Happy Thanksgiving!

 

EAT YOUR VEGGIES RAW OR COOKED?

One of the questions that often comes up is whether or not one should eat their vegetables cooked or raw to receive the most nutritional value.  Below is a list of the most often questioned vegetables and information to help you decide.  Personally I say have them both ways throughout the week, you will see why below.

• Tomatoes: You receive health benefits from tomatoes no matter how you eat them.  They are one of the vegetables, however, that should be eaten cooked on a regular basis.  When tomatoes are cooked (think sauces) they give one a higher dose of their cancer-fighting lycopene.
• Zucchini: Along with other squashes, zucchini gives one more beta-carotene (a building block for vitamin A) when cooked.
• Spinach: Spinach is somewhat unique in that it has more vitamin C and folate when left raw.  It has more calcium and zinc when cooked.
• Bell Peppers: More vitamin B when consumed raw.
• Garlic: Garlic's health-protecting antimicrobial is lowered by cooking.

In a well-rounded diet, it is important to eat vegetables everyday both cooked and uncooked.

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COUCH POTATO CALORIES - THE BINGE FOODS

We all know how easy it is to fall into the Binge Food trap; foods that are starchy, high carb, start eating and you can't stop foods.  I venture to say that everyone reading this article has some food/foods that you crave and can't stop eating.  One of the big problems with that is these Binge Foods are also Couch Potato Foods.  Beware of getting trapped by The Binge Brigade because these couch potato calories will all be absorbed and stored as fat.  Following is a list of foods known as Binge Foods:

• regular pasta
• white rice
• refined bread
• muffins
• bagels
• French fries
• potato chips
• biscuits
• cookies,
• pies,
• pastries
• cakes
• doughnuts
• ice cream

Remember when you are eating the above foods, they are couch potato calories and will not create activity therefore whatever amount you eat will probably become fat in your body.

Does that mean you have to give up these foods?  Not necessarily.  Just keep in mind to eat these foods sparingly and don't fall into the binge trap!  Also you can enjoy pasta, use whole-grain pasta, don't even buy white rice, eat brown rice.  Don't buy regular white bread, eat whole-grain breads, whole-grain bagels and muffins.  If you do indulge in French fries, choose fries with the skin on (and remember 10 fries is considered a serving!).

Limit your couch potato calories, eat active calories, and keep the foods you eat working to help you lose and/or maintain a healthy weight.

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COUCH POTATO CALORIES

Previously we have talked about "active calories." But just as we eat active calories, calories which keep our furnace running, we also eat "couch potato calories."  Couch Potato Calories are calories that are so easily digested we are likely to absorb every calorie and store it as fat!  When you eat Couch Potato Calories, even if you don't overeat, you may still gain weight because the calories are so easily absorbed and stored as fat.

Some Couch Potato Calories are easy to recognize such as refined and sugary foods that take 0 energy to digest.  Here are a few of the obvious ones:

• Candy
• Fruit Punch or Fruit Juice Cocktails
• Sweetened Cereals
• Sodas/Colas
• Sweet Tea

However, there are impostor Couch Potato Calories.  These are processed foods advertised as the real thing, but they are actually anything but!  There is really no "meat" or substance to them, and they are full of fillers.  Here are a few of these types:

• Breaded Chicken Patties - read the label!
• Chicken Nuggets - again, read the label!
• Premade Burgers that are not 100% meat.
• Lunch Meats such as Bologna and Salami
• Hot Dogs

A future post will discuss another type of Couch Potato Calories - The Binge Foods

Oh no! Candy, Couch Potato Calories!

BETA-CAROTENE And VITAMIN A

Did you know the body converts beta-carotene to vitamin A? If your body is low in vitamin A, eat more foods with beta-carotene!

STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries are the most popular berries in the United States. Not only are they the most popular they are also a healthy choice. Strawberries are loaded with antioxidants, a good source of vitamin-C, and good news for diabetics, they are on the low glycemic index. Following are more health benefits of eating strawberries.

