Verjus an interesting alternative to wine

Here is a website dedicated to Napa Valley Verjus..unfermented wine.

There are many recipes and a discussion of what Verjus is and is used for. Some of the recipes would work well for dieting if sugar was replaced with Agave syrup and oils amounts lowered.

http://www.verjus.com

Food Meditation

Many years ago I took myself to the Miraval Spa. It's a wonderful spa and I had a number of mind altering experiences there. One of these was a class called a food meditation. Probably one of the most important spa classes I have ever taken.

We arrived in the dining room and met at a table with the nutritionist. She spoke to us about the fact that the body needs 20 minutes of attentive eating to register that it has eaten and instructed us to go to the breakfast bar and take whatever we wanted in whatever amounts we wanted. Not to be stingy with ourselves, but to load up on whatever we felt we wanted.

Then we were to come back to the table and silently eat for 20 minutes. No talking. No reading. No listening to music/tv. Just us and our food. After we would speak about the experience. We were to chew slowly really feeling and tasting the food in our mouths. Roll it around. Drink slowly again attending to the food. At first you feel foolish..but over the 20 minutes a personal awareness about self and food starts to emerge.

When we were finished we spoke of the meditation on our meals, for many of us a first. No one could finish what they had taken. All felt full with less than what they expected. The nutritionist explained that by focusing on what we were doing, really focusing,  our bodies could really have the full effect of the experience of eating.

I have found if I try to leave the newspaper, the tv..the talking aside and truly focus for twenty minutes it always results in my feeling more full, satisfied, relaxed and with less quantity. The effect of this meditation seems to last a while and then I notice myself sneaking the Times back to the table. Its a meditation that needs doing and re-doing to keep myself educated to its wisdom.

I encourage you to try a food meditation. It does world's to reset your understanding of you and food.

Leeks braised and sauteed, and as two fillings for omelettes

Braised Leeks are a classic in french cooking. They are very easy to prepare and like all members of the Alium family, Onion family, they are really good for you.

First you must choose and clean the leeks. I prefer my leeks on the smallish side as they are easier to cook and I think they taste better than the enormous ones. To clean them I follow Julia Child's advise which roughly goes like this.

Lay the leek on a cutting board. From the top of the white part to the end of the green part slice it through. Then roll it a half turn and again slice through.
 Holding it lengthwize parallel to the bottom of the sink basin clean by running water accross one of the cuts while opening gently the leaves..never hold upright against the flow of water or you will force the sand deeper into the leek. Then once the leek is clean where you cut it turn to the next cut and continue until you have cleaned all the areas you have cut. Sandy leeks are unpleasant so make sure you got all of it out.

Next, Cut off the root end and then cut off most of the green parts.

To braise the white part of the leek you need to first in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil brown the leek. Then add some broth..chicken or even vermouth or white wine to the pan and slowly poach turning until it is tender.

For the greens you can cut them into one inch pieces and saute them in a bit of olive oil for use in other preparations

I am suggesting two omelette fillings here using the sauteed leeks.

One is with the sauteed peppers from the 11/22/2010 posting along with a bit of Ricotta

The second omelette filling uses the sauteed leeks with some Coach Farms Lowered Fat Goats Cheese Chevre..and a bit of  salt and pepper. 

Ten Holiday Healthy Eating Strategies

Holidays are always a challenge to healthy eating.

Here are some of my personal strategies:

1. Pre-eating!..this learned from my ever slim girlfriends..eat a meal or a good sized snack with a bit of fat and protein at about 5-6..then you are not so hungry when those hi cal low food value hors d'oeuvres are being passed around and you can pick and choose which you want being already a bit full 2 sticks of celery with a really high quality sugar free tablespoon of peanut butter is great for this as it is very filling and while fatty the fat is "good" fat 
2. Make your first cocktail Water!..yes and the second and third too if you can..wine is fine in moderation but it is harder to be moderate after we imbibe
3. Always cook a bit more of anything you cook than you need. Save the rest for later either to make another thing out of it or for another meal later. I am still eating the turkey stew I made after thanksgiving that is frozen in one person portions and ready to go when I am casting about for something to eat
4. Portion Control everything! but especially treat foods. Stick to your healthy eating plan as much as you can and drink more water!
5. Savour tiny amounts of treat foods. Denying yourself all these treats all the time will build up too much pent up demand. 
6. Use smaller plates and teaspoons instead of soup spoons
7. Focus on what you are eating..it counts if you are talking, standing walking, it all counts. If you look at, chew or drink slowly and smell the food, your body will register much better the whole experience. If you gobble it and ignore that you are actually eating you won't have experienced the fullness of the experience, nor will you feel full..try a food meditation!
8. front load the carbs..have your carbs for breakfast, lunch..that's it! Never..or almost never for dinner. My favorite comfort dinner? Pasta and red wine!!! could anything ruin a diet more??? So its a once a month or less treat
9. Eat early when possible..It may be socially difficult but when it is not its the best plan..
10. Dance! Vigorously! It uses calories!

Pepper Onion and Ricotta Omelette

Follow the instructions from the 3/17/2010 post for making a fluffy egg white omelette . Fill with the cooked peppers and onions posted on  11/22/2010 post..add dollops of part-skim ricotta and salt and pepper. Serve alone or with a slice of canadian bacon or turkey bacon.

Haven't been posting..here we go again!

