Make french toast with whole wheat bread and make my strawberry sauce from a previous blog entry. I've also made it with frozen blueberries. 4 cups of frozen fruit (35 big strawberries), 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup water, boil it for 10-15 minutes. With strawberries, use a potato masher to smash it. With blueberries, leave them whole and just stir it. 1/4 cup = 56 calories, no fat, 1 sodium, 14 carbs, .5 protein, 2 fiber.
OR find my baking mix recipe from a previous blog entry and make pancakes using that, with the fruit sauce, and a glass of milk for protein.
OR make muffins using the baking mix on the blog. I like to stir in diced apples and cinnamon, mashed bananas and nuts, lemon juice and poppyseeds, etc before baking and a piece of fruit, and a glass of milk for protein.
OR cook 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries, 1 tbsp wheat germ, 1 tbsp ground almonds, 1 tbsp ground flax seed, 1 tsp maple syrup, and 1 cup water. Stir and pour 1/4 cup milk over it. I eat this 4-5 days a week. The smallish amounts of almonds, flax seed, and milk, added together, give you your protein. I make this for myself (but I only use 1/3 cup oats 'cause I have a low rmr) and it gives me 229 calories, 46 carbs, 9 fat, 8 protein, 10 fiber. That's a lot of fiber.
OR make a peanut butter and "jelly" sandwich using 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter (I love the Costco organic kind), and 1 Tbsp of the fruit sauce above (if you put it in a jelly jar when it is hot, it thickens up, even without added pectin).
OR 1 cup plain fat free yogurt with 1/4 cup blueberry sauce and 1/4 cup oats (or brown rice crispies or grape nuts), stirred together. Whole grain, protein, fruit. I'm guessing that's around 325 calories.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
also for Debbie.... NON GRAIN CARB OPTIONS
Fruits: Pick a fruit, it has carbs. The sweeter it is, the higher the number of carbs it will have in it.
Veggies: some veggies have carbs, some don't. In general, a vegetable that you consider sweet or starchy is likely high in carbohydrates. Carrots, peas, corn, lima beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can count as a carb. They are sweet
Beans: beans, nuts, and seeds are high in carboydrates, but if you pair them with a grain, they become a protein.
Veggies: some veggies have carbs, some don't. In general, a vegetable that you consider sweet or starchy is likely high in carbohydrates. Carrots, peas, corn, lima beans, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can count as a carb. They are sweet
Beans: beans, nuts, and seeds are high in carboydrates, but if you pair them with a grain, they become a protein.
Because Debbie asked....WHOLE GRAIN CARB OPTIONS
1. Whole grains simply cooked in water or broth in whole state (oat groats, wheat berries, brown rice, millet, barley, quinoa, etc) can be served with something over them, like stir-fry, cooked seasoned beans, pasta sauce, salsa and cheese, etc. You can also eat these for breakfast with a little honey or maple syrup. You can make them into a fruity salad with diced fruit and yogurt. Or make them into a savory salad with diced veggies and dressing. In any recipe that calls for cooked rice, try using different grains. Millet, barley, and quinoa have some excellent nutritional benefits. If you like them, use them.
2. Whole grains that have been cut up in some way, but not completely ground into flour (like oatmeal, bulgur wheat, cream of wheat, corn meal) can simply be cooked in water and made into porridge for breakfast. Cornmeal can be made into porridge and then poured into a bread pan and then sliced. Some people like to fry these slices in a little butter and eat it with syrup. Or you can fry it in olive oil and serve a sauce over it. I'm not a fan, but I'm not knocking it. I don't like polenta, either, which is pretty much the same thing. Polenta is a great whole-grain food.
3. Whole grains that have been ground into flour and then prepared to make baked goods are another great source. If YOU prepare muffins, biscuits, pancakes, breads, pita, crackers, etc... at home, you KNOW what goes into them. You can take any recipe and tweak it to follow our rules. I've made cakes and replaced the white flour with whole wheat, the shortening with butter, and the sugar with honey. You don't end up with the same result, but you usually end up with a good one. I recommend my baking mix, posted in my earlier entry for pancakes with strawberry sauce. Try flours made from other grains, too. If you have a wheat grinder, use it to make brown rice into flour. If you use 3/4 whole wheat flour and 1/4 brown rice flour in a recipe, it makes the product lighter. Other flours don't have gluten like wheat does, so you can't replace it cup-for-cup.
If you are NOT the baker, you need to be careful. I don't purchase ANY baked goods unless I can see that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour. It can't just say WHEAT flour. It must say WHOLE wheat. (99% of the flour used to make foods is wheat flour. But it is not WHOLE. It is usually just enriched white flour. It doesn't have wheat germ or wheat bran in it. It has probably also been bleached.) I look for baked goods that have fewer than 5-7 ingredients in them and I need to recognize them as real foods. Beware of hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup, particularly if they are listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. If they come later in the list, there isn't that much of them so if you need to compromise to save the budget, go ahead. It isn't ideal, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!
Some of my favorites to prepare on my own:
brown rice for any meal or snack; it can be sweet or savory.
quinoa, for savory meals. It isn't so good for breakfast. (cooks in 20 minutes like white rice)
Old Fashioned oats (not quick) for breakfast.
Whole wheat baking mix (for muffins, pancakes, and biscuits)
Whole wheat tortillas (I have a great recipe. Time consuming but better than store-bought)
Some of my favorites to buy at the store:
Wheat Montana Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Franz 100% whole wheat bread (my compromise bread)
Triscuits (the only cracker I'll buy)
Flat-out multi grain with flax sandwich wraps
Barilla Whole Grain pastas (they are only 51% whole grain; a compromise for taste)
Things I want to learn to make:
whole grain pie crust that I like, without shortening
whole grain crackers
whole grain pita bread
a cookie I like that follows my rules
2. Whole grains that have been cut up in some way, but not completely ground into flour (like oatmeal, bulgur wheat, cream of wheat, corn meal) can simply be cooked in water and made into porridge for breakfast. Cornmeal can be made into porridge and then poured into a bread pan and then sliced. Some people like to fry these slices in a little butter and eat it with syrup. Or you can fry it in olive oil and serve a sauce over it. I'm not a fan, but I'm not knocking it. I don't like polenta, either, which is pretty much the same thing. Polenta is a great whole-grain food.
3. Whole grains that have been ground into flour and then prepared to make baked goods are another great source. If YOU prepare muffins, biscuits, pancakes, breads, pita, crackers, etc... at home, you KNOW what goes into them. You can take any recipe and tweak it to follow our rules. I've made cakes and replaced the white flour with whole wheat, the shortening with butter, and the sugar with honey. You don't end up with the same result, but you usually end up with a good one. I recommend my baking mix, posted in my earlier entry for pancakes with strawberry sauce. Try flours made from other grains, too. If you have a wheat grinder, use it to make brown rice into flour. If you use 3/4 whole wheat flour and 1/4 brown rice flour in a recipe, it makes the product lighter. Other flours don't have gluten like wheat does, so you can't replace it cup-for-cup.
