Archive for November, 2009

Brining Your Turkey or Chicken

One of the things I love to do to poultry, a whole bird that is, whether it’s a small roaster chicken or a large turkey that’s ten pounds or more, or even a turkey breast, is to brine it.  I never really knew what the name for brining was up until a few years ago, I only knew that my uncle and my grandma, both of whom are phenomenal cooks, had told me for years that their secret to a moist, juicy turkey at Thanksgiving time was soaking it in a saltwater solution over night before they cooked it.  I tried it, and I used regular table salt only, and I think I portioned the salt and water incorrectly, because my turkey turned out too dry and tasteless.

Well, I have since found out the best way to brine your turkey, and I’m going to share it with you .Yes, it probably is not the healthiest thing you can do as it involved too big no no’s in dieting and weightloss, which is what we usually talk about here, but since it’s holiday time and you should really throw all that out the window a few days a year, including Christmas and Thanksgiving day, we’re going to really talk about one of the more important lessons you will learn in cooking, which is how to properly and deliciously cook a turkey!

Ok, here’s how it goes, and it’s super easy.  You will need a large container, like a big white bucket, or a small styrofoam cooler, that is big enough to soak a whole turkey or chicken in.  Hopefully you can fit it into your fridge so it can stay cold that way, but if not, then you will need to put it outdoors on a cold night where it will stay 30 degrees or below, so the turkey does not spoil.  I bought a brining bucket online for eight bucks, and I’ll have it for a lifetime, so I consider that a genuine bargain!

You will need kosher salt, this part I found out is important, as I do not get as good results with regular table salt, or any other sort of salt for that matter. As to why that might be, I haven’t the faintest, but this has been my experience thus far with brining poultry.  You will also need regular, good ol’ sugar.  Sugar is very important to this recipe, as it is what seals the flavor in and really makes the turkey much more flavorful, while the salt is responsible for increasing it’s juiciness and tenderness.

Here is how I portion the salt, sugar and water. I use a slightly lukewarm water to start, so that my salt and sugar dissolve easily, then the second half I make cold so that the water is not warm.  You will want to use one half cup of salt and one half cup of sugar for each eight cups of water you use.

Thats : 1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup sugar

8 cups water

You will need to figure out how much solution you need to completely submerge your turkey, so just double that or triple it or whatever you need to do to be able to submerge it.  You are supposed to soak it for about one hour for each pound of the turkey, but I’ve found that overnight simply works most of the time for me, whatever size meat I’m soaking.  Good luck, and Bon Apetit!

Turkey Day!

I’m sitting here, pumpkin spice coffee in my hand.  Complete with a festive Christmas mug, my fair share of cream (by the way, I take my coffee almost white with creamer, the powdered kind, not something I’m proud of with all those transfats in it), sugar and a little bit of stevia in the raw.  I know, why do I even bother with the stevia when it’s chock full of other baddies?  But it makes me feel better, and I’ve grown accustomed to the extra sweetness it adds without all the sugar I would normally have to add.  It’s turkey day – aka Thanksgiving, and boy am I excited to chow down on all the comfort food that will be set before me today.

My husband and I are headed to Pennsylvania, where his mom’s family resides, for our Thanksgiving feast.  It’s about an hour and half drive from where we live here in Ohio, so it’s not too bad, although we hate paying the almost ten dollars in collective road tolls that we end up getting squeezed for by the end of the trip.  We usually just let the whole diet idea go out the window on turkey day, because after all, it only comes once a year, and when else are you faced with that many delicious temptations all in one place?

It’s the one time of year when you get your choice of  vegetable casseroles, stuffing, various side dishes that Aunt Betty and your cousin Susie make the best, and those sins of all sins, the mashed potatoes and gravy. Of course, what would mashed potatoes be without massive amounts of real butter and sour cream be?  And what of the desserts?  Pumpkin pies, pumpkin rolls, cookies, cakes, some ridiculously rich chocolate dessert, creams, sugar, heavy sauces, butter, breads, it’s all on the absolute no no list on normal days. But on Thanksgiving, it’s all fair game, and I think that’s why everyone looks forward to it so much.

