Sound Nutrition

Be Slim and Satisfied

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

Or, more accurately, satiated. Satiety is what we feel when we’ve had enough; it’s what makes us stop eating and what keeps us full. As we amass more and more scientific research on the subject—on both sensory-stimulated behavior and physiological mechanisms—a more complete picture is emerging on just how our appetite is controlled.

Sensory stimuli related to taste and smell are part of the satiety equation. Three sensory phenomena act in concert to make food less appealing to us—both what we’re eating and what’s left on our plates—after we’ve had our fill. Another aspect is a particular hormone released by our GI tract to tell our brains we’re full. The bulk of the research being done on satiety, in fact, focuses on how to stimulate this “satiety hormone” to trick the brain into feeling full; which, quite frankly, troubles me. At least one study, supported by a handful of major pharmaceutical companies, concluded that drugs that “exploit the body’s satiety signals” will play a crucial role in the future.

Personally, I’d rather we focus on becoming more aware of the innate signals our bodies are giving us and the foods that are naturally satiating.

slim-satisfied Back in 1995, Susanna Holt, Ph.D, found that certain foods will fill us up faster and make us feel full longer. Through her studies, Holt developed what she called a Satiety Index. She fed subjects 240-calorie portions of 38 different foods, had them rate their appetite on a 100 point index (with white bread being 100) every 15 minutes for two hours, and measured the amount of food they ate at a buffet after that period of time. The results showed that satiety varied greatly from a croissant (at 47 on the index) to boiled potatoes (323) to oatmeal (209).

Between this original study and a later, similar one limited to different kinds of bread (also conducted by Holt), two factors seemed to correlate quite highly to satiety: energy (or caloric) density and Glycemic Load (GL). The energy density of a food refers to how many calories are packed into a given weight. For example, ounce per ounce kale has far fewer calories than chocolate, which means you have to eat much more kale—by weight—to get to the same amount of calories you’d get from a small amount of chocolate. Setting aside other factors, sheer volume alone means you’ll feel a lot fuller on 240 calories of kale than you will chocolate.

Glycemic Load, on the other hand, has to do with how great of a rise in blood sugar a particular food triggers. Foods with a high Glycemic Load, like pancakes from a box mix (at 38 on the GL scale), trigger a more dramatic rise in blood sugar than foods with a low Glycemic Load like lentils (which scored a 5). This lines up with Holt’s note in her latest study that breads that were “difficult” to eat—the bulkier, grainer breads that required more chewing—had a higher satiety factor. In other words, foods that are highly refined and don’t require much work on our parts, externally or internally, don’t satiate us as much.

Do you notice a recurring theme here on NOURISH Evolution? Inherently healthy food also helps us maintain a comfortable weight. This was a revelation to me as I discovered different facets of this canon with each piece I wrote for various publications, and it’s a revelation I’m hoping to pass on to others—to come to in their own way, in their own time—through the articles here on NOURISH Evolution.

Finding Childhood Memories in Chopped Liver

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Alison Ashton — 4 Comments ↓

Proust had his madeleines. I have chopped liver.

Few foods trigger such strong childhood memories as the chopped liver my grandmother made when I was growing up. The recipe had long been in the family, ferried over by her mother on steerage passage from Kiev. Our family lacks any sentimentality, much less culinary history, so the exact recipe has been lost to the ages. It’s easy enough to re-create, though, since it was a basic concoction mixed by Jewish mamas for generations: Sauté chicken livers and onions in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), run it through a meat grinder, and season with salt and pepper. Grandma often folded in chopped hard-cooked eggs. Then she packed it into a rinsed-out margarine tub and delivered it to us with a loaf of rye bread.

childhood-memories-chopped-liver-post

I took to chopped liver right away, loving its rich, gamy quality (though as a preschooler, I misheard the name and called the stuff “chopped litter,” a moniker Grandma happily adopted). I can almost certainly say I was the only kid at Loma Portal Elementary who hoarded sandwiches of chopped liver on rye, withholding them from lunchroom black market swaps (not that my classmates were clamoring for them). To this day, I love any kind of pate, from humble chopped liver to fancy pate de foie gras.

