The Fabuless Life » Diet & Fitness

Stay Healthy On A Budget With the Mediterranean Diet

vhnewmedia — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:23:08 +0000

If your reason for not eating right is it’s too expensive, that’s no longer a good excuse. If you plan ahead, you can eat super healthy at a reasonable price on a Mediterranean diet — all in your own home.

Story contributed by Vjollca Hysenlika

For centuries, Europeans have consumed Mediterranean food, and research shows it’s healthier than any other. According to the Patient UK Newspaper, researchers found death rates were lower in Greece and Southern Italy, most likely based on eating habits, while mortality rates were comparatively higher in the US and Finland.

This could be because the Mediterranean Diet is proven to reduce the likelihood of heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, aging, and it can even drastically lower depression.

Fresh Produce-Photo by Vjollca Hysenlika

Through extensive research and personal experience (I was born and raised in the Mediterranean Basin) I can tell you… If you do your homework you can eat healthier without increasing your grocery bill. My mother’s delicious, healthy, and economical Mediterranean recipes have kept the family physically strong and fit. She continually encourages the method to my brother, sisters, and me—and we rigorously follow her advice because the food is delectable, and the results are incredible.

But how do you do it? Well, it’s really simple—just follow the steps below!

First step: Eat large quantities of vegetables, fruit, legumes, organic salads, fresh herbs, whole grains, and rich olive oil.

I highly recommend purchasing your groceries at your local farmer’s market. Everything is cheaper and fresher there. My mother always says “buy the seasonal products”. For instance, in the spring concentrate on the fruit of the forest (such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries) cherries, fresh salads and herbs, and most of all, olive oil. She recommends rich olive oil…authentic Italian and Greek stores have the BEST olive oil–made in the Mediterranean Valleys. Besides vegetables, peppers and eggplants are keys to great health. Stuffed peppers and low-fat eggplant parmesan are just some of the delicious dishes you can cook.

Second step: Eat reasonable quantities of white meats, fish, nuts, low-fat dairy produce, and wine (with meals).

Fish and white meats (like poultry) are extremely important in Mediterranean cooking. Fish and poultry, each, should be eaten five to six times a week. Fish can be a little expensive, but I recommend buying affordable fish—Publix and Wal-Mart have great deals on seafood. Low-fat dairy is suggested daily—in small quantities. In addition, wine is essential to have on your dining table—I recommend 1-2 glasses per day. (One of the best parts of the Mediterranean diet!)

Third step: Consume low quantities of red meat, sweets and desserts.

Red meat should be served only once a week. Thin, well-cooked steak combined with fresh vegetables is the ideal. Sweets and desserts should be minimized to two times per week. On the other hand, non-rich desserts and fruity cakes are the healthiest ones. Since the fruit of the forest are in season—it is important you make your own fruity cakes. They are healthy, yet delicious!!

The Mediterranean diet has immense health benefits without sacrificing great taste. If Mediterranean food becomes your lifestyle—there’s a good chance you could live longer and keep your body medication free.

Stay tuned for another post on the low-cost, low-calorie Mediterranean diet recipes!

Source: Italia Living

Calorie-Burning Foods

L.Jay — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:29:50 +0000

With the holiday eating season approaching, you may not have to invest in a pricey gym membership to keep the pounds off. Instead, you can try harnessing the power of certain superfoods to keep your waistline fabulessly slim. And, be sure to watch the recession-beating workout video posted here on The Fabuless Life.

There are certain foods that are said to rev up your metabolism, or quell hunger, thus helping you lose weight without jumping into one of those extreme dieting fads. You can add these items as part of a regular balanced healthy-eating routine.

I though I’d list a fabuless few to give folks some ideas as the holiday eating season approaches:

Cinnamon

One-quarter to one teaspoon of cinnamon a day will help sugar get stored as energy, not fat. You can add it to cereal, oatmeal, or your morning latte.

Green Tea

Green tea is another commonly recognized food to help burn fat. Some suggest multiple cups a day, but that sounds excessive. You can still reap the benefits of the caffeine and catechins contained in green tea by drinking it at least once a day.