If you are NOT the baker, you need to be careful. I don't purchase ANY baked goods unless I can see that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour. It can't just say WHEAT flour. It must say WHOLE wheat. (99% of the flour used to make foods is wheat flour. But it is not WHOLE. It is usually just enriched white flour. It doesn't have wheat germ or wheat bran in it. It has probably also been bleached.) I look for baked goods that have fewer than 5-7 ingredients in them and I need to recognize them as real foods. Beware of hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup, particularly if they are listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. If they come later in the list, there isn't that much of them so if you need to compromise to save the budget, go ahead. It isn't ideal, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!
Some of my favorites to prepare on my own:
brown rice for any meal or snack; it can be sweet or savory.
quinoa, for savory meals. It isn't so good for breakfast. (cooks in 20 minutes like white rice)
Old Fashioned oats (not quick) for breakfast.
Whole wheat baking mix (for muffins, pancakes, and biscuits)
Whole wheat tortillas (I have a great recipe. Time consuming but better than store-bought)
Some of my favorites to buy at the store:
Wheat Montana Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Franz 100% whole wheat bread (my compromise bread)
Triscuits (the only cracker I'll buy)
Flat-out multi grain with flax sandwich wraps
Barilla Whole Grain pastas (they are only 51% whole grain; a compromise for taste)
Things I want to learn to make:
whole grain pie crust that I like, without shortening
whole grain crackers
whole grain pita bread
a cookie I like that follows my rules
Monday, January 25, 2010
How I get my greens.
I KNOW I need to eat green leafy veggies, particularly spinach. Spinach is one of those super-foods. I try to eat spinach every day because I'm often anemic and I really believe that EATING your vitamins is better than taking a pill. So.... this is what I do.
1. I buy two big bags of baby spinach when I do my every-other-week shopping trip. I put one in the freezer. I put the other in the fridge.
2. For the first week after my shopping trip, I eat a salad each day for a snack, or with lunch, or with dinner. I'm not a salad fan, in general. I like some restaurant salads, like the ones with iceburg lettuce, egg, cheese, deli ham, buttery croutons, bacon bits, and homemade ranch. Umm....those break some rules and end up kinda fatty, salty, and not-so-good for me. I've had to re-learn to like a slightly different type of salad. I like STUFF on my salad. I make my stuff count as a carb or a protein. Here are two I like.
a. Big handful of spinach, sliced boiled egg, 1/4 cup grated cheese, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for crunch, 1/2 of a sliced pear or apple, shredded carrotKraft Lite Raspberry viniagrette (I need to learn to make my own 'cause Kraft isn't really all natural like I'd prefer)
b. Big handful of spinach, 2 oz of leftover chicken or pork, a sprinkle of slivered almonds for crunch, canned mandarin oranges, sliced celery or pepper, Newman's Own Light Asian Sesame dressing.
3. The second week, I make a smoothie each day, using my frozen spinach. It gets all frozen together and stuff, no biggie. Just crunch it up with your hands and shake about 2 cups worth into the blender for each smoothie. I add juice, fruit, water, protein powder, and you have a carb/protein combination PLUS my super spinach. I never add yogurt to my green smoothies. Just seems wrong to me.
1. I buy two big bags of baby spinach when I do my every-other-week shopping trip. I put one in the freezer. I put the other in the fridge.
2. For the first week after my shopping trip, I eat a salad each day for a snack, or with lunch, or with dinner. I'm not a salad fan, in general. I like some restaurant salads, like the ones with iceburg lettuce, egg, cheese, deli ham, buttery croutons, bacon bits, and homemade ranch. Umm....those break some rules and end up kinda fatty, salty, and not-so-good for me. I've had to re-learn to like a slightly different type of salad. I like STUFF on my salad. I make my stuff count as a carb or a protein. Here are two I like.
a. Big handful of spinach, sliced boiled egg, 1/4 cup grated cheese, a sprinkle of sunflower seeds for crunch, 1/2 of a sliced pear or apple, shredded carrotKraft Lite Raspberry viniagrette (I need to learn to make my own 'cause Kraft isn't really all natural like I'd prefer)
b. Big handful of spinach, 2 oz of leftover chicken or pork, a sprinkle of slivered almonds for crunch, canned mandarin oranges, sliced celery or pepper, Newman's Own Light Asian Sesame dressing.
3. The second week, I make a smoothie each day, using my frozen spinach. It gets all frozen together and stuff, no biggie. Just crunch it up with your hands and shake about 2 cups worth into the blender for each smoothie. I add juice, fruit, water, protein powder, and you have a carb/protein combination PLUS my super spinach. I never add yogurt to my green smoothies. Just seems wrong to me.
Choose to eat plants!!
Rule #1 only MAKES you eat 3 servings of fruits/veggies per day (at breakfast, lunch, and dinner). How can you add more? Here are some suggestions:
Plan to eat two servings of veggies at lunch or dinner.
Eat fruity carb instead of a starchy carb for your snack.
Make a fruity smoothie with a handful of spinach and some protein powder for a snack.
Choose 100% fruit juice instead of that diet soda at the gas station or restaurant.
When you feel like you can't make it to the next meal, eat 5 baby carrots or a stalk of celery, or 1/2 a sliced bell pepper.
If you have a juicer, use it to make interesting juicy concoctions to drink instead of water.
Plan to eat two servings of veggies at lunch or dinner.
Eat fruity carb instead of a starchy carb for your snack.
Make a fruity smoothie with a handful of spinach and some protein powder for a snack.
Choose 100% fruit juice instead of that diet soda at the gas station or restaurant.
When you feel like you can't make it to the next meal, eat 5 baby carrots or a stalk of celery, or 1/2 a sliced bell pepper.
If you have a juicer, use it to make interesting juicy concoctions to drink instead of water.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
RULES 1-6 ARE LISTED HERE
RULE #1:
Eat 5-6 times every day and eat food combinations that will keep you full. Decide ahead of time when you are going to eat. You don't need to know exactly what you are going to eat but you do need to think about how your day will shake out and where you will be at each meal time.
RULE #2
Drink lots of water. In between meals, when you get to hour 2 and you have 30 minutes to wait until you eat again, you'll start to feel hungry-ish. Drink 2 glasses of water. Stand right there at your sink and chug them down. Put your glass on the windowsill. Repeat. Get a water bottle and take it everywhere with you. When you want a soda, buy a bottle of water instead. You should be peeing a lot. This is the best "cleanse" you can do.
RULE #3
No "bad" carbs/ processed carbs. Here's the list: processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or any food containing these sugars, white flours (flours with the germ and bran removed this includes bleached and unbleached wheat flour), white rice. Replace these items with natural sweeteners in moderation, whole grain flours, brown rice, and quinoa.
RULE #4
Eat all kinds of protein. Chicken, turkey, elk, bison, and fish are good lean choices but try to even use these in moderation. You need protein 5x a day on this diet. Do NOT make them all from meat. Use eggs, dairy, nuts, protein powders, beans, and seeds as often as you can. Eating meat sparingly is a good idea, particularly meats that are high in fat, like bacon, sausage, and certain cuts of beef or pork.
