Ready, Set, Diet!

As part of my WISE experience, I am incorporating all aspects of becoming healthier and slimmer into my daily routine.  Although my finished project for the class will be a hearty cookbook with a variety of healthy alternatives, I am also going to teach myself the importance of healthy living.  Thus, each day after school I will spend my afternoons exercising for about an hour.  I will do both cardio and core work to ensure a full body workout.  This will help to increase weight loss as well as strengthen my body and immune system, making me a healthier and stronger person.  When dieting, it is beneficial to not only eat healthy, but be as active as you possibly can.

Today, after my invigorating workout, I began more research for the recipes I am going to compile.  When cooking foods, especially desserts, it is easy to add unwanted calories without even noticing it.  For this reason, I found out one crucial piece of information: THERE ARE SUBSTITUTES FOR OIL.  By using oil in recipes, it adds many calories and grams of fat that can be avoided.  In my recipes, I will use applesauce and fat free sour cream as oil substitutes.  Other tips I came across to add flavor to the healthy dishes are to use low-fat cheese, garlic, and lots of herbs and spices.  Hopefully, this will do the trick in keeping the taste of the foods, but making it healthy! 

My goal for the rest of this weekend is to find out what exactly are the most popular fattening dishes people enjoy.  Once I discover these "guilty pleasures" I will begin to finalize my list of recipes that I am going to try out next week. 

Next week I will start my cooking.  Although I am just beginning, I can tell these recipes are going to have a lot of people grinning!

RANDOM FACT: Drinking water throughout the day will fool your body into thinking you are full; therefore, you won't eat as much because you won't be as hungry!

A Healthy Hunt

Today has been an extremely productive day for my WISE project.  At 7:00 this morning, I met with my mentor, Mrs. Patterson.  Mrs. Patterson is an AP Psychology teacher at Cypress Bay and is going to help guide me with my project.  She, too, is interested in healthy eating as well as cooking.  During our meeting we discussed possible websites to consider while composing new recipes as well as previous research that I have already found.  Together, we decided it was best to consider resources that are positive, negative, and indifferent in order to compile the most diet-friendly foods.  After meeting with Mrs. Patterson this morning, I am more excited than ever to begin my healthy foods cookbook!

In order to begin cooking, I need to find foods that are both crucial and detrimental to one's diet.  I have found that many foods contain hidden ingredients that are unfavorable when trying to eat healthy.  My research shows that the following foods should most definitely be avoided when putting together healthy recipes:

• Artificial Sweeteners
• Excess/Refined Sugars
• Hydrogenated/Refined Oils
• Sodium Nitrate
• Artificial Colors and Dye

After figuring out the general ingredients of what to avoid when choosing food to incorporate into my cooking, I also had to research foods that would be beneficial.  These include portions from each of the sections of the food pyramid.  Of course, however, everything must be in moderation to keep the recipes slimming.

With my new information on foods to avoid and foods to include, each week I am going to complete three new recipes: one appetizer or side dish, one main course, and of course, one dessert.  Although it has only been a few days, this project has already allowed me to become more aware of the foods that I eat, allowing a healthier diet. 

RANDOM FACT: To help with portion control, try using a smaller plate and smaller utensils.  It will trick your mind into thinking you have more food than you actually do!

Stirring Up the Recipe for Success

Yesterday was my first official day as a WISE student at Cypress Bay.  After hearing Coach Love describe the details of the course, I had many different ideas for my project spinning in my head.  I have been thinking for weeks of what exactly I wanted my project to consist of and after attending class yesterday, I finally figured it out.  I am planning on creating a cookbook that consists of healthy alternatives to typical daily meals.  Often, people are unaware of the hefty amount of calories they consume each day.  With my cookbook, I will compare popular, but fattening, dishes with just as tasty, but healthy, foods.

I have always been conscious of what foods I consume, and this project will allow me to expand my horizons and think up new diet-friendly recipes.  Not only am I extremely health conscious, but I have always had a passion for cooking.  This project is the perfect opportunity to combine both of these passions. 

Even though it is just the beginning of my journey, I have begun thinking of new recipes that include appetizers, main courses, and of course, dessert.  Yes, I said it, HEALTHY DESSERTS!!

To begin my WISE journey, I have spoken to my mentor and I am extremely excited to meet with her this week to discuss my project goals.  But for now, I am researching healthy food substitutes, and hope to begin cooking this week.

Stay posted to learn new recipes that will help you get your stomach from fat to flat!