I was talking to my husband after a long day yesterday, and he brought an important point to my attention. Not everyone knows what healthy is. More importantly, what is healthy for them as an individual and why? We all have different needs. Some people need more calories or protein, others need low fat and low sodium. Additionally, we all have different goals. My husband, for example, wants to gain weight/muscle. I, at 113 lbs, would not like to gain or lose weight, but eating with my husband actually has me dropping pounds; which is a problem. At this rate, I might disappear completely in 2012....maybe that is his ulterior motive. :)
Anyhow, I digress. Here are some very basic rules for cutting calories, trans fats (the most evil kind of fat), saturated fat (the second most evil kind of fat), and increasing the nutritional value of your food.
1) Don't make your food taste terrible
Nothing is off-limits, but when it comes to things like butter, for example, you shouldn't run out more than twice a year. 4 sticks of butter in a package should last a LONG time. And stay away from margarine entirely because it is packed with trans fat. Explore alternatives such as SmartBalance but even with the alternatives, don't go overboard. A teaspoon is usually more than enough to give some flavor and grease a pan. If your food tastes like cardboard you will either choose not to eat, or you will revert to eating massive quantities of what you shouldn't, so learn how to make it like you like it.
2) Pack fruits and veggies in everything
If you don't like fruits and/or veggies, hide them from yourself, but put them in your food. The increased vitamins and minerals are invaluable to your overall health and energy. Plus, you can eat lettuce and tomatoes ALL day and never gain a pound. Disguise cauliflower as or in mashed potatoes, turn tomatoes into marinara sauce, make whole wheat zucchini or banana bread using apple sauce instead of oil, use onions, garlic, lemon, lime, and orange juice as seasonings, and be creative. You don't have to love all vegetables. I, personally, despise eggplant and refuse to eat it, but take the ones you do like and get creative because there are plenty of vegetables in the world!
3) Drink all that water they tell you to
Women can get away with 6-8 glasses, men need 8-10. And don't drink your food. This includes juice and sodas. If you drink your food you will be hungry before you know it, and if you load up on sodas (even diet) and juice you are drinking unnecessary calories and/or caramel color. Good news though...you can still have coffee! and tea! Just don't load it up with sugar and cream, but feel free to use skim milk. Coffee is an excellent place to hide milk if you don't like it.
4) Any fats that are solid at room temperature are to be avoided if at all possible
This includes butter, meat fat, Crisco, lard/manteca, etc. The fact that they solidify means that they are saturated fats. If they congeal on a plate, imagine what they will do in your arteries. This makes it easier to avoid them. Anything that says "partially hydrogenated" is also to be avoided.
5) Avoid "white" carbs
White rice, white bread, potatoes, etc. These are simple carbs that are easy to break down. Use whole wheat to up your fiber intake and make your carbs intake more complex.
6) Salad dressings are wolves in sheep's clothing
When it comes to salad dressings, the rule is simple. Make your own, and use vinegar or citrus juice as a base with minimal, if any, oil. As I stated earlier, lettuce and tomatoes never made anyone fat, but lettuce and tomatoes doused in oil did. Salads can be made that don't require dressing by using dried fruits, fresh fruits, cilantro, small amounts of cheese, and other flavorful ingredients other than plain lettuce. Or dressings can be made using lime, pear, or even apple juice and some salt and seasonings with mustard. You can use balsamic, red wine, rice wine, or apple cider vinegars combined with juices and a minimal amount of olive oil with oregano, basil, or a plethora of other spices to infuse flavor into a salad.
7) Create healthy versions of your favorite meals
One of my family's favorite meals is Red Mole. This Mexican dish is essentially a bunch of fried ingredients blended up with some chocolate and served over chicken. It would seem difficult to make this healthy, but it can be done...without changing the flavor. Bake all of the fried ingredients that include awesome things like sesame seeds and almonds, use crackers instead of fried bread, use a baked tostada instead of a fried tortilla, roast the dried chilis on the comal instead of frying them and blend with low sodium chicken broth instead of chicken boullion and serve over boiled, shredded chicken breasts and voila! A MUCH healthier version of a favorite meal. You can do the same, just be creative, and if that fails, use Google.
8) Lean your meats
Use only lean, skinless cuts of meat. No marbled steaks, chicken wings with skin or fried, breaded meats. Chicken breasts, ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, lean ground meat, etc.
