Sauce Up Your Food

I love chicken wings. They’re great diet food as long as you fry them “naked” with no batter or crust. You can make a sauce that’s to your heat liking with just hot sauce, melted butter and a some cream. Or keep the calories down by sticking to hot sauce. Just dip the wings, don’t drench them. They’re easier to eat. Decadent, yet still reduced carb.

Discovering that hot sauces are low or no carb was a huge thing for me. It definitely is not all about the heat. There are an amazing variety of flavors from habanero to mustard. The Tabasco brands are a mainstay. But one of my current favorites is Wild Turkey hot sauce. Yes the bourbon is in it. I got it as a gift at Christmas and have to find more soon.

Keep a variety of hot sauces on hand and try it on anything and everything from eggs to veggies. It will spice up your diet in more ways than one.

TODAY: EXERCISE EXTRA TO MAKE UP FOR YESTERDAY!

5 A Day Help

Eat your vegetables! I’ve never had to be told more than once. I’ve always like veggies, but I couldn’t be a vegetarian. (Have you ever seen an overweight vegetarian?) Three servings used to be the norm. Now the USDA says eat five. That’s a good thing. Though you may think it’s a lot, it’s easy to do. I’ll give you some suggestions over the next few days.

Let’s start with breakfast.

• Add fruit to your cereal, oatmeal, waffles or pancakes.
• Punch up you eggs with fresh sliced veggies or some frozen spinach.
• Top whole grain toast with raisins and cinnamon.
• Create your own yogurt flavors with plain yogurt and different of fresh fruit.
• Wrap a banana in a whole wheat flour tortilla with some peanut butter for a quick grab and go meal.
• Don’t forget the juice!

Lunch tomorrow.

TODAY: START ADDING MORE FRUIT AND VEGGIES TO YOU DIET.

Holy Crap! Do I Really Need More Fiber?

You always hear the advice to eat more fiber. I’ve touted Fiber One cereal as a great snack. Fiber is added to things like bread, cereal and other whole grain foods, which actually have fiber naturally. (Hence the WHOLE grain name.) You can also get more fiber by leaving the skin on fruit, eating the potato peel and by taking diet supplements. But what does it do? Well, to be frank, it cleans you out. When you digest food, some of it gets stuck or lingers in your colon. As a result you have some nasty things going on in there. Fiber acts like a magnet or a broom and takes away the… crap… that doesn’t want to move out. The fiber also absorbs water that can moisten things up and break up hard stuff. (okay… crap)  So eat more fiber. It will both fill you up and empty you out.

TODAY: ADD SOME FIBER TO YOUR DAILY DIET.

Spread Yourself Thin

Jelly can be a source of hidden calories. Sure, you think it’s just a little dollop of goodness. It’s made from fruit, so how bad can it be? Well… most jelly os almost pure sugar and a tablespoon is a whopping 50 calories. But I found a great jelly that is actually low cal and sweet and even has fiber! At just 10 calories per tablespoon Polaner Sugar Free has now also added 3 grams of fiber to that. So if you’re following Atkins you actually get back 3 grams of carbs. So that can offset some of the carbs from a slice of whole grain toast.

I also like to skip the toast and just use a spoonful as a condiment with sausage, or ham and eggs. The berry ones are great with meats and I even skip the meat entirely and fry a couple of eggs hard and top them with some orange marmalade. I know… it’s odd, but it has a flavor a little like a crepe. So add a jar of the Polaner Sugar Free jelly to your pantry and have a guilt free treat.

TODAY: DO SOME STRETCHING EXERCISES.

Try A Plain Fiber Snack For A Change

There are a lot of snack bars and other expensive options for diet snacks. Don’t overlook the simple things in your pantry. One of my favorite standbys is Fiber One cereal. Not any of the new offerings from them. Just the basic, original sticks. I discovered Fiber One the first time I ever tried the Atkins diet. It was before Atkins came out with their own food line and to stay on the diet you had to read labels on food religiously. It was a real learning experience. After having a craving for cereal I spent quite a bit of time in the cereal aisle one night and finally got to Fiber One. It is perhaps the perfect low carb, low calorie cereal. If you are really on the Atkins diet have it with real cream as a moist cereal. It’s decadent, and still on your diet! But for the healthy lifestyle diet (where we promote eating less and exercising more) use the dry cereal as a snack. It’s naturally sweet with a satisfying crunch. Toss in a few nuts and raisins every now and then for variety. Top it off with a big glass of water and you’re doing yourself and your colon good. To steal another cereal slogan… It’s Grrrreat!

TODAY: NO JOKE. HAVE SOME FIBER ONE TO BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE.

Put Oats In Your Cold Morning Feedbag

A hot stick to the ribs breakfast doesn’t have to be loaded with fat, calories and sugar. Good old fashioned oatmeal is a great source of complex carbohydrates (the good kind) that will get your day of to a great start and curb potential cravings in the first part of your day. Plain instant oatmeal in a cup with some added raisins and even a few walnuts makes a great quick breakfast. Try some other dried fruits for variety. The oats also add some other healthy benefits to your diet. Don’t do it every day, but it’s a great treat on a cold morning.

TODAY: DON’T FORGET TO EXERCISE, EVEN IF IT’S JUST GOING UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS A FEW TIMES.

Gonzo For The Garbanzo

Call them garbanzo beans, chic peas, or spanish beans but call them part of your diet. They’s really good for you in a number of ways. They are loaded with protein, fiber and polyunsaturated fatty acids. All those things are good for your diet and heart. A surprising bonus is that they actually lower your total cholesterol and (bad) LDL while raising your HDL (good) levels. Eating about 25 ounces per week for 12 weeks is all you need to make this magic happen. That’s not all though. Insulin levels also improved and participants in the study actually lost weight without diet OR exercise. (Imagine how great you’ll do!)

Toss some whole beans on your salads. Puree them with some seasoning and olive oil to make hummus. Add them to three-bean salad. I like them with shredded cheese and a sweet and sour dressing (Splenda NOT sugar) They’re tasty, inexpensive. and filling.

TODAY: ADD GARBANZOS TO YOUR MENU.