Mashed Potato Alternative? Mashed Turnips

English: Turnips (Brassica rapa) Français : Navets Español: Nabos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Turnips are  a good alternative to potatoes and for those trying to steer away from mashed potatoes, mashed turnips are a great go to. They even taste good with gravy. Now when we say gravy, we're not talking about flour based gravy we mean cream based gravies.
Peel turnips and cut into chunks and boil just as you would do for potatoes for potato salad. Once turnips have become tender and mashable, drain thoroughly. Mash with a potato masher. If you notice some extra liquid strain through a metal mesh strainer again. Mix in butter, a little heavy cream  and/or  some shredded cheese and some herbs and spices. It's tasty, healthy and low carb!

Greens for your health

Adding more greens to your diet can yield big results in your health. Greens like Kale, Mustard, Turnip Greens, Collards all pack a huge punch to your health when incorporated into your meals. Try adding handfuls of greens to pasta dishes, soups, stews, casseroles and stir fry. You can also add a handful of greens to your smoothies. The flavor of fruit overpowers the flavor of greens. Try adding in a little peppermint to your juices and smoothies and your kids will never know there's greens. They'll think it's the peppermint. And did I mention they're all low in carbs?

Garden Veggie Omelet

©2013 Dawn Gagnon Photography

If there is one meal of the day that we need to make sure is satisfying, healthy and filling it would have to be breakfast. Most successful weight losses experienced by dieters happen when they incorporate a healthy breakfast into their diet. Of all meals you may think you can skip, breakfast shouldn't be one.
Now the challenge:  a hearty breakfast that is healthy and wont blow your low carb efforts out of the water or your healthy diet.

Ingredients:
1 cup of Original Liquid Eggs or Egg substitute
2 cups of greens, you can use baby spinach, collards, turnip greens or mustard its your choice
(shredded collards were used in the photograph above)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Dash of natural sea salt, or Himalayan Pink Salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 slice of tomato halved
2 small slices sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:
In a sauce pan, warm up olive oil, add in red pepper flakes and greens and saute until greens are wilted but bright green. Add in Eggs and slowly cook being sure to take a spatula and pull the sides in around the omelet to allow uncooked egg to make contact with pan. When omelet is almost solid, cover with a glass lid and take off the heat to let the top continue cooking. Add back to the heat add seasonings, tomato and cheese, slide from pan onto plate and be sure to fold over. Let rest for a few minutes to allow for the cheese to melt.
This omelet has around 150-200 total calories, and only about 8 grams of carbs. We like that!!

If you like regular recipes that aren't low carb, check out: Recipes from a Southern Kitchen.

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Recipe for Low sugar fruit spread

English: Strawberry jam on a plate. Português: Doce de morango. Svenska: Jordgubbsmarmelad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a great gift for those watching the carb intake and for the holidays.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chopped, diced or frozen fruit
• 1 envelope unflavored jello
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 teaspoons sweetener (do a taste test after adding 2 tsp)

Instructions:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, add a little water and simmer fruit until well softened. fruit to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until fruit content is reduced to about 2 cups, if you are using frozen fruit simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix gelatin with vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the hot fruit, stirring until gelatin is dissolved. Stir into remaining fruit, mixing well. Stir in sweetener to taste. Pour into clean decorative canning jars, and chill in the refrigerator for around 4 hours until ready to use.
  
  Tip: Play around with various frozen fruits and combinations to come up with unique and special fruit spreads. The possibilities are endless.

Low Carb Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cheesecake for Halloween (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

•  8 inch round cake pan, greased
•  large bowl
•  electric mixer
•  Roasting pan
•  3 large to jumbo sized room temperature eggs
•  3 packages cream cheese, (8 oz. each)
•  1 can pumpkin pie filling (unsweetened, without sugar), or pureed pumpkin (15 oz.) size (I use pureed pumpkin)
•  1 & 1/2 cups granular sugar substitute such as (Splenda)
•  1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
•  1 tsp. Cinnamon
•  1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
•  1-1/2 cups ground almonds or almond flour
•  pumpkin pie spice (optional)
•  toasted almond slivers (optional)

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease a round 8 inch cake pan with margarine or a good quality cooking spray. Ground almonds make a nice crust, so prepare like you would for traditional graham cracker crust. Mix with a few tablespoons of melted butter and an additional 1/2 cup of granulated sugar substitute.

Step 2

Get one large bowl and with your electric hand held mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin pie filling or puree, 1 cup of sugar substitute, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg; beat until smooth. Add in your eggs slowly as you beat the mixture, one at a time, just until combined.

