Eating At A Buffet

Do you know the difference of putting food items on a salad plate instead of on a dinner plate? The result is portion size. When you fool your brain into thinking that you ate a full meal, less does become more. A good result from it will happen. When, you are able to get into a pair of jeans or pants that once hung on a hanger because you couldn’t fit into them.

The salad plate doesn’t mean for you to fill up two or three of them. It means to put cold salad items on one salad plate such as more lettuce and greens and less of the side items.It also means using less salad dressing. Then, put a piece of meat, fish or fowl and a vegetable on another salad plate. Dessert should be fresh fruit. It is hard to control portions when there are so many food items to choose from. Weight wise and health wise, it a must factor for consuming less food. The next time that you make the trip to your favorite buffet place try eating something different. Using, the same principle again. The results from it will amaze you.

Lemon Risotto

Calories per serving of Lemon Risotto
80 calories of White Rice, medium grain, 78 calories of Parmesan Cheese, grated,
59 calories of Butter, unsalted,
30 calories of Olive Oil
10 calories of Chicken Broth, per 1- cup
7 calories of White Wine,
4 calories of Shallots, chopped
2 calories of Lemon Juice,
1 calories of Lemon Peel,
0 calories of Parsley, chopped

The Brownie Factor

It’s hard to turn-down a homemade brownie from a resturant or a bakery. They are so delicious. However, they are loaded with 382-calories for a large sized piece.
A trick: Cut the brownie into fourths. Then, the calories become 95.5 for each of the fourth sized pieces.

Winning Something-But Losing The Battle Of The Bulge

Its amazing-Teams coming from behind to win something. We get so caught up in it. We forget and stuff endless fattening goodies down our mouths. Waking up to the fact, the old belly and butt are a lot wider because of it.
Remember: Use caution- Eat the same stuff in smaller portions. It works!!! Your belly and butt will thank you.

Cooking Without Salt-Series I

Lemon Pepper Grilled Fish-
Brown & White Rice Mixture
Fresh Green Beans With Lime, Butter Seasoned With Basil

For Fish: Spray both sides with Pam Olive Oil Spray, season with Mrs. Dash Lemon-Pepper seasoning
Spray George Forman Griddle or Grills with olive oil spray. Cook on both sides until almost cooked through.
Spray a rectangular baking dish with olive oil spray-place almost cooked fish into it-cover with foil . Bake at 350 degrees until cooked through-(about twenty-five minutes)
For mixed rices: 2-cups water, one-fourth cup brown and one-fourth cup white equlals one-half cup of rice. Cook on low until no more liquid is left. (spoon test) lightly press a teaspoon into the rice,if no liquid appears, the rice is cooked through. Add 1/2-tsp.-Smart Balance butter and 1/2-tsp. parmasean cheese.
For fresh green beans: 1-2lbs fresh green beans, rinse and remove ends-boil 1/2 water, spray water with olive oil spray and season water with Mrs. Dash original seasoning. Add raw green beans. Steam them until fork tender. Add butter, basil and squeeze some fresh lime juice into them.About 1/2 of a lime.

A light and delicious meal without seasoning with salt!

Salad Debate

Fast food salads: Order a garden salad or Caesar salad without meat or bacon ask for a fat-free or light salad dressing. The sodium count in most fast food salads are alarming high. The best lunch is a hamburger on a wheat bun with mustard and a side salad with lower calorie salad dressing. A meal with some protein helps to combat hunger pangs. Keep Yoplait light flavored yogurts close by for dessert.

Hot Summertime Eating

It’s getting hotter. However, changing eating habits have never been easier. More emphasis are placed on fresh produce ingredients steamed, roasted or just eaten raw in salads. The transition from heavier winter fare to lighter summer ingredients result in less weight gain.
Taking cues from a Bon Appetit-”Islands Of The Mediterranean ” Issue, May 2002, it has a lot of delicious recipes from the different regions where the hot summer days focus on creative ways to use local ingredients.
Of course, Mediterranean recipes are found online.
Grilled chicken, meat and fish along with different rice’s and pasta’s. Don’t forget the olives and lemon slices to squeeze over everything.
Desserts: Fresh fruits, cheeses with some honey and toasted almonds.
Use lighter wines and mixed drinks made with rum and soda, garnished with a slice of lemon
What a fun and healthy way to spend the summer!!!

Blood Pressure

Sometimes, it’s important to get blood pressure checked. Whenever that happens, please ask what your blood pressure range is. If, it is less than 120/80-Normal, 120/80 thru 140/90-At Risk For High Blood Pressure. Anything higher is a greater risk for hypertension stages 1 and stages 2. When mine was checked because I had the beginnings of head congestion due to the extreme change in the weather. Mine was 126/80. Although, I cook natural and healthy foods. I was sure it was due to holiday stress. My goal is to get it back down below 120/80 range. The best way is to eat lean meats, chicken and fish all broiled. Use Mrs Dash for seasoning. Eat fresh fruits and leafy green vegetables. Perhaps, the next time It’s checked. It’ll be back to normal.

New Year’s Resolution!!!

Resolutions. Especially those made with good intentions are the same as traveling to the road down below. Yes, even me broke with my usual light food menu and made a side dish of roasted asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce. The trick to making it become like it should. Adding the teaspoon of chopped cold butter into the already cooked butter on low heat with the egg yolks. After they were combined, I immediately stuck the pan into a bowl of cold water and added the cold butter, the lemon juice and the water. I even used a pinch of terragon for taste and color.
After all, it was Christmas day and I wanted to impress my company. Which I did. The recipe can be found online
Or, from Julia Child’s “Mastering The Art Of French Cooking”. Of course, I don’t intend to go through all of the book
and become famous for it. I had the two books years before the movie “Julie & Julia” was filmed.
Roasted Asparagus Minus The Sauce-I love cooking it this way and most of the time eat it like this.
1-bunch asparagus, Pam Olive Oil Spray, Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning
Directions: Rinse Asparagus and cut off the very ends, In a small baking dish: Put the asparagus into it and spray the olive oil making sure it is well covered. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash and cover with foil. Broil at 350-degrees for at least twenty-five minutes. Check with a fork for desired doneness. This is delicious!! Enjoy!!

Liquid Breakfast

Not really a breakfast eater, a breakfast smoothie from Starbucks fills the bill. Since breakfast is an important meal, it is better to drink it than eat it.
a (tall) 12oz banana chocolate smoothie has only 181 calories, 3.2gr fat and 29 gr carbs. A (Grande) 16oz. Vivano smoothie has 280 Calories, 1.5 gr fat, 56 gr carbs.
For a more satisfying breakfast, filling and yet low-calorie. Try a Yoplait light flavored yogurt-banana cream pie or key lime pie. It’s only a hundred calories adding a half banana sliced.