Chopped liver–affectionately called Jewish pate–is a type of forcemeat, which is a broad category that covers any finely ground mixture of meat, poultry, or even fish with spices and other ingredients. Forcemeats are used either to stuff other items, such as sausage casing or ravioli, or served on their own. They’re part of a time-honored tradition of using off-cuts (offal), including organ meats like liver. Although forcemeats can use expensive ingredients like foie gras, they typically employ cheap items like chicken livers, which you can pick up for less than $2.50 a pound at the supermarket.

Forcemeats usually are made with copious amounts of fat, which makes them rich and luscious, as well as caloric, and insanely high in saturated fat. Modern home cooks have made some changes when it comes to chopped liver–swapping schmaltz for canola oil, for example. I’ve made some other modifications to Grandma’s chopped liver, like using a food processor instead of a meat grinder, which gives it a finer quality, and employing a mix of liver and chicken thigh meat to trim the saturated fat. I’ve also added a touch of brandy and toasted walnuts to lend it some French flair. But the result is still redolent with the flavor I first grew to love and offers liver’s impressive nutritional benefits (lots of vitamin A, plenty of iron).

A modern version for a grown-up girl . . . but I still wouldn’t trade it for anything.

A longtime editor, writer, and recipe developer, Alison Ashton is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef. She has worked as a features editor for a national wire service and as senior food editor for a top food magazine. Her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, and Natural Health.

Feast Without Frenzy: Keep it Light

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Lia Huber — 1 Comment ↓

No doubt, there are a lot of heavy things that crop up during the holidays. Cookies, roasts, various casseroles . . . your sister-in-law’s confession, Grandma’s harping on your bangs. But there’s nothing saying you can’t mount a counter strategy, for the food at least. Keeping your non-crucial meals lighter will lighten your spirit too (ever notice how grumpy and sluggish you feel when you’ve been eating heavy food day after day)?

Here are ten main course meals that won’t weight you down.

keep-light Pumpkin Curry — Gewurztraminer pairs beautifully with this creamy, spicy, aromatic pumpkin curry. If you have a lime tree, crumple up a leaf and throw it into the curry as it simmers (then discard)—it will perfume the dish much as kaffir lime leaves do.

Asian Turkey Salad — After heavy holiday meals, this bright, fresh salad is a nice, light respite. If you don’t have leftover turkey on hand, it would also be great with shredded chicken.

Barramundi with Chile and Shallots — Barramundi’s meaty yet flaky texture makes it a good pair for dishes with an Asian flair. Like this one, with caramelized shallots and chile and a savory splash of fish sauce. You can find barramundi at many fish counters these days, or in the frozen section of several supermarkets.

Simplest Roast Chicken — I’ll admit it: I’m a lazy chicken roaster. There are techniques that have you rotating the bird every few minutes so that it turns an even brown, but I like to pop it in the oven and not think about it again (aside from swooning over the scent) until the timer goes off for good. And good—very good—is what we’ve found this bird to be. You don’t have to use an organic, free-range chicken, but we’ve found that it pays off in both flavor and juiciness.

Fennel Blood Orange Salad with Miso Vinaigrette — I dare you to attach the word “deprivation” to this salad. The bitter blood orange, the earthy miso, the crunchy fennel, the hit of sweet juice and the bite of arugula all come together in a festival of flavors and textures. Top it with a mound of crab meat to make a gorgeous main course salad, or pair it with Simplest Roast Chicken or Crisp Cornish Game Hens.

Chicken and Mushroom Lettuce Cups — I find that finger food naturally slows down a meal and focuses attention. When you’ve got juice dripping down your wrist and have to reach over your neighbor for the lettuce platter, it’s hard not to have the meal take on a different tenor.

