GOOD HEALTH MAGAZINE : NUTRITION : QUICK ‘N’ HEALTHFUL : SMART WAYS TO QUENCH A THIRST
When Janice Shigehara, a registered dietitian from La Jolla, needs an afternoon pick-me-up, she doesn’t turn to caffeine. Instead, she uses her blender to create a home version of that natural foods restaurant staple, the smoothie.
She combines 1/3 cup of nonfat yogurt, 1/2 cup of cubed frozen fruit, 2 or 3 ice cubes and 1 packet of Equal in the blender. “It makes it real thick and frothy because you have the thickness of the yogurt and the texture of the frozen fruit,” she says.
The fruit can be melon, peaches, berries--and it can be is cut into cubes if necessary, frozen ahead of time on a cookie sheet and then stored in plastic bags in the freezer. For sweetener, two teaspoons of sugar can be substituted for the Equal.
On the run, a busy Southern Californian might be tempted to grab a restaurant version of Shigehara’s smoothie. It would provide protein, carbohydrates, calcium and that touch of sweetness that can stave off cravings for a candy bar. The texture and temperature substitute nicely for a much-more-fattening milkshake.
But for a person monitoring his or her fat intake and weight, making sure that a smoothie is at its best for you takes a little attention.
Before buying one, ask about the fat content of the milk or yogurt going into it. Nonfat is best. Or consider a non-dairy variety, which often has fewer calories. But ask whether coconut or palm oil went into the mix from which it was made. They often do.(Both are high in saturated fats, which promote heart disease.)
Master Mix Inc., of West Covina, recently began using the highly touted canola oil in the non-dairy shake mix it supplies to restaurants in Southern California and elsewhere, according to company president Carl McCrory. Demand from health-conscious consumers was the reason, he says. Very low in saturated fat, canola oil is high in monounsaturated fats--which raise the level of “good” cholesterol in the blood.
Belinda Jenks of Los Angeles, who holds a doctorate in nutrition and biochemistry from UCLA, favors a low-salt Virgin Mary for liquid refreshment. The ingredients: low-salt tomato juice, a squeeze of lemon or lime, a dash of Tabasco and maybe a tad of Worcestershire sauce (but that last adds salt).
Freshly squeezed fruit juice is one of the best things to drink, but it isn’t as easy to make as this tomato juice cocktail, Jenks says.
“This is something you can get in the supermarket and make as a mock alcoholic beverage or a tomato cocktail for lunch or dinner. You can really play with it,” Jenks says. “Tomato juice is very low in calories--it’s about 35 calories for 6 ounces. It’s also high in potassium, which is good for everyone to take in.”
Other drinks Jenks suggests are various herb teas over ice as well as freshly squeezed fruit juice-mixed with sparkling water to cut down on the calorie count.
The high water content of these latter drinks is especially good for what being thirsty is all about--replenishing the body’s natural stores of water.
About 60% of a man’s weight and 50% of a woman’s is water. Within individual tissues the water content can go as high as 80%. Humans survive as individuals and as a species because our bodies manage to keep these concentrations level. When we lose water through sweat, urine or water vapor breathed out of the lungs, we get thirsty to replace what was lost.
But not every drink is created equal. Alcohol, for instance, is a diuretic. So is caffeine. So the more beer or coffee you drink, the thirstier you’ll be. The exceptions are drinks such as wine spritzers or iced tea--they have enough water in them to have a net thirst-quenching effect.
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