I have been interested in the theory behind The Belly Fat Cure. I've come to the conclusion that I agree with Jorge Cruise. I don't like it but the fact is. We eat too much sugar. And I'm not just talking about refined sugar, but sugar in general. We simply eat too much. End of story.

The idea behind this program is to limit your sugar intake(all sugars, not just refined) to below 15g per day and your healthy carbohydrates(breads/grains/potatoes) to 6 servings. I was just talking to a friend whose sugars were high this morning. She had a very sensible breakfast, most would think, including her doctor. Oatmeal with splenda and milk, an orange, cup of tea. Sounds reasonable right? Very sensible.

However, the orange itself has 9 g of sugar and if there was milk in the oatmeal, even more sugar. And they are learning that sweeteners cause a spike in insulin even without the calories so right there, we have more than half the recommended daily consumption of sugar.

I had a different breakfast. I ate 3 eggs with a tiny bit of milk, salt and pepper. I fried it in some extra virgin olive oil with a large handful of veggies(broccoli, mushrooms, green onion, peppers, etc.all dry, all prepared before hand) and I sprinkled it generously with grated Romano cheese. This was very filling, less than 1g of sugar(from the milk) and super healthy and easy.

Lunch for me will be a salad with lettuce(already torn), another handful of the same veggies, some more shredded cheese(maybe a different kind)a oily dressing(no sugar) and I'll drink two cups of green tea.

Dinner will be a vegetarian Shepherd's pie made with veggies(carrots, onions, cabbage, lentils, etc.) covered with mashed potatoes and baked. I'll have this served on top of the same salad. Still 0 sugar, carbohydrate in the potatoes and lentils.

Snacks will be cheese and whole wheat crackers/microwave popcorn/handful of nuts..still no sugar.

At some point I'll have a small glass of red wine and some dark 85% chocolate. (2g sugar)

I've eaten this way for 5 days now. Those who know me know I don't weigh myself so I can't report weight loss. I can report looser pants, zero sugar cravings and increased energy.

This is MY plan. I am vegetarian..make your own shepherds pie recipe..as long as it's low in sugars. Meat has no sugar.

So I think I'm on the same page with this guy. I'm still debating whether it's a diet or not. It has some of the qualities that identify it as a diet but he calls the meal plans a guide. He says they can be personalize and he doesn't do the no-carb preaching that drives me insane. Good carbs in moderation are necessary for health and he agrees.


I agree with Jorge Cruise on one thing. I believe sugar is the problem. I believe that we crave the food we crave because we are fat, that we are not fat because we craved them. The more fat you have on your body the more difficult it is to give up the food we crave because our fat cells crave it.

He doesn't call this a diet. He calls it a cure. I won't disagree with his right to do so. He recommends not using the traditional sugar substitutes as they spike insulin levels just as sugar does thus leading to the cravings yet again. He recommends xyletol and stevia instead. I'm not sure where I stand on this. I wary about anything new so I'll investigate that further.

So here I am, kinda following the program, yet not really. I'm test the theory however I won't be doing anything beyond limiting sugar intake and carbohydrate intake. I will not follow the three meals a day, 2 snacks etc. but rather following my body's instinct as to what I will eat and when I will eat it.

I also won't be purchasing a lot of the products he recommends beyond what I already use.

I am now on day 4 and the cravings have stopped because the first three days are very difficult on a sugar purge. The reason I'm following it my way is because my goal is health rather than weight loss so I am unconcerned about the results at the scale.

I am concerned about how I feel so my diet has returned to one rich in natural whole foods, sugar lower than 15g per day and whole rich carbohydrates.

Anyone who decides to follow along is welcome to. I'm hoping to update daily, post my recipes etc.


If you need more structure the book does lay out some pretty set guidelines and I won't recommend against its purchase simply because it has enough redeeming qualities to make up for the "meal plans." I believe the science is strong and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. This is the closest I've come to recommending a "weight loss program" in a while.

But, remember, nothing works unless you've worked on your mind. You can change the way you eat but if your stubborn mind brings you back to the cakes and cookies because your eating is disordered then you will revolt against the change required for your health.

