Category: Weight Loss

What Tastes like Sunshine?

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When we were kids, my grandmother used to make this simple salad in the wintertime – usually for breakfast, but sometimes as a surprise for lunch. It consists of peeled and cubed oranges and pink grapefruit, with a small sprinkling of sugar a teaspoon, maybe a tablespoon if you are making enough for the whole family. I’m sure it can be made without the sugar, but somehow it helps the juice along.

These days we still have it for breakfast, usually with a slice of peanut butter toast, or occasionally a yogurt. And when we have it, we remember her, and smile.

Start the Day with an Experiment

One of the most fun things about eating healthily is trying new and unusual fruits and vegetables. Yesterday we were shopping and spotted a granadilla, a semi-tropical, round, orange, shiny fruit. But what to do with it?

We made a use-it-up fruit salad that included a banana, chopped pear, chopped apple, a few walnuts (cleaning up the pantry) and a cup of fat-free plain yogurt. The fruit provided the sweetness. Spooning this mixture into bowls after stirring so the yogurt coated everything, we cut into the mystery fruit and scooped its seedy interior on top. The insides are reminiscent of passion fruit or pomegranate, with crunchy, gel-encased seeds. It makes a berry-ish, crunchy-sweet topping and a delicious way to start the day. Was it worth a buck-ninety-nine? As an everyday addition to the grocery budget, perhaps not, but layering that with the fun factor of discovering a new taste, I’d say it was great value.

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Everything's Coming Up…Peaches?

Brrrr! We started the day with the last vestiges of a 3-hour power outage, some of which happened while we were blissfully asleep. By 6ish NS Power had things up and running again. It was interesting that we were the only “powerless” area in the province! We always knew we were special.

Heading outside, we finished clearing the driveway by starlight, then headed in just as the sun was coming up from behind the hills on the other side of the Bay. The sky was a brilliant peach, which got us thinking…what better way to warm up than oatmeal with peaches that we froze at the height of freshness, last summer? Something to be grateful for, we say!

No photo? Apparently it was too good to waste time doing that!

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Start off on the Right…Food!

I’m off to a business breakfast this morning – a good one, where there are usually great people to network with, and much to learn. But these things can also wreak havoc on healthy habits of both the dietary and professional variety. While buffets are improving in their number of healthy choices, they still tend to feature heavily (no pun intended) in carbs and fat. Besides, with so many bright people to meet, why spend time chewing a chocolate chip muffin?

So here’s how we are fueling up for a more productive day: veggie and goat cheese omelette, with a slice of whole wheat toast. On the toast: apple butter from our daughter’s kitchen. What better start could we have?

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When Friday is Tired-Day

When you’ve had a long week, finishing off with a busy Friday at work, it can be easy to sink into the couch with a glass of wine and let your fingers do the walking to something fatty and not-so-healthy. We had that kind of Friday this week, but we took some time-tested steps to be sure our 2014 plan to stay healthy and happy kept on track.

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First of all, a tall glass of sparkling water with lemon to rehydrate and rejuvenate. Sometimes that rundown feeling is a simple lack of water. Then we put our favourite oven-baked fish and chips on to cook, and turned on an engaging movie that would help put our minds on something else. (In our case it was Dallas Buyers Club – a great movie for reminding ourselves about the difference between our problems and real problems). Before we knew it dinner was ready and we were rebuilding our spirits to face another day.

What Goes with Veggies

We’re back from vacation with a distinct longing for vegetables – which seem to be in short supply when eating in many restaurants. Too much fat, salt and meat has left us hungry for fresh food. As luck would have it, our veggie garden has run rampant, so we have a surfeit of choice.

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Our choice? A combo plate of golden beets roasted in balsamic and garlic, green and yellow beans, peas, and beet greens, all steamed. On the side, fish poached in white wine, lemon pepper and tarragon. Feeling full (and full of gratitude that the deer left us something to eat!)

Date Night

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Sticking with a healthy eating plan means making good choices, but for those of us brought up to not waste food, sometimes the food prompts the menu, rather than the other way around. In this case, four rapidly-ripening bananas and a bunch of leftover dates from holiday baking needed to be used or thrown away. There was only one solution: banana date muffins. We started with a basic whole wheat muffin batter and added four mashed bananas, a cup of chopped dates, and half a cup of ground hemp seed (thanks Mariposa!)

Just one of these tasty muffins has enough calories, fibre, protein and fruity goodness to carry us through the morning. The rest are in the freezer for one of those days when shoveling takes precedence over breakfast making…we know they’re coming!

On the straight and narrow

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As we rang in 2013, we gathered in Toronto for Dad W’s 80th birthday. What a celebration! However the celebratory photographs revealed that the “middle generation” all had some work to do in the healthy eating department. Since returning to Nova Scotia we are making sure to also return to a proper diet and exercise regime. That includes careful meal planning and at least 30 minutes of exercise every day.

The great part of this is rediscovering favourite recipes we’ve been ignoring, like this one from Cooking Light.

First Meal of 2013

20130101-084409.jpg the holidays are winding down and it’s time to get back on track. We plan to be in shape to seize every opportunity. Even in a hotel I can manage a healthy start with yogurt, berries, and walnuts from the buffet. (Amazing trick for weight loss: just because it is there and free, doesn’t mean I have to eat it!)

Happy New Year!

Settling in…

20120924-055241.jpg. So it seemed like a good idea…move half way across the country and pay attention to the food blog at the same time. All the while, we were having “farewell” dinners with friends and clients. In reality, we ate a lot of restaurant food, much of which was not that notable. It was not health eating at its finest, either.

After a week on the job, it was time for a good housecleaning, and a big shopping trip. We’ve gone from the big city and tiny shops to a tiny town and a giant supermarket. Quite a change. But we did find a lovely little organic café and grocery to fill in some of the missing bits, last night we made our first batch of marinara for the freezer, and earlier in the day, chicken soup. Things are starting to come together. Soon…beans and bread!