If You Can Read, You Can Cook

US Nutritional Fact Label (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last month, there was an article on Yahoo Health about the 5 Most Pointless Supermarket Foods. Most of those foods are marketed as healthy foods, such as Yoplait‘s low-fat fruit-flavored yogurt, and WhoNu “nutrition-rich” cookies, while not actually being all that healthy. It reminds me of the woman who is suing Nutella for not being as healthy as she thought it was.

So I thought I would put together a quick guide on things to look at on nutrition labels, to better help people check the health claims of their favorite foods.

Fat

Many people think that by limiting meat in their diet, they are limiting their fat intake. The problem with this assumption is that seeds are also a big source of fats. If it’s a seed (nuts are seeds, as are legumes), then it probably is higher in fat than you think

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat is the “bad” fat that raises your LDL cholesterol and clogs your arteries. There is a lot in red meats, but there is also a lot in nuts.

Unsaturated Fat

Unsaturated fats are the good fats. They are actually heart healthy.

Sodium

Sodium is part of table salt, plus also found in many additives. Your body does need sodium in small amounts, but too much is bad for your heart. Unfortunately, the average American consumes seven times more sodium than they need and 50% more than is safe.

Cholesterol

I actually never check the amount of cholesterol listed on food labels. There is good HDL cholesterol that your body needs and bad LDL cholesterol that your body doesn’t. But they are lumped together under one heading. Is the cholesterol in this food good for you or bad for you? The label won’t tell you.

Sugar

Most low-fat foods are high in sugar. So most “diet” foods wind up being bad for you.

Related articles

• Reading Food Labels (enfamil.com)
• Nutrition Basics For A Healthier, Happier Life (glutenfreedomgirl.wordpress.com)
• Food Labels…Are They Misleading? (healthywayoflife12.wordpress.com)
• How to read nutrition fact labels (foxnews.com)

This is a guest post from MyBlogGuest author DannyBud.

Dessert (Photo credit: peter.clark)

The first thing you should understand about me is I love to eat. I’m not some skinny exercise expert trying to give you tips on how to lose weight. My goal is to offer insight so that you can still enjoy dessert after a delicious meal. After all, no real meal is complete without a great sweet dessert to bring things to a close. Unfortunately, dessert often gets a bad rap because people associate it with weight gain. As with any food related problems, it’s all about moderation and your overall choices. There’s really no reason why you can’t eat delectable desserts on a regular basis without packing on the pounds. Obviously you’re not going to be able to eat cheesecake every day of the week, but you can still enjoy a wide array of sweet tastes that will bring a smile to your face.

Use Fruits – dessert isn’t just about cakes, pies, and pastries. Remember, the main point is to get a taste of something sweet that offsets your salty main meal. There’s no better way to do this than with fruits. They are nature’s perfect gift when it comes to natural sweetness, and they are loaded with healthy minerals and vitamins. You can enjoy certain fruits like peaches and pineapples on the grill, or cantaloupes and papayas totally fresh. And what could be better than a fruit salad loaded with all of your favorites in one place?

Smaller Portions – it seems like a simple premise, but whenever you want to limit what you eat, it’s important to master the art of enjoying smaller portions. This gives you a taste of the desert you love the most without going overboard. If we can learn anything about general dieting it’s that cutting things out completely usually doesn’t work. For some people, it works better to get a bite or two of their favorite dessert to satisfy their craving.

Security Measures – sometimes desserts can be incredibly tempting which is why you need to put security measures in place. This usually comes in the form of good friends and family who will help you to avoid temptation. You can make a pact with someone else not to let each other overdo it with desserts. Being responsible for someone else helps to keep you on track, and it helps both people from indulging too much.

Homemade Desserts – one of the best ways to make desserts healthier is to make them yourself in your own kitchen. For example, there’s a big difference between homemade ice cream and the stuff you buy in a grocery store. Commercial ice cream is loaded with additives, many of which are unpronounceable and unnecessary. Homemade ice cream on the other hand is composed of wholesome ingredients like milk, cream, and eggs. You can cut down on the calories and cholesterol by using skim milk or egg whites, and you can use fruit instead of sugar for overall sweetening.

Smarter Choices – moderation and intelligent choices are keys to healthy eating. You might think that “low-fat” or “fat free” desserts are a good alternative, but in many cases they end up backfiring. People think they’re saving on calories by buying fat-free prepackaged desserts, but they end up eating more of them when everything is said and done. In some cases, people consume even more calories than they would with regular desserts. The best thing you can do is to become familiar with general calorie-counts so that you know what you’re putting into your system. It’s also important to experiment and try new things because there are so many wonderful desserts out there.

Nothing brings the family together like making your own homemade desserts. You can visit icecreamakers.com to find the perfect ice cream maker that the whole family will enjoy. It’s also a place you can find further information about delicious cooking and fun recipes. Remember, one of the best ways to become more responsible with food is to learn how to prepare it yourself.

How often do you eat dessert? Do you try for moderation, or healthier eats?

Related articles

• Healthy Grilled Summer Fruit And Chiquita Banana Dessert Recipe (chiquitabananas.com)
• Gelato or Ice cream? What’s The Difference? (writing4interactivemedia.wordpress.com)
• Don’t Save Room for Dessert! (articles.earthlingshandbook.org)
• Antioxidant-Rich Desserts for Thanksgiving (berries.com)
• 10 Healthy Desserts – and They’re Tasty, Too (health.usnews.com)