COFFEE and Weight...

By Shawn McKee

Seemingly small indulgences can really add up. Coffee, for example, can add extra calories to your day before your brain is even awake enough to realize what's happening. Because the tweak of the week is all about making tiny changes, let's learn to start the day right by cutting unwanted calories from our morning indulgence.

Now, I need coffee every morning, so simply switching to something else is not an option. Plus, studies have shown that drinking coffee can lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, colon cancer and heart disease. That's good news for something I do daily, anyway.

So let me reiterate: Every morning, I need coffee. Without it, I can't function before 10 a.m. Recently, at our favorite corporate neighborhood coffee shop, a friend of mine ordered a cookie-candy-caramel-sugar-whipped-mocha-choco-latte. It was dessert in a cup -- for breakfast.

This morning monstrosity weighed in at 400 calories, plus whipped topping, according to the company's Web site. I had a regular coffee. Three sugars, one cream -- roughly 100 calories.
Upon further investigation, we found that both of us were brewing up potential weight gain with our morning caffeine kick. So how can you enjoy your cup o' joe and avoid unwanted calories?

Black and Brew

Taking your coffee black is the best way to get the caffeine without the calories. A cup of coffee contains 5-15 calories per cup -- next to nothing. If you can get used to your coffee sans sugar and cream, you can drink it regularly without any guilt.

If you take your coffee with sugar, however, add 16 calories per teaspoon; small sugar packets are about one teaspoon of sugar. Try using sugar substitutes if you want to save even more calories. The fat in your morning mug comes not from the sugar, but from the cream.

One tablespoon of nondairy creamer has a mere 20 calories and 1 gram of fat. And since it doesn't require refrigeration, you can keep it on hand just about anywhere. Switching to fat-free milk is another easy option to lighten up your java. You'll save 8 grams of fat per cup and get even more calcium.

To make the change even less noticeable, follow the advice of registered dietitian Nicole Bengtson, LD/N: "If you’re used to using regular milk or half and half in your coffee drinks, switch to 2 percent milk for a few weeks before changing to fat-free milk or nondairy creamer. It'll be such a gradual change that you won’t even miss the extra calories and fat."

Desserts don't belong at the breakfast table, so skip the chocolate, caramel, cookie crumbles and whipped cream with your coffee. A tablespoon of whipped cream will tack on an additional 50 calories and 6 grams of fat to your drink.

Sweet syrups like hazelnut, French vanilla and Irish cream can tack on 80 calories to an already high-calorie morning pick-me-up. If sugar-free flavored syrups aren’t available, don’t worry. You can still jazz up your coffee by sprinkling in some cinnamon. The mild sweetness of this spice complements the rich coffee flavor and makes ordinary coffee taste gourmet. Now that's a great way to start your day!

Courtesy: eDiets.com

Seafood for Better a Skin

Clams, shrimp, salmon . . . which one can do nice things for your skin? Salmon has the edge.

New research suggests that dining on fish high in omega-3 fatty acids -- such as salmon -- could decrease your odds of developing potentially precancerous skin growths called actinic keratoses.

The Fish Factor

In a 5-year Australian study, people who ate a serving of tuna, salmon, or sardines at least once every 5 days were almost 30 percent less likely to develop the troubling skin spots, compared with people who ate little or no fish. Why? Maybe because these fish are particularly high in omega-3s, fats that seem to help calm inflammation in skin cells. They are also a good source of vitamins D and A, two other nutrients known for either cancer-fighting or age-fighting qualities. Here’s what the latest research says about the wonders of vitamin D in particular.

Care About Keratoses?

Actinic keratoses result from years of sun exposure and may appear to be something as insignificant as a rough or scaly patch of skin that won’t go away. Not all of them turn into cancer, but you should have a dermatologist examine any changes in your skin’s texture or appearance.

Courtesy of

French Women Don't Get Fat...final thoughts...

MEMBER QUESTION: At what part of the meal do the French eat salad? What does the salad contain? What is a typical serving?

