Hey... eat this and LIVE in the bathroom!!!

I'm gonna go on another rant here... so put your seatbelts on...

I love Jamie Lee Curtis.  I really do.  I think she is awesome... embracing her gray hair, refusing to let her body be photoshopped or airbrushed for magazine shoots... growing old gracefully... etc...  I get her... I really do...

Remember when she was the "body"?  She was a fitness guru, promoting good health and well being... almost her entire life...  Definitely someone to look up to... ya know?

So... I'm having a little bit of trouble with her commercials, and all other other commercials out there advertising little chocolate cups of "digestional cures".  All the "bifidus regularis" and such... all that junk is latin code speak for... ready for it?  Are you sure?  Wait for it... it's coming... hold on...

It's all code speak for "Pooing easily!!!!!!"

I want to understand why all these products have to be invented to "help with regularity" when all the cures are RIGHT THERE IN THE SUPERMARKET AND FARMER'S MARKET SHELVES!!!

The names of these natural cures?  FRUIT AND VEGETABLES!!!

Why can't ANYONE on TV talk about how you don't NEED all those chemicals in a cup, with a dash of good bacteria, to be healthy and "regular"... you just need to eat a LOT of fruits and veggies!!!!!

Why does everything have to be so DIFFICULT!!!

If ANYONE wants to know why Americans are sooooo "stopped up"... it's ALL because of our diets... ALL OF IT!!!

Cheeseburgers from a window, lasagna from a frozen container, white bread FULL OF AIR and YEAST, smashed fruit spread onto a plastic film, Aluminum cans filled with cavity inducing, carbonated sugar crystals,  sugar water tinted orange and red to 'replenish electrolytes" and the list goes on, and on and on...

Our bodies are designed to eat lots of fresh produce, a small amount of meat, and water...  When we start adding in fake cheese in a can, bags of greasy chips, chemically modified powdered "dips", mystery meats from the drive thru... our bodies work EXTRA hard to digest, breakdown, and ultimately eliminate all those extra chemicals and byproducts.  It WREAKS HAVOC on our kidneys and liver... every single day!  It's bound to stay put and cause a backup, and discomfort...

The cure?  Just like our Grandma's used to say... "Eat more roughage"... in other words... EAT MORE PLANTS!  They will go right through you... cleaning you out, and helping you feel great!

Personally, I stay away from anything that comes in a cup that disguises itself as chocolate and tells me it's for my bowels... remember those fiber chews from way back when? GROSS!

I feel the same about those fiber powders that dissolve in water... JUST EAT A COUPLE OF APPLES.. for criminy's sake!!!  Want fiber?  Eat corn, brown rice, apples, oranges, watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, nectarines, grapes, bananas, mangoes, pineapple, guava, spinach, salad, tomatoes, cukes, eggplant, zucchini, onions and BEANS GALORE!!! etc... 

Feel FULL from low calorie, high fiber, high mineral and vitamin, REAL FOODS!!!

Those Activia, Metamucil, Fiber One, Choco this, and strawberry that crud is just a cover for poor eating habits...

Do it naturally, and never worry about getting enough water or vitamins, or protein...

Ms. Curtis... I know you mean well... but I'd much rather see you on TV promoting a healthy eating plan, full of real, whole foods, that will naturally help us to elimate and be healthier overall...

So that's my 2 cents... AGAIN!

Tea... don't ya just love it?

Iced Tea... hot tea... chai tea... green tea...

LOL... kind of sounds like the beginning of a Dr. Seuss book... huh?

Do you LOVE tea...like me?  I've sort of become a tea fiend in the last couple of years...  I'm not shy about my tea addiction either... come and look in my pantry anytime... and you will see no less than 100 different types, flavors and kinds of teas...

I'm really a fan of loose teas as of late.  Whole loose teas.  I'm becoming less of a fan of the pre bagged teas, in the paper tea bags...Why? I don't know... I just like the flavor and all the little tools necessary to make good loose tea... I enjoy the process of steeping, filtering, etc...Call me crazy... but in my mind... all food is love... if it's the best type of food available...

