Asian Turkey Lettuce Boats & Asian Eggs: One Recipe Two Meals: Best QUICKIE Diet Solution EVER with “go to food” solutions!

July 29, 2011 By 2 Comments

Ingredients: Sriracha Hot Chile Sauce, 2 packages of ground turkey, lettuce, onions, bell peppers, celery, rice vinegar, soy sauce, Mirin, salt pepper, fresh garlic. This is going to be the base recipe for two different meals, breakfast and dinner.

It is so hard to develop what I call my ‘go to foods’. ‘Go to Foods’ are the daily meal options that I have created for myself to help me avoid eating poorly. This recipe does quadruple duty, it can be lunch, dinner, snack, or made into a tasty high protein breakfast.

This recipe is not really measured, so much as it is thrown together. To eat healthy on a daily basis you have to replace your current, ‘go to foods’ with new ‘go to foods’.

What exactly are ‘go to foods’? Simply explained it is what you eat when your hungry, that you know will satisfy that craving be it emotional or real. We all think that we eat a wide

Get the pan hot with two teaspoons of either canola oil or olive oil. I use them both. Fat is not an issue when you eat good fats. I use about two tablespoons.Always get the pan hot before you add the food.

variety of foods, but the realities are: Most of us eat two or three different breakfast, lunch, or dinner options. Look at your last week honestly and tell me often you repeated a type of food? Did you have three or four hamburgers last week, or 4 turkey sandwiches, or three breakfast burritos. Did spaghetti or pizza show up numerous times? I want you to really look at how many different meals you ate. One of the most diet defeating things that most diet gurus do is provide great daily diet plans with simple to follow menus and shopping list. Which begs the following question:

I use a Slap Chop for the garlic, lettuce, bell peppers, and celery. Plus I use a great big pan. I am making Bill and I at least 4 meals each out of this dish. So you can see I added the celery, onions, and bell peppers.

How many of you use a shopping list and plan your meals for a week in advance?

I suspect that unless you are a stay at home housewife or house husband and your bored, then you have time to follow a meal plan and a diet. Freak, that is too much work and too much drama. So I am sharing recipes and quick ways of cooking that has helped me loose over 50 pounds.

So throw away your old style of eating and try some of the foods I eat, create some quick go to meals on your own based on what I do or what you already know. Replace your old ‘go

Once the veggies are cooked down I add the turkey. I already gave a squirt of Sriracha to the veggies prior to adding the turkey.

to foods’ with a battery of new ‘go to foods”. When your house is full of your “go to foods’ you eat better. Here are links to several of my favorite “go to foods” cooking ideas.

Guacamole Deviled Eggs

Zesty Chicken White Beans and Bacon

Burrito Bowl on a Plate

The Fat Yogi’s Bag of Tricks This is not a recipe it is a link to skills that I have adopted to help me make better choices.

Hope you enjoy today’s meal option! Tomorrow we will make the breakfast option!

Add the Sriracha Hot Chili Oil and the mirin, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and if you have it, you can add some tasted sesame seed oil. I am cooking in one pan and not taking time to prepare it like a FOODIE would. This is 'go to food' so you can cook, clean and eat quicker than going out or nuking. We all look for short cuts in everything, that is what drives human forward. To lose 50 plus pounds you need to make your go to foods quick and tasty. They need to satisfy a craving.Brown in one pan. There is going to be a lot of juices, you can drain if you want. I don't drain. The turkey was low fat. I made about a 12 to 14 serving dish, so the addition of Mirin (max two tablespoons) and the other liquids create the flavor. Without adding the guilt. Just remember to really look at the sugar and carbs of condiments. Use Sparingly over large dishes for flavor.Scoop and serve! Now lets take this mixture and make it BREAKFAST!!!!

Filed Under: Cooking, counting calories, Food News, Food Plan, Motivation, nutrition courses

Sharing Family Secrets With My Daughters

July 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As I look at all the messages, life lessons, and traditions that I have shared with my children, perhaps one of the most important has been the key to healthy living. My parents were pretty naive about food. The biggest imprint they left on me was to try anything and everything and to clean my plate.