GUILIANO: After the entrée, at the end of the meal because we have wine with meals and salad tends to have vinegar with the dressing and that upsets the wine and food. It's also a refreshing course, like a pause, to have something light and green and something like almost a palate cleanser. We eat small salads, about one cup, not like here, and put on a very small amount of dressing.

ZELMAN: In this country we substitute low-fat, fat-free and light products to help save calories. What are your thoughts about these products?

GUILIANO: We are against all that. We want the real thing, the right product, the "real McCoy", but in moderation. If you read the labels, most of that stuff is even worse than regular stuff -- it's a trap.

MEMBER QUESTION: Bread is my downfall. It makes me blow up. How much bread do you eat in a day?

GUILIANO: You probably eat too much and bad bread. If you have a slice -- that's why the little scale is important -- one piece of bread is one ounce.

MEMBER QUESTION: How can I get your book?

GUILIANO: It's available on amazon.com and at bookstores.

MODERATOR: Before we wrap things up for today, do you have any final words for us?

GUILIANO: Just do it. You will feel better, not only with your body but with your mind, with the people you love and with your work. Take it easy and do things for yourself. Walk, walk, walk, and if you can, when you can, give your body and mind a Paris vacation.

Two days ago at a reading in Manhattan, a woman came up to me and said her husband was so happy she had lost 15 pounds. Obviously he was unhappy about her weight and so was she. When she lost it he was so happy that for her birthday he gave her a weekend in Paris. She told me that she will never be overweight again. That's the most gratifying thing for me.

ZELMAN: If more people would walk and get exercise we could make a difference in our obesity statistics. I love your advice; it really makes a lot of sense and mimics what we advocate in our program. Learning portion control, drinking more water and slowing down when you eat are all fundamentally important to weight control that lasts and the cornerstone of our WebMD Weight Loss Clinic.

I plan on giving my 18-year-old daughter a copy of this book for graduation. Even though she eats healthily, you never stop learning how to improve your lifestyle and to be healthy and have good weight control; it must be a commitment to lifestyle.

My thanks to Mireille for her time and her sage advice. I am on my way to buy a yogurt machine and I love the advice about going to Paris!

MODERATOR: Our thanks to Mireille Guiliano and Kathleen Zelman for joining us today. And thanks to you, members, for your great questions. I'm sorry we couldn't get to all of them. For more information, please read French Women Don't Get Fat. Please check out the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic. For more discussion on this topic, be sure to visit the WebMD message boards to ask questions of our online health professionals and to share questions, comments, and support with other WebMD members.

(JACQUES' NOTE:) Thanks to WebMD for this honest interview full of intelligent questions and practical answers whose practice could turn all women French! :o) ---Have a Fabulous weekend, all!
Your Friend,
Jacques

More "French Women Don't Get Fat" :o)

GUILIANO: Champagne, besides being a milder diuretic like leeks, has a lot of nutrients like calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc. It also has natural traces of lithium, which regulates your mood.

ZELMAN: Many people drink champagne for special occasions because the good stuff tends to be pricey.

GUILIANO: People are always happy when they sip a glass of champagne. Many restaurants serve champagne by the glass and all you need is a glass, you don't need to drink the whole bottle. You need to buy the good stuff because there are wines with bubbles that are made artificially and they are not aged. It's quality over quantity.

ZELMAN: How do you determine quality?

GUILIANO: First, you buy the real stuff. You can also buy sparkling wines. Many countries -- America, France, Germany and Italy --all make sparkling wines which are less expensive and they're good for you. Also, red wine is great; we've known that for many years. It's filled with antioxidants.

ZELMAN: Let's talk about weighing on a scale. I know you said you don't own one.

GUILIANO: I don't need one because when I overindulge my pants are tight. I call it the zipper syndrome. I know after the holidays, if I've eaten too many chocolates or iced chestnuts, I need to go back to my little reduction.

ZELMAN: Registered dietitians think scales keep people on track. Many people wear stretchy clothes.

GUILIANO: That's the problem, the clothes. French people always have tight clothes so it keeps us on our toes. All these elastic things are a bad excuse to make you eat more. Pay attention to how you feel and how you look.

