Breakfast of Champions

We always hear "breakfast is the most important meal of the day". If breakfast is so important, is it okay to eat anything? Personally, I try to start my day with something healthy so that no matter how I eat the rest of the day, at least I started out on the right track. I usally eat a whole grain cereal with skim milk. Sometimes on the weekends, I will have yogurt and museli or I will make whole grain or pumpkin pancakes.

Breakfast can be just about anything and it varies depending on where you live.  Here in Germany, breakfast usually consists of bread, sandwich meat, and cheese or yogurt with museli.  England, on the other hand, has a heavier breakfast.  There you will be served sausage, beans, bacon, and cooked tomatoes.  France and Italy prefer lighter breakfasts settling with a pastry and coffee. 

Back in the states, we usually think of pancakes, french toast or waffles, eggs, bacon or sausage or cereal with milk.  Many of these foods, including those served in Europe, can be high in fat and calories.  If you do want traditional breakfast foods, you can try to make them healthier.  Use peanut butter on your pancakes instead of syrup (which is just sugar). Try turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. Make pancakes with whole grain flour instead of white flour. Add some cut-up onion or peppers to your fried potatoes.  Instead of sweetened yogurt, use plain yogurt and add your own fresh fruit.  Choose whole grain cereal verus a sugary cereal. 

If you are someone who does not like typical breakfast foods, think out of the box. Don't limit yourself to just bacon, eggs and pancakes.  I had a vegetarian roommate years ago who would make a vegetable stir-fry every morning.  I'm not sure what she put in it but there was always a lot of green.  This is way too much work for me that early in the morning but it is just an example of a different type of breakfast.  I have also seen people eat left-over pizza or other food from the previous evening for breakfast.  As long as the food is healthy, it is okay. 

 

What about if you do not like to eat breakfast?  Studies have shown that people who eat breakfast tend to weigh less than people that do not eat breakfast.  They also tend to do better on cognitive tests.  If you are not hungry by the time you leave for school or work, make sure you take a healthy snack for a mid-morning break.  This will give you an energy boost and help prevent overeating at lunch.

 

Even if you do not like typical breakfast foods, try to eat something healthy by mid-morning.  It will help your brain and your waistline. 

400 Calories

This is a great visual of how foods that are high in fat provide a lot of calories but do not fill you up. Vegetables and beans, on the other hand, have fewer calories so you can eat more and get full.

Four hundred calories of oil (any oil - olive, corn, vegetable – all oils have the same number of calories) = 3 ½ tablespoons of oil. Would you drink 3 ½ tablespoons of oil? No, of course not. That is really gross, but guess how much oil is in that large order of French Fries from Burger King or McDonald's - 3 tablespoons!

Four hundred calories of chicken (boneless, skinless, white meat, roasted) = 8 ounces of chicken. How much is that? Three ounces of chicken is about the size of a deck of cards. Eight ounces would be the almost the same as three decks of cards. Remeber that frying chicken will add calories. Breaded and fried chicken? Try another 3 tablespoons of oil!

The specific amounts of spinach, eggplant and beans are not stated in the illustration so I looked at each one separately.

400 calories of raw spinach = 57 cups! You would be eating all day!
400 calories of cooked, boiled and drained spinach = 10 cups
400 calories of cooked, boiled, and drained eggplant = 12 cups
400 calories of canned beans (black, kidney, white) = approximately 2 cups depending on the type

As you can see, food with fewer calories such as vegetables, beans and chicken will allow you to eat more food for less calories. Foods that are higher in fat add a lot of calories without adding volume so you cannot eat very much of that food item.

*All calorie estimates taken from www.caloriecount.about.com.

Grocery Shopping

Since what we eat at home depends on what we buy at the grocery store, how we choose food at the store is very important. How do you decide which food you will buy? Do you go by the picture on the box? Do you go by price? Taste? Do you look at the nutrition facts panel? Most people buy according to taste or cost although there are always some items that most people prefer one brand other another.

