Taste of Home is sponsoring a company weight loss program based on our new cookbook, The Comfort Food Diet. I asked one of the participants, Associate Web Editor Heather Gergen, to share with us her journey to a healthier lifestyle.
My mother came to visit last weekend. She brought a huge plate of brownies, along with a variety of junk food. Brownies are about as hard for me to resist as a plate of chocolate chip cookies. I asked her why she brought them to my house when she knows that I am on a diet. She replied “You don’t have to eat them. I brought them for the kids. I just didn’t want them to go bad sitting at home.”
I love my mom a lot and I know that she meant well by bringing them. I don’t want to seem ungrateful or hurt her feelings, but I also think my extended family could use some “tough love” about what we should and should not be eating.
We had a discussion about all of the empty calories in the snacks that she brought: Goldfish Crackers, Oreos and Chips Ahoy. It went something like…
“Oh, really? It says right here on the package that there are 3g of protein and 20g of carbs,” she said. I explained to her that they don’t have whole grains, so they don’t have a good nutritional value. Manufacturers can choose to highlight just about anything on their labels.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Chips Ahoy or Oreo as much as the next person, but I simply can’t have them in my house or I will eat them. Again, everything in moderation. One single-serving package occasionally is fine, but a 12-pack of individual servings to pack in lunches makes it a daily indulgence.
A single-serving package of Oreos contains 210 calories and a package of Chips Ahoy contains 190 calories. Definitely not low-cal snacks.
The “individual” bags of Goldfish were 140 calories a serving, but contain 2 servings a bag. That’s 280 calories! A bit misleading, if you ask me.
“OK, then donate them to the food pantry. None of us should be eating them,” my mother said.
True, but then that brings up the fact that obesity is a national epidemic brought on partially by the fact that junk food is simply cheaper than healthier foods. I did donate the snacks to the food pantry because I didn’t want the food to “go to waste” while it could be feeding a hungry person, but I didn’t feel good about it.
At the end of the discussion, she asked me to make a list of what are good snacks that she can bring for the kids to eat. So, here’s my list of healthy snacks:
• Any kind of fruit or vegetables
• Graham crackers without high-fructose corn syrup
• Cheese sticks
• Nuts
• Whole-grain cereal without high-fructose corn syrup (i.e Cheerios)
• Whole-wheat pretzels
• Air-popped popcorn
• Baby carrots
• Z-Bars
• Mini bagels
• Fruit juice popsicles
• 100% juice boxes
• Whole grain baked goods, like Trader Joe’s Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Hummus and mini pita breads
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Low-fat ham
• Yogurt
Here are a few basic snack rules:
• Virtually any snack where the first ingredient on the nutritional label is whole grain, and high fructose corn syrup doesn’t appear anywhere in the list, is probably OK. But, be aware of other forms of sugar such as rice syrup, honey, and others. Some products end up having five different types of sugars in their product which isn’t healthy either.
• If food items have a really long shelf life, they probably aren’t that healthy.
• Just because a package says that it’s “natural”, doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
• Try to keep snacks to around 100 calories.
• If you’re concerned about treats going bad at home, put them in the freezer and pull them out on special occasions. (Right now, we’re fighting the battle of the Girl Scout cookies. I find that if I put them in the basement freezer I don’t eat them as quickly.)
Here are some more snack idea resources:
- Healthy Snacks for Kids
- Healthy Snacking-Workday Snacks
- Guilt Free Foods
- Top 10 Healthy Recipes for Kids
What I made this week:
I have been using the slow cooker a lot this week. This time, my 8 year-old daughter took over the task of cooking breakfast on Sunday. She made Slow Cooked Blueberry French Toast and did a great job. Having kids cook in the slow cooker is a great way for them to learn how to cook independently without having to deal with them possibly getting burned on the stove. They’ll need a little help at the end making the blueberry sauce, but it is a pretty easy recipe.
My mother described the French toast as “simply decadent.” I agree. It is only 390 calories, which could be lowered by using a few makeover tips like replacing fat-free cream cheese, sour cream and yogurt for the full-fat versions.
I highly recommend this one for Mother’s Day. Breakfast in bed anyone?
Get this recipe: Slow-Cooked Blueberry French Toast
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with everything you said, with one exception: “and high fructose corn syrup”. You are giving high fructose corn syrup a bad name – sugar is sugar, and your body recognizes it as such. Do a little more research and you’ll find that it is no more harmful to you than any of the other types. Don’t be so quick to jump on the bandwagon in regards to what is healthy and what is not by what popular media presents.
I would also remove the baby carrots and take a few minutes to cut up real carrot sticks. the Baby ones are soaked in a bleach solution for a preservative effect
Much more than you would think of exposing you or family to a one time that’s why they turn white after opening and starting to dry out
I’m surprised that you listed bagels as a healthy snack when they raise blood sugar to astronomical levels. Way more than almost every other grain based food.
I love your list of healthy snack options. I feel like I grab for the same thing day after day – granola bar, anyone? I especially like the popcorn. It seems indulgent, but it’s healthy.
I am tired of hearing comments about sugar is sugar, tell that to a diabetic or someone like me. I personally have a problem with high fructose corn syrup, I get severely bloated, it is painful and takes weeks to get out of my system. Where are you researching, what statistics are you quoting???? HFCS producers???
The information about baby carrots being soaked in bleach (see Rosie Yarnall’s comment) is misleading, if not completely incorrect. Here is a link to correct information: http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp. If you google the phrase (no brackets) you will find a number of other articles giving the same information.
In response to Susan. I get a lot of my information from Dr. Oz, from the Drs show and from Dr. Mercola online. Here are Dr. Mercola’s thoughts on fructose at this link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx
If I understand correctly sugar in excess is not good for anyone but, the high fructose corn syrup sounds downright evil. I’m not a big pop drinker but I am happy that some of the pops are now featuring natural sugar instead of the high fructose corn syrup.
You shouldn’t be drinking pop at all…doesn’t matter if it has HFCS or Sugar. Pop is bad, bad, bad. The end.
Drink water, skim milk, diet pop (sparingly), stay away from fruit juice and eat whole fruit, Crystal Light (again, sparingly)
Gatorade is crap – no one except Athletes who are under EXTREME training need this amount of electrolytes and it is loaded with sugars too!
It is no wonder our kids are fat,fat, fat…. sad….
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