I know I will have a successful week of weight management and exercise if I plan ahead. What I eat matters! Exercise matters also. But exercise cannot make up for an unhealthy diet.

Plan ahead to have low calorie nutritious fruit AND VEGGIES each week.

It’s not simply a matter of tracking caloric intake each day for weight loss or maintenance. If it were then it might be relatively easy. However, given the number of overweight or obese individuals in the U.S., it’s quite clear that calorie counting is not enough. I’ve known many dieters who are better at tracking calorie count than me but that all too often does not translate into weight loss success.

Here is the problem. The most significant challenge for most people is not simply how much they eat but WHAT THEY EAT. I’m not saying calories don’t matter because they do. However, what you eat INFLUENCES on HOW MUCH you eat. Yes. What you eat influences your hunger and desire for food. Choosing to eat healthy food can make the difference between winning at weight loss or not.

To give myself the greatest chance of staying on track, I like to begin each week with a plan. When I have a system in place it is so much easier to do what I need to do to eat properly and exercise. I mean honestly, how often do your weeks go by without some kind of unexpected challenge? Not often for me! When the unexpected comes up, healthy eating and exercise can fall by the wayside if I don’t have a plan.

Here are some of the things I do to be prepared. Maybe you’ll find an idea or two you haven’t thought of before to start each week out right.

1. I ask myself which protein foods I will plan my meals and snacks around in the coming week. I often choose lean chicken or turkey, eggs, beans, and sometimes fish.

I don’t eat fish as often as I might like because I have a hard time finding fish to purchase that I can trust from the grocery stores where I live. A LOT of the fresh/frozen fish sold in these stores comes from China and other far eastern countries where food safety is not as closely regulated as it is here in the United States (and we are far from perfect!).

2. I determine whether or not I have enough healthy snack foods on hand for eating at home and away. My planning helps me ensure I have enough fruit, cut up veggies, low fat cottage cheese or low fat plain yogurt, nutrition bars (both homemade and store bought), dried fruit, whole grain crackers, or low fat cheese.

3. I ask what I might need to do or prepare in advance.

I might make homemade nutrition bars (peanut butter bars or other), hard-boiled eggs, low calorie muffins, breakfast cookies, homemade instant oatmeal, or freeze bananas to use in making smoothies or instant ice cream (for those days when having just a little will satisfy my desire and I don’t have to keep a whole carton in my freezer). I will typically only need to do advance preparation with one or two of these each week to keep things on track.

Something else I might do to enhance my chances of eating lots of low calorie healthy veggies is to make sure I have some fresh cut up veggies ready to eat. Or I might roast or grill veggies by first washing and cutting up a bunch then tossing them in a little olive oil and seasoning. This is so easy to do. I then have roasted or grilled veggies I can use throughout the week to make a quick salad, add to a sandwich, or serve as a side dish with lunch or dinner.

4. We review recipe lists/notebooks for meal ideas.

My husband and I determine what meal or two he is willing to prepare for supper. Will the meal(s) make enough to have more than one meal of what I call “planned overs”?

Then I decide which two or three meals I am willing to prepare. Will there be planned overs? Do I have the time to try a new recipe?

How many total meals will we have? We typically eat out once a week so we often need 6 suppers. It will vary if one or the other of us is away from home for one or more evening meals.

If we plan on actually COOKING three meals, will we have enough planned overs to cover the other three meals without having to cook? If not, will I need to have a quick meal or two? If so, this might be a week to include something we’ve frozen from a planned over in the past 1-3 months. Or we might choose to make a quick to prepare “no cooking necessary” meal. For example, sandwiches served with a low sodium canned soup or an easy chef salad might be two possibilities.

Planning for breakfasts and lunches is quite simple. If you’d like to learn more about this part of my system you might want to read: Healthy Low Calorie Meals. By having a system we keep the time necessary to plan and prepare meals and snacks to a minimum.

5. We make a grocery list.

Writing up a grocery list once we have a plan for our meals and snacks is quite easy. But we do need to re-stock our pantry each week if the system is to function at it’s best. Recently we haven’t been doing this as well I would like.

So this year I have promised myself I will make up a pantry list. My husband does more of the grocery shopping than I do and he’s done an awesome job of keeping us well stocked over the years with whatever we might need. However, ahem…, we are getting older or maybe the issue is that we have been too busy. Whatever the reason, we find ourselves forgetting to replenish the pantry with this or that. Having a checklist will help me make sure I have what I need on hand when I need it!

