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Free Diet Tips — Forget Diets — Just Think Small

June 13, 2009 in Go Green, Healthy Living, Saving Money, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

By Susan Seliger

If you want to feel trim and fit so you can get outside in the great green world, forget diet pills, carb-counting and weight-tracking. Just remember one simple trick — think small.

We’re talking utensils here.

No doubt you’ve heard that the key to healthy eating and losing weight is eating smaller portions. But that takes self-control. And who has that?

Well, you can trick yourself into exerting portion control simply by using smaller plates, smaller bowls — and, according to a medical study, smaller serving spoons.

Researchers In a study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that people who used larger serving spoons gave themselves 14.5% more ice cream – and those with larger bowls, gave themselves 31% more ice cream.

When the test subjects used both a large spoon and a large bowl, it was an even bigger disaster — they ate 56.8 % more ice cream than those using smaller tools. And these subjects included nutrition experts who you’d think would know better! Hey, we’re all just human — and, it turns out, slaves to our utensils.  (The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published the study.)

See– smaller is beautiful!

I wonder if sitting on a smaller chair could have a similar effect on your … No? Not the same? Darn.

Photo credit: wwww.veggievampire.net

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5 More Tips to Lose Weight, Save Money and Green Your Diet

April 8, 2009 in Go Green, Healthy Living, Organic Food, Save Resources, Saving Money by susan | 1 comment

By Susan Seliger

Thank you, friends, for contacting me about yesterday’s post (with 5 tips for losing weight and going green) asking for more tips – here you go.

Reducing your carbon footprint while you reduce your love handles is simpler than you think. The large quantities of meat the typical American consumes is one of the biggest eco-problems – and one of the easiest to fix. Consider this morsel from a new book, Go Green Get Lean, by Kate Geagan: If you switch to a vegetarian diet for just two weeks, you can reduce your carbon footprint by 122 pounds and your calories by nearly 12,500—that’s 3 ½ pounds gone – in 14 days!

Need more motivation to green up your eating? By scarfing down the average American’s diet, according to Geagan, you generate far more carbon dioxide emissions (2.8 tons per year) than you do by driving a car (2.2 tons).

Change is easy – OK that’s a lie – but it isn’t complicated at all. The key to developing new eating patterns depends as much on your attitude toward food as what you consume. So here are a few things to think about, so you can lose weight, save money, and take steps to save the planet, too.

1. Forget 3 squares — eat 6 smaller meals spaced evenly through the day.

Though we were all raised on eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, some diet experts say it’s healthier to keep the metabolism stoked evenly throughout the day. Consume 6-7 small meals of 200-300 calories each, every 2-3 hours. It works on several levels: first you get used to eating small portions – and you realize that these smaller (and greener) portions can be just as satisfying. Second, it keeps your metabolism revved, so you burn more calories as you eat. And third, you won’t ever get really hungry – so you won’t overeat at mealtime. How can you — it’s always meal time.

2. Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry.

You know you buy more when you’re famished. And fattening snacks seem so irresistible in that state of mind that you don’t notice that these processed foods (like potato chips and flavored crackers) cost more per pound than the most expensive meats and exotic fruits and vegetables. Before you leave home, grab a carrot or some gum to munch on while you shop. And stick to the list.

3. Go meatless – try tilapia: it’s the little black dress of the fish world.

Cutting out meat yields a big cost savings. And it’s about the single-biggest green modification you can make in your diet. Going vegetarian can reduces your carbon footprint by over 5000 pounds annually, according to Josh Peterson in Planet Green.

Even the more expensive fishes, like salmon (rich in those valuable anti-aging, anti-oxidant Omega-3s) are often less expensive (and better for the planet,) than many cuts of meat. For an inexpensive alternative, try tilapia – a mild white fish with lovely texture that works. It’s the little black dress of the fish world –you can dress it up, dress it down, so versatile it works with any kind of spices and flavoring or just on its own sautéed in organic olive oil with a splash of lemon. (Top 20 Tilapia recipes.)

4. Cut out sodas – lose two pounds per month.

Sodas are expensive and packed with sugar. If you eat as much sugar as most Americans do — 150 pounds per year – you’re releasing 855 pounds of carbon into the atmosphere. Just by cutting consumption in half, according to the book Go Green, Get Lean, the average Joe could cut 7,500 calories a month. That’s about two pounds per month.

5. While eating – do not watch TV or talk on the phone — focus on every mouthful.

Ever finished a meal, looked down at your empty plate and barely remembered having eaten? What a waste of calories – and enjoyment. Mindful eating is the key to weight loss. You maximize pleasure (so eating less doesn’t feel like deprivation).

It’s simple: do not multi-task. Concentrate on every mouthful. Smell each bite before chowing down (your sense of smell is hundreds of times more sensitive than your taste buds.) Chew each bite 25 times (start counting) before swallowing. Invite a friend to join you. Open a bottle of organic wine, pour a small glass (see tip on small plates), and discuss the food, your lovelife, the environment (anything but the economy).

