Prairie Fare: What About Volume?

By Julie Garden-Robinson, Food and Nutrition Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

My colleague and friend Dean Aakre has an interesting perspective on food and potential weight gain. According to his oft-repeated maxim at our lunchroom table, it’s impossible to gain more weight from a given food than the weight of the food itself. Usually the comment draws a couple of perplexed stares, a pause, then the principles of "Nutrition 101" are voiced earnestly by whomever is sitting at the table. But Dean cannot be swayed.

Dean’s theory, dating back to "making weight" during high school wrestling days, does have some short-term merit, though. "That’s all I’m saying," he says. If we set Dean on a scale while holding various foods, his weight would be the same whether he was holding a pound of mandarin oranges, a pound of pretzels or a pound of chocolate candies. If he then ate the oranges, pretzels and chocolate in rapid succession while standing on the scale, he would theoretically gain three pounds and then probably fall off the scale with a stomach ache and an aversion to oranges, pretzels and chocolate.

As Dean knows, once in the body, the main components of food -- protein, fat, and carbohydrate -- are digested differently. Weight for weight, fat (at 9 calories per gram) contains more than twice the calories of protein or carbohydrate (4 calories per gram, each). Water contains no calories.

For example, a pound of mandarin oranges contains about 200 calories, a pound of pretzels, 1760 calories and a pound of chocolate, 2550 calories. The oranges are primarily water and carbohydrates, with virtually no fat. The pretzels contain only a trace of fat and most of the calories are from complex carbohydrates. The calories in chocolate are mainly from carbohydrate (sugar) and fat.

Consuming an extra 3500 calories over what you need to maintain your weight and your level of physical activity, theoretically, could add a pound of fat to your frame. So, technically, the three-pound "snack" mentioned earlier, which contains about 4510 calories, could add 1.3 pounds of body fat if consumed over basic calorie needs. Put differently, you’d have to eat 17.5 pounds of mandarin oranges beyond your usual diet to gain a pound of body fat but only about 1.4 pounds of chocolate.

Chocolate is an "energy dense" food because of the amount of fat it contains. It stores well and doesn’t take up a lot of space, making it an ideal component of a winter survival kit. Fruits and vegetables are "nutrient dense" foods because they are high in vitamins and minerals in comparison to the amount of calories they provide. Fruits and vegetables also are high in water and fiber.

According to a new book, "Volumetrics: Feel Full on Fewer Calories," written by Dr. Barbara Rolls, Guthrie Chair of Nutrition at Penn State, and journalist Robert A. Barnett, you can eat the same volume of food but, with careful choices, you can reduce calories in your portions -- and still feel satisfied. You might lose weight, too. The eating plan is based on principles from the Food Guide Pyramid, plus the principles of nutrient density and energy density.

To apply "volumetrics" in your own diet, aim for foods higher in fiber and water. In the grain group, choose whole grain, high-fiber breads, cereals and pasta. All fruits and vegetables fit with the principles of volumetrics, but refrain from buttering vegetables and choose a baked potato instead of French fries. Add extra vegetables to casseroles and soups. Remember, too, that dried fruits are energy dense; one-fourth cup of raisins, which is about the size of a tennis ball, counts as a serving of fruit, so does an apple the size of a tennis ball. To satisfy a sweet tooth, have a piece of chocolate or a hard candy at the end of a meal.

Soup has been the subject of research studies because, as a first course, it can reduce hunger and the overall number of calories taken in during the rest of the meal. To keep calories low, choose broth or tomato-based soups instead of creamy ones. Keep calorie content at 100 calories or lower if it’s a first course.

Here’s a quick, easy and healthy soup recipe that will warm you up and take the edge off your appetite before the main course. Each nutrient-dense serving (one-fourth of the recipe) contains about 80 calories, 3 grams of fat, 33 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin A (as carotenoids) and 44 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin C. Tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopenes, a red-orange pigment from the carotenoid family. Lycopenes have been shown to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, particularly prostate cancer in men.

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 can (14.5 oz) whole, peeled tomatoes – do not drain
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, canned or home-made
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil OR 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme OR 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
dash pepper

Procedure:
Saute onion in butter until tender. Add undrained canned tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Cool slightly and process half at a time in blender or food processor until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan and heat thoroughly. Makes 4 servings.

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Source: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu