YOU on a Diet ( 11/01/07 - 02/29/08 )

[jezzie]

Pumpkin/Pecan Pie

* 1 - 9 inch unbaked pie shell
* 1 - 15 oz. Can solid pack pumpkin
* 2/3 Cup Splenda brown sugar
* 3/4 tsp. China cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
* 1/8 tsp. salt
* 1.5 tsp. pure vanilla extract
* 2 eggs, well beaten
* 1/2 Cup milk

Topping:

* 1/8 Cup butter
* 1 TBS light olive oil
* 1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar
* 3/4 Cup coarsely chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, eggs, and milk. Mix until well blended. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping on the pie and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool and refrigerate at least a few hours for easiest slicing.

Baking time: 65 minutes
Serves: 8

[jezzie]

Pumpkin Cheesecake
serves twelve

CRUST

3/4 cup pecans (finely chopped)
2 Tablespoons butter (melted)

FILLING

16 ounces softened cream cheese
1 cup Splnda blend (1/2 Splnda, 1/2 sugar)
15 ounces pumpkin (one can)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 large eggs -- room temperature

How To Prepare:

Combined finely chopped pecans with melted butter.
Press the nut mixture into the bottom, and one inch up the sides, of a springform pan.

Blend cream cheese with the sugar until creamy
add the other ingredients except the eggs and mix well.
Add eggs, one at a time, until just blended.
Pour mixture over the crust.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour.
Run a knife around the outside edge of the pan to loosen the cheese cake from the sides.
Let it cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
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[jezzie]

Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

1/3 cup half Splnda/sugar
2 strips lemon zest
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
24 dried apricots (about ¼ pound)
2 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 tablespoons chopped peeled pistachios


1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and place a wire rack on top.

2. Combine 'sugar', lemon zest, cinnamon stick, and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Add apricots and gently simmer just until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the apricots with a slotted spoon to a rack. Let cool completely.

3. Melt chocolate in a small metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Dip a poached apricot halfway into the chocolate, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle some chopped pistachios over the chocolate half and return the apricot to the rack. Repeat with the remaining apricots. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set, about 20 minutes.

[jezzie]

Frothy Raspberry-Orange Smoothie
Ingredients

* 2 cups nonfat or 1% vanilla soy milk
* 2 ripe medium bananas
* 2 cups frozen raspberries
* 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender container. Cover; blend until smooth.


Tropical Fruit Smoothie

1 cup cubed fresh or canned pineapple
1 banana, sliced
1/2 cup silken tofu or low-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup frozen passion fruit concentrate
1/2 cup water
2 ice cubes
1 tablespoon wheat bran or oat bran (optional)

Combine pineapple, banana, tofu (or yogurt), passion fruit concentrate, water, ice cubes and wheat bran
(or oat bran), if using, in a blender; cover and blend until creamy. Serve immediately.

[jezzie]

Overnight Oatmeal

Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each

4 cups water
1 cup steel-cut oats *
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours.

* Ingredient note: Steel-cut oats, sometimes labeled "Irish oatmeal," look like small pebbles. They are toasted oat groats—the oat kernel that has been removed from the husk that have been cut in 2 or 3 pieces.

Do not substitute regular rolled oats, which have a shorter cooking time, in the slow-cooker oatmeal recipe.

[jezzie]

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A search at the site took me to the PDR site with this diet related hypothyroid info:

Self Care

Diet and other lifestyle measures can help to lessen the severity of hypothyroidism.

* Eat a low-fat, high-fiber diet. High cholesterol is one of the consequences of untreated hypothyroidism. Therefore, it is important to eat a diet that is low in fat and high in fiber to keep cholesterol down.

* Eat only cooked vegetables. Some experts argue that eating raw cruciferous vegetables interferes with thyroid hormone production because of a certain compound in raw vegetables that blocks a component of thyroid hormone. Cooking the vegetables inactivates this compound.