How do you shop if you are trying to eat healthy? The most common suggestion dietitians say is "shop the perimeter of the store". The perimeter is where the fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, fresh meat and bread is typically located. Any and all fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy (it is what we put on them such as cheese and salad dressing that adds calories). The greater the variety, the brighter the colors, the better. Personally, I do not care which ones people chose, just so they eat them.

For dairy, opt for the low-fat or non-fat varieties. Taking out the fat changes the taste of the item and can also change the consistency of a finished product if using the item in a recipe. I try to take into account what I will be using the dairy product for. For example, if I am going to make a sour cream dip which also includes several other ingredients, I will probably pick the non-fat sour cream because the other ingredients will help give the recipe flavor. If I am going to put sour cream on a baked potato, I might choose the low-fat version because I will be able to taste the sour cream more directly. For milk, I always choose the non-fat or 1% version due to the lower saturated fat and calorie content of it versus the higher fat options.

White meat chicken and turkey and fish are all great protein sources. For beef and pork, choose lower fat options. Don't know which ones they are? Look for cuts of meat without fat on the outside and limited marbling throughout the meat. Leaner ground beef tends to be more expensive. If you need to buy the higher fat ground beef for financial reasons, simply drain the oil off of the meat after frying. Rinsing the meat quickly under hot running water is another option. You can also look at what you plan to do with it. Use the higher fat ground meat for items where you fry it and can drain the fat and save the more expensive leaner beef for dishes such as meat loaf where the meat will not have to sit in so much grease.

Bread can be tricky. "Wheat" bread is the same as "white" bread. Look for "whole grain bread". If the front label does not say "whole grain", look at the ingredient list. The first item should be a "whole grain" flour of some kind. The commissary has at least 5 different kinds of whole grain bread (be sure to check the frozen section also).

The commissary was nice when they redesigned the layout to move all soda and snack foods to one area. Since these are not healthy foods, we can skip a full 1/3 of the store.

Processed foods take a bit more work than the food I mentioned earlier because these are not single foods and are not in their original form. Right from the start, if a food item comes in a box, it probably has added sugar, fat and/or salt. Canned goods may or may not have added fat and sugar but typically have added salt.

The first thing I ask myself is "does this look healthy?" Are there vegetables or fruit in it? If it contains grains, is it whole grains or refined grains? Is there meat in it? If so, is it a lean meat like chicken or a fatty meat like sausage? For example, if I see a box of macaroni and cheese, I see no vegetables, fruit, protein and whole grains. I do see white pasta and the cheese adds saturated fat. Not a very healthy item. I would be more willing to get a macaroni and cheese with whole grain noodles.

Reading the food label becomes very important. I have been surprised many times when an item that sounds healthy is also high in calories and/or fat. The first thing I look at on the food label is the calories per serving and the number of servings in the box or can. Boxes and cans of food usually contain more than 1 serving and if you plan on eating the whole thing, you need to multiply the calories by the number of servings. Because the item we are talking about could be anything, I can not tell you "if calories are over 500, don't eat it".

The next thing I look at is total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated and trans fat can increase blood cholesterol levels and may lead to heart disease later in life. Try to keep these numbers as low as possible.

The ingredient list is very important. About a week ago, I realized that I read the label on every item in my basket. I never buy a new or unknown-to-me item without first reading the label. If the ingredient list covers half of the label, the food item probably contains a bunch of additives, including that added fat, sugar and salt mentioned earlier, that I do not want eat. Being a dietitian for so long, I know what a lot of the impossibly long words are in the ingredient list. If I do not know what it is, I do not want to eat it. So, long lists and long words - the item stays on the shelf.

I follow the same guidelines for frozen foods. Does it look healthy? How are the calories and fat? Anything unexpected in the ingredient list? Frozen stir-fry meals that have vegetables, noodles and meat (sometimes) are great quick and easy meals. Watch the sauces though as some are high in fat and calories. Frozen veggies are great to have on hand and have no added salt. Again watch for added sauces like cheese.