Curried Mussels — I first fell in love with mussels years ago in France. Now, more and more, they’re one of my go-to weeknight foods. Mussels cook up super fast, they produce a flavorful broth with very few added calories, they’re at the top of the A-list in terms of sustainable seafood and, as if that’s not enough, they’re economical too.

Farfalle with Sausage and Arugula Pesto — Right about now, I get to craving the aromatic bliss of basil. But it’s tough to find in winter, and tends to be somewhat bland–and expensive–if you do. My seasonal secret? I use arugula, which is abundant right now both in my garden and on market shelves. The fresher the arugula, the more pungent the whole experience will be; for even more punch, pound the pesto in a mortar and pestle.

Classic Blackened Catfish — This dish brings back memories of my college days in New Orleans when I used to make it at least once a week. Little did I know then that I was making a sustainable pick! I’ll warn you from experience; your fire alarm will probably go off, so have a towel handy to fan the smoke away.

Crisp Cornish Game Hens with Pomegranate Honey Glaze — Removing the skin from the hens both decreases calories and increases the impact of this vibrant, spicy glaze. If you’ve never cooked with Cornish hens before, you’re in for a treat.

Sweetness and Light: the Low Down on Natural Sweeteners

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Cheryl Sternman Rule — 5 Comments ↓

by Cheryl Sternman Rule

For some people, trying to choose a sweetener is like trying to pick a cereal: with so much variety, it’s tough to know which to buy.

Complicating matters is the fact that in recent years, the mainstream availability of once-fringe products has bloomed, so sweetening your morning coffee or tea, or your homemade brownies and fruit crisps, is less straightforward than ever. Given that we’re now knee-deep in the holiday baking season, it’s high time to provide some clarity.

sweeteners-post Often, finding the right sweetener for the job is simply a matter of taste. Other times it’s crucial to the success of a recipe.

Here’s a rundown of some of the natural sweeteners you might encounter at the market:

Agave nectar: Produced from the agave cactus plant, this natural liquid sweetener is hailed by vegans and those who watch their blood sugar levels, as agave is lower on the glycemic index than other sweeteners. While sweeter than sugar, agave is also more calorically dense; you’ll need less to sweeten your foods, but don’t mistake it for a “diet” food.

Stevia: Another natural, plant-based sweetener, stevia’s journey to the U.S. marketplace has been storied. In the 1980s, controversy surrounding potential fertility and reproductive concerns kept the FDA from awarding stevia GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status, but this status was awarded to the extract of stevia – called Reb A, rather than the whole leaf version – in 2008. Branded under names like Truvia and PureVia, stevia is sweeter than sugar and won’t raise blood sugar levels. Still, some groups continue to call for further research and testing to be completely convinced of its safety.

Honey: Varietal honeys, which come from the nectar of a single plant variety (much like single source wine varietals) are becoming more popular in this country, though most honey contains a mash-up of different plant nectars. Sweeter than sugar, honey’s color, intensity, and flavor are determined by the nectar of the plants from which it is produced. (Some are herbaceous and floral, while others are dark and earthy.) Taste different honeys to determine your favorite.

Maple syrup: Native to Canada and New England, maple syrup is made from tree sap that has been boiled until thick. Its grades are determined by when in the season it was produced, with light colored Grade A considered early season syrup and darker Grade B syrup produced later. Always seek out “pure” maple syrup to avoid additives.

Sugar: The granddaddy of sweeteners, sugar derives from either sugar beets or sugarcane, may be refined or unrefined, and can come in a spectrum of shades depending on the type.

Refined Sugar: Granulated white sugar is the most widely available, and most highly refined, sugar used in this country. As with refined flours, refined sugar has had the natural nutrients stripped from it during the refining process. The sugar we know as “brown sugar” in supermarkets is also refined white sugar, only it’s had molasses (a byproduct of the sugar refining process) added back in for color. Whether it’s labeled as “light” or “dark” only has to do with how much molasses is added. Powdered (confectioners) sugar is simply pulverized refined sugar, and is best used for frostings.