So that got me to thinking about the messages that I send my daughters about food. To be honest I never really shared with them the knowledge I gained from the nutrition courses that were completed as part of my undergraduate education or the many diets that their mother and I had been on over the years as we both yo-yo’d up and down.

But the entire picture had never been as clear as it is to me now or as simple. Yes there is a lot of explanations about what I eat and what I don’t eat, in this blog and on my ever evolving food plan. The simple message I share with my daughters, the secret Sawyer Family tradition to looking great and feeling young as you age is:

“Eat Beans, Meat, and Vegetables Six Days a Week and on the Seventh Day eat whatever you want. On top of that MOVE, I do Yoga!”

That is the entire family secret to a healthy life and longevity. It is brief and to the point. There is no counting calories, though I do pay attention to calories. The is no measuring the quantity of what you eat, you simply eat a series of no-carb, a slow-carb or low carb days, following cheat day. Which series your going to follow depends on how much weight you want to achieve and how often you have been on the stage you are on. You should never go on the no carb stage of the diet for more than three weeks at a time.

But to keep the message simple I always start and end with the same old time tested and true advice from the annals of Sawyer Family legend.

We can be skinny, we can be vibrant, we can be healthy if we “eat our beans meat and vegetables”.

Filed Under: Beyond Yoga, bikram, Cooking, counting calories, exercise, family legend., Food News, Food Plan, Motivation, true advice, Uncategorized, weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Want to loose 35 pounds? Eat this!

April 14, 2011 By 2 Comments

Seared Pork Roast, served on top Madras Lentils by Tasty Bite at Costco. Just warm, plate, and lay your pork tenderloins on top.

Just a quick inspiration from tonight’s dinner. Bill seared a pork tenderloin after coating it with Montreal Steak Seasoning. He then placed it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Accompanied by steamed broccoli, this meal is tasty and healthy. We had a glass of Pinot Noir. The perfect Slow Carb dinner.

I had a bad week food wise last week and the details are difficult to write about, but this weeks success are what failures are all about! It seems that even when I was not following the plan perfectly last week, I only ate one bad meal or item per day, so I did not allow my food binges to go on and on all day long. It was just a meal here, a snack there. I am sure I am underestimating. But the confessional is shaping up to be a pretty intense post.

One thing I have noticed about yoga is that creates a desire to eat better foods. Your body naturally begins to want more space to do the poses. So you also start eating smaller portions.

BONUS TIP!!

Once you get the diet down, start reducing your portions. There are no portions on this food plan, but we all tend to over eat. We even tend to over eat the good foods. So next meal leave two or three bites behind and work yourself up to 25% of the entire dinner. Once there you can start putting less on your plate.

 
Filed Under: bikram, Cooking, Food News, Food Plan, Uncategorized, weight loss, Yoga Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ellie gets bored by Eggs In Morning: Here are 10 breakfast options to help her stick to it

April 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack

Ellie, a Fat Yogi reader, asked the following question

Hey Will!
I was wondering, do you get tired of your meals? I normally have the same breakfast every day (1/2 cup egg whites on half of an english muffin + fruit), and some days because I am just so tired of having eggs, I’ll eat whatever else is available, which is generally unhealthy! Do you have any tricks to prevent that (Ellie posted on http://thefatyogi.com/food-plan/ )

Actually I do get tired of eggs everyday, so here are all the breakfast options I have come up with to deal with breakfast.

