There will be many tips about satiety. I think it's one of the most important aspects of nutrition. If we are satisfied, we won't reach for more food as soon and being more satisfied helps us make more nutritious choices. It's when we are ravenous that we make poor food choices. That's why we shouldn't let ourselves get ravenous OR skip breakfast. Your stomach may feel like it doesn't want food early in the morning, but your blood sugar is just getting lower and lower and studies have shown you will probably more than make up for missing breakfast by making poor food choices later in the day. But that is another tip- why do all these tips seem to overlap one another? I guess because nutrition isn't made up of small bits and pieces of your day- nutrition is woven into every choice we make all day.
Snacks: I alluded to this in the last post. Those with kids will attest that snacks are an integral part of one's life. We all should have snacks, not just kids. But with kids sometimes the snacks have to be tailored a little. The other day we had a lot of errands to run and I knew we would be out for a number of hours. I didn't have time to make PB&J (my preferred method of avoiding the food court at the mall), but I did think ahead a little. Because of the length of our errands, I sometimes promise my kids frozen yogurt at our favorite spot in the mall- they make all natural frozen yogurt. I had some goldfish crackers, and although my kids love them- they are basically just empty carbs even though they make them with whole grains now. So I grabbed some dried fruit to go with them. Crackers, fruit and frozen yogurt plus plenty of water. Not exactly super healthy, but definitely better than it could be (read: crackers, fruit snacks and ice cream). Think protein, fiber and fat. Triscuits vs wheat thins, string cheese vs cheddar cheese, chocolate milk vs a Snapple. The former all have either better or more fiber, fat and protein. Triscuits are slightly lower in fat that Wheat Thins, but higher in protein and fiber. String cheese has less fat, thus a better protein/fat ratio than cheddar cheese, and 1% lowfat chocolate milk is an amazing snack (as my mom always taught me). It has at least 8 grams of protein and just 2.5 grams of fat. I love the snack of chocolate milk- especially when I am craving something more unhealthy like soda or ice cream. It's great for when you're grocery shopping and need a pick-me-up so you don't spend a bunch of money on junk food (never shop hungry) and it's also great for stops at the gas station on road trips.
~Here's to Healthy Eating
Glad you will have lots to say about satiety . . . I think about it all the time.
ReplyDeleteLove chocolate milk, too. It is a big treat here because we rarely have it--but perhaps we should consider it more often and ice cream less. ? !
Hmmm.