Procrastinate: to delay or postpone action; to put off doing something.
Do you find yourself wandering to the refrigerator/vending machine/food truck/coffee shop . . . when you have something to do that you really don’t want to tackle?
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On a road trip? Stuck in an airport? Is a vending machine calling your name?
You’ve decided you need a snack. Decision made: it’s going to be candy – and it’s going to be M&M’s. After all, M&M’s mean melt in your mouth, not in your hand – and who wants melted chocolate all over the steering wheel or suitcase or the mess of papers on your desk?
M&M’s, around since 1941, were actually designed so people could enjoy their chocolate without it melting in their hands. They’re named after the inventors Forrest Mars and R. Bruce Murrie (haven’t you always wondered where M&M’s came from?).
They were introduced to GIs in World War II, flew into space in 1982, and have been part of space shuttle missions since then. The little “m” you see on each candy wasn’t printed on them until 1950. The “m” was originally printed in black – today it’s white.
M&M’s now come in a whole bunch of varieties and seasonal colors. But — when you’re staring at the array of colorful M&M packages, your hands itching to tear open the wrapper and pop some into your mouth, which would you choose: plain, almond, or peanut, or peanut butter?
Of course the purists might say there is no choice other than plain. But, since there are choices, are there some potentially redeeming nutritional benefits to adding nuts under the chocolate and candy coating? Do some varieties have more protein or fewer calories or more fat? Take a look at the nutritional information – maybe it’ll help you with your choice. (Note that the package weight of the different varieties is not identical).
Ingredients in regular M&M’s: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Cocoa Butter, Lactose, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Artificial Flavors), Sugar, Cornstarch, Less than 1% Corn Syrup, Dextrin, Coloring (Includes Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 2), Gum Acacia.
Ingredients in pretzel M&M’s: milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, skim milk, cocoa butter, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavors), pretzel [enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), salt, food starch-modified, vegetable oil (soybean oil, canola oil and/or corn oil), malt, leavening (yeast, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate)], sugar, less than 2% – cornstarch, corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes blue 1 lake, red 40 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 2 lake, blue 2), gum acacia.
Allergy information: may contain peanuts. Product is Kosher
These are the ingredient lists for regular and pretzel M&M’s. If you’re looking for something with good nutrition – this isn’t it. It is candy, so the amounts of sugar, fat, and protein shouldn’t be a big surprise. The thing to really make note of is what M&M’s are famous for (aside from melt in your mouth, not in your hands) – the colors. Look at the list of artificial colors (“lake” means the dyes are used in liquid form, not powder), some of which have been associated with allergic reactions, cancer causing properties, and hyperactivity. Just a heads-up about another thing to consider when choosing your snack.
Why can a day’s worth of snacks be considered a fourth meal? Because, according to research, snacking accounts for more than 25% of Americans’ calorie intake everyday.
Between 1977 and 2006 Americans averaged about 580 calories each day for their snacks — which basically turned those snacks into “a full eating event,” or a fourth meal.
Maybe we snack on so many calories because eating and drinking while we’re doing something else has also increased. Between 2006 and 2008, the amount of time we spent eating our main meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner – was about 70 minutes. Secondary eating, the kind you do when you’re doing things like working on the computer, driving, or walking down the street, doubled from 15 minutes in 2006 to nearly 30 minutes a day in 2008. There was nearly a 90% jump in the time we spent on secondary drinking: from 45 to 85 minutes. (Ever wonder why Starbuck’s is so crowded?)
Haven’t you ever chowed down on a whole bunch of food — maybe the equivalent of a meal — around 5PM and then tried to convince yourself that it’s just a snack?
Although nearly 100% of Americans of all ages snack every day, there isn’t a standard definition of what a snack is or what motivates us to snack. So, what happens is that it’s left up to each one of us to “self-define” what snacks and snacking mean, leaving plenty of room for us to blur the line between snacks and meals.
We spend about 12% of our total food money at the supermarket on packaged snacks. Kids are learning to replace meals with snacks – a lifestyle that is likely to continue when those kids grow up and have their own families. And food companies are smart – they’re making health claims and highlighting things like fiber and nutrients on the snack packages which often make them sound more appealing and even healthy. That packaging, with the illusion of health, could even ease the guilt people might have when they reach for a caloric prepackaged snack that may or may not be made of real food.
