MARTIANS?...

Hi. Many years ago, I read an article in the recipe section of a newspaper in which the writer described Roma tomatoes as 'Martians', because he had never seen them, before using them to make the recipe about which he was writing. I thought that was a funny name for them, but his recipe sounded good, and I never forgot about that article. In my experimentations with recipes using the 'can eat' food list, I thought I would try something similar to what that writer did. (By the way, there is no counting 'calories', 'fat grams' or any of that sort of thing, with this eating plan. How sweet is that?) 

STUFFED ROMA TOMATOES

9 Lg. Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise; pulp and seeds removed

9 oz. extra lean ground chuck

1 Lg. egg; beaten

3 Tbsp. tomato sauce (plus more for topping)

1/2 celery stick; finely chopped

1/4 cup onion; finely chopped

1/4 cup sweet bell pepper; finely chopped

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. dried parsley (I use dried for convenience. If you use fresh you may want to add a bit more)

1/8 tsp. black pepper

3/4 tsp. salt

(Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit)

Place ground beef in a medium-sized bowl; crumbling the meat as you add it. Add all of the remaining ingredients, (except tomatoes), one at a time, in recipe order, mixing well after each addition. Stuff the tomato halves equally, using all of the meat mixture. Place a piece of aluminum foil (18x24 inches) in a 13"x9"x2" pan, so that the long ends of the foil are standing up along the short sides of the pan. Slightly cup the short sides of the foil to form an open pouch. Brush the inside bottom of the foil with 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, until coated. Arrange the stuffed tomato halves inside the pouch and place the top ends of the foil together, folding them over twice to seal the top. Then fold up the ends of the pouch to prevent leaks. Place the packet, in the pan, in a 400 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Heat 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the microwave and brush on top of each tomato half after baking. (You can cut one of the stuffed tomatoes in half to test for doneness.) This dish can be served with a spinach (or any other kind of) salad. (recipe below) Yield: 3 servings.

SIMPLE SPINACH SALAD

2 cups baby spinach leaves

6 candy tomatoes; cut in half (cherry tomatoes may be substituted for candy tomatoes)

12 Lg. black, pitted olives (Olives may be halved, sliced or left whole)

12 slices canned, drained water chestnuts

Wash baby spinach and lightly pat dry between paper towels. Remove any stem ends and tear spinach into bite-size pieces. Place in small bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss with salad dressing until well coated. ( Dressing recipe below) Yield: 1 serving (Note: this salad recipe can be doubled several times over to increase the number of servings.)

ZIPPY LEMON/OLIVE OIL DRESSING

1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp. lemon rind

1 tsp, chopped dill pickle

Black pepper (to taste)

Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice until well blended. add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix well. Pour over salad and toss lightly to coat all the vegetables. Yield: 1 serving (Note: this recipe may be doubled multiple times to increase the number of servings.)

Well, I hope everyone will try these recipes, and maybe they will enjoy them as much as I did. So, until next time I post here, take care. Anna

THE FIRST STEP...

Hello, again. In this posting I am going to share the list of foods which you can enjoy on this eating plan. It isn't a long list, but the choices are nutritious, and very filling, when eaten in the right proportions. (I was so amazed at how satisfied I felt after eating my first meal. And, I didn't feel stuffed or bloated as I did when I used to eat 'junk food' or 'bad' fats, and a lot of the other stuff on what I like to call the 'no-no list'.) I hope you all have a 'save' function on your computers, or at least, a pen and paper.

Meat: Chicken, Fish, Lean beef (steak, beef cubes, or extra lean ground beef)-(3 ozs. per meal)
Eggs-(2 per meal for breakfast, or as a meat substitute at any other meal, or 1 boiled, as a snack)
Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, zucchini, squash (all kinds),  leafy greens (all kinds), lettuce (all kinds), cabbage (all kinds), onions (all kinds), peppers (all kinds), asparagus (all kinds), mushrooms (all kinds), radishes, cucumbers (all kinds)-(all you can eat of these foods at every meal), beans (all kinds)-(1/4 cup per serving, once a day), peas (all kinds)-(1/4 cup per serving, once a day), garlic-( whatever amount suits your taste buds)
Fruits: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, gooseberries, loganberries, currants, elderberries, any other edible berries-(1/2 cup per day, as a snack), Tomatoes-(all you can eat, but be sure some of them that you eat are cooked to release their beneficial Lycopine content)
Nuts: Pecan halves, walnut halves, almonds-(16 pieces per day, as a snack)
Other: dill pickles-(1 whole one, for a snack, or they can be chopped up to add to cooked dishes or salad dressing), lemon juice, lime juice-(use as a food flavoring, or in a small amount of salad dressing), Fresh/dried herbs-(use to your taste to season different foods), black pepper, salt-( use as much pepper as your taste requires, but limit salt to a sprinkle on meats, before cooking, or eggs, after cooking), olive oil-(1 teaspoon per cooked dish, or one teaspoon per salad for a small dressing), herb tea-( two cups per day, sweetened with one tablespoon honey, each), honey-(use 1 tablespoon to sweeten 1 cup of herb tea), water(spring water is best, if it's available to you)-6-8 glasses per day, 8 ozs. each)

