Saving money while cutting calories

I've been told countless times that "it's so much more expensive to eat healthfully." This article caught my attention because it has some creative tips on saving money while cutting calories.

Do "diet" foods pack on pounds?

Feeling guilty for choosing the regular ice cream rather than the sugar-free frozen yogurt? Don't. A new study suggests that consuming diet foods and diet drinks may not help keep pounds off and may even lead to weight gain. In the article, one researcher speculates that the body can't be easily fooled and makes up for the missing calories and more. He says people may even crave more sweets when diet foods are eaten. However, researchers are conflicting in their opinions on the topic and it's certainly not conclusive. As a dietitian, I think that reduced calorie foods can be part of a weight loss diet by helping cut down on calorie intake if and only if they are still viewed as a dessert or indulgence and limited in the same way the high-calorie food would be. Remember the "Snackwells syndrome?" If you feel more satisfied with a small portion of the luscious, full-fat Haagen Dazs than the sugar-free frozen yogurt, than by all means savor every (small) bite of the real thing.

Coffee good for women's memory

If you love coffee as much as I do and have "mommy brain," (as I do) you're going to love this news. Research was just published on over 7,000 women showing that drinking coffee may protect women's memory and even halt the development of dementia. Many of the women we talk to in our nutrition practices ask about whether coffee is okay and some even tell us they've switched to energy drinks thinking they're better. NO WAY! Coffee not only has zero calories, it's looking better and better in terms of numerous health benefits. Plus, taking a coffee break and sipping slowly provides its own mental recharge for the harried mom. Since having kids I can't seem to remember a thing - perhaps I just haven't been drinking enough coffee!

Easy and Fun Summer Snack

My daughter and I just created a fun and healthy snack this morning that I wanted to share with you. The best part of this snack, besides the nutrition, is that your child get to have fun while eating it. You can eat this with your child but make sure you let her make your snack...she will love that she is making your food for once.
Ingredients:
Sliced bananas
Peanut Butter on a big spoon
Granola in a bowl
Preparation:
Let your little one take a slice of banana, wipe it against the peanut butter on the spoon (you may need to help depending on the age) and then dip the banana slice and peanut butter in a bowl of granola (the granola will stick to the peanut butter) and eat. We had fun this morning and my picky eater actually ate her snack. Also, I not only got to play with her but I ate healthy too.

The Baby Fat Dieter's Guide to Fast Food

In the midst of a pretty stressful week that involved more than usual amounts of takeout, I ran across this press release talking about the dissatisfaction consumers have with the healthy selections at chain restaurants, including fast food joints. It got me thinking about the choices we've had as we ordered, took out or drove through this week. I think the main problem is that the healthy selections aren't always as appealing as the less healthy choices (think carrot sticks vs french fries). Restaurants can definitely stand to offer more equally tasty yet healthier choices and I do believe it can be done. To me, a grilled chicken sandwich is a great example of a healthier choice that I find just as, if not more, tasty than the greasy, deep-fried version. It may take some time for restaurants to heed the call, so in the meanwhile some of the tactics I use to keep my family's selections reasonable:

• Choose the must have item on the menu and have a small portion (cheeseburger or Whopper Jr not a bacon double cheeseburger)
• Balance the choice with something healthy, like nonfat milk or water rather than soda or a milkshake
• Avoid the "value meal" - it isn't such a value if you wouldn't have ordered the side dishes in the first place
• If you must have fries, get one order that everyone can share
• Most often visit restaurants with healthier selections that you enjoy, limiting those with hard to resist fatty foods to once a month
• VERY IMPORTANT: when your kids are done with their food either wrap up the rest or throw it away; eating their leftovers doesn't do anyone any good

After one of those weeks when I'm just glad everyone got fed at all, TGIF!

Stress and Weight Gain

While we have heard that stress is not good for our health including weight gain, researchers are just beginning to understand why. Information that may help explain why stress may impact weight gain was published yesterday (click here to read about it). This study is important because it can help researchers find solutions to our obesity epidemic. Although the research findings are exciting, it is worth mentioning that we are not mice. So, a study such as this is mainly used for researchers to design better human studies versus making recommendations for humans.

In another experiment, the researchers found that stressed-out mice tend to gain twice as much weight in the belly area than expected given the calories they consumed. The results show that it was not just stress but the combination of stress and high-fat, sugary foods that led to weight gain. Even though this was shown in mice, who can argue with decreasing stress, high-fat and sugary foods? We will keep an eye out for the human version of these studies.

Baby Fat Portion Sizes for Moms

"Portion control" -- this is now the "buzz" phrase for controlling how much we eat. You can now see the food companies responding by the increase in 100 calorie (or less) snack packs now on the market, for example, one of my favorites is the Quaker Mini Delights 90 Calorie Packs, Chocolatey Drizzle. Too see a report on what people think of portion control click here.

Portion control is how we eat in our house -- we eat all the foods we like and through "portion control" manage how much we eat of all foods. What most do not realize, is that portion-control is not just about limiting the bad foods but it is also about including portions of good foods. For example, this past weekend I indulged in a juicy, grilled cheeseburger and made sure to add onions and green leafys, ate plenty of fruit off of the fruit tray and avoided eating my son's left over real beef hot dog and potato chips (this was not easy). We would love to hear how you "portion-control" your foods.