RULE #5
Limit your fat to the following: fats that are already in your food (like the fish oil in your fish, or the marbling in your beef), butter, lard, drippings (like bacon fat or the chicken fat you skim off your soup), and cold-pressed vegetable oils (look at the label. It must say cold-pressed). This means you are giving up any food that is fried in a restaurant or a factory. They do not use cold-pressed oils. Use these fats IN MODERATION.
RULE #6
A. Go to sparkpeople at least once a day, every day, for 3 weeks and enter in every single item you eat. Try your best to stay within the limits given to you in each category. Yes, it is tedious, but you don't have to do this forever. For 3 weeks, you are going to track your calories and nutrients and you will pay attention to what the numbers say. Notice how you feel when you don't get enough fiber and protein. Notice what the scale says when you go way over your sodium goal one day. If you click on "see today's full report" you can see your whole day, plus a pie chart that indicates what percentage of your food intake went to carbs, fat, and protein. Try to manage your meals to make your pie chart look like the recommended pie chart.
B. After your 3 week stint on sparkpeople, you may step away from it if you feel like you are ready. HOWEVER, for every day that you fall off your own bandwagon, you MUST go back to sparkpeople for a day, up to 3 weeks. So if you go away for the weekend and eat like a silly person, then come back, re-read my rules, and do sparkpeople for 2 days. If you blow it and eat Twinkies and Coke for a month, and then decide you are ready to be sane again, then come back, re-read my rules, and go back to sparkpeople for 3 weeks.
Eat 5-6 times every day and eat food combinations that will keep you full. Decide ahead of time when you are going to eat. You don't need to know exactly what you are going to eat but you do need to think about how your day will shake out and where you will be at each meal time.
RULE #2
Drink lots of water. In between meals, when you get to hour 2 and you have 30 minutes to wait until you eat again, you'll start to feel hungry-ish. Drink 2 glasses of water. Stand right there at your sink and chug them down. Put your glass on the windowsill. Repeat. Get a water bottle and take it everywhere with you. When you want a soda, buy a bottle of water instead. You should be peeing a lot. This is the best "cleanse" you can do.
RULE #3
No "bad" carbs/ processed carbs. Here's the list: processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or any food containing these sugars, white flours (flours with the germ and bran removed this includes bleached and unbleached wheat flour), white rice. Replace these items with natural sweeteners in moderation, whole grain flours, brown rice, and quinoa.
RULE #4
Eat all kinds of protein. Chicken, turkey, elk, bison, and fish are good lean choices but try to even use these in moderation. You need protein 5x a day on this diet. Do NOT make them all from meat. Use eggs, dairy, nuts, protein powders, beans, and seeds as often as you can. Eating meat sparingly is a good idea, particularly meats that are high in fat, like bacon, sausage, and certain cuts of beef or pork.
RULE #5
Limit your fat to the following: fats that are already in your food (like the fish oil in your fish, or the marbling in your beef), butter, lard, drippings (like bacon fat or the chicken fat you skim off your soup), and cold-pressed vegetable oils (look at the label. It must say cold-pressed). This means you are giving up any food that is fried in a restaurant or a factory. They do not use cold-pressed oils. Use these fats IN MODERATION.
RULE #6
A. Go to sparkpeople at least once a day, every day, for 3 weeks and enter in every single item you eat. Try your best to stay within the limits given to you in each category. Yes, it is tedious, but you don't have to do this forever. For 3 weeks, you are going to track your calories and nutrients and you will pay attention to what the numbers say. Notice how you feel when you don't get enough fiber and protein. Notice what the scale says when you go way over your sodium goal one day. If you click on "see today's full report" you can see your whole day, plus a pie chart that indicates what percentage of your food intake went to carbs, fat, and protein. Try to manage your meals to make your pie chart look like the recommended pie chart.
B. After your 3 week stint on sparkpeople, you may step away from it if you feel like you are ready. HOWEVER, for every day that you fall off your own bandwagon, you MUST go back to sparkpeople for a day, up to 3 weeks. So if you go away for the weekend and eat like a silly person, then come back, re-read my rules, and do sparkpeople for 2 days. If you blow it and eat Twinkies and Coke for a month, and then decide you are ready to be sane again, then come back, re-read my rules, and go back to sparkpeople for 3 weeks.
FOOD SUGGESTIONS LISTED HERE
BREAKFAST (whole grain, protein, fruit)
* Oats with ground almonds and dried cranberries
* Egg, toast, fruit
* whole grain unsweetened cereal with bnanas, honey and milk
* leftover brown rice with an egg white stirred in and microwaved (makes it creamy) with maple syrup and berries on top
* whole wheat pancakes with homemade strawberry sauce and whipped cream cheese
* cottage cheese with canned fruit (with no added sugar) and sunflower seeds
* whole wheat muffin or toast with 1 tsp butter, piece of fruit, glass of milk
LUNCH (whole grain, protein, fruit or veggie)
* one hard-boiled egg mixed with Kraft Olive Oil Mayo and a little mustard, one slice of bread, and some carrot sticks
* leftovers from last night's dinner
* one piece of whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter and fruit sweetened jam and a piece of fruit
* beans and brown rice with salsa stirred in and some pepper slices on the side
* a pile of spinach with a sliced boiled egg, shredded carrot and any Newman's Own light dressing * microwave baked potato with some leftover taco meat, chili, lentils, or something like that on top
SNACKS (a carb and a protein)
* apple and a cheese stick (my stand-by)
* a baggie of nuts and a little bottle of 100% juice (can grab this at the gas station)
* a baggie with a handful of nuts and a handful of dried fruit (easy to grab and take with you)
* a smoothie made with spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 C. orange juice, water, and protein powder (of course any fruit can be added to this. I always have strawberries and blueberries in my freezer so I often add those)
* a piece of fruit and some Triscuits
* baked tortilla chips, microwaved with 1/4 cup cheese and salsa
* a slice of bread with natural peanut butter
DINNER (whole grain, protein, veggie)
Dinner is dinner. I make what my family will eat. I make sure I get plenty of veggies and a reasonable portion of what is prepared.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Whole Wheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce and Cream Cheese
This tastes like dessert but is totally clean. You've got your whole grain, protein, and your fruit right there. Eat it for breakfast. You'll feel like you are "cheating" but you're not!
1. Measure about 5 cups of large frozen strawberries (35 big ones), 1/4 cup honey, and 1/4 cup water.
2. Put this into a big pan with a lid and turn it to high. Let it steam for 5 minutes, allowing the strawberries to thaw and get mushy. Start making up your pancake batter while doing this step.
3. Use a potato masher to smash up the strawberries very well. Let it continue to boil with the lid off, stirring often to check the consistency.
4. When all the pancakes are done, the sauce will have thickened to a point where you can drag a spoon across your pan and an empty spot will be left.
3. Get out your cream cheese. I just bought whipped cream cheese from the grocery store. 130 calories for 2 tbsp. That's a lot of yumminess for the calories in my opinion. Technically, the whipped cream cheese is not "clean" since it has a mold inhibitor with a name I don't recognize. Could be bad for me, I don't know. I'm not going to sweat that one.
