The UnDiet Weight Loss Guide » October 2013

Monthly Archives: October 2013

High Protein Living Food Neutral Recipes Vegetarian

Prepare Ahead Packable Low Calorie Low Carb Salads

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Have you ever found yourself standing in front of the fridge so hungry that you can’t even think. No? Well I have plenty of times. For those of you who are often in the same quandry I’ve put together a selection of easy (no measurements and infinitely customizable to use what you already have) make-ahead salads that will be ready to go when you are. Plus they’re perfect to pack up and take along to work, on a hike, to a picnic …

Note: if you’re looking for a Neutral or Vegetarian salad instead of a Protein salad just leave out the meat, cheese or egg. It won’t hurt these recipes at all. Infinitely customizable 🙂

Spicy Peanut Cucumber Salad

Diced or sliced cucumber, green onion (both white and green parts), tossed with Trader Joes Spicy Peanut Vinegarette.

Optional Garnishes:

  • toasted sesame seed
  • toasted pumpkin seed
  • toasted sunflower seed
  • diced waterchestnut
  • crumbled dried seaweed
  • baked tofu

Ranch Coleslaw

Toss a bag of shredded coleslaw with any sugar-free ranch dressing. Add one or more of the following if you like:

  • chicken or turkey
  • shredded carrot
  • sliced celery
  • diced or shredded jicama
  • diced or shredded zucchini

Orange Cucumber Salad

Diced or sliced cucumber dressed with Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegarette and tossed with one or more of the following:

  • tomato
  • bell pepper
  • zucchini
  • ham or proscutto
  • radishes

Optional Garnishes:

  • feta cheese
  • green or red onion
  • crumbled bacon
  • diced hard-boiled egg
  • olives
  • toasted nuts: walnuts, pecans or almonds
  • toasted seeds: sunflower, pumpkin or pine nuts
Healthy Products High Protein

Food Review: Rosenborg’s Blue Cheese in Oil

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Rosenborg’s Extra Creamy Blue Cheese in Oil has transformed my salads, transformed my LIFE! I’ll never be able to buy bottled blue cheese dressing again because these little cubes of heaven have made my salads stand up and DANCE. I first used them in a fruit salad for lunch and when dinner time came around and I was still dreaming about my lunch salad I decided to make a meal of what I had originally planned to be just a starter salad. Suffice it to say that I will never be without a jar of Rosenborg’s Extra Creamy Blue Cheese in Oil again. Go ahead, check my fridge.

Tips

Write It Down

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Research by the American Diabetic Association found that dieters who were not successful after numerous weight-loss efforts were drastically underestimating their calorie intake and overestimating their energy expenditures. Studies show that dieters who write down everything they eat consume less than those who don’t monitor their meals.

Now while us UnDieters don’t need to worry about calories, this research brings up an important point; we often see what we want to see. So a food diary can reveal errors such as not waiting long enough between a Protein and a Starch meal, improper food combinations, too much sugar, eating too much too late at night, etc.

$$$avers

Save Big Bucks at the Meat Counter

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You can save big bucks by purchasing the less tender cuts of beef (brisket, flank, sirloin). Many don’t purchase these because they don’t know how to cook them to falling-off-the-bone succulence but when you braise or stew them they’re really wonderful.

Lesser known cuts of beef such as top blade steak are also less expensive, just remember to cut out the thick connective tissue in the center before serving. Look for round tip and chuck eye roast – sear then cook long and slow either by braising, stewing or in a crock pot.

Fillet butt is similar to beef tenderloin and can be broiled or grilled just like you would the tenderloin.

A semi-boneless beef chuck roast can stand in for rib eye or tenderloin roast – roast at 325 degrees for 15 minutes per pound, let rest for 10 minutes then thinly slice against the grain.

Instead of bottom round pick up a beef round rump roast or tri-tip roast. They’re more tender than the bottom round and excellent when seared, add non-Starch vegetables such as onion, celery, even apple or pear and broth to cover half the meat. Cover and braise in 325 degree oven for ninety minutes.

Ground chuck is less expensive than ground beef and more flavorful. Because of it’s higher fat content though you might want to drain and pat it with paper towels after browning.

