Total Body Diet For Dummies

Chapter 4

Designing a Total Body Diet-Friendly Kitchen

In This Chapter

Identifying the kinds of foods you want in your kitchen

Discovering simple fridge and pantry makeover tips

Budgeting the Total Body Diet way

Mastering meal planning and grocery shopping

Alarge part of living the Total Body Diet is reconfiguring your kitchen to factor in healthful foods for energy, vitality, and happiness. What foods are good for your total body? How can you figure out how to revamp your kitchen for the better and rid it of foods that are not doing your body or mind good? With simple tricks and tips for planning meals and making grocery shopping easy, you uncover ways to map out a plan that works for you and your family.

In this chapter, you get to design your kitchen to meet your Total Body Diet lifestyle. From organizing your fridge to stocking pantry essentials to smart grocery shopping tactics to planning meals and snacks, you’ll feel empowered taking control of your home food environment.

Ridding Your Kitchen of Not-So-Healthy Foods

You wouldn’t give your high-end, luxury car low-quality fuel, so why feed it to yourself? The Total Body Diet is about making high-quality foods a priority in your life. Before you embark on your kitchen redesign, think about the foods that don’t do much good for you. Food products that are highly processed, jam-packed with added sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats — think cookies, crackers, donuts, muffins, sugary cereals, and processed meats — are not doing your body or mind any good.

Beware of some foods that are disguised as good for you, such as some brands of granola, oatmeal, or fruit bars, yogurt-covered pretzels and raisins, banana chips, trail mix, cereals, store-bought muffins, fruit cups (in syrup), light popcorn, and fruit-flavored yogurt. Read the fine print — the ingredients will reveal a lot. Also, beware of food products with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils — they most likely contain a lot of added sugar and possibly too much trans fat (the fats that are implicated in heart disease risk).

Your fridge

When was the last time you looked in your fridge? I mean really looked —moved stuff around, checked expiration dates, and realized what’s good for you and what’s not. It’s eye-opening! I bet there are things in there that you’ve forgotten about or you bought in haste or used for a recipe and then buried it way in the back. The things in the front of the fridge get the most attention, so move fruits and vegetables to the front. (You don’t have to use the produce cooler — especially, if you forget to look in there!)

Food kept in the fridge, should be less than 40 degrees. (Use a refrigerator thermometer to verify the temperature of your fridge.) Refrigerate perishable foods within two hours (or one hour if it’s 90 degrees or hotter outside) and place foods for thawing or marinating in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (not on the countertop). If you want extra assurance that your food is safe, check out the Home Food Safety Program’s app, Is My Food Safe? and their website, www.homefoodsafety.org.

Table 4-1 has some healthy food options to stock in your fridge.

Table 4-1 Healthy Fridge Foods

Whole Grains*	Fruits	Vegetables	Proteins	Dairy Products/Dairy Alternatives
Whole-wheat flour	Applesauce (no sugar added)	Artichoke hearts	Eggs	Fat-free or lowfat milk
Whole-grain tortillas	Blueberries	Asparagus	Hummus	Kefir
Whole-wheat pasta	Blackberries	Beets	Tofu	Fat-free or lowfat regular or Greek yogurt (plain)
Barley	Cantaloupe	Broccoli	Nut butter (natural)	Reduced-fat or lowfat cheese
Brown rice	Cherries	Brussels sprouts	Nuts	String cheese
Bulgur wheat	Grapes	Cabbage	Bison	Reduced-fat or lowfat cottage cheese
Whole-wheat couscous	Honeydew	Carrots	Chicken breast	Farmer’s cheese
Farro	Mango, sliced	Cauliflower	Chicken sausage	Butter (unsalted)
Oats	Prunes	Celery	Turkey breast	Soymilk (plain)**
Spelt	Raisins	Cucumber	Lean (95%–97%) ground sirloin	Almond milk (plain)**
Quinoa	Raspberries	Eggplant	Beef (loin and round cuts)	Hazelnut milk (plain)**
	Strawberries	Green beans	Lean roast beef	Rice milk (plain)**
	Watermelon	Hearts of palm	Ham (low fat, low sodium)
	Fruit bowls (in their own juice)	Jicama slices	Pork loin
		Kale
		Kohlrabi
		Leeks
		Mushrooms
		Mustard greens
		Okra
		Onions
		Pea pods
		Peppers (all varieties)
		Radishes
		Romaine lettuce
		Salsa
		Salad greens
		Scallions
		Spinach
		Summer squash
		Tomatoes
		Grape tomatoes
		Turnips
		Water chestnuts
		Watercress
		Zucchini
		V-8 or tomato juice (low sodium)

* Refined grains can have a place in your diet as they are fortified with important vitamins like the B-vitamin, folic acid, which is vital during pregnancy for the brain and spinal cord development of babies. Make half of your grains whole grains, and the rest can be refined, enriched grains.

