In my last blog, I threw in a little side note to hint at the wonderful benefits of fiber.  So…. as promised… let’s get a little more into this topic! 

Fiber is mostly famous for helping us to keep a healthy GI tract & preventing constipation.  And that is just wonderful… 

Way to go, Fiber!!!  You rock! 

But there are some other great benefits of fiber that aren’t as well known.

Let’s start with blood pressure.  The American Heart Association’s statistics on this say 1 in every 3 adults have high blood pressure.  A much more detailed, and sad, fact comes from the CDC: “More than 360,000 American deaths in 2013 included high blood pressure as a primary or contributing cause. That is almost 1,000 deaths each day.” (https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm).

!!!! WHAT?!  I know, right?  That’s more than a little crazy when you actually see the numbers in front of you.  Well, there are several dietary and lifestyle changes you can make help lower your blood pressure.  And… (I think you know where this is going…) Making sure you’re eating enough FIBER, is one of them! 

Can you see why I like giving Fiber little shout-outs here and there?  It’s a pretty impressive  carbohydrate!

And it doesn’t stop there!  Blood glucose is another of fiber’s little projects.  Abnormal glucose levels are usually discussed when people are talking about diabetes.  Even if you don’t have diabetes, there are other factors that cause blood glucose to spike or drop, & we really just want this to stay as level as possible.  (No sudden moves, Glucose!  …. Or else!)  Fiber can help our body to do just that.  Some of you may have heard that carbohydrates are a type of food that affect our blood glucose the most.  And we don’t want to eliminate a food group because we risk losing all the benefits from that food group if we do that.  So a pretty great middle ground is to increase your fiber.  Our body doesn’t digest fiber the same as the other carbohydrates, so that’s why it doesn’t cause the glucose in our blood to spike.

Yet another benefit of fiber is to help lower blood cholesterol.  There seems to be a lot of miscommunication about cholesterol in the blood and cholesterol in our food.  They have the same name, but they act a little different & that gets confusing.  Sometimes I’ve seen people get frustrated because they’re eating a lot of low cholesterol foods, but they’re not seeing any changes in their blood cholesterol levels!  I won’t get into the nitty-gritty science fun of all that, but just know there are other types of foods that affect your blood cholesterol that is NOT just about cholesterol in your food…. Annnnd…. here comes fiber to the rescue!  Basically, fiber rushes in like a caped super hero and helps the body pull cholesterol from the blood for other body functions. 

Well, that’s it, right?  That’s all the benefits of fiber?  No way! 

Another great fiber trick is helping us to feel full!  Because it’s bulky & we don’t digest it the same as other nutrients, it sticks around longer.  When that happens, our stomach isn’t releasing the “I’m hungry” signals to the brain as often as when we eat foods that are quickly digested & absorbed.

Now we know that fiber can keep our digestive system healthy and regular, lower blood pressure, lower blood glucose, lower cholesterol, AND help us feel full & satisfied.  Great!!  Why are these things important?

All these factors are tied to high risk of disease.  When we have control over things like blood pressure or cholesterol, we greatly reduce our chances of diseases like: diverticulitis, diabetes, heart disease, & kidney disease. 

So how much of this crazy food hero do we need?  Recommendations for adult males is 38 grams a day, and adult females is 25 grams a day.

Here is a little list I made with some commonly eaten foods with fiber & how much they have:

• I cup cooked oatmeal – 4 grams                                           
  
• 1/2 cup cooked lentils – 8 grams
• 1/2 cup cooked black beans – 7.5 grams
• 1/2 cup dry whole grain pasta – 7 grams
• 1/2 cup dry brown rice – 2 grams
• 1 cup cooked broccoli – 5 grams
• 1 medium apple with skin – 4 grams
• 1 medium baked potato with skin – 2.5 grams
• 1 cup raspberries – 8 grams
• 1 slice whole grain bread – 3 grams
• 1 ounce almonds – 3.5 grams
• 1/2 medium avocado – 4.5 grams

This  list is certainly not all inclusive!! I find a lot of times people are missing fruits & vegetables in their diet.  A variety of whole grains, nuts, fruits, veggies, & legumes will provide adequate amounts of fiber.  If you guys didn’t get a chance to read my other blog for fruits & veggies, you should definitely check that out!

