I Want A Pizza That!

Who doesn't like pizza?! Ever since I was very little, pizza has always been a personal favorite.  Whether it be thin crust or thick crust, plain, or loaded with toppings, it always brings me happiness when I eat it.  Before today, I had never made my own homemade pizza.  However, now that I have, I'm never going back!  My favorite kind of pizza has always been the California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken Pizza.  So, for my pizza recipe today, I decided to recreate a healthy version of this delicious meal.  I used light string cheese, boneless lean chicken breast, barbeque sauce, a high-fiber whole wheat pita, red onion, and cilantro.  Compared to the 1,136 calories found in CPK's pizza, this one only has 340!  With less than half of the calories of the original, this recipe has more than double the taste!  You can be sure that I am going to be cooking this recipe often.

Pizza, along with other fast food chains across America have been causing more weight gain and increased risk of developing insuline resistance.  The consumption of these greasy foods has increased dramatically in our country over the past thirty years.  Often, a single meal from one of these restaurants contains enough calories and fat to satisfy a person's daily caloric needs.  By eating this food daily, one puts themselves at risk for different diseases including diabetes and heart problems.  Part of my reasoning for completing this cookbook and researching about healthy lifestlyes is to educate others on the importance of eating healthy and exercising daily.  By teaching others, maybe eventually the rate of obesity in our country will decline.

With two recipes down and one left to go for the week, I am planning on baking a diet-friendly chocolate lava cake at some point this week.  Stay posted to see how it turns out!

RANDOM FACT: 2/3 of Americans are overweight.  Keep your portion sizes small, and ask that all high-fat sauces and condiments be "on the side" and use them sparingly!

Going the Distance

Today has been the perfect day to end my weekend! It consisted of much more than just trying out my new appetizer recipe: mozzarella sticks.  Early this morning, I participated in an early morning 5K run.  The run was held about 20 minutes away in support of the Joe Dimmagio's Children's Hospital, and I did it with my friend Jen Schneider.  Although this was not the first 5K I have run, it was the first where I had run the entire thing without stopping.  It was a good indicator that all of my daily exercise and healthy eating is really helping my body become healthier and more in shape.  Even though my final product of my WISE project is a cookbook with healthier alternatives to fattening foods, I am also learning about being healthy in general.  In order to accomplish that, I must exercise daily and eat right. 

After my run, I decided to test out my first recipe of the week.  Because this week's main challenge is to create a healthy pizza recipe, I decided that the appetizer of the week should also have the Italian flavor.  I cooked healthy mozzarella sticks.  I never thought that mozzarella sticks would ever be deemed acceptable to eat while on a diet...but now they are!  This recipe yields 4 crispy, cheesy sticks, all for only 155 calories.  Compare that to the average mozzarella sticks, where 4 sticks would be 440 calories.  For this faux-fried recipe, I used low-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, Fiber One bran cereal, egg whites, and Italian seasoning.  It was so easy to make, and they tasted exactly the same.  You would never know they are less than half the calories of the regular ones!

Tomorrow I am going to cook the main dish of the week: pizza.  As for now, I am going to rest because it has been a long day!

RANDOM FACT: When trying to lose weight, don't rely just on healthy eating.  Incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine.

Skinny Buns

Today was my final day of cooking for the week! As my resolution to make only breakfast foods this week, I decided to make my sweet ending to a big breakfast.  I made diet-friendly sticky buns.  These warm and cinnamon-flavored treats have been a favorite of mine since I was young.  Every Saturday morning, I used to wake up to the smell of them coming from the kitchen.  However, once I started watching my weight, I knew these breakfast desserts were off limits-- not anymore!  For this recipe I used dry yeast, water, fat-free milk, 1 egg, unsalted butter, cinnamon, salt, and raisins.  The recipe makes 8 sticky buns, each with 200 calories.  Although that sounds like a lot, it is significantly less than the average sticky bun with 314 calories.

This week has proved many different things to me.  It has showed me that every recipe doesn't turn out just the way you planned.  Whether it be the muffins sticking to the baking cups, or the glaze for the sticky buns being too strong, you learn from your mistakes and perfect them the next time you make it.

I also met with my mentor today.  We discussed plans for next week and decided that I am going to try to discover a good, healthy pizza recipe for my main dish next week.  Stay posted to see how it turns out!
As for now, I am going to continue thinking of new recipes and researching different aspects of food and dieting.  I am continuing to exercise everyday and eat healthy.

RANDOM FACT: It’s easy to shed1lb in a week simply by reducing your calorie intake by 500 calories a day!

Fit Toast

Today was another very long day of cooking! I decided to make a healthy baked apple-cinnamon French toast casserole.  Usually I would stay far away from any type of french toast because it is extremely unhealthy and totally NOT diet friendly.  However, this recipe only has 183 calories per serving and 1 gram of fat.  Compare that to 534 calories and 21 grams of fat!  It was extremely simple to make.  I used nonfat milk, egg whites, whole wheat bread, honey, vanilla extract, salt, dried apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  The only problem with this recipe is that you have to let the mixture sit for anywhere between 8 to 24 hours.  The active cooking time, however, was only about 20 minutes total.  Despite the 8 hour waiting time while the mixture sits in the refrigerator, I would most definitely make this recipe again - it was so good!

