“Everything in moderation”…that’s one of the few clichés that doesn’t get old. It’s absolutely true. Very rarely is something food-wise so bad for you that you should never touch it. We call things like that poisons, not food. But, you can have too much of even the best foods. Carrot-orange skin, anyone?

Portion control is one of the most fundamental principles of weight-loss and, even more-so, longterm healthy eating principles. It can be very hard to do this on the fly. Our eyes are big, highly optimistic, and very convincing about what is a “proper” portion. Not everyone can carry a food scale around with them to come up with official measurements (though it’s not a bad thing to do) but there are easy ways to do some portion control preparation ahead of time.

Break down your binges and create single servings of foods you splurge on: Scoop servings of ice cream into plastic containers, cut chocolate into squares and store it in baggies, and pour individual juice servings into sports bottles.

The Journal of Marketing Research published a study this aspect of portion-control: packaging.

Participants who received six chocolates in a single package finished them in two days on average; those whose six came individually wrapped downed them in four days. The act of opening another bag or container gives us time to consider how much we’re wolfing down, says lead study author Amar Cheema, Ph.D., of Washington University in St. Louis.

That only solves part of the problem, but if you can control your binge-worthy pleasures, like ice cream, then you’ve gone a long way toward establishing permanent portion-control principles that will both aid you in the short-term goals of weight loss but also in your long-term health strategy.

Tags: binging, healthy eating, portion control, weight loss

When I walked into Starbucks this morning, the season had changed. The smoothie ads were gone, and they had ads up for the new healthier breakfast food. How healthy is Starbucks healthy?  You can’t go wrong with oatmeal, but remember that toppings count too.

Here are the new items:

Perfect Oatmeal 140 cal/2.5g fat/5g protein/4g fiber
You can also add one of these:

• Dried Fruit - add 100 cal
• Brown Sugar - add 50 cal
• Nut Medley - add 100 cal

Berry Stella 280 cal/9g fat/6g protein/6g fiber
A whole wheat oat bar with dried berries. It’s sweetened mostly with brown sugar, but does contain invert syrup.

Chewy Fruit and Nut Bar 250 cal/10g fat/5g protein/4g fiber
Oats and rice make up this bar full of dried fruit and nuts. It’s mainly sweetened with molasses.

Multigrain Roll 280 cal/8g fat/7g protein/7g fiber
A mix of white and whole wheat flour is the base for this cracked wheat and flax roll. You choose almond butter or fruit preserves with it, but I wasn’t able to find nutritional info on either at Starbucks’ site.

Apple Bran Muffin 330 cal/8g fat/7g protein/7g fiber
This muffin is a little larger than Starbucks’ regular fare. There is no nutritional info online for this yet, though the brochure mentioned the numbers above. This is what I choose. It’s a little dry, but I’ve come to expect that in a bran muffin, but the baked apple pieces and dried cherries really give it a nice flavor.

Another thing they mention is getting protein powder added to your coffee drink. I think I’ll stick to my smoothie for now!

Tags: apple bran muffin, berry stella, healthy eating, multigrain roll, starbucks

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have good for you snacks. And while that 100 calorie pack of cookies helps you keep track of how much you eat, do you really need all the white flour and sugar? All that packaging is not environmentally friendly, plus you’re paying a premium for it.

So let’s save some money and make our own. First off get some reusable small containers. The trick to eating truly one serving of chips or crackers is to count them. They should have a serving count on the nutritional label. Bag all your snacks for the week at one time, then grab a few everyday to put in your bag. This is a perfect Sunday night activity.

You can get more creative than the snack companies and try some of these:

• 10 baby carrots and 2 tsp nut butter or 2 Tb hummus
  try sliced cucumbers and celery in addition to the carrots
• an apple and a small piece of low fat cheese
• 1/2 apple with 2 tsp nut butter
• a low fat or nonfat yogurt
  check the calories before you buy - each brand is a little different
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 2 Tb roasted sunflower seeds
• 10 almonds or cashews
• 3 big Wasa Crip and Light crackers and a Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge
• 1 banana
• 1 cups of grapes

Happy snacking!

Tags: 100 calorie packs, healthy eating, healthy snacks

One of the main we’re all trying to eat healthier is too get more energy and feel better. Hopefully last week you were able to start adding more water to your daily routine. This week let’s add salads!

The great thing about salads is they can be a varied as your imagination, and the contents of your fridge. The first place salads can veer off the healthy path is with the dressing. Susan over at Fat Free vegan has a list of dressing recipes that are great tasting, and low fat or fat free. How does Non-Fat Basil Balsamic Dressing, Easy Strawberry Jalapeño Dressing, or Rodeo Ranch Dressing sound to you?

As a base you will want some kind of green, but from there the sky’s the limit. Have leftovers from last night? If you have chili, make a taco salad. Be creative.

Try one of these as a base for your salad:

• arugula
• romaine
• heirloom lettuces like deer’s tongue or speckled lettuce
• spinach

Then add from this list:

• a handful of nuts
• dried cranberries
• fresh strawberries
• fresh blueberries
• goat cheese crumbles

More goodies:

• hard boiled egg
• left over protein from dinner
• leftover cooked veggies
• shredded and chopped raw veggies
• olives
• marinated artichoke hearts

If you are in a hurry, or just don’t have anything in your fridge to top your lettuce, go to your local salad bar and fill a container with shredded beets, carrots, and your favorite chopped veggies. Use these all week to top your lettuce with no work at all!

Tags: arugula, blueberries, healthy eating, nuts, salad, spinach lettuce