Keep the hypnosis, EFT and whatever support you need for your mind. And when you are ready check out the belly fat cure. See if it works for you. And please, check out the link below.

And keep exercising. Weight loss can be achieved without it but optimal health cannot.

Here is a video that might motivate you to give this a try.

Video


My Writing Blog

Back on track? Is there such a thing? I've been trying to get to this blog but real life has been crazy lately. I'll give you a quick run down. My littlest kids came down with H1N1 about 6 weeks ago. Since that time they have battled illness of one kind or another, ear infections, pneumonia, stomach virus, bladder infections, strep throat. Yeah, it's been crazy!

I have a wonderful friend on Facebook and we share a lot of common beliefs about attitude and life and we got into a conversation about excuses. She posted that there is a correlation between compulsive eating and a cluttery house. I posted that my house was cluttery these days because it wasn't a priority with all the illness in the house. She replied something about "excuses."

This got me thinking. I've generally given up the "excuses" thing. Haven't I? I've stretched and broadened my scope of interest, worked on my overeating, worked on my writing, started news reporting, started a part time job. There is nothing that can stop me right?

Except sick children. When my children are sick all else comes second. The world stops for our home and I stay close. First of all, my husband works away and is home two days of the week, so it's me alone, with them. I am the one who has to go to the doctor(which has been once a week for 5 weeks now) and I'm the one up at night, administering medicine(sometimes forcefully because they both hate it) and I am exhausted and mentally and emotionally unable to keep up on anything else. The house gets messy, I get messy, it's not a fun time.

Excuses? Nope..damned good reasons I say. Who the heck cares about clutter? Who cares about weight? What's a pound or two when your children are miserable and sickly and need you? Whats a little mess and dirt? Why waste my time worrying about such trivial things as those are when I've got children who need me. The rest be damned, I'm cuddling my feverish baby and watching Max and Ruby with them!

And then I tried on my pants. They are loose. I've lost weight in the last 6 weeks. Not a lot but some. I've been crazy busy and while my diet hasn't been ideal I've not had time to snack on junk or think about food or eat for any reason other than hunger pangs. My cluttery house hasn't contributed to my emotional eating at all but some of that might be because I've been working on it for so long that I no longer identify as a compulsive eater. I am gaining a happy and healthy relationship with food that has nothing to do with losing weight.

The other day I picked up copies of my show. I watched myself on television which is not a flattering medium. I immediately thought, Oh my God I'm HUGE. Then I looked at the other reporters who are quite normal weighted in real life, small even, and saw that they looked bigger too. How distorted is that? But it was also enlightening! If they aren't as big as they appear on screen then I'm not either.

And my face, my hair, everything looked pretty good. It looked like me. I like the way I look now. Healthy, happy, eyes full of joy.

I still have no idea what I weigh..but I know I feel happy, I know I'll go to the gym again and work out regularly once the kids are well again and life settles down a bit. Someday I'll sleep. And tomorrow night I'm going to see my favourite band, Blue Rodeo alone. That'll settle things for a good long while.

My affirmation: I no longer make excuses, but I also don't stress over the reasons my life is cluttered and out of control occasionally. I am able to find peace in the clutter and know that this too shall pass.


My Writing Blog

Today I found an interesting article on Spark People! I love it!

You can find it HERE!
Please read this. It's fabulous!



My Writing Blog

Now that I seem to have cravings and compulsive eating coming under control it's time to start thinking about what I'm eating. I am not going to weigh, measure or limit myself however I do think I am doing myself a huge injustice if I don't take this opportunity to use some common knowledge to take advantage of this new information that seems to be coming to me.

First of all, I am drinking a lot of water. I am thirsty a lot and I'm going with that. I'm not sure if I'm thirstier than I ever was or if I used to mistake some of my thirst for hunger. Either way, it's water I want now and that's what I'm giving my body.

