to only have 2 servings of starchy vegetables or bread at lunch and dinner. Canned new potatoes are another quick, healthy side item for a meal. New potatoes make it really easy to watch portion sizes because 1 new potato is a serving of potato.

Soups and other canned food items

                Soups are always an easy meal to throw together. When buying soup, try to buy soups that are broth based and not cream. Cream based soups have a lot of unneeded calories and fat. If you do purchase a soup with more than 5 grams of fat in it, take the can and place it in the refrigerator 24-48 hrs prior to eating it. Most of the saturated fat with come to the top of the soup and harden so that you are able to scoop it out. Another great diet tip is to keep cans of chicken, beef and vegetable broth on hand to use to add moisture to low fat meats. Aim to purchase soups that are loaded with non-starchy vegetables, which are the free vegetables listed above.  If you can, try to buy the lower sodium options of soup. Soup can add unnecessary sodium to ones diet. Remember that if you eat a diet this is high in fruits and vegetables and exercise on a regular basis, sodium is not as much of a concern.

Spices

                Try to pack your pantry full with different types of spices. One of the hardest things about weight loss is reducing the fat intake in ones diet. Fat is usually what provides the flavor to food. When trying to lose weight, you have to get more creative with the use of spices to get flavor back into food. There are research studies that are currently looking at the impact of hot spices on the metabolism. It is thought that spicy foods could increase ones metabolism and help to burn more calories at that meal. Consider adding more spice to your kitchen and life!

Peanut Butter or any nut butters

                Peanut butter and other nut butters are definitely a food that can sabotage ones weight loss desires. Why you might ask?  A little goes a long way. Many people know that peanut butter and nut butters are considered a healthy fat. What many people do not know is that 1 serving of all nut butters is 1 ½ tsps! Many weight loss plans recommend that you only add 1-2 servings of fat to each meal, depending on the desire calorie range. As a result, all nut butters are easy to over eat and the portion needs to be watched when consuming.

Pre-Made Meals

                Try to limit pre-made meals. They are usually filled with empty calories and refined carbohydrates. Slow cookers or pressure cookers are a healthier way to make a quick meal when time is limited.  If you do purchase any pre-made meals, look at the total dietary fiber and aim for 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.

Take time today to go through your pantry and get rid of the foods that are sabotaging you and keeping you from reaching your health goals. Taking control of the food options in your pantry and refrigerator ensure that you are on the path to success.  Next time, we will go through the freezer.

Till Then,

XOXO! The Dietnista

Cracking the Food Label Code

Today, it was said “that you have to have a P.H.D to be able to read food labels and decipher fact from marketing”. While this might seem exaggerated, misreading food labels can be what stands between you and your weight loss/health goal.  Cracking the Food Label code does not have to be hard. Let me see if I can simplify it for you.  Below is a typical food label and what I recommend that you look at when deciding on whether or not you are going to purchase a product.

Serving Size: It is important to look at the serving size of packaged foods to avoid unwanted calories, especially when you are trying to lose weight. Many companies will decrease the serving size to make the calories look more appealing. If you are not careful, you will consume more of the product thinking it is low calorie when in a normal serving it is not.

Servings per Container: It is good to know how many servings are in a package to help you better visualize what 1 portion is of the product. When you see that there are more than 5-10 servings in a package you know that you will need to be more aware of your serving size. The foods that are adding to America’s waist line are the foods that it is the easiest for us to overeat. This is why carbohydrates often get blamed for Americans being overweight. It is not the carbohydrates themselves, it is the fact that it is easier to overeat on them.

Calories:  It is always good to know how many calories you are consuming. However, be careful. Just because a food is low in calories does not mean it is healthy for you. Many low calorie foods do not contain any fiber and/or nutrition. As a result, every calorie you consume, you absorb. High fiber foods might appear to have more calories, but because of the fiber content you do not absorb all of the calories. Remember fiber is like nature’s vacuum, it cleans out excess.

Total Fat Calories: Remember that your fat calories should only account for 20- 30% of your total daily calories. If you take the fat calories and divide by 9 this should be the number that is next to the amount of total fat grams. Remember that 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. As a result, usually the more fat grams in a product the more overall calories it has.

Total Fat Grams: Remember that 5 grams is 1 serving of fat. Your total daily fat grams should be between 35 to 65 grams per day for most calorie ranges. As a result, you need to take your daily fat recommendation and divide it by the amount of meals that you normally consume in a day. This should be the max amount of fat grams that you consume at one meal. Ex: 1500 calories diet = 50 grams fat divided by 3 meals/day= MAX 16 grams of fat per meal.

Total Fat Percentage%: The percent daily value is based on a 2000 calorie diet. Some people need to eat more than this, but a majority of people should eat less. The % Daily Value is a reference point and cannot be 100% used in deciding a healthy versus non healthy food. Usually if a product states that there is 5% or less of the % daily value of fat than the product is considered a low fat product. If it is 20% or more of the percent daily value of fat than the product is considered a high fat product.  

