A Mother. A Leader.
When I was a teenager, I was involved in an organization called The Leaders Club. The Club was headquartered at the local YMCA. Gil was our adult supervisor.
The Club was designed to give good kids an environment where they could grow and give back. We’d do things like raise money by selling popcorn at the swim meet. We’d supervise the dances held at the Y. We’d clean up the summer camp before the younger campers arrived for the season. Truth be told, it was really just a group of us kids who liked hanging around together and it gave us something constructive to do with our spare time.
One Spring, as the school year-end drew closer, we discussed how we were going to handle Prom. Prom took place at the school but there was the question of what all the attendees would do after the dance. No one wanted to go home that early, but we didn’t have any other organized venue we could go to, and blow off the rest of our steam. And of course, the adults worried about alcohol and drug consumption. They always worried about that. This occasion just increased their worries.
So we all talked as a group of Leaders about what we could do. We decided to offer up a party at the YMCA. It was a perfect location. Smack dab in the middle of downtown. It was a perfect venue for something like that. We could have a ‘dance-after-the-dance’ but there was more. We had the swimming pool. We had a gym where the boys could blow off their steam playing basketball. We had volleyball. We had arcade games. It seemed like the perfect idea. We went for it.
In order to cut down on the risks of alcohol and drug activity, we decided the doors would be locked. You had to be in by a certain hour and then you were not allowed to leave and come back. You could leave if you wanted to go home, but no coming back in. That cut the risk that someone would go off and get drunk or high and try to come back in. The party could go on all night. The parents would know their kids were in a safe environment and they’d have memories to cherish for a lifetime.
One small detail. If they actually stayed in all night, how do we feed them? Teenagers get hungry! There were snacks for during the evening. That was easy, but we decided they’d need breakfast before we let them go early in the morning. Staying up all night playing and dancing was going to assure that everyone needed food.
I decided to take the lead on this one and offered up my mom. My mother taught me never to be intimidated by a crowd when it came to cooking. Our holiday meals could feed a small army. What’s a few hundred kids for breakfast? Piece of cake right? (coffee cake!).
I asked my mom if she would help, but truthfully, if she didn’t step up I didn’t have a clue what we could do besides order a lot of donuts.
My mother never shied away from a challenge. She said yes. She had never cooked for hundreds of kids before. She’d never produced a meal over the hours that spanned the middle of the night. She’d never even figured out how to order the quantities needed to feed that many kids but she’d worked as a volunteer in the school cafeteria, so how hard could it be?
Well, some 40 years later I now know how hard that challenge was but my mother never let it be known that she was in virgin cooking territory; even for her.
My mom set about this project like a true Leader.
First thing she did was call in her buddies. A few ladies from the neighborhood said they’d drop their lives for that overnight gig too. She had her crew.
We set a menu. My mom would make sure we didn’t eat just donuts. She wanted us to have a healthy meal. We had juices and milk on the menu. We had fruit salad. We had eggs and breakfast meat. No one was going to go hungry. Oh, yeah, we had some pastries too; including donuts. The teenage-dream breakfast.
During the night, all of us in the Leader’s Club had our assignments. Some were in charge of setting up games. Some cleaned up the little messes that got left around the various locations throughout the Y. I was one of the ones in charge of snacks and supervising the dance. We just had to monitor behavior a bit and report if we saw that maybe a fight was going to break out or if anyone seemed to be participating in other unauthorized behavior. Our supervisor Gil and a few other adults were on staff that evening too, so we had plenty of back up.
I kept checking on my mom every chance I got. I kept asking her if I could help but she shooed me away every time. Although I was observing a flurry of activity; everyone as busy as bees in a hive, she deemed me un-needed. “Go have fun,” she’d say.
I knew she was under pressure, but she seemed to be having fun too. These ladies were giggling as they prepared a breakfast to be served at 6AM. They pulled an all-nighter. There was no in-fighting in the kitchen. No tired faces. Just giggles. I knew that was because my mother was organized, gave them tasks they could easily handle and she supervised them like a well-oiled machine.
As 6AM approached I went to the YMCA cafeteria to check on progress. I could not believe my eyes. They had taken the whole serving line and filled it with food. The fruits were colorful. The pans were sitting in their warming trays with their tops on. All the food was inside, ready to serve. The ladies put on clean aprons and were ready to serve. All we had to do was call the kids to breakfast.
As the call went out, the lids were opened. A gasp went up amongst the ladies. There was a problem. A big problem. The scrambled eggs were green!
How in blazes that did happen? And what happened!
Panic arose. What do we do now? Start the eggs over? How do you instantly make eggs for hundreds of kids? There were no spare eggs and this was before the days of 24 hour grocery stores.
What to do?
My mother calmly walked up and said, “Let’s taste ‘em.” They tasted fine! They tasted just like regular scrambled eggs.
They figured out that some kind of chemical reaction took place because the eggs had been sitting, warming in the metal pans, hovering over the water-filled warming bins. The metal reaction must have turned the eggs green.
Too late now. Here come the kids, so my mother handed the helper a spoon and instructed her to serve the kids. The worst thing they could do was turn down the eggs as they went through the line. They’d get plenty to eat with all the other stuff anyway. Too late to do anything else.
As the kids came through in the first wave, one of the first of them shouted, “Hey look! Green Eggs and Ham! Just like Dr. Seuss!
Word quickly spread through the line that these ladies had surprised them with Green Eggs and Ham. Every kid always wanted to eat green eggs and ham but had never had it. Now they had their chance.
They ALL took the eggs. They all loved the eggs and they fulfilled one of those little childhood dreams. The eggs, and all of the rest of the food was wiped out. Huge success.
All of the ladies just went with it. Of course they came up with green eggs and ham. Of course they did it on purpose. They all smiled. The giggles continued and my mother beamed as she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
My mother was asked to supervise that breakfast the next year as my brother came up the ranks, and even a few years after that, as I recall. My mother was presented with an honorary award. Gil, the Leader of the Leaders Club had a silver tray engraved to mark the occasion and it was presented to her in thanks for her service to the teenage community.
My mother has passed, but I have that silver tray. I also have my memories of a humble mother who possessed and shared her leadership skills for all to see. Thanks Mom.
Cheers,
Hero Mommy
It was late afternoon. I was at the grocery store picking up a few items to make dinner.
I passed two women greeting each other. One of them had a young daughter in tow. The girl was maybe 7 years old. The moms were maybe in their late 30’s.
We were all in the dairy section; the area with the big refrigerators full of milk and cream. The ladies were separating when the little girl blurted out to her mom, “Can I have one of these bologna, cheese and cracker combos? PLEASE!” She was jumping up and down for emphasis. Her mom told her “no” and kept walking. Then she stopped suddenly, right near me, and said out loud to herself, “Wait a minute. This is one of those life experience moments.” She turned to her daughter and said, “Come back over here,” and she walked to the refrigerated case that held the bologna, cheese and cracker combo packs.
“I’ll let you get one of these, but here’s the deal. We will read the ingredients list on the back and if there’s anything on the list we can’t pronounce, you’ll promise me you’ll put it back.” The young lady nodded in agreement. She took the package from her mom and started reading the list out loud. As I was getting my cream from the refrigerated case I heard her say, “bologna, cheese…”
As I was walking away I heard her continue the list and then I noticed silence. I could not help myself. I stopped and looked back.
The young lady had her arm outstretched and she was letting go of the bologna, cheese and cracker package. She was letting it drop into the refrigerated case. Then she skipped away. Her mom retrieved her cart and off they went.
Off I went too, toward the check-out, but as I walked, I mentally pumped my fist and I smiled.
I thought to myself, That mom is my hero today, and that young girl has a healthy life in her future.
Cheers,
Baked Salmon with Bragg's Sauce
Calling all Bragg’s lovers - this is yet another reason why we love Bragg’s so much!
Grocery Store Shopping with Michael Pollan & Michael Moss
https://youtu.be/ATAZrRfebiw
Michael Pollan and Michael Moss visit a typical supermarket and talk about cooking and the food industry.
This is a 4-minute clip that I chose to reinforce the idea that unprocessed foods, grass fed beef and free-range, insect eating chickens are your best choices.
Michael Pollan is pretty sharp. I like his haircut, too.
