Last week, I talked about some nutrition basics in my post about Changing Family Habits. Today I would like to dive a little deeper into the first of Julia’s Basic Thoughts on Nutrition. When you are choosing foods for yourself and your family, I think that we all know that basic, unprocessed foods are best. However, having easy-to-grab and easy-to-eat snacks and meal components can be super helpful for families. When you are choosing items such as these, you have to go on a scavenger hunt—reading labels, making comparisons, deciding what is important to you and finding the item that fits your needs.
First Thought: Look for foods that have nutrition as much as you can but leave room for “fun” things as well.
My thoughts on this came about as I watched people hyping those 100 calorie snack packs and other low-calorie foods several years ago. Some of those 100 calorie items were stripped down versions of a “regular” snack food like crackers or cookies. I don’t recall ever purchasing any of those specific items, but I had them when they were offered as snacks at meetings or gatherings. The tiny pieces made you think that you were getting more in the package. The taste was blah. I remember thinking that I would rather have 2 regular Chips Ahoy cookies rather than this package of miniature tasteless faux cookies.
The other thing that I was taking notice of was 45-calorie bread. Now I will say that low-calorie breads have improved since they first came out. At the time, they were low in fiber and other essential nutrients that you would find in regular bread. So while you were getting overall fewer carbs and calories, the nutrition was lacking. These types of breads have improved to have higher fiber while keeping the overall calories and carbs low. However, even though the fiber is at an ok level, they aren’t necessarily made with more than 50% whole grains. Foods made with 100% whole grains are always going to have more calories and carbs than foods made with fewer whole grains. As a parent, or for yourself, you have to make a decision on which is more important to you—lower calories or whole grains.
Other things to look for include protein, vitamins and minerals, sodium, cholesterol, fats, and added sugars. Sometimes you have to make trade-offs between these things. One food might have a higher protein level but also have added sugars or artificial sweeteners. Do you have any other protein foods you are serving with this item? If no, you may want to opt for higher protein. If yes, make another choice that has lower sugar. There are other times that you may make a choice because of taste. If I am making spaghetti, I always use whole grain pasta. However, if I am making a baked penne dish, I will use refined flour pasta because the texture works better. I just make sure that we are getting whole grains in for other meals and snacks during our day.
Living in the United States, we have a literally unending supply of food options to choose from. Unfortunately, manufacturers have figured out ways to take whole foods, process the crap out of them, essentially strip out all the nutrients, and then sell them. We buy them because we are busy or tired or for 100 other reasons and sometimes don’t realize that while these foods might fill your stomach, they don’t actually do anything for you.
What it comes down to is this: Choose foods that have nutrition—protein, whole grains, vitamins and minerals. I do not recommend looking for low-calorie or “diet” options because I can guarantee that they are lacking in nutrition. Fat-free foods take out the fat that nature put there (think yogurt) which is part of what gives foods their richer taste and add in sugar to make up for the lack of taste from removing the fat. Likewise, when you are preparing foods, look for ways that you can improve the nutrition in them—can you switch out whole wheat flour for refined flour? Reduce sugar? Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Add in some pureed veggies to a sauce?
Now to the “fun” part. Unless you have an allergy or intolerance, there is room for all foods in what you eat. We just don’t eat some of those foods every day. I love the chocolate chip cookies that I make. I don’t make them all the time. When I do, I use butter, shortening, sugar, and all of the things that make them yummy. They are special and fun, and there is no way I would eat them on a regular basis. I don’t look for low-calorie versions of dessert-type foods just so I can eat them more often. Doing that means I am probably not eating things that I should be. I am substituting low-calorie, nutritionless cookies or crackers for fruit, veggies, or whole grains.
I realize that all of this sounds complicated and time-consuming. Start small with figuring out one item. Maybe fruit snacks are a big deal in your house. Slowly start subbing in fruit. Kids like a certain granola bar? Check the labels and find one with lower sugar and higher fiber and start gradually making a trade. As with any changes, don’t start off too big. This is one scavenger hunt that you can win at!
Peace from The Edge,
Julia
