WLS, Fruits, and Vegetables: Our Healthy Balanced Diet

The 5 Day Pouch Test: Express Study Guide

"Your good health lies at the end of a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. There is an abundant array of colors, shapes, sizes and textures in the fruit and vegetable world. Crunchy apples and celery, creamy bananas and butternut squash, crispy jicama and radishes—an endless variety of produce is out there!" American Heart Association.

After WLS we follow a high protein diet, often forsaking fruits and vegetables for no more reason than practicality - there isn't room in the reduced stomach pouch for fruits and vegetables after we eat our protein course.  In so doing we lose the minerals, phytonutrients, and vitamins plants provide.

So our task, once we have adjusted to the high protein diet, is to include plant carbohydrates as ingredients in our meal preparations; snacks when appropriate, and side dishes when possible.

The American Heart Association, a long time proponent of the well-balanced diet, provides this infographic to guide us in purchasing seasonal fruits and vegetables to benefit our overall health and wellness. (Click the image to get the infographic in printable format directly from AHA).  The following is an article from AHA with more valuable information to include vitamins from fruit and vegetables in our diet:

For a change-up on your egg salad that includes heart healthy vegetables pop over to Bariatric Foodie and try this contest winner: Margaret's Avocado Egg Salad.  It will change your life!

 

The Natural Beauty of Fruits and Vegetables
Article copyright © 2014 American Heart Association

Your good health lies at the end of a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. There is an abundant array of colors, shapes, sizes and textures in the fruit and vegetable world. Crunchy apples and celery, creamy bananas and butternut squash, crispy jicama and radishes—an endless variety of produce is out there!

And they're so good for us! Fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber and low in fat and calories. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and your blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends eating eight or more fruit and vegetable servings every day. An average adult consuming 2,000 calories daily should aim for 4.5 cups (9 servings) of fruits and vegetables a day.

Choosing Fruit and Vegetables
When shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables, let your senses be your guide. Select those that look fresh and appealing. Leafy greens should be vibrant, with no hints of yellowing or wilting. Root vegetables like carrots, turnips and beets should be hard.

Ripe fruit ought to be plump and wrinkle free. As a general rule, naturally hard fruits and vegetables will keep longer than naturally soft ones.

Use your nose to tell if a pineapple is ripe-there should be a strong sweet smell at its base. A ripe cantaloupe or honeydew will also have a sweet smell at its base and will be slightly soft. Citrus fruits should feel heavy.

Fruits and vegetables that are deeply colored throughout - such as spinach, carrots, peaches and berries - tend to be higher in vitamins and minerals than paler ones, such as potatoes and corn.

Optimize taste and nutrition by buying fresh fruits and vegetables when they're in season. The price will be the lowest then, too. But remember, you can enjoy the taste and nutrition of fruit and veggies any time of year-canned, frozen, dried - it all counts!

Choose canned fruits packed in water, not sugary syrup, and look for canned vegetables without salt. Frozen fruits and veggies should be without added sauces and sweeteners.


Article copyright © 2014 American Heart Association. This recipe is brought to you by the American Heart Association's Simple Cooking with Heart © Program. For more articles and simple, quick and affordable recipes, visit heart.org/simplecooking.

Healthy & Delicious Carbs to Love

Enjoy Healthy Carbs in these
Taste Pleasing Side Dishes
Shared from the LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest

Including fresh vegetables and berries in a meal of lean protein assures you get a variety of nutrients and fresh flavor without sacrificing your healthy living goals. Some weight loss surgery patients notice the stringy fiber of asparagus causes digestive discomfort. Look for tender young stalks to avoid the stringy fibers or use a vegetable peeler and remove the outer layer of each stalk to enjoy the tender asparagus without the stringy fiber.

Lemony Asparagus with Parsley

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus; cook, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Serve warm.

Per 1/2-cup serving: 35 calories, 3g protein, 2g fat, 5g carbohydrate and 2g dietary fiber.

Try This: Warm Roasted Asparagus with Walnuts 

More recipes in the Weekly Digest

Fresh Harvest Today - Feed the Carb Monster Tomorrow!

Farmer's markets, backyard gardens, front yard gardens, generous friends - all sources of excellent fresh produce this time of year. Did you know that bite for bite fresh vegetables bursting with health-promoting complex carbohydrates, are as effective as simple carbs in satisfying those pesky snack cravings we all get after weight loss surgery? Don't believe me - just try a cup of fresh vegetable soup and watch your cravings disappear. Carb Monster Soup Recipes.