Even more recently... I've been playing around with marinades, rubs, and even baking breads infused with tea...
and I have been LOVING IT!!!

Tea is a WONDERFUL food.  It contains THOUSANDS of compounds that are beneficial to our bodies... tannins, ECGC, amino acids, polyphenols, blood cleaners, etc... Basically... all those benefits have to do with the big "C", Cancer.  Teas can be a fantastic way to help prevent some cancers.. along with a healthy diet and virtually cutting out all junk and processed foods.

My favorite tea..hands down... is Rooibos, pronounced (roy-bus).  It actually isn't a tea at all, but a bark of a bush in South Africa.  They call it "Bush Tea" in Africa... and it's DELICIOUS!  It have absolutely NO CAFFEINE... and it's a gorgeous red color.  I buy it in bulk, organic from Amazon.com from David's teas...
They give it to newborn babies for curing colic.  They peel the bark from the trees, beat it up into tiny pieces... let it dry in the sun to turn red... and bag it up...

It contains flouride, magnesium, Polyphenols, some vitamins and lots of minerals.  Did I mention it tastes really good?  It's one of the few teas that is lovely with milk. I like mine with just a hint of honey... mmmmm...

If you hate to drink water... (that is soooo strange to me... but I know lots of people that actually say that), and want to stay away from soda's (diet and regular are the devil), try drinking some unsweetened tea, or sweeten it with a little honey...

You will lose water weight, hydrate yourself, add some vital minerals and healthy compounds to your body... and maybe even enjoy drinking non carbonated drinks a little more...

Its a fantastic alternative to soda...

Did you know... that if  you love drinking green tea... that is great... but squeezing in a little citrus (lemon or orange) will actually help you body absorb 50% MORE of the beneficial ECGC of the green tea??? 

Next time you want to marinate a steak or two or four... brew some tea, and mix in some soy sauce, orange juice, honey, worcestershire and a little olive oil and pour it over your meat for a few hours...

It'll add a little something something to the flavor of your meat that will dance on your tongue!

Making a rub? Add some loose tea to the mix for a depth of flavor that is earthy and lovely on chicken or fish or beef.  Just a tablespoon or so does the trick!!!

Enjoy... and drink tea for your health!

Kabobs... The PERFECT LDL lunch...

I. LOVE. KABOBS!!!

Aren't they fun to eat?  I don't know why... but a steak and veggies on a stick is WAAAAY more fun to eat than steak and veggies laying on a plate...

But wait... did you think that Kabobs (Kebobs? Kebabs?) were only for meat, chicken or fish and veggies?  NOOO WAY JOSE!!!

Food on a stick IS AN AWESOME way to cure food duldrums.  It's also a wonderful way to get kids to eat foods they normally wouldn't...like fresh veggies or new fruits...

The skewers also don't have to be wooden or metal... you can use anything!  Rosemary stalks, toothpicks, pretzel sticks, bamboo etc...

My favorite way to eat a Kebab is to marinate a lovely meat in some orange juice, soy sauce, honey and salt... and let it get good and soaked up...

Then skewer all the meat together, and skewer all the marinated veggies on another... and BBQ them up...

DIVINE!!!

Dessert can be a bunch of fruit, cut up, and skewered up...

I also love to have a big glass of iced tea with an entire skewer of fruit sitting in the tea in my glass, flavoring my tea and getting all soaked up with tea... YUM!!!

I also LOVE skewered pineapple on the BBQ... no sauce, rubs or sugar needed... it's just luscious all by itself...

And I am not typically a fan of pineapple at all... but on a skewer and BBQ'd? I am a fan!

Love seafood?  Do up an entire skewer of salmon chunks, or shrimp, or scallops and eat to your hearts content for lunch!  It's like having a treat... on a stick...

I love to BBQ Apples and Onions on a skewer... and brush with orange juice and Olive oil....

Sooo yummy!

It's summer... go stick a stick into something and cook it over a fire...

