The Meal Effect
First thing first...I have some GREAT news! I had the opportunity this last week to present a research idea to the head of my department...and she absolutely loved it! I have a strong desire to work with kindergartners to see how prevalent thoughts about weight and body-image are among them. To our knowledge, no reputable study has been done any grade younger than third. As my department head said, "I think you will be surprised and kind of disheartened by how right you are in assuming it starts that young." She has two boys around kindergarten age as well, so my idea really hit home to her. Come next summer I should have almost everything researched and written! I am so excited for this opportunity and hope to be able to create something worth while out of it.
Though this news makes me really excited for the future, this is a blog, and most of you probably are reading it because of the topic I placed inside of the title: meals. What constitutes a meal? After all this time, I should probably help you guys out a little bit.
The classification of what makes a "meal" is actually pretty simple: you need a carb, a fat, and a protein. Yup. That's it. All you need are a couple of foods that, once combined, are significant sources of each of these macronutrients.
But the real question is...why? Why do you want all three of them? If you remember my first couple posts about the functions of each of these nutrients, then you will remember that each of them do something unique when it comes to eating:
1. Carbs keep you full
2. Protein keeps you satisfied
3. Fat keeps your food palatable
As you can see, when one of these are missing, you don't get as much satisfaction out of your meal than you otherwise would. This is what makes mealtimes important--satisfaction.
For example, I often work 9 or 10 hour shifts. During this time, I get one break to eat some food. It is much easier on me if I get a carb, protein, and a fat into that one meal. If I am missing one of these, I typically get hungry again within an hour or two. If I get all three nutrients in, I am usually good for at least double that. And since my breaks happens about halfway through my shift, then being satisfied for 3-4 hours is perfect in terms of timing.
But what foods contain which nutrient? You typically can't just look at a food and know--the answer lies in the nutrition label on the back of the food. But since nutrition labels are boring to the vast majority of the population, I decided to give you a basic list of which foods lie in which nutrient's category.
Carbs:
-pasta
-rice
-bread
-beans
-all fruits and vegetables
-oatmeal
-grains
Proteins:
-beans
-red meat
-poultry
-seafood
-milk
-cheese
-yogurt
-eggs
-tofu
-grains
-nuts
Fats:
-nuts
-seeds
-cheese
-full-fat dairy products
-egg yolks
-oils
-butter
-avocado
-fish
-red meat
As you can see, this is a very basic list. And as you hopefully also see, there are some foods that overlap between two different lists! Therefore, when you eat these foods, you are getting more than one nutrient. Which I think makes life a bit easier.
What I love about lists like these is that you can clearly see where restaurant meals and recipes come from! And it is easier to mix and match when you have all of them laid out in front of you. You can even google a list of ingredients you have and it will spit out a recipe for you using those ingredients. I love it!
I wish I could take the time to go over each and every one of these ingredients and tell you exactly how they are best used and best paired with, but that could literally take days. So if you have any questions regarding meal preparation and composition, please let me know! I am honored to help.
I promise as you make an effort to include each of these nutrients into your meals that you will notice a difference! And your body will thank you for it.
Though this news makes me really excited for the future, this is a blog, and most of you probably are reading it because of the topic I placed inside of the title: meals. What constitutes a meal? After all this time, I should probably help you guys out a little bit.
The classification of what makes a "meal" is actually pretty simple: you need a carb, a fat, and a protein. Yup. That's it. All you need are a couple of foods that, once combined, are significant sources of each of these macronutrients.
But the real question is...why? Why do you want all three of them? If you remember my first couple posts about the functions of each of these nutrients, then you will remember that each of them do something unique when it comes to eating:
1. Carbs keep you full
2. Protein keeps you satisfied
3. Fat keeps your food palatable
As you can see, when one of these are missing, you don't get as much satisfaction out of your meal than you otherwise would. This is what makes mealtimes important--satisfaction.
For example, I often work 9 or 10 hour shifts. During this time, I get one break to eat some food. It is much easier on me if I get a carb, protein, and a fat into that one meal. If I am missing one of these, I typically get hungry again within an hour or two. If I get all three nutrients in, I am usually good for at least double that. And since my breaks happens about halfway through my shift, then being satisfied for 3-4 hours is perfect in terms of timing.
But what foods contain which nutrient? You typically can't just look at a food and know--the answer lies in the nutrition label on the back of the food. But since nutrition labels are boring to the vast majority of the population, I decided to give you a basic list of which foods lie in which nutrient's category.
Carbs:
-rice
-bread
-beans
-all fruits and vegetables
-oatmeal
-grains
Proteins:
-red meat
-poultry
-seafood
-milk
-cheese
-yogurt
-eggs
-tofu
-grains
-nuts
Fats:
-nuts-seeds
-cheese
-full-fat dairy products
-egg yolks
-oils
-butter
-avocado
-fish
-red meat
As you can see, this is a very basic list. And as you hopefully also see, there are some foods that overlap between two different lists! Therefore, when you eat these foods, you are getting more than one nutrient. Which I think makes life a bit easier.
What I love about lists like these is that you can clearly see where restaurant meals and recipes come from! And it is easier to mix and match when you have all of them laid out in front of you. You can even google a list of ingredients you have and it will spit out a recipe for you using those ingredients. I love it!
I wish I could take the time to go over each and every one of these ingredients and tell you exactly how they are best used and best paired with, but that could literally take days. So if you have any questions regarding meal preparation and composition, please let me know! I am honored to help.
I promise as you make an effort to include each of these nutrients into your meals that you will notice a difference! And your body will thank you for it.
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