Unrefined Sugar: On the unrefined side, you’ll find natural brown sugar like turbinado (often called demerara in the Europe) with its large, dry, light brown crystals and muscavado, a very coarse, sticky, dark brown sugar. Turbinado can generally be subbed for refined white and light brown sugar. If you use muscavado in lieu of dark brown sugar, reduce the liquid content of the recipe by a bit to compensate for the sugar’s moisture—and be prepared for a strong molasses flavor. Jaggery, piloncillo and Sucanat™ are other types of unrefined sugar. In addition to having more complex flavor, unrefined sugars retain the minerals from the cane and beet plants they’re made from.

Whichever sweeteners you choose for any given application, you’ll want to consider the following factors: flavor, sweetness, caloric density (the number of calories per ounce), viscosity, level of refinement, impact on blood sugar, and the ability to cream, brown, or moisten your baked goods.

Above all, don’t be afraid to experiment. With so many opportunities to bake this month, and to give homemade joy to your loved ones, it’s a great time to branch out and tinker.

Cheryl Sternman Rule is a food and nutrition writer whose work has appeared in numerous national magazines, including EatingWell and Body+Soul. She is the voice behind the food blog 5 Second Rule.

Get a New Grain: Oats

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Lia Huber — 15 Comments ↓

With all the different types of oats out there, it can get confusing. Is one superior to the other? Is one healthier than another? Here’s the simple scoop: Oat groats are whole oat kernels that have had the hard outer hull removed. Steel cut oats are groats that have been cut into three or four pieces (they’re termed “pinheads” for their appearance, which you can see in the photo below). Rolled oats (sometimes termed “old-fashioned rolled oats) are groats that have been steamed and rolled flat. Quick-cooking rolled oats are steel-cut oats that have been steamed and flattened, as is instant oatmeal, only cut into smaller pieces. All of these forms of oats have the three beneficial whole grain parts intact; the texture is all that differs. But beware; instant oatmeal does often come with added sugar, fat and preservatives.

What They Look Like: Whole oat groats look a bit like plump, dull-sheened brown rice with a dimple running lengthwise. Steel-cut oats are dull, buff-colored, medium-sized grains (they look somewhat like bulgur) with jagged edges. Rolled oats are flat and powdery, and instant oatmeal is the consistency of coarse sand.

What They Taste Like: Oats have a lovely, very mild nuttiness to them. Because their flavor is so neutral, they’re a good whole grain to cut your teeth on—in whatever form you choose. Oat groats have a rice-like texture to them with a bit more toothsome chew. Steel-cut oats are dense and chewy with a delightful “pop” at the core. Rolled oats cook into a porridge-like consistency, with quick-cooking oats turning slightly runny and instant oatmeal pushing mushy.

How to Cook Them: For groats and steel cut, cook oats in a 1:3.5 ratio of oats to water. Heat a bit of butter in the pot and toast the oats before adding the liquid, then bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes for whole groats, 25 minutes for steel-cut oats. For rolled oats, use a 1:3 ratio and bring water to a boil, then add oats, reduce heat and simmer for 5-15 minutes for rolled oats and just 1-2 minutes or quick-cooking oats.

How to Use Them: Oats are, obviously, terrific breakfast food in whatever form you like. But also try leftover groats or steel-cut oats (before you flavor them) in place of rice in stir-fried rice or seasoned with savory additions and served like a risotto.

Additional Notes: Steel-cut oats in fancy cans can get expensive, but they’re downright cheap in bulk. They’re also incredibly healthy; starting in the 1960s, a significant number of studies identified a type of soluble fiber in oat bran, called beta glucan, as a major contributor in lowering total and LDL cholesterol. What’s more, that filling feeling from eating a bowl of oatmeal—which has actually been measured and quantified in the development of a Satiety Index–may help maintain a healthy weight.

