Making healthy decisions has never been harder. Half the ingredients on
food labels sound like your high-school chemistry homework. So-called
healthy foods hide their secrets in tiny print on the backs of the
packages. Refined foods strip essential vitamins and minerals from
perfectly good whole foods, only to replace them with extra sodium,
sugar, and calories. I hear your hardship, and I’m here to help.
Follow this better-foods buyer’s guide to rid your kitchen of stuff
that’s been clogging your fridge and arteries for years. Make the
changes a few at a time, and you’ll start eating better, losing weight, and living a healthier life.
The Door
Stock: Eggs
Not: Egg whites
Try: Eggland’s Best Grade AA Eggs, Extra Large
Per egg: 70 calories, 6 grams (g) protein, 4 g fat
Whole eggs are a great source of protein, and they contain more
essential vitamins and minerals per calorie than virtually any other
food. Plus, they are one of the best sources of choline, a substance
that your body requires to break down fat for energy. Eggland’s version
has similar amounts of calories, fat, and protein as other brands, but
with three times as many heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Stock: Butter
Not: Margarine
Try: Keller’s Whipped Butter, Salted
Per tablespoon (Tbsp): 70 calories, 7 g fat
Research shows that the fat in a pat of butter helps you better absorb
vitamins A, D, E, and K. This brand cuts calories without sacrificing
flavor.
Stock: Organic ketchup
Not: Regular ketchup
Try: Heinz Organic
Per Tbsp: 20 calories, 5 g carbs
Organic ketchups may have double the amount of prostate cancer–fighting
lycopene that regular ketchups do. Plus, I think some brands’ organic
options—like Heinz’s—taste better than the originals.
Stock: Reduced-fat mayo
Not: Regular mayo
Try: Kraft with Olive Oil Reduced Fat
Per Tbsp: 45 calories, 2 g carbs, 4 g fat
Fat is not an enemy, but its calories add up quickly in mayonnaise. This
mayo from Kraft has about half the calories of traditional versions,
plus heart-healthy olive oil.
Stock: Regular mustard
Not: Dijon mustard
Try: Annie’s Naturals Organic Honey Mustard
Per teaspoon (tsp): 10 calories, 2 g carbs
Mustards tend to have few calories in the fi rst place, but Dijon tends to have more sodium.
Stock: Light beer
Not: Regular beer
Try: Coors Light
Per 12 ounces (oz): 104 calories, 5 g carbs
Standard brews can be heavy—some varieties have more than 200 calories
per bottle. But by simply switching to the light version, you can often
cut the calories by one-third.
The Deli Drawer
Stock: Applegate Farms Organic
Not: Bologna turkey
Try: Roasted Turkey Breast
Per 2 oz: 50 calories, 10 g protein, 1 g carbs
One slice of turkey has 6 grams of belly-filling protein—that’s about
double the amount in bologna. What’s more, turkey contains only 22
calories per slice, compared to bologna’s 57 calories. That’s no
baloney!
Stock: Ham
Not: Salami
Try: Hormel Black Forest Ham
Per 2 oz: 60 calories, 9 g protein, 1 g carbs, 2 g fat
Salami packs 21⁄2 times more calories than ham, almost 50 percent more sodium, and four times more fat.
Stock: Mozzarella
Not: American
Try: Kraft Natural 2% Milk Mozzarella
Per oz: 70 calories, 8 g protein, 1 g carbs, 4 g fat
Reduced-fat mozzarella contains more protein than American, meaning your
stomach will be satiated for much longer—one of the keys to losing
weight.
Stock: Swiss
Not: Provolone
Try: Sargento Deli Style Sliced Reduced Fat Swiss
Per slice: 60 calories, 7 g protein, 1 g carbs, 4 g fat
One slice of provolone usually contains the same number of calories as a
slice of Swiss, but it’s not worth the extra 180 milligrams of sodium.
Plus, Swiss contains an extra gram of protein compared with provolone.
Stock: Smarter hot dogs
Not: Regular hot dogs
Try:Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dogs
Per frank: 70 calories, 6 g protein, 4.5 g fat
Your typical hot dogs contain about 150 calories each. Applegate Farms’
version cuts that number in half. Apply mustard and onions liberally.
