Are You Carb Smart - Screening Bread Made Easier

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A low carb diet may be your plan for your beach body but are you giving up the right carbs?

You don’t need to be a carb loather to have a fabulous body.  Give it up now and you’ll only probably end up over eating or over-compensating at a later meal. 

You may think that it’s easier to distance yourself from this vital energy source, but before you turn your back on all carbs, consider what you are going to replace these with.  If it becomes apparent that your bread in sandwiches or toast are traded in for scones, biscuits and cakes then you may just want to re-consider. 

Trading in low glycaemic index carbs or slow releasing carbs for sugary and high fat snacks could be you committing food suicide.

To make the journey back to carbs easier, let's practise our nutrition screening tool.  It really is a quick way of analysing your bread.  See Be Shopping Savvy - Nutrition Labelling Decoded.

I picked up this ‘purple’ version of Tesco’s Finest Multiseed Farmhouse Batch as it really is one of my favourites.

The fats are below 10g/100g.  The ingredient list tells me that the fats are likely the heart loving types from seeds such as sunflower seeds, linseeds, pumpkins seeds and so on.

I am very pleased with the fibre content of this bread, it’s a whopping 7.5g/100g.  I am definitely happy and confident purchasing this little treasure for my breakfast or lunch.  I don’t eat bread daily so I am not too worried about the salt content. 

If salt is important to you, then instead of getting bogged down by the numbers, simply choose a brand that contains the least amount of salt per 100g (after you've applied our golden nutrition screening tool of course)!

This high fibre bread sure kills the hunger pangs.  Why not team this with tomato, cucumber slices and reduced fat cheese for a savoury snack option.  


Remember, portion sizes are key if you are trying to restrict your energy intake for weight loss.

So get trending with the right carbs.  The smart carbs.

Lovely readers, what's your favourite type of bread to eat?

Beer, Butter & Chocolate: The Unexpected Threesome For A Six Pack?

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As promised, an article for Andrew on ‘how to get a six pack on a beer, butter and chocolate diet’.  Isolated case of fearless eating you say?  You may be right, but before you think entirely impossible, apply the principles of moderation and almost anything can be possible.

Right now, my assumption is that Andrew is regularly sweating it out on a treadmill and completing high volumes of planks, plank walks, toe touches, modified side planks, full extensions, v-ups, suitcases and your old fashioned crunches.

Let’s face it; women aren’t the only ones watching their figures these days.  I blame celebrities again (naturally), but with the high publicising of Barbie figures, it’s not surprising that all are feeling the pressure to look good.  If you are serious about ‘feeling good in your skin’, in addition to exercising regularly, a fitness regime that incorporates a healthy, balanced diet can be the winning combo to a lean and beautiful body.

A Scraping Of Butter

The bad news is - if you must have butter, be warned that this is full of saturated fats.  Eat this liberally and expect your doctor to grimace over your high total cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease.  Team this with regular takeaways, deep fried foods, baking and other high fat products and you are well on your way to an early grave. 

If your heart is ready to acquiesce, then choose margarine.  Based on vegetable oils, this is the safe option.  Rich in poly and mono unsaturated fats, they work hard to combat the damaging effects of saturated fats.  

But before you rush ahead to slap on the margarine, remember that how much fat you eat is equally important, regardless of type.  

If your weight is in the healthy range, chances are that you are already eating ample fats.  A switch from butter to vegetable oils may be all that is necessary to change the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats.

Breakfast – don’t skip it

Butter addicts, don’t fear.  Reduce your takeaways, cakes, biscuits and deep fried foods and trade it for a scraping of butter.  Then have it with breakfast.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  A recent article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in March this year, indicated that men who skipped breakfast were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.  

A study by Antonogeorgos et al, in Paediatric Obesity, also showed that children who ate breakfast daily were more likely to prevent overweight and obesity.  It should really come as no surprise that eating breakfast will decrease the temptation to over-indulge in high fat & sugary foods later.

If you plan to use your quota of butter for a fry up, then think again.  An interesting article published in ‘Nutrition Research and Practice’, in February 2012, compared Korean and Western diets.  Those who chose ‘potatoes, fruit and nuts’ at breakfast, showed lower risks of high blood pressure and blood glucose levels, when compared with adults who chose ‘eggs, breads and processed meat.’ 