I am as you may know blogging to keep to a good healthy plan of eating..and while I have  not been blogging much lately I have continued to stay on the plan and now intend to add all the things I have been cooking and eating..Happily I have lost 10 pounds on my diet and lowered my blood pressure considerably!
So dear readers..Thanks for your patience and I look forward to your comments and ideas in the coming months!

An Informative Article on Inflammatory and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Foods

The day after Thanksgiving my tiny bit of arthritis in my thumb joint was painful for the first time in months. Could it have been the inflammatory nature of the foods? Maybe..but either way this article was quite informative.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm

Turkey Stew from Leftovers

If you have a lot of things in the frig and some meat or poultry this is a method to re-use all those leftovers.
Seasoning it depends on what you have and is often best as a trial and error process.

Here is what I started with. Left overs in my refrigerator were: carrot and celery sticks from an open house at the shop. a small amount of sauteed onions, sauteed leeks and sauteed bell peppers, turkey. So here is what I did. Chopped the carrots and celery and added chopped onion, added salt and pepper. Sauteed all in a bit of olive oil. When softened I added a chopped red bell pepper. (if I had some mushrooms I would have added them too) Then I added in the leeks, onions and red peppers that were previously sauteed. As it browned a bit I tossed in some WhiteVermouth to deglaze the pot, ( could have used water wine or chicken broth). Next I added the turkey that I had cut into cubes, then a small amount of tomato paste from the refrigerator and a can of peeled italian plum tomatoes, crushed. I put in some parsley from the terrace and a bit of tarragon. After tasting and thinking it needed something I added a bit of ground cloves. Finally at the end I added a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. At this point It is a turkey stew, which could be covered with an number of crusts or bisquit dough. I made a corn bread to accompany and took it to a pot luck supper with my high school friends. There was enough left over to package into individual tupperware containers that I froze for future meals. If you have left over steak or pot roast this can work too. I dont thicken with flour as it is less fattening to use a bit of tomato paste or nothing at all and just reduce the liquid a bit. You could also add cubed potatoes or cooked dried beans to this and even some wilted dark leafy greens for a different version.

Chicoria or Dandelion Greens

Cicoria is found throughout Italy. It is sometimes dandelion greens and sometimes a type of chickory I can't seem to source here in New York. It is Delicious!! It is also good for you loaded with vitamin A.  Best of all it is simple to cook. I buy it at whole foods.

Plunge in a sink of cold water pumping up and down to rid it of sand. Then boil two large bunches of dandelion greens and when softened..maybe 5 or 10 minutes dump into a colander and spray with a bit of cold water to stop it from cooking.

When it is handleable take small hand fulls at a time and squeeze out all the water you can.

Take the little lumps of greens and chop roughly. Dress with tasty olive oil and sprinkle with lemon. Salt and pepper, I like red pepper flakes instead of black pepper with this. Serve

..Should yield about 4 or 5 good servings.

Here is the link to its nutrional content:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2442/2


Another version of cooked dandelion greens can be found at the following link http://italicious.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/cicoria-saltata-in-padella/

Sauteed Peppers and Sauteed Onions for Strategic Cooking

While you are finishing your morning coffee in the am you can prepare some sauteed vegetables for later use. This prepping will speed up your cooking during the week. In the next few posts I will show what I did with these.

Sauteed Peppers
Slice one red, one green, one yellow pepper.

Heat over medium high heat a T of olive oil in a large cast iron pan and toss in  the peppers. Mix occasionally and after it begins to soften, lower heat, cover and cook till softened. If it starts to dry drizzle in a little water and toss. Cool then place in containers in the frig for later use.

Follow the above recipe for onions. Take four medium or two large..slice thinly.. cook til golden but not burned..keep heat a bit higher than for the peppers and cook uncovered adding water if needed to keep it from sticking. Keep in frig for future use.

If I am making braised leeks I always use the greens. I clean the leeks as Julia Child instructs..you make a vertical slice through the greens down to the white, turn the leek a quarter turn and slice again..then under running water, hold the leek parallel to the floor of the sink not vertical to the running water which would press the sand further into the leek. Carefully open the slice, leaf by leaf, and sift out the sand under the water, turn and do again til all the grit is gone.
Then I cut across the leek a little into the green part near where it meets the white. What remains is the white with a small amount of green at the end and the green.

Simply cut the green into pieces and saute as you did the peppers and onions.

I can use this in soups or as a part of something else. I used the leek greens in egg white omelettes as a quick filling. With the rest of the leek I made braised leeks.

Store each sauteed vegetable for use later on in covered containers in the refrigerator.

nutritional content of peppers:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2537/2

nutritional content of onions:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2502/2

nutrional content of leeks:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2471/2

Cooking while I was too busy

I've just completed our exhibition at an antiques show..Modernism at the Park Avenue Armory. I've been doing well on my re-newed commitment to eat well and I wanted to continue. I already had rabbit stew in the freezer. So out it came into the frig. Then I made sure I made extra Quinoa so I could pair it as well as use it for hot cereal in the mornings. Next I sauteed bell pepper and did the same for onions. This allowed me to have the makings of a lot of stuff already made in my frig. Watch the blog for what I cooked while I did the show.

Baby Eggplant with Dill

Baby eggplants are delicious and easy to cook. You often find them at the beginning and the end of the growing season. If they are not available just cut up big ones into 2 inch by one inch pieces.