You'll be glad you did!!!

Things I've learned...

Yowza!!!

Just got back from a week at the beach a few days ago...

Why does leaving for one week, require two weeks of preparation and one week of post preparation?

My one year anniversary date of starting my new eating plan is fast approaching, and I've learned sooooo much I am bursting!!!  Time on the shore, with pen in hand, my boys surfing in the water, has led me to a list of things I've learned in the last year...

Oh, and for the record... I HAVE NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER STAYED on an eating plan for longer than 3 weeks... so this is BIG deal for me... HUGE!!!

Things I've learned since July 14, 2009...

1.  We are NOT destined to be and stay overweight forever just because we are over 35.... or 45... or 55!

2.  It IS possible to lose weight quickly by eating enormous amounts of GOOD, healthy food...

3. HFCS, ALL PRESERVATIVES, Aspartame, Splenda, Equal, All sodas, pre packaged foods of all types...

ARE. THE. DEVIL!!!!

4.Once your body gets used to eating fresh, wholesome foods, IT WILL purge itself if you eat badly... even once...

5.  Some people want to lose weight badly... but aren't willing to change their eating habits even one little bit...

6.  Eating really healthy causes other people to hide or not eat in front of you...

7.  Some people wouldn't compliment another human being for having lost noticeable weight if their life depended on it... instead... they'll say something like... "It's about time!"

8.  I don't HAVE to have a piece of cake just because it's my Birthday or someone else's Birthday... I won't die... it's really okay NOT to have it...

9.  Adapting non healthy recipes into uber healthy ones is a lot of fun!

10.  Dried fruit of any kind is my favorite snack... I keep it on hand all the time...

11. You don't have to lose POUNDS to lose weight... inches are GOOD too!

12.  Eating more fruits and veggies everyday is actually CHEAPER!!!

13.  Dinner does NOT have to be eaten at night...

14.  It is COMPLETELY possible to go out to dinner with friends and family to a restaurant and eat this way...

15.  Dairy was NEVER  my friend...I am so much healthier without it.

16.  I can and do eat eggplant every single day... and I never tire of it...

17.  Kids THRIVE on the eating plan... even if modified to include fresh, homemade, yeast free bread...

18. It feels FANTASTIC when friends and family THANK YOU for introducing them to this way of eating and say things like... "It saved my life".... PRICELESS!!!

19.  I will eat this way for the rest of my life... no question...

20.  I believe this eating plan saved my life... and added decades to my life...

Thanks God...

You are just too cool for words....

Homemade Enchilada sauce... NO MORE CANNED STUFF FOR ME!

Mmmmm....

Okay... I'll explain that...

I have a TON of cooking to do this weekend for a couple of place we are going... and Chicken Enchilada's were a demand request of my boys.

So we went to Costco today, to gather ingredients... and I forgot Enchilada Sauce.

So I got to thinking... (could you smell the smoke?)

What IN that sauce anyway...

So I looked up the ingredients label on line, and was disgusted to find MSG, Modified food starches, guar gum, and a host of other CHEMICALS in a simple sauce...

My solution?

Make it myself of course...

I looked up a recipe online... perused the ingredients... and decided to wing it myself... figuring as long as I had the spices down... I could make tasty AND healthy at the same time!

So here's what I came up with...

Trust me on the ingredients... when I had my boys taste it... they said it tasted JUST like real enchilada sauce...

The following amounts are approximations... you CAN'T mess this recipe up!

1-2 tbs olive oil

1-2 Tbs flour

3 crushed garlic cloves minced...

1 can diced tomatoes or 4 tomatoes cut up into small pieces

1 bunch (2 cups?) mushrooms chopped really small (food processor is great here, just pulse a few times)

1/2 cup chopped green scallions

1 medium onion diced

1 tsp chile powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp taco seasoning mix

(use more of the last three items to taste)

Salt

Pepper

Water to thin the mixture as it cooks

Put all of this into a skillet and cook until thick and bubbly... thin with water a little...