Feeling thinner, greener and richer already, aren’t you?

Related Articles:

Top 5 Ways to Lose Weight, Save Money and Green Your Diet: The Trifecta of Recession Bliss

Photo credit: From blog Because noone asked

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Top 5 Ways to Lose Weight, Save Money and Green Your Diet: The Trifecta of Recession Bliss

April 7, 2009 in Go Green, Organic Food, Save Resources, Saving Money, Uncategorized by susan | 3 comments

By Susan Seliger
Kiss those recession blues goodbye and start taking some simple steps in your daily life that will make you happy on three levels at once. If figuring out little ways to go green or save money makes you proud of yourself, just imagine how pumped you’ll feel if you can do both – and lose a few of those pesky pounds that have been accumulating round your middle, too.

1. Use what you’ve got in the cupboard — don’t go shopping again until the fridge is bare.

It’s amazing how much you can do with all those cans of food that you probably just keep pushing to the back when you buy new stuff. Check out Allrecipes.com where you can plug in what you’ve got, and the web site will come up with what you can cook with it. Keep some basic, nonperishable supplies in the cupboard (like cans of tuna, tomatoes, rice, pasta) and things that last for months in the fridge (like sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, olives) that will add life to your fresh ingredients. BONUS: At the end, I’ve included one of my family’s favorite, tangy, low-cal meals you can make with stuff you can always keep on hand that can’t go bad. (See Tuna –noodle pizazz, below.)

2. Use smaller plates.

The best way to lose weight is to cut down on portion size, day in and day out. The average plateful is two-to-three times a healthy-sized serving. You’d be amazed at how much more satisfying a small portion looks on a smaller plate. You don’t feel deprived – and you’ve saved calories and money as your groceries will stretch farther. To find out what a real portion size is for any food, check out this nifty tool, a Portion Calculator at Lifehacker.

3. Try a new mantra: Doggie bags are divine.

If you’re smart, you’re not going out to eat much. So when you do, you’d better stretch that one meal into two. Learn to love leftovers. Who says that little bit of your entrée and the vegetables isn’t enough for another meal? Have you forgotten so soon what we said about portion size? (See #2). Cut up the main dish into small bites, cook up some nice chewy brown rice or toss in a few more sautéed vegetables and you’ve expanded those leftovers into a full meal. filled out will

4. Don’t toss leftover tossed salad – keep it for the next day.

I know gourmands turn up their noses at day-old salad, but if you think of it as marinated vegetables instead of wilted lettuce, it tastes much better – and the nutritional value is pretty much the same. (On day three, even I give up. Toss it onto the compost heap — and while you’re out there, take a walk around the block for a little more exercise.)

5. Shun prepared foods — Slice, dice and cook it yourself

You can pay twice as much or more for ingredients that are prepped – like grated cheeses and bottled garlic. In addition, cut up foods go bad much faster than whole foods – so you can lose two ways. Prepared foods are handy – but here, too, you’re paying double, sometimes triple the costs of whipping it up yourself. Why pay twice as much for a ready-made roast chicken (rarely organic), when making your own chicken is so simple: wash and remove the innards, pat dry, then slather a little Dijon mustard all over the outside (don’t be squeamish, use your hands) and throw it in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes a pound. Cheap – low-cal, and fresh.

RECIPE: Susan’s Tuna –Noodle Pizazz — in 20 minutes flat

So easy — you can always keep these non-perishable ingredients on hand — and it takes as little as 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients: Serves 4

Olive oil – 1-2 TBSP.

Garlic – 2 cloves chopped

One Onion chopped or 2-4 scallions sliced — optional.

One large can of whole or crushed tomatoes – strained through slotted spoon.

One jar marinated artichokes – optional

Olives (sliced or whole) or capers – optional

One can tuna

Pasta — One-pound bag

Preparation:

Put up a large pot of water to boil for the pasta – throw in a sprinkle of salt – and cover (that speeds up the boiling and saves energy).

Pour enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large frying pan.

On medium heat, sauté some fresh chopped garlic (you can throw in an onion (diced) or scallions (sliced) if they’re sitting around getting moldy in your fridge

Add a large can of Italian plum tomatoes and heat through.

Add a jar of marinated artichokes – if you have it – and put it on your grocery list for next time if you don’t. If you don’t have it, throw in some olives or capers or sliced sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy touch.

Add spices – a couple of pinches of basil, oregano, salt and pepper (ground fresh is best, but whatever you’ve got works).

Now stir in a can of tuna (drained).

Turn down the heat to low, and it will heat through by the time the pasta is done.

Add pasta (whatever kind you like) to boiling water, stir with big fork to avoid clumping, and cook (most one pound boxes need 6-8 minutes for al dente). Drain pasta.

Now you’re ready to spoon the sauce on the pasta, turn down the lights, light a candle, and enjoy!

Photo credit: www.simonyounes.com

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