ZELMAN: We recommend weekly weighs.

GUILIANO: Yes, you can do that if that helps. Our weight changes so much with the time of the month and what you ate yesterday and how much you drank in terms of water.

Going on the scale is very relative. There is nothing like your clothes that will tell you this is too tight, I can't sit down, I have to have a yogurt, eat soup or do the leek broth for a day to get back to my normal routine.

MEMBER QUESTION: What is the leek broth?

GUILIANO: Buy some leeks and cover them with water after cleaning them well. When they have boiled for about 20 minutes and are soft, you drink the broth. Drink this every hour or so and then for meals (Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday lunch) you eat the leeks and add some lemon juice or olive oil or herbs, so you are basically eating a vegetarian meal.

At the end of the weekend, on Sunday, when you go back to your normal meals, you will have lost a few pounds because leeks are a diuretic. You will look wonderful, your skin will look wonderful and it is a great jumpstart to your lifestyle.

ZELMAN: You mentioned chocolate and I know you are an admitted chocoholic. How do you manage to satisfy the cravings?

GUILIANO: Again, quality chocolate is an antioxidant, anti-stressor, it has fibers and it has, which is very important, the right fat. We French eat a lot of very good chocolate, but we eat very small amounts.

ZELMAN: You also eat a lot of delicious French bread.

GUILIANO: Yes. Bread is very good for you; it has a lot of nutrients and fiber. Today in America we have lots of good breads -- whole grains, 9 grains. So, if you like bread, why not have a piece with breakfast or lunch? Nothing is wrong with that.

ZELMAN: I am glad you are reinforcing our message that carbs are good for you.

GUILIANO: Surveys are coming out on how people are getting sick because they're depriving their bodies of needed nutrients for weeks or months at a time -- all kinds of deficiencies. Very imbalanced, I think it's terrible.

ZELMAN: It is a crazy way to eat.

GUILIANO: Even my dentist tells me that people who go on certain diets have all kinds of plaque and teeth problems, and who knows diseases we might not discover for awhile because it is so unhealthy.

ZELMAN: I think your book would be wonderful for women going to college. Young women have terrible eating habits and need to understand lifestyles, not diet.

GUILIANO: I must say I have a lot of young women come to my events. I agree, for girls in senior high school, but most important for young college women -- they need to understand. I am trying to do my quiet, non-violent revolution and I hope to continue. I have already changed quite a few women's points of view.

ZELMAN: It is a great revolution and the women who listen will benefit.

GUILIANO: Thank you.

MEMBER QUESTION: There are over a hundred different yogurts out there. Which one is the best to eat?

GUILIANO: The ones you have to look for are the most natural possible, with less sugar. Make sure you do not buy yogurts, which I call poison food, with preservatives, artificial coloring, concentrates, and a huge amount of sugar, sweetness or jam in it.

A yogurt machine is really a great investment because you make eight yogurts for the price of one and the machine does the work for you.

ZELMAN: You give an excellent method in the book to make yogurt without a machine.

GUILIANO: That is if you have the time, but the machine is really amazing because all you do is boil your milk, put the starter in, mix it, put it in the jar and plug it in, and that's it.

(More to come!...)

French Women Don't Get Fat...continues...

ZELMAN: Do you think the research on dairy and weight loss works with the French lifestyle?

GUILIANO: Yes, we eat a lot of cheese. When I'm in Paris I always have cheese for lunch or dinner and have two yogurts. Dairy has the protein, but also the calcium which is very important for women, particularly for our bones. We feel it's very important to consume dairy.

ZELMAN: How about vitamins and minerals?

GUILIANO: If you have a balanced meal you don't need to take vitamins -- if you eat quality fresh foods. Of course a lot of people eat garbage like preserved foods and things you buy in the supermarket that are ready. The food industry has to put preservatives in for shelf life.

ZELMAN: But what if you are eating lots of fast food?

GUILIANO: If you're eating this type of food then you need to take additional vitamins because you are lacking major nutrients.

