What Are the Healthy Foods That Could Make You Fat?

Think you know everything about diet and nutrition? Think again. The food that you may feel are beneficial for your wellness and wellbeing may actually be helping you to pile on the pounds and feel sluggish and unwell.

 

Bread is one of the biggest food traps. Bread lovers will be dismayed to find out that it is possible to eat too much bread in just one single sitting. If you really need bread in your life, and can’t live without sandwiches, then allow yourself to have some, but try to limit the amount that you eat to just one or two slices a day. Bread isn’t the enemy, but you do need to control the amount of it that you eat. Instead of bread, you can have grains such as rice, couscous, quinoa or whole-wheat pasta.

 

Fruit-flavoured yoghurt is also a trap – even if it’s low fat, it’s too easy to scoff several cartons of yoghurt, increasing the calorie intake. Instead of fruity yoghurt, buy plain non-fat yoghurt and stir in your own fresh fruit. Having to mix your own fresh fruit is enough of an incentive to stop you over indulging on yoghurt, according to a study carried out by Weight Watchers.

 

You may think that your breakfast cereals are a safe bet, but all kinds of breakfast cereal (even the healthy kinds) can make you pile on the pounds. This is especially the case if you eat breakfast cereal straight out of the packet as a snack during the day. Even healthy cereals can really help to increase your calorie count over the course of a day. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure that you only eat breakfast cereal in the morning, with milk and a spoon. When combined with the milk, you will eat less cereal, and if you use skim milk but with far fewer calories.

Categories: Bread, breakfast, breakfast cereal, Cereal, eat breakfast, Fat, foods, fresh fruit, Healthy, yoghurt

Diet-Friendly Carbs That Won’t Spoil Your Weight Loss

We’ve all been on a diet, but the things to usually kick the bucket from our favourite meals are the carbs. These starchy additions may fill us up but they’re usually laden with calories that make them unsuitable for any healthy weight loss plan. Here are some alternatives that you may find helpful in keeping you feeling full and satisfied throughout the day.

Cereal as a filling breakfast every day

If you can, aim for an unsweetened whole grain variety of cereal with at least 3g of fibre per serving. However, researchers have found that just eating any cereal may be enough. A study carried out by University of California found that cereal eaters tend to eat more fibre and less fat than non-cereal eaters.

Two apples a day keep the doctor away

Apples are a great sources of pectin which is a soluble fibre to contribute to the feeling of fullness we all crave. They’re also digested slowly, keeping you feeling fuller for longer. A 1997 study found that just 5g of pectin was enough to leave people feeling full for up to four hours.

Assign one day a week for a yoghurt mix breakfast

Take 175g of yoghurt and mix in 75ml of bran cereal, one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and five large, diced strawberries for a tasty yet fibre-filled breakfast. Alternatively, you can mix an equal amount of your favourite cereal with All Bran.

Use carrots and broccoli as a snack food

Instead of snacking on crisps and chocolate, three days a week you can switch it up by dipping baby carrots and brocolli florets into salsa or low fat yoghurt. Not only will it count towards your five a day but it will fill up your stomach and provide you with around 5g of fibre in the process.

Check the ingredients listed in products

If you’re buying whole grain products, you want to be sure that what you’re eating is exactly that. The first ingredient listed is ‘whole’ as in whole wheat or whole grain. If it’s multigrain, seven grain, cracked wheat or enriched wheat, among others, then it’s lacking the vital vitamins and minerals you need. Not to mention, of course, the fibre.

Keep a healthy container of snacks

Mix together unsalted peanuts, a high fibre cereal and some chocolate covered raisins. When you get a case of the munchies, you can snack on a handful of the mixture which is the perfect combination of sweet and savoury, as well as keeping you full throughout the day.

Switch to whole grain crackers

You wouldn’t think that a small cracker could make that much difference, but one regular whole grain cracker contains a massive 500mg of fibre. So, ten crackers could provide you with 5g of fibre. Next time you fancy a snack, spread a thin layer of peanut butter on a whole grain cracker instead of some bread for a healthier snack.

Add kidney beans to your lunch-time salad

Kidney beans, and other legumes, are a tasty way to fill up and add a bundle of nutrients to your salad. Not to mention that fact that they are full of fibre and a great alternative to bread or croutons. Alternatively, you could opt for an exotic grain once a week, such as wheatberries or bulgar wheat. Usually, they are as simple to prepare as rice but often loaded with flavour and fibre. Try adding some roasted vegetables and feta cheese to some bulgar wheat for a tasty lunch.

Categories: alternative foods, bulgar wheat, carbs, Cereal, cereal eaters, diet, fibre, grain, grain cracker, kidney beans, Weight Loss, Wheat

Start Your Day Right: Could Cereal Improve Your Sex Life?

Wellness experts are always imploring you to eat a healthy breakfast. Breakfast gives you energy to last the day, aids weight loss and keeps you going until lunchtime, but now your breakfast cereal could keep you going in other areas too; namely, the bedroom. This is according to manufacturers of Sexcereal, the world’s first gender-based breakfast cereal that has increased in popularity since it appeared on the US Dragons’ Den in January.

So what makes this cereal so sexy? In the ‘male’ version of the product, you’ll find a good dose of testosterone-supporting ingredients, such as bee pollen, wheat germ, black sesame, camu camu and more! According to the Sexcereal website, wheat germ is also high in vitamin E, which is known to support male vascular health and increase your circulation.

For the ladies, hormonal imbalance will be a thing of the past, allegedly, due to the cereal’s combination of ginger, sunflower seeds and almonds. Ginger has an ancient reputation as an aphrodisiac, whilst the website says that flax seeds, another female-cereal ingredient, contain phytoestrogens, helping to balance oestrogen in the female body. Both cereals list rolled oats as their first ingredient, also sharing elements such as coconut sugar, cacao beans and chia seeds.

However, as federal regulations prohibit food producers from making certain ‘out-there’ promises, the Sexcereal doesn’t overtly boast that it can boost your libido or the amount of sex you have. Therefore, you have to read between the lines, with catchy phrases such as ‘Fuel your fire’ and ‘nutrition with passion!’ Sexcereal founder, Peter Ehrlich, said ‘All Sexcereal is is a collection of whole foods that point the way to sexual health.’

In terms of the rest of your wellbeing, Sexcereal does seem to have the makings of a nutritious breakfast. It’s low in sodium and sugar, and contains plenty of vitamins and minerals, protein and fibre. However, when it comes to your sexual wellness, Andrea D’Ambrosio, a registered dietician and nutrition counsellor in Mississauga and Waterloo, commented, ‘I think it’s definitely possible that foods can support sexual health. I think this is more-so a product with very good intentions, and the marketing really takes over to sensationalise nutrition on it.’

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Start Your Day Right: Could Cereal Improve Your Sex Life?

Categories: better sex, Cereal, Gender