* Quit smoking. If you smoke, consider kicking the habit. One research team found that smoking significantly increased the risk of hypothyroidism.
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[jezzie]

Friday's foods:

Pre-Breakfast:
2 cups half decaf with evaporated milk
raw almnds, spicy pmpkin seeds

Breakfast:
slow cook oatmeal w/cinnamon, buckwheat honey
Granny Smith apple

Snack:
6 oz. Vanilla soy milk, banana

Lunch:
whole grain pasta w/hot pepper sauce, Parmesan
salad w/ extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar

Snack:
5.5 oz. can of V-8 juice, banana

Dinner:
crockpot vegetable soup w/brown rice
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[jezzie]

Macaroni and cheese

3 cups whole grain ziti
2/3 cup grated Asiago
2/3 cup grated Gruyere
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 cup milk
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot, bring water to boil. Season water with salt and cook macaroni until al dente,
about 10 minutes. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl and while pasta is still hot add all the cheese.

In a separate medium bowl, using a whisk, combine the sour cream, butter, eggs, salt, pepper,
and milk and add to the macaroni mixture. Spray casserole dish with nonstick and pour macaroni mixture
into the dish.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with additional cheese.
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[jezzie]

•Good-Mood Food

Which food can make you happier: an apple or some chocolate?

If you immediately said "Chocolate!" you're right, but (there's always a but) only if you really enjoy it. If a wave of fat-and-calorie guilt washes over you after the last bite, it negates the mood boost that chocolate provides. Sweet solution: Buy chocolate that has at least 70 percent cocoa. It's high in cholesterol-fighting antioxidants, and the flavor is so intense that a little goes a long way.

Cocoa is derived from the seed of the cocoa tree and is an essential component in real chocolate. It's rich in flavonoids, antioxidant compounds that boost cardiovascular health by relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow. Cocoa also has been found to fight LDL -- the bad cholesterol that encourages plaque to build up and clog your arteries. So when you need a chocolate fix, nibble on dark chocolate that has a cocoa content of 70 percent or higher.


•Dark Thoughts

A bit of dark chocolate may do more than just tickle your taste buds.

Eating about 3 1/2 ounces of dark chocolate helped relax people's blood vessels in a recent study, which could help protect cardiovascular health.

So go ahead and indulge, but don't overdo it; dark chocolate is still high in calories and fat.

A recent study finds evidence that eating a little bit of chocolate may be good for your health. In the study, participants who consumed about 3 1/2 ounces (about seven small squares) of dark chocolate experienced improvements in endothelial function of the smooth muscle lining their blood vessels.

Improved endothelial function aids blood flow and helps decrease strain on the heart.

Because chocolate is high in both fat and calories, people who plan to consume chocolate frequently should consume it in much smaller amounts than what was used for the recent study -- an ounce or two per day is a sensible serving.

In addition to an occasional piece of dark chocolate, other artery-friendly habits include limiting your intake of trans and saturated fat, exercising for at least 30 minutes per day, and reducing stress levels with relaxation activities.

RealAge Benefit: Getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements can make your RealAge 6 years younger.

[jezzie]

Slow cooker pork tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 pound pork tenderloin
1/2 ounce dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons red wine
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker with the contents of the soup packet.
Pour water, wine, and soy sauce over the top, turning the pork to coat.
Carefully spread garlic over the pork, leaving as much on top of the roast during cooking as possible.
Sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook on low setting for 4 hours.
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[jezzie]

Chicken Tandoori

3 pounds chicken pieces

1 cup plain yogurt
juice from one lime
2 TBS. olive oil
4-5 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. tumeric
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Place chicken in glass baking dish. Combine other ingredients and coat chicken. Marinate overnight.
Bake at 350* for one hour.
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[jezzie]

Heavenly Crab Sandwiches

4 artichoke hearts (canned in water), drained
2 cups precooked Dungeness crab
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced onion

4 slices whole grain bread (I use my 7 Grain w/Flax)
1 1/2 cups sunflower sprouts

Mash the artichokes into small chunks. Mix all the ingredients together, except the sprouts.

