We know that to be healthy, we ought to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and limit processed foods or cut them out completely.
But one dietitian believes you can have your cake and eat it too, provided you limit the cake you’re eating and substitute the rest of that delicious slice with something more nutritious.
Paula Norris, from Brisbane, regularly illustrates the benefits of volume eating on her Instagram page, where she said it’s the perfect approach for people with a big appetite.
Here, FEMAIL shares her simple swaps which can save you valuable calories.
Paula Norris, from Brisbane, regularly illustrates the benefits of volume eating on her Instagram page, which she said is the perfect solution for people with big appetites
The dietitian explained that you can eat what you want, but if you eat slightly less of it and sub it out for more nutritious foods as well, you get a lot more for your calories (pictured)
For instance, simply swap crackers and dip for some vegetables and dip and you can save yourself more than 150 calories (pictured)
’30 grams chocolate versus 10 grams chocolate and eight almonds and 200 grams of strawberries,’ Paula posted next to one recent comparison photo.
‘If you’re hungry, it’s important to fill up on higher fibre, high bulk snacks,’ she explained.
Another post shows how if you replace 20 grams of trail mix with 150 grams of strawberries and eight almonds, then you will in fact be eating the same amount of calories but getting much more food.
‘If you want chocolate then eat it!’ Paula outlined.
‘But be sensible by keeping your portion small and top your snack up with something not as calorie dense and filled with nourishing nutrients like the 20 grams of strawberries.
‘You’ll be more satisfied and get loads more fibre, vitamins and antioxidants.’
And if you replace your 3pm cracker habit with raw vegetables, you can save yourself valuable calories for elsewhere in your day
The size of protein balls (left) means you’ll probably eat them extremely quickly – Paula outlined that you can get so much more via wholefoods (right)
She also shares countless other pieces of information on her profile page, including the truth about chocolate and exactly what you’re getting in each type (pictured)
In many of her posts, the dietitian highlights why you should healthy snack when it hits 3pm and you need a pick-me-up.
‘Out [with] nutrient poor, high salt crackers and 50 grams energy dense dip. In [with] nutrient rich, low calorie, filling veggies and 50 grams healthier dip,’ she said.
By simply making this change, you can save yourself more than 150 calories in your day.
‘If you’re hungry, it’s important to fill up on higher fibre, high bulk snacks,’ Paula said – for instance, she compares how many vegetables you can get for a quarter of a large avocado
Swap out your regular pasta for zucchini noodles (pictured) and save on fat, carbs and calories (pictured)
Eat a handful of popcorn instead of a handful of chips and enjoy snack time all the more (pictured) virtuously
Similarly, if you replace your afternoon protein ball with wholefoods in the form of almonds, seeds and dates, then you can get far more food for your calories.
‘The size [of protein balls] means you’ll probably eat them real quick,’ Paula explained.
‘Eating the equivalent in wholefoods (like on the right) means you’ll spend more time chewing, sending the message to your brain that you’ve had a satisfying snack.’