Bennett's Bites: Simple Steps to Healthy Eating

Did you know the best way to safeguard your health is to downsize your portions? It’s that simple, but not easy. At Enlightening Choices, we offer guidance, support and suggestions on how to eat less, eat well and live longer, including many helpful tips for vegetarians. Please do try any of these at home.

Less is More:
1. Corn tortillas are a whole grain. Next time, try chicken quesadillas instead of a chicken sandwich on white bread.

2. Try sprinkling a tbsp of toasted almonds on green beans instead of flavoring them with 1 tbsp of butter. You’ll save 50 calories and avoid 6 grams of saturated fat.

3. Soup helps most people feel full, with fewer calories. For lunch, try a bean/vegetable soup, with a half a sandwich. Save the other half for later, when your energy level is running low.

4. People tend to make poor food choices when they’re hungry, so why not carry healthy snacks with you? Dry roasted edamame, whole grain crackers, dried fruit, and 1-oz portions of almonds make great snacks, and they’re portable.

5. It takes twenty minutes for your brain to tell your stomach you’re full. If you choose crunchy foods that require a lot of chewing, like apples, it’ll slow you down, and you’ll feel more full, with a smaller amount of food.

6. Try eating your next meal with chopsticks!

7. Never walk into a restaurant or party hungry! You’ll polish off that basket of bread on the table or end up eating much more than you expect or need. Try eating a healthy snack an hour beforehand, and you’ll be more likely to make healthier food choices in high-risk environments.

"Courage is only the accumulation of small steps."
– George Konrad, Hungarian writer

Ideas to Go:

Vegetable soup fills you up while slimming you down.
Downsize your meat serving and replace it with vegetables--Shish Kebobs anyone?
Did you know the average dinner plate in the 1950’s was the same size as our salad plate today? People who eat from smaller plates, tend to eat less.
Choose lite sour cream instead of butter on your baked potato. (Substituting one tablespoon can subtract 80 calories a day and may result in an 8-pound weight loss in one year.)
The best defense against junk food is a great offense. Carry healthy foods with you!

Skinny soup with fresh vegetables: "I made a HUGE pot and it was delicious... This soup will last me for several days..."
– Entry & photo from a client’s
food diary