9) Know your portions
Cover the majority of your plate with veggies, fruits and grains, and fill the rest with a fist-sized portion of meat.
My Googling led me to this, a basic grocery list that will yield hundreds of tasty meals that are good for you too. It is taken from Dr. Oz's website and I am sure there is more where that came from.
Anyhow, I digress. Here are some very basic rules for cutting calories, trans fats (the most evil kind of fat), saturated fat (the second most evil kind of fat), and increasing the nutritional value of your food.
1) Don't make your food taste terrible
Nothing is off-limits, but when it comes to things like butter, for example, you shouldn't run out more than twice a year. 4 sticks of butter in a package should last a LONG time. And stay away from margarine entirely because it is packed with trans fat. Explore alternatives such as SmartBalance but even with the alternatives, don't go overboard. A teaspoon is usually more than enough to give some flavor and grease a pan. If your food tastes like cardboard you will either choose not to eat, or you will revert to eating massive quantities of what you shouldn't, so learn how to make it like you like it.
2) Pack fruits and veggies in everything
If you don't like fruits and/or veggies, hide them from yourself, but put them in your food. The increased vitamins and minerals are invaluable to your overall health and energy. Plus, you can eat lettuce and tomatoes ALL day and never gain a pound. Disguise cauliflower as or in mashed potatoes, turn tomatoes into marinara sauce, make whole wheat zucchini or banana bread using apple sauce instead of oil, use onions, garlic, lemon, lime, and orange juice as seasonings, and be creative. You don't have to love all vegetables. I, personally, despise eggplant and refuse to eat it, but take the ones you do like and get creative because there are plenty of vegetables in the world!
3) Drink all that water they tell you to
Women can get away with 6-8 glasses, men need 8-10. And don't drink your food. This includes juice and sodas. If you drink your food you will be hungry before you know it, and if you load up on sodas (even diet) and juice you are drinking unnecessary calories and/or caramel color. Good news though...you can still have coffee! and tea! Just don't load it up with sugar and cream, but feel free to use skim milk. Coffee is an excellent place to hide milk if you don't like it.
4) Any fats that are solid at room temperature are to be avoided if at all possible
This includes butter, meat fat, Crisco, lard/manteca, etc. The fact that they solidify means that they are saturated fats. If they congeal on a plate, imagine what they will do in your arteries. This makes it easier to avoid them. Anything that says "partially hydrogenated" is also to be avoided.
5) Avoid "white" carbs
White rice, white bread, potatoes, etc. These are simple carbs that are easy to break down. Use whole wheat to up your fiber intake and make your carbs intake more complex.
6) Salad dressings are wolves in sheep's clothing
When it comes to salad dressings, the rule is simple. Make your own, and use vinegar or citrus juice as a base with minimal, if any, oil. As I stated earlier, lettuce and tomatoes never made anyone fat, but lettuce and tomatoes doused in oil did. Salads can be made that don't require dressing by using dried fruits, fresh fruits, cilantro, small amounts of cheese, and other flavorful ingredients other than plain lettuce. Or dressings can be made using lime, pear, or even apple juice and some salt and seasonings with mustard. You can use balsamic, red wine, rice wine, or apple cider vinegars combined with juices and a minimal amount of olive oil with oregano, basil, or a plethora of other spices to infuse flavor into a salad.
7) Create healthy versions of your favorite meals
One of my family's favorite meals is Red Mole. This Mexican dish is essentially a bunch of fried ingredients blended up with some chocolate and served over chicken. It would seem difficult to make this healthy, but it can be done...without changing the flavor. Bake all of the fried ingredients that include awesome things like sesame seeds and almonds, use crackers instead of fried bread, use a baked tostada instead of a fried tortilla, roast the dried chilis on the comal instead of frying them and blend with low sodium chicken broth instead of chicken boullion and serve over boiled, shredded chicken breasts and voila! A MUCH healthier version of a favorite meal. You can do the same, just be creative, and if that fails, use Google.
8) Lean your meats
Use only lean, skinless cuts of meat. No marbled steaks, chicken wings with skin or fried, breaded meats. Chicken breasts, ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, lean ground meat, etc.
9) Know your portions
Cover the majority of your plate with veggies, fruits and grains, and fill the rest with a fist-sized portion of meat.
My Googling led me to this, a basic grocery list that will yield hundreds of tasty meals that are good for you too. It is taken from Dr. Oz's website and I am sure there is more where that came from.
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