Step 3

Carefully add batter now to your greased cake pan. Place cake pan in a deep roasting type pan and carefully pour in boiling water in the larger pan to reach halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes depending on your stove. At the 40 minutes mark is it wise to check every few minutes, until cake is set in center and is no longer jiggling.

Step 4

You are now done with the baking portion of the recipe so turn your oven off and open the door let the pumpkin cheesecake remain in the oven an additional 12- 15 minutes. You will want to run a butter knife gingerly around the edge of the cake, cover it and let it refrigerate for at least 5 hours for best results. Garnish with some toasted almond slivers and a dollop of low fat sugar free whipped cream, sprinkled with a little pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy~~

Savory Bok Choy soup

©2012 Dawn Gagnon Photography

Boy Choy is loaded with health benefits and so easy to prepare. It is an ideal side dish but also a tasty and light soup as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Bok Choy chopped
• 3 cups of low sodium beef stock
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 1/2 cups of diced mushrooms
• 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3-4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 package of bacon (you can also use diced pancetta) cut into two inch lengths

Instructions:

In one large skillet  saute bacon and drain on a towel leaving a small amount of bacon fat in the pan then saute onion and mushrooms. Cook until onions and mushrooms are tender. While pan is  hotm add beef stock and add all of the remaining ingredients: Bok Choy, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper flakes. Cover pan and let simmer until Bok Choy is translucent. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. This soup tastes great with toasted french bread. Enjoy~

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6 foods you and your family need to eat often

Garlic spinach (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many of us have become with Dr. Oz through the years and know that he is always giving us great recipes, advice and information on how to take better care of our bodies. This list is a few things he says we need every day.

1. Garlic- What's not to love about garlic? In addition to the wonderful flavor it imparts on so many of our favorite dishes, garlic is used the world over for it's medicinal properties. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, fights high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and has cancer fighting abilities as well. 
2. Tomatoes and/or paste- You want to  aim for at least 10 tablespoons a week.  Beware many commercially prepared sauces have excess preservatives, sugars and additives that you do not need. Ideally the best sauce is the ones that have had the least amount of processing. Look for sauces and pastes that are 100% USDA organic, certified Kosher, and Vegan which means it will be gluten free.
3. Olive Oil- Olive oil  should be kept in a dark bottle/container in your refrigerator.
   Do not fry foods in Olive oil as the heated oil loses any benefits you may want to gleam from it. Olive oil should be used and treated as a condiment and used to flavor foods that are already cooked or raw. Instead of cooking food in Olive oil, choose another healthy cooking oil.
4. Spinach- How many ways is spinach healthy, let me count the ways..just be sure you've got nothing better to do for the rest of the day. That's because spinach is considered a super food and with good reason. Here are just a few things to know about spinach and why you should have it as often as possible.  Spinach is full of Flavonoids -- a phytonutrient that has anti-cancer properties.  These phytonutrients have been shown to slow down cell division in the stomach and in skin cancer cells. And for the fellows out there spinach has proven to be a  significant guard against aggressive prostate cancer. The list goes on to show that spinach is helpful with inflammation, lowers blood pressure, eye sight issues related to age like macular degeneration, and cataracts. The high levels of vitamin A also help with all sorts of skin maladies including wrinkles, acne and other things that rob us of our youthful appearance.
   
5. Almonds- Always opt for raw unroasted Almonds. Roasted nuts are heat damaged and the nutritive and healthy attributes are thereby damaged. Always keep your raw Almonds and nuts  in the refrigerator to ensure freshness. Almonds are great for your heart, prevention of prostate cancer, blood sugar issues, inflammation, lowering cholesterol, and more.
6. Pomegranate- Pomegranate juice is a natural source of polyphenols and other antioxidants including tannins and anthocyanidins. These antioxidants guard against the damaging effects of free radicals, unstable molecules that attack cells and may lead to numerous health concerns and premature aging.

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Cheesy stuffed zucchini

Zucchini (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Zucchini is a wonderful go to vegetable for low carb dieters. It's healthy, versatile and can be used in many dishes .

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized zucchini
• 3 diced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 cup onions chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup cubed herb stuffing mix
• 1/4 cup of chicken stock
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
• Paprika

 Ingredients:

Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Using the tip of a teaspoon, scoop out pulp, leaving a 1/4 -inch shell. Saute zucchini pulp,mushrooms and onion in butter until onions are translucent. Add a few tablespoons of chicken stock and stir in seasoned bread crumbs or herb stuffing mix. Add in cheese, dill, salt and pepper. If the mixture is too dry add a little more chicken stock. You want the consistency of the mix to be such that you can spoon it.

