Really Healthy Recipes

When I first encountered an Atkins Diet book, I was working in an office. I had been working there for five or six years and had accumulated a fair bit of excess weight. I had never been active in sport, but my previous job had been working on site, which brought with it a certain amount of physical activity ” just enough to keep me in reasonable shape. After five years of pen-pushing, I weighed 18 stone 12 pounds (264 lbs or 120 kg), up three stone and neither I nor my doctor were happy about it.

One day a representative of some legal or accounting firm came in for an appointment, and, while we were awaiting the other directors, we got to talking about office life and its tendency to make one put on weight. He said that he had had the same problem before his new, more mobile, job, but that now he made sure he got out of the office regularly and walked everywhere he could if he had the time. He also said that he’d read a good book on dieting while on holiday in the USA and that he would send me a copy. I didn’t think anything more of it and never saw the man again. I think his name was Mr. Blackwell.

The book arrived as promised, but I left it lying on my desk unread for months and months, until one day, I had a dentist’s appointment and had forgotten to take a book to work to read while I was waiting ” something I always did/do because the magazines are always so old and boring. Anyway, I read 50-60 pages that day and I was mesmerised. I had never been on a proper diet before and I thought I should give it a a go. I had stopped eating pastry, cakes and chocolate months ago, but it hadn’t had much effect and my weight was still on the increase, albeit more slowly.

It seemed to me that it was a ‘thinking person’s’ diet There is a huge amount of scope for individual tastes and lifestyles and self-discipline did not seem to be much of an issue because of that. The book warned of addictions and fads and how best to overcome or prevent them. These did not seem to be an issue for me. I liked coffee, but could take it or leave it and I had already given up chocolate. Beer and bread could be a problem though.

The only rule in the induction phase is to eat not more than 20 grams of carbohydrate per day. The book had a clear list of most foods and their carbohydrate content. I thought it was really easy. In fact, I started eating more healthily in the induction stage than I had been eating before it! I bought a tube of Ketone sticks to check whether it was working and found that I was in ketosis on the third day. It was a very satisfying experience to know that I would be losing weight whatever I did and wherever I was now twenty-four hours a day!

I gave up bread (and beer!) for a fortnight and felt great. I actually felt ‘bouncy’ or ’springy’ as you see a boxer in the ring before a fight. I had no trouble whatsoever staying within the 20 gram limit, although I missed fruit more than I’d expected. But I found ways to compensate for everything. The book has loads of recipes and suggestions so I won’t go into them here, but I started eating breakfast before I went to work and in the evenings, took great care and attention over preparing a lunch box for work the next day, usually consisting of a salad, some cheese and various nuts to snack on. You can eat a few strawberries too. In the evening, I would cook up something like a curry (no flour) eating it with green beans instead of rice; or a traditional British meal without potatoes followed by cheese and strawberries and cream. I lost 18 pounds in two weeks and felt wonderful.

Burn fat with exercise. Being overweight causes a cycling negative effect on the body. Your body becomes more fatigued with excess weight and that causes you not to feel like doing things that will help maintain a lower weight. Eat a moderate meal without any exercise at all will result in increased weight. Don’t envision yourself having to spend 3 hours at the gym to become healthier. It isn’t that surge of exercise you need. Gradual increase in exercise (even if it only means a walk around the block) is critical to breaking that negative cycle.

Balanced meals are the key. Plan your meals to provide a balanced diet and plan your daily exercise habits to use more calories than you take in. I used to be a meat and potatoes man, myself. With a little fear factor (the idea of being diabetic), I started using a smaller plate and figuring half the portion on the plate should be vegetables. Eating 1200 calories daily and expending 1400 calories will lead to gradual weight loss. The same theory goes for eating 2400 calories and expending 2700 calories. The gradual weight loss is the important factor for healthy weight loss.

There are two schools of thought about vegetables. One supports the benefit of more enzymes in raw vegetables. The other raves about the extra flavor you can add even though you lose some of the beneficial enzymes in the cooking process. Raw fruits and vegetables provide more enzymes and fewer calories. Those vegetables that provide extra fiber in your diet also help you feel full without eating a lot of extra calories.

