Tag: treat meals 101

Vacation Time is Feasting Time – here are three Ingenious Tips how to Feast …

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… combining pasta, sparkling wine and chocolate correctly!

Who doesn’t like to indulge oneself with a piece of chocolate, delicious pasta or a glass of wine on weekends or on vacation? Even while you are following our Metabolic Balance nutrition plan, small treats are allowed from time to time. True to the motto “the dose makes the poison”, participants can have a Treat Meal from time to time after the 14 days of the strict phase of the Metabolic Balance nutrition plan.

We put together a list of tips to keep in mind and how best to combine the most popular treats to minimize their stress on the body.

Chocolate is best eaten in combination with nuts. Why?

It is best to consume chocolate with a cocoa content as high as possible. It is rich in antioxidants and usually has significantly less sugar than conventional milk chocolate. But sometimes, far from any reason, the body demands the sweet milk chocolate. In order to metabolize carbohydrates such as the abundant sugar they contain, the body needs B-vitamins, which milk chocolate naturally does not provide. Nuts, on the other hand, are rich in these B-vitamins and provide precisely the nutrients needed to break down sugar. Thus, if it has to be milk chocolate, then preferably the one with nuts!

Enjoy prosecco with orange juice. Why?

The consumption of alcohol deprives the body of vitamins during the breakdown. Thus, it is best to drink some orange juice when you consume alcohol. The vitamin C contained in the juice not only helps metabolize the alcohol, but also helps the body to regenerate.

Eat pasta and co. with high-quality oils! Why?

Starchy foods with short-chain carbohydrates such as wheat pasta, rice, white bread or potatoes are best enjoyed in combination with high-quality oils (e.g., olive oil) or fats (butter). The fat surrounds the starch, i.e. the body needs more time to reach the starch and break it down into individual glucose building blocks, since the fat has to be processed first. The result – glucose enters the blood much slower, the blood sugar rises more slowly and this in turn leads to fewer cravings as well as a long-lasting fullness.

Treat Meals on the metabolic balance Plan

The goal of metabolic balance is to eat what makes sense for your body and your life, which means you need to learn to incorporate treat meals into your life because life doesn’t always go as planned.

For metabolic balance, a treat meal is a meal that is off your metabolic balance plan. As you progress through the metabolic balance program, more foods will be included in your plan and you may find yourself not using treat meals on a regular basis. Until that day arrives, you will find treat meals very useful for staying on track and on plan.

Planning a Treat Meal

The best way to begin planning for treat meals is to have a chat with your metabolic balance coach. You and your coach will build a general treat meal strategy for your treat meals.  If you have been seeing a coach for awhile, your coach will know your struggle areas and help you build a strategy to deal with treat meals, celebration and events including food.

With your coach, you can pre plan your treat meal by reviewing the menu and making your food choices in advance. By being prepared, you can control how far off program you go during the meal and change your eating for that day so that you stay as close to your plan as you can.

For example, if you are going to a restaurant but have not seen the menu, metabolic balance suggests eating proteins that you wouldn’t eat at a restaurant such as eggs or goat cheese.  Making this kind of choice allows you more flexibility when you’re reviewing the menu and reduces your stress about eating a treat meal.

Your Treat Meal

As always, metabolic balance encourages you to start your meal with a protein. Because you are outside your normal environment, you may not be served a protein first so make sure you are carrying a pouch of seeds in your purse.  Don’t bring more than a handful of seeds with you so that you are not overeating. You just want to make sure that the first thing in your stomach is a protein especially if you are planning to drink a glass of wine.   or another type of alcoholic beverage.

Once you have eating your protein, follow these metabolic balance tips:

  1. Relax and enjoy yourself. You are at a treat meal, enjoy the experience and don’t stress out about the little things you can’t control about your eating environment.
  2. Sit down and enjoy your food.   If you eat while talking or standing around, you may not realise how much food you have put into your mouth. Make the decision to eat mindfully for the evening and fully enjoy the experience and the food.
  3. Chew thoroughly.  You are not at a food race.  Pay attention to the food you are putting into your body and make the conscious decision to eat slowly and chew thoroughly.  Chewing thoroughly:
    1. Makes it easier for your body to absorb nutrients.
    2. Makes the meal last longer which allows the brain to realise that food has been consumed.
    3. Drink lots of water.
    4. Chewing is a good workout for your teeth.
    5. You will have less undigested food entering into your intestines.
    6. Chewing will allow you to really taste the food you are eating.

After you are finished with your treat meal, take a moment to savor the memory of the evening and then make the intention to begin your metabolic balance plan the next morning by setting out what you plan to eat for breakfast.  If you have issues that may crop up, discuss this with your metabolic balance coach and develop a positive after treat meal routine that you can follow.

Good luck with your treat meals and we look forward to sharing more recipes like Mondays Endive Soup recipe that lets you eat what makes sense and stay on plan.