It fills the heart with warmth knowing that you are going to be comforted by all those good home cooked dishes, and then tired enough to crash around the people that are you family.  Sure, you may feel lethargic and huge when you’re done, but it’s that one day that there’s no guilt about pigging out, because, hey, everyone else is doing it too, and they’re feeling pretty darn good about it too!

Here’s wishing you an awesome Thanksgiving.  And remember, as long as your massive pig out doesn’t last the next month into Christmas and into the new year, then you are fully entitled to put on your best stretch pants and go to town today. That’s what today is all about, eating, thanks and gratitude for what you have and your family, and falling asleep at five PM at the TV watching football.  Love it!

Fasting Every Other Day Accelerates Weight Loss?

Fasting has often been a controversial method to achieve a variety of things. Some people fast to help cleanse their system, or detoxify, in fact that may be one of the more popular reasons people do it, or they may fast because they are on a special order from a medical doctor before surgery or some other procedure or test, and lastly, and what we are going to talk about fasting for today, is they do it to actually lose weight, or accelerate their weight loss. Critics say that fasting for weight loss only confuses the body, and can actually do more damage than good when it comes to how your metabolism reacts.

Some believe that fasting actually slows the metabolism down, and may do so permanently, because the body is fooled into thinking it is starving, and therefore it tries like crazy to hold onto the food that it is getting by slowing the metabolism down, or in other words, the rate at which they are processing or using the food up as fuel for the body. I personally have tried fasting before, and it just wasn’t for me. While I can see how some people may like it, I simply couldn’t function the same without the proper nutrition that I’m used to, even when I was on a fast that still provided some kind of nutrients, although only in liquid form, I just couldn’t take the deprivation.

On the other hand, some people think that fasting clears their mind and actually helps them to be productive. I can see how that would be too, because although I had a hard time while fasting, I must say that I didn’t waste any energy on thinking about preparing food, actually preparing it, or wasting time with it, so I did seem to be more productive, maybe to take my mind off of it.

Researchers have now found evidence that fasting every other day, then eating between a few select hours on the days between where the patient actually gets to eat food, actually accelerates the weight loss efforts of obese patients. They found that, at least in obese patients, when the did this fast regimen, they lost weight faster, and seemed to like it better than restricting caloric intake every day they eat, because they knew they could eat what they pleased in those few hours the next day.

Researchers presume that the reason it helps to accelerate the weight loss fairly significantly is that it actually shrinks the stomach faster, so on those off days when fasting isn’t practiced, they are eating less because they feel full faster. That’s definitely interesting, and you may want to look into it more if you happen to be overweight and are looking for other alternatives to traditional dieting that may help you to stay within your guidelines and reach your weight loss goals faster without as much perceived effort of feelings of deprivation.

Dressing for Your Body Type

No matter what your body type, you can accentuate the positive attributes and de-emphasize the less attractive features by the clothing and accessories you choose. For example, if you are of short stature and a little on the heavy side, choose shoes with a heel to make yourself appear taller and slimmer. If heels are tough on your comfort level, you can select a wedge style shoe to give your height a boost.

When choosing your clothing, take into consideration the weight and stiffness of the fabric. A stiffer fabric will work better to camouflage any problem areas such as the tummy or thigh area. A softer fabric such as a cotton knit that has more “give” to it may accentuate an area that you would rather cover up.

The size you select will make a world of difference for both your appearance and your physical comfort whether you are a male or female. You should shop for a size that fits the largest area of your body first and then you can have it tailored down to fit the rest of your body well from there. It is unflattering to have any type of clothing skin tight on one area of your figure.

Color selection can draw your eye to the best area of your physique. For example, if you feel that you’re bottom heavy, selecting a light or brightly colored top with a darker colored pant or skirt will successfully attract attention to the leaner part of your figure. Varying your color selection for your outfits can work well to flatter your figure.

If you are fortunate enough to be proportioned with your hips and bust approximately even with a small waist, you should wear outfits that accentuate your waistline such as belts. People who carry the most weight in their middle do well with styles such as jackets and blazers or empire waistlines. For the pear shaped or bottom heavy figure, light colored and ruffled type tops work well with dark colored A-line skirts or darker looser fitting pants.

