High-Energy Grazing

Who isn’t guilty of skipping breakfast on a busy morning or lunch when a jam-packed schedule has you running like crazy? What usually follows is that awful time when your mood takes a hit and energy levels plummet. Then there’s the missed-meal rebound effect—you know, when you finally eat and fi nd you’re so ravenous that you end up overindulging. It’s a vicious circle. But there is a way to eat that wards off hunger pangs and prevents dramatic energy dips: It’s a simple technique called “grazing.”

Nibbling for good nutrition
In place of the standard three-meal-a-day regimen (which can be hard to stick with) you divide your dining experiences into five or six small meals. Another option is to lighten up your three main meals, and supplement them with a couple of snacks. Spreading your nourishment throughout the day keeps the body humming along at a nice, smooth clip. The biggest benefit of this plan? Sustained energy.

By evening out your calorie intake, grazing keeps your body consistently fueled with nutrients, which leads to better mental and physical performance, a brighter mood and less fatigue. What’s more, the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats stabilizes your metabolism.

According to nutritionists, grazing is a common, natural habit that can provide better nutrition. “Natural grazers may be born with an instinct for consuming lots of mini-meals and tend to be healthy,” says Georgianna Donadio, PhD, director of Boston’s National Institute of Whole Health. “Many women do this naturally, and vegetarian men tend to graze more than nonvegetarian men.”

For those who don’t have this instinctual knack, snacking and smaller meals may take a little getting used to, especially if you were raised to clean your plate or told not to eat before supper. Even today’s moms often think kids will spoil their appetites or end up overweight if they chow down between meals. But when grazing is done correctly and involves wellbalanced mini-meals and snacks, it can help you maintain a healthy weight and even slim down. Because you sustain a feeling of food satisfaction, you are less likely to binge on unhealthy foods or overeat at one sitting.

Making the switch
Grazing begins at breakfast with a balance of carbohydrates (cereal, toast, fruit), protein (soymilk, yogurt, eggs, tofu scrambler) and fats (peanut butter, nuts, soy margarine). “You need to get healthy sugars from complex carboyhdrates to your brain, nervous system and lungs,” says Donadio. “If you don’t give your body nutritious foods at the start of the day, your blood sugar will be low and probably remain that way.” Once you’ve had your morning meal, there are two ways to continue the regimen. The first is to go by the clock and eat something every two to three hours. Another is to take your cues from hunger and reach for an appropriate snack when your body says you want one. Whichever method you choose, you’ll probably still feel hungry at lunch- and dinner-times, because the mini-meal isn’t supposed to make you full. The point is to eat enough to be satisfied, so that you won’t feel famished or have food cravings later on.

	Grazing works well because of when you eat—and what. Complex carbohydrates (whole-grain bread, beans, brown rice and vegetables) are favored over simple carbs (white bread, white rice and pasta) because they are slower to digest and provide sustained energy. Protein (nuts, tofu, beans, cheese) further slows the absorption of carbohydrates to make energy last longer. It also gives you a “full” feeling after eating and helps with alertness. Healthy fats (olive, roasted nut and sesame oils, avocados) add flavor and transport key vitamins throughout the body.

Finding your equilibrium
For grazing to work, you have to be vigilant about food choices and portion control—no munching on a big bag of tortilla chips! One method is to simply count calories. Shoot for the same number of calories for each of three main meals, while dividing the rest among snacks. Or if you’re on the five or six mini-meal plan, make sure each has approximately the same calorie content.

Balancing nutrition is just as important as balancing calories. The ideal daily combination for a moderately active individual is 50 to 60 percent of total calories from carbohydrates, 15 to 20 percent from proteins, and 25 to 30 percent from fat (with no more than 10 percent from saturated fats), says Atlanta-based dietitian Sandy Killam-Hall, RD. All those percentages may sound complicated, but they’re really not. In fact, you may already have the right ratio in your diet if you make healthy choices and eat a variety of whole foods. For instance, a tempeh sandwich with roasted veggies and a dab of mayonnaise fi ts the bill. So does an apple with a piece of cheese or a dollop of peanut butter. You can even make a high-sugar chocolate bar work on a grazing plan when you pair it with a protein-packed item, such as nuts. Because your next snack or mini-meal—and a chance to restore nutritional balance—is just a couple of hours away, there’s little time to experience the sugar crash that normally comes after such a high-carb treat.

That’s the point of grazing: to never again feel deprived, sluggish, starving or stuffed. The recipes on the following pages are a good way to get started. All are under 300 calories and provide an overview of combinations that work in snacks and mini-meals. Incorporating these foods into your eating habits will make sure you’ve got plenty of energy to burn—no matter what your hurried, harried schedule has in store for you.

These ideas will get you settled into a grazing routine in no time. Egg Crêpes with Spinach, Tomatoes and Cheese Orange-Date Oat Bars Egg salad sandwich with whole-grain bread and sprouts Mexican Dip: Microwave 3/4 cup vegetarian refried beans with 1/4 cup prepared salsa on high for 2 minutes. Serve with 1 cup baked tortilla chips. Warm Greens with Chickpeas and Pine Nuts: Sauté 2 cups dark leafy greens (spinach, collards or Swiss chard) in 1 Tbs. olive oil; then add 1 cup vegetables (such as pepper strips, carrots or broccoli). Toss with 1/2 cup chickpeas and 2 Tbs. pine nuts. Whole-grain, high-fi ber cereal with soymilk 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1/4 cup raisins Lentil Salad Indian Tea Sandwich Grilled Eggplant Teriyaki: Brush both sides of 4 eggplant slices with prepared teriyaki sauce. Grill 7 minutes on each side, or until brown and tender. Serve with 1 cup cooked brown rice. Oatmeal made with milk or soymilk, plus a small whole-wheat muffin and a banana Smoothie made with 1 cup frozen berries and 1 cup nonfat yogurt Peanut butter sandwich made with whole-grain bread, and 1 cup fruit salad Spinach-Tofu Dip: Purée 1 8-oz. pkg. frozen, chopped spinach (thawed) with 6 oz. silken tofu, 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt, 1/3 cup light mayonnaise, 2 shallots, 11/4 Tbs. mustard and 1 Tbs. lemon juice in food processor. Serve with 1 cup baked tortilla chips. Spicy Tofu Bento Bowl For the full recipes from this article, check out the October '06 issue of Vegetarian Times