Weight loss is a perpetual issue among us, sadly.\u00a0 Eating loses so much of its fun when accompanied by worries about weight.\u00a0 So can I share a trick that helped me break out of the<\/p>\n perpetual eating cycle that was threatening to turn me into a weight worrier?<\/p>\n Protein Balance <\/strong><\/span>It’s nothing new and it’s very simple, as with everything else about healthy weight eating.\u00a0 And I know it works.\u00a0 Just yesterday, I was on the road and had breakfast at a Whole Foods:\u00a0 roasted veggies, roasted beets and yummy chicken curry salad.\u00a0 I was amazed when lunchtime rolled around and I hadn’t even registered a blip on the hunger meter.<\/p>\n So if it’s simple and effective, what’s the catch?\u00a0 As always, implementation.\u00a0 For me, carbs like bread, cereal, tortillas, bagels, muffins, pretzels, chips and crackers were always easy things to have on hand.\u00a0 And they were easy to grab quickly to stave off hunger.\u00a0 Proteins, on the other hand, were far more problematic.\u00a0 I cooked animal protein only rarely, and it was rarer still that I had any leftovers.\u00a0 Plus, animal proteins have to be refrigerated, are messier to eat, and just didn’t hold the satisfying appeal of, say, a muffin.<\/p>\n Pantry Stockers for Healthy Weight Meal Making<\/strong><\/span> So it was with delight that I discovered canned chicken, but not the miserable, indescribable stuff swimming in salt water that’s sold at drug stores.\u00a0 No, a can of Valley Fresh Organic Chicken is packed with clearly identifiable, very moist pieces of breast meat in a tasty broth (which can be used as a cooking element of its own as explained in the Bits and Pieces article<\/a>.)\u00a0 Would I serve canned chicken as a main dish for dinner?\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 But is it perfect for adding a hit or protein to a salad I’m throwing together for lunch?\u00a0 You bet, and here’s a recipe where I used it:\u00a0 Green Salad with Chicken plus Fresh Fruit and Herb Dressing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now, About the Cost. <\/span><\/strong>Valley Fresh is more expensive than vapid drug store chicken because of a time-honored principle we all know:\u00a0 “You get what you pay for<\/em>.”\u00a0\u00a0 Pay $1.79 and you get barely a serving of chicken that tastes like nothing, is mostly water and grosses you out.\u00a0 Or pay $3.69 and get a can of chicken that makes two, really tasty protein servings and is not contributing to environmental degradation.\u00a0 Make it even cheaper with a 10% case discount at Vitamin Cottage–and then you always have something on hand that can turn off the perpetual hunger machine–and help you return to a place of eating joy.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i722.photobucket.com\/albums\/ww230\/mcolletterogers\/Chicken_Canned_Cropped.jpg\")