6. I decide if I have the time to try a new recipe that fits the season.

If I am making a new recipe I’m careful to choose something that fits the season of the year. Will the fruits or vegetables I need be available at a reasonable price at this time of year? Which ones might make the best choice for including in my diet? (See high fiber fruits and vegetables or veggies for breakfast)

7. I decide what exercise I would like to do in the coming week.

The exercise I do varies from one season to another and sometimes from week to week or even day to day. I do try to get some walking in each week preferably outdoors no matter what the temperature but it doesn’t always work out. When the weather is not cooperating, I will sometimes do my walking at an indoor mall or track. At other times I choose to ride on a stationary bike instead.

Other exercises I like to do on a regular basis includes yoga or pilates, kettlebells for weight loss, or a variety of DVD exercise routines.

These are seven things that help keep me on track with managing my weight and achieving better fitness and overall health. Planning ahead also saves me time and energy. What do you do each week to improve your chances for success? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Just how do you go about choosing the best bread for a low calorie diet? Which bread is best for weight loss? Calories count but there is so much more to keep in mind when purchasing bread. Aside from calories, you want to look for whole grains, dietary fiber, and bread that has not had too much sugar added. Are you purchasing the best bread for your weight loss success when you shop?

"Wheat" bread does not mean whole wheat.

A while ago I wrote about the importance of whole grains for weight loss. If you are conscientious about including whole grains in your diet, you may not have found it to be difficult to include oatmeal or whole barley or brown rice instead of white. But when it comes to whole wheat and bread it becomes quite a bit more complicated.

As a whole grain, whole wheat will provide you with a more complete array of nutrients then bread made with enriched all-purpose flour or bread flour (not whole grains). This means you will also be getting more dietary fiber because whole wheat is made from the bran as well as the germ of whole kernels of wheat. Bread flour and all-purpose flour are made from just the inner part of the wheat kernel or germ.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Knowing the difference between whole-wheat flour and bread flour or all-purpose flour makes it easier to understand why whole wheat is a better choice. What’s more is that you will also be less likely to be mislead by the term whole grains on a package label.

The presence of whole grains in bread means better nutrition. But the presence of “grains” does not automatically make a particular bread a good choice. Most bread is made from grains.

First of all, how many WHOLE grains are present? The Whole Grains Council suggests getting 48 grams of whole grains each day. However, scientists have not yet determined how many whole grains would be best. It’s also clear that some people need to avoid certain grains entirely (for example those with gluten intolerance, celiac disease, or wheat allergy).

If you can eat wheat bread without health challenges then I recommend you seek bread with labels saying 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain. The next best way is to look at the first ingredient in the list on the back of a package. If it lists a whole grain as the first ingredient then you will know you are getting a minimum of 50 percent whole grain by weight.

Something else to keep in mind is that whole grains and dietary fiber are not the one and the same. Eight grams of whole grain will generally have less than one gram of dietary fiber. (The recommended amount of dietary fiber for young women is 25 grams per day. For women over the age of 50, the recommendation is 21 grams per day.)

Finding a suitable whole wheat bread when grocery shopping is not easy. I often see package labels with misleading statements. These statements are included to get your attention but may or may not provide you with the information you need to make a good choice.

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR AND BREAD MAKING

Wheat flour is the preferred choice for bread making because it is a good source of proteins that form gluten when mixed with liquids. The formation of gluten is necessary to provide the structure and elasticity of bread dough when making yeast leavened breads.

Evidently, flour can be milled from a variety of foods including corn, rice, beans (legumes), nuts, and even some fruits and vegetables. But not all flours contain the right kind of proteins to make the gluten necessary for leavened bread. For this reason wheat bread (both white and whole wheat) is by far the most commonly found bread on grocery store shelves in the United States.

Yeast breads made with whole wheat will typically make heavier more compact bread than the bread made primarily from bread flour or all-purpose flour. In an effort to come up with a suitable compromise with respect to taste, texture, nutrition, and safety, commercially made bread is often a complex formulation of ingredients.

When you combine the difficulty of making leavened bread that remains shelf stable and fresh for a period of time with the need to provide reasonably good nutrition, you may begin to see why the formulation for commercial breads can be so complex. So what should you buy?