  1. My standard breakfast is a three organic eggs, scrambled with fresh or frozen spinach topped with salsa.
  2. One of my new favorites is Two Egs fried in canola oil or spam, served on top of Amy’s Refried Organic Beans with Salsa. Sometimes I get the two pieces of bacon really crispy and mash all the eggs and bacon and beans together…..yummy!
  3. 1 Cup of Full Fat Cottage Cheese with sliced tomatoes. Remember there is a no dairy rule for this diet, due to the glucose load produced in the blood stream two hours after food is consumed that becomes fat if not used for energy. So, yes you can eat cottage cheese since, unlike other dairy is has a lower glucose load.
  4. One Think Thin Peanut Butter protein Bar or any other protein bar that is high in protein, low in carbs, no sugar added, no fruit, no gluten, no dairy. They have 20 grams of protien and are sugar-free. There is a lot of controversy over alcohol sugars as an artificial sweetener and whether or not it mimics the insulin response. I personally don’t find the occasional protein bar for breakfast the end of the road.
  5. Left over turkey, pork, chicken chili beans from the night before with two fried eggs on top. The beans with the eggs provide good flavor and protein.
  6. Guacamole Deviled Eggs for Breakfast. See recipe click here.
  7. Two Eggs and two pieces of bacon. No more than two pieces, period.
  8. Develop flavor profiles and cook stir fried vegetables with either Italian, Indian, Chinese, or any other flavor profile and top with vegetables.
  9. Plus you can always substitute a lunch or dinner option for breakfast
  10. Do a simple lunch meat, chicken breast and your favorite veggie. I love sliced red and orange bell peppers with ham…..I know the salt. I do hot Yoga so the slat is helpful due to all the sweating.

I Hope this helps Ellie and others! It sure helps me to have an arsenal for breakfast. 

People really do eat the same few things on a day to day basis. My number one breakfast recommendation is to cheat on your cheat day for breakfast. Sit down breakfast with all the fixings from waffles to potatoes. Last week I had Brisket Hash with Eggs and a Waffle. Now that breakfast on cheat day keeps the rest of the breakfast in line.

Good Luck Ellie!

Filed Under: bikram, Cooking, Food Plan, Uncategorized, weight loss, Yoga Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Guacamole Stuffed Deviled Eggs: A Healthy Snack Recipe For ‘Slow Carb’ Dieters

January 18, 2011 By 2 Comments

Guacamole Deviled Eggs with Sliced Tomatoes.

Finding healthy snacks can be a problem for people following the slow carb diet plan. My version of deviled eggs keeps you on the plan with an indulgent deviled egg platter. Generally I dip celery into a low sugar salsa. Tonight I thought I would spice things up a little with a guacamole stuffed deviled egg. I served it with a sliced tomatoes.

This snack was made from ingredients bought in bulk at Costco. I have found that this diet can be prepared successfully and affordably by shopping at Costco. In fact next week we will do a shopping trip to Costco to buy food for the ‘Slow Carb Diet’.

Here is a step by step photo guide to Guacamole Stuffed Deviled Eggs!

To make this recipe quick and easy I use Coscto Salsa, Wholly Guacamole (has not added sugar or oils), and organic eggs.

Start with 6 eggs in a pan with the stove on medium high. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to make for easier peeling of the egg. Bring water to a boil for 10 to 12 minutes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Let the eggs boil for 10 to 12 minutes once the water begins to boil.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Take the eggs to the sink and let them cool down by pouring off the water, running cold water. Then add a bunch of ice to the pan and let them site for 30 to 40 minutes in ice water.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It is important to add the baking soda so that you change the PH level of the egg shell. You also need to boil the eggs thoroughly. You can see my first batch did not work so well.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Eggs peel so much better when they are boiled correctly with baking soda.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Freshly Peeled Eggs!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cut eggs in half with a sharp knife.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Lightly pinch eggs and yolk pops out.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Combine with a fork the yolks, a half cup of Wholly Guacamole, and a half cup of salsa. Add garlic powder and salt to taste, if needed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mix it all up and take a taste to make sure your flavor profile is correct. Feel free to some heat!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fill eggs with Guacamole, serve with sliced tomatoes.

 

Filed Under: Cooking, Flash Diet, Food Plan, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Zesty Chicken, White Beans, & Bacon: This is a WOW recipe for slow-carb diet!