MEMBER QUESTION: I understand that the French are adverse to exercise. If this is correct, then why am I wasting my time lifting weights, doing Pilates and running around like a crazy woman?

GUILIANO: My philosophy and that of most of my French women friends, is that this is not how we like to spend our time; spending hours every day going to work on a machine. For us, walking is the most simple, the most inexpensive exercise there is, besides what it does to your waist line. It is also exercise for the mind because it gives you time to relax, to think, to dream, and to look at the sky or the buildings or at nature. So it has many other effects that go with the French lifestyle of body and mind.

ZELMAN: Research suggests that women need weight lifting to keep bones strong.

GUILIANO: I mention this in my book. Buy those little weights and use them two or three times a week. To us, the idea of going to a gym and changing and going on the machines or equipment is not attractive and takes a lot of time that we don't like to spend in that way. We prefer to walk, walk up the stairs and do things all day long while doing other things -- not having to go to a gym. At the end of the day the idea is to move your butt, because all of us spend too much time sitting in our work, in the car, in the subway, in the bus, and so we need to put our metabolism in motion.

ZELMAN: How do you manage this physical activity if you travel?

GUILIANO: Walking is ideal. This morning, for example, I took a walk at 7 a.m. in Washington. I know I will be sitting all day in interviews, I have a lunch and then I'm taking a plane to Houston. I will do a little yoga when I arrive in my hotel, I will make sure that today I drink more water because planes are dehydrating, and I will watch carefully what I have for lunch because I'm going to sit all afternoon in a plane.

MEMBER QUESTION: Are there any tricks I can use to limit the amount I eat? How can I push myself away from the table, so to speak?

GUILIANO: You learn, first of all, that many times when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty. I've helped many people that cannot believe when they want to go to the fridge or eat more food, or think they want to eat, that they should have a big glass of water, wait 20 minutes and keep themselves busy doing something. After that if they're still hungry, they can have a piece of fruit or yogurt or a few nuts. The feedback most of the time is that they forget they're hungry, or they realize they were not hungry to begin with.

When you are in a restaurant, and I agree portions can be enormous, just learn to stop -- you don't have to finish your plate.

ZELMAN: But what if you are still hungry after eating your small portions?

GUILIANO: That means probably that you're eating too fast. Many of my readers give me stories of how they first felt suspicious that if they would sit down and slow down they would eat less. One woman who was eating oatmeal was eating a cup and a half but she was watching TV, eating standing up and talking on the phone. After 10 days of trying sitting down to eat, which she was suspicious about, she couldn't eat past a third of her oatmeal. It was all she needed.

ZELMAN: I understand that you drink plenty of water. How much do you drink and don't you agree that water satisfies thirst and not hunger?

GUILIANO: I think it plays a great role. First of all, water flushes your toxins, but most importantly, and this is the big difference between American and French women, we drink 2 to 3 times more water.

Americans think they drink water because they have their little bottles, but a sip doesn't count. Every time you drink one glass of water you set your metabolism in motion and you lose 20 to 50 calories. This has been proven by a medical establishment in Germany. If you drink 8 or 10 glasses of water a day you lose weight. Many of my readers are only doing four things I suggest and losing weight. The first thing they try is drinking more water. It always works.

Reducing portions, walking, yogurt, leek soup and having a glass of wine with meal because wine is food and wine is very rich in nutrients -- these also help.

ZELMAN: Let's talk about other liquids. You say champagne is the best. Besides the fact that you own a champagne company, why is champagne better?

(Jacques' Note:)Read the answer to this interesting question, and many others, in our next post...Au revoir, mes amis!

"French Women Don't Get Fat" (for Americans)

Good morning, dear friends!

To start my next 100 posts (this being #301) I thought it appropriate to share with you a comprehensive article based on the now famous "French Women Don't Get Fat"...courtesy of WebMD :

French Diet – American Women
with Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD/LD and Mireille Guiliano

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic - Live Events Transcript

Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure, says that French women don't get fat, but they do eat bread and pastry, drink wine, and regularly enjoy three-course meals. Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic, chats with Guiliano to unlock the secrets of this "French paradox" -- how to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy. They joined us on March 10 for a conversation, and to answer your questions.