There’s an increase in snacking across the board, but beverages make up 50% of snack calories. those calories in drinks — including the sugar and cream in coffee — can add up to a pretty significant number.
A snack shouldn’t be a fourth meal. Most recommendations are that an individual snack, like the one so many of us have mid-morning or mid-afternoon, be between 150 and 200 calories and have some protein in it for satiety and to help keep your blood sugar level stable.
Do You Work Or Watch TV While You’re Eating?Where do you have your breakfast? In the car or train while you’re going to work? Maybe while you’re walking down the street juggling that plastic topped paper cup of coffee, a muffin, your books and papers, your open jacket flapping in the breeze.
Where do you eat lunch: at your desk; standing in front of the kitchen sink; in front of the computer – or maybe with your open laptop competing for lap space which then gets blessed with drips and a chunk of tomato that’s oozed out from your sandwich?
A poll of more than 1500 people (Wansink, Mindless Eating), found that:
When you multi-task you’re distracted and distraction is the enemy of weight management (and tasting your food). Any kind of distraction can lead to:
When you’re distracted your focus is not on your food but rather on about a hundred different things. That’s the classic recipe for mindless eating.
Everyone is busy. Everyone eats. Putting the two together can lead to mindless eating and creeping weight gain (and maybe indigestion). How about making your own personal set of eating rules?
In good conscience I can’t really suggest eating without doing other things. That’s the classic recommendation but I frequently eat while I work. While that “rule” won’t work for me maybe it will for you.
If you’re like me, perhaps you can set a rule that you’re going to serve yourself a set portion of food and that’s all you’ll eat. No seconds and no squeezing so much on your plate that you essentially have seconds without getting up for more.
Perhaps you set a snacking rule – one snack only and not before 3PM — or not before you finish whatever project you’re working on. Just do it mindfully so the whole afternoon doesn’t turn into one long episode of coffee drips and food crumbs all over your keyboard. Once relieved from unrelenting snacking you may figure out why you haven’t been hungry at dinnertime (which you would eat anyway – while checking your emails — because it’s time for dinner).
Perhaps you want to turn over a new leaf and solely concentrate on your meals. The choice is yours. The challenge is to do what is right for you, your body, and your lifestyle. Create your own FoodMAP. Just try to make mindful choices that work for you.
What’s your plan?
Here’s what they have in common: they’re all made from cow’s milk but with different percentages of butterfat. Cream is the fat that naturally rises to the top of whole milk.
Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (36-40% butterfat) doubles in volume and holds peaks when it’s whipped. It’s used for filling or decorating pies, pastries, and other desserts.
A lighter form of whipping cream (32% fat) and heavy cream (40% fat) are both good for toppings.
Half and half is light cream (10-18% butterfat) that’s made by separately pasteurizing milk and cream and then homogenizing equal parts together so they don’t separate. The best use for half and half is in beverages like coffee. It doesn’t whip, it’s not great to use alone, and is not a good substitute for cream in recipes.
In case you spot these on menus or in the market: Clotted or Devonshire cream (55-60% fat) doesn’t need to be whipped. Usually imported, the thick, yellowish cream is made by heating unpasteurized milk until the cream sits on top, then cooling the milk and skimming off the cream.
Crème Fraiche (30% fat) is a thick and smooth heavy cream with a nutty, slightly sour taste. Used as topping for fruit or pies, it’s made by culturing pasteurized cream with special bacteria.
The difference between whole milk, 2%, 1%, and skim milk has to do with the amount of fat. Whole milk contains 3.25% butterfat.
Expiration dates are on the carton or bottle found in the refrigerated milk section. Abide by the expiration date and store up to 10 days in the refrigerator. In terms of health, they all have dairy benefits (calcium, protein, vitamin D) but cream and full fat milk should be used sparingly because of high fat content.
All information is for a one cup (8 ounce) serving. For the creams, calorie counts are also given for a tablespoon measure for anyone who puts more like a tablespoon rather than a cup of cream in their coffee.