Slice tiny eggplants in half or bigger babies into quarters. Fill a baking dish with them. drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper..make sure there is enough oil so they don't stick to the pan and they are nicely covered but not so much that they are swimming. Chop a red onion and sprinkle on top. Chop up a bunch of dill and sprinkle over and mix all together with your hands. There should be a thin veil of oil but not soupy with oil!

Cover and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until it is cooked through, soft and collapsed. This takes varying times as the older eggplants cook more slowly  younger  more quickly Just make sure It looks like it does in the picture below. If you have no cover for the baking dish use aluminum foil sealed around the edges to prevent drying and burning. If it seems to be drying up and possibly sticking to the pan add small amounts of water to renew the moisture and keep it from sticking and burning..also it can be cooked at a lower temp for a longer time..say 300 degrees.

When it is cooked through leave out of the oven..covered until it is just warm ..Sprinkle with sherry or wine vinegar to taste, toss through and taste. Add a little at a time as you can't take it back!

Can be served with brown rice, meats, veggies cold or hot. It is shown here with Heritage Tomato Bruschetta. It was a yummy lunch!

Strained Greek Yogurt Dessert and Adora

Fage makes an awesome strained zero fat yogurt. It is rich and creamy and not going to clog your arteries or make you fat.

Here are some of the ways I make it into dessert:

I sweeten it with either calorie less stevia..go easy..its very sweet! or agave syrup which I like the taste of a bit better but it is 30 calories a teaspoonful. One spoonful is usually enough for a teacup of yogurt.

I have a great selection of extracts which include raspberry, lemon..both by Green Mountain and maple, vanilla, almond, rum. cruise the supermarket or specialty shops for your own flavorings

I also keep frozen blueberries..anti-oxidant and raspberries in the freezer.
If you leave them frozen when you add them in, they also provide crunchiness

I also keep sliced almonds and pignolias and walnuts in the cupboard.

Chocolate..if I have a terrific yen..I chop up an Adora chocolate and add it to my yogurt..they make dark or milk chocolate and they are actually a calcium supplement! It tastes like real dark or milk chocolate and the texture is just like real chocolate too..so even though there is a little sugar in it iyou are also getting 500 mg of Calcium plus D3 and you can chop it up into a dessert and feel righteous at the same time. At 30 calories each they are pretty terrific.

Here are some quick desserts I've made:

lemon yogurt ..add lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and sweeten. sprinkle with a few sliced almonds
maple walnut..add maple extract sweetener and crumble a few walnuts in
raspberry yogurt..add raspberry extract and frozen raspberries.
vanilla yogurt add vanilla sweetener and pignolias
or add some whole grain cheerios for the crunch..just watch your portions
or make up your own mixtures..
yogurt sweetened with almond flavoring with Adore
Let me know your favorites!

Quick Stewed Chicken Breast with Cilantro

Here is an easy way to have nice stewed chicken around for lunches or dinners. Using chicken breasts that are on the bone will give deeper chickeny flavor to this quick dish.

Buy 4 chicken breasts and take the skin off..skin is mostly fat..and with a cleaver chop each piece in half. This will give you 8 pieces each between 3 and 4 ounces a piece..which is about a proper portion if you are watching your intake.
Salt and pepper each piece. Using a Tablespoon of olive oil brown the pieces over med-high heat..just so the red outsides turn white and lightly golden. Remove from the pan lower the heat to medium and add a medium chopped onion and minced clove of garlic. Cook til softened. add chopped stems of a half bunch of cilantro cook briefly. Then add 2/3 cup of either white wine or dry vermouth and the same amount of chicken broth..bring to boil and scrape the pan a bit to de-glaze it. Then add the chicken pieces back in, cover and cook low turning every once in a while until the pieces are tender. Make sure you continue to have a nice sauce..if it starts to dry add more liquid or even water ..you want to have some to spoon over the chicken and rice after it is cooked. To serve garnish chicken with cilantro leafs and serve with either cooked quinoa or wild rice. A simple salad or cooked green vegetable will make this a well rounded healthy meal.

The Very Best Site for Nutritional Information I Have Ever Seen

I look at a lot of sites on the internet re: food and of course twentieth century furniture..after all that is my day job!
This site on nutrition gives all kinds of useful information including calories and content as well as where that food is on the glycemic index and the inflammatory index..Don't have a clue as to what I am talking about??? Then its time to get to this site and read a little!

http://nutritiondata.self.com/

It's called Self Nutrition Data and it will aid and abet whatever goals you have as regards cooking and eating healthfully.

