By Katherine MacPherson BS, ACSM HFS & UVAC Personal Trainer
Gluten Free, Farm
Fresh, Organic Quiche, recipe at the end!
I am asked about healthy meal planning nearly every day as a
trainer. Whether it is fat loss or
you’re just conquering a “healthy” life style the body needs to acquire the top
possible items to do so. In this blog
post, you will learn about the BEST items of food to choose and the
understanding of quality vs. quantity.
Let’s start with beverages. In weight-loss planning 101 you
need to know the most important piece, “Don’t drink your calories!” Tea and coffee may contain very little
calories, but in the end it’s what you DO to the tea and coffee that eliminate
the initial value and adds unwanted saturated fats and high volumes of
sugar. It is not just your cup-of-joe
that can be adding on that extra pound or two of fat per week. Many kinds of alcohol, juices, and sodas are
packed with calories, food coloring, and sugar. Let say you add 2 tablespoons
of sugar a day to your one cup of coffee, seven days a week for one month, that
equals over 2/3 pound of fat a month! When in doubt, ask for a good old zero
calorie ice water!
Where’s the beef?
Meat, fish and poultry are great sources of protein, iron, and essential
fatty acids. The major topic with
purchasing these items widen from safety of animal welfare, environmental
welfare, and consumer welfare. This
means choosing the “natural or organic” items.
A UK study on consumer perception of organic food from the British Food
Journal found that consumers were more concerned with health and animal
welfare, which greatly impacted individuals and their food choices (Harper
& Makatouni, 2002). Today many products contain harmful
chemicals, hormones, and preservatives.
The preservative Monosodium (MSG) that is commonly found in cereals and
meat have been known to cause weakness, difficulty breathing, nausea,
headaches, chest pain, rapid heartbeat (FDA and
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), USDA, 2006). Purchasing certified organic items
promise the consumer that there are no added chemicals, genetic engineering,
preservatives, or hormones (United States Department of Agriculture).
Linking the last topic to this the next, choosing your
veggies and fruits should be fun filled.
Every week it should be your goal to pack in as many colorful fruits and
veggies as you can. The nutrients,
phytonutrients, and antioxidants that are in those products will make you
strong, have lots of energy, and get you moving and feeling like a
champion. BUT: First, watch what you do
to these items. Buttering them up and
adding salt will turn that delightful sweet-potato into a water absorbing fat
bomb. Love your veggies and fruits the
way they are! Second, remember just
reading about certified organic products?
Well, the same applies to these choices too. This can be difficult because prices for
these higher quality items are a little more than the non-organic items. But think about this, I used the word quality.
Items that were raised organic won’t contain harmful chemicals (USDA,
National Organic Program). Walk into the grocery store today and compare the
prices yourself. Last week I purchased
an organic cucumber for $1.99, the non-organic cucumber was $1.50. Is that $.49 difference that chilling?
Dairy products are always an interesting topic for healthy
meal planning. When picking out your
yogurts, milks, and other dairy products I highly recommend reading the ingredients
label. Some items can contain a great load of
sugar! For those who read my last blog “Dear Mary Poppins, a spoon full of sugar does not make the medicine go down, it makes the blood lipids go up,” you learned that over exposure to sugar can
lead to obesity, high blood lipids and other unhappy health issues down the
road like type two diabetes. That
delicious raspberry yogurt for lunch can be the same as eating 2 tablespoons of
sugar!
Last but not least: your wheat products. You need to be prudent when picking your
products because it can affect you down the road. Whole grain items are a major source of
carbohydrates. Carbohydrates fuel the
body all day, but what happens when we have fueled up too much? We store all leftovers in the adipose (fat) tissues
in our bodies. How come? When carbohydrates are broken down in the
body it will be converted to glucose, which is the simplest form of sugar. Remember the sugar topic from earlier in
this blog? Exposure to long-term glucose
(perhaps your toast for breakfast along with that PB&J you have with two
slices of French bread at lunch) can increase your risk of high blood lipids (fat
in your blood), heart disease, and many other health related issues. This topic is raising and I’m sure hearing
about those who are going wheat-free and gluten-free are not that
uncommon. What going wheat-free means
is eliminating your bread and wheat sources from your diet. A great read on this topic is Wheat Belly,
written by William Davis, MD. Your best
items to avoid the bloating feeling and fat storing of either wheat and gluten
are grains that contain flax, quinoa, rice, tapioca, soy, buckwheat, corn, and
millet.
Quiche Recipe:
This meal can be a great choice for you and your family
because you are cooking with REAL food!
This recipe includes minimal processed foods, a load of fresh veggies
and protein, and will connect you with food!
You need:
1 small diced zucchini
½ cup of diced onions
6 Farm fresh sliced and grilled sausage links
1 cup of fresh diced spinach
6 egg whites
6 whole eggs
½ tbs. garlic power or optional seasoning
½ cup of diced tomatoes
Optional:
Cubed cheese
Crust:
2 cups of gluten free flour (of choose)
1 tbs. of coconut or olive oil
¼ - ½ cup of water
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 450° degrees.
2.
Mix the top portion ingredients in a separate
bowl.
3.
Combined the crust ingredients and roll out on a
clean floured area.
4.
Grease a pie pan and spread the crust fully over
the pan.
5.
Pour all the contents of the wet ingredients
into the pie pan.
6.
Wrap tin foil over the top of the pie pan.
7.
Bake for 40-45 minutes (check the quiche to make
sure the egg is fully cooked)
Resources:
Harper, G., & Makatouni, A. (2002). Consumer perception
of organic food production and farm animal welfare. British Food Journal ,
104(3/4/5), 287-299.
U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. "FDA and
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)," 31 August, 1995 (accessed July 28,
2006).
United States
Department of Argriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service. Organic Labeling and Marketing information.
United States Department of Agriculture. www.usda.gov