PURCHASING WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

What is best for you will depend on your particular needs. I’d like to show you some products labels to alert you to the kinds of things you might want to watch for when buying whole wheat bread. The products I will be sharing are for illustration only and may or may not be a good choice for you.

HyVee Wheat Muffins (see photo earlier)

If nothing other than the word “wheat” bread is on the package the product is NOT a whole wheat bread. It may or may not have any whole grains and that will mean less nutrition, including less dietary fiber (unless additional fiber has been added). The calorie count will vary. Just because a wheat bread has a low calorie count does not make it a good choice. You can do much better.

Package claims and labeling can be confusing!

Pepperidge Farm 100% Natural 9 Grain Bread is an interesting example that certainly sounds like it would be a healthy choice but is it? It may or may not be depending on your needs. Let’s take a closer look.

First of all the word “Natural” is not regulated. It is often included on food package covers because it sounds good but it may or may not be relevant. Without regulation what exactly does natural mean? Who knows? So I would suggest you ignore that.

Second, this bread is a “whole grain bread” with 9 different grains. BUT what you need to know is that the presence of different grains does not mean all of these grains are necessarily whole grains. We’ll take a look at the ingredient list to see what’s included.

Third, the bread has 3 grams of dietary fiber per slice. That’s good but it does suggest that the bread was made with added fiber of some kind. A bit of added fiber is fine. A lot of added fiber may or may not be good.

This is a reasonably healthy bread but is it the best choice for you?

O.K. let’s take a look at the labels on the back of the package. What I see is that this bread might be a reasonably good choice if calories were not a factor. But the nutrition is not as good as it seems and at 100 calories a slice, I feel you can do better.

I believe, a slice of bread typically has far more calories then it needs these days. Back in the 1970s, a typical slice of bread had only 70 calories. Now all too often a slice has from 90-140 calories or more! Some of the added calories come from sugar and some from added protein.

Each slice of bread in this package has 3 grams of sugar! That’s a lot. After all, 4 grams of sugar would be about 1 tsp. of sugar. Do you really need a little less than one tsp. of sugar per slice?

Four grams of protein per slice is good but the higher amount than usual suggests some of the protein has been added from an additional ingredient. I see whey listed in the ingredients as the likely source.

Whole wheat flour is listed as the first ingredient in the list so that means you would be getting at least 50% or more of whole grain. But none of the other 8 grains seem to be whole. If they were they would be listed as “whole” then the name of the particular grain. (This is true in the United States; in other countries regulations may not require this designation.)

Overall I would say this bread is not the best choice for most people but it could be worse. However it is NOT a good choice for anyone watching his or her caloric intake. On the other hand, if you really like this bread then you might consider eating only one slice at a time. For example, when making a sandwich, have it be an “open-face” sandwich with only one slice not two.

This bread has a long list of positive sounding features:

• No artificial color, flavors or preservatives
• Made with 100% whole wheat flour
• 22 grams of whole grains per slice
• 3 grams of fiber per slice
• Baked with lower sodium natural sea salt.

This list does not share the whole story. Make your decision about whether or not a particular bread is good for you based on several factors: Whole grains? If yes, how much is present? Dietary fiber? Added sugar? And last but not least how many calories?

In part two of this article, I will share more examples of what you want to assess when buying bread so you can make the best choice for you. The topic of bread flours, nutrition, bread making, and the guidelines for choosing the right kind of bread for weight loss and better health is difficult. If what I have shared is not making sense please don’t hesitate to ask questions!

Getting supper on the table after a long day of work or school may be the last thing you want to think about when you are tired. Unfortunately, grabbing a bite to eat from a restaurant or heating up commercially prepared meals often means you’re getting low quality food or more calories than you might like. Today I’d like to share some concepts for making easy, healthy, low cal meals for supper. It needn’t be that time-consuming or hard if you have a system.

Cook Easy Healthy Meals Quickly

What you will need to do is get a general sense of how it might work and then over time fine tune the process so you can look forward to simple, satisfying, and low calorie meals without it taking a lot of time or fuss. Here’s some of the things you might want to keep in mind

1. Have a well-stocked pantry

Earlier this year I wrote a 5-part series on easy healthy meal preparation.  I covered the importance of planning ahead and having a well-stocked pantry. I will refer you back to that article for lots of tips on how to go about getting a small but necessary pantry started. There’s no need to have a specific room or closet as a pantry if your kitchen is tiny. I know. I had an unbelievably small kitchen for over 20 years; even so, I came up with a system that worked. (Read about how I set up a healthy pantry)

2. A Few Basic Utensils, Pots, Pans, and Appliances Matter

The number of items you need to have for a simple working kitchen is less than you might imagine. It’s possible you already have many of these items but you haven’t put them to the best use. On the other hand, if you are lacking some of the basic utensils you may want to consider investing a little. There is no need to buy the top of the line cookware but some measure of quality can make things easier and possibly shorten the time you spend in the kitchen.