The last time I checked, you can rent Food, Inc, the documentary on YouTube for $2.99. You can watch it for extra credit if you so desire.
You’ll be a more informed consumer and will experience less temptation to walk through the middle sections of your grocery store.
Angry, but not quite as angry as these two,
Halloween Treats
My husband and I have always enjoyed Halloween. Years ago I declared it my favorite holiday. I like Halloween more than Christmas.
Early in our relationship my husband and I decided to celebrate the Trick-or-Treaters. Instead of seeing them as an interruption, we decided to have fun with them.
The first thing we do each year is set up a small table by the door with two chairs. Usually, I grab a hall table. That way we can sit in the entryway of the house. We have our basket of treats all set to go. We make a cocktail (or a mocktail) and set up a snack for us, too. Maybe some nuts.
Then we get out a game we want to play. Usually, it’s a card game that is not spoiled by the ringing of the doorbell. Each time the bell rings one of us gets up (because of the pandemic, we'll be putting our Halloween masks on, too) to greet the kiddies and we let them pick out what they want for a treat. Because we are both sitting by the door we both get to see the costumes and enjoy the ceremony of the little ones chirping out “Trick-or-Treat.” We get to greet the moms and dads that are accompanying the kids too. It’s really a treat for us, truth be told.
For dinner, we order a pizza. Don’t freak. Even I eat pizza. I just only eat one piece of crust. For the rest, I just pick off the toppings with a fork. My husband is an expert at piling even three sets of toppings onto one piece of crust and eating that. But I digress.
Since starting Plan Z I no longer give out candy. I used to pride myself on having the best candy bar selection in the neighborhood. I’d get the good stuff.
Now I get even better stuff. I have taken to giving out toys!
I have found the perfect place to buy Halloween treats is at the craft store. This year I bought Halloween-themed pencils, whistles, kazoos, crazy glasses, flying frog toys, spider rings, and stretchy skeletons. How fun is that!
Last year I bought wind-up plastic monsters and Halloween tub toys.
At first, the kids get a startled look on their faces when they go to grab into the basket and there’s no candy. We tell them they can pick a toy or two and then they turn to their parents and say, “Look, Mom! They are giving out toys! YAY!”
The only trick is sometimes they have a hard time choosing. I don’t mind. That gives us more time to enjoy the costumes and the fun.
Now for the economics of it. I checked the pricing. Those little Snicker Bars are 17 cents each. I got 137 toys at my local craft store for under $20. That’s about 15 cents each. And because we are not getting as many trick-or-treaters due to the pandemic, I'll have some left over to use for trick-or-treaters next year. So I get the satisfaction of giving them something that lasts more than the two seconds it takes to rip open a piece of candy and jam it in their mouth. Not to mention the sugar high and even maybe a tummy ache that comes along later.
I have given them hours (or at least minutes) of fun. They can flip their flying frog across the table over and over again. They can tease the family cat with it. Or they can use their Halloween pencil for weeks. They can blow on their kazoo or their Halloween whistle until they drive their parents nuts.
And when I close the door after each little child leaves, I feel good. And that makes for a Happy Halloween.
Monster Mouths
A ghoulish (and healthy) Halloween snack idea.
Sugar Rule #1: 15 Grams or Less
Snacking has become a mindless activity. No wonder we have an obesity crisis. I never once saw my dad snacking on a bag of chips. My mom, either. They ate their meals at the prescribed time and that was it. On rare occasions I would see them indulge in a small dessert. We might be at a restaurant, or having a holiday meal. Even more rare, was when my mom and dad would have a dessert after dinner, later in the evening.
In our current culture it seems harder and harder for most people to resist a regular dessert. It’s like we feel we deserve to have something every day instead of it being a treat on occasion. I am going to suggest we eat more like my parents did, and save dessert for special occasions. But, if you are going to have that occasional dessert I wanted to give you a few ideas for how to pull that off without having to go buy a bigger pair of pants.
Here are some rules of thumb for dessert without the consequences:
1. Make it yourself and use low carb recipes. I have published scads of them over the years. Here’s another one for you today.
2. Freeze the leftovers. If you have to think far enough ahead to thaw it out, you’re less likely to be eating this kind of dessert too often. At least you won’t mindlessly grab it off the kitchen counter and just stuff it in your mouth. And if you take it out of the freezer and start to eat it immediately, at least the frozen aspect will slow you down.
3. Keep the total carb count below 15 grams. This is the most important part. Your liver can process SOME sugar. The trick is to figure out how much before you go into overload and start gaining fat.
On days when I eat a dessert with 15 grams or less, I limit my carbs the rest of the day. So that means very little bread or crackers. No plates of pasta. I watch the potatoes. I behave, and my body can take the time to process that sugar and go back to normal. If I eat dessert at night I am very careful the next day to factor that sugar consumption into my carb count.
There are times when there is no time, and you just want something quick to satisfy a sweet tooth. Don't worry, there are options. They are all processed foods. That means they contain artificial sweeteners and preservatives and maybe even sugar. They are made by some big manufacturer instead of by you in your own kitchen so I will never recommend you eat them regularly, but on occasion you might let one slide through.
Here are a couple of brand-name items I have indulged in on occasion and can vouch for. These, (when eaten in moderation) can be allowable and still maintain your weight. They are all 15 grams of carbs or less and are decadent enough to satisfy even a food writer.
Lacey’s Cookies. A Lacey Cookie is a nut cookie glued together with chocolate. I buy the almond ones with the dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has fewer carbs. These cookies come in at about 12 grams of carbs. I eat mine like a little hamster. I nibble and I can make it last about 30 minutes. Try the hamster technique.
So Delicious Vanilla Ice Cream. This ice cream is made from coconut milk. It’s all natural and good for you (in moderation). One half cup has 19 grams of carbs. That’s too much. So what I do is take out a little bowl (I bought some that won’t hold more than a half-cup full). I put in about a quarter to 1/3 cup of ice cream. That leaves me a little room for a slight drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce; or instead I put on some fresh berries. I even use a teeny spoon to eat it. It lasts longer that way and I’m satisfied.
Bisco Wafers (made by Nabisco). Those of you born in the 50’s and 60’s will remember these. This is the kind of cookie that was put on the top of your ice cream sundae that you got at the local drugstore ice cream counter. Good news is 4 of these cookies only add up to 10 grams of carbs! If you are the kind of person who has to have ‘more than one’ of whatever you’re going to eat, you’ll like these.
Baby Snickers. I’m talking the Halloween treat size. Really little ones. If you freeze a bag of them you can have one once in a while. Better yet, check out the freezer section for the mini-ice cream bars put out by Snickers. They are about 2” long. They are only 9 grams of carbs per bar. Honestly, one does it for me. I eat it in little bites and that’s just the perfect amount of caramel, peanuts and ice cream wrapped in a light layer of chocolate.
Reese's makes snack sized peanut butter cups at Halloween and Christmas. Again, employ your freezer so you don’t just grab a handful and go at it. Be reasonable. And if you have 15 minutes it’s so much better if you make your own. These, absolutely taste just a good! They are homemade and you can have a MUCH bigger portion!
Pizzelles. With this one you are going to have to be very careful and read labels. And do the math! The options sold at Whole Foods are an amazing 3 grams of carbs per cookie. I have seen several other brands though which contain as much as 20 grams per cookie! That’s insane. Someday I’ll come up with a low carb recipe for these but in the meantime this makes a packaged dessert that is actually fancy enough to serve to company.
Now you have plenty of options so you can be ‘bad’ and still be ‘good’ come morning when you step on the scale. Remember: On Occasion. In Moderation.
Cheers,
Crunch!
While developing Plan Z, I never really thought much about what I now call the Crunch Factor. I was never the kid in our family that face-planted in the bag of potato chips. I left that to my brothers. I went for the donuts.
I never wanted to eat the hard candy. I’d rather have a brownie or ice cream for my treat.
After designing Plan Z, doing it several times, and taking in all the data from dieters, my mind has totally changed. My taste has changed, too.
Watch the video below on why crunchy foods taste so great and why you come back for more.