Place zucchini shells in a shallow 9 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Mound stuffing cheese mix in zucchini shells, packing lightly. Add water to dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle tops with paprika.

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Nutrisystem Sodium count per meal/day

Pasta e fagioli rapida (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is an example of the typical Nutrisystem meal you'd eat in one day and their sodium content totaled
Breakfast: Harvest Nut bar
sodium     170 mgs.
protein shake 120 mgs with Almond milk add 95 mgs.
Total sodium for breakfast:385 mgs.
Lunch: Fettucini Alfredo
sodium     550 mgs.
Dinner:  Pasta Fagioli soup
sodium     600 mgs.

Total sodium for all three meals: 1535 mgs not including desserts, any salt you add or any additional food you eat or drinks you have that contain sodium. If you add condiments like ketchup or sauces that number would be higher. Keep in mind this is just for the selections listed here, other selection in the nutrisystem meals offered may vary.

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Nutrisystem update: Couldn't do it

English: A chocolate chip granola bar made by Quaker Oats. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought I'd be able to make some headway with Nutri system but after a few weeks I  had to give it up. There were just too many unanswered questions and yes you can go online and ask others, or get support but the bottom line is, as much as I would have loved for this to have worked it was just too much trouble. It is no where near as "simple" or "easy" as the ads on television proclaim. Here is what I hated about being on Nutri system:

1. The food was awful. Yeah- you may hear a lot of people say the food is good, but I'd love to know what food they are used to.  The food just tasted horrible. There were a few things that were ok, but more of the food was lacking than satisfying. The breakfast bars are ok, the desserts are ok. However most of the canned heat in the microwave stuff was no better than anything else you've ever eaten that was processed or dehydrated or?

2. Hungry, hungry, hungry. I starved. The portions were tiny, adequate for any 4 to 6 year old but for an adult it left me feeling hungry, even with adding a salad here and there. The portions are no larger than your hand.  Lengthwise or depth wise.  Your entree is literally a little white bowl that is oval shaped. I doubt there is more than a 1/2 cup of food in each container. The other reason I was hungry is because there is just not enough meat/protein in this diet.

3. Food is high in sodium. You'd think with all that salt that is in these prepackaged processed products that they'd at least have some flavor, but you can't even taste the salt, which means you end up adding salt, which in turn means you are really begging for high blood pressure.

4. Bad labeling, not enough clarity. Ok, its day one, you have the shake and your crummy little packet of cereal. Yippee, sounds simple. However, it gets real confusing when you see an item marked "lunch" and its only a small granola type bar. Seriously? This is it?
So then dinner rolls around and you have your tiny entree marked "dinner" and  you get a "dessert" which is usually a small granola type bar, or a tiny packet of crackers, or a muffin. Then you read the book and it tells you to add 1 carb this, or 2 proteins of that..its all too confusing, you pay that much for the food and then you have to eat additional foods with it but they don't really make it easy or clear, because then they say if your are more than 100 lbs overweight to add an extra carb to your lunch or dinner.

So wait...I add one, then if I am really fat I add more? So I am adding more of my own food than what they are supplying and guess what even with all of that confusion at the end of the day I am still hungry because carbs don't fill you up. Why can't you add additional protein?

After a while you just realize this plan just doesn't make sense. I don't want to spend all day researching online on the Nutri System website what I am doing wrong. I spent a good deal of money on a product that promised ease, results, great flavor and flexibility. What I got was confusion, hunger, and too many variables and food I had to add to the diet plan.
Why not just eat my own food? It seems it is mainly about portion control any way, and protein control in my book. Great if you want to try out being a vegetarian.

I can just re-use the tiny containers and put my own food in them. At least I know it would have tasted good. The only things in their program that would be good to have on hand is the protein shakes, granola bars, cookies and muffins, however I suspect you can find similar items to them in the supermarket. The other food they can keep! Those celebrities are lying their butts off if they say this food tastes good. Most of it is not tasty, you only eat it because as I said before YOU'RE STARVING.

Baked Salmon Pie

English: Flesh of an Atlantic Salmon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 15 1/2-ounce can salmon
• 1 16-ounce can green beans cut, drained
• 1 4 1/2-ounce jar mushrooms sliced, drained
• 4 ounces Monterey jack cheese cut in cubes (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1 7/8-ounce package sour cream and chives sauce mix
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds or poppy seeds

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Grease or butter a deep 2 1/2- to 3-quart round baking dish.
• Drain salmon; remove any bones and dark skin. Break up salmon and place in baking dish with green beans, mushrooms and cheese; toss to combine; set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir milk, sauce mix and onion until blended and thickened. Stir into salmon mixture.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Arrange crescent roll triangles on top of hot mixture, placing points towards center and rolling points back about 1 inch to form an opening in center. Press outer edge of dough to rim of baking dish. Pinch edges of triangles together to form a top crust. Sprinkle dough with seeds.
• Bake 20 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and mixture is hot and bubbly.

