Calling all health nuts and novices: Danielle Hamo is bringing her expertise in Nutrition and Dietetics to Haute Living; sharing tips on how to eat out, dine in and adhere to an altogether healthy lifestyle. Here’s the inside scoop on our newest Nurition/Lifestyle Curator.
1. Whats the key to eating right?
The key to eating right is eating “real” food as much as you can. What I mean by real food, is fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains with minimal processing, lean proteins like fish, chicken, eggs, and beans, low-fat dairy like yogurt, milk, and cheese, and healthy fats like olive oil. Sweeten with turbinado sugar or agave syrup. Stay away from highly processed foods like cakes, cookies, chips, and fried foods most of the time. Set up your plate with half fruits and veggies (salad, cooked veggies, or fresh fruit) and the rest with a 3 oz portion of meat and whole grains. Wait 20 minutes before you get a second serving, chances are you won’t want it. Your drink of choice of should be water or tea most of the time.
2. Whats the key to losing weight?
The key to losing weight and keeping it off is developing a healthy lifestyle you can live with forever. There is no use in depriving your self of all your favorite foods, because that means that it will only be temporary. Don’t go on a diet, because one day you will get off that diet and gain all the weight back. Most people that go on a diet, end up gaining all the weight back because that way of eating is unrealistic in the long run. You should eat healthy 80% of the time, and splurge on your guilty pleasures 20% of the time, this way you don’t feel like you are living off grass and cardboard. You should be conscious of serving sizes, and as long as you keep your portions small you can enjoy “fattening” foods. Offset you small portion of steak with a larger portion of steamed or grilled veggies. Also,don’t eat mindlessly, the only thing you should be snacking on while watching TV, reading, or doing work is carrots or broccoli. Eat slowly, when you eat fast you consume more calories then you would if you ate slower. No meal should take less than 20 minutes.
3. How do i curb my appetite?
A good way to curb your appetite is to eat a good balanced breakfast. Studies show that people who skip breakfast end up eating more calories throughout the day. An example of a good breakfast is plain greek yogurt with fresh berries, small amount of agave, and high fiber cereal. Another example is a slice of whole-wheat bread with reduced-fat cream cheese with an omelet made of 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms.
Another way to help curb your appetite is eating foods high in fiber. Fiber takes longer to be digested so it keeps you feeling fuller for longer period of time. Eating a high fiber cereal at breakfast is a good way to get a lot of your fiber in. Beans and legumes are also a great choice because they are super high in fiber and low in calories. Whole-wheat couscous and faro are grains that are delicious and high in fiber. Eating fruit with the peel boosts their fiber content, as well as eating vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts.
4. What’s the deal with cleansing?
Juice cleanses can be a great way for you to get more servings of vegetables, vitamins, and minerals in a smaller bulk. However, I wouldn’t recommend a diet of juices only because you are not getting fiber or protein which is an important part of any diet. If you are trying to lose weight, stick to juicing mostly vegetables because fruit juices are very high in sugar and because they lack fiber they do not keep you feeling very full. Keep in mind that eating an actual fruit or vegetable will always have more satiety effect then a juice because liquid calories don’t fill us up as much as food. Juices of vegetables as apart of a balanced diet can be a great addition, but if you are drinking juices as meal replacements I would recommend blending them with yogurt over juicing because you are keeping the fiber of the fruit and vegetables and adding some protein.
5. What are some of your favorite restaurants in Miami to eat healthy?
Japanese is great, because there is a lot of dishes that are low in calories and high in protein.I opt for shashimi style fish and skip the sushi (which has rice.) Places I really enjoy is Nobu, Bond st, and Dorkau. For appetizer I choose anything shashimi, tataki, or tiradito. As a main course I choose grilled or steamed fish. Miso soup and salads are also great choices, just go easy on the dressing. Another great spot is Miami Juice in Sunny Isles, I go there for lunch often. They have a great fruit salads, salads, and platter dishes with brown rice and veggies. Every restaurant that you go to has healthy options for you to choose from, always choose veggie side dishes or a salad, a grilled fish or chicken, and small portion of rice or potatoes. Stay away from mashed potatoes when eating out because they tend to have high amounts of cream and butter. Also either ask the waiter to avoid the bread and butter in the beginning all together, or take one piece with olive oil and balsamic and have the waiter take away the rest. Enjoy a glass of red wine for added health benefits. Last, share dessert with the table.
Stay up-to-date with Danielle by visiting her page here.
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