Have a little trouble sticking to portions at times? Try this simple tip to help you stop overeating!
if you are like me, you probably have a few foods that I like to call ‘danger foods’.
Danger foods are the foods that you can’t just have one. For many people, it’s sweets, or cookies or chips. Often it is something we loved as a kid. It could also just be that you have it in your kitchen, and it is way too convenient.
Now the best option is keep your danger foods out of your kitchen – It is too tempting, and willpower tends to disappear when we’re tired, bored, upset, excited, cranky,….you get the picture.
But, there are a few simple strategies that can help make it easier for us to manage our portions.
Watch the video to learn a simple tip you can try today!
Enjoy!
Maria
ps. I mentioned my 8 week online weight loss group program is starting this January 14th! Click here to find out more about it!
If you are like me and have a bit of a sweet tooth, you’re going to love today’s recipe – my yummy Holiday Hot Chocolate.
Hot chocolate is one of the easiest things to make when you are craving something a little sweet.
Plus, even though you probably don’t need me to give you any additional reasons to have a little chocolate, here are a few…
This hot chocolate recipe has 75% fewer calories than if you had a cake or muffin
As an added bonus, chocolate has health boosting properties. Studies have linked chocolate to preventing blood clots, improving insulin resistance and lowering blood pressure, inflammation and LDL cholesterol (ie. the bad cholesterol).
Fun Fact
– Did you know Chocolate originated from the Mayans? They used it as a traditional medicine, grinding the beans to make a beverage to treat heart problems and depression
A Healthier Treat For The Holiday Sweet Tooth
There is nothing wrong with enjoying holiday treats, but if this super simple and tasty hot cocoa is enough to satisfy some of your sweet cravings, then why not give it a try – I mean, who doesn’t like hot chocolate?
I love trying new recipes, but there are so many websites that have healthy recipes, and if you are like me, sometimes I find it all a little overwhelming, especially if all I want is a simple chicken recipe. There are thousands and thousands of chicken recipes!! Once I spent an hour and a half searching through about 30 chicken recipes looking for a light, easy, 15 minute chicken recipe online, and in the end I gave up and pulled out one of my cookbooks (remember those?)
Now I know we are all busy, and although eating healthy may be a priority, sometimes at the end of a long work day, you don’t want think about scouring the internet for a new recipe that you don’t even know if you or your family will enjoy.
So I decided to try and help save you some time, and share with you my 3 favorite healthy recipes websites. They have quick and easy recipes that are tried and true, and of course – healthy.
I use allrecipes.com regularly because they have a huge database of recipes with reviews and tips from people who have tested them. Now although not all of the recipes are healthy, you can refine your search so you get exactly what you are looking for. You can even list a few specific ingredients you have in your fridge and it will pull up recipes with those ingredients. My current favorite recipe for healthy turkey breakfast patties here. It’s super easy to make, and delicious. You can even freeze them (that’s what I did)
Best recipes ever is a show on CBC, but they also post videos plus the recipes on the website. What I really like about the show is that the recipes are EASY. Many of the dishes can be prepared in 15-20 minutes and the ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store. As an added bonus, many of the recipes don’t require a lot of dishes. Fewer dishes during cooking = fewer dishes to clean up.
Ps. I made a lighter version by using half the sausage and cutting it in smaller pieces, and draining any fat after cooking it. Also, I replaced the potato with sweet potato (using this deep orange vegetable instead of a white potato helps boost vitamin A, E and C, plus b vitamins, potassium and fibre. It is loaded with antioxidants which help reduce cancer risk and boost heart health). Last but not least, I added about double the swiss chard because it shrinks to practically nothing when it cooks!
These sisters, Janet and Greta Podleski are known for taking comfort food and making a healthy version that is delicious but has about half the calories as the original. They had a show called “Eat, Shrink and Be Merry” for years on the Food Network, and continue to publish their book – Looneyspoons
We all know that in order to lose weight, we need to eat healthy and exercise. But sometimes even when we do all of the right things, despite our best efforts, our weight just doesn’t budge.
As a Dietitian, I know how much of an impact what you eat will have on your weight loss success, but in some cases, it isn’t about the food. No matter how much you try to reduce your calories or follow a “diet”, it just won’t work.
Why?
