Salad Anyone?

Spring makes me start to crave salads. And since I don't like to ingest high fructose corn syrup or high levels of sodium or things with names I can't pronounce, I make a lot of my own dressings.

What you need ...

A blender. Yup, you can just whisk the items in, but I'm lazy and it takes too long. I love my blender!
A glass storage container. Mostly I just use mason jars with screw top lids. But you can also use well-washed bottles from purchased dressings. Or I also like those bottles you can buy from Good Seasons to make their dressing. But make your own instead of theirs, and that way you know that the ingredients are fresh and without chemicals.

A friend was asking about reducing sodium in her diet. She was stunned by the amount of sodium in her favorite commercial dressing. Please note that although these do all have salt in them, in general you can minimize the amount you use. Remember it is dispersed through the entire bottle, and not just one serving. And use sea salt so that way you are getting extra minerals that Morton's iodized doesn't have. And a little goes a long way!

Also keep in mind that anything with EVOO in the base will solidify in the fridge. So it will need to be taken out of the fridge a bit before eating.

Basic Vinaigrette
1 small clove of garlic, peeled, and mashed together with
2-3 pinches of salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 minced shallot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and ground pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
(*Makes about 1 1/2 cups)

Basic Reduced-Fat Vinaigrette
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and ground pepper to taste
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
(*Makes about 1 1/2 cups)

To make "Italian" add ...
2 Tablespoons grated romano or parmesean cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh)
Pinch (1/8 teaspoon) dried oregano (or 1/4 teaspoon fresh)
Pinch (1/8 teaspoon) red pepper flakes
Pinch of sugar or substitute

Be creative when adding extras ... you really can't do it wrong!
*Add 1/3 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs.
*Add chopped sun dried tomatos, chopped pitted Kalamata olives, and capers.
*Add chopped walnuts and crumbled bleu cheese.
*Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest and 2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns.
*Swap the vinegar. Try some balsamic or herb infused vinegar.

Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
(excellent on salad with spinach, mandarin oranges, walnuts, and grilled chicken or fish)
1 small clove of garlic, peeled, and mashed together with
2-3 pinches of salt
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 Tablespoons minched peeled fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspooon toasted sesame oil
salt and hot red pepper sauce to taste
1/2 cup canola or olive oil

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
(*this is one of my FAVORITES and reportedly the original Hidden Valley Ranch recipe!)
1 small clove of garlic, peeled, and mashed together with
2-3 pinches of salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (full-fat, reduced fat, or fat free -- your choice)
2-3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives
salt and ground black pepper to taste
*If it's too watery for your tastes, you can add mayo or sour cream to thicken it.

Enjoy!

*Please note that these recipes are not my own creation, but rather come from the book I turn to when I need nearly any recipe: Joy of Cooking. It has anything and everything you might ever want to make. Beignets? Passover Sponge Cake? Guacomole? It's all in there!

The Metabolic Repair Manual

If you have been dieting FOREVER and have been unable to reach your goals, it is likely your fault. In other words, it is unlikely that your metabolism is slow or broken. But for some of you, it might be. In the past there was no solution for you besides "eat" and "sleep". But now Leigh Peele has written a comprehensive manual on how to safely get your metabolism fired up again. I highly recommend it as a great step toward breaking the constant diet cycle and getting on the road to good health.

Click here to get the Metabolic Repair Manual. Do it ... for your health.

Food as Medicine?

John LaPuma, MD has a new book out called ChefMD's" Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Getting Really Healthy. His theory is that much of modern disease (outside of infectious) is caused by poor eating habits. This book goes into great detail about the healthiest foods to eat and even offers up specific foods for specific illnesses. A great step toward improving your health, in my opinion.

Stress Much?

Life in the 21st century seems to zoom along much faster than it did in past generations. We are so connected at all times ... cell phones, PDAs, computers, satellite radio, etc. that gone are the days when you had to wait until the 6:00 news to receive any sort of update on the world or where you could have a nice relaxing walk in the park without your cell phone ringing. We don't ever give our minds time to just be quiet.

More and more people are suffering from sleep disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. I often hear from clients that they have trouble sleeping because they can't get their minds to shut off.

As a lifelong yoga practitioner, I thank my mother daily for teaching me how to meditate from a young age. I know how to get my brain to stop the ceaseless chatter that keeps you up at night. And you can too.

The folks over at PracticalYoga.tv have a some nice tips about releasing tension.

• Decrease caffeine consumption. Caffeine is a stimulant, so if you are drinking more than 8-16 ounces per day, it could be keeping you up at night. Current conventional wisdom states to limit coffee consumption to 16 ounces per day and before noon. If you rely on it for an afternoon pick-me-up, instead try a healthy snack of a piece of fruit and a small handful of some heart-healthy nuts. This will stabilize your blood sugar and help you avoid that Tall Americano.


• Turn off the TV at least 1 hour before bedtime. Especially if you are staying up to watch shows that get your adrenaline pumping like LOST or Jericho. Better to Tivo those shows to watch other times like when you are on the treadmill.


• Read before bed, especially inspirational books. They will get your brain ready for sleep by releasing feel-good chemicals in your brain. Save the Stephen King for daytime hours.