Diet is everything. What you put into your body is very important. I believe, personally, because it makes sense to me, that optimum nutrition comes from eating food as close to the source state as possible. Food at its source is raw. I think that most of our diet should consist of raw foods. Nuts, vegetables, fruit, anything that has not been processed in any way should make up the bulk of our diet. It is my goal to eat raw food with every meal and snack. Salad at lunch and dinner and fruit with snacks is an easy and culturally normal way to go. Alternatives include green smoothies and cold, uncooked soups. There are lots of raw foods that find its place in a diet that is mostly raw.

The most basic processed foods are those that are cooked. I will eat cooked foods. I have in the past tried to eat raw but the feelings of deprivation were too much and it's not natural to me. When I cook it will be local green vegetables, soups, casseroles and such.

Other processed foods, pasta, cereals, baked goods will drop to the bottom of the list, even those without added preservative to avoid excess refined flour and sugar. Occasional indulgences are fine but I don't need this every day. But occasionally I want some sweets and I'll have some. I will have ice cream on a hot day if I wish. I won't deprive myself again of things I love.

Junk food has to be very rare. I've never been a big junk food junky. I am very proud that the one junk food treat I over indulged in for years, diet pop, has been permanently removed from my diet for the past 6 months. That is proof right there you can do anything you want if you want it bad enough and then do it.

So it's time to clean it all up now. I think I have a good basic set of tools and with some expert shopping, some prioritizing, I will see great changes in the immediate future.

Affirmation: One day at a time, one moment at a time I am seeing success in my attitude towards food. I require, I deserve the best for my body and I am gaining the tools required to provide this to myself.


Namaste

Hypnosis is a very well established form of therapy for a variety of things. As I said yesterday I downloaded an Mp3 from Hypnotransformations(store link in my sidebar) and have started using it. I have not actually listened to the entire download however. I keep falling asleep. According to the instructions that came with it that's OK because the subconscious is always listening and well, I believe that to be true.

So yesterday it was sunny. I thought I would "listen" rather than try to "practice" so I went outside and laid on my back porch swing with my iPod as my daughter played around. I'm not sure what happened but I was very relaxed. The beginning of the cd was so relaxing I assume I fell asleep. Good thing my mother in law was here to watch the kids! I woke up feeling absolutely wonderful but I have no memory of any suggestions with regard to weight loss etc. Just incredible relaxation along the lines of a guided meditation. About 20 minutes after I woke up I suddenly was overcome with an incredible thirst, a dry mouth and I drank a lot of water.

Last night I decided to try it in bed with no interruptions. I did hear some of the suggestions regarding food and lo and behold one that suggested that I would be thirsty when I finished the hypnosis. So that explainss why I was so thirsty the first time! That suggestion must have taken!

I am optimistic that this will be a great tool for me to use along this journey. I'm excited to keep doing this twice a week at least and the instructions add that you can do it more if you wish. I think I'll do more.

So, about strawberries. For years I ate strawberries. I love them. Then in my early thirties every time I ate them I got hives. It was crazy. The more I ate, the more I got. So I stopped eating them although occasionally I'd have a sample and I'd get hives again. In the past two or three years though suddenly they didn't' have any affect on me, I could eat them again. So I did and no hives. Yay! Then this spring, once again the strawberries are causing me to have hives. Last night I had strawberries with frozen yogurt for dessert and yep, bumps on my legs.

So no more strawberries although I may try some from the local U-pick to see if that might make a difference. I'm wondering if the local strawberries are different and OK for me.

If not I'll miss them. I really like strawberries.

Affirmation: I am on a good path. The signs are all around me that this is the way I should go. I will continue positively on this journey to wellness and well being.

Stuffed! I bet that's how most of us ended yesterday. I did and then spent the better part of the evening wondering why? Why did I, after all my affirmations and and promises to myself not to, do this yet again?

One thing I concluded was that the reason I overate my dinner was that it snuck up on me, suddenly I was stuffed! Then I continued to eat because I've been programmed to clean my plate and I justified it with the idea that because I only had vegetables, steamed and cooked fresh that it was ok. Then because it was Easter I had the special treats, a chocolate egg, two glasses of wine, the usual.

