Springtime Strawberry, Baby Spinach & Goat Cheese Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Battling the Blizzard Bloat Blues!

These days you may have noticed a subtle expanding of yours and your friends’ waistlines. Take consolation in knowing you are not the only ones suffering from… “BLIZZARD BLOAT,” that creeping up of body fat that has hit many of us recently, according to an informal survey of frustrated, and slightly fatter colleagues and friends.

In the animal kingdom, fattening up for the cold winter months is critical for survival. For human animals, that leftover caveman-instinct to gorge on fattening foods, and hibernate, just causes trouble

Though these old instincts are plausible as a partial cause of winter weight gain, there are more complex—and controllable—causes too. The most important involve decreases in sunlight, physical activity, increases in cravings, and comfort eating. It’s the perfect storm of factors that create the calorie imbalance leading to blizzard bloat.

The Perfect Storm

• Physical Inactivity. When it’s cold outside, we tend to exercise less and even cut back on subtle calorie-burning activities such as short walks, light outdoor chores. This lack of calorie burning may only add up to about 100 fewer calories per day, but a deficit of 100 calories every day, translates to a 3-4 pound weight gain during the winter months, and 10 lbs in a year,

• Perpetual Darkness. Most of us are affected by winter’s gray days, and sunlight deprivation. We need light so our brains have enough of the neurochemical, Serotonin. A decrease in seratonin can increase our chances of experiencing a low mood, and food cravings. A small percentage of people are particularly vulnerable. About 5 percent of the population become markedly depressed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

• Cravings for Warm Comfort Foods. Being light deprived, and hibernating inside instead of getting outside and moving, reduces the happy chemicals in your brain, like endorphins, and serotonin. This can lead to increased cravings of fattening food. Studies show excess calories contribute more significantly than any other factor to the calorie imbalance causing blizzard bloat.

Strategies for Battling the Blizzard Bloat Blues

• Get some daily sunshine. You’ll feel refreshed and less bored if you walk outside, and your appetite may be more controllable. The amount of needed daylight varies for each individual. In general, the more the better. One hour daily in the morning, ideally at sunrise, is most helpful. If you’re not an early bird, several hours on the weekends may help make up for a lack of sun during the week. But the sun has to reach your eyes, so no sunglasses. If you don’t feel comfortable with the guidelines, or If going outside isn’t always an option, light therapy, also known as phototherapy, may help. Ask a mental health professional about the special lamps you can buy to make up for light deprivation. They work! Studies show they increase serotonin and help decrease depression in most people. Or, do what the Swedes do. Create candle lit rooms, use sconces with mirrors, keep curtains open. Pick the strategies that work for you!

• Up your activity level. Just a little means a lot. During just one exercise bout (only 10 minutes), your brain releases the feel-good neurochemicals, endorphins and serotonin. They reduce pain, increase feelings of well-being, elevate your mood, and will help reduce cravings.  If you’re regularly active, these benefits multiply. A brisk 30-minute walk – just as effective as running – three times a week relieves major depression just as effectively as an antidepressant in most adults. Of course, moving even more, gives you even more significant benefits. Assuming you’re not fond of the cold, use these ideas to bundle up!
  
• Hold on to your favorite dishes, just rearrange them a bit. In the winter, we tend to crave more fattening, warm, comfort foods, and fewer healthy cold foods, like salads. But your comfort foods don’t have to be fattening. My advice, which has been successful for me and my clients, is to continue eating your favorite foods, just change their balance slightly. It’s been well established that you can increase the volume and satisfaction of your meals and dishes – that is, you can eat more food for fewer calories – by simply incorporating veggies or fruits so they comprise at least 50% of the volume on your plate (eat them first to slow you down) or in your dish,

• Veggies and fruits are predominantly water. But because the water is incorporated into the food, as opposed to just a glass of water, the meal will empty from the stomach more slowly. The slower a food empties from the stomach, the more satisfied we are with it. With that in mind, all you have to do is incorporate water or broth into your main course to create a soup or stew, add veggies to a favorite stew or casserole, so that vegetables comprise half or more of the volume. Try having a simple veggie soup as a first course to any meal. Try this technique that makes veggies taste even better than French fries! These strategies – incorporating water, and adding fruits and/or veggies to your meals and dishes – allows you to enjoy your favorite foods. But it also means that you can eat more food for fewer calories. Studies show that, for each meal that you use this strategy, you save 100 calories, naturally – without even trying. That amounts to keeping off 10 lbs a year or preventing blizzard bloat. Try my sumptuous soup recipes to feel full, satisfied, but still keep calories under control.

The BEST Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe: The Second Best Part of Thanksgiving!

