Tag Archives: Food

Food

Eating More Food Could Be Key to Losing Weight

Pasta, boiled rice, most soups, stews, baked beans, porridge made with water, bran flakes with skimmed milk, low fat yogurt, fruits and veggies – eating more food like these water-rich foods help you feel full for longer, which is a huge plus when you’re trying to limit between meal snacking or watch your weight.

In fact, eating these foods may just be the simple, all natural secret to losing weight.

These lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food, so you can eat a larger volume without taking in too many calories.

Despite what you may have heard, you can’t get the feeling-fuller-for-longer effect by downing a glass of water with your meal – instead the liquid has to be a key part of the food itself or used in its preparation according to scientists at the British Nutrition Foundation.

The trick, when it comes to watching your weight, is to choose foods low in energy density (less than 1.5 calories per gram) to make up most of your meals.

To find the energy density (ED) of any food, divide the number of calories by the weight of the food. For example a 180g sandwich that has 360 calories has an energy density of 2 calories per gram.

Here’s how the categories break down…

– Very low ED foods = less than 0.6 calories/gram

– Low ED foods = 0.6 to 1.5 calories/gram

– Medium ED foods = 1.5 to 4 calories/gram, that sandwich we mentioned earlier would be here

– High ED foods = more than 4 calories/gram

When you think low ED foods, think baked beans, boiled eggs or veggie stir-fry with noodles. Cucumbers and strawberries are other good, water rich food sources.

Medium ED foods include lasagna, pizza, steak and salmon and can certainly be eaten in moderation, so long as you watch your portion sizes.

High ED foods like crackers, biscuits, crisps, peanuts and chocolate are the choices you eat sparingly, if at all.

The reason low ED foods keep you feeling fuller is that they have a higher water content and so empty more slowly from the stomach than a solid food on its own. Pumping food with air might also help you feel fuller longer.

Of course a healthy, balanced diet includes foods from all the major food groups including whole grain cereals and breads, lean cuts of meat and fish, as well as other low fat foods.

A good rule of thumb for weight loss?

When you look at your plate, veggies (or other lower in energy items) should take the majority of the space – at least two thirds.

Earlier work in this area has shown that people tend to take in about the same amount of food every day, but we don’t consume the same number of calories every day.

What this means to weight loss is that we can keep the weight of our food the same yet lower the number of calories by replacing high energy density foods with lower energy density foods.

To get more low energy density foods in your diet isn’t as hard as you might think, There are recipes for these dishes online, or you can make changes to your own favorites that will help them be healthier and still just as tasty.

When it comes to deserts, consider a chocolate mousse instead of a couple of pieces of hard chocolate.

Eating more food like mixed berries with low fat yogurt, oat cereal and a small dash of honey give you more of a delicious treat to enjoy… and will satisfy your urge for something sweet without all the calories.

Food

The Diversity of Asian Food

Food is one of our basic needs. Apart from that, most of us regarded food as a passion and perceive it with some degree of indulgence. And with the wide diversity of people and culture, there is such a wide variety of food and cuisine out there as well to cater to everyone’s taste buds. Now, since life provides boundless opportunities, there is no reason why you should miss to savor every food and cuisine that each region on Earth has to offer.

One of the most exotic food there is available is the Asian cuisine. Asian food, in all its hues and tastes, is becoming increasingly popular and well-liked by many Westerners. When compared to the food in American and European continent, the foods in Asia tends to stand out because of its diversity. The vast number of countries in Asia offer endless varieties of food, far different from each other. Indian food, for instance, has a wide array of cuisines to try out that it would take several lifetimes for even a food lover to taste and relish it all. On the other hand, Northern India has its own delectable examples of Asian food to offer you, while Southern India offers a whole lot more. Don’t underestimate the regions of North Eastern India as it is also abound with several examples of truly Asian food. In fact, they offer an amalgam of Burmese, Bhutanese and Bangladesh food. Moreover, Western India will never let herself fell behind from carving a name in the annals of Asian food.

Now, let’s go a little further into Asia. There is another Asian nation, the Singapore, which is known as the hub of authentic Asian food. A vast array of endless cuisines from various Asian regions can be found here. There is authentic Thai food, Chinese food, Nonya food or the cooking world’s last great secret. Also, there is the Peranakan food that is unique to the straits.

How about in the Far East? What is there to delight in? It is where the best example of Asian food is located – no other than the Japanese and Korean cuisine. As far as Asian food goes as a genre, Japanese and Korean cuisine has been re-defining the entire genre. How come? The Asian cuisine is supposed to be predominantly rice-oriented, right? But as you may have observed, a vast majority of Japanese, Korean and Chinese dishes use noodles in their dishes, instead of rice. Another thing, Asian food is supposed to be overcooked. However, what would you say about Sushi then? It is probably by far the best-known Asian food that is consumed raw.

Indeed, each country in the region of Asia has its own, unique cuisine, vastly different even from the cuisine of surrounding regions. Foods in Asia can therefore be considered as a classification of convenience, because these disparate cuisines are otherwise unclassifiable. There is no wonder why there has been a growing population of supporters and consumers of delicious, delectable Asian food.