Rabbit Stufada

Rabbit is full of flavor and low fat! It is easy to prepare and found in many places..around here Citarella always has it as do Stew Leonards.
The recipe I use is from a cook in Crete.
It is very easy and I freeze extra for later.
Cut up the rabbit or have the butcher do that for you. You want 6-8 pieces.
Dry the pieces ..salt and pepper
Brown in a tablespoon or two of olive oil
Once browned add
a can of tomato sauce
a bunch of peeled pearl onions..red ones are really good..
Half a bottle of red wine
a cinnamon stick
a bay leaf
Slowly cook til tender falling off the bone
This goes nicely with a little boiled quinoa

A salad might be made of wild baby arugula 4 or 5 broken walnuts and dressed in oil and vinegar salt and pepper

nutritional content of rabbit
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2442/2

Quinoa Chocolate Pancakes! found on the internet

So I am researching using Quinoa to make pancakes and I came across this striking recipe on a blog from Equador..check it out!

http://www.ecuadorliving.com/2010/07/17/ecuador-quinoa-chocolate-pancakes.html

I might substitute agave syup for the honey as it doesn't spike your gycemic levels. Also I would ditch the egg yolks to keep it low cholesterol..you might then need to add a mashed banana as those yolks add texture..but my guess is between the chocolate and the yolks this is not a recipe that is good for those with cholesterol or diet  issues. Making my subsitutions if they work..This is trial and error..will keep it healthy for dieters..If bananas don't worktry low fat buttermilk w can be purchased fresh or powdered.

Tomatillo Egg white Omelette

This omelette is very tasty, rich and low in calories, salt, but loaded with flavor and nutrition!

To start follow the instructions I gave on March 13th 2010 as to how to make an egg white omelette that is fluffy.
This time I used 3 large egg whites.
Before you make the omelette you will need to make tomatillo sauce..something in which you can also cook poultry or fish or shrimp.

you will need a cup of tomatillo cut into 1/4 inch pieces..
1 T minced jalapeno
2 T minced shallot
1 t minced garlic
2 T chopped cilantro
1/8 t ground cumin
2 T pepitas...dried pumpkin seeds..look in the health food store
1/4 c chicken stock

In a tablespoon of olive oil sweat the shallots, jalapeno, and garlic til softened..then add tomatillos cilantro and cumin and cover and cook slow to soften up..10 or more minutes..must be mushy
then cool slightly and add to mini prep with pepitas and grind..add broth..Thats the sauce!

Then  slice up some bell pepper thinly and cook in a t oil with 1 T minced jalapeno to soften..drip in  a bit of water to keep cooking and not browning..when softened its done

Rough grate about 2 T Cabot's 50% reduced fat cheddar cheese

Make the egg white omelette and when mostly done..put 2 tablespoons of sauce on top and sprinkle the cheese..cover pan  to melt the cheese

lift out carefully and fold over in a plate and sprinkle with bell peppers
Yum!

Beet Greens from the Farmer's Market with Turkey

Great Tacos from Bueno Foods and Great Ricotta from Salvatore Brooklyn

Sunday breakfast I would have pancakes, or french toast or something terribly sweet and yummy..still I have all those clothes in the closet that my tummy won't get into..soo I made a sweet egg white omelette. Using the basic recipe I filled it with a small amount..tablespoon..of Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta cheese and sugerless plum jam...use your own jams without sugar..Then I folded it over in the plate and dipped a fork into the honey jar..let some fall back in and quickly drizzled a tiny amount over the top surface..I sprinkled it with a few almond slices which stick nicely to the honey..II love this omelette because it is sweet but not a diet breaker.

Since yesterday I did no exercise today I need to re-commit and stay with my program..I went to yoga after breakfast, loosened up a bit. After lunch I will head off to the treadmill for 30 minutes of cardio..a short intense workout..bringing my ipod so the time goes pleasantly. no need to suffer..I will listen to Bridet Blucher..caribbean gospel.

Lunch was leftovers..a bean taco..this time with lots of chopped cilantro and lettuce, avocado fat free sour cream salsa fresh jalapeno..take a look at the basic recipe..you can alter to suit just keep in mind calories fat and salt..mine was delightful fast and filling

In Manhattan Salvatore Brooklyn Ricotta ..a spendid artisanal ricotta is only sold at the Essex Street Market. It is one of my "treat" foods..lusciously rich it has 40 calories and 3 grams of fat per ounce..If I carefully stay beneath one ounce I can have some ever few days and still be eating low fat low calories..

The organic stone ground low fat corn tortilla I am using is also available at the Essex Street Market. It is made by Buenatural..www.buenofoods.com its delicious since 3 are only 140 calories. Using one is just 46 calories! the fat content for 3 tortillas is 2 grams so again it is a good choice.

Salad Tips..

Mark Bittman has written an article in the New York Times July 21, 2009   titled

101 Simple Salads for the Season

it is a great resource for anyone wanting to eat well cook simply and watch their weight.

Here is the link to the article 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?scp=1&sq=101%20salads&st=cse

If the link does not work just go to www.nyt.com and search the archive for the article. 

Easy Fennel Salad from the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Restaurant in Rome

Here is a lovely easy salad recently served to me in Rome.
Thinly slice a juice orange. Cut each slice in half and decorate the edge of a plate with these slices curved side out. Then with a Benriner..a japanese type mandolin..a hand slicer that makes paper thin slices easily, slice up a bunch of fennel. Drizzle good olive oil on the plate. Pile the fennel in the middle over the oil. Place a few pieces of grapefruit and orange over the mound. Drizzle thick aged balsamic vinegar..not too much..over the fruit and fennel.
and Voila! a wonderful salad with barely a calorie.

Leftover Salad

So at Passover I cooked up some lamb shanks..in red wine forever..a little to forever as I slightly burned them. I also made some chick peas thinking to make a chick pea and lamb recipe..but I never did so now I had both and they were aging in the frig..

I am of the opinion we should eat what we want..if the item is fattening then eat tiny portions but have some.