** Shelf-stable aseptic packages require refrigeration after opening.

There are lots of veggies to choose from — aim to get 6 to 11 servings per day for overall health. Check out your fridge or grocery cart. Are you stocking enough for the week?

Don’t forget to include fresh herbs and spices in your fridge. Not only are they great for boosting the healthfulness of your meals and snacks, but fresh rosemary, basil, thyme, dill, sage, and ginger, among others, offer an aromatic quality that delights the senses when you open the refrigerator door.

Keeping fresh herbs can be tricky. The hearty herbs like rosemary and thyme tend to last longer, but delicate basil, sage, and dill don’t fare as well. A trick to keeping herbs fresh as long as possible is to wrap them snugly in a damp paper towel — like swaddling a baby. The leaves like the moisture — but not too much moisture, or they’ll corrode quickly. Place them in the crisper drawer.

No need to refrigerate the following fruits: apple, avocado, banana, grapefruit, kiwi, clementine, orange, nectarine, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, and tangerine. You can keep them on the countertop to ripen. After you cut, bite, or peel them, it’s time to refrigerate.

Your freezer

These days there’s not much that can’t be frozen — the only foods that you should not freeze are canned foods or eggs in shells. Walk down the frozen food aisles in your grocery store and you’ll see a bounty of choices in every food group — from vegetables and fruits to meat, beans, and nuts to dairy products to whole grains.

There are many good reasons to stock your freezer. According to the Frozen Food Association, here are four handy facts about frozen foods:

· Frozen foods are nutritious. Frozen fruits and vegetables are flash-frozen at the highest point of nutritional value and have been found to have equal, if not more, nutrients.

Recent research from the University of California–Davis and the University of Georgia compared the nutrient content of eight commonly purchased frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables: blueberries, strawberries, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, green peas, and spinach. The University of Georgia study found that vitamins A and C and folate were greater in several frozen varieties than their fresh-stored counterparts. The University of California–Davis study found that the frozen produce preserved vitamins C and B2 better than the fresh-stored vegetables. Also, freezing the fruits and vegetables correlated to higher vitamin E levels and minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, and iron, as well as fiber and phytochemicals (health-promoting compounds in plants).

· Frozen foods are easy to prepare. The best thing about frozen foods is that they come washed, precut, and ready to eat or cook. They save time and reduce waste. Plus, many are portable, convenient, simple to cook, and easy to clean up, all of which bodes well for time-pressed families.

· Frozen foods are a real value. Not only do frozen foods stretch your food dollars, but they deliver on quality and taste, offering real consumer value. Plus, frozen foods have a much greater shelf life than refrigerated foods, allowing easier portioning and storing to use at a later date.

· Frozen foods are the sensible choice. From a calorie-control standpoint, frozen foods offer many pre-portioned options, as well as resealable packaging to take out a portion and save the rest. Plus, they take the guesswork out by providing nutrition facts on the label.

Table 4-2 offers healthy food options to stock in your freezer (at 0 degrees or below).

Table 4-2 Healthy Freezer Foods

Whole Grains	Fruits	Vegetables	Proteins	Dairy Products/Dairy Alternatives
Whole-wheat flour	Bananas	Artichoke hearts	Nuts	Kefir
Whole-wheat breads	Blackberries	Asparagus	Bison	Fat-free or lowfat regular or Greek yogurt
Whole-grain tortillas	Blueberries	Beets	Chicken breast	Ice milk
Brown rice, precooked	Cantaloupe	Broccoli	Chicken sausage	Lowfat ice cream
Wild rice, precooked	Cherries	Brussels sprouts	Turkey breast
	Grapes	Cabbage	Lean (95%–97%) ground sirloin
	Honeydew	Carrots	Beef (loin and round cuts)
	Mango, sliced	Cauliflower	Lean roast beef
	Raspberries	Celery	Ham (lowfat, low sodium)
	Strawberries	Chili	Pork loin
	Watermelon	Cucumber
	Pureed fruit pops	Eggplant
	Fruit sorbet	Green beans
		Hearts of palm
		Jicama slices
		Kale
		Kohlrabi
		Leeks
		Mustard greens
		Okra
		Onions
		Pea pods
		Peppers (all varieties)
		Radishes
		Salsa
		Scallions
		Summer squash
		Sweet potatoes (fries)
		Tomato sauce
		Turnips
		Water chestnuts
		Zucchini

Frozen, prepared meals are convenient and portion controlled, but be sure to check the Nutrition Facts label and ingredients for sodium, added sources of sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat.