Place pancakes on the plate (3 is a reasonable kid-sized portion). Spoon strawberry sauce over the pancakes. Divide your 2 tablespoons of cream cheese over that and enjoy. Divine. Seriously. You won't miss the processed sugar or fat of other desserts. I promise. The protein in this dish comes from the cream cheese and the egg in your pancake.
If you feel you need more protein, scramble an egg to go with it.
You'll have leftover strawberry sauce. Stir it into plain (not vanilla) yogurt and you have "clean" yogurt for your snacks.
1/4 cup = 56 calories, no fat, 1 sodium, 14 carbs, .5 protein, 2 fiber.
1. Measure about 5 cups of large frozen strawberries (35 big ones), 1/4 cup honey, and 1/4 cup water.
2. Put this into a big pan with a lid and turn it to high. Let it steam for 5 minutes, allowing the strawberries to thaw and get mushy. Start making up your pancake batter while doing this step.
3. Use a potato masher to smash up the strawberries very well. Let it continue to boil with the lid off, stirring often to check the consistency.
4. When all the pancakes are done, the sauce will have thickened to a point where you can drag a spoon across your pan and an empty spot will be left.
3. Get out your cream cheese. I just bought whipped cream cheese from the grocery store. 130 calories for 2 tbsp. That's a lot of yumminess for the calories in my opinion. Technically, the whipped cream cheese is not "clean" since it has a mold inhibitor with a name I don't recognize. Could be bad for me, I don't know. I'm not going to sweat that one.
Place pancakes on the plate (3 is a reasonable kid-sized portion). Spoon strawberry sauce over the pancakes. Divide your 2 tablespoons of cream cheese over that and enjoy. Divine. Seriously. You won't miss the processed sugar or fat of other desserts. I promise. The protein in this dish comes from the cream cheese and the egg in your pancake.
If you feel you need more protein, scramble an egg to go with it.
You'll have leftover strawberry sauce. Stir it into plain (not vanilla) yogurt and you have "clean" yogurt for your snacks.
1/4 cup = 56 calories, no fat, 1 sodium, 14 carbs, .5 protein, 2 fiber.
Baking mix for Whole Wheat Pancakes, Biscuits, or Muffins
5 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp Honey
2 sticks butter
Pulse in food processor until completely combined. I make 2 batches in a row and put them in a one gallon ice cream bucket (left over from a weak moment or a child's birthday party).
To make pancakes: 1 cup mix, 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, cook on hot skillet sprayed with olive oil spray. 1/6 of this recipe is 128 calories, 6 grams of fat, 15 carbs, 2 fiber, 4 protein, 171 sodium.
To make Muffins: 1 cup mix, 2 Tbsp Honey, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk. Bake at 400 for 17 minutes. 1/6 of this recipe is 144 calories. 7 grams of fat, 20 carbs, 2 fiber, 4 protein, and 159 sodium.
To make Biscuits: 1 cup mix, 1/4 cup milk. Stir, knead 10 times, flatten out and cut as desired. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. 1/4 of this recipe is 166 calories, 8.4 grams of fat, 20 carbs, 3 fiber, 4 protein, and 223 sodium.
This recipe follows ALL the rules, as long as you don't eat too many, or slather them with too much butter or naughty stuff, of course.
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp Honey
2 sticks butter
Pulse in food processor until completely combined. I make 2 batches in a row and put them in a one gallon ice cream bucket (left over from a weak moment or a child's birthday party).
To make pancakes: 1 cup mix, 1 egg, 3/4 cup milk, cook on hot skillet sprayed with olive oil spray. 1/6 of this recipe is 128 calories, 6 grams of fat, 15 carbs, 2 fiber, 4 protein, 171 sodium.
To make Muffins: 1 cup mix, 2 Tbsp Honey, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk. Bake at 400 for 17 minutes. 1/6 of this recipe is 144 calories. 7 grams of fat, 20 carbs, 2 fiber, 4 protein, and 159 sodium.
To make Biscuits: 1 cup mix, 1/4 cup milk. Stir, knead 10 times, flatten out and cut as desired. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes. 1/4 of this recipe is 166 calories, 8.4 grams of fat, 20 carbs, 3 fiber, 4 protein, and 223 sodium.
This recipe follows ALL the rules, as long as you don't eat too many, or slather them with too much butter or naughty stuff, of course.
A pep talk for a friend.
My friend is on a message board with me. On that board, we discuss this stuff, among other things. When she first started "The diet according to Kris," she asked the following.
Friend: .....how do I fix this? I find that I eat to get full whenever I eat. If I eat, I can't just stop at a taste of something at night. So I may eat a (I'm SO SO SO embarrassed to share this) a bowl of ice cream, not full and want salt, so I find something salty... chips? crackers? cheese. Then I'm not full so I eat a slice of white toast or two. So, I want to eat something at my night snack that will make me feel full, but I know I've got to decide to be satisfied, not full.
Kris: Sweetie, it is about making a commitment. I am JUST like you. When AF (slang for our monthly visitor, Aunt Flo) was here last week I did just the kind of thing you are talking about. Don't be embarassed. That is why you need to be CONSCIOUS of what you are eating. That is the whole goal of rules #1 and 2. You have to decide, when you wake up in the morning, to eat like a civilized human being (I say this to myself, I'm not trying to be demeaning).
Take an index card and write: 8:30, 11:00, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, and 8:00 on it, (or whatever times you've decided to eat. Never more than 3 hours between). Eat only at those times, period. But, at those times, eat well. Pairing a carb and a protein really is satisfying, it is. You won't be stuffed, but you can chug two glasses of water and say, "I get to eat again at x:00." If you really feel unsatisfied, eat a little more, but eat something healthy.
This morning I ate 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese with 2 canned pears on it. I wasn't satisfied. I'd had a crappy morning with my oldest child and I wanted to make pancakes and eat 10 of them. I took a shower and then went out and looked at the can of pears. They are 50 calories per serving. 3.5 servings in the can. I ate the rest of the can. They are pears packed in fruit juice. Those pears did not break my sugar rule. They are healthy, high in fiber, and relatively low in calories. I then drank my 2 glasses of water. I no longer wanted to eat everything in sight, nor did I want to eat 10 pancakes. I was sane enough, at that point, to say, "I get to eat again at 11:00."
I promise you that if you eat good food often, you will be less likely to binge in the evening. My guess is that in the business of being a mom, you really don't eat that much all day, or if you do, it isn't that healthy. Then, in the evening, your body relaxes and you eat most of your calories then. I do it too, when I'm not conscious of my eating. This used to happen to me every Sunday. I'd get everyone out the door and in the car for church and I'd think, "crap, I didn't eat." Then, when I got home 3 hours later, I'd eat 3 meals worth of food, mostly crap, because I was starving.
Stupid eating comes from long stretches of NOT eating, or not eating carbs and protein together. I could give you countless examples. The morning I rush out, grabbing just a piece of toast is the morning I grab the donut off the table in the teacher's lounge. The night I eat meat and veggies but no carbs is then night I eat a bowl of ice cream. When I eat my 5 meals, and include the foods listed on the "Let's Get Started" part of the blog, I don't do dumb stuff.
