Edition:
October 26, 2007
Public Notices - DBA Info • CONTACT
US: News Department • Display
Advertising • Classified
Advertising
|
||
Nutrition Columnist
What if I told you there was a secret predator that was completely sabotaging your weight loss plan? No, it’s not your kids or your boss, your busy schedule or your love for those golden arches of McDonalds. It is something that most of us use every day.
The diet destroyer lurking in the shadows of your food is condiments. Think about your daily routine. For breakfast, do you heavily butter your toast and fry your eggs in butter? Do you have mayonnaise on your sandwich at lunch and ranch dressing on your salad? Do you add sour cream to your baked potato for dinner and lather your chicken in barbecue sauce?
If you answered yes to all of these, you may be adding 500 to 1,000 extra calories a day to your diet through condiments. One pound of body weight equals 3,500 calories. If you are adding an additional 1,000 calories a day to your diet, you could be gaining up to one to two pounds a week!
Condiments are meant to be extras to a meal to add flavor and for the most part, have very little nutritional value. But let’s face it, a baked potato just isn’t a baked potato without sour cream, and without butter on your toast, all you have is hard bread.
There are some healthier alternatives that will add flavor to your food without adding inches to your waistline. Here are some alternatives to many every day condiments:
Butter: Butter is a staple in the American diet. This may explain our recent outbreak of high cholesterol and heart disease, not to mention obesity. As good as it tastes, you would have a hard time finding a doctor in this country who would recommend it as a daily part of your diet.
However, some great alternatives to butter have recently emerged in grocery stores. Most major brands of margarine have a light version, such as “Country Crock light” or “Smart Balance light,” that are much lower in calories and fat and contain no cholesterol. Also, “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” has come out with a no-calorie butter spray that adds the taste of butter to any food without the calories. You can also use butter spray as an alternative to high calorie oils or butter to grease your pans when cooking. Switching from regular butter to a light margarine can save you 80 calories and 10 grams of fat per tablespoon.
Mayonnaise: Adding mayonnaise to your sandwich is usually the point when most take an otherwise healthy sandwich and make it no better than a hamburger. On average, each tablespoon of mayonnaise contains 100 calories and 11 grams of fat. One tablespoon is such a small amount on any normal sized sandwich that most of us probably put at least two or three tablespoons, maybe more.
Many great tasting, fat free versions of mayonnaise are available. Fat-free Kraft or Smart Beat mayonnaise contains only 10 calories per tablespoon and no fat. If you aren’t a fat-free fan, Kraft and Best Foods also have light or reduced fat versions available. Switching from two tablespoons of regular mayonnaise to two tablespoons of fat-free mayonnaise can save you 180 calories and 22 grams of fat.
Salad dressing: You decide that you are going to eat healthy tonight. You make a delicious salad with grilled chicken breast, tomatoes, cucumbers, a little feta cheese and pour on a delicious creamy salad dressing. That salad dressing has just taken a healthy meal and added an additional 120 calories and 11 grams of fat for every two tablespoons. If you pour a normal amount of dressing on your salad, you may be adding 200 to 400 extra calories and 20 to 30 extra grams of fat.
The creamier the salad dressing, the worse it is for you. If you enjoy Italian or vinaigrette dressings, these are usually much lighter and contain less fat. These are also available in light or fat-free versions that include only 10 calories in every two tablespoons.
If you are like me, and love that creamy salad dressing, there are some great tasting light versions available. Another salad dressing trick is, instead of dumping it all on your salad, leave it on the side and dip your fork in the dressing before taking a bite. This way, you get a taste of dressing with every bite without drenching your salad in dressing. Switching from creamy ranch dressing to a light Italian dressing can save you 110 calories and 11 grams of fat per serving.
If you make these minor changes in your diet, you can save almost 400 calories and 50 grams of fat per serving. That can add up to a pound of weight loss per week!
Mayonnaise, butter and salad dressings are some of the most common diet destroyers, but there are many others out there waiting to ruin your healthy meal. Also, watch out for cream cheese, sour cream, sauces and marinades. Most of these have better options; you just have to find them.
There are good condiments available that you can use freely without too much worry. Salsa is one of the best condiments because it does have nutritional value. Mustard and ketchup are also both low in calorie and may have some minor health benefits. The key to discovering hidden condiments in your diet is to be aware of what you are eating. Don’t just focus on the main meal, but all the little things that are added to create a meal. You might be shocked at how much change a little diet-tweaking can make.
For questions, comments or article ideas, e-mail me at caitlin@praxischurch.com.
Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken
(makes 6 servings)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
Add chicken to slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Pour salsa and soup over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve with rice.
Nutritional Info: 157 Calories; 3.3g fat; 63g cholesterol; 654mg sodium; 7g total carbs; 1g fiber; 24g protein.
|