After much deliberation I realised something. This is normal behaviour. It's not something that should be done regularly but occasionally, on special occasions, even the skinny overeat. Why should the large not get to partake of the same amounts of food and wine simply because they metabolize it differently? Why should I feel guilty?

So I decided not to. There are times to celebrate with wine and food and let go of the guilt associations served unfairly to us by the diet industry and a society of people who think this is our fault, that we're this way because we've failed when it's the diet industry, the fashion industry and a fat-phobic society that have led us to his unhealthy obsession with food and the subsequent consequences of it.

So today, a low-sugar day for me, so that I can strike a balance between enjoying the food I eat and watching the nutrition I consume so as to attain optimum health
and wellness, I will let go of yesterday, take the lesson learned and add it to my arsenol of weapons against the programming of my subconscious!

Affirmation: I have a healthy attitude towards food, knowing that occasional indulgences are normal and I am able to strike a balance as I am guided towards a healthy relationship with food.

It's not your mother's fault you're fat. Nor is it anyone else's. We've all been set up for this with the same messages from a variety of sources, we've been conditioned to believe we're going to gain weight if we do this or don't do that and we believe them. They've been sown like seeds into our subconscious mind but everything in our culture, even the things that should be helpful such as the diet industry contains a blatant missing property, personal responsibility. They've convinced us we need them to do this.

In recent years a common statement I've heard is "you can't change others, you can only work on changing yourself". I think you can inspire others to change but beyond that I believe this statement is true. And because of that then it follows that only you can make you healthy and well and fit. This is your subconscious and let's face it, the culture and environment you are in aren't going to suddenly change all the messages it's been throwing at you for the past 50 years.

The diet industry can't afford for you to lose weight, for the masses to suddenly discover how to do this by itself so it's not motivated to change.

Your family have received the same messages you have, most of us were raised by parents who were raised by parents who grew up in the great depression and the their truth was eat while you can, eat everything, don't waste food because then it was the truth that it might be your last meal.

Now this is no longer true but the messages remain although they are invalid. Today I threw out a bunch of leftovers. This goes against everything that I've ever been taught. I've eaten the same dinner three days in a row and then let the rest spoil before throwing it out, the belief that wasting food is a terrible thing is so deeply ingrained in my subconscious.

My meme of the day is "don't throw food out, it's wasteful". And I'm changing it to "I always throw food out, because it's very wasteful to put food in a body that's already well nourished". I have no guilt over throwing out food I was sick of eating. I have no guilt over anything about food anymore, those associations have to go.

I'm also taking it easy on the kids. I've already changed the way I speak about food, there is no waste as long as everybody eats until they are satisfied(not stuffed) and then we clean up. I'm hoping to give them a head start that I never got.

In the work of Bruce Lipton, PhD. he speaks of the two states of consciousness, the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. He differentiates them this way. The conscious mind is what we are aware of, the subconscious mind is all the programming we've received over our lifetime on every topic we've ever been exposed to.

Dr. Wayne Dyer PhD. speaks of memes which are thoughts we have, often that we are unaware of, that have been placed in our minds by others, our families, our friends, our culture, the world around us. A meme is something that many of us accept as truth but under further scrutiny it doesn't hold up as truth.

An example of a weight loss meme would be "I need to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to lose weight". I know every program I've been on to lose weight insisted this was absolutely vital and necessary.

I do agree with one thing, water is important, in fact it's vital for life. However we've made it into a should and shoulds don't hold up under scrutiny. Once we forget or don't drink our water the thought follows "we won't lose weight now". and then we slip into "well we've messed this up". So is it actually true? No, I've lost weight without drinking that much water or even keeping track of my water. What is true is only that water is vital to life. Living creatures cannot live without water. And we've gotten so far removed from our instincts and so programmed for sugar and flavour I've heard people say they don't like the way water tastes. I wonder if a week without water in a dessert would fix their taste for water. But that's a topic for another day.