• Limit your consumption of overly refined foods, especially white flour and sugar. Besides offering little in the way of nutritional value, these foods have a powerful impact on rapidly elevating and then crashing your blood sugar throwing your hormonal system out of balance. A diet high in these foods can impact sleep/rest issues by having chronically elevated or depleted levels of certain hormones. Instead eat a diet high in whole, natural, unrefined foods. Fruits and vegetables. Lean proteins. Healthy fats. Whole grains. Legumes.
  
• Start meditating. All it takes is 10 minutes a day to have a profound physiological and psychological effect on your body. Some benefits include decreased anxiety, improved mood, reduced cardiac risk, enhanced immune system, and increased overall energy. I like to have my clients listen to audio guided meditations especially when they are first learning. There are two free podcasts that I think are great. The Meditation Podcast and The Meditation Station Podcast.

Now go take a hot bath, put aside your worries, and de-stress.

How to Incorporate More Movement into Your Life

We all need to move more. Modern life is such that we spend large stretches of day sitting or reclining and barely burning above our basal metabolic rate. How can you move more without having to set aside 1-2 hours daily for activity?

• Park in the furthest parking spot instead of the closest
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Stand whenever you can for easy tasks like reading your mail or reading the newspaper (spread out on the kitchen counter)
• Be inefficient - instead of filling your arms and taking only one trip, take several trips
• Go talk face to face with a coworker instead of sending an email

These might seem like simple things, and they are, but over the course of a week or month you might be surprised at how much more movement you get in!

Busy!

Wow. Where has the time gone? Sorry that I started up this blog and then seemingly abandoned it. Truly I have not, I just have not made daily writing a priority.

That will change!

Healthy Breakfast

The one consistent piece of information across diet plans is that you must start your day with breakfast, and that doesn't mean coffee and a donut.

Research has repeatedly shown that people who eat breakfast lose weight faster, have more energy throughout the day, and are healthier in general.

Physiologically, after 7-9 hours of sleep, your body is ready for some nutrition to jump start your brain and get your metabolism racing. What are some good breakfast choices? And what if I don't have any time in the morning? These are common questions that I get asked.

First of all, as the most important meal of the day, breakfast deserves more time than the 5 minutes it would take you to eat a bowl of sugary cereal. Here are some things you can do to cut down on preparation time ...

1. Make a healthy fritatta ... sort of a quiche without the crust. In an oven-proof pan, cook the veggies of your choice, add some cheese, and eggs and toss in the oven. When cooked and cooled, cut into servings sizes, and store in the 'fridge or freezer for a quick and healthy protein-packed breakfast. Here's my favorite ...

1 Tbs olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
4 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup
feta cheese, crumbled
8 eggs (preferably organic, cage-free, omega-3),
well
beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Over medium heat, heat the oil in an oven-proof saute pan (I like cast
iron). When hot, add shallots and cook, stirring frequently until softened
and translucent. Add baby spinach and continue stirring until
wilted.
Sprinkle with feta cheese. Pour eggs on top of veggies and
cheese, and
spread evenly in pan with a spatula. Continue to cook on
stovetop just until
the edges are set.

Transfer pan to the oven, on the middle rack, and bake for 15-25 minutes
(depending upon the size of your pan). Remove from the oven when the top
is slightly browned and the middle is set.

Cool, and cut into 4 wedges. Store in the 'fridge or
freezer.

Enjoy!

To balance this meal out and add some good healthy carbs, have some fresh fruit on the side, or for something heartier try a bowl of steaming steel-cut oats. These whole-grain oats are slightly nutty in taste, and have a pleasant chewy texture. (You can also precook a batch of this, and store it in the 'fridge, just reheating your portion each morning.)

2. Hard-boiled eggs. Quick and easy. The most fool-proof method I've tried comes straight out of The Joy of Cooking. Boil enough water to cover the eggs. Add eggs one at a time (if they are room tempurature, they will be less likely to crack). When the water boils again, start the timer - 14 minutes for large eggs. When the timer goes off, pour out the hot water and fill with cold water and some ice (might need to "rinse" several times with cold water before adding the ice). When the eggs have cooled, the shells will easily slip off. Store in the 'fridge for up to 3 days.
So your quick breakfast might be 2-3 hard-boiled eggs, with fresh fruit.

3. Have some "Planned-Overs". Make extra of your dinner, and eat that for breakfast. Not suited to your palette? How about just making extra of your veggies and carb? Then you can make a quick omelette with left-over steamed broccoli and oven roasted potatoes. If cracking a couple of eggs is too time consuming for you, then make up a container of "egg beaters" by breaking your eggs in advance. Beat them and pour into a lidded container. Then just before pouring into the pan, just give the container a shake. (This will last up to 4 days in the 'fridge.)

4. PLAN AHEAD! This one is a big one. Plan for your breakfasts, and you will be sure to not fail. Don't like eggs? That's okay. How about cottage cheese? Or smoked salmon? Or organic chicken/turkey sausage? If you plan and search hard enough, you will find items that you like, that are healthy, that will fit your breakfast needs.

Here is a recent breakfast of mine ... a 2-egg omelette with planned-over rainbow swiss chard and goat cheese, 1 oz smoked salmon, and 1 cup strawberries.

What's so good about it, besides the taste? It was quick to make (under 10 minutes); it has lots of protein to keep my engine running all morning; plenty of fiber with the swiss chard and berries; and lots of great healthy fat with the salmon, omega-3 eggs, and goat cheese to keep me feeling satisfied and full.

So get started today on your health journey ... start with breakfast ... the most important meal of the day!