Divide evenly into 4 portions and spread onto the bread slices. Add sprouts.

Makes 4 open-faced sandwiches.
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[jezzie]

Roasted Salmon with Stir-Fry Vegetables
2 Servings

Ingredients:

12 ounces of salmon, cut into two fillets
Half lemon
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
1/4 cup onions (chopped)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
5 oz can of water chestnuts, drained
3 cups baby spinach leaves, steamed

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the salmon well and rub with lemon juice. Place the fillets on a cake rack, laid on a cookie sheet, on the middle rack of the oven. You can place the the fillets directly on the cookie sheet, but raising them keeps the fish a little firmer. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the soy sauce, garlic, onion and ginger. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and fry for 2 to 4 minutes more. Finally water chestnuts, fry until heated through and fold in the steamed spinach. Serve alongside the salmon.

If you feel this dish needs additional flavoring, make a quick sauce by mixing 2 tbsp of low-sodium soy sauce with 2 tbsp of rice vinegar. Add to the stir-fry near the end of cooking.

[jezzie]

THE 14-DAY PLAN
From: YOU: Staying Young

Traditionally, the medical community has focused on reversing the acute illnesses associated with aging—cancer, heart disease and stroke.

But to add serious, high-quality years to your life—years when your body continues to work at its peak level—you have to lower your risk for all diseases. And the only way to do that is by slowing the aging of cells.

Rather than treating your body as a disposable product, this 14-day plan will teach you to take care of it in a way that keeps it performing like new.

The following two weeks of tips, quizzes, shopping lists and action steps will prepare your mind and body to make lasting changes.

Why 14 days? Because that's how long it takes for many healthy behaviors to become healthy habits.

[jezzie]

DAY 1: TAKING STOCK

1. Get out and go shopping! Buy these items, which should run you less than $125.

* A tape measure
* A heart-rate monitor (We use Polar products—they have chest straps and monitor watches)
* A pedometer
* A good pair of walking or running shoes
* A hand-grip tester
* A blood pressure cuff (Many have memory and download options…or you can use the one at the drugstore)
* A notebook or access to computer website to record your results


2. Determine your real age at RealAge dot com—that is, the actual age of your body (and mind) based on your health and habits, not your calendar age based on when mama thrust you into the world covered in goop.

3. Measure your blood pressure. Most drug stores have a device that can be placed on your arm if you haven't bought the home device yet.

4. Measure your heart rate in the evening, as well as the highest heart rate you achieve during your most intense exercise.

5. Measure your waist size.

Circle the tape measure around your waist at the belly button, while you're taking a deep breath and sucking in. You would anyway, but it is the right way of measuring it as it gets the muscle we do not want to measure out of the way. Also measure your weight. The ideal is for your waist to be half your height.

6. Leave a space to record the average number of steps you take this week.

[jezzie]

DAY 1: TAKING STOCK continued…

7. Make a doctor's appointment so you can get the medical tests you need.

8. Answer these questions.

* Are you living life from (A) fear or from (B) passion?
* Are you playing life (A) to avoid losing or (B) to win?
* Are your goals based on (A) preserving the status quo or (B) achieving growth?


If you answered (A) to any of them, it's an indication that you're not moving forward in life. Remember, the only times that your vital signs are completely stable are when you're dead. Like sharks, we need to keep moving in order to live fully.

9. Ask yourself these questions to really determine whether you're really happy.

* Are you happy most of the time?
* Are you as happy now as you were 5 years ago?
* Are you still expecting much from life?
* Do your days seem to be passing quickly?
* Are you often sad less than 10 percent of the time?


We obviously want you to have positive answers for these questions. If you're not there, our program, as well as professional help, can help you get there.

10. Ask three strangers how old you are. Asking friends and family doesn't count, since they either know or have a vested interest in not hurting your feelings. This will help give you some kind of baseline as to how others perceive you—based on appearance and demeanor—and can be a strong indicator of how healthy you actually are. In addition, you can ask a friend you trust to be honest with you about how you are aging compared to others.