So I've decided to let go of that meme. I just don't believe it. I'm drinking water daily, with some nice teas, and I fully expect that's a healthy thing to do. I expect to lose weight over time but not because I drank a requisite amount of water but because I just expect that all these healthy habits and deprogramming will allow me to do so.

So, onward I go, recording any thought that I think has been fed to me and holding it up to scrutiny.

The questions I ask of these thoughts are

1. Is this actually true?
2. Is the opposite also possible?
3. Who told me this?
4. And what would I do if this thought weren't possible?

Seek out your memes and debunk them, then reprogram yourself with the opposite thoughts, the truth that is yours, not the one that's been fed you.

I should be writing about motivation but instead I'm writing about the day of challenges I had yesterday.

My journalling went fine but because I hadn't planned well I ended up eating dinner that I know wasn't particularly healthful. I washed it down with a sugary glass of ice tea.

So I had a bad day food wise. No blame, no excuses, I completely and utterly claim it. I know my period is due and I'm going to go into the connection that there is between our monthly cycles and our diet. There is no doubt, having lived in this body 43 years and menstruting for 30 of them that I get carbohydrate cravings before and during my period. There is a connection.

I'm tempted to just go with it, moderately of course and let my body have what it seems to want, cut back on other things like protein for a week and just see. Then adjust again when it's past.

Today I'm planning better and working harder at eating well. No snacking and more fruit and vegetables.

It's not easy. It's one of those things where you know better and you do wrong. I refuse to fall into the guild trap and I refuse to give up.

I will post about Motivation later. I'm going to need some!

Today's topic is accountability and the second part of our JAMES program.

Every time I have ever lost weight in the past it has been because I've attended meetings that required some kind of accountability. Why is it that knowing you have to face that scale and the set of eyes adjusting, no matter how non judgemental they may be, is a great motivator to take the right steps to the goal? Somehow it works. Of course it's not the only motivator at those types of meeting, there is support and information and tools to buy but the accountability makes a difference.

In fact time after time I would hear people at those meetings say "I tried to do it myself but I needed the accountability". I have said the words myself!

So there is a need to have accountability and on the surface it would seem that we require someone else to be the person we are accountable to but it isn't entirely true. Because we aren't facing one set of eyes we are facing two sets and one of them is our own. Maybe it's the forced jar into reality that really motivates us.

Now, I'm doing something different. I'm not weighing. I haven't shared that little tidbit here before. I am using my JAMES system in a way that for me works best and that doesn't lead to an obsession with the scale. I'm using my clothing size as my guide and they are a bit looser. I'm using my day by day effort as a guide to my success rather than the number on the scale and I'm using my posts here as my accountability, you will keep me accountable but better yet, I am holding myself accountable. I am working towards better health and I can feel this happening without every looking at the number on the scale.

For those of you who have never tried to lose weight without that obsession with that number it is rather freeing! It also works the same way but it requires a shift in your thinking that says you are a success based upon the actions you take rather than the results.

Of course I suggest anybody following along with me on this blog use whatever means they need to to shed the weight and be successful. Be accountable where ever you need to be, read results by whatever measure you choose and just follow your own path along to the goal we all share, a lighter, happier, healthier body.

Namaste

So today's topic is JOURNALLING. I've done some reading and it seems that it's unanimous that journalling is one of those things that is considered by people who have lost weight and kept it off, to be the main contributor to their success. Some people have found it helpful to keep track of their calories, their food intake, their exercise output and those who are emotional, stress, bored eaters also wrote out their feelings, reasons and alternatives to their compulsive overeating. Why does it work? Why is is so important? The number one reason is because it forces you to be honest with yourself and forces you to face reality. You actually ARE overeating and you actually ARE defeating yourself and allowing you to lie to the most important person in your life, you!

I journal using Spark People. I discovered this website a few years ago and it is a vast wealth of information and tools to help you along in the journey to not only losing weight but also with other forms of self-improvement and personal growth. You can sign up and just focus on well-being and personal growth, you can focus on weight loss or you can combine all their tools. I use the parts I need and leave the rest alone. It also has a great community where you can talk to others with similar goals weight wise or similar life situations, or a combination of both. There are teams, there are inspirational stories, there are Spark Pages where you can blog your success and build up a following. There is support in the form of motivational successful spark people who will send you motivational emails and check on you. And the best part, it's absolutely 100% free. A few years ago I made the commitment to never spend another penny in the weight loss industry.

