A friend of mine sent me
this link today telling me I just had to try them.
I clicked
the link and was unimpressed.
When I explained to my friend that I generally only eat foods that ADD to my diet, and went on to explain what I meant, he accused me of being a Food Nazi. Since he's German, I guess he'd know. But I wasn't offended by the term.
While their methods were crap - the Nazis sought a pure race (a stupid goal). Well, I find myself drawn, more and more, to pure foods (a great goal). While I prefer to stop the metaphor there, I'm okay with the title.
There was a time, not too long ago and at the beginning of this endeavor, when I would have jumped at the chance for tasty baked chips. It was a way of sticking to what I considered normal snack foods - but a "healthy" alternative.
But just what is healthy about it? What does it add nutritionally to a diet? Vitamins? Calcium? Fiber? No. No. No. It just adds empty calories. And I am not a fan of wasting my calories.
Living with 1300 calories a day takes a lot of nutritional thought. About two months ago I shifted some focus to tracking how many servings of fruits and veggies I consume in a day. Enter what I call
Nutritional Multi-tasking.
Craving a crunchy snack? I grab carrots. They are satisfyingly crisp AND a good source of fiber, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K, biotin, potassium and thiamine. Can we say that about Baked Lays? I haven't researched it, but I'm guessing "No." Not only am I satisfying my crunch crave, but I'm adding to my servings of vegetables for the day.
Nutritional Multi-tasking. 30 baby carrots are 100 calories. Check that against the serving size of Baked Lays.
Craving something sweet? How about watermelon? The health benefits of watermelon include preventing kidney disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart care, heat stroke, macular degeneration, impotence, etc. Watermelon is a good source of thiamin, potassium and magnesium which protect our body from so many diseases. Can the same be said of Twinkies? I'll let you answer that. A cup of watermelon is only 50 calories.
Craving something salty? This can be tricky, to be honest and I don't really have it down. I love salt. When the cravings are bad, however, I add a bit of salt to a fresh food. Sometimes I add salt to my watermelon. Sometimes I grab a handful of salted peanuts or almonds (watch the fat and calories!). The hardest trick here is to keep an eye on sodium. It's recommended that we stay below 2000 mg of sodium a day. Fruits and vegetables, because they are natural, raw foods, comply to this (as opposed to those Baked Lays), but rarely satisfy that salty craving alone. I've switched to sea salt from a grinder in order to mitigate the damages of this vice.
This article touts the benefits of salt, but I am a bit skeptical (and now a little freaked out about my sea salt!).
Craving something cool? Grab fresh fruit or veggies from the fridge! There is nutritional value in most fresh foods, but add in a cooler temp and it's a great way to beat the heat. Blend it with ice and you're doing even better!
I started this endeavor making , but as I've grown (smaller) and learned so much more about nutrition, I am very pleased with the natural evolution. Also, I think it's a good path of discovery for others to take. Learn about the foods you are eating. See if they ADD to your diet, or merely substitute. And, as busy people, we can all use Nutritional Multi-tasking, right?
Heil Health!
