Surviving Those Servings

Did you know the sugars our bodies don’t use, turn to fat? Yes, our bodies get energy from sugars so when we’re feeling a bit sleepy and leaden at work, a small sweet pick-me-up can do the trick – but if you’re thinking sugar only gives us energy, think again. The body will take what it needs from the sugar you’ve eaten, and then what’s left over turns into fat. That means more calories, more difficult calories to get rid of. So think about taking a ‘bite’ over a ‘bar.’ A piece of cake is too big, a piece of hard candy is better.

And speaking of portions, we all know that serving sizes in American restaurants have pretty well crossed the line into the realm of the ridiculous these days. So decide before you walk through the cafe door, how much of something you’re going to eat. I don’t mean obsess about it, but have a plan. When you get your order, ask the server for a to-go box right then. Then basically cut the order in half: half the entrée, half the veg, etc. You’ll have plenty to eat and you’ll have a second meal to carry home for later!

I know this can be a bit awkward and perhaps too intimidating to do if you’re on a date. So think instead about ordering from the appetizer menu. Ask the waitperson to bring it when he/she brings your date’s entrée. That way you won't be sitting there with your dish getting cold well before your date gets his. It’s just another way to keep the portions down.

Afternoon Snack Idea

I think it's important not to get in a rut when it comes to snacks and foods in general, although I admittedly eat quite a few nutrition bars. They're healthy, I like them, and until I can't stand them anymore, I'll continue to fill in meals with them because they're easy. But I digress. As I've said before, calorie counting should not be about deprivation but instead it's about control: getting control of our eating, control of our portions. The challenge is to be creative with foods that taste really good but don't "rob" your calorie bank for the day.

If you're looking for something hot for an afternoon nosh instead of cold cheese and crackers or a cup of yogurt, you might consider an English muffin pizza. It's not high in calories, not the way I do it. And I find it very satisfying in flavor.

I had some leftover pasta sauce from the previous night's dinner and we always keep English muffins and cheese on hand so it was quite easy to throw together in a matter of minutes. I'm going to give you the name brands of the products I used because it makes a difference in calories, but you can use any you like, just check out the nutrition label for your numbers. Here's what I did:

I first toasted a Thomas Original English muffin. They're 120 calories. (Thomas also now offers lite English muffins at 100 calories each, but I've not tried them.) The leftover pasta sauce I had was Classico's Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce at 50 calories for a 1/2 cup serving. I didn't need but 2 tablespoons, one for each side of the muffin, so that brought the calorie count down to 12.5 which I rounded up to 13. (Always round up, just in case!) The third element was the cheese. I like those little Babybel originals. They are 70 calories each.

Once the muffin was toasted, I spread 1 tablespoon of the pasta sauce onto each side, then topped it with the cheese which I grated. It's a semi-soft cheese, but if you work quickly, you can grate it fairly easily. I popped the whole thing into the microwave for 30 seconds and it was perfect. I could have also put the 'pizza' in a 350 oven for 5-10 minutes, but I didn't feel like waiting. Toasting the muffin first, gave it the sufficient crispness I wanted. In the end, my calorie total was 203. Very doable and much more tasty than some of the cardboard-consistency frozen pizza for one creations I've come across. Plus, this way, I got to control what was on my pizza. If you wanted to add sliced olives or a couple of little rounds of pepperoni sausage, you could do that, just be careful because those food items add up quickly. But that's it! Quick, tasty, and lite.

Be creative, don't get in a rut, venture out with tasty ideas that are satisfying but not high in calories. Yes, it takes a little thought and effort, but you can do it. Don't let someone else determine whether you can get into those smaller sized jeans you've been eying! It's up to you.

The Importance of Snacking

Snacking is really important. It's how we know we're not depriving ourselves, restricting ourselves. If you 'ban' certain foods like sweets or breads, for example, one day you'll find yourself sitting on the kitchen floor with a package of Oreos or a loaf of Mrs. Baird's eating the whole package! Deprivation diets only work for the few weeks you force yourself to be on them. They're not the kind of permanent lifestyle change you want to make. At least they never worked for me or anyone I know. That's why snacking is important. I try to have a mid-afternoon snack every day.

But I've found there are a couple of keys to snacking. One is to pick something that will really satisfy you. If you're looking for a mouth-satisfying salty crunch, then having a banana isn't going to cut it. Think before you dive in. Really consider what you want at that moment and have it. Don't substitute. Healthy snacking is the wisest, but if you have something because you think it's healthy when you really want something else like a handful of cheese puffs, you'll end up eating both and then you'll go through all that kicking yourself because of no discipline, etc., etc.