Now is a good time to get creative with your meals too!  If this is a new adventure for you, experiment with combinations of foods.  You’d be surprised how often I’ve done this and come up with a new favorite food item!  Here are two of my quick-to-make high fiber lunches that I take to work & absolutely LOVE: 

1/2 cup of brown rice with 1/4 cup black beans, + 4 ounces chicken & 1/2 avocado = 9 grams fiber

1 pkg frozen broccoli with cheese + 1/2 cup lentils & 4 ounces chicken = 10.5 grams fiber

Adding a side salad or piece of fruit is a great way to include fiber as well!

At the risk of generating more blog ideas here… I do need to make a quick note on fluids.  If you aren’t someone who is normally eating fiber with your meals & you want to start…. first: AWESOME!!  Second… make sure you have at LEAST an 8oz glass of fluid with your meal.  Fiber is like a sponge & needs the liquid to move around easily.  I’ve seen people go from no fiber to high fiber and end up with stomach cramps because they did too much too soon & didn’t drink enough!  That’s no fun!  And food is supposed to be enjoyable & wonderful & tasty & exciting &…. oh…. I got a little off track.  🙂  You get the point…

Anyway, remember: There are SO MANY benefits of fiber!  It does amazing things, kind of like a super hero!  Heyyy….Batman is a super hero…. Fiber… Batman… Fiber…. Batman.  Yep… DEFINITELY a connection.  😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s talk about veggies today!  There are two things I hear ALL the time that are quite possibly the dietetic version of Kryptonite:

1. “I don’t eat anything green.”

Or the slightly less popular, but still cringe-worthy,

2. “I don’t eat anything with the word ‘salad’ in it.”

Which really doesn’t even make sense if you’re boycotting the vegetation of the world.  Have you guys ever seen the amount of mayo that goes into a macaroni or tuna salad??!  Regardless… that is indeed a phrase I hear in response to my constant chatter about vegetables.  And it makes me sad!  SO… there are 3 things I want to accomplish in my ranting today.  First & foremost…. I’m going to answer a wonderful question!

“Erin… WHY on Earth do you want me to eat VEGETABLES???!”

🙂

Veggies lower your risk of disease.  That’s a pretty blanket statement I think we hear a lot.  But more specifically, I’ll give you three huge scary diseases where vegetables can play a big part in lowered risk: cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

If you guys have ever seen anyone in late stages of any of those diseases, it’s scary!  And well worth the risk of trying a few new foods!!  Fear of unknown taste seems to be a giant deterrent for most people who have gone for years without vegetables in their lives.  But think about it…. we don’t live in a Fear Factor episode (remember those??!)  You can absolutely change and experiment with different flavors & combinations & recipes!  Have you ever heard the phrase, “Eat the rainbow?”   Of COURSE you have!  It’s the title of this blog!  But what does that even mean?  Well, while half of you stopped reading this to go indulge in a sudden craving for skittles… the other half now know it’s referring to all the different colors of vegetables & fruits. You want your plate to be bright and colorful.  The more colorful your diet is, the more phytochemicals you have.

Fight-a-WHAT?

Phytochemicals.

These are plant compounds that are beneficial to us and help to lower our disease risk.  I won’t get into too much detail on them because there are more than a thousand of these compounds floating around out there!!  But the simple version is to eat the rainbow!  You can be sure you’re getting a wonderful variety of all the benefits veggies can offer when you have lots of different colors all the time.

