We asked St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center dietitians Amber Cranfield, Betsy Oriolo, Rebecca Jilek, Patti Kowaloski and Eric Davenport to share with Healthy Headlines readers 10 things they should be eating more of in 2016. Last month, we covered sprouted grains and salmon, which you can read here. This month, we’re addressing spaghetti squash and kidney beans.
Spaghetti squash
What it is: Spaghetti squash is a lower–“calorie, low–“carbohydrate alternative to eating pasta.
Why it’s good: One cup of spaghetti squash has only 30 calories and seven grams of carbohydrates, as compared with 240 calories and 45 grams of carbohydrates for a cup of conventional grain pasta. Spaghetti squash can be baked or microwaved, shredded and topped with your favorite sauce or olive oil.
How you get it: You can scrape out the strands with a spoon and use as you would your favorite pasta. Or you can find relatively inexpensive spiralizers (starting around $15) to turn vegetables into noodles at retailers like Bed Bath and Beyond or Amazon.com.
The bottom line: An appealing flavor and appealing numbers for those counting calories and carbs make spaghetti squash a natural addition to your meal lineup.
Kidney beans
What they are: These beans are an easy and inexpensive way to add fiber, protein and lots of vitamins and minerals to your diet. One half”cup of kidney beans has 112 calories, eight grams of fiber and six grams of protein.
Why they’re good: Kidney beans are an excellent source of soluble fiber which may help to lower your cholesterol levels. (Soluble fiber also helps slow the process of emptying your stomach, so you feel like you’re full longer.)
How you get them: Kidney beans are a staple of many vegetarian and vegan dishes, including chilis, salads, soups and rice and beans. It’s easy to work them into your diet. For chili, try using half as much meat as you normally would, and twice as many kidney beans. You can try the same solution with your favorite vegetable soup recipe.
The bottom line: A 2011 study found that people eating four servings of beans weekly lost more weight and had greater improvements in inflammation, blood pressure and cholesterol levels than those who also followed a low”calorie diet that didn’t include beans.
