Fiber is the Future

Time to lace up your jogging shoes for a run to the border. Taco Bell is getting set to launch its Doritos Locos Tacos on March 8.

The taco features Doritos Nacho Cheese tortilla chips masquerading as a crunchy taco shell. Not exactly crazy, as the name implies – but just wild enough to amass media hype over an estimated 85 million taco shells on reserve for the mad dash.

Now for the breakdown: a good old fashioned Taco Bell Crunchy Taco gets you 3 grams of dietary fiber for 170 calories. The 14 gram taco shell has 1 gram of that fiber.

Since a 28 gram serving of Doritos Nacho Cheese chips (1 oz, 11 chips) also has 1 gram of fiber, you can surmise that the new Doritos shell will only have 0.5 grams of fiber in a 14 gram shell…once again reinforcing the notion that half of nothing is still nothing.

While TB hasn’t yet released its official nutrition stats on this marvelous mashup, the company has confirmed the taco will be topped with reduced-fat sour cream. Cutting condiment calories? Great ruse for placating the nutritionally-concerned consumer!

So, what’s a better bet at Taco Bell? Go for their Fresco Bean Burrito: with 11 grams of fiber and 350 calories, this menu item will fill you up without filling you out.

A panel of medical experts today recommended that the FDA approve the new weight loss drug Qnexa.

Qnexa contains a combo of two drugs, including the controversial phentermine – an appetite suppressant.

Problem is: overweight people don’t overeat because they’re over-hungry.

Appetite suppression might be one trick of the trade, but don’t count on it to cut our sky-rocketing obesity rates anytime soon.

If you do want appetite suppression – why not look to foods that actually fill you up? High fiber foods – such as those found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes – take longer to digest than their lower-fiber counterparts.

Longer time to digestion means more time in your tummy.

Fiber from foods: keepin’ you full – with side-effect-free satiety.

Sushi: it can make or break you.

Choose wisely and you’re looking at great lean protein sources and high fiber menu items: nourishing yourself without breaking the caloric bank. Choose the wrong way and you’re chomping on fried foods and high saturated fat condiments.

If you’re looking for tips on making the right choices at sushi, check out Shape Magazine’s “The Best and Worst Sushi for Weight Loss” – loaded with tips from nutrition experts for toeing the line at sushi joints.

A few tricks to try out at your next sushi outing:

• Choose soba noodles – made from buckwheat, high in fiber
• Use chopsticks – your struggles with dexterity will make you eat slower
• Choose reduced-sodium soy sauce – 25% lower sodium isn’t low-salt, but better than regular
• Avoid mayo and cream-cheese filled rolls
• Get brown rice when it’s available
• Fill up with miso soup – low in calories – but high in salt – starts your meal out right

Leave your next sushi dinner knowing you made the right choices!

If you’ve ever tried plantains, you may have been surprised at how something that looks like your traditional banana can actually taste so foreign. Plantains are more firm than “dessert” bananas and have a higher starch content, giving them a less sweet flavor.

Plantains are generally cooked, whereas bananas are eaten raw. Many African and Asian populations utilize plantains. Cuban cuisine features plantains, and Peruvians boil, brew and ferment them to make the alcoholic beverage chapo juice.

If you’re looking for a convenient way to incorporate plantains into your diet – consider plantain chips. Turbana – a Florida-based company that maintains they are the largest importers of plantains – has a line of plantain chips, available in 6 different flavors.

I sampled the garlic version, as it was the only flavor in stock with 3 grams of fiber per serving (compared with 2 grams in the other flavors). The garlic plantain chips were light and airy, with a satisfying crunch and subtle flavor, impressive considering that they only have 80 mg sodium per serving.

A 1 oz serving of garlic-flavored plantain chips contains:

• 140 calories
• 7 grams fat
• 80 mg sodium
• 20 grams carbohyrate
• 3 grams dietary fiber
• 1 gram protein

The ingredients list includes plantains, vegetable oil, salt and garlic flavoring and the product is gluten free. While these are a great alternative to traditional potato or tortilla chips, one drawback is that 3 of the 7 fat grams are saturated, providing 15% of your daily value for saturated fat.

While I found the plantain chips in that impulse-buy-lined checkout at Marshall’s, you can purchase these plantain chips at the Turbana online store or on Amazon.

February 16 is National Almond Day. According to the California Almond Board, almonds are one of the most nutrient-dense tree nuts you can get your hands on. Almonds are packed with vitamin E, riboflavin, niacin, protein, calcium and fiber.

How much fiber? A one ounce serving – approximately 23 almonds – has 3.5 grams of dietary fiber, along with 163 calories, 16 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat – 13 of which are unsaturated (the “good” fats).

Almonds make a great snack: combine a piece of fresh fruit with a 1-oz serving of almonds for an 7 or 8-gram of fiber, 250-calorie mid-day pick-me-up.

Not sure if you can keep yourself to just 23 almonds? Check out these perfectly portioned almond tins, great for calorie controlled snacking on the go – available here.