Glycemic Load: What you should know

In my last post I explained that the popularity of glycemic index among dieters is based on myths about the affect of insulin on hunger, fat storage and weight gain. Glycemic index does have value however, just not what the fad-diet books claimed.

The glycemic index (GI) value of a particular food tells you how rapidly exactly 50 grams of carbohydrate from that food will move into your blood. The weakness of the glycemic index is that you don't generally eat food portions that provide exactly 50-grams of carbohydrate.

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6 Keys to Mastering the Evening Meal

Part One: Keys 1 & 2

Mealtime, a once honored and treasured family experience, has become challenging with our demanding and fast-paced lives. Between the demands of work, time spent commuting, responsibilities as a parent, etc., etc.; it is often hard to find the time or energy for preparing a meal. Cooking, however, can actually be a pleasant way to unwind and can have, as its end, a nutritious and satisfying meal that everyone will enjoy.

If you buy into the goal of getting a healthy and nutritious meal on the table for your family, then let’s explore six keys (just the first two today) for making mealtime an experience that you’ll look forward to and enjoy.

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3 Great Reasons Why to Plan a Weekly Menu in Advance!

1. Saves money: you shop based on what you already know you're cooking. Less produce goes to waste, because you buy mainly what you know you will use.

2. Saves time: We're always more effiicent when we shop from a list.

3. Your familiy eats healthier meals: When you plan ahead (and not on a hungry stomach) you will make healthier plans, than when you are running into the store on the way home from work. This of course assumes that you are planning things that are made at home--cooking/preparing yourself--instead of grabbing take-out.

How we do it: Sometimes I sit down and preplan the whole month, and other times I just plan a week or two in advance. This is much less work than you think, because we (people) are very routine in our eating patterns, so you will want to eat things that are your favorites, including things that are (read more...)

All the best!
-Dorene

True/False: You never plan to fail, but fail to plan!

One of the obstacles to your healthy eating plans is likely wondering, “what’s for dinner” when your stomach is already grumbling! At that point it’s usually too late as hunger usually trumps even the best intentions. That’s where what I call “emergency meals” come in. Emergency meals are quick and easy, and readily made from staples I keep on hand.

For example last week, my 16-yr-old was home sick for the 3^rd day in a row, and his cold had just struck me too. Normally he cooks dinner that night (more on that another day!). What’d I do? Split pea soup, and whole grain toast. Making this soup is almost the same effort as boilng water.

Some other examples of "emergency meals" are nachos, vegi-burgers, (canned) soup & open face "grilled" cheese sandwiches.

TGIF & Pizza Night!

My family loves pizza, so making it a Friday night tradition is a no brainer for this busy family! Fortunately Trader Joe's makes it affordable and healthy for us. TJ's has a great frozen and fresh (personal size) pizza selection. Even though there are four of us we usually cook four pizzas. These TJ's pizzas are thin crust and light on the cheese, so not nearly as much food (and calories) as takeout style pizzas. Plus, we always have leftovers which make great snacks the next day.

Here's what we're doing tonight:

*Pizza Margherita (fresh, 10 oz.); 540 total calories

*Tarte aux Champignons (frozen, 9.45 oz.); 600 total calories
  (French style flat bread with mushrooms, emmental and parmesan cheese)

*Tomato Pesto Flatbread (frozen, 9 oz.); 765 total calories

*Organic Woodfired Sicilian Style Pizza (frozen, 14.4 oz.); 859 total calories