Figures that are top heavy call for the use of V-neck tops to lengthen the top half of your figure coupled with a skirt that is fuller or pants with a wider leg. I like to wear pants that are flared at the bottom since I”m short, it helps to offset the fact that I have a longer torso and shorter legs, and helps to lengthen my legs which I really like on me.

Is There Such a Thing as a “Light” Cocktail or Beer?

In the quest to still get our jollies from drinking alcohol, and still maintain our trim waistlines and not blow up out of control, which is what a lot of drinking tends to get you because of it’s large amount of empty calories, many people have searched for the alternatives to typically heavy caloried drinks so that they can still get a buzz, but not ingest all that sugar and carbs, which inevitably don’t break down the way they should, are harmful to our livers, and inevitably also make us lethargic and lazy, and generally not very ambitious the next day.

Sure, there are drinks that you can enjoy that are the lesser of two evils, such as reduced sugar cocktail mixes or sugar free ones, or you can enjoy the lower calorie and lower sugar alcohols like plain vodka, instead of drinking all the heavily flavored fruity vodkas and other hard flavored alcohols, but what else can you do? Well, the key, and you’re not gonna like this much, is moderation. Even if you think enjoying those “Skinny Bitches” is harmless, your are still essentially ingesting alcohol, which is broken down by your body much like sugar is. It also has no filling effect, which is why people call it empty calories.

It really is like ingesting totally empty nutrition, and the real danger of course is to our organs, but it’s also to our inhibition. How many times have you been steadfastly dieting, only to ruin it when you’re drinking because your guards go down and your hunger is essentially fueled by all the extra sugar you’re partaking in. What I like to do is occasionally enjoy a really good beer. One that really fills you up, because not only do you get a pleasant buzz from it, but you also get a little bit of a feeling of fullness that acts as a sort of natural appetite suppressant, whereas with the sugary sweet cocktails, you aren’t getting any substance.

From the beer at least, whether it’s light or dark, but especially darker and higher in calories, you are getting all those barley and hops, which actually make you feel full. That’s why people say “not filling” – yeah, like that’s a good thing, the whole idea is to NOT over do it on your beer, that’s why you’re drinking light in the first place. I say ditch the light beer and instead enjoy one that may be higher in calories, but is also much stronger, you can sip it slower and savor it, and it actually does fill you up – many times just one does.

Review : Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal

Well, it looks like I have a new favorite breakfast, and the best news is that while it tastes good, and a little like you’re being naughty, this nutritious breakfast packs quite a bit of dietary fiber in it and also, even when you add some nuts, it comes in at about 400 calories when you also add a small V8 or tomato juice like I do (I like to add to this because it fills me up and keeps me full for several hours, whereas this oatmeal alone probably would not do that as well.

The one Quaker oatmeal packet that I’ve tried thus far is the banana bread one. It is so good! If you like banana nut bread, then you will definitely like this. You might even put a little dash of sugar or sugar substitute in it just to sweeten it a bit more, after all, it is weight control, so there’s not a lot of sugar in it. I like to add chopped walnuts to it also, which adds about 150 calories to this breakfast that really sticks with you but also has a lot of nutritious benefits to it. The walnuts add more fiber and protein, and they also add some of those omega 3′s that really help keep you satisfied and help keep your mind sharp, plus they’re great for your skin.

All I do is add really hot water, which I’m lucky because I have one of those hot water taps on our sink of the house we moved into, just enough to make it into a thicker “soup” like consistency, let it sit for a minute or two to cool off a bit so I don’t scald my mouth, but not too long because oatmeal always gets like paste when you let it sit too long and actually get cold, and then I add a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts to it, and voila, I’ve got a really fast, really tasty breakfast. If you wanted to, you could probably also add some sliced bananas, I haven’t tried that yet, but I bet that would taste really good and keep you full even longer.

