Another general post

I've left the dietetic department at Clemson.
I have my reasons, but they aren't because I dislike the topic. On the contrary, I still find the idea of making healthy food taste good.
What I left knowing was not much different than what I came in with, and I studied three semesters. I'm not sure what they intended me to find out, but I don't supposed it worked.

What won't be happening any time soon is my doing any health reviews on meals, but I can still post the ones I'd done before (Lord knows I haven't found the time to get to them, still, what with the holidays and now all the hullabaloo going on in my house). I can, though, use my husband's account to sign on and run them once a week. I haven't really done a recipe that warrants it thus far, and I haven't made any recipe plans for the future, either. I should.

That leads me to this. I know I've been trying to healthy up a few things. I can do that without a problem, really: reduce butter, reduce salt and sugar, use real fruit and veggies, etc. But there are a few things I've gathered, really, as follows.

• Fats sound bad because the people after the 50's decided that's why they became fat. Fats are found in just about everything, even in vegetation (but less often) and don't cause you to become fat. Fat, in humans, is storage -- like a potato. The more the potato takes in from the sun and converts through photosynthesis, the bigger those little underground starches become. We do essentially the same thing.

• Also think about this logically: we're worried about cholesterol intake. Well, I'll make it simple for you: if it solidifies at room temperature, it may be apt to clogging up your blood vessels. Oils that are liquid at room temperature will stay that way in the human body, meaning that olive oil is always a much better choice than butter. But don't get discouraged. There's always a reason why there's an exception: there's an essential fat found in milks and butter that humans cannot create for themselves, and therefore receive from eating milk products. So if you must have butter on toast every morning, this isn't the worst -- but use REAL butter. Or, heck, churn it yourself if you're feeling chipper. Just try to reduce the amount to a serving a day, rather than on everything you can possibly think of. 

I promise, cooked vegetables can be good without a layer of butter in them.

• The key is eating the correct fats, which is highly disputed -- like the majority of the field. Animal fats, in general, are what I've gathered to be the most annoying. What do I mean by that? Limit it. Don't necessarily cut it out, but consider working yourself down to once a week. Perhaps consider getting your meat from a local butcher, which could exempt those growth hormones. The same goes for milk, interestingly enough, and if you go with local, grass fed cows, there are health benefits -- but it may be fattier. If taken moderately, these shouldn't put you in harm's way, and should leave you with extra room for fruits and veggies.

And yes, I know, there's a lot of arguing over whether we need milk at all. We lose our tolerance for it, etc etc; well, see about that essential nutrient I mentioned earlier.

• On to fruits and veggies: color is the big thing. Everyone seems to have picked that up. Consider what goes with fruits and veggies: either a thick, creamy dressing, or a nice, sweet dip. I read a while back that a large contributor to extra Calories is the sauce we tend to love. Dressings, BBQ sauce, ketchup and mustard, etc., all lean heavily in our caloric intake.

• Consider making your own Italian dressing, or Balsamic vinaigrette,  or just about anything that doesn't include cream or milk, sour cream, sugar. Vinegars and oils are good for you. Even a little salt is okay. Try to dress it up with herbs and spices more than salt, sugar, milk and egg. Even if you can't quite get past giving any of those up, it's still better than the average store-bought dressing. Why? All the fillers and preservatives are causing a tizzy with the health world, and I find, really, it tastes better when made at home. So, my leading argument is that: flavor over convenience. We may find out later that all those extra things are truly bad -- or not -- but it sacrifices the point: tastiness. 

As far as fruit: do you really need to sweeten that up? Noooo. Get used to actual sweetness and not some factory-made version and you'll thank yourself for it.

• I've had a few people want snacks for different things. My favorite idea is putting things into little baggies. I don't know whether people prefer doing it by Calories or what, but they generally put in the portion they like. I'd consider using plastic containers with seal-able lids, to remove that whole plastic waste problem (see: little plastic baggies all over the trash site) and you can get smaller ones that will fit in purses and things. As far as what snack? Well, I'd hate to tell you this, but even though things like celery are considered a 'negative calorie food' or whatever it's supposed to be, it's not. I mean, it might be, but rather the point is that it doesn't matter. You won't lose weight because you chewed on some celery for a while. That may take years for you to lose a pound this way. If that kills 30 Calories you're lucky, and it obviously should go with peanut butter and raisins, right? Well, there goes your 30 Calories.