If you have questions about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This event is meant for informational purposes only.

MODERATOR: Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD, is interviewing our guest, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure for WebMD Live. Welcome ladies, let's begin.

ZELMAN: In a nutshell why is it that French women don't get fat?

GUILIANO: Because they've learned to eat with their head and they fool themselves.

ZELMAN: What are they fooling themselves about?

GUILIANO: First they eat with pleasure, using all their senses. They also eat sitting down, which is very important, because if you eat standing up, in front of the TV or multitasking, you tend to overeat and want more. You eat on some kind of autopilot and you don't enjoy what you're eating.

ZELMAN: How can we learn how to eat with our senses?

GUILIANO: By making some choices and taking a few meals to start with where you sit down and do nothing but eat. Pay attention to the color and presentation, the portions, the chewing and the eating slowly and you're going to notice you get satisfied much faster and you will eat less.

ZELMAN: What is wrong with the American diet?

GUILIANO: It's first that your relationship with food is different than ours. We eat for pleasure; you eat feeling guilty, feeling food is sinful and following diets that are all about deprivation. Your eating is about one-size fits all, do this, don't do that, eat this, and don't eat that. That doesn't work, it's very stressful and we already have a stressful life.

Obviously if diets worked, everybody would be thin. People eat fast food, a lot of food with preservatives and coloring -- artificial; what I call poison food. My book is a lifestyle book that says: okay, do your little diary or journal and try to pick a few things from my hundreds of tips and apply them to your life. Apply the ones that are easy to do to begin with.

ZELMAN: I totally agree that diets don't work. But another facet of our lifestyles is that we also eat very large portions which certainly add to our weight problems.

GUILIANO: One of the things I'm saying is, that as a rule, we all eat 10% to 40% more than what we need. Unlike diets, I'm not saying eliminate bread or pasta or pizza or ice cream. No, you can have any quality food, but learn to decrease it slowly. If you're eating a pint of ice cream twice a week, learn to eat half of that and then keep decreasing.

If you eat slowly, sit down, and take 20 minutes to eat, you will not need those large amounts. I am getting lots of feedback and email from my readers who say they cannot believe how easy it is and what a difference it makes to sit down for a meal and take time, not rush into it. What happens is that after a few bites you will be satisfied. So, reducing the portions is meant to be done slowly, because if you do it radically, like in many diets, your body will take revenge and you will binge. This way you're learning to change your relationship with food and to learn that less is more.

ZELMAN: I love the practical nature of your advice. The WebMD Weight Loss Clinic is a program from France where we advocate many of the same principles as are in your book. One thing that we advocate, that you do also, is to eat plenty of yogurt. Why is yogurt so important in the French diet?

GUILIANO: French people do not drink raw milk like Americans do. We get milk from custards, warm savory dishes, desserts, cheese and yogurt. Yogurt is one of the best snacks in the world, and for women it's important because it's high in calcium. It's a great breakfast, a wonderful snack, a great dessert, and you can even use it with all kinds of food, like the Greek, Latin and the Egyptian people do. French women eat one or two yogurts a day.

In terms of looking for your balance, let's say last night you had a big meal with friends or at a restaurant and you had a glass of champagne and bread. Eat dessert. The French enjoy it and don't agonize, but the next morning we are not going to have two croissants for breakfast. Yogurt is the perfect food.

ZELMAN: Sounds like yogurt is one of the foods you use to balance overindulgences?

GUILIANO: Yes. It helps a lot. When eating a "normal" breakfast you'll have cereal, a piece of fruit and some bread. After this big meal, you'll need to reduce a little bit and relook at nutrition, on a weekly basis, and balance it.

Yogurt is great because when you have it for breakfast, it has carbs, protein and fat. This is what you need in every meal. It's the one perfect meal that is well balanced that will keep you going for the morning and has almost no calories.

