Go Foods for Better Weight Control

cooking
Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

What do GO foods have in common?

• High in water

• High in fiber

• Low in calorie density

• Low in fat

• No added sugar

GO foods are high in water content — this means that cooked whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, barley, and whole grain pasta are better choices than lower moisture items like bread and crackers. Not that bread and crackers are bad — don’t make them the bulk of your preferences.

Fruits and vegetables are the best of all choices!! They are high in water content and fiber. And they are low in calorie density and fat.

GO! foods include fruits, vegetables, nonfat dairy, cooked whole grains, lean protein, and legumes.

What is calorie density?

Calorie density: the concentration of calories in a given weight of food.

Compare foods by grams, ounces, pounds or kilos:

Item Calories per pound

  • lettuce 77

  • apple 224

  • potato, baked 320

  • cheese 1824

  • potato chips 2432

  • olive oil 4000

See how the more refined and higher-fat foods are higher in calorie density than the unprocessed ones.

The GO foods are the base of MyPlate, too. They are right in line with all of the recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII discovered her love of cooking at her grandmother's side, stirring raisin oatmeal on a Saturday morning. By 15 she had her first food service job. At 18 she was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, where she graduated second in her class, then went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland to study pastry arts and baking. A decade with Hyatt Hotels followed before she founded Food and Health Communications with a single conviction: food that is good for you should taste extraordinary.

Judy holds a Master of Professional Studies in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University (Summa Cum Laude), two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and the CIA's Pro Chef II certification. She has earned the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year award.

Today she develops every recipe on this site, shoots and styles food through her food photography and motion studio, and publishes nutrition education materials for dietitians, schools, extension offices, and health professionals through nutritioneducationstore.com. She uses the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to drive her creativity — whether that means a new twist on fajitas or Italian brownies made with toasted nuts and cooked honey. Her mission has never changed: help everyone make food that tastes as good as it is for them.

https://nutritioneducationstore.com
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