Here is what I did.
Using a bit of good aged balsamic I took tiny bits of the meat..heated up..and chick peas..also heated up. Then I let them sit while I put the last of the salad greens from Passover with some sliced fennel and slices of red pepper and half an apple. I sliced the fennel and apple with my Benriner.. more on this wonderful tool later..I tossed a tablespoon of good olive oil and a bit more balsamic and then added the peas and lamb. It made for a delicious and a little rich salad..I used only a tablespoon or two of chick peas and of lamb so it wasn't a diet breaker..it just tasted like one.

more water..must keep hydrating..

Quick Good Oatmeal

This oatmeal is a prepared a little differently..I saw this done one morning in Portland Oregon and realized it was a vast improvement from the glue one thinks of as rolled oats.

I like Bob's Red Mill extra thick rolled oats. I cook it in boiling slightly salted water..bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. Add half a cup of oats..(traditional directions call for way too much water!).. and stir..cook quickly at first then lower heat..should be all done in 5 minutes. the oats are cooked through the when the water is absorbed but it does not become gluey..I like to add a few currents and a few sliced almonds a teaspoon of agave syrup and some hot skim milk.

Help!! I've fallen

So I've fallen off the wagon of good diet and excercise. Passover and a number of stressors have all contributed. I imagine, I am now only a couple of pounds lighter than when I started. UGH!

Well two steps forward one step back. I am re-commiting..I walked two laps around the park yesterday and then failed on the diet..blondies! wine! definitely not on the program.

today I will try once more..Off to a slow start I went to the park and played with the dog..scant excercise and plan on walking 20 blocks to the store.

Meanwhile I am drinking my water and had a small slice of whole wheat toast with a small serving of ricotta. I have chicken soup that I made for Passover and think I might bring it to the shop for lunch..sans the matza balls but with some salad and chicken in the soup..

Not easy dieting but definitely a must!

I am still training so that is good.

More later on the progress. Maybe some recipes..stay tuned!

Spritz'

I am always on the lookout for how to get myself to hydrate. Water is nutritionally best but sometimes I need something more interesting.

Think bubbly water and juice and experiment. Here are a few ideas.

Make Hybiscus tea..from health food stores..chill and use half Pellegrino and half tea..2 thin slices juice orange and a sprig of mint..muddle briefly with a bit of ice..

Mix 1/4 pomegranate juice and 3/4 bubbly water

Use a bit of flavored syrup and bubbly water..I like linden flowers. go easy on the syrup as it is full of sugar but a tablespoon or so is enough to transform a large glass of water into a nice little alcohol free cocktail

Experiment with Verjus..this is the unfermented grape juice which if fermented it would be wine. It is a bit tart and added to sparkling water makes and excellent sophisticated alcohol free aperetif

Tuna Salad with eggless Mayo!

Well its been a busy week. I did do some more cooking but because I was out a lot and also not feeling too well I cooked less. I ate out..always more challenging for my diet.. so I will start Monday a little up from my low weight but still I have lost 4 pounds since 10 days ago..which is still good progress.

I went to the Union Square Green Market on Saturday and the health food store today so I am ready to start cooking again tomorrow.

I bought two brands of eggless Mayonaise. They are acceptable if you are trying to control your cholesterol and lower calorie than an eggbased product.
I taste tested them and  there was a very clear difference. The Spectrum tasted much better than the Nayonaise. Both had 35 calories a tablespoon and 3.5 grams of fat

I made a tuna salad.

 I bought American line caught tuna, labeled American Tuna

 www.americantuna.com  

 Generally the tuna caught in the USA that is line caught is thought to be smaller and therefore have less time to develop a high mercury count.  American Tuna is a group of family fishermen and women who are committed to not killing Dolphin while fishing for Tuna.  I feel like I would rather pay a little more for this tuna cooked in its own juices tuna than trust that in Thailand or other far away nations they are so concerned with the mercury levals or saving dolphins. It also is great quality and fresher tasting to me.

Tuna Salad 2 servings

One can of tuna
Juice of one lemon or to taste
Chopped celery 2 stalks
2 tablespoons eggless mayo
Cherry tomatoes sliced in half and marinated in balsamic vinegar
Slice of organic whole grain bread from Le Pain Quotidien

www.lepainquotidien.com

This company serves organic whole grain breads and lots of really good things. They have calorie counts to aid us all and lovely communal tables where we can meet eachother..Nice!!

Mix and serve on lettuce with the tomatoes marinated in balsamic vinegar and  a slice of whole wheat toast

Today I saw a tuna salad with halved green grapes and a bit of toasted walnut..it was really good!!!

Read Your Labels! Buy From the Farmers!

Labels tell us what products contain and where they are from. I am adding a link regarding organic foods and why it's important to monitor closely what you buy and eat. If you have a farmer's market near you my guess is that is where you will buy the food that is grown with the most care but be aware that even there it is possible to buy foods that are grown in the mass culture of agribusiness. Ask whether the "farmer" has grown this vegetable, egg, meat themselves and whether they are free range, authentically organic, what pesticides if any they use..as you become familiar with these ideas it becomes clear the more you know the better you eat. I am adding two links. One a filmed article on organic food that comes from places like China and Mexico..not bastions of environmental purity. The other a link to the grow NY site which is full of great ideas about growing food and has schedules of  when and where the green markets we have in the metropolitan manhattan area are happening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=JQ31Ljd9T_Y

http://www.cenyc.org/

Cooking for One a great blog on the NYT!