To be continued in ze next post LOL...

Eat More - Weigh Less

Is it possible to eat more and weigh less? YES!

Dr. Barbara Rolls wrote a book about the Volumetrics Diet. (If you don't buy my ebook, which is filled with many more tricks and techniques, I highly recommend you get this book).

This isn't really a new diet, but its put together perfectly for people wishing to try a healthy diet to lose weight.

What you want to do is eat foods with high water content. Why? Because you're basically eating water. These foods also contain fewer calories, yet fill you up more. Thus, you're able to take in less calories without starving.

Soups are a perfect example of what you'd want to eat during this diet (homemade soups). Now the boring part. You guessed it... fruits and vegetables are the main foods with high water content and low calories.

With a Volumetrics style diet, you still get to eat most of your favorite foods as meals. In my ebook, I show you how I take the Volumetrics ideas and work them into meals in a way that you barely realize you're on a diet. Because lets face it, diets suck.

BONUS: If you buy my ebook today at the link below, I'll throw in an interview I did as a bonus for you.


http://www.weightlossguide4women.com/enter


Jen(nifer Jolan)


PS. To get the bonus interview, you'll need to send an email to the special email address listed inside my ebook. Just say you got the ebook and would like me for me to send you the bonus interview.

4201 Monterey Oaks Blvd. (Suite 817), Austin, TX 78749

(JACQUES' NOTE:) I am neither an affiliate nor do I earn any money or Browney points, should you "buy" eiher book above. I bought Jen's book and feel it is wirth the small investment. You do as you wish, however! :o) Love,
Jacques

An excellent 21 second weight loss meal tip...

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Reading Time: 21 Seconds

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I know you're busy so I'll get right to it on having a great weight loss meal.
Eat 1 lean chicken breast and have ½ can of black beans. Take some fish oil pills too. I prefer high quality fish oil, but the Wal-Mart fish oil pills will help.

This is a high protein and high fiber meal with virtually no carbs/sugars. Combining these 3 things... chicken breast, black beans, and fish oil pills has a powerful effect on the body for most people. Eat this meal once a day for 10 days and see how much weight you'll lose.

Even better if you sprinkled some flaxmeal all over this meal. Try it out. Let me know how it works for you.


Tip: courtesy of Jen Jolan.

Healthy BBQ - conclusion (finally!) LOL

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 7:
Be sensible about servings.
Encourage eating smaller portions by grilling the meat in smaller portions, such as:

1/4 pound burgers (made with extra-lean ground sirloin) instead of 1/3 or 1/2 pound patties.
Filet mignon-sized steaks instead of 10- to 16-ounce steaks.
Kabobs made with small pieces of meat, alternated with vegetables.
Link sausage cut lengthwise in half instead of grilled whole.
Thin slices of larger cuts of meat (such whole pork tenderloin, roasts, etc). Let the meat rest 10 minutes after cooking, then slice before serving to family or guests.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 8:
Tenderize lean meats with marinades!
When grilling lean meat, use lower-fat marinades with acid ingredients to help break down the tough fibers. Marinades add lots of flavor, too.

But keep in mind that the power of marinades is only skin-deep. They can tenderize the surface of the meat only to about 1/4 inch. That's why it's important to make sure the marinade covers the entire surface of your meat. It also helps to score the meat (cut into the surface about 1/4 inch deep with a sharp knife in several places) before coating it with marinade.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 9:
Lower potential cancer risks associated with grilling.
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and HCAs (heterocyclic amines) are substances formed on the surface of well-done meat cooked at high temperatures. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) recently concluded that the evidence that these two substances increase the risk of cancer in humans is "limited but suggestive."

PAHs, in particular, come from smoke, which is formed when fat drips from meat onto the grill. "Technically, anything that spends any time around smoke will contain some level of PAHs," explains Glen Weldon, head of education and communications at the AICR. The good news is many of the grilling suggestions in the first eight tips help reduce your intake of these two substances.

