Nutrition News: One-Hundred Calories a Day I am convinced losing weight is like saving money -- you do it a few calories or a few dollars at a time. It takes 3,500 calories to gain a pound and the same amount to lose a pound. If you break that down, decreasing 100 calories per day for a year can result in a 10 pound weight loss. The Cooperative Extension Service in Lancaster County, Nebraska, offers 12 easy ways to eat 100 fewer calories per day: -- Modify your milk. Switch from whole milk to 2 percent, or it's even better to choose skim over 2 percent. -- Modify your mayo. Switch from 2 tablespoons of regular mayonnaise to 2 tablespoons of low-fat mayonnaise. -- Rethink your drink. Choose a 12-ounce can of diet soft drink at 0 calories for a similar amount of a regular soft drink at 150 calories. Or drink water. -- Downsize your drink. If you've been drinking a 20-ounce soft drink, switch to a 12-ounce size. -- "Dress," don't "drown" your salad. Each 2-cup serving of salad greens should have about 1 tablespoon of dressing. You can get more flavor with less dressing by making sure your salad greens are washed and thoroughly dried. -- Size up your cereal bowl. Most of us eat twice the serving size listed on cereal boxes. Try eating from a smaller bowl to aid in portion control. -- Watch your bread and spreads. When dining out, limit the amount of bread/rolls and spreads eaten before a main course. -- Count your cookies. A single medium-sized cookie easily can have about 100 calories. Often, it's easy to pop two or three at a time. -- Top your potato with fewer calories. A couple of tablespoons of butter can add up to 200 calories per 2 tablespoons. Try switching to sour cream (one-fourth cup equals 100 calories), or switch to low-fat or fat-free sour cream for even fewer calories. -- Lessen your liquor. If you drink, limit consumption to one drink for women and two drinks for men. A typical 5-ounce glass of wine has 100 calories, a 12-ounce serving of beer has 150 calories, and 1.5 ounces of spirits has 100 calories. -- Be size-wise with fast food. Skip the mayo when ordering a fast-food burger. Try a small, regular or junior instead of a bigger version. Order the smallest size of fries, or consider a side salad with light dressing instead of fries. Order a diet soft drink or plain water. -- Practice portion control with popcorn. It's easy to eat half a bag or more at a sitting. While even 2 cups of the more buttery popcorns may weigh in at 100 calories or less, the entire package might yield 10 or more cups, or possibly 500 calories. -- Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service Q & A Q: Are canned beans as nutritious as dried? A: Yes, bean for bean, canned and cooked dried beans provide the same nutrients. If you look at the numbers, canned beans may seem to contain fewer calories and less fiber, but that's because they are often plumper (from absorbing more water), so there are fewer beans per serving. Their main drawback is the added sodium. However, you can remove as much as 40 percent of the sodium by draining the beans, then rinsing them under running water for about a minute. Or look for low or reduced sodium versions or cans with no salt added. -- UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, January 2011 RECIPE The in-season super food is cranberries. They can wake up a muffin, add zing to pork, and make a seriously healthy sandwich spread, according to Prevention Magazine's December issue. Buy a bag now, and it will last two to four weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year in the freezer. This recipe for Cranberry Chops is from the December magazine: Cranberry Chops 1 1/4 pound thin boneless pork chops 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dried sage (optional) 2 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 cup water 1 cup cranberries, chopped 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon grainy mustard Sprinkle pork with salt and sage. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in nonstick frying pan over high heat and brown pork, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove and lower heat to medium-low. Cook garlic for 1 minute. Add wine and scrape up brown bits. Stir in water, cranberries, honey and mustard, and simmer until thickened, about 7 minutes. Spoon over pork. Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 278.1 calories, 31.2 g protein, 14.2 g carbohydrate, 9.3 g fat, 79.4 mg cholesterol, 1.3 g fiber, 408 mg sodium. ======== Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian from Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com. To find out more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. |
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