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Quick Quiz: How many portions are in a bag of snack-size whole grain crackers? Or a small bottle of locally-pressed juice? Or a lunchbox pack of granola bars?

Hint: it’s not “one.” Often, the above products contain two or two-and-a-half servings per package.

Can YOU Eat Just One?
Sure, you could go ahead and enjoy just half the bag, but are you really going to do that?

Don’t beat yourself up if the answer is no: If you place food in front of most people, they tend to eat it all. It’s just the way we’re wired.

The Perils of Supersizing
Eating too much food in one sitting is hard on your body. Here’s why:

Food is meant to be spread throughout the day. Overdosing on too much food at one time causes pain, upset, and sluggish digestion.
A surge of glucose is released into your blood. Your pancreas has to work overtime, pumping insulin through the body to absorb all that extra glucose. This can make you feel spacey, weak, irritable, or headachy.
Thinking there is some type of emergency, your adrenal glands go into “fight or flight” mode and release adrenaline and cortisol, which is the body’s natural response to stress.
When your blood sugar levels finally plummet, you experience wicked cravings for more food—specifically simple carbs or sweets.
Research has found that immune system function is affected for at least five hours after consuming large amounts of simple carbohydrates.

5 Tips to Kick Portion Distortion
Don’t over order – go for salads, soups, and appetizers, which are typically more reasonably sized than entrees.
Choose high-fiber foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains to keep you feeling full and energized.
Chew well to aid digestion and give your brain time to register you’re full before you overeat.
Get enough water. Often we mistake thirst for hunger.
Carry your own snacks. Stock up on snack-sized containers and fill them with baby carrots, air-popped popcorn, or nuts.

GET EVEN HEALTHIER!
Are you curious about how easy-to-make changes (such as chewing your food more thoroughly) can make a big difference in your health? Would you like help in making healthier food choices? Let’s talk! Schedule a complimentary health coaching consultation with me today—or pass this offer on to someone you care about!



Learn about my training and my unique approach to health coaching.

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Want to learn how to get healthy? schedule a 30 minute conversation now.

 

Have you noticed that supermarkets all seem to be set up the same?

 

Through the front door, to the left is the produce and toward the back is the meat section, then as you continue along the edge you’ll find the dairy and sometimes a bakery.  But what is in between? All those aisles is where many people spend most of their time…and money.  

 

This is where many people sabotage their healthy eating goals. This is where you’ll need to use your detective Skills. To navigate your way through these seductive aisles, you MUST become a Label Reader.

Read the ingredients on every label. It takes time at first and I see them in the Pharmacy watching me. Glancing down the other end of the aisle the butcher keeps an eye on me.  How long does it take to choose a soy sauce? I look for labels that identify foods that I recognize.  When I see phrases like “ natural flavorings, artificial flavor, caramel color, any dye with a #, partially hydrogenated, enriched, fructose, …ose, corn syrup. There are many times when I’ve been discouraged with poor ingredients on a label and have been inspired to research and create my own. After reading the ingredients on my favorite almond milk, I decided to try my own and was so pleased with the simplicity and ease of the recipe, I’ll never buy it again.

 

Now about the edge.

There are times when I need to shop the aisles to stock up on certain pantry items, however, for the most part I only shop the perimeter. This not only speeds up each shopping trip, but surprisingly saves money. 

There is no label on a Lemon.

 

Almond Milk

1 cup raw whole almonds

3 dates

1 vanilla bean

Soak the almonds on 3 cups filtered water overnight

Drain water and rinse

Add almonds, vanilla scraped from the bean and dates to a blender with 4 cups filtered water.

Blend, Blend, Blend.

Strain through a cheese cloth and refrigerate. Store in a glass container. It will last about 10 days.

 

You could add other spices if desired- cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.

Enjoy!

(I freeze the almond pulp and add to smoothies. No Waste)