America On the Move

Cut Calories with 5-Calorie Balsamic Misters

America On the Move
7/28/2011 1:27 PM
(Food Choices, Recipes)

Did you know it’s easy to cut calories daily just by using balsamic vinegar sprays and mists? Balsamic vinegar is low in calories and adds delicious, all natural flavor to your foods.

A healthy meal or snack can be compromised when adding dressings, sauces, and other food toppers and condiments. Many of these products may be high in calories, fat, and/or sodium. Some specific examples of these high calorie toppings are: salad dressings, sauces, mayonnaise, butter, margarine, sour cream, cooking oils, marinades, and barbecue sauces. Many of these products have 100 calories per serving and many of us don’t stop at just one serving! This can add 200 calories to each meal or snack, giving you 500-1,000 extra calories each day.

According to the Healthy Weight Forum, if the average person cuts their caloric intake by 500 calories a day they can lose up to one pound per week. Using a balsamic spray or mist instead of a high calorie topping can help you cut those extra daily calories. Some examples include:

• Sandwiches and wraps: Balsamic vinegar sprays or mists taste great on sandwiches and wraps instead of mayonnaise or another creamy dressing.
• Grilling, sautéing, and baking: Mist or spray meats, chicken, and fish instead of drowning them in high calorie bottled marinades, sugar-laden barbeque sauces, butter, or cooking oils.
• Green salads, pasta salads, and tuna salads: Most of us think healthy when eating a salad, but many times the dressings will turn your salad into a high calorie, high fat meal. Try a mist of flavorful balsamic vinegar with a sprinkle of herbs and spices to keep your salads healthy.
• Vegetables: Whether steaming, sautéing, grilling, or eating raw veggies as a snack, a mist of balsamic vinegar sweetens all of your vegetable dishes or snacks.

Not only does balsamic vinegar flavor you foods with minimal calories, studies show it has several health benefits for the digestive system and metabolism. Adding vinegar to meals may also decrease the amount of calories you consume later in the day due to the post-glucose response to that meal which provides a longer feeling of fullness. Feeling more satisfied at meals helps you eat less food throughout the day, resulting in a lower caloric intake for the day. Balsamic vinegar also helps boost the activity of the digestive enzyme pepsin. This enzyme helps speed up the metabolism which in turn burns calories. There are also powerful antioxidants, called polyphenols, found in both balsamic vinegar and olive oil which help fight diseases and boost the immune system.

You can find great tasting all-natural balsamic mists at www.gourmemist.com. For $1 off any Gourmè Mist variety, enter the coupon code GM200 at online checkout.

Written by Sherene Renee Costanzo of Gourmè Mist

Sources:
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2005, 2010
Diabetes Research & Clinical Practice 2009
Nutrition Research 2009
The Vinegar Institute 2010
The Lance Armstrong Foundation 2011
Healthy Weight Forum 2007

America On the Move