I get it now. As I developed Plan Z I was worried about people getting a little bit of carbohydrate from a bread source into their meals, but my only source without going over my designed allotment was to find breadsticks and crackers that could fill the bill. The softer choices like bread and rolls contained too many carbohydrates. It wasn’t til later that I heard from so many dieters that said the only thing they craved was something crunchy and that the breadsticks and crackers were helping fulfill that craving. Having a Crunch Factor has been vital.
Then it happened to me, too. I started craving crunchy and it carries over beyond when I am doing a ZReduction to lose weight. I am now part of the population that craves crunch.
Maybe that comes from eating more salads. I find myself loving the crunch that romaine lettuce provides and am not so attracted to plain leaves of greens.
I now crave my husband’s bacon. Not because it’s bacon, but because he’s an expert cook in the bacon category. His bacon comes out crunchy but not crumbly. It’s perfect. I don’t crave just any old bacon. I want HIS bacon fresh from the pan, left on the paper towels for a few minutes to drain and crunch up. And then dive in.
I also crave fried chicken. Fried chicken is a huge offering in Chattanooga right now. I don’t eat it often. I usually eat breast meat and I factor in the carbs from the breading into the food allotments for the day. So I’m not likely to eat two things that involve breading in one day or in even 3 or 4 days. But the crispier the chicken the better. That never used to hit my radar. I also think with so much chicken competition in Chattanooga that the chefs are really stepping up their game and cooking chicken in delightful ways.
And then there’s the delightful sound of a fresh stick of celery…or the crunch of a pickle.
What are your favorite crunchy foods? Let us know. And if they fit ZReduction, (fresh and flavorful) you get bonus points! Just like the video, you can submit your recipe offerings, too. Just enter those in the comments section below the article. If you give us permission to repost them on our site, we will give you full credit.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Beware of the Fuzzy Ones!
My move to the south has opened up a whole new world to me.
Things big and small that I never saw or experienced in the North pop up all time.
My lesson today is about bugs.
The first bug I was introduced to this summer was the Stink Bug. My husband and I started seeing what seemed like GIANT bugs to us. They are about the size of a quarter or maybe even a silver dollar and they kept landing on our balcony. I asked around and was told those are Stink Bugs. Fairly harmless but ugly! They are technically considered poisonous but for the most part, they really don’t cause issues unless you have an allergy. I just thought they were gross! You want to keep them out of your house for sure. They do emit a stink if they feel threatened.
The next bug in my lesson on bugs is totally different. It’s not big. It’s not gross and it doesn’t smell but it’s insidious!
Little did I know…
We were visiting a cabin in upstate Georgia. I walked out one morning on my way to go shopping and the first thing I saw was a squirrel about six feet in front of me on a planter bed. He was creeping up on something bright yellow. I realized the yellow thing was moving! The squirrel sniffed it and immediately moved on.
As I got closer, I realized it was a caterpillar.
I’d never seen a yellow caterpillar. Up north, I was used to Woolybear caterpillars. Those are brown and black. They are pretty darn harmless. You can even pet them, and I had done so as a child.
This little yellow guy I videotaped. I had technical problems, so the video is really short but here it is.
I did not try to pick up this beautiful, yellow caterpillar. My husband came out and he checked it out too. He’s the one that noticed the black antennae.
Now, that’s where the problem arises.
We went off and went shopping and left the bright yellow creature to carry on, but I was so fascinated I decided to do some internet research to see what he was all about. I had surely never seen a bright yellow caterpillar before. There must be a story, I thought.
Well, there is.
Those little buggers are downright dangerous!
Those black spines sticking out of various parts of the beautiful yellow caterpillar pack a poisonous punch!
Here are some details.
He’s called an American Dagger Moth Caterpillar. I’ll just call him Dagger. He falls under the category of “puss caterpillars.”
Here’s what entomologist, David Wagner had to say in USA Today.
Puss caterpillars' spines can cause a "nasty" reaction, Wagner says, causing severe pain and leaving behind a hematoma, a swelling of blood on the skin.
"It's not an instantaneous shock of a hornet or wasp, but it builds for a long time in a frightening way," Wagner tells USA TODAY. "No one expects stings to gain in impact or discomfort, and these will, even up to an hour later. It packs quite a wallop."
He says a puss caterpillar sting can cause joint pain akin to "serious arthritis" long after the pain from the initial contact has subsided.
Some folks have even had to be hospitalized because of their reaction. Considering I’m allergic to bug bites I’m considering myself pretty lucky that I didn’t decide to try to get friendly with this little Dagger.
These little guys are said to be rare above the Mason-Dixon line. No wonder I had never seen one.
The things I read say no colorful caterpillar is a harmless caterpillar. (Reminds me of the bright poisonous teeny frogs I saw on display years ago at the Adler Aquarium in Chicago).
So, I learned my lesson the easy way (thank goodness)! Stay away from brightly colored caterpillars and absolutely do not be tempted to pet them!
This is my cautionary tale of Summer 2021.
Cheers,
How do you shop?
My mother used to carry a big purse with her in the car. She had all that stuff in that bag that moms with small children do. The interesting thing was when she went into a store she usually just grabbed her wallet and ran in. She’d leave us kids in the car (when it was deemed okay to do that sort of thing). As a child, I thought that purse behavior was really weird. Why bring a big purse and then just leave it on the car seat?
Now I get it. I often just carry my wallet when I go out shopping. Sometimes I even just put a debit card in my pants pocket and off I go. After I had back surgery the surgeon told me to lose the big purse. It took some getting used to but now I don’t carry one unless I’m traveling by airplane.
My mom also always had a list. She’d sit at the kitchen table in the morning making a list of all the things she needed to buy or do that day. I called it, "The errand list."
I picked up that habit too. I have a standard paper list in my wallet. I can refer to it and map out my driving routes to take in all the places I need to stop. I’ve gone high-tech now too. I use Post-it notes :) That way I can make my grocery list and stick it to the handle of the cart for easy reference. I see all these people in the store looking at their phones for their list. I just never think to put my list on my phone. It’s stuck to my cart.
I shop for food like I’m French. What does that mean, you ask? It means I go to the grocery store almost every day and I buy just what I need to make that meal. Often I don’t decide what I am hungry for until about 2:30 and then I put my grocery list together. Because I own the company it’s easy for me to take a short break about 3:30 and go buy the groceries and then come back to work. That’s another thing I adopted after back surgery. The surgeon gave me strict orders to get out of my chair once in a while and go for a walk. Otherwise, I am such a workaholic that I’d stay put at my desk all day.
My husband calls me a destination shopper. That means I know what I want to get. So I go to the store, walk in, grab it and go pay for it. Then I’m on to the next thing on my list. I don’t dawdle and I don’t browse. I’m gone.
What are your shopping habits? I’d love to hear.
Cheers,
For your Summer Grilling pleasure, I offer up this healthy option from Plan Z. I promise folks that Plan Z will be the best-tasting diet they’ve ever been on and this is mighty flavor-filled. Try these Grilled Mexican Chicken Boats and see what you think.
Grilled Mexican Chicken "Boats"
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. You can make this recipe in a saute pan or take a different twist on it and grill everything in a grill basket.
Use your favorite meat rub on the chicken. I used a spicy steak rub on my version. Don’t be afraid to use a rub indicated for beef on chicken or fish or vise versa!
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 24 oz of skinless chicken breast meat cut into ½” cubes. If you are not planning on grilling, you can use ground chicken.
- your favorite meat rub
- olive oil spray
- 2 tsp of ground cumin
- 3 Tbl of minced fresh cilantro
- 3 limes, juiced
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2 large jalapenos peppers, sliced
- 1 large sweet onion cut into wedges
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 1” squares
- 1 cup of red cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup of yellow cherry tomatoes
- butter lettuce leaves
Instructions:
In a bowl or large zip lock baggie put in your chicken. Dust with the meat rub to your taste and mix it around so it covers all of the chicken. Add the cumin, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Let marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or more. You can do this before work and come home to it fully marinated or do it when you get home and cook in one hour. I did the latter and it had plenty of time to marinate.
Saute the chicken on medium-high until no pink remains in the chicken. If you want to be fancy, you can grill your meat (just be sure to use a grill basket. This works better if you are using chicken breasts cut into pieces. Ground chicken on the grill would get messy!). Stir the chicken periodically so no side gets charred.
Remove the chicken and keep it in a clean bowl. Cover to keep warm.
Lightly spray your veggies with olive oil. Grate on a bit of sea salt. Either saute your veggies or cook them on the grill until they are softened and cooked to your liking.
Put one or two clean butter lettuce leaves on your plate. Put 6-8 ounces of chicken chunks on top and cover with a full cup of veggies.
Serve.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Whole Unprocessed Foods
You’ve probably noticed that I regularly try to convince you to eat whole, unprocessed foods. Every recipe I write uses what I consider unprocessed foods (with minor exceptions).
To keep it simple, let’s start with some definitions:
What are processed foods? Processed foods encompass most of what's in your grocery store. Anything that has chemicals and preservatives as additives would fall into the processed foods category. By my definition, any bread in a store that has a preservative put into it would be processed food, so even if it doesn’t always come in a box, you can consider it processed.
Melanie Warner, author of Pandora's Lunchbox, defines processed foods as, "Something you could not make at home in your own home kitchen with those same ingredients." Makes sense to me.
What are unprocessed foods? Unprocessed foods are the things you find in the produce section, the fresh meat section, and limited parts of the dairy section. I say limited parts of the dairy section because we can’t all have a cow or goat in our backyard. We need to allow for some processed foods that are in packages or cartons. That being said, the fewer the ingredients that are there to keep them fresh for transport to the grocery store, the better. The closer your food comes to you from the farm, the better.
If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. Read a few product labels and you’ll see how challenging this can be. And don't even get me started on the false advertising that works its way onto our food labels.
Another sage saying is “Shop the perimeter.” Buy your food from the outer sections of the grocery store. That includes the produce department, fresh meat (not that deli stuff that hangs in those plastic packages), fresh flowers if you want them to decorate your table, and the freshest dairy you can find. With dairy, try to stick to the things that have a short ingredient list and don’t have enough chemicals to keep them fresh in the case until next year. Check the sell-by date.
Buy fresh. That pretty much covers it.
I bring up this subject because I came across an article about a chef named Dan Barber. Barber is an award-winning chef and partner in Blue Hill restaurant in NYC as well as the co-owner of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY. As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, a lot of restaurants have closed. This puts many small farms at risk because many of them depend on that restaurant business to stay afloat.
Barber is enlisting cooks from some of the world's top kitchens to join the Kitchen Farming Project. He's encouraging them to get reconnected with the farm-to-table process by letting them grow food on his land to use in their restaurants. "You can’t allow the relationship between chefs and farms to disappear, for however long this moment is going to be,” Barber says.
People all over the country are really starting to appreciate and value the fresh produce that comes from local farms. You see farmer’s markets becoming even more popular; especially with rising grocery store prices. People are flocking to these markets because they understand that fresh food grown locally is better for their health. Chefs are buying more food directly from farmers. Sometimes they'll even feature the name of the farm on their menu. Depending on where you live this might be ‘old hat.’ It might have been going on for decades now. But for many, the trip to the giant grocery store is still the only option for buying food. For others, the big franchise restaurants are still the biggest game in town. While I love going out to eat, I feel bad about the many small restaurants that had to close in 2020. We have to get back to supporting small restaurants owned by individuals. But the trend I’m talking about is growing. Thank goodness!
I had this idea about 20 years ago that I never got to implement. I wanted a sheep farm. I wanted to locate my sheep farm on about 100 acres south of Madison, Wisconsin. I was actually pursuing the idea enough that I’d drive about 45 minutes south of Madison along the rolling hills that border the I-90 corridor, looking for an ideal location to put a sheep farm. I even read books on how to birth sheep. I visited two huge sheep farms, one in upstate New York and one in Washington State, working toward my dream of building a sheep farm.
It’s odd to have a sheep farm in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is the land of cows and corn. Why sheep? Maybe it is my Irish heritage. I’m in love with sheep. I love the noises they make, the shape they are, the size, and I love the cheese that comes from sheep’s milk. I was totally ready to do the sheep thing and learn how to make sheep’s milk cheese. That was going to be my sheep production involvement. And of maybe some butchering. (Well, maybe I’d hire that out.)
The sheep farm I planned didn’t need the full 100 acres. My plan was to lease out the surrounding acres to organic farmers. Then I was going to help sell the produce to Chicago restaurants. That’s why I was looking where I was. I wanted the transportation of the produce to be simple. Go down I-90 and deliver all this fresh produce and my sheep/lamb products to Chicago.
That idea was in my head long ago when that form of restaurant supply was very new. At that time Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in California, and a few other cutting-edge chefs were growing their own produce and sourcing their meat and produce totally locally. I wanted to do my thing; only with sheep. Alas, I was too busy running my other company to get my sheep farm together. Now that I have developed Plan Z, I am approaching the whole food trend from another perspective; that of teaching you how to make delicious whole food recipes and encouraging you to spend the majority of your grocery budget on fresh, whole, unprocessed food.
Cheers,
Melon Mandarin Salad
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe.
A tasty fruit salad that is a breeze to make and a unique way to round out a meal.
Servings: Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of sliced melon (I was in a rush so I bought pre-cut melon cubes and sliced them into thinner pieces. It cost me a little more but it saved me from having to slice the melon, scoop out the seeds, and cut off the peel.)
- ¾ cup of mandarin orange segments (Buy a small can. Drain them. If they are packed in sugar water, you can rinse them and let them drain.)
- a handful of chopped walnuts; the ones in the baking section of the store work great
- 2 Tbl of olive oil
- grated sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Put 1 cup of melon slices in each bowl.
Add half of the mandarin orange segments on top of the melon.
Scatter on the walnuts divided amongst the two salads.
Drizzle on your olive oil.
Dust with sea salt and pepper.
Ready to eat!
I served this along with a simply grilled steak, and it makes for a wonderful, healthy meal on a hot day. The steak can even be served cold.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
How I Read a Label
When I was a young girl of 12, I became obsessed with weight. Twiggy was the supermodel at the time and she was rail thin. I thought I needed to be like that. I wasn’t obese by any means. Turns out I was a normal 12-year-old, but I was worried I was too fat to be in my sister’s wedding so I started trying to diet.
The first thing I did was go buy a tiny book that listed the number of calories in various foods. They sold these little pocket versions by the checkout at the grocery store. I bought one of those books and rather than carry it around with me, I set out to memorize it.
I did memorize it.
I did such a good job that as I grew older, I could still recite what was in that little manual. I knew the calorie count for all my favorite things.
I knew a hard-boiled egg was 75 calories.
I knew an 8 oz glass of whole milk was 140.
I knew a tablespoon of peanut butter was 90.
I memorized pages of items that I wanted to be able to eat. I was told it was all about counting calories. I was good at math.
Trouble is, that wasn’t really what I needed to learn. That was the conventional wisdom at the time, but even though I counted calories like a maven, I gained weight.
What I know now is different. Reality and new science prove it wasn’t about calories in/calories out. It was really about what you eat and how your body decides to process it.
What I've done is try to boil down the mystery of the label and let you in on what I focus on. Of course, there’s lots more chemistry to it all, but when you’re in the store and you have to set your priorities and get out of the store before nightfall, this is a quick tutorial to set you on your way.
The biggest culprit is the sugar we eat, and the quantity. We all know Americans eat more sugar than ever, and it comes in so many different forms. We know now that the “white stuff” is bad. It’s full of carbohydrates (sugars). So pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, and all the rest are eaten in quantities our bodies can’t handle. Then there are the sugars in drinks and more. I could go on and on.
The point is, my focus has changed. I don’t look at a label on a can or a box the same way now. I used to just focus on how many calories that new cracker had. Or that new chip. Because if it all revolved around calories that’s all I needed to know.
Now, I barely glance at the calories and that is not my first priority or even my second. It’s only a curiosity now.
My first target is the line that says carbohydrates. I check how many grams of carbs are in that particular item. Let’s pick out a cracker. I don’t eat many crackers these days but I might have three if I am serving a dip as an appetizer.