(For more information on whole grains, see Gotta Get Your Grains. Also check out the other grains in our Get a New Grain series.)

Thanksgiving Roundup

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Lia Huber — No Comments ↓

It’s been a fun month, pondering traditions, forging new paths and sharing some of our favorite recipes. In fact, we’ve accumulated so much good stuff that we thought it worth creating a roundup before the Big Day.

Gratitude: We kicked the month off, appropriately, with a piece by Kurt Michael Friese on gratitude. And I know more than a few people who are thankful for his Mom’s Wild Rice Dressing recipe that he shared.

Remixing Tradition: Next up was a remake of an old family stand-by for my daughter’s third birthday. The result is a healthier, tastier Remixed Chex Mix that would make a great munchie for post-feast football.

Just Say No: Need a little inspiration to reign in your appetite? Here’s just what you need, along with a recipe for a simple Edamame Spread that would make a colorful start as a Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvre.

A Welcome Thanksgiving: Probing the traditions further, Jacqueline Church told us about her practice of opening the doors wide for the holiday, and shared tips for making every guest feel welcome. Her Boozy Chocolate Truffles don’t hurt.

A Story of Heritage Turkeys: Mid-month, talk turned turkey. Lia researched the story behind the heritage birds, and includes a recipe for Miso-Herb Rubbed Applewood Smoked Heritage Turkey.

Carving New Traditions: Ironically, though, Lia also shares that she won’t be featuring a turkey on her table for Thanksgiving. her family’s tradition centers around a Guatemalan staple, in honor of their daughter, with an Avocado Salad with Arugula and Chile-Lime Dressing as a side.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive: We can’t escape the hype, but Kurt did dig up the story behind this iconic wine to weigh in on whether we should care at all. Whichever way you fall on the wine, don’t miss Kurt’s Grandmother’s Whole Cranberries.

Wherever You Are, There’s the Feast: Cheryl Sternman Rule looked back on her time in Eritrea to uncover the essence of Thanksgiving, and shares this delicious Lentil Soup with Roasted Pumpkin in honor of the experience.

Turkey Time: In preparation for the holiday turkey-buying rush, Lia and Jacqueline put together a primer on what means what in turkey talk. Our “Sans Pan” Cider Gravy is a great option if you’re going to be grilling a bird.

Pair the Bottle to Your Bird: In Thanksgiving preparations, you can’t forget the wine. Here, Lia matched up four wines with four “mock” menus to illustrate basic pairing principles. Don’t miss her Pumpkin Curry if you have a bottle of Gewurztraminer left over after the feast.

Keep Your Eyes on the Sides: Alison Ashton admitted to being smitten with the sweet potato sides. And we’re glad she came clean; her mini Sweet Potato and Kale Bread Puddings are simple, stunning and satisfying.

For all of the great work by our contributors, and for all of you, I am so truly grateful. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Keep Your Eyes on the Sides

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Alison Ashton — 1 Comment ↓

There’s much to crave on the Thanksgiving table–and a glorious bird like the Miso and Herb Rubbed Applewood Smoked Heritage Turkey would certainly be something to be thankful for. A lot of work goes into cooking a stellar bird, but I have a confession: I only have eyes for the side dishes.

Yep, it’s true. I’d be happy to skip the turkey altogether, though propriety obliges me to sample at least a little, especially if I’m dining at someone else’s house. Instead, I’d load my plate with mashed potatoes, dressing, biscuits, green beans, gravy, and cranberry sauce. And supreme among side dishes is the sweet potato dish. It’s the Judi Dench of supporting players, so good it outshines the star and takes home an Oscar for, oh, five minutes of screen time.