If your usual approach to weight loss is to focus only on changing your eating habits, and you don’t incorporate exercise into your routine, you may lose weight at first, but over time your metabolism will slow down.
It will reach at point where you plateau and the only way to get off the plateau will be to either cut more calories or add exercise. If you choose to cut more calories, it may get you off the plateau temporarily, but again, your metabolism will slow down, making it more difficult for you to lose weight.
If you continue down this path and keep restricting your diet without exercise, you’ll experience muscle loss, which will lead to an even slower metabolism. At this point you need to be extremely careful because eventually you may reach a point where your weight won’t want to budge even though you are consuming fewer calories. To make it worse, when you have a day when you indulge, your weight will increase.
Here are 8 signs that you need to stop dieting to lose weight and increase your exercise
You recently followed a low calorie or low carb diet and your weight has hit a plateau
Your weight has yo-yo’d over the past 6 months
You don’t have a lot of muscle
You feel like your weight is stuck, even though you are eating healthy
You have a job where most of the day you are sitting at a desk
When you do exercise (which isn’t often) you don’t use weights
Your energy levels are lower than you feel they should be
You have a pedometer, and you barely reach 4000 steps in a day
Don’t fall into the trap of the metabolism slow-down and the dreaded plateau as a result of just “dieting” to lose weight. Remember, following a healthy meal plan and changing your eating habits to include whole foods, lean protein and lots of fruits and vegetables, while reducing sugars, refined foods, low nutrient processed foods, AND exercising regularly are both essential to weight loss.
Just check out these success stories from people who have lost more than 30 pounds and kept it off for over a year, at the National Weight Loss Registry
Have you ever hit a plateau with your weight loss? Post a comment and share what you did to get off your plateau!
Clients ask me all the time what they should eat when their cravings kick in and they are looking for something sweet or when they just feel like they need an energy boost. Here are a few typical sweet snacks that you may be tempted to reach for, but which do you think is the healthier choice?
Dark Chocolate bar or Chocolate brownie?
My vote – Dark Chocolate bar
Why? You have probably heard that dark chocolate has health benefits, but you may not know exactly what those benefits are. Studies are linking chocolate to preventing blood clots, improving how your body uses insulin, lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation and lowering cholesterol levels, specifically the LDL cholesterol.
But not just any dark chocolate covered sugary treat will do. An ounce of dark chocolate can have up to 170 calories, but with brownies, they can have over 400 calories, such as Starbuck’s Double Chocolate Brownie, with 410 calories, 30 grams of sugar (picture 6 teaspoons of sugar) and nearly 40% of your daily total fat.
Bottom line – don’t just settle for any chocolate covered treat. Be picky about your chocolate.
Enjoy an ounce of dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa a few times a week.
Muffin Vs Doughnut?
My Vote – Neither!
Why? Muffins have the illusion of being a healthy food, but you know what I call muffins? Cupcakes in disguise. There’s nothing wrong with having a muffin once in a while, but just don’t think it is a health food. Just because they have a few grains tossed on them or they have names like “blueberry bran muffin”, doesn’t make them healthy. A muffin from a café typically has approximately 55 – 60 grams of carbohydrate, which is like eating 12 packs of sugar.
How does this muffin compare to a doughnut?
Well, let’s compare Tim Horton’s Whole Grain Raspberry Muffin to one of their doughnuts. You would think that the whole grain muffin would be the healthier choice, right? I did…until I checked. With almost double the calories as old fashioned doughnut, 30% more fat, and triple the sugar, unbelievably, the doughnut is actually the better choice – when comparing fat, calories and sugar. (when I started writing this post, I didn’t expect this to be the outcome!)
Bottom Line – Should you start eating doughnuts? Of course not! But maybe cut back on muffins.
Pop Vs Organic Soda
My Vote – water (or soda water) with fresh sliced cucumbers or frozen raspberries
Why?
It’s refreshing, calorie free and something different to just having water. Plus some of the nutrients will seep into the water, giving it a little nutritional boost.
Whether you have pop or organic soda, they typically have the same amount of sugar – 8 tsp.
Bottom Line – When it comes to soda, being organic doesn’t make it healthy, it just makes it expensive.
What do you think? Did you know the muffin had more calories than the doughnut?