So let’s say the carbohydrate count is 21 grams. If I see anything that says 21 grams, I am suspicious that it might be something I’d skip. The next step is serving size. If that serving size says 3 crackers that means there are 7 in each cracker. Too much for me. I only eat maybe 80 grams of carbs per day and even veggies have carbs in them (and fruit too) so I’m not going to waste 1/3 of my carbs on 3 crackers. But if the serving size says 13 like it does with Mary’s Gone Crackers, I’ll happily eat 3. I don’t want more than 4 – 6 grams of carbs that come from wheat per meal. That would be my limit. So I’m not paying attention to calories. I’m setting my limit on the quantity I’ll eat based on carb total and the serving size.
For a dessert, my goal is less than 15 grams of carbs. So let’s say I want ice cream from the freezer section. If I find one that has a one-cup serving is 23 grams of carbs, I’ll eat a ½ cup or even 1/3 will satisfy me. I just wanted a treat. The math is not difficult. You just need to get used to it.
What else do I look at?
I look at the ingredients list. I want to keep my sugar down as far as possible and sugar comes in many forms; including sucrose (table sugar) which will be listed on the label as sugar.
So before I even buy the product, I check to see where sugar is listed on the ingredients list. You’d be surprised how many products have sugar in them. Even spaghetti sauce usually has sugar in it. Luckily, there are a few brands that don’t, so if I can’t make my own spaghetti sauce, I buy those. Or I employ this simple trick.
Read the ingredients list. See how far down sugar is on the list. If it’s WAY down….way toward the end of the list, I can assume there is very little in it. The first ingredient is what is in there in the largest quantity and then it counts down. So if wheat is the first ingredient in the cracker, then it’s likely to have a higher carb count. If sugar or high fructose corn syrup or any of the other, many, names for sugar are toward the top that means that item has a lot of sugar in it. Steer away.
A couple of other quick notes. On boxes and cans, you can also look for ingredients that are not natural. If they have a lot of things you can’t pronounce that means this product has a lot of preservatives or artificial flavorings. Steer away from those too. They just mess up your digestive process and are not part of nature.
Two pretty harmless ingredients that are listed in things are guar gum and xantham gum. Don’t worry about those. They are natural thickeners and emulsifiers. Guar gum helps the dressing stay looking like dressing in the bottle; rather than separating out. Xantham gum and guar gum are often used in low-carb baking to help “glue” together with your batter so it forms a fluffy cake.
I hope this is helpful to you on your low-carb journey.
Cheers,
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
These cookies are SOOOO good. And no flour! Just be careful what peanut butter you buy and be sure to order the sweetener ahead so you are prepared to bake and eat.
6 Wonderful Sweeteners Better For You Than Sugar
Even if you never touch dessert it’s still easy to have too much sugar in your diet. We all know now that sugar is virtually everywhere in our food system. Plan Z dieters know to stay away from things like bread, pasta, pancakes, baked goods, sodas, fruit drinks, and virtually every processed food. When you include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) it seems like sugar is everywhere.
Good news is once you're in ZReboot and beyond, you can still enjoy sweets and not totally blow a low carb existence. You don’t have to feel deprived either.
One trick is to concentrate on NATURAL sugar sources. Obviously, you’ll have to keep them in check and not go crazy with these but here are some ideas on how you can use them. Leave all the chemistry involved in processed table sugar and artificial sweeteners by the wayside. That means diet soda is not your friend. Research has proven that it never really made you skinnier, and some new research even links it to overeating.
Here are the top 6 sweeteners to use when you're living a low carb life:
Stevia
This product is not perfect, but it’s natural, it has vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and ZERO calories. You can use it to sweeten anything that does not need heat. That's when it tastes the best, like with plain, unsweetened yogurt with a little stevia and vanilla stirred in. Add berries and nuts on top and you’ve got a healthy breakfast that will keep you full until lunch.
Stevia comes in a granular form and in liquid drops, too. You can use the flavored drops to make your own diet soda. Pick up plain sparkling water and then add stevia drops. They even have cola flavored drops now. You can make grape soda, orange, strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime...even cream soda. And there are flavored stevia drops that will make a delightful cup of flavored coffee. Save the money on those fancy coffee drinks you stand in line for at a coffee shop and make your own in about 2 extra seconds. You can find flavored stevia drops in the baking supply section of your grocery store, usually on the bottom shelf.
Raw Honey
I always recommend you get your food from the closest source possible. So, if you're in ZReboot 3.5 or later and are at the point where you can enjoy honey, the beekeeper at your local farmer’s market is a prime guy/gal to get to know. Raw honey has vitamins and minerals in it, too. The glycemic index is reasonable at 35. Any food with a glycemic index under 50 is pretty good, but you still have to watch your intake. You can't go overboard. A little drizzle goes a long way.
Erythritol
This is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables. Erythritol has some real bonuses. Zero on the glycemic index. Zero calories. This one is a sugar alcohol. And the best news is it caramelizes. That means if you bake cookies with it, they will get the lovely crunch around the edges you’re striving for. My favorite brands are ZSweet and Swerve. I have never seen either of these in a store so you’ll likely have to order online. There are other brands you can look into, too. You can make frosting with the powdered version. A cream cheese frosting made with this is about as close to dessert-healthy as you can get. Make a low carb cake and you have the makings of a healthy version of a birthday party! Erythritol is slightly less sweet than sugar but in truth, I cut the amount necessary for a recipe by about 1/3 to half and I’m satisfied that the end product is sweet enough. You’ll find your own sweet spot.
Coconut Sugar
The good news about coconut sugar is it contains potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B1 and vitamin C. Table sugar has no redeeming value at all. You’ve never heard of coconut sugar? Let’s fix that. Coconut sugar is also called coconut palm sugar. It comes from coconut blossoms; before they form coconuts. Coconut sugar is half the glycemic index of table sugar which is a huge plus. That means it won’t jack up your insulin as much as regular sugar will.
Coconut sugar is a light brown color. Some people put a little in coffee (ZReboot 3.5 or later, obviously) if they have to have sugar. That’s the only reason I keep it around. If I have a guest who has to have sugar in coffee, this is a better alternative. If you like making baked goods you can find plenty of low carb recipes that use coconut sugar. Again, cut it back from what the recipe says if you dare to stay even more low carb.
Pure Maple Syrup
In a dressing or a sauce that needs a sweet taste sometimes, I’ll use a little drizzle of maple syrup. Don't worry, it doesn’t make a sauce taste like syrup! Be sure to get the real stuff though; not that sugar water flavored with maple. When I make pancakes now I’m more likely to top them with chopped up fruit flavored with stevia or even whipped cream flavored with stevia but a little drizzle (and I’m talking 2 tsp or less) of real syrup can go a long way too. Here’s my low carb pumpkin pancake recipe. Try these pancakes that are low carb and much healthier and choose your own topping. I’d even give a nod to a little of the whipped cream with a drizzle of the maple syrup on top. Wink, wink. And don’t forget the butter!
Blackstrap Molasses
My last offering is also a sugar option that has plenty of vitamins and minerals. The folks living on the prairie in the olden days knew about this and used it as a sweetener. This was a cheap sweetener when the refined stuff we are familiar with today was very expensive. Regular people ate blackstrap molasses. Try to find unsulphured. That’s the healthiest version. Use a drizzle in a dressing. Or make a poultry glaze with it in place of other sugar. Barbecue sauce is another option. But like I said before, cut it back. Use mostly stevia in a barbecue sauce and just put in a tidbit of this for extra flavor.
No sugar is good for you in major quantities. The average American now consumes over 150 pounds of sugar a year. No wonder there’s an obesity crisis. At the turn of 1900, that number was 7.5 pounds of sugar a year. We have come a long way… and it’s not a good way to be.
So do yourself a favor and try to stay off the sugar. When in “need” consider incorporating these.
For this week's featured recipe indulge your sweet tooth without overdoing the carbs. My pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin spiced whipped cream are a delightful way to start your day.
Cheers,
Pumpkin Pancakes with Pumpkin Spiced Whipped Cream
This makes 12, 4” pancakes. The carbohydrate count will be very low on these cakes. They fill you up too. If you want your kids “full and focused” before school give them these instead of cereal.
The Hair-Raising Rescue
My trainer was on her way to my place to work out with me when she spotted something in the middle of a very busy street. She thought it might be a light-colored rat at first and realized it was a kitten frozen in fear in the middle of the road. She risked her own safety and stopped the car to grab the tiny kitten. Because she was meeting with me momentarily, she brought it along. So much for my workout...
