Comfort Food Diet

I have found a wonderful tool in the weight loss battle. It's called Taste of Home's Comfort Food Diet Cookbook. It has over 433 recipes with foods you crave, but the versions that appear in here are lighter versions. I've tried some of them and they taste great.
Included in the cookbook are diet tips, logs to record your food intake and calories and even suggestions for exercise.
It is a great find and I highly recommend it. I have already lost 5 pounds following this diet. If you buy the cookbook, you will have access to the website that will help you along the way.
Below I've chosen some information you may find helpful.

Balancing Your Diet
A healthy diet is so much more than calories in versus calories out. You must have balance and variety in order to meet all of your nutritional needs.

Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of any healthy diet. They are a major source of vitamins and minerals, contribute to daily fiber intake and supply valuable antioxidants and phytonutrients that researchers suggest can help prevent disease. Eating various colored fruits and vegetables will ensure that you are getting a variety of nutrients each day. They are also low in calories, which means a lot of nutritional bang for your calorie buck.

Fat
Generally speaking, healthy adults should limit fat to about 30% of their calories each day. This means at 1,300 or1,500 calories a day, you should be eating no more than about 50 grams of fat per day. Stick with healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like fats found in olive and canola oils, nuts and seeds.

Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is found mainly in high-fat meats and dairy foods as well as coconut oil, palm kernel oil and some processed foods. Limit saturated fat to 10% of calories or less, which means about 17 grams when following 1,400 or 1,500 calories a day.

Trans Fat
As in the case of saturated fat, diets high in trans fat can increase LDL ("bad") cholesterol which increases the risk of coronary artery disease. Trans fat may also decrease HDL ("good") cholesterol. Trans fat can be found in vegetable shortening, stick margarine, fried foods, processed foods and store bought baking goods. Limit trans fat as much as possible and try to stay below 1.5-2.0 grams per day.

Cholesterol
Eating foods high in cholesterol can increase blood cholesterol for some people, which is why it's recommended to limit daily intake to 300 mg. even though saturated and trans fats have a more significant effect on blood cholesterol. Cholesterol if found only in foods from animals, such as eggs, meat and dairy products.

Sodium
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, and salt can be a contributor to high blood pressure. High sodium diets do not cause high blood pressure in everyone but it is still wise to limit sodium to 2,300 mg per day. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 mg. of sodium, but keep in mind that most of the salt we consume comes from processed foods, not the salt shaker. Foods high in sodium include lunch meat, condiments like soy sauce and ketchup, frozen dinners, canned foods, boxed mixes, seasoning packets and foods labeled as "smoked," "cured," "pickled" or "brined."
Simple substitutions to the Salt Shaker:
Many of us are conditioned to grab for the salt shaker eve before tasting our food. Try to get out of this habit. Taste your food first. Savor it. Enjoy several bites without adding extra salt. With time, you likely won't reach for the salt shaker at all.
Experiment with your recipes by replacing the salt called for with herbs or sodium-free seasoning blends. Try seasoning veggies with a splash of lemon juice.

Fiber
Healthy adults should be eating at least 20-30 grams of fiber each day although most Americans eat far less than that. Fiber can be categorized as soluble or insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol wile insoluble fiber helps maintain a healthy digestive tract. In addition, fiber helps you feel full, which can help prevent overeating. Foods high in soluble fiber include oatmeal, beans and barley, while foods with insoluble fiber include whole wheat and brown rice.

Tips to Help Boost Fiber
Leave the skins on fruits and vegetables.
Add extra veggies into soups and side dishes.
Sprinkle oat bran or wheat germ over yogurt to stir into casseroles.
Choose whole grain breads and crackers. Whole wheat or whole grain flour should be listed as the first ingredient on the food label.
Toss kidney beans or garbanzo beans into salads.

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates have received a lot of bad press over the years. While it's important to watch the amount of carbohydrates you consume, carbs are an important part of a healthy diet because they fire up and fuel the body's engine.
There are two types of carbohydrates: sugar and starch. Sugars include fructose and lactose. Starches are grains, pasta and potatoes. The body converts all sugars and starches to glucose - a source of energy. Diabetics need to watch how many carbs they consume, however, because their bodies regulate glucose in the bloodstream differently than most.
Choosing whole grains plus eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and reduced fat dairy products are positive carbohydrate choices...and those choices matter for overall health. The carbs found in packaged cakes, pies and cookies are highly processed and don't contribute to a healthy diet. Cutting them out of your meal plan means eliminating empty calories, which makes sense if you are watching your weight. For instance, 4 1/2 teaspoons of sugar may have about the same calories and carbohydrates as a medium apple, but the medium apple is a far healthier choice.

Protein
Proteins bring oxygen to blood, produce antibodies and help muscles contract. About half of the protein we consume creates enzymes, which help cells carry out necessary chemical reactions. The body needs a constant supply of protein to repair and rebuild cells that are worn or damaged. In general, women should consume 45 grams of protein per day, and men should consume around 55 grams each day.
~ From Comfort Food Diet Cookbook, Aunt Millie