• Because of their high potassium content, strawberries can help lower blood pressure.
• Strawberries are heart healthy. One to two cups daily can help to lower LDL cholesterol. In one study, eating three servings a week decreased the risk of heart attack in women by 32%.
• The antioxidants in strawberries can reduced blood clot formation which can help prevent strokes.
• One study showed that eating 37 strawberries daily significantly lowered the risk of  developing complications from diabetes such as neuropathy and kidney disease. Eating two to three servings of strawberries per week lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• The antioxidants in strawberries can help lower inflammation and block tumor growth.

1 1/2 cups, considered a serving of strawberries, has 58 calories, 14 grams carbs, and 4 grams fiber.

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ACTIVE CALORIES - WARMING FOODS

Continuing on to the 4th food type of active calories, today's post is about warming foods.  Warming foods include peppers, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, cloves, mustard, and vinegar.  Capsaicin is the chemical giving peppers their burn.  A UCLA study found that dieters taking in capsaicin doubled their energy expenditure for several hours after eating.  Even mild peppers contain a compound that helps erase up to 100 calories a day by binding to nerve receptors and sending fat-burning signals to the brain.

 Garlic - One of the Warming Foods

I'm sure you have seen something in each of the four groups you can eat every day, maybe even every meal.  Help your body to help you burn calories!

ACTIVE CALORIES - ENERGIZING FOODS

Today's post continues the posts of the past couple of days regarding active calories.  Today we will talk about Energizing Foods.  Energizing foods are basically foods that boost your metabolism.  Examples are coffee, black tea, green tea, and dark chocolate.

You get metabolism-boosting caffeine in coffee and in black tea.  The key here is to drink these beverages without loading them down with sugar and/or cream!

Green tea doesn't have much caffeine in it but it does have catechins, an antioxidant that raises  resting metabolism by 4% and that amounts to about 80 calories a day. Had you ever realized you could burn calories with a cup of green tea?

Dark chocolate does double duty since it contains both caffeine and catechins.  The downside here is to not overindulge.  You should only eat 1-ounce per day, and it should be dark chocolate!

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ACTIVE CALORIES - HEARTY FOODS

This is a continuation of the post below regarding Active Calories.  Yesterday I mentioned 4 types of active calorie foods, chewy, hearty, energizing, and warming.  Today's post will deal with Hearty Foods.

Hearty foods include fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, brown rice, whole-grains, cereals.  As you can see from this list, it is very easy to eat at least one food from this group per day.  Actually, if you even try just a little, you can include one in almost every meal.  You will notice some of these foods also are chewy foods giving you a double touch of active calories help.  These foods not only require more work to eat and digest than many other foods but are also packed with fiber and that means taking up more room in your belly compared to some other foods with the same number of calories.  The more room your calories take up in your belly, the less room you have for other calories including second helpings. Just another little tip to help you change your eating habits for the better.

Delicious Fresh Fruit-an example of a hearty food.

4 TYPES OF ACTIVE CALORIE FOODS

Eating does require lots of energy if you eat the right kinds of foods.  The following 4 types of foods have active calories to stimulate the body into burning more calories.  These same foods also help curb appetites.

1. Chewy Foods
2. Hearty Foods
3. Energizing Foods
4. Warming Foods

We will discuss chewy foods here.  The other three groups will be covered in the next three days.

Chewy foods include lean meats, nuts, whole fruits, and whole vegetables.  The calories used just to chew and digest these particular foods puts the body to work immediately off the fork.  Maximize the chew factor by eating whole foods versus processed foods.  Example: Chewing a steak takes more calories than chewing ground beef.  Eating whole almonds uses more calories than eating ground nuts.  Eating an apple uses more calories than eating applesauce.  Eating a baked potato with skin uses more calories than eating peeled mashed potatoes.  Not only does it take more energy to eat these foods, it takes more energy to digest them, too.  I'm sure you get the idea, make what you eat work for you!  Keep this in mind as you plan your daily meals and be sure you are eating active calories at every meal!

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