Hints for Eating Mashed Potatoes on Holidays
When my husband and I are invited to Thanksgiving dinner he insists I bring mashed potatoes. He has to make sure there will be at least one bowl of mashed potatoes on the buffet. Borderline rude. I…
Breaking Thanksgiving Tradition
Everyone has their Thanksgiving traditions; especially when it comes to food. My husband, for example has to have his mashed potatoes. On occasions when we’ve been invited over to the neighbors'…
Turkey Tips
Most people think the Thanksgiving turkey dinner is the most intimidating meal to make. I never understood that. For Thanksgiving, there was always a crowd at my childhood home. At least a dozen…
How to Cheat on Your Diet at Thanksgiving
Whether you’re on Plan Z (or any other diet), the holidays can be difficult. Even if you have solid discipline, your relatives and friends can try to sabotage you. Most of us don’t have great…
My Favorite Appliance
Gone are the days when I would regularly pull out my big food processor, or my massive mixer, or my mondo blender that could mix up 12 cups of liquid in an instant. Even my bread maker is gone. I’ve…
The Art of the Antipasti Tray
What's antipasti? It's an appetizer consisting of an assortment of foods, such as smoked meats, cheese, fish, and vegetables. Sounds like a low-carb platter of perfection, doesn’t it? I love to build…
Toys for Halloween
I don’t give out candy on Halloween anymore. I give out toys! The kids love it. They like to see something different in that basket. When they dip in, I tell them they can pick a toy or even two.…
Little Green Orbs
Truth be told, the first four decades of my life I HATED Brussels sprouts. I thought they smelled bad and tasted even worse. Until one day… Actually, it was evening. I had taken my whole staff out…
How to Buy Stevia
Shopping for sweetener options can be a scary and overwhelming decision-making process. The number of sweeteners designed to replace sugar is growing by the day. It can make you dizzy standing in…
Countdown to Thanksgiving
The countdown has begun... And the clock is ticking. If you’re going to do Plan Z this year, I’m guessing you’ll want to be well into ZReboot for Thanksgiving. Won’t you? Plan Z is fast — up to four…
Food on the floor
My niece sent me a picture the other day of her 7 month-old baby Thalia eating in her high chair. Was all that mush food? Why was it spread all over the surface of the high chair? And what was that…
How to Buy Spaghetti Sauce
People write to me all the time and they say something like this: “You taught me how to read labels as part of dieting. I had no idea how many products have sugar in them! I now know sugar is…
Smash Burgers
Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe Smash burgers are all the rage. Step into a brew pub and you’ll likely find a smash burger on the food menu. These are NOT the huge, 8oz burgers we’ve been…
How to Buy Sparkling Water
Have you noticed how water is all the rage now? Everyone is drinking it. Bottled. Canned. It’s everywhere. When I was a kid the only bottled water available in the grocery store was distilled…
'Cue Tips
For lots of people, cooking in the summer revolves around the barbecue. The stereotypical vision is a guy with a slightly rounded belly standing barbecue ready, favorite beverage in one hand and a…
Let's Have a Snack...Or Not!
When I was 9 years old I was given permission to make my own favorite snack of the summer. It was called Jello 1- 2 -3. Strawberry was my favorite. I liked all three layers. Foam on top, sauce in the…
Sprinkler Day
Here’s a last minute idea for your Fourth of July celebration (or you can do it any day in the summer). There’s a kiddie element to this celebration and an adult portion later on. In my old…
Inflation
Let’s face it. This inflation thing is eating our lunch. Sometimes literally! I’m recommending that in order to fight some of the inflation issue you consider a few behavior changes. Eat real food.…
40 Fast Years
Recently, the 40th anniversary of when my husband and I began our courtship arrived. Did I have it on the calendar and was anxiously awaiting the day? Nope. It was not even on my radar. So, what…
How to Eat French Fries
A low carb instruction manual. When you go low carb, the first thing they tell you to do is to cut out all the white stuff. The pasta, the bread and the potatoes are the first to go. I agree with all…