That's it, (with the possible exception of some low starch Asian vegetables, such as bamboo shoots or water chestnuts). Everything else in the wide world of food is on the 'no-no list'. But, there is such a wide variety of items on the 'can have' list, that it seems impossible that anyone could ever want for anything more. And, the combination possibilities are seemingly endless. With a bit of recipe experimentation, anyone can enjoy, and be satisfied, with the foods on this list. I know, because I have been so content eating the listed foods, that I scarcely miss the 'junk' I was eating. I'm not saying that there won't be cravings for that other stuff, but I can say that, having stopped putting salt on my vegetables has gone a long way toward stopping my cravings for sweet 'junk food'. (Of course, not all of the foods on the 'no-no list' are 'junk' food, but it is possible for someone who is overweight to be sensitive to things like wheat and dairy and not be aware of the fact. This can cause those individuals to have trouble losing weight.)

Besides, after losing weight for about 6 weeks, you can add those 'healthy' foods back into your diet, one at a time, and see if you re-gain any weight. If you do, chances are you are sensitive to that food.) Well, now we have a start to beginning the weight loss process. The foods on the list above can be eaten at any meal, and as long as the portion sizes are followed correctly, then weight loss should be the happy result. I want to wish everyone who decides to try this eating plan the best of luck and all my hopes for future weight loss success. I will be here on this blog posting some of the recipes which I have concocted, using the listed foods. Not all of these recipes will appeal to everyone, but I, personally, have found them to be delicious and satisfying, and each and every one of them can be modified to suit the blog reader's individual taste. (I will explain how, along with each recipe posting.) Until my next posting; take care. Anna

QUITE A CLAIM...

Hi, and welcome. This blog really isn't about dieting. It is about ways to eat smart and lose weight in the process. To start off, I'm going to be brutally honest about myself just so that whoever comes here and reads this will know I am sincere in wanting to help others eat better and feel better about themselves. I am a fat, young/old woman who has struggled all throughout adulthood, trying different diets, losing a few pounds, and then failing again and again to get to a normal weight, because the diet just didn't work, in the long run. (I don't know if this sounds familiar to anyone, but if it does, please read on.)

About a month ago, I was reading a magazine article about something called a 'Detox Diet'. I had read about this 'diet' before, although it wasn't called by that name in the other article. (I know someone is probably thinking, "You took someone else's idea?" well, yes and no.) Let me explain what I did, then. I started doing research on the subject, on the internet. I found a lot of different versions of the 'diet', and a lot of differing claims about its effectiveness. But, the one thing all these plans had in common was the claim that a person would lose weight rapidly by eating the foods listed in the 'diet', and with little or no exercise involved. Those two parts intrigued me, because I am partially disabled. (I had been told, by my doctor, that I had to lose weight, in order to take some of the strain off of my arthritic joints.) 

Well, to make a long story short, I decided to take all of the things I had learned from my research and make them into a healthy eating plan that would suit my weight loss needs. First of all, I tried the foods from all the lists for a week (actually 8 days) just to see what the results would be. I don't want to sound like a 'weight loss' commercial, but I was delighted with the results. I lost 12 Lbs. in 8 days. I know that is hard to believe, but I also know it's true. Well, in the following three weeks, I started experimenting with the foods I was told not to eat, on the plan, just to see what would happen. Everything I tested from the 'no-no list', except one food item, gave me the same result; it stalled my weight loss at that 12 Lb. limit. O.K. Everything proven to my satisfaction, so far. Now, I could take everything I had learned and tailor it to suit my own weight loss needs. That fact is what makes this my 'eating plan'. (By the way, the exception to the rules for the 'bad food' list was honey.)

Now, that brings us up to the present; specifically yesterday, when I got back 'on' the eating plan. This morning I woke up, went to the bathroom, drained my bladder, and weighed myself. The 12 lost pounds had now become 13! (I have to say, I was so happy I cried.) That's when I knew what I had to do. I had to make a blog, and share what I had learned with others who found themselves struggling with weight problems, like I had, and still am. So, if you want to try my eating plan, just come along with me, on this blog, and we will start our journey, of healthier eating habits, together. I hope you will enjoy it, because I know I will. Until my next posting; take care. Anna