We took the kitten upstairs. It was trembling and still hissing in terror. We think this was its first human encounter. I decided the next stop was our vet. We needed to find out if it needed immediate medical care. My vet loves me so of course, they let us in right away. In COVID-style, we waited outside. The vet called to say the little guy was in remarkably good health. I blurted out, “It’s a boy!”
She then went on to explain he had no worms, no parasites like most cats born in the wild, and that he weighed one pound. We projected that he was likely five to six weeks old. My trainer had not seen any evidence of a mother cat or other kittens. This little guy was alone. The vet said he was right on the border of having to bottle feed or he could likely manage wet food mixed with water. Our next stop was the pet food store. We stocked up and brought him back to our place again.
My trainer is a newlywed with a new house. She’s been wanting a kitten for a long time, so her plan was to take this adorable little guy home. We even started brainstorming names for him. She took him home with grand hopes but was not particularly surprised when her husband expressed his dismay. He didn’t want anything to do with this kitten.
So what was Plan B?
I had an idea. My Operations Manager had just lost her kitty to an unexpected malady. Maybe she’d want to adopt him. We asked but she said it was “too early”.
So what was Plan C?
This is when my husband piped up. He confided in me that he had fallen in love with this little guy at first sight…and could we please keep him? My mouth dropped but of course, I wanted to keep him too. Who wouldn’t? He’s adorable.
I was reticent because we just went through a ten-month process in acclimating our other kitten, Chooey, to our home. And now I was going to start it all over? This time with an eight-year-old cat who’s not particularly fond of newcomers, a 10-month-old kitten who is still on an energy rampage, and a new kitten who needs almost constant care.
I have raised kittens all my life, but I have never tried to raise a five-week-old kitten that didn’t have a mommy around. This little guy needs a lot of extra attention. He’s not very stable but he’s getting better every day. He tries to groom himself but plops over on his back. He can’t reach everything that needs to be washed. Chooey steps in and cleans his little back. The kitten reacts like it’s his mommy and just stops and lets the action happen but when that’s done, he just wants to romp and play. He’s not patient enough to let Chooey groom the rest of him.
The new, little guy faceplants in his food. His nose is brown after every meal. He’s just now learning how to wash his face. He thinks he’s the largest, most formidable kitten on the planet. Totally fearless. He thinks he can beat any opponent – no matter what. Well, Chooey has something to say about that and tries to be gentle most of the time but wants to get his point across that he’s bigger and can whoop the little one. We have to keep an eye on them and break them up regularly. After about 10 minutes of play, they have to be separated.
I’m sleeping on the couch in the den. That’s where the little guy and I are bonding. He now purrs and loves human attention. He licks me like he’s ready to groom me. He misses his mommy and tries to nurse by sucking on a bit of blanket fuzz or my t-shirt. He has a favorite afghan and even loves Chooey’s bed. My husband calls it his “bat cave” (pictured above).
He’s starting to coo when he’s about to be fed and dances in circles. He needs to be fed in the middle of the night. He can’t eat all that much in one sitting or he’ll toss his kitty cookies. He’s already learning to play fetch. So, what’s his name?
Mr. Eddy Puss
Some of you will get the Greek mythology pun. Others might just laugh. My husband calls him Eddy. I use Mr. Eddy. He already comes when I call him. He’s a part of the family now. Mr. Eddy Puss will always be indebted to my trainer for saving him from certain death. She’s our hero.
Cheers,
Grilled Romaine
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. Okay, don’t freak out on me. Grilled romaine is really good and tastes better than it looks. The folks on the ZTeam were skeptical but have since become converts. Impress your guests with something they’ve probably never had before and it’s done in 5 short minutes on your grill.
Servings: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 heads of romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut in half lengthwise (get the smaller ones since each person will be eating half of a head)
- ½ tsp of onion powder
- ½ tsp of garlic powder
- ½ tsp of oregano (or you can use other dried herbs or mixtures; even meat rubs will lend a fun flavor)
- grating of sea salt and pepper
- drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
Preheat your grill.
Lay the lettuce head halves on a cookie sheet flat side up.
Lightly spray them with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, sea salt, and pepper. Let it sit for five minutes for the flavors to sink in.
Put the lettuce on your clean grill flat-side down. Grill over medium coals for about 5 minutes or until you have nice grill marks and the lettuce is warm. You don’t need to turn it over. You are just warming it and lightly crisping the one side.
Put the romaine on a plate and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar as your dressing. A light drizzle will do it.
I serve these with juicy burgers and tomato slices. Don’t eat the bottom of the stem. That part is bitter but it’s good to leave it on because it holds all of the leaves together.
Enjoy!
Cheers,
Intermittent Fasting
There’s a new buzzphrase in the dieting community that is getting lots of coverage. It’s called intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting is the concept of going 12 – 18 hours without food.
Some research is showing it’s a great idea.
When I first developed Plan Z, I designed it as two full meals (or two meals with up to 4 snacks) per day. I reasoned (correctly it turns out), that most overweight people aren’t hungry in the morning and don’t feel like eating. When I was at my heaviest I didn’t feel like eating in the morning, and as I asked more and more overweight people, I found a trend brewing. I was not alone in my disinterest in food in the morning.
Whether thin or thick in body mass, it turns out in both camps there are people who are just not naturally wired to eat in the morning. For some folks, food in the morning actually turns them off.
We all learned that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Turns out for some it’s not true. Depending on how you’re wired, if you’re one of the people who doesn’t want to eat in the morning, your body won’t process the food as efficiently. If you go ahead and eat, it’s more likely to turn that extra food into fat. Yikes!
It’s also been proven that if people who don’t want to eat in the morning skip breakfast, they are not likely to make up the difference later. Many people thought if you didn’t eat breakfast early in the morning that somewhere around 10 or 11 AM you’d be prone to face planting in the donuts in the break room. Again, not true.
So for those who don’t want to eat in the morning, it’s okay. You can stop paying attention to those breakfast cereal ads.
What about those who eat in the morning now? Can they benefit from intermittent fasting?
The answer is yes.
Turns out when you go 12-18 hours without eating it causes your hormones to reboot. That "cleaning out" of your system actually helps your body function more efficiently.
In America (in particular), we have adapted to eating throughout the day. Meals, snacks, and drinks for up to 19 hours out of 24 in a lot of cases. That’s actually not good for you. Humans evolved to have to endure periods without food. During the foraging days, it may have taken a whole day to catch and kill the food we were going to eat. During those times we fasted. That was a good thing as long as it didn’t go on too long.
So if you don’t want to eat breakfast in the morning, don’t. You’ve been made to feel guilty about it for too long. Let it go, knowing intermittent fasting is supported by better health.
BONUS MATERIAL
One other question that comes up pretty often is: What if I eat late at night? Is that bad?
The answer to that is yes and no.
Here’s the backstory:
Turns out your body digests at the same rate 24 hours a day. So it’s not necessary to eat early to get your food to digest.
The only issue is whether you go to sleep right after you eat.
Think this through with me...
When you eat late you’re likely tired from your day. It’s bedtime to your brain. So your brain wants to go to sleep.
Eat late at night and your intestines are busy digesting, so they want you to stay awake.
Those things don’t go together very well. You’re confusing your system.
So if you eat late, the idea is to stay up for a while. 3 hours is good. Your body has processed your food by then so your intestines are ready to wind down for the night.
This indicates that it’s perfectly okay for night owls to eat late. Or people who work crazy shifts. It’s alright to do what comes naturally to you.
The only other thing that factors into this is your stomach. If you are prone to heartburn, it’s not a good idea to lie down too soon after eating. That behavior contributes to acid reflux. That’s uncomfortable and can be downright painful.
The good news is when you lose weight you’re less likely to be prone to things like heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD. Another fabulous reason to get your weight under control.
Cheers,
Pork Chops with Thyme and Mustard
An easy and tasty meal that comes together in a jiffy. Big Yum!
My Independence Day
I’m calling this My Independence Day. I’m not talking about our country and the 4th of July. I’m focused on myself. Today’s the day I have completed getting both of my vaccine injections and fulfilled my waiting period to get my immunity under full force. I feel like I graduated or something. It’s not changing my behavior a ton, but it does come with a sense of safety and satisfaction. I’m not one of those people who teared up when they got their second shot. I just went about my day, but today seems special.
