Backup: how to replace mayonnaise and sweet soda
Foods high in flavor enhancers, salt, and sugar increase appetite and are even addictive. This is due to the activation of certain taste perception receptors, which stimulates the brain's pleasure centers and forms stable preferences for certain types of food. Moreover, for some lovers of salty and sweet, it is enough to give up harmful foods for only a few weeks in order to lose unnecessary weight. How to replace fast food, sweet soda and salty crackers — in the Izvestia article.
Homemade burger
Anastasia Lebedeva, associate Professor of the Department of Dietetics at ROSBIOTECH University, believes that if harmful foods are completely removed from the diet, most people will notice weight loss, improvement in skin condition and general well-being within a month.
— However, you should not expect a sharp weight loss of many kilograms: healthy changes occur gradually, warns Anastasia Lebedeva. — The main advantage is not a quick result, but the formation of sustainable eating habits that work for long—term health.
Fast food attracts with a combination of salt, fat, crispy texture and bright spices, explains Anastasia Lebedeva. Baked potatoes with paprika and garlic, chicken wings or fillets cooked in the oven without batter, homemade burgers on a whole-grain bun with a baked patty and vegetables can be a useful substitute for savory foods.
Gastroenterologist and nutritionist Elvira Beleva also recommends replacing Russians' favorite but harmful fast food products with healthier food, only tweaking the recipe of popular dishes.
"It's delicious and healthy — minimum calories and maximum benefits,— advises Beleva. — Chicken breasts or thighs can be baked in breaded oatmeal or cornmeal with spices. Juiciness and mouth-watering crunch remain, but excess fat from deep-frying disappears.
Instead of a greasy sauce, Elvira Beleva suggests using avocado pulp in homemade burgers — this fruit has a pleasant creamy texture and contains healthy fats. Tomatoes are perfect instead of ketchup: tomatoes contain lycopene, which is useful for blood vessels, and it serves as a prevention of thrombosis.
But replacing potato or corn chips with a seaweed product should be done with caution. Healthy seaweed chips (nori) are an excellent source of iodine, but they are often over—salted, says Elvira Beleva. A safer choice is apple, beetroot, or kale chips, especially baked with herbs.
The gastroenterologist draws attention to the fact that nuts are not a substitute for chips. This is a superfood that you need to eat in small quantities — a handful a day. It's easy to overdo it with them — get carried away and get an excess of calories and strain on the pancreas.
— Nuts and sea cabbage chips can partially eliminate the need for a snack, but it is important to remember the measure: nuts are very high in calories, and sea cabbage often contains a lot of salt, — Anastasia Lebedeva continues the topic. — The advantage of such substitutions is less trans fats and extra calories, more protein and fiber, which gives a longer feeling of fullness and reduces the burden on digestion.
How to replace sweets
Lebedeva recommends replacing cakes and sweets with products with natural sweetness — dried fruits, baked apples with cinnamon, natural yogurt with berries.
— Dried figs, dried apricots or dates will help to give up sweets, as they contain sugars in a "package" of fiber and trace elements, — explains the biotechnologist. — Their advantage is that they do not cause sudden spikes in glucose and give a feeling of fullness faster, but here it is important not to overeat.
The biotechnologist believes that ice cream does not have to be completely eliminated, but if desired, it can be replaced with frozen yogurt, berry sorbet or banana ice cream without sugar. These options are easier to digest and contain less saturated fat, while retaining the dessert feel.
— Store—bought ice cream contains a lot of sugar and preservatives, thickeners and vegetable fats, - says Elvira Beleva. — A healthy dessert can be made by yourself from cream, fruits, whipped bananas, frozen with yogurt and cream.
The irresistible passion for cakes will subside if, on the advice of a gastroenterologist, you make a choice in favor of chia seed pudding, passion fruit desserts, and whole-grain apple pie. These foods provide vitamins, as well as fiber, which slows down the absorption of sugars.
— Protein desserts made from cottage cheese (casserole, cheesecakes) saturate for a long time and are a building material for the body, unlike empty calorie cakes, — suggests Beleva.
How to make mayonnaise at home
Coffee, mayonnaise, chips and sweet soda are the most "vulnerable places" of Russians. Not everyone is ready to give up these products or limit them, but if desired, you can find a healthy compromise.
— If you want to cheer up in the evening, but coffee is already undesirable, it is better to choose decaffeinated drinks — chicory, herbal teas, rooibos or cocoa with water or vegetable milk, suggests Anastasia Lebedeva. — Chicory and some roasted cereal drinks can actually partially replace coffee in taste and aroma, helping to deceive the habit due to a familiar ritual.
According to Beleva, chicory contains a lot of inulin, a prebiotic that helps the growth of beneficial intestinal microflora, in other words, it is food for this microflora.
The biotechnologist advises replacing mayonnaise with sauces based on yogurt or sour cream with mustard, lemon juice, garlic or spices. According to the expert, it is the acidity and spice that give a feeling of rich taste, which is not enough with a simple sour cream dressing.
The gastroenterologist provides three filling options that will replace mayonnaise.:
— sour cream, Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of lemon, lime or grapefruit juice;
— Greek yogurt, garlic and herbs — this mixture is rich in protein and probiotics;
— Avocado, lime and salt are healthy fats and creamy texture.
Why do people like sugary sodas?
People like sweet soda because of the combination of sugar, bubbles and acid, Anastasia Lebedeva notes. In the case of this product, the biotechnologist advises a gradual transition to less sweet, but carbonated or flavored drinks. They will help reduce unwanted addiction.
— Instead of sweet soda, you should choose water with gas and a slice of lemon or lime, homemade fruit drinks without sugar, kombucha or iced tea, — Anastasia Lebedeva continues.
According to Elvira Beleva, sparkling water with a slice of lemon, lime, cucumber or mint deceives the receptors and perfectly quenches thirst.
Scientists attribute the desire to eat salty food mainly to fatigue, stress, or a lack of taste sensations, rather than to the actual needs of the body. Instead of salted crackers or chips, the biotechnologist advises choosing baked vegetable chips, popcorn without butter, whole-grain bread or nuts with a minimum amount of salt. The gastroenterologist recommends including vegetable sticks (carrots, cucumbers, celery) in the diet with hummus, as well as dried nori seaweed (without oil).
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