January 6, 2011 By 3 Comments
 

This is a diet dish for the slow carb diet you will crave. Thanks Linda!

This recipe came from Bill’s sister and is amazing. You fill full and you stay on the food plan. Plus your taste buds are a sizzling with the perfect amount of kick. We doubled the beans. Then we subsituted the hot pepper sauce with a sprinkle of cayenne and green Tabasco Sauce. We did not have all the ingredients on the list. We also used chicken breast cutlets. Sorry there is only one picture, my cell phone froze up while cooking. Trust me this dish will make eating healthy seem like a breeze! It is one of those dishes you should double and freeze. Men will love this diet dish!

6 slices bacon cut into 1” pieces

4-6 chicken thighs, skinless – you can use boneless but I don’t. 

1 large onion chopped

2 garlic cloves ninced

1 14oz can white beans –  cannellini beans or you can use canned navy beans.  Rinse and drain well.

1 – 28oz can tomatoes, I like fire roasted but you can use stewed, diced or whole tomatoes.

1 cup Chicken stock

1 tsp Lemon zest -optional

Anchovies – optional – I use anchovy paste – 1 tsp.

Salt and pepper

Srirachi or hot pepper sauce – a few shakes

Sometimes I add a heaping teaspoon of “better than bouillon” chicken flavor.

 Preheat oven to 350

Cook bacon in dutch style oven.  When crisp remove bacon to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.  Remove all but 3T bacon grease. 

Salt and pepper chicken and brown in pan on both sides, approximately 8 minutes.  Transfer to paper towel to drain.

Cook onions and garlic in same pan about 10 minutes, then add tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Stir in drained beans and bacon. 

Nestle in chicken and add chicken stock – 1 cup. Add lemon zest and anchovy paste.  Salt and pepper to taste along with hot pepper sauce.

 Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, add more stock if needed. 

Filed Under: Cooking, Food Plan

Dal (Lentils) with Seasoned Tomatos, Butternut Squash, with Chicken (optional)

January 4, 2011 By 2 Comments

This Healthy Dish was a hit at our dinner party!

This is a healthy dish based on an Indian Classic with an assortment of chickpeas, lentils, bell peppers and butternut squash. It is spiced with garam masala, which is an aromatic blend of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper. It is accented with cumin and jalapeno peppers. This dish can be served as a vegetarian dish, minus the garam masala chicken which was prepared separately and served on top. This dish does have some chickpeas and a little pure maple syrup, but do to the size of the dish it is fine to eat when you invite guest over. You can omit the maple syrup for a more savory flavor. General a Dal like this would be prepared with potatoes, which would make it not part of the food plan. Garam Masala is not likely to be found at Wal-Mart, but most finer grocery stores or spice shops carry it. The flavor is delightful and this dish is very filling. We served it with Naan, an Indian flat bread and a salad for our guest. Of course Bill and I skipped the Naan.

Took about 10-15 minutes to cut up vegetables

Ingredients:

  • 18 ounces of cooked lentils
  • 1.5 pounds of cubed butternut squash
  • 3 tablespoons of Canola Oil
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 jalapeno Peppers
  • 4 teaspoons of Garam Masala
  • 4 teaspoons of Cumin
  • 2 pounds of plum tomatoes
  • 1 can (15 oz) of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1.5 Tablespoons of fresh ginger or ginger paste
  • 1 Heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic (I used the garlic in a jar)
  • Small Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
  • 16 ounces of chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • Salt ( this dish does need salt and I put int about a half teaspoon, then added more at the end).
  • Cayenne Pepper (sprinkle if the jalapeno pepper was weak or you want more kick)

Use you really large skillet, like the one in the picture. You will also need one to prepare the chicken and a strainer.

Butternut Squash and Broth

Start by bringing the broth to a boil and then add the butternut squash and cook for about 5 minutes.

