Tag: Avocados

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General Weight Loss Tips

31 Recipes

This month I’m participating in FloCoIMo which is Floyd’s (and beyond) alternative to NanoWrimo. My idea first was to create an art journal, but after the first day of the year that seemed like too much work for me right now. I imagine I’d sit around the last week of the year hurridly putting something together, just because. And so I went back to my original idea, which someone told me would be too much, but that’s me, I’m doing it any way. 31 recipes in January.

So far I’ve made five and I actually want to do it, I look forward to each recipe. It goes along nicely with my resolution to cook more and I’m trying out new recipes that I’ve been saving up for way too long.

Yesterday morning for brunch I had another tandoori chicken burger served on naan. Recipes one and two of the month. I just love this recipe.

For dinner I made Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole. I was scared that I wouldn’t like the mushy texture of the sweet potatoes in this, but I did. This recipe was a success, Josh said “I think this is even better than I think it is” as he is now battling the same sickness I had over the weekend. It was very good. Savory, spicy (but not too hot) and comforting.

I made a few minor changes to the recipe, which you can find here. I used kidney beans instead of black because my black beans were not done soaking. I used tomatoes with green chilis in the sweet potato mixture instead of just chilis. I added red onions to the layers. I didn’t use cream cheese. I used cheddar cheese instead and on top. I used beef broth instead of chili when making the green chili sauce, only because that’s what I had on hand. I served with avocados sprinkled with sea salt. I also made more sweet potatoes than that recipe suggests so I could put it in a bigger pan and make six servings. This will definitely be made again.

My fifth recipe is Five Ingredient Granola. I used pecans, oatmeal, chocolate chips, peanut butter, sea salt, honey+corn syrup.

These were good, but way too sweet, especially post Christmas. Next time I would use dried cranberries, more nuts and all honey.

 

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General Weight Loss Tips

Dole Health Summit: Part Two: Real Fruit Bites and More

Lunch at Dole: whipped ginger sweet potatoes, salmon with fresh tomatoes, vegetables lasagna, roasted squash, salad and chocolate covered pineapple

One thing that stood out to me during the Dole Health Summit was how proud the employees are of their health and habits. Before I went to the Dole Health Summit I kind of expected that there would be fresh produce available, but I was not expecting it to be so delicious and thoughtfully prepared.

Throughout my life I’ve believed that health food and good food were on two different teams. It never occured to me that they could be one in the same. When I thought of health food, I thought of “diet food” and to me it was boring, raw, cold, and uninteresting. I grew up in the 90’s where people were told not to eat fat, so I doused my iceburg lettuce in fat-free ranch dressing. We were told to eat cottage cheese, fat-free frozen yogurt, diet soda, and celery sticks to be healthy.

Onyx Restaurant at Four Seasons: ginger salad with miso soup

If I’m being totally honest, the concept of healthy can equal delicious is new to me. I use the term healthy loosely, because it seems that we all, scientists included, have our own idea of what healthy eating looks like.

But Dole managed to merge the two worlds effortlessly. You’d never know that health food wasn’t delicious and you’d never feel deprived or cheated eating this way.  Good, delicious, thoughtful and interesting food. I want more of that in my life, the merging of healthy and delicious foods.

Onyx: risotto with mushrooms

I realize that this may sound strange to those reading who already “get” it, but for me, it’s been a very long journey to this point. You see, it wasn’t until my mid-20’s that I had fresh blueberries, cherries, salmon, black beans, avocados, asparagus, dark leafy greens, or roasted vegetables. Blueberries were made into muffins. Cherries came from a jar in syrup. Salmon was from a can. Beans were brown or green and swimming with bacon. And vegetables were cooked in the microwave.