Here is a great link to healthy easy cooking

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/a-more-healthful-dinner-for-one/

Turkey Wrapped Sweet Potato and Fennel Salad, Bean and Kale Soup

Started the day off with Oatmeal..

recipe

1/2 cup Bob's Red Hill organic extra thick rolled oats..The best I have found!

1 cup of water

boil quickly til almost dry..watch the pot or you will burn it

add hot skim milk, agave syrup, a little currents and a little sliced almonds

Coffee with hot skim milk and Agave syrup

low glycemic agave syrup tastes great and doesn't spike your glycemic levels. It is the same calories as you get in cane sugar but doesn't have the effect of making you hungrier later as does cane sugar

Lunch

Salad:

mixed mescalun greens with shavings of fresh fennel dressed with lemon juice and good tasting extra virgin olive oil pepper and a few flakes of sea salt

Shopping in New York City is a joy

Fairway allows you to taste different olive oils daily and sells large great bottles for 12 to 15 dollars..your food is only as good as the individual ingredients you use..especially if the recipe is simple and ingredient driven

Main Course

a sly diet copy of a recipe by Mark Bittman seen on video at the NYT.com website..he makes sweet potato wrapped with proscuito

Sweet potatoes are recommended in stage two South Beach Diet because they are not as starchy as white potatoes and again are low on the glycemic index..something integral to the diet, so I decided to slightly change Mr. Bittman's recipe substituting turkey bacon for the somewhat higher fat of proscuitto.

Here is what I made

peel and slice a medium sweet potato

parboil til medium tender..not too much so it stays together and can be baked again

roll in a bit of olive oil and salt very slightly as the bacon is already salty

place a fresh sage leaf against the potato and wrap a slice of applegate farms turkey bacon around each piece laying them loosely into a baking pan..drizzle a tiny bit more oil into the pan and rotating the pan around to distribute oil under the wraps.

bake 450 for 20 or so minutes..you want little crusty edges to form. I had three of the wraps which was quite filling for lunch after eating the salad and will have the remaining 3 pieces next week for a lunch. or even for breakfast.

the potato is about 170 calories..half ends up one serving and the bacon is 35 calories per slice with 1.5 grams of fat so a serving for lunch might amount to more or less 300 calories!

skipped the gym today as it was pouring all day

Dinner at 7 pm a little late

Bean and Kale Soup

I cut the leaves off and put just the leaves in boiling water to parboil. Then I lifted the leaves from the pot put them in a colander and ran cold water over them to cool..then squeezed out the water and chopped up..then reduced the water to about 5 cups of liquid.

Next, in a tablespoon of oil I sauteed a medium onion and two minced cloves of garlic and salt, adding a bit of broth and a bit of water, two cans of navy beans two sprigs of rosemary two sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf as well as enough of the reduced water to cover the beans simmer 20 minutes or so. Then I put it all into my cuisinart after removing the rosemary, thyme and bayleaf and puree the beans and liquid in batches til smooth. I put it back in a pot and added the kale strips to warm it..if you need extra liquid add kale stock or a bit of water.season with lots of pepper and salt to taste.

I like it topped with croutons. Just a few..this is after all a diet!

Fried croutons

a small piece of french bread I took from the freezer and thawed.

in a small frying pan, I cooked a clove of garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Removed the clove of garlic and I added the bread cut into croutons. Cooked slowly til brown. Just before it is ready turn off heat and cool in the pan then drain them on paper. When they are cool they can be stored in the cupboard in a covered glass jar.

Kept drinking my water..lots of water is really good for a diet.

Tomorrow morning cardio then Yoga.

And I have lots of leftovers for meals.

Black Bean Tacos

Thursday evening I had plans to go to a lecture at 7. Having finished work at 6 this was a tight schedule. I had just commited myself to keep to an eating and exercise plan whose goal was to be thinner by 10 or so pounds down the road. That meant I needed to eat before 7 or so if I was to not wear dinner on my hips..more on the general diet excercise program which works for me in a seperate entry..So, I priorised eating dinner over arriving exactly on time and made the following:

Black bean tacos

One organic corn tortilla..available in good spanish stores..I bought mine in the essex street market downtown..then heated it up in a teflon pan tossing both sides til its warmed through.

Put it on a salad plate. Top with one pan fried eggwhite lettuce, black beans, a tablespoon of grated Cabots 50% reduced fat sharp chedder cheese, Green Mountain Gringo Salsa..I like hot, two tablespoons Cabots no fat Sour Cream. Yum! diet, quick filling and satisfying.

and I was ready for a night out..and kept to my diet plans!

Deborah Madison makes a recipe which is called Black Beans with Chipotle.. I cannot reproduce her recipe but it is a really easy concept.. Chipotle chiles in adobo are available in the spanish section of the supermarket. If you combine them..one chile per 2 small cans of beans with onion and a bit of fresh cilantro,chopped tomato..canned or otherwise you can use these for many things that are good for you. I like to use organic beans..canned are easier but dry can be used provided you soak overnight and cook til soft. then if I saute onions I use trace olive oil to start at a slow heat adding tiny amounts of water til they are softened a bit..then just add the rest and make a mush that is neither very dry nor soupy..all this takes is 15 minute and this can sit in a plastic container in the fridge for when you want to use it various ways.

