On a recent trip to the doctor, after battling some not-so-fun infections this summer, I was told that sugar and the yeast in bread’s were the root cause of my fun health problem and that by lowering my consumption of the both in my daily diet, would significantly improve my current health position. The real frustrating part is that I already feel like I eat quite healthy! I don’t eat that much bread, but yes I admit, I do love my sugar and eat it daily.
After paying more attention to things that have sugar (almost everything that is packaged!) aside from eating even more fruits and veggies, I’ve started getting more serious about my meals AND my snacks.
A Guide to Eating a Healthier, Well-Balanced Meal: My Meal Plan for the Day
Breakfast: It’s the most important meal of the day. Opt for oatmeal (not instant oatmeal, which is full of sugar!) and top with frozen or fresh berries and a banana to sweeten it up. To get more fiber, omegas, and protein in your day, I add some flax seed, hemp seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and raisins to my oatmeal as well. The seeds help sweeten it up even more and they’re loaded with healthy omegas and protein as well.
Want a quick breakfast on the go? Make a protein shake/smoothie. (Make sure the protein powder is low in sugar). Add seeds, nuts, and berries for a yummy, sweet breakfast! I also juice veggies such as carrots, celery, cucumber, a green apple, lemon, spinach, and kale to get me going! This is a great daily source of veggies not to mention you get a lot of protein by juicing large amounts of spinach and kale as well.
Lunch: Avoid the bread on your sandwich and make it a wrap with a tortilla instead. Being vegetarian I’ve had to switch up my daily PB&J for a soy-based lunch meat, but this way I can add a lot more veggies to my lunch that I wasn’t getting before either! A salad is also a great option too. Just be sure to add a healthy protein. If you’re vegetarian like I am, quinoa is a great option for adding to a salad. Don’t forget to add some nuts and seeds too! *TIP: Don’t fall into the trap of the low-fat salad dressing! It usually has way more sugar to make up for being less fatty!
Snack: Fresh Fruit, veggies and dip, and/or a FiberOne Chewy Bar – As a vegetarian, I often eat protein bars as a snack during the day to get extra protein, but most of these bars are loaded with sugar. I was pleasantly surprised to find that FiberOne Chewy bars not only contain some protein in their yummy bars, but as the name states, you also get a healthy serving of about 9g of fiber in each bar too. And let’s be honest, we could all use a little extra fiber in our diets! My doctor didn’t mention that to me specifically, but that is one nutritional ingredient that is pretty easy to tell if you’re getting enough or not enough of it. (Uh hem.)
The really great part that made me incredibly happy, was seeing that FiberOne bars now have 25% less sugar and are free of artificial flavors and colors! In fact, looking at the nutrition facts on the back, I could see that these yummy bars contain FAR less sugar than the protein bars I’ve been eating pretty consistently the last few years. One Oats and chocolate bar only has 7 grams of sugar. That is insanely low for a snack bar! But FiberOne absolutely doesn’t skimp on taste with these yummy bars! I get my chocolate and sugar fix without eating a ton of sugar! They taste more like dessert bars then a chewy bar anyway! Not a fan of chocolate? FiberOne also makes a really yummy Lemon Bar too!
Dinner: Make a yummy stir fry full of veggies. I love to add nuts to mine as well, and don’t forget a lean protein. Again, being vegetarian, I add Tofu to mine. I love spicing it up with some yummy spices such as curry, onion salt, and pepper. Or opt for a yummy flavoring sauce such as teriyaki or sweet and sour. Just be sure to check that it’s low in sugar, as sauces often run high in the sweet stuff. Top stir fry over brown rice or noodles.
Dessert: Stick to a dark chocolate here if you need a chocolate fix. Otherwise, eat a fresh bowl of fruit to avoid sugar, a low sugar yogurt, and use honey or Agave instead of sugar when baking yummy desserts.
Bread and Sugar can wreak havoc on a diet AND health, so keep it in moderation. I don’t completely deprive myself or I end up binging, but keeping healthy meals pre-planned for the week also keeps me on the right track and I find myself eating better, much more of the time.
Want to learn more about the yummy, FiberOne bars? Check out this fun Pinterest Board here: http://pinterest.com/
You can also find the big 48 pack of Oats and Chocolate, or FiberOne Lemon Bars at your nearest Costco!
Happy Healthy Eating!
*Thank you FiberOne for sponsoring this blog post. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. I only share reviews with my readers, I feel will be beneficial or informative in some way.