Don’t feel like a “health nut” if you consider squeezing your own juice. That’s a stereotype given to people who generally put health above all else in life. Well, let’s face it. If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, you SHOULD be taking better care of your health and squeezing your own juice is one way to do that. Using a blender and avoiding adding extra sugar will give you juices that have a lot of good enzymes, lower sugar content and are better for you. You might even try guava or red grapes. They make a tasty juice as well as controlling your blood sugar level.

Our society has become obese, as the doctors like to say it. Fast food restaurants fry foods and pour the sugar drinks, shakes and little sweet pies. That makes it difficult to find a way for a diabetic to eat out. The result is taking most of your meals at home.

Foods rich in fiber help clean fat and blood glucose from your system. Naturally, this lowers the blood sugar levels. We talk about foods high in fiber being vegetables and a lot of those are found in salads. Naturally, we consider salads good for you to keep your body clean. The next thing to consider are the salad dressings. Take care here because things like mayonnaise and extra sugars are used to enhance the dressing’s flavor. If you pour on the dressing, you’re defeating the benefit of eating the salads in the first place. Moderation is the key to using dressings. Another option is to use low-calorie / low-fat dressings.

The pancreas produces enzymes to digest food in addition to insulin to regulate the sugar level of the blood. Over a period of time, the pancreas starts to lose its ability to produce both in most people. This simply means a good diet becomes more important as people get older. Many doctors end up suggesting patients add a dose of acidophilus to their diet to ease the stress placed on the pancreas by adding bacteria into the system that assists with the digestive function.

When you look for fat-fighting compounds, you find them in vitamin D, calcium, fiber and omega-3s. Keep fish like tuna, salmon and sardines contain vitamin D as well as eggs and dairy products. Calcium is found in dairy products. Foods high in fiber include vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Finally, omega-3s can be found in fish, flax seed and walnuts.

Waffle makers can make our weekend breakfasts a deliciously fabulous experience. Those light and fluffy squares of goodness are enough to make any mouth water.

We can all remember those old fashioned waffles our mothers made with such care. It took her hours, but it was well worth the wait. Today’s waffle makers are far from those tools our mothers once used. They come full of functions with a wide variety of shapes and styles. The only problem you will have is figuring out which one is right for your family.

Sorting by type

Although all waffle makers have the same rudimentary functions each one offers some type of different features. The similarities are that they make it easy for you to make quick and tasty homemade waffles in a short amount of time. The differences include shape of waffles, how big the waffles are, and kind of waffles that are made. Being familiar with all of the kinds that are offered will help in your decision making.

Belgian waffles: This maker will enable you to produce those thick and tasty Belgian waffles that you get in restaurant topped with sweet berries and whipped cream. The pockets are extra deep and there are usually four wells so that you can turn out a whole plate of waffles in only a small amount of time.

Belgian flips: This maker will produce restaurant quality waffles in your home kitchen. It is situated on a stand that enables easy flipping. The waffle quality that this machine produces is will make purchasing this maker worth your while.

Quick standard maker: This is very similar to the one your mom made waffles on when you were young. It is highly efficient and will produce fine waffles in batches of four.

Pizzelle cookie maker: Make delicious pizzelles cookies with this machine. You can eat them alone and serve them with tea or ice cream.

Stove top maker: You can use the burners of your stove to heat this maker up. You merely have to fill it with batter and set it on the stove flipping the entire unit over half way through cooking.

Waffle cone maker: Who doesn’t love a fresh waffle cone filled with ice cream? With this maker you will be able to produce your own cones right at home.

Waffle makers are wonderful no matter the kind. You can rest assured knowing whichever one you choose the results will be delicious.

Rachel Ray acai berry recipes are hard to find. After searching off and on for a number of days I gave up searching but I hadn’t given up hope. I decided to experiment in my own kitchen. Often some of my favorite recipes are those I’ve stumbled across when I’ve had to switch one ingredient for another in a pinch.

One of the best things I can think of to do with different juices is to make a chicken marinade. The best recipe I have is one I learned in Central America, and is a combination of citrus juices, garlic, white pepper, a little sea salt, and some chicken stock. Occasionally I add some soy sauce or Bragg, but with my acai berry version I’m going to leave that out.