Green Tea

Coffee

Like green tea, coffee is a powerful weight loss stimulant. But like any stimulant, it’s easy to have too much of a good thing, so proceed with caution. The caffeine in coffee kicks your metabolism into high gear and jump-starts lipolysis, the breakdown of fat.

Hot Coffee Burns Fat

Chili Peppers

Chili peppers aren’t normally hanging around your average home, but if you are indulging in Thai, Mexican or Indian food, be sure to eat some if you see them on the side. They’re packed with a metabolism-boosting compound called capsaicin, which makes chili peppers spicy, and also increases your body temperature somewhat, giving your metabolism an extra calorie-burning boost.

Chili Peppers

Citrus Fruits

And last but not least, a personal favorite of mine – citrus fruits, including oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. Foods that contain vitamin C help metabolize fat faster and make losing weight less difficult apparently by reducing insulin levels and promoting weight loss.

I have found that adding several squeezes of lemon juice to cold water offers not only a refreshing drink, but a hunger-reducing, fat-burning jump start toward healthy eating. It’s a weight-loss tool I swear by. Several cool glasses of lemon water during the day will quench your thirst and keep you looking and feeling fabuless.

Lemon Water For Weight Loss

Cookie Diet Part Deux

L.Jay — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:04:10 +0000

Okay, when I posted my version of the cookie diet, I had no idea there was actually a cookie diet out there. But thanks to my mother, who is a voracious consumer of news and keeps me informed of the very latest on a daily basis, I have heard about a diet that’s based around eating cookies.

But before you get too excited, these are special cookies that are sold as part of a dietary plan by a Dr. Siegal, and some are calling the regimen half-baked.

Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet

Cookie Dieters drink water and eat six specially developed 90-calorie cookies a day, whenever you feel hungry, followed by a 500-calorie dinner of lean protein and vegetables. The plan was recently featured on Good Morning America. You can watch the story here:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/cookie-diet-lose-weight-dr-siegals-plan/story?id=8837084

While the cookies look okay, anyone with a good sweet tooth knows looks can be deceiving when it comes to sugary delicacies. Plus, as another fad diet promising quick weight loss, who knows how long-lasting the effects will be. After all, Dr. Siegal’s diet is restricted to 1000 calories a day, a difficult level to maintain. As always, the best plan is to just eat healthy, cut out excess fat and sugar, and get moving! (Oh, and see my other post on a better way to get your cookies, and stay trim too!)

The Cookie Diet

L.Jay — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:20:43 +0000

It’s unlikely that being a cookie monster fits in with anyone’s definition of being fabuless, or even fabulous. Except for the fact that cookies are cheap, as are most sugary, fatty foods, there’s nothing stylish or helpful/healthful about have an addiction to sweets (something I know from personal experience). Really, you might as well spackle cellulite to your thighs and call it a day.

Or maybe there IS a way to indulge without worry! Impossible, you say? Not according to MSN Health & Fitness, which consulted a guru from Self magazine about how bad certain guilty pleasures really are.

My favorite question came from a woman who apparently ate a whooole bunch of cookies instead of dinner. (Been there!)

So how bad is a cookie dinner? Apparently not so bad, according to Janis Jibrin, R.D. who says:

“If your diet is usually healthy and balanced, then you could swing a cookie dinner once a week”

Hurrah!

And by “balanced,” Jibrin means the obvious, eating low sugar, low fat and low salt most of the time, focusing on fruits, vegetables, and high fiber foods and lean protein.

The health expert admonishes against eating a whole box of cookies (mmhmm) She also suggests a glass of milk for calcium (duh, who downs a half-box of cookies without milk??)

Jibrin also warns:

“…keep in mind that cookies are a nutritional zero, so you may feel satisfied in the short term but famished soon after—in which case… [try] a low-calorie, filling snack such as a cup of lentil soup or carrots with about 1/3 cup of hummus… [to fill you up]“

I like that plan, but who keeps lentil soup, carrots and hummus around the house on a regular basis? Now cookies – that’s a grocery staple!

And if you feel guilt after gorging – don’t starve yourself the next day. Just remember to eat healthily to make up for it, because not eating can set you up for overeating later.

Man, this post is making me hungry. I may sneak off for a cookie lunch.