Of course, sweet potatoes labor under an identity crisis. Mistakenly labeled “yams,” they are neither a yam nor a potato. In fact, sweet potatoes aren’t even botanically related to yams; the misnomer has lingered ever since soft varieties, which resemble the yams predominately found in Africa, were first introduced to the market decades ago. But they are sweet, which can confuse people in the kitchen. Sweet potatoes often are laden with butter and brown sugar, and topped with marshmallows in the classic casserole that many find too much like dessert. (Not me–I love the stuff–pass it all down my way, please.)

Despite their sweetness, these tubers play nicely with savory ingredients, as evidenced in this bread pudding recipe. The sweet potatoes themselves have impressive nutritional credentials–they’re low in calories yet high in fiber and vitamins A and C–and we boost the health factor even higher by using multigrain bread and sauteed kale. The indulgence comes from whole milk and egg yolks, which give the custard a luscious quality, and a touch of full-flavored Cheddar cheese. But baking the bread pudding in a muffin tin offers built-in portion control. A half-cup serving (one bread pudding “muffin”), which is plenty on the crowded holiday plate, comes in at just 134 calories and less than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving.

All of that makes me feel just fine about helping myself to seconds.

Remixing Tradition

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Lia Huber — 6 Comments ↓

It’s my daughter’s third birthday today and we’ve got a party tomorrow with a guest list nearing 90 (she’s having a dual party with her best bud, Julia). And while Noemi was very specific on what type of cupcake she wanted—“chocolate underneath with sparklies on top”—she left the rest of the menu to me. So I thought it a good time to introduce a traditional staple of our family gatherings . . . Chex Mix.

chex-mix-vignette Only, me being me, I felt the need to mix it up a bit. First, there are kids in Noe’s class with peanut allergies, so no peanuts or nuts in my revamped mix. Second, I wanted to stay away from artificial preservatives like BHT and TBHQ, which more than a few studies have shown may increase cancer risk, so that means Cheezits and even Chex are out. Third, even though this is simply a snack, I wanted to try and skew it towards something other than just empty calories.

And I think we’ve succeeded ( . . . I write with crumbs on my chest).

For starters, I swapped out the Chex with a mixture of Barbara’s Multigrain Shredded Spoonfuls and Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Heirloom Whole Grain Bites, which was a great combo of slightly sweet and nice and nutty and contributed nearly 5 grams of fiber per serving. Then Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies hopped in for the Cheezits and the pretzels stay put. I updated the spice mix a bit, subbed in healthy Canola oil for some of the butter (don’t try to skimp on the oil or butter . . . we tested a variety of amounts and found that any less fat didn’t completely coat the mixture), and gave it an extra long bake.

Sometimes, to be true to yourself in carrying on tradition you have to mix it up a bit. More on that topic when I write about my take on the Thanksgiving holidays . . . but right now, I’ve got 90 cupcakes to bake.

Under Pressure: A Primer on Using a Pressure Cooker

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Alison Ashton — 24 Comments ↓

by Alison Ashton

Whenever I pull out the pressure cooker to whip up some bean soup, I wonder why everyone doesn’t have one. You may remember these stove-top appliances from your grandmother’s kitchen. Before there were microwaves there were pressure cookers, and Grandma relied on hers to get dinner on the table fast. Problem was, her cooker tended to rattle menacingly and even explode on occasion. Then microwaves came along and pressure cookers went the way of the hoop skirt, as an editor of mine used to say.

under-pressure-post

Now pressure cookers are making a comeback, along with other traditional techniques, like canning or cooking with offal, that stretch tight food budgets. A pressure cooker is simple–it looks like a big stockpot, except the lid has a gasket and a lock to create high pressure that cooks foods up to 70 percent faster than traditional techniques. That’s good news if you want to enjoy healthy, inexpensive fare like dried beans and whole grains, as well as tough cuts of meat, but don’t care for the long cooking times these ingredients often require. Dried black beans cook in about 20 minutes, and hearty grains like wheat berries are ready in 30 minutes instead of an hour–or longer. Pressure cookers are planet-friendly, too; because they do the job so quickly, they require less energy.

