Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Calories Are NOT My Friends!

I mentioned the other day that I'm on a 1,500 calorie diet.  Most of the time, I would agree that 1,500 calories is not enough.

But it is for me.

Many times, I have been completely satisfied with the things I have eaten throughout the day.  In fact, there are times when I have to run out after dinner and go to someplace like Subway to pick up a 6" Turkey Breast on Wheat (with Pepper Jack, toasted, all the veggies except jalapenos and banana peppers as those are pickled and nasty) just to hit my 1,500 calories a day.  On those days?  Those are the best sandwiches IN THE WORLD.

So I have been perusing Pinterest lately (yes, I enjoy Pinterest.  You'd be surprised how many fellow Nerdists are on there!) and found something interesting.  A list of Negative Calorie or Zero Calorie Foods.

A Negative Calorie food is something that it takes MORE calories for your body to burn it off than what your body gets from it.  I thought it was a rather interesting list, so I thought maybe you'd like to have it as well:
  • Apple
  • Asparagus
  • Beets
  • Blueberries
  • Broccoli
  • Cranberries (bring on Thanksgiving!  w00t!) 
  • Cantaloupe
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Chicory (?  why would coffee be on here?)
  • Cauliflower
  • Cucumber
  • Dandelion (really?  WHO EATS WEEDS?!?)
  • Endive (pronounced "Ahn-Deeve" if you're snooty)
  • Garden Cress
  • Garlic (YESSS!!!  Keep those vampires away!)
  • Grapefruit
  • Green beans (so grass should be on there too)
  • Honeydew
  • Hot Chili Peppers (assuming you can get it down you--but I guarantee if you eat too many you'll pay for it in the morning!)
  • Lemons
  • Limes
  • Lettuce (is ANYONE surprised by this?)
  • Mango
  • Onions
  • Oranges
  • Papaya (can you hear me?  Sorry.  Bad joke!)
  • Peaches
  • Pineapples
  • Radish
  • Raspberries
  • Spinach (gross)
  • Strawberries
  • Tomatoes/Tomatoes (let's call the whole thing off!)
  • Tangerines
  • Turnips
  • Watermelon
  • Zucchini

Yes, I did alphabetize them.  I'm so OCD I prefer to be labelled CDO.

Aside from the few comments I made in the list, I'm feeling pretty good about things now.  I would caution you to eat your fruits BEFORE 2:00pm.  From what I've been reading, sugar--even fruit sugar--goes straight to your waistline if you eat it after 2:00pm.

And please, don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying these foods have zero calories in them.  For example, do you know how many calories are in an apple?  DEAR.  LORD!  In a CUP of apples, there are 73.8 calories.  True, your fat drops to practically negative (.2g), and your potassium goes way up (143.8mg), but where you need to watch it is in your carbs.  Apples have a buttload of carbs.

(Aside:  A buttload is a lot.  It falls somewhere between a Gross and a Ton).

Anyway, a cup of apples contains 19.1g of carbs.  So if you eat one, be careful about the bread you're putting in your mouth after you've eaten those apples.

Speaking of apples, I have a quick apple slaw recipe if you'd like to try it.  I recommend eating it in single cup increments until you've blown your whole weekend for carbs.  And you'll want to.  It's that good.  Even The Editor and the Cub Reporters love this!

Apple Slaw

Ingredients:
6 apples, julienned*
2 cups of grapes, cut in half
2 cups of shredded carrots**
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp light mayo (can also use light Miracle Whip if you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1)  Julienne the apples.  This will take the most time.
2)  Cut the grapes in half.  This will be fairly quick, I hope.
3)  Mix the apples, grapes, and carrots together in a big bowl.
4)  Mix the apple cider vinegar and the light mayo, then pour over the apple/carrot/grapes mixture.
5)  Mix THOROUGHLY.
6)  Add a little sea or kosher salt, and a little pepper.
7)  Chill in a covered bowl before serving.  The vinegar should help prevent the apples from turning brown, but you should still cover it up pretty good.

*First note:  Julienned simply means you've cut that sucker into matchstick-sized pieces.  This could take some time, but...  It's all worth it, right?  Also, for this recipe, I use three different kinds of apples (two of each kind). 

**Second note:  You can buy carrots already shredded.  I use the kind that have been julienned over the kind that are simply thinly sliced.

No comments:

Post a Comment