Saturated Fat Grams: Saturated fat is the second worst type of fat there is when it comes to health. The saturated fat grams represent how much of the total fat in the product comes from saturated fat specifically. Any fat grams unaccounted for are most likely from mono- or poly- unsaturated fats. Too much consumption of saturated fat will encouraged the liver to make more total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. As a result, a diet high in saturated fat has been associated with heart disease.  Remember saturated fat is usually solid at room temperature.

Saturated Fat Percentage%: It is recommended that you consume 10% or less of your total daily calories from saturated fat.

Trans Fat Grams:  Trans Fat is the worst type of fat for you. It is recommended that you avoid all Trans Fat. Trans Fats are made when you change vegetable oil into a semi-solid fat. Trans Fat has also been shown to increase bad cholesterol and risk for heart disease. There are different types of Trans Fat. Some are man-made, such as partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils, and some others are found in animal products, such as meat, cheese, butter and dairy products that contain fat. Keep in mind that even if a product claims to be” Trans Fat free” this means that there could still be ½ gram of Trans Fat per product serving .

Cholesterol: It is recommended that most people consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day. If you have Diabetes or known heart disease it is recommended that you only consume 250 mg of cholesterol a day.

Sodium: It is recommended for most Americans to consume 2500 mg or less of sodium per day. If you have Diabetes or known heart disease it is recommended that you only consume 1500-2000mg of sodium per day. If you have high blood pressure, consuming too much sodium can make it worse. Eating less sodium (salt) is a good idea for everyone.

Total Carbohydrates grams: It is recommended for most women to eat 45-60 grams of Carbohydrate per meal and for men to eat 60-75 grams of Carbohydrate per meal.  Carbohydrates should make up 45-55% of your total daily calories. Remember that 1 gram of Carbohydrate is 4 calories, which is also true of 1 gram of Protein.

Dietary Fiber grams: It is recommended that each product contain more than 4 grams fiber per serving. See my previous blog on the benefits of fiber to review why the higher the fiber a product the better.

Sugar Grams: Do NOT pay attention to the amount of sugar in the product. As long as you are paying attention to the total amount of carbohydrate you are seeing the big picture. Usually products that contain a lot sugar will be high in carbohydrates. If a product is high in sugar, most of the time it is considered a refined/simple Carbohydrate and should be eaten sparingly.

Protein:  Remember that 7 grams of protein is 1 ounce. Your total daily protein grams should be between 63 to 105 grams per day for most calorie ranges. As a result, you need to take your daily protein recommendation and divide it by the amount of meals that you normally consume in a day. This should be the max amount of protein grams that you consume at one meal. Ex: 1500 calories diet = 75 grams protein divided by 3 meals/day= MAX 25 grams (3.5 ounces) of protein per meal. Remember that your recommended daily protein intake includes ALL dietary protein; animal and plant. It is recommended that Protein make up 20-30% of your total daily calories. Remember that 1 gram of Protein is 4 calories, which is also true of 1 gram of Carbohydrate.

Vitamins and Minerals %:  As I have said before, the percent daily value is based on a 2000 calorie diet. Some people need to eat more than this, but a majority of people should eat less. The % Daily Value is a reference point and cannot be 100% used in deciding a healthy versus non healthy food. Usually if a product states that there is 5% or less of the % daily value of a nutrient than the product is considered low in that nutrient. If it is 20% or more of the percent daily value of a nutrient than the product is considered high in that nutrient.

Allergens: These are listed here for people who have food allergies.  The most common allergens listed are peanuts, milk, wheat, gluten, soy and lactose.

Sugar Alcohols: This is not required to appear on the food label so you might not see it on a majority of the food labels you read. However, I recommended that you read the ingredients list carefully to see if the product does contain sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols are a man made chemical. They are known to have a laxative effect and increase gas, bloating and stomach discomfort. Sugar Alcohols are any word in the ingredients list that ends in –TOL. Examples: maltitol, lactitol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol and erythritol.  Isomalt, glycerol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysate are also types of sugar alcohols. There are some sugar substitutes that use sugar alcohols as their sweetening agent. You have to read the ingredients list to find this.

Whole Wheat VS not Whole Wheat: To verify that a product is truly whole wheat, you want to make sure that the first ingredient listed says the word “WHOLE”. For example, it might say whole wheat bread or whole grain flour.  If you see the words enriched or bleached or unbleached wheat flour, the product is not a whole wheat product. It should be your goal to make a majority of the grains you eat whole.

Decoding the food label is a learning process.  Once mastered it can make achieving your weight loss and health goals extremely easy. Beware of all marketing. Remember that companies are trying to sell their product and will say anything to entice you. The food label is always the best place to find the most accurate information to help you make a healthy decision.

XOXO! The Dietnista