Monday Nutrition Tip of the Week

This week's food for thought is:

Count ingredients, not calories.


I've never been good at dieting, and I have never counted calories. Maybe it's my math aversion, but sitting down and calculating the amount of food I ate, and converting that to calories is nothing but a complete drag.

But counting ingredients is like playing golf: the lowest score wins! If you're eating things like eggs, apples, bananas, carrots, acorn squash (my personal favorite), it's easy to keep track of what you're eating.

Are you eating these? They are amazing.

Scott Colby of SC Fitness sat down and calculated what all you would eat if you had three popular food items: Smart Start Cereal, Reduced Fat Wheat Thins, and Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce Lean Cuisine. Here's the laundry list:


RICE, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT, SUGAR, OAT CLUSTERS (SUGAR, TOASTED OATS [ROLLED OATS, SUGAR, CANOLA OIL WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, MOLASSES, HONEY, BHT FOR FRESHNESS, SOY LECITHIN], WHEAT FLAKES, CRISP RICE [RICE, SUGAR, MALT, SALT], CORN SYRUP, POLYDEXTROSE, HONEY, CINNAMON, BHT [PRESERVATIVE], ARTIFICIAL VANILLA FLAVOR), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, HONEY, MALT FLAVORING, ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, REDUCED IRON, SODIUM ASCORBATE AND ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, YELLOW #5, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), BHT (PRESERVATIVE), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, FOLIC ACID, BETA CAROTENE (A SOURCE OF VITAMIN A), VITAMIN B12 AND VITAMIN D. WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, CORNSTARCH, MALT SYRUP (FROM BARLEY AND CORN), INVERT SUGAR, MONOGLYCERIDES, SALT, VEGETABLE COLOR (ANNATTO EXTRACT, TURMERIC OLEORESIN). CONTAINS: WHEAT. BHT ADDED TO PACKAGING MATERIAL TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS. Blanched macaroni product (water, semolina, wheat gluten), skim milk, cooked chicken breast with rib pesto glazed smoke flavor added (cooked chicken breast meat with rib meat, water, chicken flavor (dehydrated chicken broth, chicken powder, flavor, salt, modified corn starch, salt, spice, glazed with: water, seasoning (sugar, (dehydrated romano cheese and blue cheese {part skim cow's milk, cheese cultures, pasteurized cow's milk, salt, enzymes}, spices, salt, modified food starch, dehydrated garlic dehydrated onion, citric acid, (dehydrated flavorings {(modified food starch, corn syrup solids, flavor, smoke flavor, partially hydrogenated soybean oil), dehydrated flavor (maltodextrin, citric acid, gum arabic, natural flavor}, extractives of garlic, olive oil), water, red peppers, ywllow peppers, 2% or less of cream, parmesan cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), soybean oil, modified cornstarch, bleached wheat flour, basil, asiago cheese (pasteurizred milk, salt, cheese cultu res, salt, enzymes), water, salt, lactic acid, citric acid), extra virgin olive oil, garlic puree, enzyme modified parmesan cheese (cultured milk, water, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, cheese flavor (cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), water, salt, enzymes, cultures, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum), dehydrated onions, potassium chloride. 


Scary, right? So keep it simple to keep it healthy!