I cut the chicken breast into strips and pour acai juice and some extra virgin cold pressed olive oil over the pieces. In an effort to cut the sweetness, I added some sea salt and crushed capers. The result was interesting and got fairly good reviews. I didn’t like it as much as my stand by marinades so I won’t be likely to repeat this recipe. Also I ended up tossing much of the acai goodness down the drain which entirely defeats the health benefits of acai berry juice. Additionally, acai is more expensive than lime juice or orange juice so it was a slightly expensive experiment.

So my next recipe was a variation on another favorite of mine, and I hoped it would turn out better than the chicken experiment. In fact it did meet with very positive reviews. This is my own version of acai berry frozen yogurt. Mix acai berry juice with a non-flavored low fat yogurt. Then set a strainer and cheese cloth in a bowl, pour through the yogurt, put it in the fridge and let it drain through the yogurt for a day. Once the yogurt has drained, you are left with a cream cheese like mixture, which in fact is quite good as a spread or dip at this point.

I continued with the frozen yogurt recipe and peeled the creamy acai berry yogurt from the cheesecloth into a plastic container. Whip the yogurt with a whisk for several minutes to lighten it up, and then throw it in the freezer. After 8 hours it should be frozen enough to try. I just loved this recipe! It was a perfect mixture of the acai berry juice and frozen yogurt so that it wasn’t overly sweet like ice cream would be. I think a good variation would be to put the yogurt mixture into Popsicle cups so you have individual servings ready to eat on the go.

Last but not least, I wanted to make a recipe for the tried and true fruit smoothie, except make it an acai berry special. In a blender add ice, a frozen banana (this makes the smoothy extra creamy by allowing you to add less ice), some plain yogurt, and 3/4 cup of acai juice. If you want to make a great all around breakfast smoothie, add some wheat germ to get a bit of extra fibre and protein.

So as you can see, it’s not all that hard to find some interesting dishes to make with acai, so you can get the health benefits from this very popular new super food. As you can see, I was able to make a breakfast (the smoothie), snack and main dish all using acai berry. Maybe I should write in to Rachel Ray and see if she has any actual recipe ideas. Until then, I’ll just keep experimenting.

Are you a bizarre sandwich lover? Even though you might not make them or eat them, you can still be a sandwich lover and its nice to know that there are people like us, who simply love sandwiches. Lets take for example the “St. Paul”, ever heard of it? It is usually found in St. Louis, Missouri in certain old time Chinese restaurants. It is a egg foo young, lettuce, tomato, mayo and sometimes a slice of American cheese all on white bread. How about the “chow mein sandwich” a common menu option in Southern Massachusetts on Route 195. Other bizzare sandwiches include the peanut butter and onion sandwich, the peanut butter and pickle sandwich, the peanut butter, jelly and crushed potato chips sandwich and many more. There are no shortages of bizarre sandwiches out there!

Add to that list one of the weirdest compositions ever, the “Avraham Karadi” Sandwich, also known as an “Avi Karadi. It seems like someone’s idea of a faux-gourmet sandwich as it involves a lot of work just gathering and preparing the ingredients, and I cant imagine anyone actually enjoying the resulting mix of flavors, but theres been talk that its very popular in certain areas. Heres the list of exotic ingredients:

Passum, a sweet wine sauce from ancient Roman times. This is produced by boiling the must (whole fruits including the seeds, stems, and leaves pressed) and then adding honey in order to thicken it up.

Garum, an ancient Roman salty fish sauce, approximated today by combining passum with a fish paste and oregano.

Pine nut sauce, an old Roman stand by, this is made by combining pine nuts, vinegar, honey and some lovage and some pepper.

Finally, and as desired, you may use spinach and onions as well as lettuce and tomatoes. When it comes to the bread many choose rye bread, but some do like Black Russian Bread as an alternative. Egg paste, as found in egg salad, is also sometimes used. Pastrami or Roast Beef are the meats of choice. Then there are the variations, there are too many to go over them all, just keep in mind they all pretty much keep within these ingredients. Curiously, I was not able to find out where the nickname of the “Avraham Karadi” or “Avi Karadi” came from for this sandwich.