New models have foolproof safety features, like locking lids that can’t be opened until the pressure is released and automatic-release functions so you don’t have to drag a hot, heavy cooker to the sink and run cold water over the rim to cool it down. The automatic release function is helpful, too, when you want to stop cooking partway through to check the doneness of ingredients.

A 6- or 8-quart cooker as a good all-purpose size (pressure cookers should never be filled more than two-thirds high and only halfway for ingredients that expand, like beans and grains). I like stainless steel, too. It costs a bit more than aluminum, but you can use a sturdy stainless-steel pot to brown and sear ingredients before adding liquid and capping the pot with the lid. Stainless-steel pressure cookers with automatic release functions retail for about $120, but you can find one on the Internet for much less.

It’s easy to adapt existing recipes to use a pressure cooker. Soups, stews, braises, and steamed dishes lend themselves well to the pressure cooker; start with half the called-for cooking time. Lia’s recipe for Braised and Glazed Five Spice Short Ribs would be an ideal candidate for the pressure cooker. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes. In the meantime, make my recipe for black bean soup–it’s a wonderful midweek treat on a chilly fall evening.

Making Sense of Moderation

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Cheryl Sternman Rule — 8 Comments ↓

Moderation isn’t sexy. It’s not going to sweep you off your feet, make you tingly, or cause you to swoon. And yet, moderation is one of the primary keys to overall wellness. It means enjoying what you love, and what feeds you, rather than denying yourself meaningful pleasure. It means seeking out balance in all things–those that are good for you, and healthful, and those that are indulgent and maybe even a bit naughty.

making-sense-moderation-pudding-post Practicing moderation isn’t hard, but it does require some forethought, so you’d be wise to cultivate habits that make it easier to achieve. Here are four points to help you do so:

Large dishes encourage you to eat large portions. In his wonderful and insightful book Mindless Eating, psychologist and Cornell University Food and Brand Lab Director Brian Wansink, PhD, writes of the “mindless margin,” the food we eat unintentionally simply because it’s there in front of us. He suggests serving food on smaller plates to counteract this tendency. That way, you’ll eat only what you actually mean to.
Fat promotes satiety. Contrary to still-popular beliefs, a bit of healthy fat served alongside low-calorie foods actually encourages less daily calorie consumption than depriving yourself of fat altogether. Why? Healthy, unsaturated fats like nuts and olive oil promote “satiety;” that feeling of fullness after you eat. If you feel full, you’re less likely to feel famished, or deprived, later in the day. (Learn more about how eating fat helps you stay slim.)
Most recipes can be halved. This is obvious, granted, but how many times do you make a full batch of cookies just because that’s the way the recipe is written? Only make a full batch if you actually want, and plan to eat, a full batch. Or keep out only what you’ll eat in the very near future and freeze the rest for a later date.
Acknowledge the law of diminishing returns. A concept borrowed from economics, this theory can also be applied to food. It means that the first few bites of a food are always the best, and each subsequent bite provides diminishing relative pleasure. So don’t skip indulgences, but keep portions small. Doing so will actually help you enjoy them more. Little ramekins are perfect for ice cream, warm apple crumble, and intense chocolaty pudding.

Do I follow these precepts all the time? No, of course not. I’m anti-deprivation, though, so I know that in order to keep my own diet in check, I’ve got to make choices that will minimize the risks of my going overboard.

So don’t tell me not to eat chocolate pudding, because I won’t listen. And don’t tell me it’s not good for me, because it is: it’s good for my soul. Just don’t laugh when you see me eating my pudding from a tiny bowl with a wee little spoon. It’s how I make moderation work for me.

Cheryl Sternman Rule is a food and nutrition writer whose work has appeared in numerous national magazines, including EatingWell and Body+Soul. She is the voice behind the food blog 5 Second Rule.