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!