Eat Out Eat Well

Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts

Sneaky, Sneaky Vegetables

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Some people just don’t like vegetables.  Some people even refuse to try certain kinds – sometimes on principle.  Although I believe that people should try things before they decide they don’t like them and, in general, I’m not in favor of sneaking stuff into food, I think there’s a big upside, for both kids and adults, to hiding veggies in other dishes.

What’s The Upside Of The Stealth Maneuver?

The reason to be subversive:  to increase the amount of vegetables (which most of us don’t eat enough of) for (1) health and for (2) calorie control.

There is science behind hiding veggies along with serving them solo. According to a recent study, when preschoolers were fed foods lightened up by adding hidden pureed vegetables they increased their daily vegetable intake between 50 and 73 percent. Amazingly, the kids said the foods had similar taste  whether there were no added vegetables or there was triple or quadruple added vegetable content. And, they ate 12% fewer calories eating food with the quadrupled vegetables compared to the food with no added vegetables.

The criticism is that kids won’t ever develop a taste for veggies on their own if you hide them  But, there’s no reason to favor one method over the other.  Try camouflaging veggies, but serve them in plain sight, too. Think of the deception as a healthy choice.

It Isn’t Just For Kids

There are plenty of adults who don’t eat enough veggies – or who don’t eat them at all. Certainly not a healthy strategy.  Research supports hiding vegetables in foods is good for adults, too. The hidden veggies increase fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.  And, what a bonus way to cut calories! Like the kids, adults find no significant differences in fullness or taste.

What To Do

The possibilities are enormous.  Try experimenting with recipes to find out what works best. Try adding grated, diced, mashed, or pureed vegetables to some dishes.  Or dump in a jar of already pureed baby vegetables.  There’s no reason adults can’t eat them, too.

To be really subversive, try to match the color of the added vegetable to the color of the food you’re putting it into.  For example, it’s hard to see pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese or some types of squash in meatballs, meatloaf, or meat sauce.

Some Easily Hidden Vegetables

These are some vegetables that have a high “sneaky quotient” – in other words, they combine nicely and go undercover pretty easily:

  • Carrots
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Zucchini
  • Green beans
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Squash
  • Tomatoes
  • Black/red beans
  • Peas
  • Chickpeas
  • Lima beans
  • Eggplant

Any other suggestions?

No, I Don’t Want A Piece Of Pie

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Have you ever said, “No, I don’t care for any” to seconds or “No, thank you” to dessert – but your host or dinner companion just won’t give up?

“You’ve gotta try it, it’s great, “ or “Oh, come on, just a little taste,” or “Have just a little more.” It goes on and on and on and you want to scream, “No, and I mean, No.”

Unfortunately, many of us cave in to the pressure – because the food really does look tempting and your willpower and commitment has been eroded — or because we just want the annoying beseeching to go away.  It can be aggravating – maybe infuriating – and at times embarrassing — when they keep pressuring you to have a taste, or take some more, or, worse yet, shove their forks in your face.

Why Do They Do It?

Who knows what motivates people who pressure you and won’t give up.  Maybe it’s their own guilt about what they’ve eaten and they want company while they wallow in the “I shouldn’t of had that.”

Maybe it’s a reflection of their fear that if you lose weight you’ll look so much better than they do and you’ll also show them up as self-perceived “dietary failures.”

Or, maybe, like some of my relatives, they’re just programmed to push your buttons along with pushing you to taste and eat.

What You Can Do

There are a few ways to handle these saboteurs/relatives/frenemies. One is to take the high road and explain that you’re satisfied with what and how much you’ve already eaten since you’re trying to watch your weight and eat clean. If they persist you can try saying again that you’re comfortably full and really don’t want more food. If they keep at it stare them down and ask why the heck they care so much about what you eat.

Now, that may “piss” someone off so you might try to still be firm but a little more gentle without hurting someone’s feelings.  Although – being polite and gentle hasn’t worked so far and they’re hurting yours . . .

Using the health card almost always works.  Claiming you’re on a diet usually doesn’t. It’s hard to argue or persist with the pressure when you say that your doctor told you that you had to watch your cholesterol or that you have a food allergy.  There are excellent times when little white lies that harm no one and potentially save your waistline and your relationships are the best solution.

Then again, to shut someone up you could always take the food, take one little nibble, keep smiling, and leave it on the nearest table or toss it in the garbage on a stroll toward the rest room.

How Many Calories Are In A “Mindless Bite”?

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Are your pants feeling a bit tight and you can’t figure out why?

It’s those mindless bites that will get you.  Each one of those “shove it in your mouth without thinking about it” bites is worth about 25 calories.  Do the math.  If you have four mindless bites a day above and beyond your daily calorie needs that means possibly gaining slightly less than a pound a month (it takes 3500  calories to gain a pound  — and yes, you need a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound).

Do You Do Any Of These?

  • Snag a piece of candy from the bowl on someone’s desk
  • Scoop the last bit of leftovers from the pot into your mouth
  • Taste the cookie dough batter then lick the beaters
  • Finish the crust off of your kid’s grilled cheese sandwich
  • Sample the bar food while having a drink
  • Taste the free “want to try” foods when you’re shopping
  • Have “just a taste” of your friend’s or spouse’s dessert
  • Eat the freebie cookies or candy that come with the check in restaurants

Twenty-five

Ouch!  Each bite adds up to — on average — 25 calories (sometimes more, sometimes less).

Be aware of what you’re eating – especially when you’re not really eating.  Most of us don’t have a clue how many calories – or even bites – we’ve shoved into our mouths at times other than meals.  Unfortunately, all of those calories that we eat when we’re not eating meals not only count but add up to those pounds gained — and you can’t figure out why you gained them.

