FOOD for THOUGHT: If You Buy It, They Will Eat It…

(Dietary changes should be discussed with a health care provider.)

…and, if “they” don’t finish it, you and I might eat it.  The infamous they in this case is our family & friends, and the undefined “it” is junk food.  Here are some strategies to lay off the junk and some ideas for what should take its place.

This may seem overly simplified, but unless it is somebody’s birthday, you are planning a big party/BBQ or it’s a major holiday, don’t purchase junk food.  If we don’t buy it, it will not be available in our homes to be eaten by us or anyone else.  Am I suggesting we never eat a treat?  No.  I suggest that we eat mostly better treats, and that we eat treats, in general, less often.

It is a much bigger time commitment to go to the store for a bag of chips than it is to go to your cupboard, as is making cookies from scratch rather than buying them.  It is a bigger financial commitment to go out for ice cream than to pull it from the freezer.  Let’s use these resource sinks in our favor to make bad snacking less frequent.  (Unless you are like my husband and don’t need a deterrent because it takes you a year to eat a gourmet chocolate bar.  Seriously, every December he has to eat the last square of last year’s gift to make room for the new one in the fridge door behind the peanut butter, jelly, wasabi and curry paste.)  When you do consciously give in, make an event of it.  Turn a trip for ice cream into a field trip with friends, family or neighbors; catch up on life, and share & laugh together.  Schedule a baking day with your kids or your roommate.  Everyone involved gets to savor the anticipation of both the food treat and the quality time.  My brother read some good advise recently “We may eat as much junk food as we want as long as we only eat what is freshly made by us – from scratch.“ -- do you know how to make a Twinkie or cheese puffs in your own kitchen, or have time to do so?

I did not used to be a fan of “healthy” junk food.  I had a kind of hard line approach that the full fat, sweet version can be more natural & tastes better, and if that was a problem, then you were eating too much too often.  That was before I found out that wheat germ and nuts are not standard ingredients in chocolate chip cookies and that most common recipes use more than twice the sugar than the recipe I learned.  In general when baking anything, try cutting the sugar measurement in half.  (Please don’t take this as an opportunity to try fake sweeteners.  If necessary, just cut back the sugar more slowly at first.)  Later we will learn how pureed cooked carrots leave baked goods tasting lighter, butterier, and sweeter than sugar and butter, and how finely diced apples increase their flavor and fiber.

For today let’s look at some quicker easier healthy snack food:

Chips & Salsa:  Unflavored corn chips and unsweetened salsa pack a healthy flavor punch.  Salsa is basically diced vegetables.  If you can handle the heat, go for hot peppers.  If you have a sweet tooth, try mango or peach.

Fruit:  Treat yourself twice this summer; pick up a fun or fancy, frivolous bowl that makes you smile at a yard sale, and fill it with fruit to leave on your table or counter from which to snack.  If it is emptying too slowly at first, occasionally cut several fruits and leave them out on a plate, the cut fruit will disappear like magic.

Homemade Popsicles:  Those molds with the stick handles are fairly inexpensive, and making a large batch a couple times a month in hot whether is pretty quick work.  Dice fruit, and fill the popsicle molds with it, then fill the in-between space with unsweetened citrus juice.  If you don’t like “chunks” in your frozen dessert, puree the fruit and juice (or water) together first.  Try to avoid non-citrus juice; there is not enough fiber in the diced fruit to balance out that much sugar.

Trail Mix:  This mix of dried fruit (natural sugar for quick energy), nuts/seeds (protein for later energy) and fiber (for avoiding blood sugar spikes), is a snack that will last you a while (while you slowly chew it and slowly digest it).  I sometimes mix my own to get my favorite nuts, seeds and dried fruits, but there are some good pre-mixed ones out there.  If there is chocolate involved, go for plain dark chocolate rather than candy pieces.

Peanut Butter (unsweetened) on Apples (naturally sweet) or on Bananas:  For kids I slice the apple the way you would slice a tomato for a sandwich; then you have a flat surface to hold the PB and you can make mini-round apple-PB-apple sandwiches.  I personally love these.  (I like the tartest apples that can be found.)

Veggie Sticks and Hummus:  Hummus does not have to be made out of chickpeas, though even most kids love popping chick peas whole.  You can make it from white beans, fava beans and even black beans.  Instead of lemon or garlic, you can add any herbs and spices you like.

Seaweed or Kale “Chips”:  Satisfyingly crisp & flavorful.

CHALLENGE #5 of 50:

Starting this week, stop buying junk food, (but don’t stop treating yourself).  When you run out of a junk food, whether a dessert or a snack, replace it with a better option.  For example it’s fresh berry time – they make a great dessert treat.

If you already eat healthy snacks & desserts, take this week to get rid of the junkiest food that still comes into the house whether that is instant oatmeal instead of old-fashioned, or white rice instead of wholegrain, or some sauce that is more fake flavors and colors than food.

QUICK TIP:  Never go shopping hungry.  Shop after a meal or have a large healthy snack before you set out.  Hunger really does trigger unwanted – and usually unhealthy – purchases.

QUOTE of the WEEK:

If we’re not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn’t settle for junk food.

Sally Edwards