The Anti Diet

Eat whole foods. That means eating the food in its natural state. They have a high nutrient count per calorie. Processed foods have a diminished amount of nutrients, mainly fiber, before the final product makes it to the shelf. Nutritionists are always finding new components to food that we never knew existed, and studies show that the nutrients in whole foods cannot be replicated. Also, what is added to processed foods is not beneficial. Read the ingredients on the label. The ingredients are listed in order from most to least prevalent. If one of the most dominant ingredients is salt or sugar, put the item back on the shelf. Also, if you do not know or cannot pronounce the ingredient, put it back on the shelf. Don’t worry about keeping up with the specifics of your diet -just make sure to eat a variety. Challenge yourself to eat as many fruits and vegetables you can stand. Stock up your pantry with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and cheeses, instead of crackers and spray cheese.

Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken

2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

1/4 cup Garlic Olive Oil (or olive oil with a ½ tsp. of garlic)

1/2 cup Lemon Juice – juice a few lemons if you have them handy

2 teaspoons turmeric

A few pinches of Salt and Black Pepper

Chopped fresh Cilantro or Italian Parsley for garnish

Directions:

Trim any fat and clean chicken. Put chicken in bowl with garlic oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and turmeric, mix well with your hands. If you have time, do this in the morning and marinate all day in the fridge. If this is last minute try to give chicken about an hour in the marinade.

Pre-heat the grill on medium high heat. Grill chicken about 5-7 minutes per side until inside is cooked through and juices run clear. Let rest a few minutes, plate and garnish with chopped Cilantro or Parsley.

More at www.familyfreshcooking.com

Go Vegan till Dinner. Food journalist, Mark Bittman, of The New York Times has a new strategy that helped him lose thirty five pounds. He eats a vegan diet until dinner time. All day he eats fruits, vegetables, legumes, and 

whole grains. Then at dinner he indulges in whatever he would like. For example, at breakfast he eats a cooked multi-grain cereal with maple syrup. Then, at lunch he will eat a vegetarian meal. Bonus! Eating less meat helps decrease your carbon foot print. According to Whole Living, “Sixteen times more fossil fuels are needed to create one steak than to produce a plate of broccoli, eggplant, cauliflower, and rice.” It does not have to be hard, just be more aware of your choices until 6 p.m.

Chai Tea Latte Oatmeal

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal

2/3 Cup Water

1 Teabag of Chai Spice Black Tea

3 Tablespoons honey

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

A Dash of Ground Ginger

A Dash of Nutmeg

1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/3 Cup Almond Vanilla milk

Directions:

 In a small pot, add 2/3 cups water and teabag over stovetop on high. When water boils, remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons sweetener, stir until dissolved. Add spices (Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla extract) and mix. After spices are mixed, remove teabag and stir in 1/3 cup non-dairy milk and oatmeal. Put back on stovetop on medium heat, occasionally stirring until oatmeal absorbs liquid fairly well (About five minutes) and remove from heat. Being that non-dairy milks are more prone to burn than dairy, put a lid over pot to steam for an additional 3-5 minutes so oatmeal is well absorbed and thick.

www.Vegweb.com

Substitute the right way. Instead of reaching for low –fat, low calorie, and diet substitutes that attempt to make you feel better about your meal, use the proper ingredients from the beginning that don’t make you have the extra cravings afterward. Trade the mayonnaise for an avocado. Avocados are just as rich and creamy, and have half the fat and calories of low fat mayonnaise. Trade sour cream for yogurt. Whole-milk yogurt has less than half the calories and one-third the total and saturated fat of reduced-fat sour cream, it also has 16 percent more calcium. For a list of egg substitutes (that are whole foods) in baked goods click here.  Eggs are good for you, but in baked goods they pack on extra calories that you won’t miss. Also, click here to see which is better. Bacon or turkey bacon? Eggs or Egg beaters? The answers may surprise you!

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Brownies