I also journal here by posting what I've posted at Spark People but that's more about accountability. I will write more about that tomorrow. Knowing I have made the commitment to post here keeps me out of the ice cream aisle in the grocery store or the cookie jar. It's a great tool if it's something you need. I find that this helps me here more than if I had to post my weight loss.

Of course, getting back to journalling, a note pad and paper is as good as anything and all you really need and journaling can be a very simple thing.

So, if it's so simple and very important to success why is it that quite often it's something we rebel against doing? I think for me that's because it makes me feel abnormal somehow, I want to be a normal eater at a normal body weight and having to write everything down doesn't fit that description. But If I did eat like I should and didn't have a problem maintaining a healthy body weight I wouldn't be writing this blog or need any tools at all. So I'm fighting my resistance to journalling.

I'm going to journal, I've committed to doing so and be prepared in the next while to read the good, the bad, and the ugly in my journal posts. And some of the delicious too!

Please let me know if you journal and what works for you. Do you follow a plan? Do you use an Internet based journal like Spark People or just a notebook. And if you don't I'd like to hear how that's working?

So far it's been a good day! I've stayed close to home as my little one is just getting over a stomach virus and I cancelled the playgroup we had planned. I made the Honey Baked Lentils again but this time I had no turnip so I added carrots and some sliced cabbage...I tasted it earlier and yumminy yum yum. I'm trying to figure out the nutritional value for my Journal.

So what I'm going to do is each day post about each of the acronyms starting with Journaling tomorrow. I'm trying to look at this from a different angle and trying to focus on why we don't do what we know we should be doing while at the same time helping those who don't know what to do come up with some tools to help them. So it might seem a bit haphazard to start.

I'd like to approach this not so much from a you should do this and that but from a perspective of why we aren't doing this or that and what is the thing in our mind that prevents us from taking care of our bodies without feeling we have to deprive ourselves to do so.

You might notice in my menu that I haven't given up my treats. I'm having a glass of wine and I'm having dark chocolate, both of which I think have benefical qualities. I'm also trying to get in a place of not judging what I do, that there is not wrong way to do this. If I slip up and take some steps backwards then not only is it ok but perfectly human and exactly right.

If you have any suggestions to help me along I'd love to hear them.

Please comment below with ideas and things that are working for you.

So Todays Menu

Breakfast: Shredded Wheat and 1% milk & coffee
Lunch: 3 servings of left over eggplant manicotti with a slice of bread,no butter and a cup of camomile tea.
Dinner: Honey baked Lentils and a salad
Snacks:Hot chocolate, popcorn, dark chocolate, red wine

Journal: See above
Accountability: posting here
Motivation: Spent some time on another bloggers site
Exercise: Walked dog for 45 minutes
Service: Again, something I keep private, mostly lending an ear to a friend with a problem and caring for my baby who still has a little ickiness going on.

I've decided to post my daily menu here both as a deterrant to overeating and also as an excuse to share some fantastic recipes I've come across over the years. I'm vegetarian but not vegan. I think even if you do not want to commit to being a vegetarian adopting some non-animal source meals into your diet can be beneficial to your health.

Breakfast

A bowl of spoon size shredded wheat
sliced banana
1% milk
coffee

Lunch

cup of black bean soup
garden salad with a tbsp of salad dressing
camimomile tea

Dinner

Caesar Salad
Eggplant Manicotti
Steamed Carrots

Snacks

Popcorn
small delicious piece of dark chocolate
2 oz red wine

The day is over...overall not too bad..the chocolate was my reward for doing Yoga which isn't a hardship and is actually a reward on to itself.

Until Tomorrow

So I've come up with what I think is a reasonable and likely effective plan to shed the excess weight.
I'll list the steps here for the benefit of anyone who wants to give it ago.