I’ll just touch on the essentials now because this topic deserves to be an article of its own. Here are the items I would not want to be without.

-A set of quality knives

-Kitchen scissors

-Indoor Grill Pan

-Wooden spoons, measuring cups and spoons, heat proof spatula.

-Microplane grater for grating hard cheeses (A little parmagiano reggiano adds so much flavor to food for very few calories. Try it and you’ll never go back to grated parmesan cheese in a jar!)

-A basic set of pots and pans

-Freezer proof containers for stocking your freezer with your own “heat and eat” healthy meals!

In addition to these there are a few appliances I would not be without.

-Immersion blender (We use this for pureeing soups and making dips and sauces. It works like a charm and cleanup is a cinch. I can’t begin to tell you how much time it has saved us!)

-Microwave Oven (This is another must have. I don’t use it that often to cook a whole meal BUT I can’t imagine not having one for defrosting meat, fish, poultry; reheating “planned overs”; cooking my morning oatmeal; steaming vegetables; and more.)

- Food Processor (A good food processor can be used for chopping, blending, and shredding. You can keep the cost and the space for storage to a minimum by investing in a smaller model. A small food processor should be fine for most quick and easy meals unless you have a big family.)

3. Cook More Food Less Often

What do I mean by this? I suggest you consider choosing the best 1-3 days a week to do the bulk of your cooking. But don’t worry. It needn’t be significantly more involved than the effort you put in to prepare a single meal. After all, if you are cooking anyway, preparing a double batch or more requires very little extra effort. The additional food will provide you with “planned overs” for later in the week or to freeze for easy to re-heat meals later on.

I’ve never been a fan of the cook once and eat all week or all month! for that matter. That requires too much planning, a large block of time for cooking, and overall coordination. I prefer simple.

Easy to prepare meals that allow for quantity cooking include soups, stews, casserole dishes, lasagna, chili, and burgers. Something else we like to prepare in quantity are delicious spinach meatballs made with lean turkey. We make up a big batch and then BAKE the meatballs. (Easy!) When they are done we use some to make a meal of whole wheat spaghetti and meatballs with a vegetable side dish and a salad. AND we freeze the extra meatballs for many easy meals down the road. This is one of my husband’s favorite meals and time saving techniques.

I also like making my own whole wheat pizza dough in quantity in just minutes. No waiting on the rising and no kneading required if you plan ahead. Want the recipe? Just ask. When the dough is ready after being refrigerated overnight, I cut it into pieces big enough for individual pizzas and freeze the dough in freezer quality ziplock bags.

In my family we like to do the extra meal preparation when preparing supper for the weekend meals. My husband often prepares one meal one evening and I prepare the other. That way I typically only have to prepare one more meal in quantity during the week when I am more tired and less than enthused. The other nights we eat quick meals, planned overs from the current week, or choose a frozen meal from our well-stocked freezer.

4. Quick to Prepare Meals

Some quick to prepare meals include spaghetti and meatballs (see #3), fish fillets, tuna or egg salad (easy to do if you’ve cooked hard-boiled eggs in advance), frittatas, omelets, and chef salads of all kinds. If you need some inspiration for awesome salad ideas then sign up to receive updates from Salad Pride (a new salad idea every day)!

Something else you can prepare in minutes is pizza made with whole wheat English Muffins or Pita bread. Make enough and you can save some in the fridge for easy reheating later in the week. If you have a bit more time defrost one of your own frozen pizza doughs and make pizza easily with healthy low sodium pizza sauce, chopped and/or sauteed veggies, and shredded low fat cheese. If the pizza is big enough or has too many calories for enjoying all at once, save back some for lunch or supper the next day.

5. Easy to prepare Veggies: The Ticket to Weight Loss Success

If you allow for enough quality protein foods and maybe a little low fat dairy, whole grains, and fruit then you can and should eat as many non-starchy veggies as you want. (Limit corn and white potatoes). Veggies are low calorie and tend to be a good to excellent source of many essential nutrients and dietary fiber. The catch for the veggies is deciding which ones you are willing to eat and how you will work them into your meals without a lot of time or fuss.