11. Ask your friends what your three biggest strengths are. Identify how you best use them.
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[jezzie]

DAY 1: TAKING STOCK continued…

12. In your notebook, draw a little box with an amoeba that fills up 70 percent of the box, but also goes outside of the box. The box is your job, and the amoeba is you.

The empty spots in the box are where we often focus all of our effort, but perhaps you should focus on the part of the amoeba that lies outside of the box, as this represents your strengths.

13. Ask yourself this simple question: How have you aged over the last five years? Use a picture to compare how you looked between then and now. Your initial thought:

1. My oh my, I look like I did in high school, dahling.
2. I'm steady Eddie—about the same.
3. I'm about what you'd expect—little fatter, little wrinklier, and little more worn down.
4. I look like tree bark.

14. Ask yourself this: What activities did you do five years ago that you can't do today?

15. Ask yourself these big-picture stress questions, which can help you identify things to work on while using our program:

* Is your perceived level of stress more than you enjoy? Remember that actual stress is a more predictable driver of aging than our perception of stress, so push yourself to be honest with yourself.
* Do you control most of the stress in your life or are you a rat in someone else's experiment?
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[jezzie]

•Pistachios for the Greater Good

When it comes to cholesterol, it's good cop (HDL) vs. bad cop (LDL). And only a good cop has the power to charm your arteries into coming clean.

Do you have enough good cops on the beat to keep your arteries clear? If not, put down the chips, candy bar, and cookie, and grab two to three handfuls of pistachios every day instead. This simple switch could bump up your HDL forces by two to three points in just 4 weeks.

Good Fats, Bad Fats

Study after study shows that nuts -- low in saturated fats and high in healthful monounsaturated fats -- cut both total and "bad" LDL cholesterol, which is great news for your heart. Pistachios in particular should be on your most-wanted list when you're shooting for better HDL levels. If you've got moderately high total cholesterol, pistachios not only can boost HDL but also can move cholesterol ratios (HDL to total and HDL to bad) in positive directions when the nuts are used as a replacement for high-fat snacks. Pistachios can even improve apolipoprotein B levels.

Nutty Good Stuff

Along with heart-healthy fats, pistachios contain cardioprotective nutrients, such as magnesium, potassium, and copper. For an easy on-the-go snack, toss together some shelled pistachios and dried cherries in a Ziploc bag.
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[jezzie]

•Not Your Average Nut

For boosting heart health, this nut's got one up on olive oil.

That's right. Walnuts are better than olive oil at combating the harmful effects that saturated fats have on arteries, which may make walnuts the mightiest nuts of all.

When you eat a meal high in saturated fats, it causes your arteries to narrow and stiffen. And although you may have the best intentions of shunning nacho cheese and bacon-wrapped hamburgers, everyone slips a little now and then.

So here are a few things you can do to minimize the impact of the nasty fats on your arteries.

Eat a handful of walnuts. In a study, arteries stayed more relaxed when walnuts were added to a high-fat meal. They did an even better job than olive oil of helping blood to flow unrestricted.

Researchers credit the alpha-linolenic acid in the nuts with helping keep arteries flexible.

Take a 45-minute walk a couple of hours after you indulge. Physical activity partly offsets the blood vessel dysfunction caused by eating a high-fat meal.

Top off your meal with a tiny piece of dark chocolate, some hot tea, or a bit of pomegranate juice. These items are rich in compounds that help your arteries relax.

RealAge Benefit: Eating only healthful fat can make your RealAge 3.4 years younger.

[jezzie]

•Accolades for Olive Oil

Starting an olive oil habit could be as healthful as kicking a smoking habit. And the proof is in your urine.

Microscopic substances in your urine reveal how well your body is defending against everyday cancer-causing cell damage. Think of the substances as shrapnel -- too much means your body is taking some serious hits. Enter olive oil.