Journaling: I'm going to keep track of my daily intake on my Spark People account. One of the things that all people who had lost weight and kept it off more than five years had in common was a journal. A notebook is equally efficient but anyone reading this likely has regular computer access and Spark people is free, easy to use and full of tools and tracking and motivation. I like it.

Accountability: A daily post here, weekly updates regarding success. Monday will be my update day. Daily menus and exercise accomplishements posted here. You are welcome to post yours in my comments.

Exercise: I'm aiming for a weekly total of 210 minutes of activity per week. I'm counting walking, running, yoga..anything and everything. It works out to 30 minutes a day.

Motivation: I'm hoping for some followers of this blog and some success stories as well. I'm going to feature some success stories occasionally. Spark People has a great number of success stories on its website. I'll link to them sometimes as well.

Service: I'm going to try to post daily with an eye to providing information, recipes and ideas that will help others along the path to emotionally healthy attitudes towards food and diet. My goal is that I never spend another cent supporting the diet industry. I just want optimum health and to be free of the feeling of deprivation so many diets provide.

That's the plan. You are welcome to join me along the way.

I have promised someone this recipe a couple of times now so I thought if I shared it here I could redirect her to the post so my promise is fulfulled and my blog is updated at the same time.

This recipe is courtesy of the PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible medicine

Serving Size: 12

1 large eggplant(or 12 1/4 inch slices)
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach--thawed/squeeze dry
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder(I substitute fresh garlic, 1 clove)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2tbsp whole wheat flour(I use 1tbsp ww flour and 1tbsp nutritional yeast here for a cheesy flavour)
2 cups marinara sauce

Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices..one per serving

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and brown eggplant on each side until tender and lightly browned. It needs to be tender like a pasta consistancy. I find putting a lid on the pan helps in cook through better. Set eggplant aside.

Heat 1/4 cup of water in the frying pan and cook onion over medium high heat until all the liquid has evaporated. Add 2 tbsp of water and let it evaporate again. Add spinach and all the seasonings. Stir in the flour and cook 3 minutes longer. Set aside to cool

Preheat oven to 350F. Place a spoonful of the spinach mixture across the center of each slice of eggplant; Then, beginning with the narrow end roll the eggplant aournd the filling. Arrange in a baking dish seam side down. Top with the marinara sauce. Cover and bake 20 minutes.

Per Manicotti with marinara:42 calories(YES you read that right!) 1g protein;9g car;0g fat;40mg sodium.


I like this with a nice big garden salad and Italian dressing with a little red wine.

You could also cheese it up with some parmagiano or other cheese. I don't normally though.

This is my latest problem. I'm sure my cravings and attacks of the munchies are entirely related to my monthly cycles. Knowing that doesn't help. Knowing that didn't prevent me from eating several Oreo Cakesters and half a bag of goldfish crackers last night when the cravings hit.

I've picked up a bottle of chromium. I remember years ago I used them for cravings and they seemed to help. Let's see how it goes.

Today let's hope the weather holds up for walking. It's still a bit cold but I can't make any more excused. And the kids go back to school tomorrow. It's been a good week but I look forward to a bit of quiet.

I'm going to research this a bit more. I wonder..is it impulsive/compulsive problem or body cravings or a combination of the two. All I know it' defeats me almost every time and I don't know how to fight back.

Last night was a challenge. On top of being tired myself, the kids were tired and the house that I'd so proudly tidied and cleaned the night before was once again a shambles. Combine that with dog pee on the carpet and I was reaching for the cookie jar. Then I remembered my own advice and only took two cookies, walked to the computer and ate them slowly, for dessert and then sat to do some writing. What great therapy. My cup was full in short order, and without calories. It didn't help to have Jon Bon Jovi crooning in my ear, singing only for me. I wish.

I posted my first ever photograph yesterday of my black bean soup recipe. It seems to be a hit. I have a new recipe today but no picture. I am hoping to make this again tomorrow but for now I'm out of honey and onions. If you want something quick go for this. It's great alone or with a nice salad, I like a sweeter salad with it. It's sweet so it offers up the satisfaction of dessert as well. Enjoy!


