Crunch!

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While developing Plan Z, I never really thought much about what I now call the Crunch Factor. I was never the kid in our family that face-planted in the bag of potato chips. I left that to my brothers. I went for the donuts.

I never wanted to eat the hard candy. I’d rather have a brownie or ice cream for my treat.

After designing Plan Z, doing it several times, and taking in all the data from dieters, my mind has totally changed. My taste has changed, too.

Watch the video below on why crunchy foods taste so great and why you come back for more.

I get it now. As I developed Plan Z I was worried about people getting a little bit of carbohydrate from a bread source into their meals, but my only source without going over my designed allotment was to find breadsticks and crackers that could fill the bill. The softer choices like bread and rolls contained too many carbohydrates. It wasn’t til later that I heard from so many dieters that said the only thing they craved was something crunchy and that the breadsticks and crackers were helping fulfill that craving. Having a Crunch Factor has been vital.

Then it happened to me, too. I started craving crunchy and it carries over beyond when I am doing a ZReduction to lose weight. I am now part of the population that craves crunch.

Maybe that comes from eating more salads. I find myself loving the crunch that romaine lettuce provides and am not so attracted to plain leaves of greens.

I now crave my husband’s bacon. Not because it’s bacon, but because he’s an expert cook in the bacon category. His bacon comes out crunchy but not crumbly. It’s perfect. I don’t crave just any old bacon. I want HIS bacon fresh from the pan, left on the paper towels for a few minutes to drain and crunch up. And then dive in.

I also crave fried chicken. Fried chicken is a huge offering in Chattanooga right now. I don’t eat it often. I usually eat breast meat and I factor in the carbs from the breading into the food allotments for the day. So I’m not likely to eat two things that involve breading in one day or in even 3 or 4 days. But the crispier the chicken the better. That never used to hit my radar. I also think with so much chicken competition in Chattanooga that the chefs are really stepping up their game and cooking chicken in delightful ways.

And then there’s the delightful sound of a fresh stick of celery…or the crunch of a pickle.

What are your favorite crunchy foods? Let us know. And if they fit ZReduction, (fresh and flavorful) you get bonus points! Just like the video, you can submit your recipe offerings, too. Just enter those in the comments section below the article. If you give us permission to repost them on our site, we will give you full credit.

Enjoy!
Cheers,