How to make baby spinach dip

This recipe is super fast, super easy and super tasty. You will need a good quality processor or an appliance similar to a Ninja Master Prep Professional processor for best results. This recipe only has a few ingredients is low carb, low fat and ideal as a vegetable dip, or for chips.
Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup of low fat Greek yogurt
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup of fresh, washed baby spinach leaves
• Seasonings (your choice)

Instructions:
In a food processor, add all ingredients and pulse thoroughly until well blended. Chill in your refrigerator for an hour and serve.
Other suggestions:
Add ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese and mix into hot pasta for a nice creamy spinach pasta side dish. Try different seasonings depending on what you are serving. 1 cup of Avocado in exchange for your spinach will be a nice dip for tortilla chips as well. Remember to add a little diced onion to make easy Guacamole.

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Diet strategies for the morbidly obese

One struggle with those weighing 100 lbs. over their ideal weight is exercise. Exercise is often a painful and overwhelming practice that most morbidly obese people will not follow through with, or even attempt in the first place.

Let's get real
If it hurts it's not gonna happen. Realistically speaking, those who are 100 pounds or more over their ideal weight can not exercise with any success if they experience pain. Pain in the joints, as well as back pain can often be worsened through many exercises, even walking. Most of these pains will subside or lessen with weight loss so the obvious strategy may be to focus on weight loss primarily and include low impact exercise along the way. See Is the exercise industry forgetting the obese? For exercise equipment made for those over 250 lbs.

The 3 plus 1 meal 
Most successful diets focus on portion control and foods that are in a healthy balance. Rather than joining diet programs that call for minute amounts of tasteless prepackaged, processed foods there is a more viable strategy. The 3 plus 1 meal simply states that you have 2 cups vegetables, 1 serving of a whole grain and 1 lean meat no bigger than the palm of your hand.  Leafy greens such as Kale, Collards, Cabbage, Spinach you can have as much as you like with any meal. Keep in mind that if you load these greens with fats, your diet will back fire. Try powerful seasonings like hot sauce, lemon juice and herbs and spices to enhance their flavor.


The 2 inches in, 2 inches off plate
Now this is a simple trick, but it also calls for portion control. Simply make sure when you use your 3 plus 1 meal plan that you are 2 inches away from the edge of your dinner plate. It won't necessarily get you an instant two inches off your waistline immediately but as time goes by it will help you shed the excess.


8 minutes on your Wii Fit every day
It sounds like a small insignificant amount but even the famed Dr. Oz says that working out for even 7 minutes a day is better than no exercise at all and will have some benefit. The brilliance of this is that it is do-able for even the very heavy person. Suggested exercise on Wii fit would be the stepping exercise. Each set lasts 8 minutes which makes it very easy to do and keep track of your workout. The Wii fit balance board is a  mere two inches off the floor and this exercise is low impact for almost everyone.  If you haven't invested in any exercise equipment, a Wii fit may be the best investment of all for the very obese. Wii fit takes up little space, and has a ton of easy to manage exercises ideal for those who need some low impact exercise. There are many levels and as you get healthier, you can increase your work out to eventually get to that 30 minutes of exercise a day optimum.

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Low carb tuna burgers

Tuna Fish cuisine of the Mahl people. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:

    1 cup tuna flaked cooked
    2 tablespoons  minced celery                                      
    1 tablespoon sweet pickles chopped or pickle relish            
    1 tablespoon onions minced                                     
    1/2 teaspoon lemon juice fresh or to taste                     
    Freshly ground pepper to taste                                 
    2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise real                             
    Butter or margarine                                            
    2 slices of low carb bread or whole wheat high fiber hamburger buns         
    4 slices bacon                                                 
    4 slices American cheese or cheese of your choice              

Combine fish, celery, sweet pickle or relish, onion, lemon juice, pepper, and enough mayonnaise to moisten. Lightly toast and butter bun or English muffin halves and spread with fish mixture. Cut bacon slices in half and partially fry to remove most of fat. Top each fish mixture with a slice of cheese and 2 bacon strips. Broil 5 inches from heat for 4 minutes or until cheese melts and bacon crisps.

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