Welcome to Diet Tips

Foods to even out the mood

The recent studies showed that fish and flaxseed were the most efficient foods to fight depression and bad mood. They contain Omega-3 fats that have many more health benefits including their heart protecting effects.



The clinically proved supplement 5-HTP (or it's herb equivelent, St. John's wart) due to its positive effect on brain serotonin (mood controller) is very good not only for depression but for fibromyalgia - a medical "mystery" condition, which is in direct connection with sleep quality. During mood swings, there's often too much or too little sleep and it's possible to manage the swings by normalizing sleep duration and structure.



Exercise is a very good treatment for mild-to serious levels of depression.

How to reduce bitterness of leafy vegetables

To make Escarole salad more palatable, take a large bowl with icy water, soak the whole leaves for half an hour, and brush the water off.



To dress Escarole salad, cut lemon slices into small pieces together with the rind, sprinkle with sugar or pourable sweetener, set aside for a couple of minutes. Add olive oil, spices, and salt.



To make salad, tear Escarole leaves into smaller pieces comparing with how you tear lettuce leaves, add 1/2 julienned green apple with skin, and/or semicircles of kiwis (peeled), cubes of pineapples, or halves of cherry tomatoes.

Have your yogurt, and eat it, too!

There are a few easy ways to transform plain yogurt into something tastier.



1. Put it in your salad dressing: add one or more of these: fresh or dry herbs,olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, black pepper, paprika, mustard powder, poppy seeds, etc.



2. Mix your yogurt with berries: use a blender, or just crush the berries and mix with yogurt.



3. Make your own yogurt cheese. It can be made of raw yogurt drained through a coffee filter overnight or cooked: heated through the yogurt until it curdle, then drained through a cheesecloth.



4. Make frozen yogurt dessert (yogurt popsicles, berry smoothies)

Blanching vegetables to preserve nutrients and flavor

Though raw vegetables and fruits are most nutritious, they quickly lose the vitamins starting from the moment of harvest. If you need to keep them for several days or if you need to cook them, use blanching: it naturally stops the enzymes in vegetables from destroying vitamins and other nutrients.



Blanching is an easy cooking technique preserving vegetables' colors and phytonutrients but not everybody knows what are the *two* steps necessary for the best results. Here's what to do.



Step one. In a large pot, bring water to a boil, add vegetables, and boil for 3 minutes.



Step two. Immediately after, take them off quickly and put into a large bowl with ice water; let cool, then drain.



Use the blanched vegetables for salads, dips, or just snacks.

Artichokes: nutritional values

Clinical studies showed that artichoke extract improved appetite and bile secretion, acted as anti-cholesterol agent, and helped people with irritable bowel syndrome. Artichokes are rich in flavonoids that strengthen capillaries and connective tissues.



Artichoke are excellent sources of: vitamin C and folate and also fairly good sources of magnesium and potassium.



1 medium raw artichoke contains:



Calories: 60

Protein: 4.2g

Carbohydrate: 13.4g

Total Fat: 0.19g

Fiber: 6.9g

Good sources of good carbs

Most whole grains have a low Glycemic Index because they contain bran and germ. Refining makes them easier to cook and digest thus raising their Glycemic Indexes because it strips away most of the fiber.



The whole grains that are sources of "good" complex carbohydrates are:



Perl Barley

Buckwheat

Cracked Wheat (Bulgur)

Whole Oats



Here's an example of how you can have your barley: barely salad recipe. Take:



2 c. cooked pearl barley

1/2 c. water chestnuts

1 c. celery, chopped

1/4 c. green pepper, chopped

1/4 c. onion, chopped

1 c. ham, cubed

1 pkg. salad dressing mix

1/3 c. sugar (or substitute)

1/4 c. olive oil

1/3 c. pimentos



Mix barley, chestnuts, celery, pepper, pimentos, onion, and ham. Combine the dressing with sugar and oil, mix with the rest of ingredients well.

What to eat, what to avoid?

On some diets, you are told to eat "balanced" meals but limit calories. On other diets, you have different food groups excluded - simple carbohydrates, high glycemic index carbs, saturated fats, any fats, etc. The "avoiding" rule is easier to follow if you don't cook.



However, sometimes, you eat more just because you haven't enough essential nutrients. Nutritionists always stress that it's not what's ON the plate that matters but rather what's NOT there. For example, to fight stalled weight loss, the Carbohydrate Addict Diet doesn't instruct to further limit your plan in any way but to ADD a big salad (raw dark green vegetables) before meals.



There are diets that calculate for you food combinations that can shift your metabolism to the fat burning mode. A free diet plan of this kind can be found at bantadiet.com

Low low carb Easter cheese desserts

Russian "Paskhas"



The desserts, which have appeared on Russian Easter Day breakfast tables since 17th century, are a traditional treat served to celebrate the end of Lent, breaking the seven-week fast of vegetarian-only foods.



Paskha cannot be considered healthy, as it is both high-carb and high fat. However, sweeteners of your choice can substitute sugar, making the dishes low-carb and choosind low-fat varieties of cheese, cream, and sour cream can make them lower in fat.



Here's how you cook a baked low carb Paskha. Take:



1.5 lb. full-fat Ricotta cheese

6 egg yolks

1.5 c full-fat sour cream

Equivalent of 1 c sugar

1 c dry black currants

1/2 c almond flour

1/4 t baking soda



Mix all ingredients, kneed well and fold into a greased bread or cake pan. Bake at 350* F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in it comes out dry.

