Studies show that foods high is saturated fats can impair your good judgment-for up to three days! Foods like beef, butter, full-fat cheese and milk, all contain a type of saturated fat called palmitic acid, turns off the pathways in your brain that make you feel full. Your brain essentially gets hit with a cascade of fatty acids that causes resistance to your appetite-suppressing hormones, leptin and insulin. "You end up eating more of these foods, which can lead to weight gain," says study author Deborah Clegg, PhD, RD. Simply put, you're not being told by your brain to stop eating.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Look to healthy fat foods as your best pre-emptive strike against weekend cravings.
- Natural peanut butter
- Seafood
- nuts
- avocados
These foods contain oleic acid, an unsaturated fat that several studies have shown to have quite the opposite effect of palmitic acid: you feel full faster and stay full longer between meals. A diet that's rich in healthy fats is also associated with lower risks of heart disease and breast cancer (case in point: The Mediterranean diet).
SIMPLE FAT SWAPS
In sandwiches: instead of mayo, add a slice or two of avocado or mash it as a spread. Or use hummus, made with olive oil.
On salads: cut out the cheese and bacon bits and use sliced toasted almonds or chopped walnuts.
In cereal: Replace whole milk with soy milk, and top it off with a Tbl of raw almonds or walnuts.
In stir-fries: swap cooking oils that are high in saturated fats such as vegetable oil or palm oil. Opt for a small amount of canola or olive oil.
Bottom line: don't rely on feeling full from foods high in saturated fat but instead, count on healthy fats to do the trick.
Try this healthy shrimp salad I found:
CRAB & SHRIMP SALAD WITH AVOCADO
Try this healthy shrimp salad I found:
Ingredients:
- 1 small red onion
- 1/4 cup red wine or raspberry vinegar
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- large pinch of sugar
- 12-18 large prawns in the shell
- 3 large navel oranges
- 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1 head red leaf lettuce, washed, dried and torn into bite sized pieces
- 1 handful fresh cilantro sprigs
- 1 head green leaf lettuce or 2 bunches watercress
- 8-12 oz. fresh lump crab meat, picked over for shell fragments
- 2 large ripe Hess avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
Directions:
To marinate the onion, cut it crosswise into slices 1/8 inch thick. Place the slices in a small bowl or tupperware, and toss with the raspberry or red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, some sugar. Let stand about 30 minutes to soften and mellow the onion. Drain the leftover vinegar.
Meanwhile, clean, peel, and devein the prawns. Olace a collapsible steamer rack in a saucepan with a bit of water and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Add the shrimp, cover, and reduce the heat to medium, and steam the shrimp until evenly pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to the touch. Zest one of the oranges, then peel (top and tail, then cut the peel off of each section) and segment all of them, reserving the juice by segmenting the orange over a bowl (slicing each orange along the membrane and letting the loosened pieces of orange fall into the bowl.
To make the dressing, in a small bowl combine the reserved orange juice, the olive oil, sherry vinegar, 1/2 Tbsp of the lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Whisk to blend, and adjust seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice if desired.
In a large salad bowl, combine the watercress, lettuce, and cilantro sprigs. Add as much of the dressing as necessary to lightly coat, and toss to combine. Add the marinated onion, shrimp, crab, avocado, and orange segments, drizzling a little bit more dressing on top.
Enjoy!
