1. Apples – Studies have shown that apples can help lower cholesterol, manage diabetes, and prevent several diseases, including cancer. Apples peak in the fall, and the flavor can’t be beat. They are full of fiber, around 5 grams per fruit, and are comparatively low in calories.

2. Pears – High in both Vitamin C and fiber, pears are a low calorie and delicious fruit choice that add dimension to a chicken salad and make an excellent snack when paired with a low fat string cheese and a handful of walnuts.

3. Winter Squash – An awesome source of vitamin A and fiber, and lower in calories than you might think – one cup baked squash has only 80 calories with more than six grams of fiber. Add chunks of winter squash to your soups or stews or bake a halved squash and drizzle with a bit of maple syrup.

4. Sweet Potatoes – Among all of the root vegetables, the sweet potato is lowest on the glycemic index and chock full of fiber, so the sweet potato digests slowly, causing a gradual rise in blood sugar which helps you to feel satisfied longer. Baked, they are delicious plain or with a smattering of cinnamon.

5. Kale and dark leafy greens – Kale is an excellent source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C and other nutrients shown to help prevent cancer. In fact, most of the dark, leafy greens are also a good source of calcium, folate, and vitamin B-6.

Make a goal to add at least three of these fruits and vegetables to your daily diet and reap the benefits of eating seasonally!

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Five Healthiest Foods for Fall

So the theory goes that there are foods that provide negative calories, presumably because the calories it takes to digest the foods are greater than the calories in the food. While it is true that digesting food burns calories, it is not true that any food has negative calories.

Thermic Effect of Food

The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is the reason for the whole “negative calories” concept. TEF represents the energy expenditure above resting metabolism that contributes to digestion and storage of food. In other words, you put energy in (burn calories) to get energy out (calories available from digested food).

However, the TEF is generally estimated about 10% of all calories consumed. You really don’t calculate it for individual foods. Instead, you estimate it based on all the calories for the day. So a 1,500 calorie day uses 150 calories to digest and store food. Because of their fiber content, veggies have a higher thermic effect at 20% of calories consumed, but it still doesn’t pass 100% so it can’t have negative calories.

The other reason food can’t take credit for “negative calories” is that TEF is included in the calculations that estimate a person’s energy needs – total metabolism. Besides TEF, the other components are resting metabolic rate (RMR – calories burned at rest, lying down, and practically sleeping) and also daily exercise/daily living activities (deliberate exercise or normal activities like house cleaning). So when you’re figuring out the calories you need for weight loss, TEF is already accounted for.

Love Low Calorie, Whole Foods

If you feel bummed like the day you learned Santa wasn’t real, turn that frown upside down. Focus on the fact that vegetables and fruits are naturally low in calories and they have vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals your body needs to stay healthy. You have to eat 12 large celery stalks to get 100 calories. That’s a LOT of celery to choke down. However, only four Hershey kisses and you’ve reached 100 calories – a much smaller volume.

So piling up on veggies will nourish you and fill you up without taking a chunk out of your daily calorie budget. You’ll also feel more energy and you’ll be happy knowing you are taking good care of yourself! Don’t worry about the small nuances such as TEF. They really don’t matter in the big picture.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

Negative Calorie Foods Are Just Another Diet Myth

Moms are always talking about how hard it is to lose weight when they have kids. And I agree. I find it incredibly difficult to cook a healthy dinner that my whole family will eat. Two of my kids are decent eaters, but Jack, my autistic son, is not.

I can count on one hand the number of times he’s eaten vegetables in the past four years and still have enough fingers left over to count the number of times he’s eaten fruit. He won’t eat meat unless it is in lunch meat or chicken nugget form, and strongly prefers only cheese, bread, and french fries. Those foods, last I checked, do not pave the way to weight loss.

Jack’s preference for these foods has to do, at least in part, to his autism and his reliance on routine and preference for certain textures, not to mention his distaste for new things. My other kids may be resistant to trying something new, but in the end they often will. Jack will not.

My challenge is to create meals that will be healthy for all of us, without letting Jack starve. So I add rolls and butter to dinner, or cook a tray of french fries to go along with the chicken. And instead of carrots, why don’t I put slices of cheese on the table?

And as long as they’re there, why don’t I go ahead and have a few bites?

My solution has been to try to offer healthy foods to the whole family, while providing enough sustenance so Jack won’t be too hungry at night. I also try to remember that it is just as much of a waste of food to eat things I am not hungry for as it is to throw it away. If I eat it, it just ends up as fat in my body as opposed to trash in the garbage.

Everybody has limitations when it comes to their diets. The hard part is figuring how to work around those limitations while building a healthy diet.

Guest Blog Series: Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on DietsInReview.com. See other posts in the Guest Blog series.

If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please contact us.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

When Eating Limitations Affect the Whole Family

Farmer’s markets play an integral part in the urban/farm linkage.  Farmer’s markets have gained much popularity throughout the years, the main culprit to this popularity is consumers wanting to get fresh produce straight from the source.  According to the USDA, today there are more than 4,600 farmer’s markets operating throughout the nation.

5 Good Reasons to Shop a Farmer’s Market

1. Normally farmer’s market produce prices are extremely competitive, providing you with great value without having to spend a lot of money.

2. Foods are seasonal.  You will be provided with great quality produce that’s at its peak of freshness.

3. As mentioned above, some communities make it more of a social outing so you can have some quality family time while purchasing nutritious, healthy foods.

4. Serves as an educational opportunity for you and your kids.  You will be shown different produce that you maybe haven’t seen and you can always ask the farmer which ways you can prepare the produce.  Take you kids along and start showing them at an early age different foods and the benefits of healthy shopping and eating.

5. Everyone benefits — the farms, the farmers, the consumers — it’s an all-around great opportunity for everyone.

The only con to a farmer’s market is that you might have to drive to the location.

Find a market near you at the Agricultural Marketing Services (part of USDA) website.

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

5 Good Reasons to Shop a Farmer’s Market

Don’t get me wrong, 100% juice juices are a decent option (as long as you pay attention to serving size) and can contribute to your child’s daily fruit or veggie intake if they won’t eat the whole food source. A great idea for helping your child not take in those unnecessary calories is to “water-down” the juice, meaning pour half of the glass with juice and the other half with water. That way your kids will have a flavored beverage that provides some nutrition, but without all the extra calories.

Thinking of this juice blog I wanted to skim the grocery aisle and come up with a list of decent juices and some you want to avoid. Look below and see if your juice falls into one of my lists.

Juices OK to Drink
First off, always purchase 100% juice
-V8, Tomato juice, and prune juice are all 100% and provide you with fiber, protein, and potassium
- Juicy Juice is 100% juice
- Others that I found to be OK are Tropicana OJ, Simply Orange juice, Florida Natural
- Tropicana Pure juices give you potassium, but no fiber or protein

KEEP IN MIND!
- Always note sodium on juices…you will want to try to keep it as low as possible. Producers of the juices add more sodium when attempting to cut calories, so when you buy a “light/lite” juice note the sodium is higher then the full calorie beverage.

Juices to avoid:
- Anything not 100% juice
- Hawaiian Punch
- Kool-Aid
- V8 fusion light
- Sunny D

Post from: Diets in Review Blog

The Best and Worst Juices for Your Kids