portion control – Colette's Food Blog

10 Tips for healthier choices at your favourite fast food chain

Last week I spoke about making healthier choices when ‘cooking’ convenience food. Today, I’m going to have a look at how you can make better choices when eating at your favourite fast food chain.

Fast food is not the best you can go for if you’re watching your weight, or trying to eat healthy. However, with a little bit of thought, you can make smarter choices.

Thin-based pizza

Super size meal

Thin pizza with side salad

Double burger and large fries

10 Tips to make healthier choices at your favourite fast food chain

Do not make a habit of eating fast food; treat yourself to fast food every now and then.
Avoid super-size meals; you’re not doing yourself any favours when choosing very large meals. You’re spending more money to get you feeling uncomfortably stuffed.
Choose grilled chicken and salad (when possible) as opposed to a burger.
“No thanks” to mayo; go for olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead of creamy dressings.
Go for a thin and crispy pizza base instead of cheesy crust.
Skip the soft drink and go for a bottle of still water.
Do not add cheese and bacon over and above; better still, remove any ingredients you can make do without.
When eating at your favourite pizza place, skip the garlic bread, bread sticks or cheese sticks whilst waiting for your pizza.
Choose a smaller pizza or share a large one and supplement with a side salad; most pizzas are huge these days.
Go for small fries and pass the sweet, especially if you decided to have a soft drink.

Last but not least, if your trip to your favourite fast food place is planned, check out their website before you go. A number of fast food chains offer, nutritional information which can help you make better choices.

My thanks go to

Eat this not that – Burger King

Eat this not that – MacDonalds

Prima.co.uk

Sparkpeople.com

22/08/201624/03/2017

Colette CumboLeave a comment

Italian cuisine

Surprise! I’m back from a surprise weekend break in Lampedusa!

I didn’t know much about this little island, but I quickly found out … Lampedusa the land of sea, sun and good food!

Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands. With a surface area of 20.2 square kilometres, it is the southern-most island of the Republic of Italy; closer to Tunisia than it is to Sicily, even though it forms part of the Sicilian Province of Agrigento. Lampedusa is referred to as the Tropics of the Mediterranean.

A must destination if you love the sun, sea and good food. And that’s what I’m going to talk about, today … good food … Italian food!

What makes Italian food so unique?

The Italians are renowned for their mercato – food market. They are known to go to the markets first thing in the morning and buy the freshest produce they find. They will choose seasonal, local produce over fruit, veg and fish which are “force produced”. This is a cardinal secret behind Italian cuisine.

The second secret is keeping food simple. Most Italian dishes consist of fresh food which is cooked in the simplest way possible.

Grilled fresh tuna.JPG — Grilled fresh tuna

Up to this very day, a lot of Italian households still prepare their own homemade pasta. In Italian households and restaurants sauces are made from scratch; they do not come in jars. They like their ragù made with fresh tomatoes, but more often than not, most dishes come with a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some balsamico. Gravy has no space in Italian cuisine. When food is nice and fresh, you don’t want gravies and sauces masking the taste.

The Italians also respect tradition. They do not forsake quality for quantity. A perfect example would be the famous Parmigiano Reggiano. The slow process behind making this renowned cheese has come down over the centuries through generations. It takes time to produce cause it needs to mature for months, but Italians will not choose to speed up the process. They know that people from all over the world are prepared to pay the right price for a matured piece of Parmigiano.

Last but not least, the Italians have flair when it comes to food. They are known to be capable of whipping up a healthy meal with the most basic of ingredients.

Lunch - simple salad — Salad made with basic ingredients

For Italians, cooking is an art full of amor propio – true love – which has come down through the generations. The food cooked in Italian households is same food you find in restaurants, with very little or no tweaks at all.

What makes Italian food healthy?

By and large, most Mediterranean food is healthy, but I guess the Italians’ way of life adds to the benefits of their cuisine.

In Italy people take their time to eat. Dining with friends and family is an experience which cannot be rushed. Most restaurants do not take “second sittings”, as has become customary in most of Europe, including Malta. You are allowed to enjoy and savour your food; fresh, wholesome food served in sensible portions.

The Italians eat to live not live to eat.

Chef Gennaro Contaldo is one of the brains behind the chain Jamie’s Italians. Here are some of his recipes for you to try. Go for it and let me know how you get on.

My thanks go to

The Ultimate Guide to the Mediterranean Diet

Dr Hyman – The Secret Way Italians Stay Healthy and Thin

and to Vimeo.com

13/06/201609/10/2017

Colette CumboLeave a comment

Do I gain weight eating healthy food?

Yes; my ex-personal trainer used to say, “Losing weight is a question of math! Energy in minus energy out must leave you with a deficit.”

My friends and colleagues say it’s easy for me, because I eat healthy. True; I do eat healthy. But, it does not mean I do not gain weight when I relax my portion control.

Portion distortion

When you compare today’s food plate to that of 20 years ago, you will understand the term “portion distortion” in a flash. Today’s plates are bigger and we tend to fill them up. The end result is – over-eating.

Avoid portion distortion

Calorie intake depends on lifestyle. For example, my problem today is, I still eat the same amount of food like I did when I went to gym six days a week. Not good!

The Palm Rule

Food portions are smaller than we think. A portion of lean protein for a guy is approximately twice the size of his palm; for a woman it’s half that amount.

Fruit is another healthy food to watch out for. It contains a high level of natural sugars which hinder weight loss if consumed in large amounts. If your goal is to lose weight, try and stick to having 2 – 3 portions of fruit a day.

hw_handportionchart_1222

Socialising

Eating out can get tricky when you are watching what you eat. Vegetables are a healthy choice, but not when they’re covered in butter. At home, I do not hesitate to have a baked potato or wedges, but when I eat out I avoid baked potatoes. They’re loaded with fat; sometimes worse than fries.

So for those of you who think healthy eaters are lucky … think again! Too much healthy food can still make you gain weight. Experience taught me it’s best to be a mindful eater.

The benefits of training yourself to eat sensibly carries a life-time guarantee.