Fortunately there are oodles of ways to get creative with veggies. Here are some ideas for you.

Clean, wash, and chop up fresh veggies over the weekend. I will eat and enjoy cut sweet peppers, celery, carrots, and the like with my meals and snacks, if I have taken the time to slice some up ahead of time. But they tend to sit in my refrigerator vegetable bin if I don’t.

While you’re at it why not chop some veggies up and freeze in zip lock bags to have available for making soups, stews, casserole dishes, and more. Or add some to a commercially prepared soup to make it more nutritious and filling. This is a great idea for when local and fresh vegetables are available in abundance in the summer and fall from farmer’s markets.

Other easy ways to enjoy veggies throughout the week can be to make up a large batch of sauteed veggies to include in salads, sandwiches, or to complement the rest of a meal. Instead of sauteeing you might toss washed and chopped veggies with a little olive oil and seasonings and then roast in your oven or grill on the stove top. This method will caramelize the little bit of natural sugar in veggies making them sweet and appealing.

6. Switch up your meals

Who says you can’t eat breakfast or lunch for supper. For example, if you like having scrambled eggs, a muffin, and a piece of fruit for breakfast, why not have the same for supper? Or switch out the fruit for lots of low cal veggies. Typical lunch type meals such as soup and sandwiches are endless and just as good for supper as for lunch.

7. Whole Grains for Supper

Choose easy to prepare whole grains for a quick side dish for supper. Some of the fastest cooking I’ve found include quinoa*, whole wheat couscous, and microwaveable brown rice (I haven’t actually tried the brown rice but I’m aware it exists. Have you tried it?). Quinoa is by far my favorite whole grain for a side dish or salad . Barley and oatmeal are favorite whole grains that I use in making other things (oatmeal with baking, barley in soups and stews, etc.)

I have lots more ideas but I feel like I am beginning to write a book! Hopefully some of these ideas will get you started cooking more of your own suppers for better nutrition and calorie management! Would you share some of your easy healthy low cal meal ideas for supper? Thank you!

*Botanically speaking, quinoa is not actually a grain but in a culinary and nutritional sense it is similar.

Milk and other food made from cow’s milk are rich in many essential nutrients for humans not just cows. However, dairy products are not well tolerated by most of the human population, so are they really necessary? And what if you just don’t like the taste of milk? Can you get the nutrients you need from non-dairy milk substitutes or otherwise?

Fortunately there are many ways to satisfy your need for the nutrients found in cow’s milk. That’s important for the many people who are lactose intolerant as well as those who have other issues with drinking milk. Evidently, only 25% or so of the world’s adult population can easily digest milk. This group tends to be of European descent. For everyone else, there are other ways to get the calcium, protein, and the B Vitamins found in cow’s milk.

Lactose-reduced and lactose-free milk might be one option if you are lactose intolerant. Fermented dairy products such as yogurt, some hard cheeses, and non-dairy milks might be another option

Alternative Sources for Key Nutrients found in Milk

Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, and spinach are good sources of CALCIUM. Other foods include salmon and sardines canned with bones, legumes (dried beans), broccoli, and calcium fortified foods and beverages. Many grain and nut milks have added calcium.

Getting enough PROTEIN from sources other than milk is not too difficult most of the time. However, on a low calorie diet it can be a challenge if you are not paying attention. The calories you choose matter. Be aware that most grain- and nut-based milks are not good sources of protein. Soymilk is an exception. Other good to excellent sources of protein include lean meat, poultry, fish, yogurt, cheese, eggs, legumes (dried beans), nuts, and seeds.

Many protein foods are also a good source of the B VITAMINS found in milk. This includes lean meats, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. Green leafy vegetables, legumes (dried beans), and nuts are also a good source of some B vitamins but not B12. This vitamin is only present in foods of animal origin.

Non-Dairy Milk Substitutes

If you cannot or do not want to drink cow’s milk you’ll find there are an abundance of alternative milks. But don’t be fooled by the name milk. These products for the most part do not have the same taste, mouth feel, or color of milk. Milk substitutes also vary considerably with respect to calories and nutrients. But they do fill a need for some people.

Plant-based milks include soy, almond, rice milk and others. Because they are made from grain, nuts, or seeds, they have no cholesterol and some have less fat than cow’s milk. In addition, most have little saturated fat.