Friend: .....how do I fix this? I find that I eat to get full whenever I eat. If I eat, I can't just stop at a taste of something at night. So I may eat a (I'm SO SO SO embarrassed to share this) a bowl of ice cream, not full and want salt, so I find something salty... chips? crackers? cheese. Then I'm not full so I eat a slice of white toast or two. So, I want to eat something at my night snack that will make me feel full, but I know I've got to decide to be satisfied, not full.
Kris: Sweetie, it is about making a commitment. I am JUST like you. When AF (slang for our monthly visitor, Aunt Flo) was here last week I did just the kind of thing you are talking about. Don't be embarassed. That is why you need to be CONSCIOUS of what you are eating. That is the whole goal of rules #1 and 2. You have to decide, when you wake up in the morning, to eat like a civilized human being (I say this to myself, I'm not trying to be demeaning).
Take an index card and write: 8:30, 11:00, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30, and 8:00 on it, (or whatever times you've decided to eat. Never more than 3 hours between). Eat only at those times, period. But, at those times, eat well. Pairing a carb and a protein really is satisfying, it is. You won't be stuffed, but you can chug two glasses of water and say, "I get to eat again at x:00." If you really feel unsatisfied, eat a little more, but eat something healthy.
This morning I ate 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese with 2 canned pears on it. I wasn't satisfied. I'd had a crappy morning with my oldest child and I wanted to make pancakes and eat 10 of them. I took a shower and then went out and looked at the can of pears. They are 50 calories per serving. 3.5 servings in the can. I ate the rest of the can. They are pears packed in fruit juice. Those pears did not break my sugar rule. They are healthy, high in fiber, and relatively low in calories. I then drank my 2 glasses of water. I no longer wanted to eat everything in sight, nor did I want to eat 10 pancakes. I was sane enough, at that point, to say, "I get to eat again at 11:00."
I promise you that if you eat good food often, you will be less likely to binge in the evening. My guess is that in the business of being a mom, you really don't eat that much all day, or if you do, it isn't that healthy. Then, in the evening, your body relaxes and you eat most of your calories then. I do it too, when I'm not conscious of my eating. This used to happen to me every Sunday. I'd get everyone out the door and in the car for church and I'd think, "crap, I didn't eat." Then, when I got home 3 hours later, I'd eat 3 meals worth of food, mostly crap, because I was starving.
Stupid eating comes from long stretches of NOT eating, or not eating carbs and protein together. I could give you countless examples. The morning I rush out, grabbing just a piece of toast is the morning I grab the donut off the table in the teacher's lounge. The night I eat meat and veggies but no carbs is then night I eat a bowl of ice cream. When I eat my 5 meals, and include the foods listed on the "Let's Get Started" part of the blog, I don't do dumb stuff.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Exercise is WAY more than just burning calories
Back in my days of wanting to be skinny for the sake of skinniness, I used to think that exercise was just a way to burn calories so I could eat a little more. While it is true that you can burn off a brownie with 20 minutes of running, you get way more out of it than that!
Exercise causes your body to produce more growth hormone while you sleep. Growth hormone is sent off into your body like a messenger, telling your body's systems to replenish themselves at night. It tells your fat to burn. It tells your hair to grow shiny and healthy. It tells your skin to glow. It tells your muscles to grow stronger. It makes your body work!!! And most of this is done while you are sleeping!!!!
Regular strenuous exercise (4-5 hours a week for 3 weeks, followed by 3 hours a week after that) can regulate your body's production of insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol. Do you know what cortisol does? It tells your body to store fat in your belly! You know that exercise is supposed to help you feel better, look better, and lose weight, but it is not just because of the calorie burn. It actually changes your metabolism!!!!
What should you do for exercise? Many will tell you to just take the stairs or park the car farther away in the parking lot. Those are GREAT choices, and sometimes it really is all we have time for (my friend, Lisa, recently had to spend several days in the hospital with her sick daughter and taking the stairs WAS her exercise, and I'm beyond proud of her for doing that). However, most of us have more time than that, and WE ARE WORTH IT. Figure out a way to get 4-5 hours of exercise in your week, and that exercise should be something that really makes you red-faced and sweaty. The more you work, the more you'll see and, more importantly, FEEL the results!
Exercise causes your body to produce more growth hormone while you sleep. Growth hormone is sent off into your body like a messenger, telling your body's systems to replenish themselves at night. It tells your fat to burn. It tells your hair to grow shiny and healthy. It tells your skin to glow. It tells your muscles to grow stronger. It makes your body work!!! And most of this is done while you are sleeping!!!!
Regular strenuous exercise (4-5 hours a week for 3 weeks, followed by 3 hours a week after that) can regulate your body's production of insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol. Do you know what cortisol does? It tells your body to store fat in your belly! You know that exercise is supposed to help you feel better, look better, and lose weight, but it is not just because of the calorie burn. It actually changes your metabolism!!!!
What should you do for exercise? Many will tell you to just take the stairs or park the car farther away in the parking lot. Those are GREAT choices, and sometimes it really is all we have time for (my friend, Lisa, recently had to spend several days in the hospital with her sick daughter and taking the stairs WAS her exercise, and I'm beyond proud of her for doing that). However, most of us have more time than that, and WE ARE WORTH IT. Figure out a way to get 4-5 hours of exercise in your week, and that exercise should be something that really makes you red-faced and sweaty. The more you work, the more you'll see and, more importantly, FEEL the results!
The skinny on calorie intake and outgo
This diet is NOT a get skinny diet. It is not about weight loss. If you have a BMI in the "normal" range, by all means, skip this post. Check here to see:
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
If you don't have a "normal" BMI, consider this analogy. You have a 2010 Mercedes sports car. You also have a 1979 Buick. You put premium gas in BOTH cars. The good gas improves the performance of both cars, but the Mercedes still way outperforms your Buick. Your Buick needs an overhaul. If YOU are a Buick, you might need to lose weight in order to feel the maximum effects of healthy eating.
This post is going to make you do math. I know, it sucks, but if you want to know the REAL deal about what YOU need to do for your unique body, you must do it. The fact is, there really is a FORMULA for weight loss. You MUST burn more calories than you eat. Period. But, you need to know how many you burn AND how many you eat in order to really know that you are, in fact, on a diet. If there isn't a deficit between what goes in and what goes out, then you aren't really on a diet, are you?
The good news is..... IF YOU ARE ALIVE, YOU ARE BURNING CALORIES!! Wahoo for this! You don't HAVE to go to the gym for an hour every day to lose pounds. You CAN do that, and you'll look hotter if you do, but you don't have to. If you spend the whole day resting, sitting or laying on the couch reading a book, watching TV, looking out the window, you are still burning calories. The bigger you are, the more you are burning. A 500 lb man will burn more calories while laying on the couch than a 100 lb woman. This is why he eats so much. His body burns more calories. If you've ever done Weight Watchers, you know that bigger people get more "points" than little people. That is because they burn more calories. This calorie burning rate is called "Resting Metabolic Rate" or RMR. To find out what your RMR is, go to this site:
http://www.shapeup.org/interactive/rmr1.php
Plug in the information. It will tell you how many calories you'd burn if you rested all day. That calorie total is the bare minimum number of calories you need to sustain you IF you are a couch potato.