Transfer mixture to a food processor and pulverize until smooth

That's it!!! You just made enchilada sauce!!!

I do NOT claim to know how to make Authentic Mexican fare... however, I will NEVER buy the canned stuff again.  I just had my sons taste this and they loved it.

I layered corn tortillas, the mixture, black olives, lowfat cheddar cheese, scallions in successive layers three times to make this casserole style dish...

I feel really good about having only FRESH ingredients in this dish... no prepacked anything except for the tortillas, which I made sure to buy with only corn, lime and salt as the ingredients... no lard or fillers.

I hope you try this for yourself!!!

Enjoy!

Seedy ingredients and advertising...

I've been doing a lot of grocery shopping lately, and in multiple stores, and I've noticed a new "trend" lately.  It seems the big food companies have heard the battle cry of 'NO HFCS' and have heeded it. I see package after package, bottle after bottle of whatever it is... touting "Now with NO HFCS!"  Really? Ya just now realized it's the DEVIL?  Ya JUST NOW realized that Europe BANNED IT in 1974 because of it potential to be life threatening?

  While I am a huge proponent of getting RID of artificial sweeteners, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Food starches, and all things "Partially Hydrogenated"... THEY MUST ALSO come up with a way to MAKE FOOD NOT TOO SHELF FRIENDLY... and help us go back to the days when food was FRESH... and ya had to eat it in a couple of days or it would spoil... 

A "food" with a long shelf life IS NOT A GOOD THING!  Have you ever seen the Morgan Spurlock dude... the guy who made the Documentary about eating McDonalds for thirty days?  He did an experiment on McDonalds food, and the FRENCH FRIES NEVER DECOMPOSED... IN 2 1/2 MONTHS... there is something really WRONG with that!  Click on this link to see what I am talking about...

Also... I'm really not happy with the amount of "cane sugar" and other seedy ingredients they put into foods, to replace the HFCS.  I truly believe they think we are stupid... and don't know how to read labels.

My kids don't eat (at least not in my house)  A LOT of their favorite foods they love.  Why? Because after learning what I've learned, and reading every single box, and ingredients list I touch, I've made the decision that I didn't have my children so they can be science experiments for our food industry.  Fruit is sweet enough without adding sugar.  Veggies taste great withOUT globs of cheese.  Snacks don't need to come from an individual wrapper inside a box... Munching on yummy trail mix and sipping on lightly sweetened green tea at a movie WON'T kill them.  On the contrary... they may just live a heck of a lot longer, and a good degree healthier.

I am so glad the food industry is trying to make some changes... but I don't like the CLOAKING of ingredients to make them seem healthier.  Some words to stay far, far away from are...

Partially Hydrogenated (anything!)
Modified
Processed
Food product
Fat
Saturated
Carageenan
starch
And Many More!

I like my ingredients lists to be no more than 4-5 ingredients.  I also like them to be words I can say to a 5 year old and have them understand it.  That's my rule of thumb.  If it's not... then I don't BUY IT!

Also... beware of grocery stores touting "New Convenient Size"... on products.  That just means they are giving you LESS food for the SAME price.  For instance... Pasta was ALWAYS sold in 1 lb packages... now... 12 OUNCES.. FOR THE SAME PRICE... Yeah... they think we are soooo dumb... so now... I only buy pasta that is sold in 1 lb packages.

Fleecing us isn't gonna work anymore...I'll make sure of it... somehow...

Almost a year...

Oy vay!  What a six weeks it has been!  Lots of Birthdays, Lots of hospital recovery (for my Mom), lots of graduations, just a lot of everything... all at once!

It's been so overwhelming, that writing felt like adding just that one. more. thing to the pile... but I've found a few minutes today... and there is sooo much I want to talk about!

First of all, I've been on another Plateau for the past couple of months.  I'm not worried, I haven't gained an ounce, but I haven't lost either.  Having done the LDL plan for almost 11 months now, I now what needs to be done to get the weight moving downward again... I need to decrease the size of my meal by 1/4 again, to compensate for the 80 lbs lost.  My body now requires fewer calories, so I need to adjust to that.

