Food: Chocolate, Popcorn, Desserts & Meat

Food: Chocolate, Popcorn, Desserts and Meat

The last time I expressed an interest in knowing what my friends would like for me to write about this is what I received:

“You asked for suggestions for your newsletter. Food. I like to eat and it shows. I like milk chocolate, not dark, popcorn, desserts, and meat.”

So … here we go!

Food: We all need it. We all have favorites and well … not so favorites. We use it for energy, comfort, warmth, stress reduction and even sometimes socializing.

However, foods main purpose is to nourish and sustain our body through each day. It provides the energy, vitamins and minerals that heal our wounds, build our bones, moisturize our skin, move our muscles and process our thoughts.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You are what you eat.” This is pretty close to the truth. Our skin, the largest organ, is completely replaced every 7 months. It is built using the food we eat. Therefore we should be mindful of what we feed ourselves each day.

I believe there are very few ‘bad’ foods. We shouldn’t deprive ourselves of any one food or group of foods, but we should also not ‘overdose’ on any food either. Everything in moderation. As long as your typical daily diet includes a variety of lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and plenty of water you should be in reasonably good health.

Variety. That’s your key for food.

Milk chocolate, not dark: Ok, I admit that according to scientific tests, dark chocolate is better for you. It contains antioxidants that benefit the body. But remember … everything in moderation.

It isn’t that milk chocolate is completely ‘bad’ for you, it just doesn’t have many valuable nutrients compared to its calorie count. If you are trying to watch your weight, you are much better off eating nutrient dense foods. This means getting as many valuable vitamins and minerals for your daily calories as possible. For example: you are better off eating 300 calories of chicken breast and broccoli than you are eating 300 calories of milk (or dark) chocolate.

As long as you keep your health goals in mind, there’s nothing wrong with a little chocolate. Thank goodness!

Moderation. That’s your key for chocolate.

Popcorn: This can be a wonderful snack, or a total disaster. Learn to read the nutrition facts label. Popcorn is a whole grain providing fiber and a large looking portion size as well as crunch and a little salt. Yum.

Watch out for trans fats. Watch for a high sodium count. Stay away from too much sugar. Kettle corn and caramel corn have too much sugar to be a weight loss snack. Do I need to caution about too much butter? So choose your popcorn wisely.

Mindfulness. That’s your key for popcorn.

Desserts: We all have our favorite desserts. You know … the ones Mom used to make. Mine is Mom’s crumb top apple pie! It just melts in your mouth.

Cakes, pies, brownies, cookies, cheesecake … the list of favorites has no end. There’s no reason to completely deny ourselves dessert. But if weight loss is the goal, we most certainly need to limit how often and how much we eat.

I suggest making this a once a week occurrence and still watching your portion size. Plan for the extra calories of dessert and intend to burn them off at the gym. View your dessert as a special treat that you only get once in awhile. After you’ve reached your weight goal you can be slightly more lenient, but there really isn’t a need for a full-blown dessert every night of the week.

To fulfill your craving for sweetness at the end of a meal eat a piece of fruit. Monday night my sugar-addict of a daughter ate fruit for dessert and liked it! You may be surprised by this natural sweetness that also provides fiber and vitamins. A win-win dessert!

Natural. This is your key for dessert.

Meat: A juicy steak, a succulent chicken breast, a fillet of salmon. A vegetarian I’m not. I’m not knocking vegetarianism. It can be a very healthy way to live, but our subject here is meat.

Protein is a very necessary part of a healthy diet. Protein supplies the amino acids required for all cell growth and repair. We can’t do without protein and remain healthy for long.

The trick is to choose the healthiest proteins and to eat them in the proper amounts. Healthy meat choices include poultry (white meat, skinless), most fish and shellfish, loin cuts of pork and lean cuts of red meat. Non-meat choices include beans, nuts and seeds, eggs, low-fat dairy and soy products.

How you cook the meat also makes a big difference. Grilling and baking are healthier than frying. Slathering it with cheese or cream sauces also decreases the meal’s healthfulness.

Most reasonably healthy adults should get approximately .7 grams of protein per pound of weight. That’s just over 100 grams for a 150 lb person or 140 grams for a 200 lb person.

You can use the palm of your hand to roughly estimate the correct serving size for your body. Your palm will be close to 3 oz. of meat. This is similar to the size of a standard deck of playing cards in size and depth. 2 to 3 servings per day will be close to your correct dietary protein needs.

So once again, meat in and of itself is not unhealthy. It’s the over consumption and/or deep-frying of the meat that makes it unhealthy. Choosing a lean protein, cooking it appropriately and eating the correct portion size are all actions that contribute to a healthy, well-rounded diet.

Vigilance. That’s your key to meat.

Well, there you have it. My thoughts on food, milk chocolate (not dark), popcorn, desserts and meat. I’m sure that I left out a few ‘key’ points. Please feel free to email your thoughts on what I left out.