You are NOT a couch potato. You take a shower, do laundry, make meals, run the vacuum, wrangle kids, drive the car, go to your job, take showers, get dressed, have sex, and any number of things throughout the day. All of these things burn calories. You get to add 100 to 200 calories to your RMR just for regular daily stuff like I just listed. If you exercise, you get to add even more. Go to this site to find how many calories are burned in ANY activity.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php
All the little things I listed above, add up very slowly, so you can guess on 100 to 200 depending on if you had a busy day or a sedentary day, but real exercise will add quite a few calories. You'll want to know how more you can eat, so go check it out!
Next, for the calories that go IN, go to the following site and sign up:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/
Set up your account and choose to track the following:
calories
fat
carbs
protein
fiber
sodium
the first 4 are automatic. The last two must be selected by you. Sparkpeople will likely recommend too many calories for you. Change the number to better reflect the research you just did. I'm a small person. My calorie window is 1250-1400 calories. I allow myself 1400 on a busy day and 1250 on a lazy day. I allow myself up to 1600 if I shovel snow for an hour, go for a long walk with the dog, take the kids sledding, or do a workout video.
RULE #6
A. Go to sparkpeople at least once a day, every day, for 3 weeks and enter in every single item you eat. Try your best to stay within the limits given to you in each category. Yes, it is tedious, but you don't have to do this forever. For 3 weeks, you are going to track your calories and nutrients and you will pay attention to what the numbers say. Notice how you feel when you don't get enough fiber and protein. Notice what the scale says when you go way over your sodium goal one day. If you click on "see today's full report" you can see your whole day, plus a pie chart that indicates what percentage of your food intake went to carbs, fat, and protein. Try to manage your meals to make your pie chart look like the recommended pie chart.
B. After your 3 week stint on sparkpeople, you may step away from it if you feel like you are ready. HOWEVER, for every day that you fall off your own bandwagon, you MUST go back to sparkpeople for a day, up to 3 weeks. So if you go away for the weekend and eat like a silly person, then come back, re-read my rules, and do sparkpeople for 2 days. If you blow it and eat Twinkies and Coke for a month, and then decide you are ready to be sane again, then come back, re-read my rules, and go back to sparkpeople for 3 weeks.
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
If you don't have a "normal" BMI, consider this analogy. You have a 2010 Mercedes sports car. You also have a 1979 Buick. You put premium gas in BOTH cars. The good gas improves the performance of both cars, but the Mercedes still way outperforms your Buick. Your Buick needs an overhaul. If YOU are a Buick, you might need to lose weight in order to feel the maximum effects of healthy eating.
This post is going to make you do math. I know, it sucks, but if you want to know the REAL deal about what YOU need to do for your unique body, you must do it. The fact is, there really is a FORMULA for weight loss. You MUST burn more calories than you eat. Period. But, you need to know how many you burn AND how many you eat in order to really know that you are, in fact, on a diet. If there isn't a deficit between what goes in and what goes out, then you aren't really on a diet, are you?
The good news is..... IF YOU ARE ALIVE, YOU ARE BURNING CALORIES!! Wahoo for this! You don't HAVE to go to the gym for an hour every day to lose pounds. You CAN do that, and you'll look hotter if you do, but you don't have to. If you spend the whole day resting, sitting or laying on the couch reading a book, watching TV, looking out the window, you are still burning calories. The bigger you are, the more you are burning. A 500 lb man will burn more calories while laying on the couch than a 100 lb woman. This is why he eats so much. His body burns more calories. If you've ever done Weight Watchers, you know that bigger people get more "points" than little people. That is because they burn more calories. This calorie burning rate is called "Resting Metabolic Rate" or RMR. To find out what your RMR is, go to this site:
http://www.shapeup.org/interactive/rmr1.php
Plug in the information. It will tell you how many calories you'd burn if you rested all day. That calorie total is the bare minimum number of calories you need to sustain you IF you are a couch potato.
You are NOT a couch potato. You take a shower, do laundry, make meals, run the vacuum, wrangle kids, drive the car, go to your job, take showers, get dressed, have sex, and any number of things throughout the day. All of these things burn calories. You get to add 100 to 200 calories to your RMR just for regular daily stuff like I just listed. If you exercise, you get to add even more. Go to this site to find how many calories are burned in ANY activity.
http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php
All the little things I listed above, add up very slowly, so you can guess on 100 to 200 depending on if you had a busy day or a sedentary day, but real exercise will add quite a few calories. You'll want to know how more you can eat, so go check it out!
Next, for the calories that go IN, go to the following site and sign up:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/
Set up your account and choose to track the following:
calories
fat
carbs
protein
fiber
sodium
the first 4 are automatic. The last two must be selected by you. Sparkpeople will likely recommend too many calories for you. Change the number to better reflect the research you just did. I'm a small person. My calorie window is 1250-1400 calories. I allow myself 1400 on a busy day and 1250 on a lazy day. I allow myself up to 1600 if I shovel snow for an hour, go for a long walk with the dog, take the kids sledding, or do a workout video.
RULE #6
A. Go to sparkpeople at least once a day, every day, for 3 weeks and enter in every single item you eat. Try your best to stay within the limits given to you in each category. Yes, it is tedious, but you don't have to do this forever. For 3 weeks, you are going to track your calories and nutrients and you will pay attention to what the numbers say. Notice how you feel when you don't get enough fiber and protein. Notice what the scale says when you go way over your sodium goal one day. If you click on "see today's full report" you can see your whole day, plus a pie chart that indicates what percentage of your food intake went to carbs, fat, and protein. Try to manage your meals to make your pie chart look like the recommended pie chart.
B. After your 3 week stint on sparkpeople, you may step away from it if you feel like you are ready. HOWEVER, for every day that you fall off your own bandwagon, you MUST go back to sparkpeople for a day, up to 3 weeks. So if you go away for the weekend and eat like a silly person, then come back, re-read my rules, and do sparkpeople for 2 days. If you blow it and eat Twinkies and Coke for a month, and then decide you are ready to be sane again, then come back, re-read my rules, and go back to sparkpeople for 3 weeks.
What about fat?
I've read a lot about fats, and I'm going to be honest with you. The scientific stuff is confusing. The details don't stick in my brain very well. I don't want to just copy and paste some junk off the internet for you, which will likely boggle your brain as well. I'm going to go ahead and tell you what I've learned, in very simple English here in this section, without all the scientific junk.
1. Too much fat, of any kind, will make you fat. Butter or Margarine, Lard or Shortening, Corn oil or Olive oil..... it is all fat. Try to go easy on the fat.
2. A little fat with each meal will keep you fuller longer, but you don't have to go looking for it or adding it, in most cases. Most foods contain enough natural fats to do this job.
