All About Calories

Calories is a measure of the amount of energy produced by food. Foods higher in calories produce more energy then those with low calories count. By knowing about calories you will find yourself automatically making calorie-conscious choices in food that will give maximum eating pleasure.

To count calories write the amount of ingredient called for in a recipe.

Check up the calorie value for each ingredient in the calorie chart.

Add up all the caloric values to get the total number of calories in the recipe you are eating.

How to cut calories?

To cut down on calories, follow the following methods when cooking. Mostly go in for steamed, boiled and grilled for this cuts down the consumption of fats.

1. Substitute skim milk for whole milk.
2. When eating red meat go in for lean meat which contains no fat. Use the young fowl rather than the old hen, white meat rather then the dark meat, meat without skin then with the skin. Use only lean fish like pomfret rather then other oily fish.
3. When you want to snack.

   Unbuttered popcorn is only 25 calories per cup.

   Snack on pumpkin and sunflower seeds, get the ones with the shell. It will also force you to eat more slowly.

   Always keep rabbit food around like carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, tomato slices, lettuce, turnips, etc. These have also no calories and are also healthy.

4. Soda has no calories.
5. Cabbage is considered an effective remedy for sliming. It contains tartaric acid which inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Hence, it is of great value to weight watchers. 2 tomatoes taken in the morning before breakfast is also a safe method of reducing.
6. Eating 2 tablespoons of groundnuts before lunch checks the desire to eat much and therefore helps in reducing.
7. Eating a fresh vegetable salad with lunch also checks you from eating too much because a salad is very filling.
8. Curry leaves too have weight reducing properties.