A Spoonful of TLC
from the Parish NursesHealthy Snacking
With Christmas and New Year’s parties coming up, how many of us belong to the BLT (bites, licks, and tastes) Club? The bites, licks, and tastes can easily add up to 1,000 calories or more. You question that calories count? Below is a quiz for you, just answer “true” or “false” for each question. If you answer true to just one question, you are eating more calories than your body needs. The result is excess body fat.
____I often eat other people’s leftovers.
____I eat snacks out of the bag instead of putting one serving in a bowl.
____I sample items from stores.
____My pantry is stocked with crackers, cookies, chips and other foods that are high in fat and/or sugar.
____My place of employment has bowls of candies just waiting for the taking.
____I fail to eat five to seven daily servings of fruits and vegetables on a regular
basis.
Here are more healthful snacking ideas.
1. Eat a good breakfast every day. This means skim milk on your cereal, fruit and limiting the amount of butter/jam on your toast.
2. Snack on plenty of vegetables and fruits, instead of on chips and crackers.
3. Eat a diet higher in fiber and lower in fat and in refined foods, so you feel more full on fewer calories. Foods higher in fiber include bran muffins, oatmeal, dried fruits (limit these as they are high in calories), whole wheat products, baked potato (skin on), greens, vegetables (fresh or frozen), and fruits with the skin left on.
4. Keep track of what you eat (a food journal) and be wary of BLT temptations.
5. Try to avoid anything white (bread, pasta, rice). Some options are to use whole wheat or soy pasta, brown or wild rice.
6. The “brown” food products are higher in fiber and, will help you to feel full longer.
7. Add extra fiber foods gradually to your diet to avoid bloating discomfort.
--Elaine Skarstad, R.N.