Turkey Meatballs, Quinoa Cereal, Kale Soup,

So the diet is going very well. Thanks to blogging I am staying focused and I have lost 5.5 pounds since Wednesday! Most of this is water loss as it is not reasonable to assume it to be fat but it is an exceptional start for me.  For breakfast I made quinoa as a cereal. Quinoa is an ancient grain that has the highest quantity of protein of any grain..It is thought of as a supergrain and tasty and easy to make. You can read about it on the web or if you want to know about grains there is a wonderful book called Whole Grains by Lorna Sass which has lots of information about all those grains we should know more about and start incorporating into our meals. I put the quinoa in a strainer and wash with cold water a few times. Then I cook it in lots of boiling water til it is plumped up.. 15 minutes or less.  then just strain it and use or put into tupperware and refrigerate,for use later. Don't cook til mush as it is not as pleasant that way. The first time I cooked it I saw white threads in it which I thought were worms in the grain and tossed it out. These are the parts of the grain/seed that would sprout! I find it a tasty grain for cereals and salads and will include recipes for you as I go. For cereal I put about half a cup cooked and mix with hot skim milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, sliced almonds and currents. Btw cinnamon is good for lowering cholesterol. Use the nuts and currents thoughtfully. While they are good for you too they are not low cal. This is one of those breakfasts that gives me lots of energy!

Lunch was a mug of bean and kale soup made over the weekend with a few croutons.

Dinner was a salad of greens and cucumbers, fennel, tomato, with a great fat free dressing I learned from the Canyon Ranch people.

And meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

a 1.3 pound package of lean ground turkey. 2 eggs, ¾ cut freshly made breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons chopped italian parsley, salt and pepper

mix all together lightly

in a medium large skillet place 3 tablespoons olive oil and two crushed garlic cloves..Heat til cloves are lightly browned. Discard the cloves and over medium heat fry meatballs.. as one side browns turn carefully with a wooden spoon. You should have made about 36 small size meatballs and they should fit comfortably in the skillet. When they are browned on all sides, drain as much of the fat as it possible. Then add chicken broth to halfway up the sides of the meatballs and a cup of chopped canned Italian tomato. Cook rolling the meat balls in the broth over medium low heat until it forms a light covering with a little sauce with bits of tomoatoe in it.

Serving size is 6 meatballs per person. There are roughly 6 grams of fat per serving and about 200 calories.

Fat Free Dressing for salads Green or Quinoa

mix together 1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 cups apple cider 

1/4 cup of agave syrup

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon of sea salt

put it all in a jar in the frig and remove the cinnamon after marinating over night. It seems to keep indefinitely in my frig.

Morning snack was an apple I grabbed on my way to 30 minutes of cardio
evening snack was not health food but good for my sweet tooth..fat free no sugar instant vanilla pudding with a teaspoon of rum and some nutmeg..think fake eggnog!

Bean Taco and Chicken Curry and Plum Omelette

Got up this morning thinking I wanted a sweet breakfast..Sundays always seem to be days for french toast or pancakes..That would definitely mess up my plans for weight loss. I decided to make an old favorite. Ricotta and Plum Omelette
Here is the recipe:

Using the egg white omelette directions from an earlier blog.Make the egg white omelette. place good ricotta cheese in small pieces over the surface of the omelette and then add two or three teaspoons of sugarless jam..I used plum..lift out the omelette and fold on the plate..dip a fok into a jar of honey and let drip into jar then quickly wave over the top of the omelette and attach some sliced almonds to it..salt and pepper to taste..Yum!

I use Ricotta from a company called Salvatore Brooklyn.

www.salvatorebklyn.com

it has 40 calories per ounce and 3 grams of fat. I use just a small amount..less than one ounce and I buy it at the Essex Street Market



Then off to yoga class..boy am in inflexible..But, I am working on it.

Lunch was Bean Taco..this time with lots of cilantro and 1/4 cup cut up avocado and lots of fresh jalapeno.. Note the jalapeno is optional but remember if you like spice it speeds your metabolism and makes you prone to drinking more water. You can see the basic recipe for the taco in an earlier blog.

the delicious tortilla I use, made by Buenatural has 47 calories per tortilla and less than a gram of fat. it is available at the Essex Street Market and costs $1.79 for 12 tortillas. They are organic and made of stone ground corn..

web address is www.buenofoods.com

After lunch and posting to the blog I went to the gym and walked/jogged on the treadmill for 20 minutes..

I needed a snack before dinner..a cup of no fat vanilla yogurt with a few sliced almonds..I like stoney field organic..I'm partial to vanilla..which I also use as a sauce for berries and lemon and coffee..I dont like the chocolate as it has too much flavored gunk on the bottom of the cup.

Dinner was Chicken curry with Brown Rice Cake

Slice thin, across the grain, two or three ounces of partially frozen boneless skinless chicken breast. In an iron pan or teflon add a teaspoon or so of olive oil..cook briefly just to whiten. Remove from pan..add another teaspoon oil and cook, vegetables that you have lying around in the frig..I had..red peppers..sliced 1/8 inch thick and celery I cut on the Benriner, an inexpensive useful tool from japan..more on this one later. I added a teaspoon of curry powder and a pinch of ground cloves and a shake of ginger and mixed it up. Then I added water to keep it from burning and reduced it. When the water was drying and the veggies were not yet cooked I added more liquid. Here you can use imagination..water, chicken broth, white wine or vermouth even a little cider vinegar..but if you use vinegar don't use cast iron or you will ruin the seasoning of the pan. Next I added small pieces of fresh mango and a touch of hot sauce. When the veggies were al dente I added the chicken back just to heat through as they are very thin thats all they need..I leave a small amount of "sauce" in the mix.

