Monday, August 24, 2009

Eat More ~ Crave Less?

I heard it today ~ “Food is an appetite suppressant!”

It was in the context of a presentation by Ryan Andrews, a registered dietitian, who lectured at Mesa State College this afternoon. It’s unequivocally true ~ if we’re talking about natural, whole foods.

I tried it out. A friend shared a recipe for a zucchini soup ~
made by basically packing a blender full of raw zucchini, thawed frozen peas, avocado, fresh basil, garlic and lemon juice ~ along with a cup of water.

I ladled the pureed mixture into a small bowl, topped it with a few slivers of goat cheese and some ground pepper, and savored it. It’s what would be called “energy dense” food because it’s loaded with nutrients.

There were no cravings for a slice of sour dough bread slathered with butter to go with it, or for a dessert afterwards since, after all, it was just soup. I felt as though I had had plenty to eat ~ and since it was the last meal of the day, I most likely had.

I still had some work to do on my computer, and I felt alert enough to do that ~ unlike if I had consumed some carb-rich foods that would left me partly thinking about the work I had to do, and partly about what else I might find in the kitchen.

Andrews is right. If you choose the right stuff, it satisfies you.
If weight loss is your goal, you can think less about counting calories, and focus more on choosing from a wide selection of energy-dense foods. How liberating is that?

2 comments:

Sheri said...

That sounds like a great recipe for zucchini soup. YUM! I'll try it out!

I think part of our awareness about food is to determine when we are hungry, what is good to eat and noticing how we feel after...Conscious Eating!

Ryan Andrews said...

Amazing blog!

Paula - my email messages are not going through to you. Can you shoot me an email?

ryan@precisionnutrition.com