Diet Slot Machine
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plan a meal or snack.
Diet Slot Machine
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INTRODUCTION : I have been eating healthy since 2005, which was when I finally found out the reason for a few years of noticeable ill health. The ill health symptoms included
After trying a pantry full of vitamin and mineral supplements, I finally found that the cause was NOT something MISSING from my diet, but TOO MUCH of something in my 'diet'. In other words, it was NOT a case of something to be ADDED or INCREASED in my diet, but something needed to be SUBTRACTED or REDUCED in my diet. The problem was an over-indulgence in added, refined-sugar products. Namely ... Cokes, cookies, donuts, sweet rolls, peppermint patties, chocolates, ice cream bars, etc. etc. I have been eating mostly fruits and vegetables since 2005, instead of all that junk food (refined sugar --- and refined flour = starch = long chains of sugars). I eat veggies to provide plenty of fiber and micro-nutrients. I eat fruits to feed my 'sweet tooth', as well as provide some fiber and micronutrients. The results :
I mention the symptoms above in order to help others. If you suffer from those chronic symptoms, then you should remove almost all refined-sugar from your diet --- and drastically reduce the amount of refined flour products in your diet. (Start by going through your refrigerator and pantry shelves to remove almost all sugar and added-sugar products --- and remove a lot of starchy products, like crackers and chips and other wheat/potato/rice flour products.) I list the resolved issues above so that those with these problems have an idea of the nature of the improvements to be expected.
Finding balance : Note that it is difficult to find all the protein that you need in veggies and fruits. So ... In addition to fruits and veggies --- for a good balance of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbohydrates --- I have been eating plenty of nuts and seeds and soybeans (or edamame = green soybeans). I also use olive oil to provide some healthy, fluid (low-viscosity) fat. Olive oil (and, occasionally, some melted butter) on veggies makes them much more palatable. Soybeans contain almost equal amounts of protein, fats, and carbohydrates --- but they are rather low in fats, so they tend to catch in the throat. Nuts and seeds also have a good balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates, but they have a little more fats and a little less protein than soybeans. Hence nuts and seeds are easier to swallow, but adding some soybeans to a nuts and seeds mixture boosts the protein content of the mix. (Throwing in some raisins satisfies a sweet tooth, while adding good micronutrients. But just say NO to M-and-M's --- that is, NO to added-refined-sugar-in-large-proportion products.) I am not a gourmet cook, so when I cook some vegetables, I simply boil up a vegetable or two --- some frozen corn or frozen peas, or a mixture of corn and peas. If I get fancy, I might cut up some onions or garlic to add to the pot. And I may throw in one more vegetable, like sliced carrots. And then I add olive oil and spices. Tossing some nuts-seeds-soybeans into the mix adds protein, as well as other nutrients to the vegetables. For a healthy snack, I often munch on sliced carrots (good fiber!) and vinegar-and-salt potato chips. I usually avoid potatoes because they are so starchy, and starches are simply long chains of sugars. Starch is broken down into its component sugars within an hour or two of your digestion process. But the vinegar in the chips is really healthy. Vinegar (and citric acid fruits) seem to clear out my cardio-vascular system. The ah-ha moment for the 'Diet Slot Machine' : One day, when I was looking around for a snack, after running out of my usual fruit snacks in mid-summer --- cherries, strawberries, cantalope, and watermelon --- I improvised by combining cashews with sliced bananas. It was great. Soon after that, I realized that I should be exploring different combinations of items from the three categories: veggies, fruits, and nuts-seeds-beans. Hence came the idea for this slot-machine page --- to help me think up combinations from the approximately 15 x 15 x 10 = 2,250 (or more) possibilites. (At least 15 vegetables, at least 15 fruits, at least 10 nuts-seeds-beans.) Two more categories to consider:
So to those who say that fruits and veggies are boring, I say look at the numbers of these items available to you --- especially when you consider the thousands of combinations possible. |
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With one of my first spins of all 3 wheels, I got celery, strawberry, and sunflower seeds. Hey ... don't knock it until you've tried it. That might be a pretty good combo. TO-DO : The lists of veggies, fruits, etc. are preliminary. More items could be added to the spinning wheels of this slot machine. And wheels for condiments and for spices could be added in the future. For more info on Diet-and-Food, try the following links. |
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Page created 2009 Aug 24.
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