I think it’s so funny that many people associate healthy eating with torture.

Last summer I was at my father’s company barbecue. As he introduced me to his fellow co-workers, I must have heard at least a million times “Oh, you’re the nutritionist? Well, I want to enjoy my life so I just eat whatever I want.” By the time I got to the third person that made this statement, I just figured I should start telling people I was the inventor of the Hostess cupcake and maybe they would like me better.

I do think if you eat bland, boring and tasteless food every day, yes, that can be torture. Just as feeding someone unhealthy fast food could be considered a form of torture in itself (or slow murder, however you want to define it).

That’s why I always keep the new recipes coming. Many times I have to tweak the recipes I find a bit to fit into The Diet Solution Principles but every once in a while I find a few that are perfect.

That is the case with the 2 recipes below. My colleague and fellow nutritionist, Antonio Valladeres has put together what I think is the best Recipe book to accompany the Diet Solution Principles and he was kind enough to share these recipes with us.

Actually, I don’t do his book justice by calling it just a “Recipe” book. It is so much more than that. Not only will you learn great new and delicious ways to make your healthy food, you’ll also learn exactly how to set up your kitchen with the right utensils and cookware, exactly how to avoid nasty chemicals from certain pots and pans, alternatives to grains, the healthiest oils to use and so much more! Antonio’s got my full “seal of approval” on this book.

You can check out this amazing food guide for yourself here:
http://healthyurbaneating.com

Here are 2 great recipes you can try right away:

Lemon Pepper Chicken with Turkey Sausage
4 legs of organic chicken
2 large Italian turkey sausage
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon of garlic salt
Sea salt, black pepper to taste
2 lemons squeezed and two slices for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Mix seasoning in a bowl. Place chicken, turkey, and sausage on a flat roasting sheet or pan. Sprinkle with half of seasoning. Cook 15 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Continue basting and turning for 15 minutes and cook through. Turn once more then pour lemon juice over the legs and the sausage. Garnish with lemon slices.

from http://healthyurbaneating.com

Carob Chip Cookies
1/3 cup of walnut oil
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 organic egg
¾ cup of brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup of carob chips unsweetened
Dash of all-spice optional

Grease two baking sheets and preheat oven to 375° F. In a medium size bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat the egg and stir into the oil mixture. Gradually stir in flour and baking soda to form a stiff batter. Fold in carob chips and drop the batter into the baking sheets by teaspoons. Bake for 10-15 minutes until cookies are lightly brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Serve with almond or rice milk.

from http://healthyurbaneating.com

Happy Cooking!

  

Another great weekend in Jersey. Lots of sun and Saturday was a gorgeous day (I love the summer!).

My family and I spent Saturday afternoon at my cousin’s house barbequing and having a great time. There are 2 things guaranteed at my family functions: lots of laughter and LOTS OF FOOD!

So, just as we’re chowing down on steaks, chicken legs, hamburgers and hot dogs, (I swear, I was not the one eating the hot dogs) my uncle came up to me and said “Hey Isabel. Your mom says her knees don’t hurt anymore like they did last year. My knees are killing me. What do you think is wrong with them?” (All the while he’s still chomping down on his second hot dog and cola).

“Well Tio (I speak Spanish to all of my relatives) let me give it to you straight. (Look of fear in his eyes). This past year my mom, your sis, lost 40 lbs. That’s 40 lbs less weight that her knees have to carry around. Of course they feel better. I guarantee if you lost a few lbs. yourself, your knees would stop hurting.”

At this point Tio looks like he wishes he had just asked me about the weather, the upcoming election or even quantum physics, ANYTHING but be told that he needs to lose weight.

“Isabel, I’m 60 years old and I have been this fat forever. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

So I gave him 3 super easy rules to follow.

“Tio, follow these three rules and I guarantee you, better yet, I promise you, you will lose a minimum of 10 lbs. in 14 days.”

1. Don’t eat anything that is white. Name every single food that is white and chances are you shouldn’t be eating it (healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish are all exceptions to this rule). Based on Tio’s current eating habits, I didn’t think he was all too worried about cauliflower anyway.

2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee. Can you add half and half?…Well is it white?

3. Don’t eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it’s whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h e a in between, you can’t eat it.

Tio agreed that he was up for the challenge. Anything to make the knee pain go away and make his niece stop lecturing.

In 2 weeks, I’ll tell you exactly how much he lost and how he felt during his 2 week challenge. In the meantime, where do you need to begin to finally lose the weight and achieve the health you’ve been wanting? Is it to follow rules 1, 2 and 3 above? Or are you ready to take your life to the next level?

Don’t let one more day go by without feeling and looking as great as I know you can!

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com