Searching For Low Calorie Foods?
At the supermarket
Many times, on our weekly trip to the supermarket, we have the best intentions in the world to fill our shopping cart with low calorie foods. But, do we make a stop at the vegetable section? I am afraid most of us either do not, or our visit to it is quite brief.
Unfortunately, in spite of constant medical news about vegetables being the best prevention and cure for hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and many more chronic diseases, we ignore the advise and we keep searching for different low calorie food alternatives in different sections or the supermarket.
Does it matter what vegetables you eat?
Yes, because if you are looking for low calorie foods, not all vegetables contribute the same kind of nutrients and calories. We need to be aware of how each variety benefits us so that we include all or most of them as part of our menus. If you happen to be diabetic or there is a genetic tendency in your family for this disease, it is important you know that there are two classifications for vegetables:
1. Vegetables that do not have starches. This group contributes very few calories and carbohydrates to our diet, about 25 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrates per portion. It includes among others:
- Green leafy vegetables
- Peppers
- Broccoli
- Green beans. They are the best kind for diabetics. A portion is half cup of cooked vegetables or one cup raw.
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
2. Vegetables that do have starches. These vegetables are also good for your health but they contribute about 80 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrate per portion. Among these vegetables we find:
- Pumpkin
- Corn
- Green peas
- potatoes
As you can see, these vegetables contribute more calories and more carbohydrates to the meal, so if you have diabetes type 2 you need to take this into consideration.
Put colors on your plate
A problem that we may have, in addition to not eating enough vegetables, is that sometimes we do not choose the ones that benefit us the most. Nutrition experts recommend 750 grams a week of dark green leafy vegetables and 500 grams of the orange/yellow kind; these two groups, along with the red and purple ones, offer nutrients that we often lack such as fiber, vitamin A and C, calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Keep hypertension at bay
It is worth mention here the mineral potassium because of its relationship with hypertension. A diet rich in potassium balances the effect of salt when dealing with high blood pressure. The proportion between potassium and sodium should be four to one; this is accomplished by eating the recommended daily portions of vegetables.
The color language
Colors can give you an idea of what nutrients vegetables have:
1. Dark green: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage. They provide fiber, vitamins A and C, magnesium, folic acid, and potassium.
2. Orange and yellow: carrots, zucchini, peppers, corn, potatoes, pumpkins. They provide fiber, vitamin A, and potassium.
3. Red and purple: tomatoes, red peppers, onions, beets, eggplants, red cabbage, radishes. They are very high in antioxidants.
Cooked or raw
When you eat raw vegetables you are ingesting all their minerals and vitamins they contain. Heat, however, kills many of those vitamins. That’s why, when cooking vegetables, it is important to do it the right way so that a minimum of the nutrients are lost. Steaming vegetables is the best way to go. Make a habit of washing vegetables before cooking them.
The right dressing for your salad
Because eating a salad or any kind of vegetables with the wrong dressing or the wrong amount of dressing would subtract benefits to a very healthy dish, here are some tips you can keep in mind to obtain the most benefits from your vegetables:
1. Prepare your own dressing with extra virgin olive oil and half lemon juice or vinegar. Add mustard and spices. This home dressing will last for a week if you keep it in the refrigerator.
2. Buy low fat or non fat dressings. Check the food label to make sure they are not high in sodium or sugar.
3. Sprinkle the dressing over the salad carefully to make sure you don’t use too much.
4. If the dressing is creamy add some balsamic vinegar.
5. At the restaurant ask the waiter to serve you the dressing on the side and use just the necessary to cover the vegetables.
It doesn’t take too much time to cook vegetables
If you skip vegetables when preparing meals at home because you think cooking or fixing them is time consuming, consider the many options available nowadays. At the market you can find a large variety of vegetables already cut and washed that you can use for salads and some others are ready to be either steamed or warmed up in the microwave.
Other possibilities are frozen or canned vegetables as long as they are not high in sodium or fat. High sodium in packaged food is any amount above 140 mg per serving.
Final thoughts
Maybe vegetables are not present as it would be desirable in our lives because the restaurants we frequent don’t have them in their menus or maybe because they are not part of the precooked and packaged meals we buy at the market, but they are our best alternative when looking for low calorie foods. One alternative to include more vegetable in your diet is to cook more at home and also, to choose better restaurants when we go out to eat.
Have a Healthy Day
Emilia Klapp, BS, RD
www.TheDiabetesClub.com
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