These milk products are typically fortified or enriched to have a nutrient profile similar to cow’s milk. Another big advantage to plant-based milks is that most have a long shelf life and can be held without refrigeration until opened.

On the down side, most of these milk substitutes, with the exception of soymilk, have little protein. And many have a considerable amount of added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends women get no more than 5 teaspoons (20 grams) of added sugar each day. The average American consumes 22.2 teaspoons (88.8 grams) of added sugar!

Do check nutrition and ingredient labels carefully to find a product that will work with your dietary needs. Dr. Andrew Weil, a nationally recognized authority in both traditional and alternative medicine, recommends checking food labels very closely if you have an allergy to the protein casein found in cow’s milk. Some non-dairy products also contain casein. (Self-Healing Newsletter, May 2009).

Soymilk

Soymilk is my first choice for a milk substitute. This is based more on nutrition than taste. Many brands of soymilk have about the same or slightly less protein than cow’s milk. Most but not all soymilks have added calcium, certain B vitamins including B12, and vitamins A and D.

I like the convenience of the individual size cartons of milk found in some grocery stores. These are great to have in an office or other setting when there’s no refrigerator. I also like that the cartons can be easily packed for traveling.

Almond milk

Whole almonds are rich in nutrients including protein, magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, vitamin E, selenium, and calcium. However, the way commercially prepared almond milk is processed very little of the original nutrients are present.

Why is this? Almonds are expensive and so the actual amount used in the making of almond milk may be as few as 4 almonds! (Nutrition Action Healthletter, October 2010) As a result almond milk is very low protein. Most of the other nutrients found in commercially prepared almond milk have been added.

Products vary from one brand to another so check the nutrition label to find the calcium content. Look for vitamin B12 if you are vegan. You may be better off eating whole almonds. (You can get calcium and B vitamins from other sources.) However, if you need something other than cow’s milk or soymilk for a little milk with your breakfast cereal, unsweetened almond milk might be a good choice.

Rice Milk

Rice milk might be a good choice for anyone with soy-, gluten-, or tree-nut allergies. It is typically fortified with calcium, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. However, compared with cow’s milk or soymilk, rice milk consists predominately of carbohydrates. It typically has very little protein.

NOTE: The amount of added sugar in many of these milk substitutes can be substantial.

Your Options if You Simply Don’t Like Cow’s Milk

If you just don’t like milk but don’t have any health issues to consider you have lots of options. You might choose to eat more low fat cheese or yogurt made from cow’s milk to make up for not having milk. (See Yogurt for a Healthy Low Calorie Diet )

Instead of drinking your milk plain or having it with your cold cereal, you might enjoy a cup of skim milk with coffee (cafe au lait). Or you can add milk to your cooking. Skim milk might be included in making soups, casserole dishes, or hot cereal.

Plant-based milk substitutes are an option if you like the taste, the convenience, and you choose the right product to meet your dietary needs

Your Options if You Can’t Drink or Eat Food Made With Cow’s Milk

If drinking or cooking with cow’s milk is not an option, there are alternatives. Depending on your health needs, soymilk, almond milk, and rice milk might be possible options as outlined previously in this article.

Whether you choose one of these non-dairy substitutes or not, be sure to eat a varied selection of nutritious whole foods (suitable for your dietary restrictions) to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need.

For more information about food allergies and intolerances to cow’s milk you may want to read:

Problems Digesting Dairy Products?

Lactose Intolerance

Food Allergies and Intolerances

Calcium Supplements

Calcium supplements are an option for many women. Getting the nutrients you need from whole foods is best, however, that isn’t always possible. For some women, particularly post-menopausal women, supplements may be a necessity

NOTE: Getting enough Vitamin D is just as important if not more important than getting additional calcium from a supplement. For convenience you might want to have a supplement that contains both.

Non-Dairy Milk Substitutes may or may not work in your diet. Either way, do your best to plan for balance and variety in your diet with plenty of nutrient rich foods. If you do this, you should be fine. Check with your doctor if you have questions or concerns about your particular needs.

Beans, beans the magical fruit…Ah yes, beans may be more well known for one unpleasant side effect than for all the MANY benefits they have to offer. They are low cost, easy to prepare, can be stored for relatively long periods of time, and are chock full of nutrients. Beans may be just what you need on your weight loss journey.

Tasty and nutritious, give beans a try!