Label and date foods before putting them in the freezer. You can download and print out handy freezer labels at www.homefoodsafety.org/downloads/food-safety-freezer-labels.

Your pantry

The pantry cupboards are often forgotten because they house the shelf-stable, nonperishable foods that can last through the next Ice Age — or so you think. Cleaning out your pantry doesn’t have to just happen in springtime. Any time of year works for tossing outdated dried herbs and spices, old boxes of clumped-together raisins, aging vegetable oils, and stale crackers. Organizing the shelves, dusting off cans, and taking stock of what’s in the dark recesses of your pantry is liberating.

Here are some tips for your pantry makeover:

· Keep it clean, cool (50 to 70 degrees), dry, and dark.

· Check the dates on boxes, cans, and bags of dried goods.

· Place older products up front to use first.

· Discard any bulging, cracked, or dented cans (because there’s a risk of botulism lurking in the damaged can).

· Discard dried herbs and spices after one year (because their beneficial compounds and flavors diminish after this point). Be sure to put a purchase date on the container.

· Store open pasta, rice, and flour in an air-tight container to keep away rodents or insects.

Table 4-3 lists healthy food options to stock in your pantry.

Table 4-3 Healthy Pantry Foods

Whole Grains	Fruits	Vegetables	Proteins
Unopened whole-wheat flour (in an airtight container)	Canned fruits (no sugar added)	Canned vegetables (no salt added)	Nuts (in an airtight container)
Whole-wheat breads	Dried fruits (could also refrigerate)	Beans	Tuna fish*
Brown rice		Lentils	Salmon*
Wild rice		Soups	Crabmeat*
Whole-grain pasta		Potatoes (with skin)	Sardines
Couscous		Sweet potatoes (with skin)	Shrimp*
Quinoa		Peas	Chicken*
Popcorn		Corn	Soymilk (plain)**
High-fiber cereals		Vegetarian chili	Almond milk**
Oatmeal		Bean dip	Hazelnut milk**
			Rice milk**

* Cans/pouches (in water)

** In aseptic cartons

Cooking Techniques for Your Total Body

The way you cook food is just as important as the food itself. Take a potato, for instance. In its plain form, it’s a nutritious food — high in vitamin C and potassium with no sodium or fat. Bake it and pierce it open and fill it with broccoli and a drizzle of olive oil and dash of salt and pepper, and the health benefits shine. On the other hand, slice it and deep-fry it in a vat of oil and douse it with salt, and the healthy side is masked by a high-calorie glaze of fat.

One goal of the Total Body Diet is to make the healthy side of foods shine bright in your life! Using cooking techniques that enable this to happen is important, so in this section I give you a close-up look at these culinary methods in action.

Grilling

According to the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (HPBA), practically everyone grills. Eighty percent of U.S. households own a grill or smoker — and 97 percent of them used the grill within the last year!

The taste of grilled foods is the number one reason that grilling is so hot these days. It’s a healthier way to cook because grilling drains the fat from meats and they aren’t battered or sitting in grease. Plus, grilling offers the opportunity to make vegetables — think kabobs, as well as steamer baskets filled with colorful arrays of veggies.

Charring the flesh of meat, fish, chicken, or pork can produce potentially carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds called heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The good news is, marinating the flesh of any of these meats will hinder the production of these compounds. To play it safe, don’t overcook grilled meats, and flip meat on the grill often.

Here are some healthier grilling tactics:

· Grill veggies and fruits. Adding some colorful foods to the barbecue will provide fiber and antioxidants. Plus, grilled produce doesn’t form the cancer-causing compounds that charred meats do. Some great produce to grill are mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, apples, pears, and pineapples.

· Alternate meat with plants. Grilling high-fat meats is not a good practice for heart health and your waistline. Instead, use leaner loin cuts of beef and pork and skinless chicken breast — and don’t forget the plants! It’s easy to skewer tofu on a kabob with zucchini, onions, and tomatoes. Portobello mushrooms make a great grilled food on a whole-grain bun (and they taste like meat!). Veggie burgers are tasty on the grill, too.

· Whip up some healthy marinades. Not only do marinades offer protection from chemical compounds forming on meat, but if you make them with less fat, it reduces the fat drippings in the fire forming the compounds in the first place. Use vinegar, lemon or lime juice, honey, garlic, herbs, and spices.

