As a leader in Canada’s poultry industry, Granny’s is not only committed to providing consumers with high-quality chicken and turkey products, we are continually seeking innovative ways to improve the many nutritional benefits that poultry offers.
Weight management
Losing as little as 5-10 pounds and keeping it off can not only make you feel better, it can also reduce your risk of developing many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain types of cancers.
Slow weight loss is best. Drastic diets leave you feeling deprived. You should aim to lose one pound per week and not more than two pounds per week. By setting reasonable goals, eating a healthy diet, and adopting an active lifestyle, you have a far greater chance of reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight goes hand in hand with a sensible, enjoyable eating plan — one that doesn’t leave you feeling physically or emotionally deprived. Healthy eating begins with a variety of foods. No one food can supply all the nutrients you need, so aim for a combination of foods that are rich in nutrition, fight disease and taste great. Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide provides you with the recommended amount of food needed and gives you guidance to select the types of food that are part of eating healthy.
Here are some good nutrient dense food choices for people on the run:
- lower glycemic, high in fibre choices like a multigrain, pumpernickel or 100% stone ground wheat bagel
- cold cubed chicken or turkey breast
- low fat, high fibre muffins
- yogurt
- almonds
- whole fruit like an orange or a banana
- all natural fruit bars
- raw veggies like baby carrots
- vegetable juices that are low in salt salmon or tuna snacks with low fat dressing or light mayo
Other nutrition tips weight management:
Keep your cupboard stocked with healthy food choices for meals:
- Have vegetables handy: bagged spinach, frozen vegetables for stir-fry
- Stock a variety of whole-wheat pastas
- Add beans or peas to soups or sauces
Don’t skip out on breakfast:
- Add bran buds to your cereal for extra fibre
- Add dried or fresh fruit or nuts to your oatmeal
- Boil an egg
Choose healthy beverages:
- Limit your coffee intake
- Avoid pop or artificial juice
- Choose vegetable juices low in salt
- Choose natural fruit juices with no added sugar or low calorie sweeteners
- Drink milk
Don’t eliminate any food groups:
- A healthy diet is based on balance, variety, moderation and common sense. When a food group is avoided or eliminated, important nutrients are compromised in the diet.
You should focus on a lower fat diet that is moderate in carbohydrates, high in fibre and fruits and vegetables and proven safe over the long term. If you are cutting back on carbohydrates, it’s important to take a daily multivitamin like Centrum Performance, which contains higher levels of B-vitamins, to meet daily nutrient needs.
Daily tips for good nutrition:
Focus on what you should eat, not what you shouldn’t – Canadians should eat a varied, balanced diet based on Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.
Eat a variety of foods from each food group everyday – To ensure a balanced diet, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, whole grain cereals, and choose lean protein-rich foods such as chicken and turkey meat.
Don’t skip meals – Although we lead busy lives, try to avoid skipping meals and/or not getting enough calories, vitamins and nutrients needed to replenish the body.
Don’t forget about your bones – Ensure you are getting enough Calcium. This important nutrient has been linked to prevention of a number of serious conditions such as osteoporosis. Make sure to incorporate skim milk into your diet and consider a quality daily calcium supplement.
Choose good fats – Avoid saturated fats found in baked goods, fast and processed foods, red meat and partially hydrogenated fats. Try instead to get your fat from fatty fish, such as salmon, nuts and olive oil.
Increase intake of fibre – Good sources of fibre include fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains.
Simple Calorie Saving Steps:
- Use ground chicken or turkey breast in place of ground beef in all of your favourite recipes (spaghetti, tacos, lasagna, burger patties and meat loaf). Ground chicken breast has considerably less calories that even the leanest ground beef. A typical serving of spaghetti sauce make with ground chicken instead of beef saves you about 250 calories.
- Enjoy your burger, but make it a grilled chicken, turkey or veggie burger.
- Use a smaller or lunch sized plate for your meals. Canadians like the look of a full plate of food. But that full plate also means a lot unwanted calories.
- Undress your salad. If your salad is loaded with full-fat dressing, croutons, bacon bits and grated cheese, it can contain more calories than you think. Use fat-free dressing, fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Skip the croutons and use low-fat cheese such as light feta instead of the full-fat variety or opt for a grating of a flavourful cheese such as Parmesan, where a small amount goes a long way in flavour. In addition, add a variety of colourful vegetables such a tri-colour peppers, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers and onions.
- Watch-out for high calorie drinks. Canadians are consuming several hundred unwanted calories everyday from what they drink. One can of regular pop has 150 calories and a whopping ten teaspoons of sugar!
- One of the best suggestions for cutting calories is to increase your intake of water. It is estimated that about 70% of Canadians walk around in a semi-dehydrated state. This can compromise brain function and our ability to make wise decisions about the foods we choose to eat and the quantity we eat. Also, nutrients are absorbed in the body via water so make sure you’re getting enough.
- Have your dessert and eat it too! Sometimes the hardest thing is to turn down a dessert after a delicious meal, but dessert are typically loaded with calories from sugar and fat. Enjoy a scoop of sherbet, gelati or sorbet instead of a calorie laden cheesecake or cake. Other great options to savour are fresh cut fruits or an assortment of berries.
Portion Control:
Try and use the rule of filling half of your plate with vegetables. They are low in calories, high in fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Use your hands. You always have your hands with you, and they are perfectly designed for your body, so why not use them to help you select healthy portion sizes of your food.Use your palm to measure a healthy serving of protein (chicken breast or turkey breast), two open hands for your vegetables, a first size serving for your grains or starch (your baked potato, serving of pasta or rice), include a fist size serving of fruit with or between your meal, allow your self a thumb tip size serving of fat and enjoy a thumb deep glass of skim or 1% milk to complete your meal.
Enough is Enough
Give-up your “clean the plate” club membership and start listening to your body. The time to stop eating is when you are full, not when your plate is empty. With this small shift in attitude, you will consume significantly fewer calories on a daily basis.
Slow Down
Slow down when eating. Allow yourself at least 15 to 20 minutes per meal to allow the stomach to signal the brain that you are full.
Think Long-term
It’s important to follow a healthy diet when you are trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight in the short term, but it’s important to stick to good nutrition habits for your long term health as well. Good nutrition can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like osteoporosis, some types of cancers, and cardiovascular disease.
Take your Vitamins
Research has shown that the use of a well-balanced multivitamin has also contributed to lowering the risk of chronic disease.
