Shopping, Cooking, Baking

7 Football Food Tips To Keep You Happy, Not Stuffed

September 5, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Football season is here. It means fun and excitement along with angst, wringing of the hands, a whole new spin on vocabulary, and tons of food and drinks.

It seems as though football has nine main food groups: beer, wings, pizza, chips and dip, barbecued ribs, burgers, chili, sausage (especially bratwurst), and pulled pork. It’s a calorie bonanza.

In a national survey, fans were asked if game day calories count. 46% said their diet goes out the window when they’re tailgating or watching their team play and 39% said calories count but they still indulge in a few favorites on game day.

10 Tips To Keep You Happy . . .

or at least your stomach and waistline happy. In this instance, your favorite football team is responsible for your mental happiness (or anguish).

1. Be aware of what and how much you’re eating. Mindless munching is a calorie disaster. You’re shoving hundreds of calories into your mouth and it’s probably not even registering that you’re eating. Put a portion on a plate and eat it instead of the constant hand to mouth action off of a platter or open bowl. It’ll save you hundreds of calories.

2. Learn approximately how many calories are in a portion of your favorite football food so you can make intelligent choices. That way you’re not denying yourself what you love, but if pulled pork has hundreds more calories than a grilled sausage and you love them both, would you choose one over the other?

3. Save your calories for what you love and pass on the other stuff. You don’t have to eat it just because it’s there and it’s traditional football food. If you really don’t love guacamole why would you eat it? Salsa has a lot fewer calories.

4. Don’t be starving at game time (or for the pregame tailgate). Have a healthy protein based snack (about 150 calories) before the game. Just don’t have a snack and then eat the same amount out of habit – then you’re just adding the snack calories to all of the others.

5. Cut it down a little. Can you have 4 or 5 wings instead of 6 or 7? How about a slider instead of a burger, 2 pieces of pizza instead of 3, or ½ a grinder instead of a whole one? Put only 1 or 2 toppings on your chili instead of sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and a never-ending supply of chips or nachos.

6. If you’re doing some shopping or cooking (or bringing food) for a tailgate or party, try making a slightly healthier version of your favorite food.

Fried chicken: Use crushed cornflakes for the breading and bake instead of frying
Nachos: Use low-fat cheese and salsa
Creamy dips: Use 2% yogurt instead of sour cream
Chips: Buy baked, not fried
Chili: Go beans only or use extra-lean ground beef or extra-lean ground turkey instead of ground chuck
Pizza: Order thin crust instead of deep dish and stick with veggie toppings or plain cheese instead of pepperoni or meatball toppings

7. Beer. There can be a huge variation in calories between brands and types of beer.

On average:

12 ounces of beer has 153 calories and 13.9 grams of alcohol
12 ounces of lite beer has 103 calories and 11 grams of alcohol

Different types of beer and malt liquor can have very different amounts of alcohol content. Light beers can almost as much alcohol as regular beer – about 85% as much. Put another way, on average:

Regular beer: 5% alcohol
Some light beers: 4.2% alcohol
Malt liquor: 7% alcohol

For an extensive list of the calories in many popular brands of beer, click HERE.

Want more tips — especially if you eat in dining halls of any kind? Get my new book, now available on Amazon — 30 Ways to Survive Dining Hall and Dorm Room Food: Tips to Avoid the Freshman 15.

Is There Less Alcohol And Fewer Calories In a Serving Of Wine Than There Is In Beer Or A Standard Drink?

July 25, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

That’s not a trick question. A standard alcoholic drink (in the US) is a drink that contains the equivalent of 14.0 grams (0.6 ounces) of pure alcohol, or the amount usually found in:

12 ounces of beer
8 ounces of malt liquor
5 ounces of wine (not dessert wine or port)
1.5 ounces or a “shot” of 80-proof distilled spirits or liquor (gin, rum, vodka, or whiskey, etc.)

So, if you’re comparing a standard portion of one form of alcohol to another, there is the approximate equivalent of alcohol in each drink.

But – take note of the portion sizes. If the hand that pours puts 10 ounces of wine into a large wine glass (not unheard of) you are actually getting twice the amount of alcohol that you would get in a 12 ounce bottle of beer of a standard shot glass (1.5 ounces) of 80-proof liquor.

Calories From Alcohol Don’t Make You Feel Full

When you drink your calories your body doesn’t actually feel satisfied. Except for perhaps milk or other protein drinks, fluid intake doesn’t typically trigger production of the hormones that tell your brain that you’ve fed your stomach. Most liquid calories don’t produce “satiety” or the feeling of “being full,” which your brain takes as the cue to stop eating.

This is especially true if you’re slowly sipping your drink — but research has shown that even if the temporary bloat you feel after rapidly downing a beer is no substitute for satiety.