You can save money on veal when you use shoulder in place of leg cutlets. Marinate up to 24 hours in a marinade containing a tenderizing enzyme such as fresh citrus juice. Veal breast is wonderful when braised. Leave the fat while cooking then trim before serving.

You’ll get a 5 pound roast and a dozen chops from a whole boneless pork loin. Pork shoulder butt is less tender but can be tenderized by marinating in a marinade with a tenderizing enzyme such as fresh citrus or vinegar, then cook with the marinade for 2 hours at 300 degrees.

You can get the flavor of lamb without splurging on lamb rib chops or rack of lamb. Less expensive cuts like lamb shank make wonderful stews and roasts. Cook them long and slow and you’ll love them. Lamb shoulder and blade shoulder are great when grilled or broiled, or slice thin and pan fry. Boneless center roast from the blade part of the shoulder is delicious oven-roasted. Season to taste, add 1 inch of water to pan, insert meat thermometer and roast in a 350 degree oven until thermometer reads 140-145 degrees. And don’t throw away any bones, they make great soup.

When making a stew instead of buying cubed beef, buy top round trim the fat and cube it yourself.

So dust off  the crockpot, rescue your roasting pan from banishment under the cookie sheets and rack up a huge savings on your grocery bill.

Living Food Recipes

Quick & Easy Soup “Salads”

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Here are some quick and easy recipes using canned soups that will help you to get more raw veggies in your diet, particularly on a cold day when a bowl full of salad isn’t that inviting.

Celery Tomato Soup

This soup is a good one when you only want a small salad with your meal, since it contains lots of raw veggies.

Use a blender to finely chop equal amounts of:

  • fresh parsley
  • green onion (both white and green portions)
  • celery, cut in 1/2 inch sections (preferably inner stalks and leaves)

Turn off blender and pour in Imagine Foods Creamy Tomato Soup, Roasted Tomato and Red Bell Pepper or an UnDiet compatible commercial brand of tomato soup (one that contains no refined sugars) and a little vegetable broth.

Place the top on your blender and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

 

Quick Black Bean Soup

This soup is another good one to have when you only want a small salad with your meal, since it also contains lots of raw veggies.

Puree some fresh tomato salsa.

Heat a can of vegetarian refried black beans until very hot. Stir in pureed salsa at a ratio of about 1/4 cup salsa to 3/4 cup beans.

Variations: If you don’t have any salsa stir V-8 juice into your black beans. This won’t qualify as raw veggies but it’s still veggies.

 

Quick Carrot Risotto

Risotto isn’t really as time consuming as most people think that it is. There’s no need to stand in front of the stove watching the rice cook – in between adding broth you can be making a salad, setting the table, cleaning the kitchen … Before you know it you’re risotto is done and dinner is on.

  • 1 large peeled carrot, finely shredded on the smallest setting on your grater
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 cups instant brown rice
  • 2 – 3 cups vegetable broth

Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat. Season with sea salt and black pepper while sauteeing. When onion becomes translucent (about 5 minutes) add garlic. Stir occasionally to keep onion from browning. It may get light brown, but it shouldn’t get crispy.

Set onion aside and add butter to the pan along with the rice. Stir until rice starts to brown then add 1/2 cup vegetable broth and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt.

Let simmer without covering pan. When rice is almost dry add another 1/2 cup broth. Continue doing this until you’ve used 2 cups of broth.

Taste the rice. It should be chewy but not crunchy. You can stop adding liquid at this point or add up to another 1 cup of broth in 1/2 cup increments.

When liquid is absorbed remove from heat and stir in carrot puree and cooked onion. Taste and add more sea salt if needed.

$$$avers

10 Ways to Save Money When Buying Healthy Food

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1. Buy in Bulk

Why pay for fancy packaging? I bring everything home and pour them into my own containers. I painted a stripe of chalkboard paint onto each container so I can easily label each container.

2. Make Double & Triple Batches

Freeze leftovers, label with the date and use within a month. Or trade with a friend or two.

3. Plant a Garden

Work with a friend or group to plant different items and meet to trade or deliver to each other.