Getting a vaccine was an interesting process. My husband qualified earlier than I did, and he got online and searched for “vaccines near me”. We had to drive about 45 minutes north and west to the Health Department in Jasper, Tennessee to get his. The good news is it was not crowded. We were in and out in a few minutes. We waited the required time to make sure there was no allergic reaction, and we were back on the road headed home. We did basically the same thing for the second shot. This time we had to drive to Altamont, TN. That was a little further. It was an even faster in and out.
I went through the Hamilton County Vaccine website and it was a walk in the park. Actually, it was a drive through a beautiful park on the shoreline of the Tennessee River. It only took me about 10 minutes to get there. I never had to get out of my car. Lovely. I had a nice little tour of a part of Chattanooga I had not seen before.
My husband got the Moderna vaccine. I got Pfizer. We both had reactions after the second shot but nothing dramatic. I made sure if the aftermath hit it would not hit us both at the same time. So, his “downtime” was on a Saturday night and mine was not until Monday night. That way we were able to take care of each other. This whole vaccine thing was pretty easy and now that the availability is so easy for folks of all ages, I highly recommend it.
In celebration of my husband’s birthday, we are planning a little trip. No airplanes involved. Just a leisurely drive to Alabama. There are so many cities in the Southeast we have not discovered yet. This trip will include Birmingham and Huntsville. I heard yesterday that there is an amazing air and space museum in Huntsville. I’m starting to feel a twinge of excitement, and that’s a positive step forward.
Cheers,
Hopeful 2021
The best advice I’ve gotten on COVID. The most hopeful and helpful thing I’ve read so far on the virus came from my naturopathic doctor in Chicago, Dr. Terese. I miss her. She’s a brilliant woman. Good thing I am still on her mailing list. I am revisiting what she sent to me one year into this saga because I still feel this is the best advice.
My feeling is the most important thing we can do is not get COVID-19. Do everything you can to not contract the virus. Yes, do all the things the experts are saying. Keep washing hands regularly. Social distancing. And all the rest. But there are other things you can do that will help strengthen your immune system and (hopefully) make you less likely to get it. Here’s what my doctor sent with my comments thrown in.
From Dr. T:
Recommendations for staying healthy and overall flu/viral prevention strategies. Diet/Lifestyle Recommendations for good health and a strong immune system:
- Diet – Remove all added sugars, white flours, pastas and foods that are higher glycemic foods. High levels of glucose in your bloodstream can decrease the effectiveness of your immune system in fighting off illness. Focus on eating a clean diet with lots of vegetables, lower sugar fruits (like berries), grass-fed meat, eggs, wild-caught fish, and legumes. Adding raw garlic to your diet can boost your immune system’s natural killer cells.
From Zola: This looks like Plan Z in one paragraph! If you’re currently on the Plan Z diet, this list will look familiar. If you are not yet a Plan Z client this can give you extra motivation to get started. Of course, there are lots more details as part of Plan Z and you need the all-important ZR50 Crave Control spray to keep you comfortable.
- (From Dr. T.) Sleep – Sleep deprivation can suppress your immune system. Be sure to get sufficient sleep every night, at least 7 hours/night.
From Zola: There is an element in the ZR50 Crave Control spray that helps you relax so you sleep better. You’re taking magnesium citrate while you do Plan Z too…which helps with sleep.
- (From Dr. T.) Stress – In spite of the never-ending news cycle, try to keep stress levels to a minimum as stress hormones can suppress your immune system. Try implementing stress reducers – exercise, meditation, yoga, laughter – into your daily routine.
From Zola: I have to work on this one. I am currently doing yoga, lifting weights and getting on the treadmill. I still feel the stress though. I spend way too much time watching the news.
- (From Dr. T.) Hydration – Hydrated cells function more optimally. Water helps to flush out metabolic waste and flushing out this waste will help our immune system function more optimally. Rule of thumb to determine how many ounces of water you need to drink is to divide your weight, in lbs, by half. That number is the number of ounces you should be drinking, at minimum, in water per day.
From Zola: With Plan Z we recommend you get at least 100 oz of water per day. For some it takes time to get used to it but then your body will crave it.
- (From Dr. T.) Exercise – exercise gets your lymphatic system flowing, which helps your immune system work more efficiently at fighting infections. Exercise improves circulation, including circulation of antibodies and white blood cells which fight off infections. Even walking can give you these benefits. Moderate exercise is the key as there is evidence that over-training can suppress your immune system.
From Zola: Don’t sit around waiting for this to end.
- (From Dr. T.) Hand washing/hand shaking, etc. – wash your hands!! This is one of the most useful strategies we can all employ to prevent the transmission of viruses. Even hand sanitizer is not as effective, although that is an alternative if soap and water is not available. Do not shake hands, use an elbow bump or jazz hands for a greeting. Avoid touching your face – eyes, nose and mouth!
From Zola: I have hand sanitizer in my car, in my bathroom, in my garage, in my office. Need I continue?
- (From Dr. T.) Sinus rinse/Neti pot – cleaning your nasal tissue may decrease a virus’s ability to take hold. This is theoretical and there is no evidence on this with the COVID-19 virus. Xlear is a nasal spray with xylitol and grapefruit seed extract, which have antimicrobial properties.
From Zola: I’m not a fan of neti pots but I’m glad people are trying to get creative to get us all the help we can get.
Consider applying these ideas to your daily life. Most of them are helpful ideas for overall health/immunity and not just a plan to try to keep from getting COVID-19.
Stay well.
Hang in.
Time to Start Digging Out
I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten into a rut since this whole COVID thing started. Really, I've gotten into a bunch of ruts. As things start to loosen, it’s time to start brainstorming how to get out of the ruts without endangering our recovery.
The topics of what kind of ruts we’ve gotten into vary and can be really personal. I, for instance, dug a new pair of shoes out of my closet that I have yet to wear since I bought them about six months ago.
For the first six months of lockdown, I wore the same pair of sandals every day. I noticed I was doing it, but I really just didn’t care. Who was going to notice? I was working at home. When I decided I needed a solid shoe for the cooler months I went out and bought two pairs. You guessed it, I wore the same pair of solid shoes for six months. It was not until today that I dug out the other new pair and put them on. The act made me feel sort of special. A little lighter. Maybe even a little cleaner. The psychological toll of this thing has hit us all. We just need to turn inward to find out how it has affected us and start to bring it to the surface so we can do things to heal.
Since so much of my writing focuses on food, I thought I’d point out a few ruts I have noticed and offer up ideas on how to get out of them. Some of these may apply to you.
Same Day Same Food
When I was a kid in a large Irish family if it was Monday it was chicken. If it was Tuesday it was meatloaf and of course, if it was Friday it was fish. During this time, I’ve noticed that I can fall into making the same things too often. For some that’s comfort. For me, that’s a sign of boredom. To work on that I have been getting out cookbooks. Yep, my on-the-shelf, old-fashioned cookbooks. I found one with Southern dishes I drew from and one that’s French written by one of my cooking heroes, Wolfgang Puck. Cooking something he invented gets you out of your grilled cheese sandwich rut. My husband has also been reading the food section of the paper for ideas. I appreciate the help.
Cutting Board Meals
If you don’t do this already this might be a perfect way to get out of a rut. The kids will even enjoy this.
What we do is take cured meats and put them on a big cutting board. Things like salami or any good deli items will do. Sometimes I cut up pre-cooked sausages and heat them in the oven. Then we add things like celery and carrots for crunch. You can also add things like olives, or those cherry peppers you find in the deli. My husband likes roasted red peppers in the jar. Add cheeses cut into cubes or slices. Add some crackers or breadsticks. You can also add some jams. Fancy ones like fig jam are nice.
You can stack things on a cracker or just eat them in little bites. A bit of jam spread on a piece of cheese makes me smile. No one had to really cook to make the whole meal come together. Each person has their own little plate and can take things off the cutting board they like and make a meal out of it. You can do this and play a game or watch a movie. Sure beats popcorn!
Watch a Documentary
This has been big for me. I figure if I’m going to be in the rut of watching TV I might as well learn something. Once you get on Netflix or Hulu and start picking documentaries, they suggest more you might like. You can find some fascinating subjects.