In a study, men who upped their intake had less of the damage-signaling shrapnel in their urine samples. How much less? The drop was similar to what smokers experience when they quit. Now that's some potent oil. Here's why it's so good for you.

Olive oil is full of good-for-you substances. So which one is responsible for the cancer-fighting effects?
Until this recent study, researchers suspected it was the phenolic compounds in the oil; phenols have antioxidant properties. But the phenolic content of the oils seemed to have little impact in this study. Three different types of oil with varying amounts of phenolic compounds were tested, and the type made little difference in the amount of cell-damage markers found in urine samples.

Researchers suspect there is something anticarcinogenic about monounsaturated fat, in and of itself.

Which would mean that olive oil, rich in monounsaturated fat, is not only a heart helper but may also deter cancer. That helps explain why, compared to Northern Europeans, Southern Europeans, whose diets tend to overflow with the oil, have lower rates of both heart disease and cancer.

But one caveat to keep in mind: The men in the study didn't add olive oil to their diets. They used it to replace the fats they normally consume -- about 5 teaspoons total per day. Use olive oil to chase out the butters, margarines, and shortenings in your diet so you don't increase your overall calorie count; if you go overboard on calories, you're looking at a different set of health problems.
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[jezzie]

Saturday's foods:

Pre-Breakfast:
2 cups half decaf with evaporated milk
raw almnds

Breakfast:
old fashioned oatmeal w/cinnamon, buckwheat honey
banana

Snack:
6 oz. Vanilla soy milk, apple

Lunch:
homemade vegetable soup, salad

Snack:
6 oz. concord grape/cranberry 100% juice
walnut halves

Dinner:
salmon (baked in garlic, olive oil/vinegar)
chopped broccoli

[jezzie]

•No Free Lunches

Eat a fat-free lunch to lose weight? No way! Cutting most of the fat out of a meal doesn't do a thing to get rid of those extra pounds.

In fact, it just may add to your weight-loss woes. A Tufts University study demonstrated that eating a meal that contains too little fat actually causes a rebound effect. Five hours after study participants had eaten a very low-fat meal, they consumed 81% more calories than those participants who had eaten a higher-fat meal.

The lesson? Include a little bit of fat--preferably the healthy, unsaturated kind--at the beginning of your meals.

Spread some peanut butter on your breakfast toast. For lunch, lightly dress a salad with an olive oil-based dressing. At dinner, choose lean main dishes, such as fish, lean beef, or poultry.

Having a low body mass index--or weight-to-height ratio--is one of the things that will help keep you young. Healthful eating, in combination with exercise, is the easiest and quickest way to lose weight and to keep your weight where it should be.

Moderation and balance are the key principles when it comes to eating for youth.

Research has shown that yo-yo dieting--repeatedly losing and gaining weight--is worse for you than simply being overweight.

RealAge Benefit: Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

[jezzie]

•The Skinny on Fat

Too much saturated fat in the diet appears to raise your risk of yet another health hazard: diabetes.

Saturated fats promote insulin sensitivity and the metabolic syndrome, conditions that increase your risk of diabetes, a study suggests. Keep tabs on both the quantity and quality of the fats you eat.

Choose mostly healthy fats, such as those in nuts, olive oil, and avocados, and limit total fat consumption to 30 percent of your daily calories.

Easy ways to get healthy fats into your diet are to serve salmon or tuna instead of red meat, dress salads with olive oil and vinegar, and add nuts to salads, cereals, and low-fat yogurt.

Salmon, tuna, olive oil, and nuts all contain polyunsaturated and monounsaturated forms of fats, which are a much healthier choice than saturated fats and will help your body regulate insulin.

Saturated fats, found in red meat, butter, creamy salad dressings, and full-fat dairy, not only interfere with the body's ability to properly utilize insulin, but they also raise your LDL ("bad") cholesterol and promote heart disease.

RealAge Benefit: Eating a low-fat diet--and eating healthful unsaturated fats when you do eat fat--can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.