Dinner at Onyx, Four Seasons Hotel

I’ve since taught myself to enjoy interesting and new flavors. I prefer tea and coffee unsweetened. I rarely drink soda or diet soda. I’m not afraid to try new foods. I want to continue challenging my to change my definition of what good food is. Good food can be a local burger or butternut squash roasted to perfection with garlic, olive oil and chili powder. It can be coconut curry with chicken and vegetables. Good food, or delicious food, doesn’t have to be saturated in fat, salt or sugar to taste good. And I say these things as a reminder for myself, because I sometimes forget how good fruit and vegetables can be.

basil mango sorbet with dark chocolate and mint

Even the Dole employee cafeteria offered a healthy array of food choices. We had the opportunity to eat breakfast there our first morning. You could choose from whole wheat pancakes, to breakfast burritos with made-to-order omelets, homemade salsa, and avacado, or lox with cream cheese, bran muffins or fresh fruit.

In the Dole test kitchen we had the opportunity to try out new products and old favorites. For me, you can’t go wrong with frozen banana soft serve. Oh the miracles of the internet for bringing this amazing concoction into our lives.

We tried the salad kits which were filled with things like dried cherries, blue cheese and nuts. Not to mention the Real Fruit Bites. I really enjoyed these a lot (maybe too much!). I liked that you could taste the oatmeal in them. Apple was my favorite, and pineapple takes second. Josh really liked these too and I was sad to find out he raided my goodie bag and ate most of my packets.

Next was a new product that I haven’t seen yet…

Dole Shakers. Basically they are frozen fruit and yogurt, similar to dippin’ dots. You add fruit juice to them and shake for an on-the-go smoothie. I really liked the taste of these and enjoyed the thick texture. Some of the other bloggers noted that they took on the flavor of whatever juice you use, I didn’t mind that though. I thought they were refreshing and could imagine using these in a pinch or while traveling. I also think they might be good with unsweetened vanilla almond milk to cut down the sugar.

What are you favorite healthy, yet delicious recipes?

Click Here to read Dole Health Summit: Part One

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Weight Loss Exercise

Best Diet to Lose Belly Fat




When you look in the mirror, do you find yourself avoiding the sight of your flabby midsection? Belly fat is unsightly and unhealthy, and anyone with a fat belly would want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. There are exercises that will firm up your abs, but to lose belly fat you will need the best fat-burning diet.

Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a miracle diet. The best diet to lose belly fat will incorporate the same principles found in all healthy and sensible diets.

The following pointers will show you how to diet to lose belly diet:

1. Eat fewer calories than you expend. The only way to lose belly fat is to create a calorie deficit. You can do this by becoming more active and eating less. Use a calorie calculator to determine how many calories you need daily to maintain your weight. The number of calories will depend on your age, gender, and activity level. Cut back on the number of calories required for maintenance. Aim for at least 500 calories below maintenance, but no more than 1200 for women or 1800 for men. Cutting back too much will not only make it more difficult to lose belly fat, but you are likely to gain back the weight lost once you stop your diet.

2. Avoid unhealthy foods. The best diet to lose belly fat should avoid saturated fats, trans fats, refined carbohydrates, and junk food. Stay away from sugary drinks, white bread, and refined-grain pasta. Margarine, vegetable shortenings, cookies, etc. contain unhealthy fats that will increase belly fat.

3. Follow a Mediterranean diet to lose belly fat. Studies show that the best diet to lose belly fat is a Mediterranean diet. The diet involves a high intake of monounsaturated fats (MUFA’s) found in olive oil, olives, walnuts, grape seed oil, avocados, dark chocolate, flaxseed, and soybeans. Foods that play a prominent role in a Mediterranean diet include legumes, fruits, vegetables, unrefined cereals, and fish. It also includes a moderate intake of cheese, yogurt, and wine, and only small amounts of meat and meat products. A Mediterranean diet is low in calories but high in nutrition.



Best Diet to Lose Belly Fat

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Best Foods to Lose Belly Fat

Foods that are high in monounsaturated fats or MUFA may help you lose belly fat. While diets that are high in carbohydrates appear to increase belly fat, a MUFA-rich diet helps burn belly fat. Not only does it help you feel full longer, but it also reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Other foods that you should include in the best diet to lose belly fat include oats, green tea, and natural yogurt. These foods enhance the body’s ability to burn fat, particularly belly fat.



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