The second key, of course, is keeping your snack portions under control. Look at the amount of calories you have decided to allow yourself for snacks. Whether it's a healthy handful of nuts or a bunch of M&M's, keeping it all under control is part of having your cake, as they say, and eating it, too. If it's a prepackaged food, look for the nutrition label and find where it gives the serving size. For most chips and crackers it's going to be about 1 ounce or 28 grams. Before you take that first bite, pour up the serving amount. And yes, crackers you eat before you fold the box shut, DO count. Close the box or package and put it away. Then and only then, should you start eating the snack. It's important to take your time and enjoy it. If you wolf it down, it won't feel like you've had anything and your brain will still be in search of... Remember, the battle you're waging here isn't so much with your stomach as it is with your mind. If the snack you've picked is say, an apple, take a quick glance at your calorie counting book for the size or weight of the fruit. If you've decided to allow yourself a maximum of 250 calories for a snack, and say the apple you've chosen is about 100 calories, have an ounce of cheese to balance it out. The snack will last longer that way and be more satisfying.

Above all, write down your snack on your daily food list and add it into your calorie count. As long as you respect your wants and needs, snacking can be an integral and successful part of your lifestyle change.

Use Cookbooks With Easy Ingredients & Nutrition Info:

I haven't found a great number of them, but there are cookbooks that include nutrition information with every recipe. Some Better Homes and Gardens, as well as The Eating Well cookbooks have them. They are worth seeking out. Also a number of websites like Allrecipes.com and Bettycrocker.com include nutrition information with most of there recipes.

When you see how many calories are in a serving and how many servings that item is supposed to yield, it helps you maintain portion control and helps you make better food choices. A 'cost', for example, of 150 calories per brownie might sound acceptable, until you see the cookbook writers are counting on your getting 16 brownies out of an 8x8 sized pan. If you cut the brownies so that there are only 9 portions, count on each brownie now 'costing' you 267 calories!

Always look at the amount of servings you're supposed to get in a recipe. I've seen some well-known so-called 'lite' calorie magazines that, when reading the small printed nutrition info at the end of the recipe, have simply cut a two-layer cake into 18 servings instead of the typical 12. Anybody can reduce the calories in a slice of cake by cutting it smaller!

And one more thing, don't forget to adjust the recipe's calorie count if you change ingredients. Using real butter instead of margarine is going to add more calories, while substituting oil with applesauce will 'lighten' any recipe.

Equipment

SIXTH ENTRY: Our food portions are out of control in this country. Restaurants no long serve anything on a normal-sized plate. more than likely, the size of the plate that arrives with your entree is nearer that of a 10" charger or even a platter. It has gotten ridiculous folks and we have to get back to recognizing what proper portions look like. We can't count on the restaurants to do this for us.

It's up to us because restaurants are in the business of selling food. Food, by the way, is the cheapest item on a restaurant's budget, so it costs them very little to put a double helping of everything on your plate. They think if we see we're getting more for our money, we'll come back. And they're right. Most of us do. But in the long run, we're not saving money when we have to buy a wardrobe in a bigger size every season! That's where the right equipment comes in.

A good kitchen scale and accurate measuring cups and spoons go a long way to helping us determine how much we should be eating compared to what we really are consuming. Once you've got that picture in your head, you'll more readily see that restaurant portion of mac and cheese is closer to 2 cups and not the 1/2 cup portion that's normal. This all goes hand in hand with the calorie counter book.

You will want to know if that fillet of salmon is three or four ounces in order to calculate the calories. Or how much a one-ounce, sometimes referred to as a 'handful,' of almonds really looks like. There are a number of kitchen scales on the market, but do yourself a favor and invest in one that gives results in both ounces and grams. The Saltar brand scale I have even measures liquids in both fluid ounces and milliliters. It has been invaluable when pouring up that occasional glass of wine or milk. Your scale should also have what's called a tare setting. that will allow you to zero out the scale with a container placed, allowing you to weigh only the food and not the container.

When it comes to measuring cups, there are two kinds. you should have both. The nesting cups in graduated sizes are for dry ingredients such as flour, nuts, sugar, etc. Don't bother measuring liquids in these cups as they might not be accurate for that. instead,

get a good glass measuring cup that has the measurements marked on the side for reading at eye level. Both Pyrex and Anchor Hocking make sturdy accurate measuring cups.