I love that I rarely feel hungry on this plan, and if I ever do get hungry, I just eat a bunch of fruit, like a watermelon wheel, or a handful of grapes, or a mango or two... I probably eat about 8 - 10 servings of fruit and veggies a day.  I will never cut down on my portion of those things... just my protein (meat) portions during the day meal.
I recently read that an adult over 40 only really needs about 4-5 ounces of protein a day to get all the benefits from it.  I was eating about 8-10 a day between my beans and turkey or chicken and occasionally red meat.
I think cutting down a little bit on my animal protein will help me get off this plateau.

Still, as I approach my one year mark on July 14, having lost 80 lbs in one year feels really incredible.  Just the other day, a friend of mine pulled me aside at the baseball park and asked me how much weight I had lost.  I was so happy someone noticed.  Having so much weight to lose, it's hard to notice the loss... I feel it... but outwardly, it's just now starting to be obvious.

I have family members and acquaintences left and right having the "surgery" to lose weight... and that is all well and good... I notice that when all the weight is lost, they go right back to eating exactly the way they were before the surgery... and some are gaining the weight back... and then some.  Just the other day, and friend that begged me to get the surgery "with" her about 6 years ago, was at a party I was attending, and she had gained every single pound she lost and added about 20 more.  As I gave her a hug, she whispered in my ear... "Later on, can you share the weight loss plan you are on... with me?"  I squeezed her tighter and nodded.  It broke my heart to see here so unhappy.  Her decision to have the surgery was right for her... at the time, and I am so proud of her for making that difficult decision, but the decisions to eat well or not is also difficult.  When I told her about my plan, I was very upfront with her about how important it is to stay far, far away from breads, pastas, and dairy. the biggest downfall of Italian women! 

I feel great!  My High Blood Pressure is GONE!  My swollen ankles are GONE!  My catching a cold every 6 weeks is GONE!  My energy is UP!  I have a lot more to lose, but I feel like I've done a pretty good job this past year.  I may not have lost as much as someone that had surgery, but I still did it...slowly and with lots of self discovery and information about how food is really "made" here in the US.

Have you had weight loss success too? Tell me about it...won't you?  Email me at  mamabella44@gmail.com and  I'll post it on here for ya... so you can help others!

Baba Ganoush!!!

You all know how much I LOVE EGGPLANT!!! and recently... I've discovered how very healthy and low fat Middle Eastern food can be...

Soooo... I decided to make BABA GANOUSH...and ooooohhh it is soooo yummy!

For all my LDL readers... you are going to have to decide if you want to eat this, because it has Tahini in it (Sesame Seed paste)... but I find that the benefits of the olive oil, eggplant, lemon juice, garlic and paprika are worth the little bit of seed protein from the tahini...(plus... I made my own tahini... so I know what's REALLY in it)

Here's what you'll need...

2 eggplants

2 tbs Tahini

juice of one lemon (or two if you like)

1/2 tsp paprika

3 cloves garlic (or more)

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Roast Eggplant until soft, and peel it. (in foil, in oven for about 25 minutes at 375)

When cool, cut into pieces and place in food processor bowl...

Add lemon juice, paprika, garlic cloves, salt, tahini, olive oil... pulverize until very smooth...

Refrigerate...

YOU. ARE. DONE!

This is a GREAT dip for celery, carrots, toasted bread, cukes, etc....

It's a WONDERFUL alternative to heavy, mayo based, creamy dips...

It's very healthy... lots of potassium and folic acid...

The olive oil is FANTASTIC for UN saturated fats and  your heart...

Eggplant is VERY, VERY low in calories...

Please try it... and let me know what you think!

LDLers... Try it without the Tahini... and add white bean puree thinned with olive oil....

** Homemade Tahini - 1 cup raw sesame seeds

1/4 cup olive oil

Pulverize until a watery paste...

Keep extra tahini in an airtight container in the fridge for a month...