Adding the lentils

Add the lentils to the sauce pan and bring to a boil. I used pre-cooked lentils, if you are going to use dry lentils, make sure you use enough liquid in the squash, so that when you add the lentils it soaks it up. I find it easier to cook lentils ahead of time due to how quickly the squash cooks.

Stir and Cook the Lentils and Squash

Go ahead and stir the lentils and the squash. If you cook the lentils first it takes about 4-5 minutes to cook at this point. Your fork should just enter the squash easily.

Use a strainer and drain over the sink.

After that point you will want to drain the broth from the lentils. Yes that is steam coming off the lentils and squash.

Onions, Cumin, Garam Masala, and Jalapeno

Use the Same non-stick large skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of Canola Oil. Once it is hot add onion, jalapeno, garam masala, cumin. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions are soft. The smells are going to really fill up your house and it is such a sumptuous aroma.

Tomatoes, Chickpeas, Cilantro, Bell Peppers, Ginger Paste, Garlic

Stir in the tomatoes, ginger, chickpeas, garlic, cilantro, and bell peppers. Add the 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup at this time.

Stir and Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes

You are going to cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften. Stir occasionally.

Now add the lentils and the butternut squash

Stir in lentils and butternut squash.

Simmer and taste!

Cook and simmer on low till cooked through and the spices begin to meld. Do a taste test and add more Garam Masala, Cumin, Salt or Cayenne Pepper to taste.

Cooking the chicken with spices, canola oil, and Mirin

To do the chicken you simply rub 6 chicken breast with cumin, garam masala, salt, and pepper. We used cutlets. You heat a large skillet with canola oil and add the chicken to brown. At the end glaze with rice wine vinegar, called Mirin in the Asian food section of your grocery store.

Steaming Hot Vegetarian Dish

You can serve this as a main dish for vegetarians!

Dinner is Served!

Or like we did with chicken and cilantro garnish for our dinner party! Our guest loved it and they all cleaned their plates and went for seconds. This is a large recipe. I make it this large so I can eat off of it for several days, since it works with the food plan! Had we not had guest I would have done the savory version with no maple syrup and I would have skipped the chickpeas. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Cooking, Flash Diet, Food Plan, Uncategorized

Burrito Bowl On a Plate for Dinner

January 1, 2011 By 3 Comments

Cooking low-carb, high protein dinners and lunches is simple. I eat this probably for three or four meals a week. The preparation is simple and so are the ingredients.

I start with six boneless, skin-less chicken breast. I prefer free-range, organic chickens. I leave the meat juice they come packed in the pan so they have plenty of moisture. I do just a little salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash Original on both sides and pop them in the oven covered with foil till they are done. I cook at 350 degrees and check after about 30 minutes. I prepare 6 at a time so I can store the rest for use throughout the week at various meals. Here is the finished chicken!

Cooking enough for 4 or 4 meals

While the chicken was cooking I cut up one large yellow bell pepper and a half of an onion. I used garlic powder, Mrs. Dash Chipoltle, and pepper and gently stir fried them in Canola oil (very little). Here they are cooking.

I love the sweetness of yellow peppers.

From there I open and strain a can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies and a can of Ranch Style Pinto Beans and Jalapeno Peppers. Make sure the beans are rinsed to prevent gas. Your body will adapt to beans as you eat them more, but I never skip my Beano with my beans.

Canned foods make dieting easy!

Here the strained beans are cooking on low heat. They look wonderful and smell divine!

From can to pot, easy and fast!

Next I assemble the plate. on a pile of romaine. I include fresh guacamole and a low sugar or no sugar salsa. Here is the final tasty plate full of food!

A heaping plate of healthy eating!

So that was dinner tonight. There was no fuss and no need for a recipe, just a simple throw together meal. I took the left overs and put them in the refrigerator to assemble for meals over the next few days.

You will see from the Flash Diet page that I ‘Eat and Repeat’ a lot of my meals throughout the week. I find that makes my life easier.

Hope this inspires you to make better choices for a better life.

Filed Under: Cooking, Food Plan Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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