• With snacks, try to go with things that you like. I'm not kidding. I won't suggest something like a cranberry nut blend if you hate cranberries, nuts or both. But steer clear of a few things, mainly if they're pre-packaged. Obviously, making your own snacks is a benefit: you can do little bran muffins, bite-sized oatmeal cookies, Mexican-chocolate brownies with walnuts (see: I love chocolate, and I find it is healthy for you, just not low in Caloric content. So sue me, I eat it anyway.) and so forth. I've done wraps filled with peanut butter, honey and raisins. Point is, a snack may be something you're used to, and that's dandy. But if it's pretzels and dip, or Hoho's, or cheesy fries, you're not helping yourself. Even apple pie, if home made, is better than those three I mentioned before it. It's still not great, but it's at least got fruit in it. 

• If you must have a snack like that, try to put it down to a 'snack day'. Everyone falters. I know I do. On Sundays, I'm taking down one or two orange soda cans, a half a bag of chips, and I graze heavily as I cook. But I typically don't repeat this process through the week. I eat when I'm hungry (which is getting harder for the people to do lately, I've found) and stop even if I have food left over. Point is, yes, I snack, but it's actual food. 

And I haven't gotten fast food in a month or two, at least, which isn't a record for me but it's not like I'm craving it.

• Try to find a variant source of edibles for snacks. Keep in mind that, even if they are 'healthy snacks', they still have Calories in them and you're still essentially a walking potato. Experiment with everything but meats and cheeses and you'll be set. Consider making breads or one-serving soups (which is what I did); consider the whole of the vegetable and fruit isle, rather than what quarter of it you may typically peruse -- if you must. Create your own, no-sugar-added, fruit medlies, tarts or trays. 

• Keep in mind, also, that as the brain shuts down for the night (I say night but I mean when the sun goes down, which is night to the humanoid brain) it has a harder time registering that it's full. Basically, we're more sluggish post sundown, and our bodies pay for it. Make a rule that you won't eat anything after a certain hour. Consider having a smoothie a few hours after dinner, or a piece of fruit. Try to resort to not having a fourth meal at around 9 pm, as I've found with a lot of people this tends to be a bad habit. 

• You can eat more at night and not know you're doing it, which may convince you that you're hungrier than you thought when you ate dinner. This isn't the case. If making the 'don't eat after ___ hour' rule doesn't help, try drinking a lot of water. Don't like water? Spruce it up with a slice of lime, orange or lemon, which people do in my house all the time. Hell, make homemade lemonade like my parents do (and, like dad does, limit the sugar; what he should do, really, is use a straw, but he's 'too much of a man for that'). Keep in mind that yes, it's possible that a glass of lemonade may harbor 100 Calories (guessing off the top of my head here, by the way). But a large bowl of cereal, a bunch of chips or some reheated leftovers will definitely be as much, if not more. And they're all heavy on the stomach. 

• I read often that it's healthier to eat lighter meals as the day goes on, and I've read that lunch should be the heaviest, but not once have I  read that dinner should be the heaviest. I read what a supermodel from Victoria Secret's eats, and it's a salad at night. Just a salad. Now, the girl is practically skin and bones, but she did recently give birth to a child. She at least held as much fat and whatever she needed to bring it to full term (she's a kickboxer,  as well, and the muscle definitely helps your chances). Point being, even she doesn't eat a lot at night. Course, she doesn't eat a lot ever, but the salad is her lightest in the day. She gets paid to do things this way.

I'm not saying you should become Adriana Lima and eat as little as possible, but I do know we eat way too much and she has a good thing going for her (ahem, too much, in my opinion, but life is life).

• I do a heavier lunch than dinner because I get nauseous if I eat in the morning. I've tried. I woke up at 5.30 last semester to find I couldn't comfortably eat until 8 or 9; if I woke up at 8 or 9, I could eat in about ten minutes or so -- after the grogginess faded a little. This isn't to say I don't drink a little to at least get something in my stomach, but it leads me to think that a heavy lunch is just what I need for the day. It may be different for you -- you may work hard during the day at some heavy-hitting job, and you may need the Calories in the morning. Have at it. But if you work a desk job, consider lightening your lunches and dinners. You aren't using those Calories and they aren't helping you. All it'll do is weigh down your stomach and make you sluggish.

• Now, the leading argument against that is 'it'll make you tired if you eat/don't eat, and you'll get sleepy at 2-3 in the afternoon'. I've heard names for this syndrome, but when it comes down to it it's just our circadian rhythms. Happens a lot with people who wake up early enough for a desk job (6 am, anyone, anyone?). I get sleepy at about 3 no matter what time I woke up, telling me that's just the time of day my body wants some rest. It has nothing to do with food, and I've seen plenty of studies to back that up.

No, I'm not linking anything to this. Why? Look it up yourself. I just intended to get some things off of my mind.