Meatless Monday: Making Your Diet More Nutrient Dense

One Step At a Time...

You Can Go Meatless

For All Three Meals

Healthy eating is all about how many nutrients you can pack into your diet.

When you turn over a packaged product in the grocery store to read the nutritional breakdown, it’s tempting to look at the calories first;we’ve been bombarded for years with messages that calories count most when it comes to the battle of the bulge. Yet, nutrition experts are increasingly using the terms “nutrient density” and “nutrient-rich” to describe the foods—fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins—we should be eating more of, with less focus on their calories.

What does nutrient-rich mean? Nutrient-density equals nutrients per calorie, says Julieanna Hever, MS, RD, CPT, author of The Vegiterranean Diet. “Thus, the more nutrients packed into a food calorie, the more beneficial it is towards making every calorie count most efficiently.” In addition, nutrient-dense foods are items that have not been diluted by the addition of calories from added solid fats or added sugars, according to The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Nutrient-rich shopping. Hever says foods from nature, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole-grains, nuts and seeds are often the most nutrient-dense edibles in the grocery store. In particular, she extols brightly colored vegetables like red bell peppers and dark, leafy greens for giving you a significant nutrient and antioxidant windfall for little caloric cost. A University of Washington study found that among whole vegetables it was potatoes (both sweet and white), carrots and broccoli that deliver the most nutrients for the least cost. In addition, items like lower-fat dairy, eggs, and seafood are also often rich in nutrients without an appreciable caloric cost.

The nutrient-rich bonus. A nutrient-rich eating style gives you a concentrated amount of the valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fatty acids and antioxidants needed for healthy aging. A University of Florida study discovered that people who consumed more plant-based foods and, in turn, higher amounts of nutrients, such as phytochemicals and minerals, maintained healthier body weights and experienced less internal inflammation linked to chronic diseases than people with lower intakes of nutrient-dense foods, even though both groups took in about the same number of daily calories.

Consider, too, that people who spend a greater amount of time on home food preparation consume a diet consisting of higher quality calories, reports a 2014 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Nutrient-poor. “These would be foods that are high in calories, but low in nutrients, such as processed foods, oils, refined grains, and sugars,” says Hever. Many highly processed, packaged foods marketed as “low-calorie” or “low-fat,” such as baked potato chips or white bread, provide little in the way of vital nutrients in their calorie load. For example, refined white rice contains fewer calories cup for cup than brown rice (205 versus 216, respectively), but you would have to consume about four times as much white rice just to get the same amount of magnesium found in the brown rice, a mineral linked to lower heart disease risk. Diets too heavy in foods that provide mainly empty calories, such as soda and pastries, are the reason people can be overweight yet still nutrient-malnourished.

All calories are not equal. Increasingly, science shows that a calorie from a nutrient-loaded avocado is not the same as a calorie from a nutrient-poor, sugary muffin. Indeed, nutrient-rich items can be both very low and, surprisingly, higher in calories. Almonds, for example; while a mere ounce of the nuts delivers about 164 calories, it possesses a range of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats that make them a nutrient-rich food, despite the calories they contain.

Think Beyond Calories! (Adapted from Matthew Kadey)

Healthy Meatless Recipe:

Tofu Omelette

(Adapted from Plant Based on a Budget)

"Omelette?!" you say? Yes! Yes, we do! Thanks to the fine folks over at Plant Based on a Budget, I discovered this fantastic tofu omelette recipe created by Stephanie Lundstrom. 

Plus, you can fill these up with ALL of your favorites!

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 
3 Tbs. coconut milk
• 
3 Tbs. nutritional yeast
• 
3 Tbs. Cornstarch
• 
1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Turmeric

• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 
1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 
1/8 tsp. smoked paprika (optional)
• 
1/4 cup vegetable broth for thinning
Omelette fillings of your choice (such as spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers)

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients (except the fillings) to a food processor or blender, and blend until it becomes a batter consistency.
2. Add some of the broth, if needed for thinning. Spread a ladle-full, or so, of batter evenly over a HOT non-stick pan.
3. As it dries out it should begin to turn to a dark yellow color.
4. Use a spatula to run underneath and then flip it.
5. Once both sides are dry, plate and fill with your favorites.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Healthy Weekly Motivator

Remember Green Goes with Everything

Clean Air

We tend to think the big, bad world is where the unhealthy air is. But for the main source of air pollution in your life you need to look closer to home. In fact, it is your home.

You can reduce your home's air pollution in two ways:

1. Choosing products (from cleaners to bedding to carpets) that don't add chemicals to the air in your home.
2. Filtering the air in your home to get rid of some of the pollutants and making it safer.

Begin with changing your cleaning products to those that are safe for you,your family and the environment. Your home should be the safest place on earth. Clean it up with the safe, powerful, green, smart clean that is Shaklee. And surround yourself with health.

Have a great week and remember a better tomorrow starts with what you eat today!

Do you have a favorite meatless recipe you would like to share with us? Send it my way!

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

Lisa

LQ WELLNESS

Professional Wellness Coach

973-383-0955

lisaquinnwc@embarqmail.com

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“Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret.”

~ Robert E. Lee ~