(FYI: even if you don’t feel full, the alcohol you’ve drunk still has 7 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein and 9 calories per gram for fat.)

How Many Calories Are In Your Glass Of Wine?

The standard serving of wine (5 ounces) is probably visually smaller than you think. Wine glasses can generally hold a lot more, and depending on who’s pouring, can be filled with many more than 5 ounces.

Most standard servings of wine have 125-150 calories, but the calories can double depending on the size of the glass and how far it’s filled up. Sweet and dessert wines are more caloric than table wine and champagne, although the serving size is generally smaller.

For comparison, on average, a 12 ounce bottle of beer has around 153 calories and 1.5 ounces (a jigger) of 80 proof liquor has around 97 calories.

As an experiment, try filling up your usual wine glass – using water—to simulate the amount of wine you would usually pour, and then measure that amount in a measuring cup. You might be shocked to find that the serving you’re used to pouring is double the standard serving size.

You may have your preference – most of us do – but whether it’s red, white, dry, sweet, or sparkling, it is really easy to overlook the calories in those long-stemmed glasses.

If you have dessert wine after dinner it’s about double the calories per ounce although the standard serving is less: usually 2 to 3 ounces. So add on about another 100 to 150 calories for each glass of that smooth dessert wine.

Approximate Calories in One Ounce Of Various Wines:

Champagne: 19 calories

Red wine (burgundy, cabernet): 25 calories

Dry white wine (Chablis, reisling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc): 24 calories

Rose: 20 calories

Sweet white wine (moselle, sauterne, zinfandel): 28 calories

Port (about 20% alcohol): 46 calories

Sweet dessert wine (tokaji, muscat): 47 calories

Sangria: about 22 calories (recipes vary)

For more tips get 30 Ways to Have Low-Calorie Fun in the Sun: Your Guide to Guilt-Free Eating at Picnics, Amusement Parks, Barbecues & Parties available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Calorie Alert: Beware Oil Slicks On Your Food

July 15, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It looks so good! Your tomatoes and mozzarella arrive with drizzled decorative squiggles of colorful basil oil on top. But are those squiggles only decorative?

Flavorful, Caloric, and Decorative

The squiggles are attractive and probably provide some deliciousness, but they’re also adding what might amount to a fair amount of calories.

It’s so easy to be fooled by fatty sauces and dressings on innocent looking vegetables. Vegetables are great. Veggies smothered with butter, cheese, croutons, and/or bacon are loaded with calories. Restaurants love to use oil and butter for flavor and to make the veggies glistening and mouth watering so they’re often “rinsed” with oil just before they’re sent to your table.

With salad dressings and sauces, the amount of dressing or sauce on a dish is heavily dependent on the hand of the pourer, even when a standard size ladle is used. You can always ask for sauce on the side, vegetables not to be rinsed, and with no butter or oil added.

If your food is cooked in stock or steam instead of in oil, you save 120 calories per tablespoon of oil. Flavored oil drizzled on top of your food – like basil oil – will add another 40 calories a teaspoon. Do you need it or want it?

For more tips get 30 Ways to Have Low-Calorie Fun in the Sun: Your Guide to Guilt-Free Eating at Picnics, Amusement Parks, Barbecues & Parties available on Amazon.

Try These For Some Lower Calorie Alternatives To Top Your Ice Cream

June 27, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

You can put just about anything on ice cream — and most likely — someone, somewhere in the world has chosen some pretty random and unique toppings to put on their plain old vanilla or some other esoteric flavor.

Toppings Can Add A Mountain Of Calories

The problem is, of course, that the standard fare: toppings like hot fudge, whipped cream, peanuts, walnuts in syrup, crushed heath bar, caramel sauce – can add hundreds of calories and not much nutrition to your sundae or cone. It’s likely that nutrition is not your first thought when visions of ice cream dance in your head, but calories (and perhaps nutrition) might be.

To save calories, the first thing you can do is to order a small serving of ice cream instead of a medium or large (or one scoop instead of two or three). Even if you indulge in your favorite full-fat flavor, you’ll save as many as 550 calories with a 5-ounce size instead of a 12-ounce.