If you are lucky enough to enjoy some fresh home-grown produce this time of year with extra to spare, freezing is an ideal method of preservation that is easy, affordable, and efficient. Here is a brief how-to from the Clemson Cooperative Extension. For more detailed information check-out their printable guide: Freezing Fruits and Vegetables and add this to your Kitchen 411 binder for reference and inspiration!

Freezing Fresh Vegetables in August

Freezing is one of the most common forms of food preservation and with good reason. It’s fast, relatively easy and cost effective. In South Carolina there are a variety of vegetables ready for harvest in August. If you are lucky enough to have extra produce, the following vegetables are well suited for freezing:

Beans (snap, Italian, variety)
Beets
Butter beans
Mixed leafy greens (Collard, Kale, Mustard, Turnips)
Okra
Peas
Peppers
Yellow squash
Sweet corn (nearing the end of harvest but still available)
Sweet potatoes

Incorporating the following steps will help ensure that you produce a high quality frozen product:

• Select firm, ripe produce - Vegetables harvested in the morning will result in the best quality. Additionally, it’s best to work with amounts that you can handle within 3-4 hours.
• Blanch vegetables - Blanching is a process where the vegetable is immersed in boiling water or steamed for a short period of time and then cooled rapidly in ice water. This process destroys microorganisms on the surface of the vegetables, brightens the color and helps retard loss of vitamins. While most vegetables call for blanching, some root vegetables including beets and sweet potatoes require a different preparation. For details on preparing root vegetables for freezing see HGIC 3260, Preserving Root Vegetables.
• Use proper storage containers - Containers designated for freezing will help keep moisture in and air out of the vegetables. For best quality look for moisture and vapor--resistant wraps, plastic film bags combined with collapsible cardboard freezer boxes or “freeze and cook” bags.
• Check freezer temperatures - Keep freezer temperatures at or below 0° F. A thermometer placed in your freezer will help ensure that you are maintaining the required temperature.

Plan to use the frozen vegetables within in one year for highest quality. Most vegetables will maintain quality for 12 – 18 months when stored at 0 ° F or below.

Detailed information on freezing vegetables can be found at HGIC 3063, Freezing Fruits & Vegetables.

Tomatoes, Lycopene & Eating Well after WLS

As we are living after WLS it is important to include as many healthy foods in our diet as possible while still respecting the nature of the gastric bypass system. One of the foods that many patients report having a high tolerance for is tomatoes. It's well known that a high intake of tomato products is associated with lowered risk of colon and prostate cancers, a beneficial effect thought to be due to tomatoes' high content of the carotenoids, lycopene and beta-carotene.

Lycopene is a member of the carotenoid family of phytochemicals and is the natural pigment responsible for the deep red color of several fruits, most notably tomatoes. Recently scientists have found evidence that supports the role of lycopene in human health, specifically in the prevention of cancers of the prostate, pancreas, stomach, breast, cervix and lung, as well as in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration.

Lycopene is also believed to play a role in the prevention of heart disease by inhibiting free radical damage to LDL cholesterol. Before cholesterol can be deposited in the plaques that harden and narrow arteries, it must be oxidized by free radicals. With its powerful antioxidant activity, lycopene can prevent LDL cholesterol from being oxidized.

Lycopene is a fat-soluble substance, and as such requires the presence of dietary fat for proper absorption through the digestive tract. To facilitate proper absorption tomatoes can be prepared with minimal healthy fat such as olive oil, canola oil or even dairy fat found in cheese.

LivingAfterWLS Vegetable Recipes

Shopping for Tomatoes:
Choose tomatoes that have a deep rich color. Not only is this one of the signs of a delicious tasting tomato, but the deep color indicates that it has a greater supply of the health-promoting phytochemical red pigment, lycopene. Tomatoes should be well shaped and smooth skinned with no wrinkles, cracks, bruises or soft spots. They should not have a puffy appearance since this indicates that they will be of inferior flavor and will cause excess waste during preparation. Ripe tomatoes will yield to slight pressure and will have a noticeably sweet fragrance.

Tips for Preparing Tomatoes:
Before serving, wash tomatoes under cool running water and pat dry.
If your recipe requires seeded tomatoes, cut the fruit in half horizontally and gently squeeze out the seeds and the juice.

It is especially important when cooking tomatoes to not use aluminum cookware since their high acid content will interact with the metal. This may result in the migration of the aluminum into the food, which will not only impart an unpleasant taste, but more importantly, may have deleterious effects on your health.

Try This: Tomato Basil Saute