But what you grill is perhaps more important than how often you grill. A recently published AICR report concluded that diets high in red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) and especially processed meats are a "convincing: cause of colorectal cancer."

Keep in mind that grilling vegetables and fruit produces negligible HCAs or PAHs. In fact, diets that are high in plant foods in general are associated with a reduced risk of several cancers.

Here are a few grilling suggestions to reduce your cancer risk:

Use a low-fat marinade. Some research suggests that marinating meat (even briefly) significantly reduces the formation of HCAs. Including garlic and onions in the marinade may also help reduce HCA formation on cooked meat.
Select leaner cuts (and trim any visible fat), to prevent dripping fat from causing flare-ups, which may deposit carcinogens on the meat.
Flip the meat on the grill often.(*) This will help reduce the amount of carcinogens that are potentially deposited on the meat.
You can also reduce flare-ups by spreading aluminum foil on the grill. Make small holes in the foil to allow fat from the meat to drain.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 10:
Just say no to processed meat.
The AICR report recommends limiting your consumption of cooked red meat to no more than 18 ounces per week (the equivalent of about 6 quarter-pound hamburgers). Things get more dismal for processed meats. When the AICR did an analysis of the available evidence, it found that every 3.5 ounces of processed meat eaten per day increased the risk for colorectal cancer by 42%. Processed meats include hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ham, and cold cuts, among others.

(*) (Jacques' comment). Frequently flipping meat causes vital, tasty juices to leak, thus drying the meat. This is especially true for a nice thick steak.
I recommend ONLY turning it ONCE: when the top begins to "sweat"---and, when the dark, grilled "first side" now showing also sweats, you have a perfect "medium rare".
Keeping such a steak BBQing beyond that to render it "medium" or (OMG) "well done" will dry it out and pretty much kill all flavors but "burned charcoal". Which is why I always refused to BBQ my steaks past the juicy, perfect "medium rare" stage---and offered the dry, burned meat lovers an old shoe instead. :o)---BON APPETIT! J.

Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, is the "Recipe Doctor" for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic and the author of numerous books on nutrition and health. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.

Healthy BBQ - continued...

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 4:
Throw some vegetables on the grill continued...
The trick to grilling vegetables is cutting them into shapes and sizes that cook well on the grill. When you cook them over direct medium heat, turning frequently, they'll usually be done in 8-10 minutes (sometimes less, depending on the vegetable). Look for grill marks and some light browning to develop.

These vegetables work especially well on the grill:

Red, white, or sweet onion, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
Corn on the cob (take off the husks and silks).
Whole mushrooms. Grill portabellas like a burger or them cut into thick slices; grill small mushrooms strung on a skewer or kabob.
Eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.
Zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.
Asparagus spears. Just trim off the white end and grill the spears whole.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 5:
When grilling chicken, take the skin off -- take it all off!
Half the fat and saturated fat in chicken breast and thigh is in the skin, which is why so many of us enjoy our chicken skinless. Consider:

4 ounces of roasted chicken breast with skin contains 223 calories, 8.8 grams of fat, and 2.5 grams of saturated fat
4 ounces of roasted chicken breast WITHOUT skin contains 187 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 1.2 grams of saturated fat
But if you cook your chicken with the skin on, then take it off at the dinner table, you'll lose all the flavor from your marinade, BBQ sauce, or rubs and seasonings. So go ahead and take the skin off before you prepare the chicken for grilling.

Marinate skinless chicken breasts and thighs for about 2 hours in the refrigerator. Let the marinade drain off, then cook chicken over direct high heat or direct medium heat until it's done throughout. Always check the thickest part of the chicken breast or thigh for doneness. You can cook chicken over indirect heat as well; it will just take longer to cook.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 6:
Use the leanest cuts of beef and pork and trim any visible fat before cooking.
Just how much fat and saturated fat can you cut this way? Here's a beef example:

A 4-ounce serving of a higher fat steak (Porterhouse), broiled with 1/8-inch trim of fat, contains 337 calories, 25 grams of fat, and 10 grams of saturated fat.
A leaner steak (top sirloin), trimmed of visible fat and broiled, contains 240 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 4 grams of saturated fat per 4-ounce serving.
Here's a pork example:

A 4-ounce serving of a higher-fat pork cut (pork chop whole loin), broiled, contains 274 calories, 16 grams fat, and 6 grams saturated fat.
A leaner pork cut (tenderloin), roasted, contains 162 calories, 4 grams fat, and 1.4 grams saturated fat per 4-ounce serving.