Calories In Some Common Ice Cream Toppings

Smucker’s Spoonable Hot Fudge Topping: 2tbsp, 140 calories, 4g fat, 24g carbs, 2g protein
Smucker’s Spoonable Ice Cream Topping Pecans in Syrup Topping: 1tbsp, 170 calories, 10g fat, 20g carbs, 1g protein
Regular Redi Whip: 2tbsp, 20 calories, 2g fat, 1g carbs
Cool Whip, extra creamy: 2tbsp, 32 calories
Regular M&M’s: 10 pieces,103 calories, 5.2g fat, 12.1g carbs, 1.9g protein
Peanut M&M’s: about 16 pieces, 200 calories, 10.15g fat, 23.48g carbs, 3.72g protein
Peanuts (1oz): 160 calories, 14g fat, 5g carbs, 7g protein

Some Standbys That Are Lower In Calories

Rainbow Sprinkles (Mr. Sprinkles): 1 tsp, 20 calories, 0.5g fat, 3g carbs, 0g protein
Chocolate Sprinkles (jimmies): 1 tbsp, 35 calories, 0g fat, 6g carbs, 0g protein
Smucker’s Spoonable Ice Cream Topping, Light Hot Fudge, Fat Free: 2 tbs, 90 calories, 23g carbs, 2g protein
10 mini marshmallows: 22 calories, 0 fat, 5.7g carbs, .1g protein
18 gummi bears: 140 calories, 0 fat, 43.5g carbs, 0 protein

Think Outside The Box For Lower Calorie Choices

If the world is your oyster in terms of toppings, why not think about fruit, cereal, or a crushed up 100-calorie pack of anything? Here are some other suggestions:

Smucker’s Spoonable Pineapple Topping: 2 tbsp, 100 calories, 0g fat
Regular Redi Whip: 2 tbsp, 20 calories, 2g fat, 1g carbs
Fat Free Redi Whip: 2 tbsp, 5 calories, 0g fat, 1g carbs
Cool whip, light: 2 tbsp, 16 calories
Cool Whip, fat-free: 2 tbsp, 15 calories, 43.5g carbs, 0 protein
1 mini box of raisins (.5 oz): 42 calories, 0.1g fat, 11.1g carbs, 0.4g protein
One medium banana: 105 calories, 0 fat, 27g carbs, 1g protein
One cup strawberry halves: 49 calories, 0.5g fat, 11.7g carbs, 1g protein
Sugar-free Jello pudding: 60 calories
One cup Froot Loops: 118 calories, 0.6g fat, 26.7g carbs, 1.4g protein
One cup blueberries: 83 calories, 0.5g fat, 21g carbs, 1.1g protein
Crushed pretzel sticks, 1 oz: 110 calories, 1g fat, 23g carbs, 3g protein

Just so you know:

Sugar cone (Baskin-Robbins): 45 calories
Cake or wafer cone (Baskin-Robbins): 25 calories
Waffle cone (Baskin-Robbins): 160 calories

It’s Summertime: Are You Raiding The Cabinets And Fridge More Than Usual?

June 20, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It’s summertime. School’s out. You’re on vacation. Maybe you have a beach or lake house or maybe you’re just home – but so are the kids – all day long. Vacation and kids: most likely you’ve let down your eating guard.

There’s food in the house that might not usually be there. It’s singing a siren song. It’s almost preordained that you’ll find yourself in your kitchen opening and closing cabinet doors or with cold air from the open fridge door in your face as you shove around containers full of ice cream, sugared cereal, chips, yesterday’s cake, and slices of cold pizza.

Once you’ve opened the first door – whether it’s the fridge or a cabinet, chances are you’re a goner unless someone interrupts you midstream (even that might not stop the rolling freight train). The notion of (sweet/salty/fatty/caloric food has embedded itself in your brain and has firmly taken root.

Calorie Savers:

The easiest thing to do is to not bring the food into the house. Most of us follow, whether we like it or not, a See It = Eat It pattern. If the food is right in front of your nose whether it’s on the counter or on the shelf in the fridge or in a cabinet, you will eat the food. If it’s sugary, salty, fatty food you will want more.

If you’re going to eat, use a plate and utensils. Always put your food on a plate or in a bowl — the smaller the better. The size of the plate – or bowl – or container can often determine how much you ultimately eat. Make it a smaller dessert bowl or plate, not a monster size cereal bowl or dinner plate. If you stand there with fork or spoon in hand and just attack the container, in the blink of an eye it’s possible to polish off an entire pint of ice cream, a double piece of cake or half (or maybe a whole) bag of cookies.

Eat with a teaspoon or small fork not with a tablespoon or a large fork or with your fingers. Large amounts of food disappear much more quickly with fingers or large utensils as shovels. The food disappears down the hatch so quickly that your brain doesn’t have time to register that you’ve eaten something – until you’ve probably overeaten way too much food and way too many calories.

Don’t bring home leftovers. Don’t let them invade your space. Don’t bring back the leftover pizza or the leftover cake from the picnic.

If you just can’t bring yourself to leave your leftovers in the hands of the restaurant: hide the stuff that tempts you. Out of sight, out of mind is really true. We all tend to eat more when it’s right in front of us. Food we like – especially higher calorie sugary, fatty, and salty foods — trigger cravings and eating.