So veggies help lower disease risk… what else? They definitely help to maintain a healthy weight!  They are a very low calorie food packed full of lots of nutrients that help you feel full during a balanced meal.  I’m going to have to give a big thumbs up to fiber for a moment for that full feeling.  It’s not a phytochemical, but it IS one of my favorite carbohydrates that is seriously under appreciated!  (And one that is definitely going to be a future blog subject… just throwing that out there.) 🙂  And don’t let the healthy weight benefit throw you off if you ARE a healthy weight!  Eating more veggies isn’t going to cause anyone to become sickly and underweight;  there are plenty of foods out there with an abundance of calories!

I think another benefit of feeling full & lowering disease risk, that isn’t directly related to our body, is the damage control on our wallets!   I heard someone the other day comment that she had a very big family. She said it often works out to be cheaper to grab fast food for everyone than it is to buy everything from scratch plus the time & resources it takes to make a meal.  I’m going to offer my side of the debate on that.  I will agree, yes, in that moment she may have found a great deal and it worked out to be a cheaper meal.  However, if that becomes consistent, what she’s gaining in the short term will catch up in the end.  If the meal isn’t well balanced, a person is going to feel hungry in a shorter period of time.  That leads to more food and more money spent on food as the end result.  And what if you do that for years? There’s a very high disease risk associated with that choice…  How much money can you save when you’re sick and in need of medical assistance?  I’m not saying you should never take a good deal and treat the family… but I am advocating for it to truly be JUST a treat, and not an every day meal plan.

I said earlier I had 3 things I wanted to accomplish today.  I’ve given you guys some good reasons why I want you to eat vegetables…. now the second thing I want to do is talk about how much you need to eat!

Portions & serving recommendations are personal for us.  We all need a little something different depending on age, gender, activity level, ht & wt.  There are tons of charts you could flip through and match things up a little more precisely.  But what I’m going to do is just talk about an average.  For most people, an average of 2 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetables a day is the recommendation.   Now I KNOW some of you are probably thinking there’s no way you can do that!  Take a second and go look at a measuring cup if you can.  Or if you can’t, ball up your fist and look at that.  One cup is roughly the size of a fist.  Not too bad, right?  Right?  …. Guys?  ….

Well, if you’ve never had a vegetable in your life…. maybe 3 cups does sound like a Fear Factor episode!  Maybe start with one!  🙂  Eat ONE cup of vegetables a day and we’ll go from there.

AND… last, but not least!  My 3rd and final accomplishment of today’s blog:

A vegetable is a vegetable is a vegetable.

There’s a lot of interesting thoughts I’ve come across on what form a person’s veggies need to take.  Let me help you out:

Fresh vs frozen vs canned: JUST EAT THEM.

There are ideas that nutrition is lost during the canning or freezing process.  It’s pretty minimal, and in some cases, nutrition may even be higher than some fresh veggies since canning & freezing takes place immediately after harvest.  The only tip I’ll give you on this controversy is related to sodium content.  Canned vegetables may be higher in sodium… and there’s a super easy answer here without swearing off all canned vegetables ever in life.  Rinse them.  Open the can, empty it into a colander, and rinse them off.  Voila! 🙂  Instant veggies.  Heat ’em & eat ’em!

 

 

I think one of the toughest things to figure out about a meal is how to eat healthy when you’re super busy!  Want to know what happened when I went back to school a few years ago? …. I gained weight.  Oh hey… would you like to know what happened when I found a great job that required long hours and a lot of desk time? …. I gained weight.  I bet you guys will never guess what happened when I picked up a second job last year?  …. You’re stumped, I KNEW it!  I’ll save the suspense… I GAINED WEIGHT!

