Food Logs Made Simple

It’s easy to think, “Oh, I didn’t eat too much today,” until you actually start listing off everything you ingested.

That’s the thinking behind the need to log food intake. According to Angie Sebree, registered dietitian with the Memorial Weight Loss & Wellness Center, patients who log their eating habits have greater success at achieving their health and weight-loss goals.

“Writing down your daily food intake, even your exercise and how much fluid you drink, can help to increase awareness of behaviors,” Sebree said. “Awareness can be the first step in figuring out what needs improved and changed.”

Unfortunately, she admits, many of her patients don’t particularly love to log. They can see it as a daunting task, just another item on the to-do list they don’t have time for.

To make logging easier, Sebree suggests giving yourself some leeway, only logging two or three days during the week and one day on the weekend.

“Logging even a couple of times per week will aid in awareness that will serve as a reminder on the other days,” Sebree said.

Sebree suggests going to a bookstore and buying a journal to jump-start your behavior. If you’re not the pen-and-pencil type, try using an app or website that does all of the hard work for you.

After you have been logging for a while, try to make small notes to yourself, like, “I chose to eat cookies in the afternoon instead of my peanut butter and celery because I had a stressful phone call.” See if you spot any themes, like emotional or boredom eating. Then make a plan to curb or change these behaviors. Using food logs in this manner will help you to become more successful at reaching your health and wellness goals.

To start your food logging off right, here’s a recipe for a sweet, fitness-friendly treat.

Modified Fruit Pizza

• One can reduced-fat crescent rolls
• 2 tbsp sugar
• One container nonfat Cool Whip
• Cooking spray
• One 8-ounce package fat-free cream cheese
• ½ cup orange juice
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• ¾ cup Splenda
• 10-12 strawberries
• ½ cup blackberries
• ½ cup no-sugar-added mandarin oranges (canned)

Directions:

For crust:

o   Spread crescent rolls on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pinch seams together to make a sheet of crescent rolls. Spray with nonfat cooking spray and sprinkle sugar over crescent rolls. Bake according to package directions. Let cool to room temperature before adding cream cheese mixture.

For cream cheese and fruit topping:

o   Mix ¼ cup of Splenda into softened cream cheese, then fold in Cool Whip and spread evenly onto crescent rolls. Slice strawberries and blackberries then arrange fruit over the cream cheese.

For glaze:

o   Mix orange juice, lemon juice, the rest of the Splenda and corn starch together. Put into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil to thicken mixture. Once thickened, let cool slightly and spoon over fruit.

Keep fruit pizza cool until ready to serve. Yields 12 servings.

Nutrition information per one serving:

Calories: 131 calories, Carbohydrate: 13g, Fat: 3g, Protein: 3g, Fiber: 1g, Sodium 124mg