You: On A Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management

I know it’s not Sunday, but, this information is better late than never, right? I am slowly making my way through this wonderful book. I highly recommend it to all of you, but I will talk more about that later. Right now, I want to focus on food and healthy, easy recipes offered in this book. Omega-3 Fatty Acids is an essential fatty acid that is not found in your body. That means you need to get it from an outside source and apparently (I’m still reading) this essential fatty acid can reduce all kinds of diseases! Hey, we need to be eating 3-4 servings each week to get the required amount of Omega-3 in our diets. Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizin, authors of this book, require either a 2 gram fish oil capsule a day, an ounce of walnuts, or Salmon 3-4 times per week. Omega -3 helps reduce inflammation. “To reduce obesity-causing inflammation, you need foods with nutrients that can do just that- either by having a direct anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidant properties.”

You on a DIET has two weeks of simple, easy to prepare recipes which I’ve really enjoyed. The Greek Feta Salad with Peppers and Olives was great. Loved the simplicity of the dressing- olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, garlic and honey. We loved the Sweet Beet and Gorgonzola Salad (way better than beet juice!). I’ve also made the Mediterranean Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives (assemble in tin foil and bake)- different taste and flavor, but really enjoyable. Lemon Caper Chicken without capers was easy, quick and tasty. Sweet Potato Puree was NOT a winner in my house, though. So far, the only way I can get my family to eat Sweet Potatoes is if I make mashed potatoes with a combination of Yukon and Sweet. Lastly, Grilled Peanut Shrimp with Sesame Snow Peas was equally tasty (made with both Shrimp and Chicken). My absolute favorite was the Asian Salmon and Brown Rice and the recipe is as follows:

Brown Rice:

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1/2 Onion

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

2 cups of water

1 cup of uncooked short grain rice

1/4 finely chopped parsley

salt and pepper

Salmon Ingredients:

4 skinless salmon fillets

1 TBSP Olive Oil

1 garlic clove

1 TBSP fresh gingerroot

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp maple syrup

2 green onions

Directions:

Make race by heating oil in pan and add onion and pepper. Cook 3 minutes. Add water and rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5o minutes or until rice is absorbed. Fluff and stir in parsley.

For salmon- combine all ingredients and pour over salmon. Let sit for 15 minutes, grill until done. Delicious!

Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen have a website called RealAge that has hundreds of recipes that are as good as this!

If you have tasty recipes for salmon or sweet potatoes, feel free to post a comment! I’m always open to new recipes.