Honestly, the single best advice I have here… planning!  And no, I’m not talking about spending hours sweating over a hot stove, buried in spreadsheets of lists & groceries & nutrition labels!  …. Well, I do that, but it’s kinda part of the diet tech thing & I love it.  THAT’S another story.  ::ahem::

ANYWAY, back to planning.  You know how people say you shouldn’t go grocery shopping hungry?  Well, you shouldn’t go without a plan either.  You can totally think about this at random intervals during your day too… it’s a time saver!  You know you’re going to shower (well we all hope you are), and brush your teeth, and take some type of transportation to a job/class/friend’s, etc.  All that time adds up!  Take those moments and brainstorm what you want to eat for a few days.  How about texting?  Do you text?  Do you facebook? Tweet? Snapchat?  When your phone is open, text yourself whatever ideas popped into your head!  Just whatever you do, don’t go into that store as a blank slate.

You have to plan for snacks too!  If you don’t, the ice cream is going to jump in your cart when you have your back turned looking at the frozen veggies!

So how about a few ideas?  Planning is a wonderful tool that you can sneak into your thoughts at any time…. but not so much when you planned on a roast & you only have 30 minutes to eat & then go pick up the kids!

I’m going to take this moment to sound like a broken record because I bet you guys have already heard what I’m about to tell you: Breakfast.  Breakfast is important!  🙂  Do you know why?  You’re giving your body fuel for the day.  It affects your cognitive performance, your mental well-being, & setting the stage for that day.  Some of you may be familiar with the public school’s breakfast program that has grown over the years?  There’s good reason for it!  We’re trying to give our kids the best start, but a lot of times, too many times, adults overlook the same recommendations out of habit.  There are lots (LOTS) of studies that show a relationship between skipping breakfast and obesity.  And that just brings on a lot of other problems you want to avoid (totally a new blog post idea there!)  For any of you guys who really like the numbers & data, I’ll just leave these right here….

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4310153/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743511003367

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2017-10-04-regularly-skipping-breakfast-linked-to-hardening-of-the-arteries/

SO…  who has time for breakfast?

… YOU DO!  🙂  This does not have to be a banquet, I promise!  On your way out the door?  Grab a hard boiled egg & an apple.  Don’t like eggs?  Try peanut butter.  Have a cup of milk & a banana.  Any yogurt fans?  There are so many different kinds of yogurt in the world now…. you’re bound to find ONE you like!  Maybe you just don’t have the stomach to eat in the morning.  That’s ok too.  Drink then.  Have you ever tried a carnation instant breakfast drink?  They’re pretty good!  Not to mention they’re light, and quick when you’re running out the door.

Regardless of your choice, you should still bring a few other things along for snacks during the day.  It takes about 15-20 minutes for the signals in your stomach to travel to your brain and then let out a body wide notification that you’re not hungry anymore!  So it’s pretty easy when you’re busy & skipping meals & finally get a moment… to overeat!

So we’ve talked about planning, covered breakfast, & snack ideas!  What about lunch and dinner?  If you plan, you can have food in the freezer that you just pull out for a quick throw together…  For example, I always bring my lunch to work…. & I’ve had a few comments that they look elaborate.  But they’re really simple!  If I can’t throw it together in 15 minutes, I can’t eat it during the work week.  I usually have some kind of meat or beans in my freezer that I cooked ahead of time (about an hour out of my weekend, tops!)  Last Friday, I threw diced chicken in a bowl, opened a can of green beans… threw about a cup in with the chicken, topped it with grated cheese & garlic & my main dish was complete!  I grabbed a slice of whole wheat bread, tossed a yogurt & some fruit in my bag and that was lunch.  It was DE-LICIOUS!

And while we’re on the subject, I’ll throw in my little plug for adding more veggies into our day.  The nutrition benefits of veggies are fantastic!  It doesn’t matter if they are fresh, frozen, or canned.  It’s true!  You will still get benefits from veggies if you don’t have time to cook them & choose the frozen or canned versions.

So there you have it!  The official Erin’s-on-the-move-and-doesn’t-have-much-time-to-cook meal plan.  🙂  I hope I got you guys thinking a little anyway!  If you have any ideas, please feel free to jump in!