4. Raise Livestock

Okay I know this isn’t an option for everyone but for those of you who live in an area where this is a viable idea you may want to get started small. A few chickens, a couple of goats and you’re on your way. If that still sounds intimidating enlist the help of a friend or join a local group and meet to trade goods and tips. One person may raise chickens, another may have goats, etc.

5. Join a Co-op

Co-ops are an excellent way to get food that is already lower cost at an even steeper discount. For a few hours a week of work you get all your groceries at a great discount.

6. Take Advantage of Sales

It’s more difficult to find coupons for healthier foods but sales are very common. Many grocery stores even have a healthy food section where you can find items on sale. When you find something that you know you like buy lots. When you see something that you’ve been wanting to try, buy one. If you like it, then next time it’s on sale you can buy tons.

7. Make Your Own Basics

There are so many items you can make for pennies and that don’t take a lot of time, especially if you make large batches or work with several friends to trade items. Think bread, granola, desserts, pizza, pancakes and waffles, pasta sauce, salad dressing, roasted chicken or turkey …

8. Don’t Waste Food

Many recipes cavalierly tell you to toss out the portion you’re  not using for the recipe, but I like to:

  • zest citrus fruits before juicing them
  • save vegetable trimmings to make vegetable broth
  • save herb trimmings to make pesto or add to broth
  • use egg yolks to make mayonaise or custard
  • use egg whites to make mousse or an egg white omelette
  • use bread crusts to make bread pudding or croutons

I’ll also use fruit that is nearing it’s prime to make broth smoothies or cut it into chunks and freeze it for making smoothies at a later time.

When the kids ask me to cut the crusts off their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I save them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. When the bag is full they make a fantastic bread pudding.

Add some raisins to leftover rice to make a rice pudding for tomorrow night’s desert.

Crumbs left in the bottom of the bag can be used to top a casserole or for some crunch in your salad.

Broken bits of corn or whole wheat tortillas can be baked for chips.

9. Use Less Expensive Ingredients

Canned fish is much less expensive than fresh or frozen fish.

A whole chicken or turkey is less expensive than packaged pieces.

In season produce is less expensive than produce that has to be trucked in from another area.

Store brands are less expensive than gourmet brands.

10. Eat Less Meat

Meat is easily the most expensive item in any meal. You don’t have to go totally vegetarian, you don’t even have to have a vegetarian meal to eat less meat. You can check out my Meat-less Meals (I’ll update this post with a link when I publish those recipes) for recipes and ideas on meals with less meat, but the basic idea is to:

  • Serve a vegetarian meal two to three days a week
  • Serve less meat the other days of the week

 

I hope this list of ways to save money without compromising your desire to eat healthy will serve to keep healthy foods on your table and more cash in your pocket. Eat well and be healthy!

$$$avers Working Out

Fit Parenthood

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It is possible to keep fit despite the demands of parenthood. Having a child does not have to tether you to crib and playpen; as long as you’re willing to be flexible and use your imagination. You might have to change the way you do things but you won’t have to cut a fit lifestyle completely out of your life.

Workout Strategies

Trade babysitting time with a friend and use your time to workout at the gym.

Use a jogging stroller to slip in a morning jog.

Attach a baby trailer to your bicycle.

Workout to an exercise video while your baby plays on the floor or in a playpen. You won’t fail to amuse him/her.

 

Working Out With a Toddler

With a toddler around, the world is your gym. Consider the following venues and then apply the same strategies to other places you frequent and activities you perform with your toddler.

Playground: While your toddler is tackling the slide you can be doing chin ups on the jungle gym. While the little one is playing in the sandbox you can power-walk or jog the perimeter of the area. Take a set of handheld weights and do strength training while watching (you know the refrain – “watch me”, watch me!” “WATCH ME!!!”).

Home: They’ll get on the floor right along with you and make entertaining attempts to imitate your workout routine. Likewise they’ll dance along as you follow your favorite aerobic video. Just like at the playground, jog around the back yard while keeping an eye on him/her, or do the toning or strength training you were too embarrassed to do at the playground. When they want me to “watch” I find that the perfect time to do aerobics while watching them skate, dance, practice baseball, etc.

Beach: Play chase (running in sand is killer for your leg muscles), toss a ball, dodge your child’s attempts to get you wet with a squirt gun, race down to the water and back to the towel (several times) …