Teach
For those of you with kids, I imagine homeschool has been grueling. This brings back memories for me. When I was a little girl my mother let me learn cooking and entertaining projects on weekends when I was not in school. I loved it and I have kept those lessons with me to this day. She taught me how to set the table. Not just a fork, spoon, and knife. She taught me what all the other little spoons were for, even demitasse. She did not stop what she was doing. I’d just bring her a little fork or knife and ask her where it went. She’d tell me and off I went. She’d let me set the table for a fancy meal even if we were not having one. She was quite proud in her later years when she came to our place for a visit and saw the dinner table properly set.
She let me experiment with arranging flowers. Now that you can buy assorted bouquets inexpensively at the grocery store you can cut loose. The idea is NOT to just cut off the plastic and plop the bouquet in a vase filled with water. What I do is cut pictures out of magazines with properly arranged flowers and work to duplicate them. The height of the flowers is so important. As is the arrangement of small and large flowers and where to put the greenery. The modern way to do this might be to copy what’s on Pinterest.
Drive
Most of the time I’ve been in a car I’ve been on the way to the grocery store or to Target. Big Yawn. My mileage is low. My gas bill is teeny, but you can get really bored and feel cooped up. My husband’s idea was to drive one direction for an hour and check out a new town. It can be any little town. And you don’t even need to get out of the car if you don’t want to. Just drive around the town square and come back. That gets us out of the rut of hanging around the house on Saturday morning. The funniest one was the day we drove to Cleveland, Tennessee. They have an M&M’s plant there. Here’s a picture of my husband with the Peanut. I found out his name is Yellow. The Mars Company calls him “The Goofball."
We all need to bring out the little “goofball” in all of us so we can really get smiling again. I have been so inspired by people doing new projects during the lockdown. Things like sidewalk chalk projects have lifted neighborhoods and communities. Let’s keep it going.
Cheers,
7 Reasons to Diet with a Buddy
When you’re on a diet, having a strong weight loss support system can mean the difference between success and failure. We have a major league support team at Plan Z, but if you can add a personal support network to that and buddy up with a partner, the benefits are even greater.
A weight loss buddy (or an accountabilibuddy) can be a spouse or significant other, or a friend that lives nearby. Sometimes buddies are coworkers who support each other at work. In other cases, they live across the country from each other! What’s better with a buddy? Everything! I’ve listed seven of my favorite reasons below.
1. Picking Recipes Together
If you and your buddy live together, you can each be in charge of dinner 3 nights a week. Then, one day a week, order delivery and enjoy a Plan Z-style dinner that neither one of you had to cook.
Plan Z has over 1000 recipes now for everything from comfort food to gourmet dining so it’s fun deciding where you’re going to eat. And you don’t have to eat bland or boring food. Just make a meal plan. Having a plan will keep you from buzzing through the drive-thru at the last minute.
2. Shopping Together
We don’t require buddies to shop together, but when you live together, it happens. The great news is, our buddies tell us it’s a fun experience. I get notes from buddy-husbands who tell me before Plan Z they hadn’t been in a grocery store in years. Now, when they shop with their buddy-wives they are amazed. They have learned to read labels and are astonished at how many things in a grocery store have sugar or HFCS in them — it’s now more than 80%! They are even trying new foods!
3. Cooking Together
In my house, my husband is my buddy, and when we cook together, my husband is the sous chef while I am the master chef. In our case, that means my husband does the chopping. He’s become quite adept with a chef’s knife and has his dicing down pat. Dinner comes together faster that way.
One buddy-husband in Colorado told me that before Plan Z he had never even set foot in the kitchen until dinner was done. His wife did all the cooking. After being on Plan Z he got so into cooking that he proudly became the house chef. His kids surprised him at Christmas with a beautiful set of knives that he uses almost every day. Now, they can give him culinary gifts for birthdays, too.
Another way to split up kitchen duties is to have one buddy cook and have the other buddy clean up. My husband makes me sit and watch TV while he cleans up. Then he makes dessert. Most often he whips up a bowl of Plan Z raspberry ice cream. He loves that stuff. And I love him for loading the dishwasher.
4. Weigh-Ins
Buddy weigh-ins are a great way to hold each other accountable. Weigh yourself and report out to your buddy. I have heard of many a man doing the happy dance in his bathroom after a morning weigh-in. Just the vision of that makes me smile.
Buddies motivate each other, too. Everyone has bad days. You probably won’t lose the same amount of weight every day, so be there for each other and support each other.
5. Compare Water Intake
We did an informal study and found that those who drink 100 oz of water consistently lost 30% more weight than those who drank less than 70 ounces a day. That’s a big difference! For most, that level of water-guzzling takes some getting used to, so it’s a good idea to check in with each other in the middle of the day to see how it’s going. Your body gets used to the water, but the first week or so you’re in the potty a lot during the night. I try to finish drinking my 100 oz before dinner so I don’t have to drink too much too close to bedtime.
6. Cook Food in Batches
Many buddies take time a Sunday to cook up a couple of recipes that can be made in big batches. Things like chili or soup. Or fire up the grill and make enough for leftovers. That way you have a go-to lunch all ready to go. You want to mix things up, though. Don’t let your body get bored eating the same things over and over again. If you do, you risk losing less weight. It’s weird, but it can happen. Take advantage of your freezer too. Many a recipe freezes well in small containers that can fit in your lunch box.
7. Rate the Food
You can both go online and rate the recipes for Plan Z. Or you can just compare tasting notes. Buddies who live across the country from one another do this all the time. Two buddies in Canada chatted every day by email or text about what they were eating and the recipes they enjoyed.
No cheating, though. Cheating on a diet doesn’t hurt anyone except you. This is your time to make yourself a priority.
Be Public About It! Your buddy might be someone who cares about you but doesn’t live with you, so you can be pen pals of some sort. Or even consider posting about your progress in the Plan Z Facebook Group. Or Tweet your progress.
Share the love.
Share the success.
Share your delicious results.
Wanna do Plan Z with a Buddy?
Give us a call in the office at 800-255-9853.
Buddies get special pricing, so they share the savings, too!
Cheers,
Cognac Truffles
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe.
If you're looking for a special dessert that's easy to make, you can't go wrong with truffles. They're rich, and they're small, which makes it easy to control your portions and your carb count.
My original goal was to make 2-carb truffles. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get a one-inch truffle down to only 2 carbs, but I did get it down to 5, which is quite respectable. You can tweak this recipe and make the truffles smaller than this recipe calls for and get a 2-carb version. They would be "mini truffles."
Use cognac, brandy, bourbon, or champagne to make the truffles. If you use a liqueur like Grand Marnier, the carb count will jump up. If you don't use liquor in your cooking you can leave that out, but you'll want to add a little more cream to get a good consistency. Truffles need the right amount of liquid or else they will be difficult to form.
Although I did not include it in this recipe, you can also flavor truffles with liquid stevia flavorings. You could use vanilla, coconut, or other flavorings. I kept mine plain - the cognac has so much flavor that I didn't feel the need to add anything else!
Servings: This recipe will make about 20-24 truffles. If you are making "baby truffles," this recipe will make approx 30.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream
- 3 Tbl brandy or cognac or even champagne
- 8 oz of bittersweet chocolate (62% cacao), chopped fine (don't use chocolate chips)
- 4 Tbl of butter
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions:
Cut your butter into bits. Place the butter in a small saucepan and turn heat to medium. When butter is half melted, add the cream. Turn to medium-high and melt the butter and heat the cream. Heat the mixture until it just bubbles around the edges.
Add the chocolate and immediately turn off the heat. Stir with a whisk right away until the chocolate is completely melted into a shiny, smooth mass. Pour into a bowl. Add the cognac and stir again until it's all incorporated. If you're using flavored stevia drops, add them now and mix in. Put the bowl in the refrigerator until the whole mass firms up.
*Shape the mixture into balls that are just under an inch in size. If you're making 2-carb "mini truffles" make your balls about half an inch in diameter. Roll lightly in cocoa powder. Store in the refrigerator and take them out to come to room temperature to serve. That's when they will taste the dreamiest.
You can suck on one for quite some time. Makes a decadent snack.
Enjoy!
Cheers,