What To Do

Keep track of when and where you’re most likely to indulge in the mindless bites you shove down the hatch while you’re walking, talking, socializing, working, and driving.

The most effective method is to try to write down what you eat.  That may be a pain but might serve as a real “heads-up” because a written record is hard to deny.  If you don’t want to write it down (I must admit I have trouble doing that) at least be aware of your mindless bites – and decide if you want to eliminate, control, or include them in your daily calories.

Awareness is a good thing — especially if it makes your jeans fit better.

Ten Tips To Boost The Success Of Your Resolutions

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For many of us New Year’s Day means football and New Year’s resolutions.  We declare that we’re going to do or not do something – usually having to do with lifestyle changes like losing weight, exercising more, eating better, or drinking less.  Heard that before?

Resolutions Can Be Tricky

Have you ever seen the hang-dog look on the face of an athlete in a goal scoring drought — or the look on a goalie’s face when that blasted ball or puck lands in the net?

We often set broad – huge – resolutions and goals that are virtually impossible to accomplish (like losing thirty pounds by the end of next week) and end up making you feel awful when you don’t achieve them.  You’ve basically set yourself up for failure and most likely you’ll be sporting that hang-dog look, too.

Ten Tips To Boost Your Success

  1. We’re guilty of all-or-nothing thinking and overly ambitious goals. Drastic changes usually don’t synch with daily life and probably won’t last more than a few weeks.  Try this often and you solidly embed a “no can do” attitude in your brain. So, don’t make too many resolutions. Your unhealthy behaviors took time to develop and replacing them with healthy ones takes time, too. Don’t get overwhelmed and think that you have to reassess everything in your life. Instead, work toward changing one thing at a time. Human brains don’t like too much disruption all at once – they like their familiar way of doing things.  Pick one thing at a time and create a new habit around it.
  2. Small changes can lead to big results.  The key is to start with very small, realistic, and accomplishable goals – like using mustard instead of mayo (one tbs of mayo has 100 calories and one tbs of mustard has nine calories — replacing mayo with mustard 5 times a week saves 455 calories – enough to lose 6 ¾ pounds in a year) or riding your exercise bike for 15 minutes 3 days this week instead of everyday for an hour (what are the chances of that happening). Resolve to make changes that you think you can keep. Small changes do bring results.
  3. Write your goal down (writing reinforces it) and set a time target for achieving it. Leaving it open ended is just an invitation to put it off.  Commit to taking whatever action is required twice a week, then three times, then everyday. Start small with things that are fairly easy to do and that don’t disrupt your lifestyle. Get some success under your belt.  Then move on to bigger challenges. Writing reinforces and solidifies your commitment.  It also makes it harder to lie to yourself.
  4. Not having succeeded before doesn’t mean you won’t succeed this time. Everyone has made and broken resolutions. We’ve all tried to lose weight or eat more fruit and veggies.  Have a positive attitude and frame your resolution in positive terms. “I will eat vegetables instead of French fries twice a week” or I’ll have cereal only on Saturday mornings” is much more positive than “I’ll never eat French fries or cereal again.” It’s easier to put a new habit in place than to change an old one, so embed the positive behavior not the negative one.
  5. Absolute perfection is unattainable so don’t beat yourself up if you go off track. Derailments happen. Having a plan for when you slip or get off track gets you back in the swing rather than throwing in the towel. What if you polished off the breadbasket last night at dinner and then followed it up with half a container of ice cream?  It happened.  It’s over.  Don’t let it derail you and, for sure, don’t give up.  What’s your strategy for getting back on plan?
  6. Be realistic and certain that what you’re committing to do is what you want to do for yourself and not for your friends or relatives. A personal goal isn’t carved in stone never to be broken or altered. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by swearing you’ll do something that might be impossible to achieve — like swearing you’ll never eat ice cream again.
  7. Set weekly mini-goals that lead to accomplishing the big goal. Achieving the mini-goals gives you motivation to keep going and allows you to keep track of your progress.  For example:  if your big goal is to eat fast food only once a month rather than your current 5 times a week, how about a mini goal of 4 times a week for the first two weeks, then 3 times a week, etc.
  8. Create a support network. Family and friends can support your efforts, be a source of accountability, and motivate you to keep going. Unfortunately, they can also be saboteurs (both intentionally and unintentionally) so know what you’re going to do or say if that happens.  Have you heard this:  “Gee, I know you’re on a diet but why don’t you have a little piece of this chocolate cake I made just for you because I know it’s your favorite?”  Figure out how to deal with comments like that.
  9. Give yourself visible cues to remind you of your new behavior(s). Old habits die hard.  Send yourself emails, ask co-workers to keep you on your toes, leave post-it reminders on your kitchen cabinets. A note on the cabinet where you keep the crackers and chips might prevent you from mindlessly reaching in and munching. Give yourself visual references – pictures, clothes you want to wear, etc. Don’t just remove negative cues; surround yourself with positive ones. Fill your cabinets with healthy food, buy a pedometer, join a gym, and make your environment weight-loss friendly.
  10. Be committed and willing to work on your goal(s).  Decide if you’re really willing to make change(s) in your life. Are you serious or half-hearted about what you want to do? Just making a resolution because it’s the New Year — especially if it’s a resolution made on a whim or with I “kinda,” “sorta” want to do this attitude — won’t keep you motivated to attain your goal. “Kinda,” “sorta” goals give you “kinda,” “sorta” results. Realistic, achievable goals produce realistic results. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel with a nice sense of accomplishment tucked under your belt.  Makes you want to go back for more!