Cottage cheese cheesecake

Here's how to use cottage cheese to make a no-bake cheesecake.



Ingredients



2.5 cups cottage cheese

1.5 cups butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 c sugar or pourable sweetener

20 yolks of boiled eggs

1/2 t vanilla

10 bitter almonds, crushed



Instructions



Beat the cheese in a blender on high speed for several minutes or until smooth. Gradually add 1/2 of the sweetener, cream, and softened butter.



Separately beat the rest of the sweetener with the yolks. Combine the mixtures and beat for several minutes together; add vanilla.



Carefully mix in the almonds. Fold the ready mixture in a cheese-cloth bag, hang above the sink overnight. Put in a bowl, press well and make the surface smooth; refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Turn over onto a plate to serve.

Mexican recipe makeover for low carb dieting

The regular Rancheros recipe contains 32 carb grams per serving and calls for:



1 whole wheat flour tortilla

1/4 cup soy beans

1 egg

2 tbsp salsa

1/4 avocado



If you are a low carb dieter, here's how you can change the list of ingredients:



1 low-carb tortilla (e.g., Mama Lupe's)

1/4 cup cooked soybeans

1 egg

2 tbsp salsa

1/4 California avocado (black skin)



Now, we've reduced the carbohydrate content in the recipe to just 9.5 grams.



Heat the tortilla and the beans. Fry the egg and top the tortilla with beans. Serve with salsa and avocado slices.

Zero carb foods

Natural foods can have zero carbohydrates in them. Such are raw beef, chicken, and pork, to name just a few. The problem can occur during cooking. Adding vegetables or sour cream will add some carb grams.



Many of ready low carb foods have zero carbs but too much protein in them. Since about 1/2 of protein is converted into carbs by the body, the true carb amount can become far from zero.



More important is the ratio fat:carb:protein. If a food in high in fat (of course, "good" fat is best) it can afford more carb grams and still help ketosis. Little carbs but also little fat can prevent your body from getting into ketosis.

The benefits of barley

Did you know that barley is the only grain that remains a good source of soluble and insoluble fibers even after its outer layers and bran have been removed in the process of making pearl barley cereal?



Barely is very good for you and is good-tasting, too - when cooked properly. Barely dishes can lower your risk of cancer and high cholesterol, recent research showed.



To cook it, take 3 parts of *cold* water for 1 part of barley, bring to boiling, simmer until the water is absorbed, then cover with a tight lid, then wrap into thick cloth and leave for 30 minutes or longer. Serve hot as a side dish or cold in salads.



Barley mushroom soup recipe idea:



Cook mushrooms (white mushrooms are the best) in salted water until soft. Meanwhile, fry some yellow onions in olive oil, add to the soup. Add enough cooked barley to make your soup of desirable thickness. Serve with sour cream.

Egg substitutes

There are two types of egg whites' substitutes - liquid and powered. Liquid egg whites are regular eggs minus the yolk. Take 2 Tbs. of liquid egg whites if a recipe calls for one egg white.



Powdered egg whites can be fat-free. To use, mix with water or both until needed thickness is achieved.



Cooking with egg substitutes are similar to cooking with regular egg whites - add tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, cheese, spices, broth or cream - and cook omelet or use for baking.

The 'Grazing' Eating Style

The grazing eating style is hard to manage, but since so many dieters stick with it, it's apparently manageable. However, before listing little tips and tricks, let's decide whether it's worth the trouble.

The argument over the "grazing versus gorging eating style" is going on for decades but what's in it for you? Should you or should you not go for mini-meals every three hours? Perhaps, you should do this in two cases: if it does work for you and if you didn't try it - just to figure out whether it can help in your dieting battle or not. Because there's no scientific evidence pro or contra.

Previous opinion was that grazing resulted in a higher calorie-burning rate at rest. What's changed?

Recently, the American Institute for Cancer Research tested healthy but obese women for two weeks on each of eating schedules: three square meals or any- number of meals, from 3 to 9. The result was opposite to the expected: three meals-eaters ate less calories per day - the difference that was not observed when lean women were tested the same way.

Important to note was that contrary to the current nutritional idea, women's metabolic rate was not under influence of meal timing. What's more, the rate of calorie burning caused by eating itself was higher after during the 'three meals a day' period.

But there was even more surprises:

1. The "bad" LDL cholesterol was higher during the grazing period.

2. The grazing led to increased insulin levels.

How to de-carb your apples

Believe it or not but you CAN remove carbohydrates our of vegetables and even whole fruit! Here's how.



Take medium-size green apples, rinse well, and put into a ceramic or other chemically neutral pot, and pour water over them, enough to cover. Remove apples and measure the water. To every 4 cups, add a tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoonful of sugar or honey. Don't worry about the carbs: in the process of fermentation, most of them will go (see explanation below).



Boil the liquid and immediately put the apple in the pot. Cover with "breathable" cloth and put into a warm place, for example, on top of the refrigerator close to the back edge (refrigerator releases heat into the room). Keep warm for 2 or 3 days or until the liquid becomes less transparent and apples change their color to yellowish one. Put into refrigerator to cool.



The friendly bacteria start multiplying in sweet warm environment, eating the sugar or honey first, then, as the apples yield their carbohydrates into the liquid, the bacteria eat the carbs, too.



Every fruit or vegetable releases unique combination of chemicals encouraging different breeds of bacteria to multiply. The fermented apples therefore have their unique taste and aroma, which are different from fermented cabbage, mushrooms, or red beats and also from fresh apples.