More to come (next post)...

Tips for a Tasty and Healthy Barbecue Season

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
WebMD Expert Column

Summer is synonymous with grilling for many American families, and why not? When the weather is warm, we spend more time outdoors and try to stay out of the hot kitchen. It stays light longer, and the evenings tend to seem a little less jam-packed with activities than usual. These are all great reasons to look to the barbecue for dinner inspiration. But before you dust off that grill, we have some tips to help you enjoy the BBQ season while keeping your dinners as lean and healthy as can be.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 1:
Bold ingredients add great flavor to grilling sauces and marinades.
You can add bold flavors without adding too many calories or fat grams. Here are some of my favorite ingredients for sauces and marinades:

Worcestershire sauce: 2 tablespoons contain 30 calories, 0 grams fat, and 390 milligrams sodium
Chili sauce: 2 tablespoons contain 40 calories, 0 grams fat, and 960milligrams sodium (depending on brand)
Tomato paste: 2 tablespoons contain 30 calories, 0 grams fat, and 20milligrams sodium
Molasses: 2 tablespoons contain 120 calories, 0 grams fat, and 40 milligrams sodium
Soy sauce (less-sodium type): 2 tablespoons contain 20 calories, 0 grams fat, and 1150 milligrams sodium

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 2:
Have large resealable plastic bag, will marinate!
One of the easiest ways to marinate meat, chicken, fish or vegetables is to place them inside a large, resealable plastic bag. Set the bag in a medium sized bowl, then drizzle the marinade over the food. Seal the bag, eliminating any excess air. The food should be surrounded by the marinade. Keep marinating in the refrigerator until you're ready to grill.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 3:
A little sweetness is good, but more is not better.
Adding a small amount of a sweet ingredient (like fruit juice, brown sugar, honey or molasses) to the marinade or grilling sauce can be a good thing. It adds flavor and helps to balance other bold spices in the marinade or sauce. But too much sweetness can encourage the meat, fish, or vegetables to burn when they're grilled over high heat.

Healthy Barbecue Tip No. 4:
Throw some vegetables on the grill
The best part about grilling vegetables is that you don't have to worry about overcooking them as you do with some types of meat. And vegetables seem to taste better grilled than they do cooked any other way.

Marinating vegetables will help them caramelize better when they're grilled, and it's the caramelization that brings the best flavors. Just submerge the vegetables in marinade for about an hour before putting them on the grill. If you don't have that kind of prep time, just coat the vegetables ever so lightly with a little olive oil or canola oil.

Continued in our next post...Have a Yummy weekend and "BON APPETIT!" (In Memory of Julia Child).
Jacques

This has 180 times the fat digesting power of papaya

So what has 180 times the fat digesting power of papaya? The answer: Ginger. It tastes really good and speeds up the metabolism. It's also cheap. I talk about this on page 27 in my ebook.


While I'm here I'll give you another tip. Go get some wheat germ and sprinkle it on your foods. It supplies protein and over 30 minerals and vitamins and is great for energy and health. It's a nice low calorie add-on to your diet. I go into more details on page 28 in my ebook.


That's it. Enjoy your day.


http://www.weightlossguide4women.com/enter


Jen


PS. My best tricks I reveal ONLY in my ebook. You need to go to the link above and get it NOW. Don't wait. Don't make any excuses. Just do it. It's the 1st step towards getting the body you want.

----

S.L.I.M. For Lifers: I am in no way involved in Jen's commercial dealings---I am one of her book's buyers and believe she is sincere in sharing her insiders' tips---and the price of her book is more than reasonable under the circumstances, I believe.
Enjoy!
Jacques