Smaller Portions, Bigger World

     Here we are again, thigh-deep in a frenzy of pre-summer shaping up or trying desperately to maintain our new figures after finally losing those holiday hips.  Are you finding either one challenging?  If so, here's a little tip that may come in handy the next time you're dining out: NEVER EAT ANYTHING BIGGER THAN YOUR HEAD.  Honestly, what is up with portion sizes at restaurants these days?  Chances are, if you order from anything but the little tykes' menu, there will be placed before you enough food to keep you going for a week -- and going strongly.  Who thought this was a good idea?

     Here's a thought: Don't eat all of it.  But wouldn't that be wasteful?  Heavens, no; you'll actually be saving money because you can eat those leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.  In fact, if you already know what to expect, ask your server to package up half your plate before it's brought to the table.  Then -- and here's the hard part -- stop eating when you feel full.  It's not easy, I know, especially if you're out with friends, chatting merrily away, and everyone else is ordering cheesecake.  Why, it can be downright painful to stop eating while others munch on.  But look at it this way: If you'll learn to pay attention to your body and recognize when you've had enough, you can eat pretty much anything you want.  Just eat less of it.  (Please note that individuals with cardiovascular disease or diabetes may need to be more stringent about their food choices.)

     I'm all about portion control because I am just dreadful at giving up entire food groups.  Do not tell me that I can't have that mound of mashed potatoes -- I may harm you.  But if I can have just a few bites of those mashed potatoes, I'll savor every morsel, we'll all get out of here safely, and I won't be seeing evidence of them around my middle by the time I get home.

     So if you're struggling with trying to control your intake of sugar or fats or carbohydrates, consider this approach.  Now ALL foods are available to you.  Enjoy a small portion or just a couple of bites of anything you wish, and the first few bites are always the best anyway, right?  And, oh yes, even if its just a salad fit for King Kong, NEVER EAT ANYTHING BIGGER THAN YOUR HEAD!

 

What Do I Do With All These Easter Eggs?!?

Why, you make egg salad, of course, but not just ANY egg salad.  Try this new twist.  Replace the hard-boiled yolks with chopped avocado for a reduction of fat and cholesterol.  Then don't forget to add lots of crunchy texture with celery, green onions, red or green bell peppers, olives, pickles, mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, or anything else you happen to have on hand.  Season with salt, white or black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, paprika (sweet or smoky), coriander, dill, or your personal favorites.  And if you're counting calories or carbs, enjoy that egg salad in a lettuce wrap with cucumber and tomato slices rather than between two pieces of bread.  There now -- don't you wish you'd dyed MORE EGGS? 

If you have other egg recipes, please share them in a comment!

My Least Favorite Thing on the Face of the Earth

      PEEPS.  There, I've said it.  I know it's unAmerican and a great big old Easter bah humbug, but honestly, I believe they are the most disturbing food ever invented.  Ewwww, ewwww, ickyewwww, patooey.  I'm told you can entertain large groups by blowing them up in the microwave, which sounds to me like the only possible use for them (except maybe for festive-colored spackling).  And good luck cleaning up THAT pastel tsunami.  Might as well just get a new microwave.

      A close friend of mine, who ADORED the darn things, used to say that they didn't really start getting good until you opened the package and let them sit around and get hard for a few days.  Dear God. 

      So there, I've confessed.  And I know I must be in the minority because you can't swing a cat at the grocery store this time of year without knocking over a dozen shelves worth of them, so SOMEBODY is eating them.  If you're a loyal Peep popper, try to convince me why I should reconsider.  Or why I shouldn't think that YOU HAVE NO TASTE AT ALL!!  I'm waiting.  

Calories: Count on 'em!

     I was browsing in the bakery section of the grocery store recently (oh, all right, I was ogling the key lime pies, but everyone in the world doesn't have to know it) when I overheard two women at the counter ask for low-carb bagels.  When the clerk informed them that the bagels were sold out, the women shrieked.  I'm not kidding you, they actually shrieked.  The poor clerk dashed into the back to search for more bagels, and thankfully, she was able to produce several packages.  The two shoppers breathed audible sighs of relief and headed off happily with their treasures.  Well, I couldn't help myself.  I sauntered over and picked up one of the remaining packages of coveted goodies and checked out the nutrition label.  Guess what?  Those bagels had more calories and fat than the full-carb (yet slightly smaller) bagels I usually eat. 

     Is there a lesson here?  You bet there is.  Let's take a quick trip back to the '80s.  Do you recall the first time you saw a fat-free Entenmann's Cherry Cheese-Filled Coffee Cake?  Don't try to tell me you didn't snatch that bad boy up and run home and eat the whole thing because that's exactly what I did.  In fact, I plowed through three of them the first week and gained ten pounds that year.  I said to everyone I knew, "If you don't eat fat, you won't be fat."  And I'm pretty sure I said it once WHILE I WAS SHOPPING FOR LARGER JEANS.  Now, I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure that if they take the fat out, they're going to replace it with something to add flavor, probably salt or sugar, and there will very likely be little or no reduction in the number of calories.

     I don't care what diet works for you or how many grams of this or points of that you're allowed to have, losing weight is still a matter of calories.  If you burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight.  If you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain.  And it doesn't matter whether those extra calories come in the form of carbs, protein, or fat -- the excess will be stored in your body.  It's that simple.  We all have friends who have lost oodles of weight on the Atkins Diet or another similarly restrictive program, and those friends may have sworn that the weight just fell off of them and they never felt better -- and I'm sure it was all true -- but they were also simply taking in fewer calories.

     I remember those fat-free Entenmann's coffee cakes fondly, but I like to think we're all a little wiser now.  Read your labels and check your calorie counts.  Before you moan about not being able to lose those pesky pounds, determine what you're really putting in your mouth.  Write it down, in fact.  Get yourself a calorie counts book and a calculator and figure it out.  Chances are you're eating more than you think.  Give it some thought -- before you spread fat-free cream cheese on that second low-carb bagel!