These are just some of the latest findings from around the world.  As it turns out; you can be slimmer and healthier simply by eating breakfast.  Team your breakfast with smart food choices and you’ll also help protect your heart and risk of diabetes.  What’s more, if the thin scraping of butter on your toast encourages you to eat breakfast, then this could be the saviour from a monster munch attack later in the day.

Breakfast suggestions 

• cereal with reduced fat milk 
• high fibre bread with a scraping of butter (or margarine) or other spreads.  
• another delicious breakfast selection is fruit salad with yoghurt. 

Lunching?

Base the rest of your meals around carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables.  Sandwiches packed with salads or soups and pasta salads bursting with coloured vegetables will help you meet your target of five fruit and vegetables a day.  Choose no bigger than a palm sized portion of meat, chicken or fish per day.  Don’t forget that lentils, beans and chick peas are a great alternative source of protein.

Combat Chocolate Cravings

After your gym work-out, why not treat yourself to a glass of low fat chocolate milk?  What a clever way of replacing muscle glycogen stores after exercise.  If you don’t do this, you run the risk of post work-out dives in blood sugar levels (and thus the danger of raging chocolate cravings). 

In addition to restoring the much needed carbohydrates, you’ll find that you’ve just satisfied your sweet tooth and potentially prevented a major pig out.  Have this drink immediately after a work-out (ideally within 30 minutes) for maximal absorption and replacement of glycogen stores.  Eat your evening meal as soon as you can.

What About Beer?

How could I forget!  After your hard work of healthy eating and commitment to exercise, I think you’ve earned yourself a can of beer this weekend! 

If you decide to give the can a miss, I found Delia's braised steak and mushroom recipe online which could also be prepared with beer.  Just go easy on the butter!

Enjoy!


Please comment below, I really love and read all of your comments!

Breakfast Attack: How To Screen Your Cereal

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Do you ever feel bewildered by the number of breakfast cereals available on the supermarket shelves today?

If you have applied my screening tool for decoding nutrition panels (refer to article 'Be shopping savvy' for more info), then you may have noticed that very few breakfast cereals actually meet the golden criteria of <15g/100g sugar, <10g/100g fat and >5g/100g fibre.

Breakfast cereals are tricky as you want to consider the actual source of the fat and sugar.  If you find a cereal that receives your stamp of approval for fats and fibre, but not for sugar (contains >15g/100g), then I suggest that you look closely at the ingredient list.  

There are many reasons why breakfast cereals fail in this area and it's purely due to the added sugars.  Don't forget that any honey or syrups that are added to the cereal will also contribute to the total sugar content of the cereal.  If your favourite cereal is low in fat but high in sugar, think about where these sugars are coming from.  Is there dried fruit in this cereal?  Is fruit listed as one of the top three ingredients or is it sugar, honey and syrups?

Sugar added to cereal is not the same as sugar from dried fruit

For example, let's have a look at Alpen High Fruit cereal.  

This is a perfect example of a low fat, high fibre cereal with a high sugar content.  The good news is that the majority of sugars are sultanas, raisins and dried apple pieces.  There's further dried fruit in the form of blackcurrants and cranberries.  Sounds delicious.  As a rule, dried fruit contributing to the total sugar content of the cereal is not the same as added regular sugar.  


Fruit provide dietary fibre and are also a source of essential vitamins and minerals.  The verdict?  I am not complaining.  If you are a fan of muesli type breakfast cereals, then dig in (after you've applied the screening tool ofcourse)!

If you want a cereal without the extra fruit then have a look at Alpen Original.   This particular cereal is also low in fat and receives the tick for fibre.  Did you notice that the sugar content is lower at 23% compared to 30% from the High Fruit range?  Did your beady eye also notice that Alpen Original has ordinary sugar added as their fourth ingredient?  Think of the Alpen High Fruit as the cereal that's full to the brim with dried fruit, whilst Alpen Original has clearly needed a boost in flavour with a bit of regular sugar.

Ladies it's your breakfast, pick the one that tickles your taste buds.  Personally, I prefer waking up to a small bowl of Scottish Jumbo Oats, stocked by Waitrose.  It has a whopping 10.8g/100g of dietary fibre and is just right with a dash of skimmed milk and a teaspoon of brown sugar or dried fruit.  It's the perfect breakfast made easy.  More importantly, I am in control of how much sugar gets added every morning, not the manufacturer.

Enjoy the last day of your Easter holidays! Don't forget your breakfast tomorrow.


Please comment below, I really love and read all of your comments!