Roasting

You can roast everything from vegetables to fruits to meats to nuts to beans to spices like coriander and cumin seeds. The best part about roasting is that it imparts such great flavor. Roasting uses dry heat to cook and brown the exterior of the foods, forming complex flavors and scents. The beauty of roasting is that you can set the food in the oven and do other things while it’s cooking.

Less is more when it comes to roasting. Nuts taste lovely roasted raw. Elephant garlic requires a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt. Root vegetables roast well with a bit of olive oil, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.

Broiling

Unlike grilling, food is heated from above with broiling. This cooking method saves time because the high heat from the broiler expedites the cooking process. Plus, broiling can happen in any weather and it offers faster prep and cleanup.

Here are some fun and tasty ways to use your broiler:

· Seared tofu with mushrooms and green onions

· Melted cheese sandwich with tomatoes

· Chicken quesadilla with cheddar and chipotle peppers

Sautéing

Browning food in a hot pan with a little fat is the gist of a good sauté. It’s a common culinary technique worldwide. From mushrooms, onions, and garlic (my favorite combo) to chicken, beef, or pork, sautéing is a convenient way to cook because it requires only a stovetop and a small skillet (or sauté pan).

Here are a few key things to think about for healthier sautéing:

· Choose a healthier fat. Good options include canola or grapeseed oil (because they have a higher smoke point and can withstand high heat).

· Stir often. Foods can burn in the sauté pan, if you aren’t careful — especially minced garlic and other herbs.

· Don’t overdo the oil — a little goes a long way. A tablespoon of oil is 120 calories, so use it sparingly. A good tip is to pour a bit in and spread with a paper towel — that way, excess oil will be absorbed.

Steaming

Using steam heat to cook is low in both fat and calories. Plus, it’s a short cooking method — a few minutes is all you need. Unlike boiling, where you submerse a food in water, with steaming you don’t lose as much of the nutrients. If anything, there’s evidence that steaming can help bring out the nutritional value in vegetables.

Research in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that steaming was the best method for preserving phytochemicals in plant-based foods.

Every vegetable requires a unique steaming time depending on its weight and cell structure. Delicate leafy greens will be heated through quickly, whereas hearty broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts will take longer. Keep that in mind and group vegetables together based on their unique cooking needs.

Baking

One of the first cooking methods on Earth, baking uses prolonged heat from the oven. Food is cooked from the outside to the center. You typically think of bread, cookies, and cakes with baking, but you can bake meat, poultry, fish, pizza, casseroles, potatoes, and vegetables.

Similar to roasting, baking doesn’t require a lot of work. You just pop it in the oven and do other things while your meal is cooking. Plus, it’s a lowfat cooking method as you don’t need to use fat to bake. (Of course, baked sweet goods contain fat, so limit cookies and cakes!)

Microwaving

It doesn’t seem like it would be healthy to put food in a box and bombard it with electromagnetic radiation to cook it, but there’s nothing to say it’s not.

To the contrary, research has shown that foods retain their nutrient content after microwaving just the same as with other cooking methods, if not better. Quick cooking time may actually preserve nutritional value, and some research has shown that folate levels in leafy greens like spinach are better preserved when microwaved versus cooked on the stovetop.

Here are the benefits of microwaving:

· It’s quick and easy and the cleanup is minimal.

· It preserves nutrients better than other cooking methods that take longer and use more liquid.

· Many healthy foods are microwaveable, such as vegetables, chicken, fish, pasta, rice, quinoa, and couscous dishes. Microwaving is a convenient way to get a varied, nutrient-rich diet.

Eating Well on a Budget

It doesn’t have to cost a lot to eat well. You’ll be surprised how much money you save if you eliminate mindless eating. By planning meals and snacks and purchasing food at regular times, your grocery bills will become more streamlined.

Earlier in this chapter, I talk about frozen foods — they’re one of the best ways to stretch your food dollars. Frozen produce, meats, fish, beans, and even grains go a longer way. However, there are healthy and cheap ways to eat, dine out, cook for more than one occasion, as well as shop the grocery store with your budget in mind.

Healthy and cheap eats

Food doesn’t have to be gourmet or break your budget to be healthy. Simple, whole foods top the health charts — and you can bargain-shop for it. An example of healthy and cheap is eating meatless. You don’t have to be a vegan or vegetarian to follow the Total Body Diet, but at least one day a week, try going without meat and eat plant-based meals instead. Your heart, blood sugar, blood pressure, and waistline will thank you later!

Here are some simple cheap eats to put on your list:

· Tofu (soybean curd): Extra-firm is good to make stir-fries and baked with a marinade.

· Tempeh (fermented soybeans): Add to salads or chili or enjoy it solo with vegetables.