Liraglutide Diabetes Drug Helps Weight Loss

Boy, is this newer drug a tongue twister! Liraglutide (lee-rah-glue-tide) is actually a diabetes drug that is designed to help people control their blood sugar levels and keep them at more normal lows and keep the spikes down so that they can have a healthy blood sugar level. Now, new, more in depth studies, are showing the Liraglutide also helps people lose weight significantly more than the popular diet drugs called Alli and Orlistat.

Liraglutide, which was given to study participants once daily via injection, worked better in helping adults to lose weight than it’s actual weight loss counterparts of Orlistat (I believe this is also the same thing as Xenical, a popular prescription weight loss product) and Alli, however, it may not be marketed yet for the specific reason of weight loss until this can be further reviewed, and I’m sure FDA approved to be marketed as an actual weight loss drug instead of strictly as a diabetes drug.

The average weight loss per study participant on the Liraglutide drug was about ten pounds – not too shabby. This drug not only helped patients in the study lose weight more easily by regulating their blood sugar levels, but it also helped them to lower their blood pressure. Perhaps this was simply through the weight loss they achieved, as blood pressure typically goes down with weight loss, which is why doctors always recommend those that have extra pounds on them with high blood pressure lose as much weight as they can – it almost always helps with their blood pressure.

The only side effects that were reported using Liraglutide were occasional nausea and vomiting, however these side effects almost always subsided. The concern with this drug is really the injectable pice. Doctors and researchers aren’t so sure that an injectable medication would be the ideal answer to controlling weight long term, and the long term side effects aren’t known yet. For example, how do you know you may not be a prisoner to the drug after getting off it, without having sky high blood sugar afterwards because your body has grown accustomed to the benefits of having it lowered artificially?

Concerns like that will definitely need to be addressed before this can be considered for any sort of weight loss use, and also they will need to consider how they can give it without an injection I think, since it needs to be given every day. Currenlty the drug is available over in Europe to help patients with diabetes and prediabetes, no known date yet for US release.

The Push to Make School Lunches Healthier

School lunches for our children have been lacking in enough of the proper nutrients for our young ones. New standards have been proposed to match up with the new updated government’s own dietary guidelines that were revised in 2005. These new guidelines call for an increase in fruits and vegetables and more whole grains.

The standards for our lunches in the present status is definitely deficient according to the new guidelines. There also has been no calorie restriction for our children and, in light of the fact that childhood obesity is on the rise, this factor needs to be addressed. The changes proposed for the school meal programs will be costly. Breakfast prices may to up 20% and lunch prices may be up as much as 4%.

Congress is currently being pressured to increase spending allotted for school meal programs. The need for more fruits, vegetables and whole grains is recognized by The Institute of Medicine as an important priority for federal dollars. Federal standards should be followed for the new dietary guidelines since the government subsidizes lunch and breakfast programs for children in need.

The new recommendations for the school meal programs emphasize fruits, vsgetables and whole grains more than they have in the past. Within the week, they recommend 2 1/2 to 5 servings of fruit be offered for lunch and 5 servings of fruit for breakfast. For vegetables, the recommendation is to offer 1 1/4 to 2 1/2 servings for lunch. For whole grains, they recommend offering 9 to 13 servings for lunch within the week.

Hopefully, these new updated standards will be implemented for our children as overweight children are now outnumbering undernourished children in our country. All of our children will be nourished better with less obesity problems under the new standards. They would be better able to focus and concentrate, and be better students, behave better, and also maintain a normal, healthy weight for children.

I remember when I went to school, even though it was long ago, the healthiest option was to eat at the salad bar, and you know damn well that most kids wouldn’t be eating from a salad bar when they are faced with much more enticing choices, like sticky buns and macaroni salad, cheeseburgers and french fries, and toasted cheese sandwiches with soup.

Shoot, I remember thinking that I could be totally bad if I wanted to at school and my parents would never know that all I ate that day was pizza, ice cream and fudge, of course at that time I didn’t understand that these foods weren’t at all contributing to my concentration or performance in school like healthy foods would have.

The Versatile, Healthy Smoothie

As we strive to become more aware of our health and nutrition levels, we have become increasingly inventive on different ways to enhance our quality food intake while keeping our calories down. One of the best examples of this phenomenon is the varied and creative use of the healthy beverages called the smoothie.

