Go Naturally Nutrient-Rich

For many people in the northern part of the country, winter is a major downer. When you live in a place where the cold, snow, and ice are compounded by a serious lack of sunlight (like New England, where I live) the conditions can make you, well, just a tad bit grouchy. In my opinion, taking a vow to ban favorite foods in the name of good health only makes winter worse.

How about resolving to eat more this year?  Yes, I said “more.”

There’s a catch, of course! I’m talking about including more nutrient-rich foods, not cookies, candy, and chips.

What are Naturally Nutrient-Rich Foods?

Naturally nutrient-rich foods are whole or very lightly processed foods that provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients for relatively few calories. In other words, naturally nutrient-rich foods provide a bigger bang for the caloric buck.

Naturally nutrient-rich foods include:

How Can Naturally Nutrient-Rich Foods Help You Slim Down?

Everyone has a daily calorie allowance to spend, whether they want to lose, maintain, or gain weight.  Choosing naturally nutrient-rich foods most of the time makes your food choices work harder for you.

Studies show that people tend to eat less when their diets are based on naturally nutrient-rich foods, perhaps because naturally nutrient-rich foods are more satisfying in the long-run.  For example, the fiber in whole grain cereals paired with the protein in milk keeps you fuller for longer, compared to a white bagel and cream cheese.

Focusing on the foods you need to eat every day, such as three servings a day of low-fat dairy and two servings of fruit, is a positive idea that takes the emphasis off of what you shouldn’t eat, and naturally, crowds out other, less nutritious choices. For example, reaching for an apple and low-fat yogurt instead of cookies helps you satisfy your daily quotas for fruit and dairy foods and adds protein, calcium, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your diet.

Make Room for Fun Foods

Eating the naturally nutrient-rich way does not mean giving up your favorite foods, such as French fries, chips, cake, and ice cream.  Even people who need to lose weight are allowed a certain amount of calories every day to spend any way they like – no questions asked!

To find out your fun food calorie budget, and to plan a naturally nutrient-rich eating program, use MyPyramid at www.mypyramid.gov, which is founded on the government’s guidelines for good eating.

Yours truly,

Liz Ward

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 1:54 pm and is filed under Moms Best Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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