All this label checking may sound like it takes a long time. We tend to buy the same foods over and over. Once you have found the best choice in a particular category (for example, spaghetti sauce), you do not need to check the label every time. After a while, you will see which foods have more calories and/or fat just be looking at the picture on the front of the package.

Happy shopping!

Deciding What To Eat

Part of my job as a dietitian is to help people choose foods that will help them to lose weight, maintain their weight or just be healthier. People often expect that because I am a dietitian I must eat nothing but tofu and vegetables. They are surprised when they see me eat pizza or a burger. I think I eat pretty normally but I do try to choose healthy foods. Lists of which foods to choose can be found all over the Internet, in magazines and in books. Instead of making list of do's and don'ts, I am going to go through my thought process for how I decide what I will eat.


I try to follow the basic dietary advice offered by the FDA, USDA, and most of the top experts in the nutrition field. I focus on fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean meats and low or non-fat dairy products. When a food falls into this group, I limit myself only by taste. If I do not like papaya, I am not going to force myself to it eat just because it is filled with vitamins and minerals. There are plenty of other fruits out there that I love that are just as good for me.


Sure, I would like to lose a couple pounds (wouldn't everyone?) but I have been at this weight for years and have accepted it as a normal weight for me. My main focus is maintaining weight. I think of calories the same way I look at my monthly budget. I have a set income for the month which I need to budget to pay the bills and have money left over for "extras". Calories are the same. I can eat a certain amount of calories per day. I need to budget those calories so that I do not go in debt (gain weight) and, hopefully, have some left over for a treat. I do not count calories as I know about how much food I can eat in a day without weight gain. If my pants start getting too tight or the scale starts creeping up, I start watching what I eat more closely. I do highly recommend calorie counting for those trying to lose weight so that you can see how much you can eat and still lose weight.


For breakfast, I try to eat something healthy. This way I know that even if I make bad food choices the rest of the day, I started the day off right. I typically eat whole grain cereal and skim or 1% milk.


Seldom do I make it to lunch without a snack. Again, I try to make it healthy. At work, I try to keep low fat cheese sticks, yogurt, granola bars and fresh fruit. All of these are healthy, conveniently packaged and inexpensive.


During the week, I often go to the DFAC for lunch. Since I seldom cook meat at home, I usually will get meat, poultry or fish. In deciding which entree, I look at what type of meat it is and how it is cooked. I try to stay away from meat I know is high in fat or anything that has been fried. Sometimes, I skip it altogether and get a grilled cheese. I usually skip the starches because I do not like what they are offering, not because of carbs. I try to choose at least two vegetables. If I do not like the vegetables offered, I will make myself a small salad at the salad bar or get a mayo-free pre-made salad. I also love when they have cut-up fresh fruit. If the DFAC is offering brownies or cookies, I'll get those also. They are the only desserts I will spend my calories on. Basically, my lunch is protein, at least 2 vegetables and fresh fruit.


For dinner, I try to look at what I ate during the day. Did I have protein at lunch? If not, I need to eat some meat, poultry, fish, or beans. Did I have at least two different vegetables at lunch? Even if I did have two vegetables, I try to add at least one more for dinner. Did I have any fruit during the day? No? Than my dessert is fruit. Did I limit my non-healthy food (chocolate) during the day? Yes? Then I can have some chocolate for dessert.


In review, I try to get my day started right by eating a healthy breakfast. Next, I try to choose healthy snacks and lunch. For dinner, I look at what I ate earlier and try to fill in any missing gaps. Making meals for a whole family is not always this simple. Dinner cannot be a fill-in-the-gap for each individual. You might be cooking all night to do that! You can just assume each person did not get enough of one of the food groups. Try to incorporate as many different food groups as possible in your dinner meal. For instance, a dinner that includes chicken, green beans, and rice with a fruit dessert covers 4 food groups.

Starting to eat healthy does take a bit of planning and it may not be perfect for a while. As with everything, a bit of practice will make planning meals much easier.