This blog is about optimal nutrition and I think this recipe meets that requirement and an added bonus is how easy this is! I can't take credit for this recipe, I got it from a fellow moderator at Motheringdotcommunity.

Honey Baked Lentils

1 cup of dried lentils, green or red, rinsed
2 cups of water
2 tbsp of honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all in a casserole and stir. Bake at 350F until tender,about a hour and a half.

Variations: You can substitute 1/3 cup of rice or barley for some of the lentils. (I did this with barley)

Add whatever vegetables are on hand for a one dish meal.(I used carrots and turnip chopped rather largely). Winter vegetables work best like yam, squash, turnip, cabbage and parsnip.

I know I'm a little smaller. I can tell somehow. I've been walking a lot and not eating junk and moderating my food intake by being aware and mindful. It's been a good week.

I find it hard to be mindful without being obsessive and when the goal is to adopt a normal relationship with food, throw off the diet mentality and work towards a healthy mind, body and spirit all at the same time it's important to not be obsessive about either or the balance is off.

I've been writing a lot and I think that satisfies something in me that food generally does. It makes me happy. It fills the void better than excess baked goods can. It's filling my cup.

So here I sit having a cup of chamomile tea and relaxing, smelling black bean soup cooking in the slow cooker for dinner. I feel good. It's still nice outside and I will walk again.

And I feel lighter. Maybe it's not weightloss but simply feeling that some burdens have lightened. I don't weigh on a scale so I can only judge by how I feel and I feel better, healthier and balanced. And I'm not hungry for food or anything else at this moment in time. Satisfied. That's a good way to be.

Maybe satisfaction is the goal we all should be reaching for in all aspects of our lives. Or maybe we should just be satisfied as we are. Either way it feels good to be me right now and that's really all I need.

I apologise for neglecting this blog and I'm recommitting to it. I've been busy though, to be fair to myself. Spring has sprung and I've been outside! You know, that place that was buried in a white blanket of cold all winter that now is coming back to life! In a few moments I'll be going out again for a walk in the fresh spring air but I noticed comments at the bottom and feel I should be here for a while.

I've been well. Nutrition has been my focus this week and I've been eating really good food. I love black bean soup and found a wonderful simple recipe online. And yesterday I made honey baked lentils, a simple recipe that is absolutely delicious. I'm going to post both recipes here shortly!

Nutrition has never been my problem. I eat quite a healthy variety of foods. My problem is with eating either too much or complimenting my delicious healthy food with too much of the not so optimum type. Ice cream is a big weakness of mine. I can't leave the container alone. I admit it. I'm an icecreamaholic. I've taken to buying mint chocolate chip for the kids because it's the only kind I don't like.

The yoga is fantastic. We did another session on Monday and it was great. There were 4 of us and I felt both super relaxed and rejuvenated at the same time. I like the instructor and she's very patient and supportive of our newness to the practice. I've been trying to practice a bit at home, particularly the balance poses. My kids are excited to help and this morning I was awakened to my three year old doing Mountain Pose in the bed. I guess mountains can lay down too!

And walking..oh the walking is fantastic. I pull the kids in the wagon, hitch the doggie to the side and go..we walked two hours yesterday with stops for milk and groceries. I bypassed the liquor store although there was a Chianti in there calling my name. I like a little red with dinner but I think I'll wait until Saturday and get nice one in town for Saturday's dinner.

I was brave enough on Sunday to try a pair of pants on and they were toooooooo tight. They haven't ever been tight on me. Winter is not a good friend to my waistline. The triumphant part of all of that is the fact that it didn't set me back at all. I have accepted that I've got some work to do and I've committed to following through.

Thank you for joining me along the way.

PS..while I don't record calories or anything right now I am a member of Spark People and find it wonderful and encouraging and best of all it's free! There is some wonderful advice and inspiring stories of people who have made wonderful changes in their lives in the areas of health and fitness. I encourage you to check it out. There is a link on the right of this page.