I had brown rice cakes in the freezer and cooked them direct from the freezer in a slow/medium no stick pan with a thin coating of oil..maybe two teaspoons..

I make these cakes from leftover brown rice

1 cup brown rice
1 egg white
mix
add grated parmesan and 2 tablespoons low or no fat cottage cheese..I like axelrod cottage cheese the best but any brand will work..use good parmesan as it has the best flavor.
then I take about a 1/4 cup or a little less of the mix and place it into wax paper and fold it up after flattening the mixture to a square roughly 3.5 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. I then put these packages in the freezer and use as needed. I cook them until brown and crunchy on each side.

Last snack was a half grapefruit. Grapefruits are great diet foods and if you get great ones they need no sugar at all.

Food Thoughts

Ok so I will be frank..I have avoided this diet forever. My clothes from 5 years ago don't fit and I am unhappy about it.

Deciding to blog, while doing, is helping me to stay on track about sensible eating and exercise..I only hope if anyone reads this, that it will help them to re-set their patterns too.

Some History

Years ago..diagnosed with higher than acceptable cholesterol levels I devised this diet..I did it because..I did not want to go on lipitor and ended up losing about 20 pounds and lowering my cholesterol by 120 points! My doctor told me I was the poster child.

I did it by eating a low fat high fiber diet. But I love to eat so I did it my way. Fast easy to make meals that were very tasty. I am a food lover so food has to be delicious or I won't eat it! Period!

I read Dean Ornish..Dr. Ornish advises his patients to give up meat and eat vegetarian. Good advice but not for me.

I used some of his ideas..while he advocates ceasing eating meat..I couldn't manage that, so I started considering using meats as tasty treats rather than the main thing on my plate. He advised a varied vegetarian diet rich in grains and vegetables. This I did buy into. After all, I had cooked wonderfully for my vegan daughter.

I also consulted and used the South Beach Diet, a very good diet in my opinion. The main thing I took away from that diet was information about glycemic levels..I am not an expert..not a nutritionist or chef so please take this as one woman's idea, but..essentially I learned that there were foods higher or lower on the glycemic index. Glycemic being about the foods' ability to spike your insulin levels thereby causing you to become even more hungry shortly after. I cook with foods, low glycemic foods because the higher level foods set you up to become hungry again sooner and one of my goals is to eat so I feel full. I hate being hungry.

Whole grains and leafy green vegetables are good for us and help lower cholesterol. They are also slower to digest and therefore make us feel full longer as well as keep our digestion functioning longer..using calories to do so. But very few of us know how to prepare them well, so that they taste reat and are easy to fix.

I try to keep my overall fat intake on the low sided and think about where those fats are from. I use good tasting extra virgin olive oil and avoid eating servings of cheese.Like meat, I use cheese as a condiment. Butter is another thing I try to avoid, using it only for flavor and in minute amounts. Small amounts of nuts, seed and avocado give us variety in the type of fats we eat and are good..As in 1/4 cut avocado or 8 almonds..not the whole bag!

Eating this way makes me feel more energetic and a sustained diet like the one I am describing, coupled with regular exercise seems to be what will keep my cholesterol, blood pressure and weight in check.

I am not into cooking every day or in a complicated manner so the simple things I cook, I use later for leftover based meals.

I try to drink lots of water. If I haven't been doing it for a while, I have to build up. At first it feels impossible but after a while I can drink a lot of water. The easiest test to see if you are drinking enough water is the color of your pee. It should be clear or pale..not dark. Dark indicates you are dehydrated.

I find alcohol impedes my diet in a number of ways. Liquor is empty nutritionless calories. It slows my metabolism and I lose my will power. A friend said it like this, "If I drink I will have the rice pudding for dessert" Also Isleep badly if I drank so my body does not have a chance to recouperate at night. So while I love good wine, I need to limit my intake.

Finally, I have made the connection that cooking healthy, tasty food for myself, serving it attractively and focusing on it while I eat it , it is honoring myself three times a day.

As Julia Child would say, Bon Appetit!

What this blog is about

This blog is about cooking, eating and feeling and looking well. It is also about enjoying your life. In it will be ramblings of what I cooked and if it tasted good. My goal is to bring to others a lifetime of simple home cooking and exercise ideas that will be both easy tasty and possible to achieve. I invite others to add their experiences and ideas.

About me.

I am a longtime home cook and exerciser. I love great tasty food. I don't love food that tastes so wholesome but not yummy. I use mostly healthy ingredients and steal from every cuisine and cookbook. I will whenever I know credit the original makers of recipes and sometimes add my own take on their really good ideas..My life of travels and gardening and an aesthetic interest in food as well as my interest in being slim..not always achieved..has led me through a lot of vegetarian and diet oriented cookbooks. These days I am only interested in cooking easy to make, good tasting foods, that will allow me to go back to fighting weight. So follow along with my diet and exercise efforts and please send in your favorite tips as well.