Joy Bauer answers your diet questions

Question: I am a vegetarian and noticed that while you have plenty of non-meat choices for breakfast and lunch there are not so many choices for dinner. Do you have any suggestions for substitutions?
Joy's answer: Absolutely. Tofu or tempeh may be substituted at any time for meat chicken or fish. For tofu, simply double the ounces listed on a particular meal for meat, chicken or fish (that’s because tofu is less dense and you can have more for the same amount of calories. If a meal or recipe calls for 4 ounces chicken, you can prepare 8 ounces tofu). For tempeh, which is denser than tofu, ounces remain exactly the same (4 ounces chicken = 4 ounces tempeh).

Veggie burgers may be substituted for burgers made with beef or turkey. One full cup of lentils or beans (black, pinto, navy, garbanzo, kidney, white, and soybeans) can be swapped for any animal protein entrée.  

Question: Joy, do you have any suggestions as to how I can wean myself off of sugary desserts? I know I need more will power and for as long as I can remember, a meal wasn’t finished unless I had something sweet.
Joy's answer: Good news! There’s no need to completely nix sugary desserts. In fact, for some dieters, just knowing they have something sweet to look forward to helps provide long-lasting will power. When it comes to diet friendly dessert, here are the rules for my program:

Stick with one per day and carefully choose “pre-portioned” items that are no more than 150 calories. If chocolate is your thing, read labels and enjoy single serving portions of fat-free pudding, low-fat ice cream pops, 100-calorie snack packs (several chocolate cookie varieties are available), or choose small, fun-size chocolate bars (they typically run 100-150 calories per bar). Here’s a bonus: for 150 calories, one ounce of dark chocolate provides a sweet fix along with heart healthy flavonols! Personally, I like to freeze chocolate; it seems to take a bit longer to eat!

For dieters needing a sweet “meal closer” after lunch AND dinner (meaning something sweet following lunch and dinner to put closure on their meal), I recommend you satisfy your craving with a very small chocolate or candy that provides no more than 30 calories. For example, a Hershey Kiss, a bite-size Snickers miniature, a fruity lifesaver, or even a calcium chew (if you’re already taking them as an additional supplement). If you’re motivated to kick the habit, try putting closure on lunch and dinner with a cup of hot, interesting tea or pop a piece of sugarless gum in your mouth. You’ll maintain a ritual ending to meals, but for less calories and sugar.

Question: How often can you have tea and coffee on your plan? Some say is slows your metabolism so I thought I would ask. Also, [when it comes to] soda and juice, do you just recommend that we monitor the calories and treat it as a snack?
Joy’s answer: If you’re not caffeine sensitive, and have no medical conditions which preclude you from taking in caffeine, you can have as much coffee and tea as you’d like (just don’t add sugar and whole milk!). It will not slow your metabolism – that’s a myth. In terms of liquid calories, I try to discourage them as much as possible, including fruit juice. That’s because they don’t fill you up like solid food, and when you’re trying to lose weight, every calorie counts. That said, if you’d like to include fruit juice (no soda!) on your plan – yes, account for the calories as a snack.

For more information on healthy eating, check out joy’s website at www.joybauernutrition.com

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