· Beans: Black, kidney, navy, pinto, lima, or garbanzo.

· Lentils: Red, green, or brown.

· Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah): A high-protein grain to add to salads, soups, chili, and stir-fries.

Cook once, eat twice

Leftovers are one of greatest time-saving and budgeting techniques. When you prepare a meal, make more than you need for just one meal. For example, bake more chicken breasts than you need and refrigerate the rest for the next day to shred into tacos or chili. Double your soup recipe or cut up more vegetables than you need to have on hand for the next day’s meals.

Make a meal plan for the week and identify where you could cook once and enjoy it for a couple of meals. For example, you might end up with something like this:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Bake chicken Chili	Chicken tacos	Grilled portobello mushroom and veggie wrap	Mushroom and greens salad	Stir-fry tofu	Toss tofu into soup	Tofu scramble

Savvy grocery store shopping

Let’s face it: You’re in the grocery store frequently, or else you avoid it like the plague. Either way, there’s a better path. By becoming more focused on planning, your grocery shopping experiences will improve. According to the USDA (www.choosemyplate.gov/budget), there are a number of places where you can go to save money while buying good-quality food:

· Regular grocery stores

· Ethnic markets

· Dollar stores

· Retail supercenters

· Wholesale clubs

· Farmer’s markets

Although it may not seem realistic to store-hop, you may find better prices on eggs and milk at one store, but better prices on produce at another. If you plan your trips with a list, you can schedule to shop at different stores on set days.

Here are some grocery shopping organization tips:

· Keep a running grocery list and jot down what you run out of as you go through the week.

· Clip coupons and take advantage of the store’s flyer deals.

· Buy store brands — they offer good-quality food at a cheaper price.

Planning Your Meals for Success

Planning is one of the anchoring principles of eating well on a budget, according to the USDA. (The other two are purchasing and preparing.) How does your eating success hinge on establishing a weekly eating game plan? It’s not rocket science, but following a food plan not only helps you with your financial budget, but also helps you save calories.

Becoming a meal-planning pro

Think of yourself as a meal planner in training. You may not think it now, but in no time you’ll become a meal-planning pro, if you start small and build from there. Here are some key things you can do in order to stay on top of your meals for the week ahead:

· Use online recipes, message boards, and apps for inspiration.

· Participate in a recipe exchange with friends, neighbors, or co-workers.

· Add ingredients for new recipes to your grocery list.

· Keep your meals simple with four or five ingredients maximum. There are many great cookbooks using minimal ingredients. Check out Best Ever Three & Four Ingredient Cookbook, by Jenny White and Joanna Farrow, or The Four Ingredient Cookbook, by Linda Coffee and Emily Cale.

Set it and forget it

Now that you have a plan, you can prepare ahead of time or even do a quick prep that day. When you’ve mapped it out in your head, there’s no guesswork and you can save time. If you have to leave for the day, you can put a meal in a slow cooker and let it cook all day. Then it’ll be ready when you get home!

The forget-it part of this equation allows you to get other things done without running around last minute to throw a meal together or just stopping at a fast-food place on the way home because you don’t have any idea what to eat for dinner.

You can make everything from oatmeal to curries to chili to pork to beef to chicken dishes to pasta sauces in a slow cooker. There are literally hundreds of recipes. For inspiration, check out Slow Cookers For Dummies, by Tom Lacalamita and Glenna Vance (Wiley).

Navigating grocery store trips

You can streamline grocery store trips simply by having a list and visualizing the store. Categorize the foods that you need — such as fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, breads, and cereals — and map out the best path to fill your cart.

Before you shop, eat something — you’ll be more prone to make impulse purchases if you’re hungry.

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store first — that’s where you’ll most likely find fresh produce, whole-grain breads, meat, and dairy items.

Compare and save by looking at the unit price of items — not the actual price. The unit price is the total price per unit. The lower the price per unit, the better the deal. Many grocery stores list the price per unit on the shelf price tag, so you can compare prices more easily.

Purchase frozen items to save money, but be sure to check for added sugar, salt, and fat. Buying family packs saves money, but be sure to refrigerate or freeze remaining portions, such as meats, cheeses, pastas, rice, and breads.

Skip the chip and cookie aisle to save money (and excess calories from entering your home!). Also, plan to make homemade cookies as a treat. This way you can throw healthier ingredients in, too.

Avoid buying sugar-laden beverages. Instead, purchase a reusable water bottle and use filtered tap water. You’ll save money and calories in the long run.

For more grocery shopping tips, recipes, and food budgeting ideas, check out What’s Cooking? The USDA’s Mixing Bowl at www.whatscooking.fns.usda.gov.