The Shelves
Stock: 2% milk
Not: Whole or fat-free milk
Try: Organic Valley Reduced Fat 2%
Per cup: 130 calories, 8 g protein, 13 g carbs, 5 g fat
A little fat in your milk may help you absorb vitamins. The switch from
whole moo juice to 2%, however, will save you 20 calories per cup.
Stock: Low-sodium vegetable juice
Not: Regular vegetable juice
Try: V8 Low Sodium
Per 8 oz: 50 calories, 10 g carbs
Vegetable juice is a great idea if you struggle to meet the USDA’s daily
produce recommendation. The low-sodium V8 version has about one-fourth
the sodium of the original vegetable juice, and it tastes better.
Stock: Orange juice
Not: Orange soda
Try:Tropicana Pure Premium Calcium + Vitamin D
Per 8 oz: 110 calories, 26 g carbs
Think of it as a lesson in making calories count: Orange juice contains
as many calories as a can of soda, but it also packs in essential
vitamins and minerals. Even better, dilute your juices with one-half
water to add more hydration and fewer calories.
Stock: Cottage cheese with some fat
Not: Fat-free cottage cheese
Friendship 4% California Style
Per ½ cup: 120 calories, 15 g protein, 3 g carbs, 5 g fat
Fat-free cottage cheeses contain close to 8 grams of carbs, but regular
varieties tend to have less. So if you’re eating it as a stand-alone
snack, don’t fear the extra grams of fat, which will help stabilize
blood sugar. Friendship’s cottage cheese has half the carbs of the
competition’s and a few extra grams of protein.
Stock: Greek yogurt
Not: Fruity yogurt plain
Try:Stonyfi eld Farm Oikos Organic Plain Greek Yogurt
Per 5.3-oz container: 80 calories, 15 g protein
Fruit varieties have more added sugars than plain yogurt does. I’ve seen
some that contain as much as 36 grams! Greek yogurt brands like Oikos
contain less sugar and more protein. If you miss the sweetness, stir in
some fresh berries to replace that syrupy goop.
Stock: High-antioxidant tea
Not: Sweet tea
Try: Honest Tea Organic Honey Green Tea
Per 8 fluid (fl) oz: 35 calories
It’s time to junk the sugar water. Green tea is known to pack a high
nutritional punch, but in general, you want to look for a type with high
levels of catechins—powerful antioxidants that could prevent disease.
Honest Tea’s offering has more catechins than its competitors’.
Stock: Sparkling water
Not: Soda
Try: Poland Spring Sparkling Water with Lemon Essence
Per 8 fl oz: 0 calories
Sparkling water has all the bubbles of soda, without a single calorie.
Flavored varieties are slightly sweetened. Make this change today and
start shedding pounds.
The Crisper Drawer
There’s really no
such thing as unhealthy produce, so here are a few items to add to your
refrigerator. Comparing what we actually eat to what Dietary Guidelines
for Americans recommends, we consume less than half of the fruit we
should and only 60 percent of the vegetables. Expand your tastes to
include these, and improve your diet.
Vegetables
Beets
Although I personally don’t like the taste of beets (so you won’t find
them in my crisper) this root vegetable is one of the best sources of
folate and betaine—two nutrients that can decrease your risk of heart
disease.
Lentils
These legumes have 16 grams of belly-fi lling fiber in every cup. What’s
more, compared to the same amount of cooked spinach, cooked lentils
contain 27 percent more folate, which keeps your cells healthy.
Celery
Eating just four celery sticks a day can reduce blood pressure—sometimes
by about 6 points on the systolic reading and 3 points on the
diastolic.
Fruits
Blueberries
These berries, especially the wild ones, have more disease-fighting antioxidants than most other fruits.
Figs
This fruit is packed with potassium, manganese, and antioxidants, which
makes it a potent immunity booster. The fiber from figs may also help
lower insulin and blood sugar levels, reducing the risk of diabetes.
Note that we aren’t talking fig cookies here!
Grapes
Red grapes contain a potent antioxidant called resveratrol, which is
believed to help fight cancer and heart disease—and even aging.
Source
http://www.fitbie.com/eat-right/tips/stock-your-refrigerator-weight-loss