I try to encourage my clients to focus on healthy leftovers, of course, but perfection is never possible or even a healthy objective. One Thanksgiving, I saved the French Apple Cake dessert for breakfast the next morning (It’s better for your weight and health to eat the most fattening food earlier in the day – Sometimes, it’s all about STRATEGY!). It was one of the best breakfasts of my life!

Make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen and ease some stress from your life by batch cooking. I feature batch recipes in my books, Diet Simple and Diet Simple Farm to Table Recipes. Batches are your favorite delicious, quick and easy meals made ahead of time so that you always have something in the freezer or refrigerator, ready to eat on a moment’s notice. And it actually saves time. When you get home from work in the evening, just zap the batch in the microwave and Voilà! Instant delicious, nutritious dinner.

Studies show you’re more likely to eat whatever is in your environment. If you surround yourself with yummy, healthy, wholesome foods, that’s what you’ll end up eating. It’s simple physics: We naturally take the path of least resistance. So why not make things easy on yourself? Plan to make a few batch meals, or even just one, this weekend so you and your family will have their home-made favorites at your fingertips all week long.

Let’s take advantage and start batching with America’s favorite holiday-for-leftovers!

Nothing could be simpler or more delicate than this dish.  The flavors are rich and earthy. It contains all the elements of a complete meal.  It’s nutritious and filling to boot.  I feel honored that Michel Richard provided this recipe for Diet Simple.  It fits perfectly as something you can cook, store in the refrigerator and eat for several meals and is a wonderfully delicious addition.

4 servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Small Onions, Peeled and Diced
1 Pound Thinly Sliced Mushrooms and any other Leftover Vegetables
2 Quarts Unsalted Turkey or Chicken Stock (defatted)
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
6 Tbsp Pearl Barley
4 Cloves Garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
About 1 pound, boned, skinned and sliced Turkey into bite-size pieces or small slices
About 1-1/2 Cup (about 3 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, cover and  cook until translucent, for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the mushrooms – and/or other leftover vegetables. Increase heat to medium-high and cook uncovered until lightly browned, for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the turkey stock, soy sauce, barley and garlic.  Simmer gently for 45 minutes to cook barley and blend flavors.  Season with salt and pepper.  (This can be prepared ahead, cooled, covered and set aside at cool room temperature for up to four hours or refrigerated for several days.)

To serve, bring the soup to a light simmer, add turkey, reduce heat and simmer just until the turkey becomes warm, for about two to three minutes.  Ladle into four soup plates.  Pass Parmesan, if desired.

Green Beans: One of the Most Versatile Vegetables

As I said in an interview with USA Today’s Daryl Austin, green beans are among the most widely grown and enjoyed vegetables across the world. They’re versatile for many reasons: their flavor is not overwhelming so they can fit in more recipes than most, they can be eaten cooked or raw, they’re finger foods – easier for little ones (and adults) to enjoy. And they’re inexpensive, to boot.

Green beans’ health benefits are vast. They’re filled with vitamins, minerals, and 72 different phytonutrients – antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients that help reduce the risk of disease. They contain a whopping 2.7 grams of fiber for just 37 calories.

For all of these reasons, eat as much as you want, any time you want! My favorite green beans are French green beans, or “Haricots Verts.” I find them the most tender and flavorful. Here’s my favorite green bean recipe:

Warm Potato Salad with Haricots Verts Smothered in a Lemony, Tarragon Mayonnaise

Serves 6 to 8

Mayonnaise Dressing:

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise, preferably made with Canola or Olive Oil
Grated Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Garlic cloves (or more, to taste), mashed
1 Tbsp (or more, to taste) Tarragon or other fresh herb, such as Dill
Salt and Pepper, if desired (no salt needed)

Vegetables:

1 quart Haricots Verts (French Green Beans), tough end removed
1 pint small New Potatoes (or any potato), cleaned but not peeled, cut into 1″ pieces
2 Red Bell Peppers, roasted (if desired) and chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (and/or any other seasonal vegetables)
1 Bunch (about 4 – 5) Green Onions, chopped

Prepare the dressing in a bowl large enough to fit the salad ingredients by mixing the mayonnaise, the lemon, garlic and fresh herb of your choice. Place in refrigerator to keep chilled.

Steam or boil the haricots verts slightly (in a small amount of water) until they are al dente (firm, but not hard, with resistance to the bite). Drain and immediately place in the bowl of mayonnaise. Toss to coat with mayonnaise dressing. Put the bowl back into the refrigerator to halt the cooking process.

Slice the small potatoes in half or quarters, depending on their size. Boil the potatoes for about 5 or 10  minutes, until tender when pierced by a fork. Drain and place in the bowl with the mayonnaise and haricots vert. Toss to coat with the mayonnaise dressing. Place in the refrigerator.

Roast the red bell peppers if desired, chop, and add to the mix. Chop the white part of the green onions, cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and place in bowl with the other vegetables; toss.