Smoothies are a fast and easy way to deliciously get our fruits and vegetables, together with other items, such as yogurt, in for the day. Smoothies are blended and chilled beverages made from crushed ice and other foods such as fruits, vegetables and sometimes yogurt or milk. Depending on your taste preference and nutritional needs, you can pick and choose from hundreds of recipes online and elsewhere to create your own smoothies at home.

In addition to helping you meet your fruit, vegetable and dairy requirements for the day, you can blend in vitamin and herbal supplements as desired. For dining out, there are smoothie restaurants such as the Tropical Smoothie Cafes and Planet Smoothie. The Tropical Smoothie Cafe also features wraps, salads, sandwiches and catering. These low fat smoothies help you to maintain a body that accelerates fat loss by adding low fat dairy, which has been shown to accelerate weight loss and help with your overall weight maintenance.

Some of the most popular ingredients for smoothies include strawberries, bananas, orange juice, milk, yogurt and ice cubes. There are variations of the strawberry-banana flavored smoothie that add in oatmeal or wheat germ for even more nutrition. Berries of all kinds are well liked in smoothies. Many of the recipes include rasberries and blueberries as well as strawberries.

One recipe for a blueberry smoothie calls for vanilla yogurt, orange juice, lemon juice and vanilla extract in addition to the berries. You can mix these ingredients together with crushed ice and even add flax seed or wheat germ if you like. Smoothies can be made for breakfast in the morning if you find it easier to drink a beverage than to stop and eat because of time constraints.

A healthy smoothie can help you stay alert and focused until lunchtime while you are at work. In hot weather when your appetite may be suppressed, an ice cold smoothie is likely to appeal to you. For parents of children who are finicky eaters, you can give them smoothies to boost their nutrition and even call it a “milkshake”. Smoothies will probably appeal to children because of their naturally sweet fruity flavors.

The No Flour and No Sugar Diet

One of the simplest and easy to follow diets out there is the No Flour, No Sugar Diet. The logic behind it is very basic. The foods that are usually high calorie and lower on actual nutrition are the ones with a high content of these two ingredients. By cutting them out of your eating pattern, weight loss is almost always going to follow.

This diet is recommended by Dr. Peter Gott, the newspaper health columnist. With his No Flour, No Sugar Diet, he does not emphasize counting calories specifically, but he does suggest foods to include more plentifully and which foods to limit. Also mentioned in conjunction with the diet is getting one half hour of exercise per day.

Dr. Gott’s book on the No Flour, No Sugar Diet suggests specific meal plans to cover 14 days and a multitude of tasty recipes that avoid flour and sugar. He gives instructions on how to read food labels and what to look for when selecting your dietary needs. The diet is easy to understand and doesn’t require buying expensive food plans or attending meetings. Among the foods to avoid are wheat flour, corn flour and white flour. For a replacement to the avoided flours, use whole grains, barley, oats, corn tortillas or rice flour. Rice pasta is allowed.

To avoid sugar, read your labels. You want to avoid honey, molasses, maple, cane or beet sugars, fructose syrup, cane juice, glucose and sucrose. If these are in the preparation of a food product, keep it off of your shopping list. As a substitute for sugar and to stay on the diet without feeling deprived, use artificial sweeteners or eat some fresh fruit.

Keep the diet balanced by including whole grains, dairy, vegetables, fruit and meat. Do not exclude any food groups and keep your portions limited and healthy. This will ensure your nutrition level is optimal and keep the longevity of the diet feasible. Exercising regularly is recommended to obtain and maintain your health.

The No Flour, No Sugar Diet won’t promise overnight rapid weight loss. Dr. Gott advises slow steady weight loss at a rate of about a pound a week. If you use this diet as a lifestyle dietary change, you should be able to maintain a healthy weight over time. The diet is similar to the low carbohydrate diet but is more simplified. In general, we do know that avoiding refined flour and sugar are important, but it’s tought to do that at all times, however, if you can just do it the majority of the time, this makes a world of difference in your ease of weight loss and maintenance.