3. Fats that are left as nature intended are going to be metabolized in your body better than fats that have been engineered or processed. Margarine, shortening, and other refined oils actually undergo a chemical reaction in their processing (high heat, bleaching, dying, etc) that makes them a non-food and likely toxic. They are not recognized as food by the body, and end up in your arteries and on your hips. ANY fat will end up in those same locations if you eat too much, but you'll be healthier if you stick to the ones that are really food to begin with! God meant for us to eat butter. He did not intend for us to eat trans-fats.
4. We need Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids. Your body can't manufacture them. You must eat them. Omega 6's are in lots of things. You don't have to go looking for them. Omega 3's, however, are harder to come by and you need a BALANCE of the two. Try to include nuts, seeds, fish, flax, soy, pumkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts in your diet to get your Omega 3's.
RULE #5
Limit your fat to the following: fats that are already in your food (like the fish oil in your fish, or the marbling in your beef), butter, lard, drippings (like bacon fat or the chicken fat you skim off your soup), and cold-pressed vegetable oils (look at the label. It must say cold-pressed). Use these things IN MODERATION. This means you are giving up any food that is fried in a restaurant or a factory. They do not use cold-pressed oils.
1. Too much fat, of any kind, will make you fat. Butter or Margarine, Lard or Shortening, Corn oil or Olive oil..... it is all fat. Try to go easy on the fat.
2. A little fat with each meal will keep you fuller longer, but you don't have to go looking for it or adding it, in most cases. Most foods contain enough natural fats to do this job.
3. Fats that are left as nature intended are going to be metabolized in your body better than fats that have been engineered or processed. Margarine, shortening, and other refined oils actually undergo a chemical reaction in their processing (high heat, bleaching, dying, etc) that makes them a non-food and likely toxic. They are not recognized as food by the body, and end up in your arteries and on your hips. ANY fat will end up in those same locations if you eat too much, but you'll be healthier if you stick to the ones that are really food to begin with! God meant for us to eat butter. He did not intend for us to eat trans-fats.
4. We need Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6 fatty acids. Your body can't manufacture them. You must eat them. Omega 6's are in lots of things. You don't have to go looking for them. Omega 3's, however, are harder to come by and you need a BALANCE of the two. Try to include nuts, seeds, fish, flax, soy, pumkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts in your diet to get your Omega 3's.
RULE #5
Limit your fat to the following: fats that are already in your food (like the fish oil in your fish, or the marbling in your beef), butter, lard, drippings (like bacon fat or the chicken fat you skim off your soup), and cold-pressed vegetable oils (look at the label. It must say cold-pressed). Use these things IN MODERATION. This means you are giving up any food that is fried in a restaurant or a factory. They do not use cold-pressed oils.
What is a protein?
Proteins are the basis of body structures (e.g. muscles, skin, and hair. To keep your body strong, you need to feed those proteins. Huh? Proteins need amino acids in order to multiply and repair themselves. About twenty amino acids are found in the human body, and about ten of these are essential, and therefore must be included in the diet, and are particularly important during early development and maturation, pregnancy, lactation, or injury. A food is considered a protein source if it provides the body with essential amino acids. A complete protein source contains all the essential amino acids; an incomplete protein source lacks one or more of the essential amino acids.
Sources of dietary protein include meats, tofu and other soy-products, eggs, grains, legumes, and dairy products such as milk and cheese. You have likely heard that you must sometimes pair certain foods together to make a complete protein. Beans alone or rice alone do not have all the essential amino acids to make them useful for your body's function, but if you put them together, they do. Animal sources of protein contain all essential amino acids. Most non-animal sources are lacking some. A good rule of thumb is to pair a non-animal protein (nuts, seeds, beans, soy) with a whole carbohydrate (whole wheat, brown rice). It is interesting, however, that quinoa (a grain) is a complete protein.
I find it fascinating that in the Bible, Ezekiel was commanded by the Lord to do the following: "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches (spelt), and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof." The Lord was telling him to create a complete protein. He lived on this and water for over a year!
RULE #4
Eat all kinds of protein. High calorie and high fat proteins, like a nice marbled beef roast, should be eaten sparingly, of course, but they aren't evil. The fat in that meat is as nature intended and your body can metabolize it and use it. It would be wiser, and better for your figure, to choose one of the following animal proteins: Chicken, turkey, elk, bison, or fish. However, use even these in moderation. You will eat protein 5 times a day on this diet. Do not make them all from meat. Use eggs, dairy, nuts, protein powders, beans, and seeds as often as you can. Eating meat sparingly is a good idea.
What is a Carb?
Carbohydrates are the foods that give us energy. Good carbs give us energy that lasts. Bad carbs give us a spike of energy and then we feel all blue and tired. Foods high in carbohydrates include breads, pastas, beans, potatoes, bran, rice, and cereals. Most such foods are high in starch, so some diets will call them a "starch."
The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get between 45-65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55-75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars.
So, we need carbs, lots of carbs, but we don't want to eat carbs that have been processed in such a way as to remove the natural healthy qualities that they possess. We should eat "whole" carbs, aka "good" carbs, meaning carbs that still retain all the nutrients the Lord intended them to have.
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain bran, germ, and endosperm (the whole grain). Refined or processed grains are processed to remove the bran and the germ and only leave us endosperm. You KNOW oat bran, wheat bran and wheat germ are super healthy, right? So why is America living on products made from flour that is stripped of these healthy nutrients? Boggles my mind, I tell ya! Buy bread whose first ingredient is whole wheat flour, not unbleached wheat flour. Most flour in bread is made from wheat, but very little of it is actually made from WHOLE wheat. Buy cereal whose first ingredient is a whole grain.
The same thing happens with rice, by the way. Brown rice is processed to remove the husk but the bran and germ are in tact. White rice is processed futher to remove the germ and the bran. Unless the rice says "brown," it is white. Jasmine rice, arborio rice, all the fancy rices that you can get are stripped of vital nutrients and fiber. What a waste.
Doesn't it make you wonder why white rice and white flour are cheaper than their whole grain counterparts? Wouldn't you think it would be cheaper to process them LESS?? A conundrum. Really.
If you choose a potato as your carb, eat the whole potato, even the skin. Other vegetables are also high in carbohydrates, like carrots, corn, and peas. Fruits are also carbs. Eat them whole. An orange is better than orange juice, for instance.
Since only 10% of our carbs should come from sugar, we need to watch our sugar intake, particularly processed sugars (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup). Even healthy sugars that are unrefined and come to us in their natural states, like honey, real maple syrup, agave nectar, deydrated cane juice (rapadura, sucanat) should be used in moderation.
So...... If you are already following diet rule #1 and #2, diet rule #3 is your next step. I think it would be smart to get in the habit of following 1 and 2 for a week before adding #3. This is about long-term habit building, not instant gratification. If you are in a hurry, though, take the plunge. Rule #3 is the BEST rule. It will get rid of your belly flab and make you feel happier and healthier. Promise.
RULE #3
No "bad" carbs/ processed carbs. Here's the list: processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or any food containing these sugars, white flours (flours with the germ and bran removed this includes bleached and unbleached wheat flour), white rice. Replace these items with natural sweeteners in moderation, whole grain flours, brown rice, and quinoa.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get between 45-65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55-75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% directly from sugars.