Step One: Making the Passum: Reduce a quart of grape juice to one tenth its starting volume. You can add honey for taste.

Step Two: Making the Garum: Take the Passum and add two tablespoons of fish paste and a pinch of oregano.

Step Three: Making the pine nut sauce. You will need to soak the pine nuts for three hours in vinegar. Once completed you then want to blend it with honey and a few dashes of lovage and pepper.

4. The Sandwich: Put your egg paste on the bread. Put in your choice of meat, add vegetables, pour on passum, garum, and pine nut sauce, and be generous.

All done, enjoy your “Avraham Karadi” (aka “Avi Karadi”) sandwich!

Any diet that asks you to go low carbohydrate and use only low carbohydrate vegetables is saying that you need to search for vegetables that are low in carbohydrates. You need to use these vegetables in stead of your regular vegetables. There are many great tasting things that you can do with low carb vegetables.

They can be used in your different diet recipes or used in salads. They are great by themselves as healthy snacks and you can also blend them for a nutritious smoothie. The many websites that give recipes for low carb cooking and meals could have some recipes that will let you use your low carb vegetables in meals.

Imagine producing a splendid meal using only low carb foods. You can keep a magnificent side dish full of low carb vegetables that have been transformed into a delicious salad. This salad can be garnished with many interesting foods that are also low carbohydrate but taste great by themselves as well.

For example, you can concoct a salad from low carbohydrate vegetables and boneless beef, top sirloin steak, fresh lemon juice, gourmet salad greens, medium plum tomatoes, ranch or blue cheese dressing. You can make a seasoning for this salad with dried oregano, garlic and pepper.

As you can now see, there are quite a few ways that you can combine your low carb vegetables with other foods to make superb meals for you and others to enjoy. The main thing to remember is not to put things like a heavy French dressing on your low carb vegetables. This will turn your nutritious low carb vegetables into something else entirely.

There are times|instances| in your low carb cooking when you can make use of only one of the low carb vegetables to give you a fantastic dish that looks mouth-watering. This type of low carb recipe will call for only a low carbohydrate vegetable like eggplant. This vegetable is very versatile and you can use it in very many ways.

When you decide to eat low carb vegetables in this way, you take your cooking experience into another dimension of gourmet food. The many low carb recipes that you can find on the Internet, will let you make great dishes with your low carb vegetables. After all, eating low carbohydrate vegetables is just another way of experimenting with new foods

Waffle makers are so simple to use, and there is nothing quite like freshly made waffles for breakfast. Many people believe that homemade waffles are very complicated, and waffle makers even more so. This is not the case. Whether you choose a store bought waffle mix, or make your own at home, waffles are relatively simple to make.

There are loads of different waffle makers available. Some have special shapes or designs. Some make one waffle at a time, while others make several. You can find waffle makers for making small waffles, large waffles and sizes in between. Thin waffles, Belgian waffles, and even dessert waffles can all be made.

A very popular waffle maker is the round, traditional waffle maker. These are available with few buttons and extras to overcomplicate the process. These are a great choice as a first waffle maker. You can find traditional round waffle makers at a very affordable price. This ensure that everyone who would like to own a waffle maker will be able to.

Belgian waffles are thick and fluffy. These are great to eat at any time of the day. In order to make these, you will need a Belgian waffle maker. You will find a great selection of Belgian waffle makers available.

You will find waffle makers that can also be used for other purposes, such as Panini or believe it or not, grilling meats. These waffle makers include interchangeable plates which can be switched depending on what you are preparing. This also allows the opportunity to wash the plates either in the sink or dishwasher. They generally also include a temperature regulator, so that the temperature may be adjusted according to the food being prepared, or toasting preference.

A professional waffle maker is able to be turned during the cooking process in order to achieve even browning and crispness. You will find these available with light and sound indicators, temperature controls, and extra deep pockets for making the best waffles.

Waffles are delicious, no matter what you choose for a topping. The addition of a waffle maker is a great idea for any cook who wants to try something new, and loves waffles.