Functional Foods

There are a few foods that are either staples in my weight loss diet or are just particularly helpful substitutes from time to time. Today I'll talk about a few of those.

1) Bread---I use Brownberry Whole Grain Classics Double Fiber 100% Whole Wheat Bread. The double fiber is great for the diet for obvious reasons. When I want something other than a regular slice of bread, I use Thomas' 100% whole wheat bagels, or whole wheat tortillas (for a sandwich wrap or breakfast burrito). If I am having toast with an egg for breakfast, I spray the toast or bagel with Pam and give it a light sprinkle of salt. The saltiness hints of butter and the spray is butter flavored. Not much, but it helps.

2) If you love potatoes but shun them while you're losing weight because they're just too dry without all that butter, try this. Bake your potato the usual way, slice it in half and mash the insides, adding as much skim milk as necessary to make it the right consistency for you. Use garlic salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a small dollop of fat-free sour cream. Not bad! After I've eaten most of the potato out of it, I usually take a little extra salt and 1 teaspoon of real butter (don't guess-measure it) and put it inside the skins and eat them. That's where the fiber is and that little tiny bit of butter lends tremendous flavor without a ton of fat.

3)Fat Free refried Beans. Lots of fiber, filling, tasty. Use with a whole wheat tortilla or some Baked Lays Scoops(which us chip addicts always count out ahead of time and put the bag away). Buy some salsa that you like and use it generously or make fresh salsa. I will post a recipe for that one of these days. Add a tiny bit of fat free sour cream. Delicious.

4) Worcestershire sauce. This can provide flavor for your lean hamburgers or any kind of beef, or soups/stews with beef in it. When you're getting rid of a lot of fat, you lose some flavor so substitute something like worcestershire that packs a lot of intense flavor without fat or a lot of sugar.

5) Fresh garlic! Honestly, can you think of anything garlic doesn't improve? Okay, besides your love life! Just feed it to your husband, too! When you're sauteeing your spinach, zucchini, onions, carrots, peppers, snow peas, broccoli, or any combination of them, add some fresh garlic. It's good for you and tastes fantastic. Also---I use the term 'saute' loosely. What I really do is spray a nonstick pan with Pam (or generic equivalent), add the veggies and a little garlic and salt, and after a few minutes add a little water so the veggies don't burn. When they're done you can even use a little soy sauce on them. Skip it if you need to lower your salt intake.

6) Tea--- When my husband and I finish our kitchen cabinets, I am certain that one of them will be used strictly for tea! I love the stuff. It helps me drink all my water and it keeps me feeling fuller. Regular tea is great, as well as green, or white. Some flavors that are great are Bigelow's Lemon Lift (great hot or iced), any of the mint teas, Bigelow's Constant Comment (hot), and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime (hot at bedtime). Celestial Seasonings Sweet Coconut Thai is amazing as iced tea. A friend recommended Crystal Light On The Go Peach Tea. It's fantastic although I use it a little more sparingly than they recommend because I don't like it quite as sweet. Tea is great and it is good for you. They say it's like drinking the nutrients from a serving of vegetables as far as flavonoids and antioxidants. Drink up, ladies!

7) Green Giant Simply Steam frozen vegetables. Easy in the microwave, quick, without added sauce. Not that it's that tough to cook veggies in a pot but when these go on sale, I stock up on the asparagus and a few others that my kids/husband don't particularly like but I do....that way I have zero prep time cleaning and cutting and it's ready in just a couple minutes for a quick lunch with a half sandwich.

8) Eggs tend to keep you feeling full for a while but sometimes one egg seems a little meager for a veggie omelet. Just add an extra egg white. Yes, you'll have to throw out a yolk but remember......better to waste it than to wear it on your waist! Don't save it unless you're going to cook it for your dog. The only other thing you'll use it for is something you shouldn't be eating anyway :-) Us cheapskates just can't handle throwing food down the disposal.

Nothing earth-shaking here. This stuff just works well for me and helps me stay focused for the long run.

Have a great day and remember....you only need to worry about today's eating. One day at a time.