So, we need carbs, lots of carbs, but we don't want to eat carbs that have been processed in such a way as to remove the natural healthy qualities that they possess. We should eat "whole" carbs, aka "good" carbs, meaning carbs that still retain all the nutrients the Lord intended them to have.
Whole grains are cereal grains that contain bran, germ, and endosperm (the whole grain). Refined or processed grains are processed to remove the bran and the germ and only leave us endosperm. You KNOW oat bran, wheat bran and wheat germ are super healthy, right? So why is America living on products made from flour that is stripped of these healthy nutrients? Boggles my mind, I tell ya! Buy bread whose first ingredient is whole wheat flour, not unbleached wheat flour. Most flour in bread is made from wheat, but very little of it is actually made from WHOLE wheat. Buy cereal whose first ingredient is a whole grain.
The same thing happens with rice, by the way. Brown rice is processed to remove the husk but the bran and germ are in tact. White rice is processed futher to remove the germ and the bran. Unless the rice says "brown," it is white. Jasmine rice, arborio rice, all the fancy rices that you can get are stripped of vital nutrients and fiber. What a waste.
Doesn't it make you wonder why white rice and white flour are cheaper than their whole grain counterparts? Wouldn't you think it would be cheaper to process them LESS?? A conundrum. Really.
If you choose a potato as your carb, eat the whole potato, even the skin. Other vegetables are also high in carbohydrates, like carrots, corn, and peas. Fruits are also carbs. Eat them whole. An orange is better than orange juice, for instance.
Since only 10% of our carbs should come from sugar, we need to watch our sugar intake, particularly processed sugars (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup). Even healthy sugars that are unrefined and come to us in their natural states, like honey, real maple syrup, agave nectar, deydrated cane juice (rapadura, sucanat) should be used in moderation.
So...... If you are already following diet rule #1 and #2, diet rule #3 is your next step. I think it would be smart to get in the habit of following 1 and 2 for a week before adding #3. This is about long-term habit building, not instant gratification. If you are in a hurry, though, take the plunge. Rule #3 is the BEST rule. It will get rid of your belly flab and make you feel happier and healthier. Promise.
RULE #3
No "bad" carbs/ processed carbs. Here's the list: processed sugar (white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup) or any food containing these sugars, white flours (flours with the germ and bran removed this includes bleached and unbleached wheat flour), white rice. Replace these items with natural sweeteners in moderation, whole grain flours, brown rice, and quinoa.
Let's get started!
I'm not going to throw this thing at you all at once. It took me six years to get to where I can follow all my rules most of the time. Take it one rule at a time. Over the next several entries, you will see bold-faced rules. Don't get mad if you follow one rule and don't feel better, lose weight, or lose belly fat. This is NOT a 5 day get skinny kind of thing. This is a lifestyle change. You'll need to learn to live all the rules, most of the time, little by little, before you see the see those changes. Today we are going to start by being CONSCIOUS of what we eat and when we eat it. We sabotage our healthy eating goals when we get too hungry, so for the first rule, we are going to EAT.
RULE #1:
Eat 4-5 times every day and eat food combinations that will keep you full.
Decide ahead of time when you are going to eat. You don't need to know exactly what you are going to eat but you do need to think about how your day will shake out and where you will be at each meal time. Do this:
Breakfast : a whole grain or potato, a protein, a fruit
Snack : protein and a carb
Lunch: whole grain or potato, protein, fruit or veggie)
Snack : protein and a carb
Dinner: whole grain or potato, protein, veggie
I do 8:30, 11:00, 1:30, 4:00, 6:30. If we are eating a lot earlier, I skip the 4:00 one. You tweak the times to fit your schedule but never go more than 3 hours without food and try not to stray from the food combinations I've suggested. You need to plan ahead if you are going to be away from home. If I know I'm going to be at Walmart at 11:00, I pack a cheese stick and some raisins in my purse and munch while I shop. We do this for our kids, right? Why not for ourselves?
These meals/snacks are SMALL. I have 3 sizes of plates. I use the middle size for my "meals" and the small size for my "snacks" (if I need a plate). I think about kid-sized portions when I make my meals. Today's breakfast was one apple, one egg, and one slice of toast with a little butter. This is not a grown-up restaurant breakfast, this is a kid's meal. You will be eating in just 2.5 short hours. You don't need the Denny's grand slam. In fact, when eating out, continue to think this way. Order off the senior menu or the kid's menu and if they give you too much, DON'T EAT IT. Ask for a to-go box and portion up what you don't need before you dig in.
I'm not telling you WHAT to eat yet. I'm only telling you to eat small meals 5x a day and keep them kid-sized. I'm not telling you to count your calories, not yet. I just want you to be AWARE of what you put in your mouth and when. I want you to recognize what keeps you full for the whole 2.5 hours and what does not keep you full.
I suggest you to pair certain foods together. Why? Because you will stay fuller longer if you do it this way. I've dieted lots. I've counted calories lots. What I've learned is that 200 calories of chips does not feel as good in your body as the 200 calorie combination of a cheese stick paired with an apple.
Food combinations I like for breakfast:
- Oats with ground almonds and dried cranberries
- Egg, toast, fruit
- whole grain unsweetened cereal with bananas, honey and milk
- leftover brown rice with an egg white stirred in and microwaved (makes it creamy) with maple syrup and berries on top
- cottage cheese with canned fruit (with no added sugar) and sunflower seeds
Food combinations I like for lunch:
- one hard-boiled egg mixed with Kraft Olive Oil Mayo and a little mustard, one slice of bread, and some carrot sticks
- leftovers from last night's dinner
- one piece of whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter and fruit sweetened jam and a piece of fruit
- beans and brown rice with salsa stirred in and some pepper slices on the side
- a pile of spinach with a sliced boiled egg, shredded carrot and any Newman's Own light dressing.
- microwave baked potato with some leftover taco meat, chili, lentils, or something like that on top
Food combinations I like for snacks
- apple and a cheese stick (my stand-by)
- a baggie of nuts and a little bottle of 100% juice (can grab this at the gas station)
- a smoothie made with spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 C. orange juice, water, and protein powder
- banana and some Triscuits
- baked tortilla chips, microwaved with 1/4 cup cheese and salsa
- a slice of bread with natural peanut butter
Dinner is dinner. I make what my family will eat, which sometimes means little extras that I wouldn't do if it were just me, like butter on the green beans and extra cheese on the enchiladas. I make sure I get plenty of veggies and a reasonable portion of what is prepared. As you read through this blog, you'll find my recipes and see some of the dinners I make. I don't make seperate meals for seperate tastes. We are all in this together! Kids can learn to eat healthy!
RULE #2
Drink lots of water. In between meals, when you get to hour 2 and you have 30 minutes to wait until you eat again, you'll start to feel hungry-ish. Drink 2 glasses of water. Stand right there at your sink and chug them down. Put your glass on the windowsill. Repeat. Get a water bottle and take it everywhere with you. When you want a soda, buy a bottle of water instead. You should be peeing a lot. This is the best "cleanse" you can do.
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