Beans provide an excellent source of dietary fiber, folic acid (an important B vitamin) and manganese. Beans are also a good source of protein, iron, magnesium, copper, selenium, and zinc. In addition, we’ve only just begun to learn about the multiple benefits of the many phytochemicals present in beans.

The beans I am talking about are legumes not green beans. Legumes refer to bean crops grown and harvested solely for the dry seed. This includes beans, peas (such as black-eyed peas and chickpeas), and lentils. From a nutritional perspective, beans are included in both the vegetable and meat group.

So how exactly can beans make your weight loss journey easier?

NOTE: The nutritional benefits of beans, peas, and lentils are similar. Because “beans” is a more familiar term than legumes, when I use the word “beans” in this article I am also referring to dried peas and lentils.

Weight Loss

Getting the nutrients you need on a low calorie diet can be difficult. There is little to no room for poor choices. Meeting your nutritional needs will help you stay healthy and feel good. By choosing the best foods you will likely feel more satisfied and not have to struggle with the hunger that can sabotage a diet. (See Top Ten Weight Loss Foods for Women)

Beans are a great source of dietary fiber both soluble and insoluble. The soluble fiber helps to stabilize blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption of sugar. This in turn provides you with a way to manage your hunger better by preventing insulin spikes. Soluble fiber has also been shown to increase the excretion of fat from a meal and reduce an unhealthy form of belly fat called visceral fat. (This is fat that wraps itself around your internal organs, not subcutaneous fat.) The insoluble fiber increases the bulk of your stools and can help “keep you regular”.

The protein in beans can enhance the effect of the fiber to fill you up and keep you feeling satisfied. And beans are low calorie. Most cooked beans have less than 250 calories for an entire cup! (Chickpeas and navy beans are slightly higher.)

Beans in Your Diet

Beans can be included in your diet as either a vegetable or a protein source. For example, if you ate a total of one cup of beans in a salad or otherwise throughout the day, you could count this as having had 1 serving of protein (1/2 cup) and 1 serving of vegetables (1/2 cup).

But what about gas? If this is a problem for you, there are several things you might do.

Whether you start out with dried beans or canned, you will want to be sure to rinse the beans well. Rinse canned beans right after opening. This will also help to reduce the sodium content (look for low sodium or reduced sodium versions). Rinse dried beans after soaking and then again, if possible, after cooking. The rinsing may help reduce the presence of some of the sugars responsible for causing gas. Certain herbs and spices added during the cooking of beans may also help improve digestion

If these suggestions don’t work you might try Beano. This is a non-prescription product that contains an enzyme to break down the gas-producing substances in beans.

Another recommendation for beans is to introduce them to your diet slowly with just a small amount at first. As with any other high fiber food, be sure to drink plenty of fluids.

NOTE: Beans are an “incomplete” protein source. When you combine beans with a grain (such as rice, bread, or corn) you improve the nutritional value by providing all of the amino acids needed to make a “complete” protein. But don’t worry about getting it right. We now know it works whether these foods are combined in one meal or eaten at different times during a day.

How to Enjoy Beans

There are hundreds of ways to prepare tasty bean dishes. Start out by making sure you keep your pantry stocked with a variety of canned or dried beans.

-Include beans in soups, stews, chili, salads, or casserole dishes

-Make your own homemade hummus to enjoy with whole grain bread or crackers

-Include beans as a side dish for lunch or supper

-Add beans to a breakfast of eggs and whole grain tortillas

-Experiment with adding white beans to cooked whole-wheat pasta and tomatoes. Flavor with freshly grated Parmesan and season to taste (Parmigiano-Reggiano is especially good. It’s a bit expensive but just a little goes a long way.)

-Enjoy low sugar baked beans on toast for breakfast

-Combine beans and rice – a favorite in many countries

-Add beans to wraps for lunch

If you have more questions about merits of beans and how to prepare them (including recipes), don’t miss a fabulous article by Alice Henneman, M.S., R.D., an Extension Educator & Dietitian:

Singing the Praises of Beans (This link is for a PDF download. Go ahead and give it a try. Your browser will tell you what, if anything, you need to do.)

Beans for weight loss may be just what you need. They have so much to offer. Let me know if you already include beans in your diet. What is your favorite low calorie way to prepare them? If you haven’t given them a try, beans may be just what you need for a low cost, low calorie, nutritious addition to your diet for weight loss success!