As part of my WISE project I am continuing to research different aspects of healthy eating and dieting.  This week, we were required to research something about the history of our topics.  So, I found how food, and our daily diets, have changed over the last century.  Obviously, farming has changed drastically as we now have faster and more productive ways to produce food.  Also, we have begun adding food preservatives to a lot of our processed foods.  Although it allows for a more efficient way of producing food, the natural homegrown foods that humans ate 100 years ago are much healthier for our bodies.  Also, the method of cooking food has changed a significant amount.  Years ago the women were responsible for staying at home preparing the food all day; however, with the faster pace of society and less women staying home to cook, faster cooking methods, such as frying, have become more popular.  This is unfortunate because these faster cooking methods result in people consuming unhealthy food, and therefore gaining weight.

RANDOM FACT: Don't let the food labels that claim to be fat-free fool you! If a product says it is 90% fat free, this means it still contains 10% fat or 10g of fat per 100 g...that's a lot!

The Best Way to Start the Day

After a long weekend of research and brainstorming, I have begun yet another week of healthy cooking and eating.  My mentor, Mrs. Patterson, suggested I devote an entire week to various breakfast foods.  To start the week, I decided to bake blueberry muffins.  These muffins are the perfect addition to any breakfast.  Compared to the average blueberry muffin that has about 394 calories and 18 grams of fat, these low-fat sides have just 96 calories and 2 grams of fat!  The recipe consists of flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, fat-free milk, unsalted butter, and one egg.  The recipe was incredibly easy to make; however, instead of using paper muffin liners, I think next time it will be better to just spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray, and not use as many blueberries as I did today.  Although the muffins didn't turn out the way I had expected, I learned from my mistakes and hopefully in the future will be able to perfect them!

After brainstorming all of my new breakfast recipes, I thought it would be a good idea to research the importance of eating breakfast every morning.  After reading many different articles, it is evident that those who eat a healthy breakfast are less likely to sucummb to unhealthy cravings throughout the day, and are more likely to make healthier food choices for the remainder of the day.  Also, it has been proven that those who eat breakfast are able to focus more, feeling less fatigued and tired.  A typical breakfast should include protein as well as fiber.  Although many people believe that skipping meals, especially breakfast, will lead to weight loss, it has been proven that consuming more food and eating more often to refuel the body will be the true cause of weight loss.

RANDOM FACT: When eating meat, choose lean cuts and trim off any visible fat before cooking.  Also, use cooking methods that don't require extra fat to be added, such as grilling.  This will keep your fat intake low, while allowing you to still have the nutrients found in red meat!

Easy, Breezy, Cheesecake

Finally another week of successful cooking has ended.  Today I experimented with the third and final "B" of healthy cooking.  I baked an extremely famous and popular American dessert: cheesecake.  Usually, when on a diet, cheesecake is a major "no-no".  However, with the recipe I tried today, there is no shame in eating the delicious berry cheesecake.  Instead of making one large cake, I chose to make individual cheesecakes in order to practice portion control and demonstrate serving size.  In order to make these desserts, I used reduced-fat vanilla wafers, fat-free cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg whites, and fresh strawberries.  These mini desserts only have about 101 calories.  Compare that the 185 calories in a regular individual cheesecake!  This has been one of the most successful recipes I have made thus far!

Today was also important because I met with my mentor.  We discussed the multiple recipes I have created, and brainstormed ideas for recipes to create in the future.  She gave me the challenge to create all breakfast foods next week.  This should be relatively easy for me since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! 

As for now, I am continuing to exercise and eat healthy.  I also am going to continue researching and brainstorming for new recipes in the future!

RANDOM FACT: When eating carbs, go for the high-fiber carbs such as brown rice, wholemeal bread, and wholewheat pasta.  They contain more fiber and whill help fill you up!

Broil Down to the Basics

Today was yet another great day of cooking.  Although it took me many hours to try and find a healthy recipe that incorporated the second healthy b of cooking, broiling, I finally found the perfect recipe.  Since yesterday's soup recipe could be used as a main course, I knew I had to make an appetizer of some sort today, so I made a black bean dip with Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips.  Compared to the average black bean dip, this one is significantly healthier.  Not only because of the lack of sour cream, but also because it is served with broiled, whole-wheat tortilla chips.  This recipe yields 8 servings.  Each serving contains about 102 calories, and only 1 gram of fat.  This recipe was among one of the more difficult recipes I have cooked thus far.  I used dried black beans, red pepper flakes, garlic, cumin, chili sauce, whole wheat tortillas, and egg whites.  It was delicious!

Along with my cooking, I have also been actively researching, trying to learn as much as I can about healthy eating.  What I learned today was that it is extremely important to notice serving sizes on the nutritional labels of all foods.  Usually, the serving sizes on food labels don't correlate with how much we actually eat.  This is a major cause of weight gain.  Research has shown that Americans continue to eat more and more food, contributing to the widespread epidemic of obesity.  By carefully monitoring your serving sizes, you will be able to practice better portion control, keeping your diet under control. 

Because serving size is extremely important, when I create or find recipes, the serving size and nutritional information are the first things I look at when deciding if the recipe is healthy and beneficial to people dieting.  Tomorrow, I am going to experiment with the final "B" of healthy cooking: baking.  Check back tomorrow to see what healthy dessert I decide to bake!

RANDOM FACT: Temperature can have a large effect on appetite.  The colder a person is, the hungrier the person is!

Boil, Boil, No More Trouble...

After a long weekend of barely any sleep I am ready to begin my cooking again.  However, throughout the weekend I began wondering the effect sleep has on weight loss.  Of course I know that sleep is essential to healthy living, but I was unsure of how it directly relates to losing weight.  I began researching and found that the quality of your sleep harmonizes with your hormonal activity tied to your appetite.  This is because the hormones leptin and ghrelin (they both are known to affect appetite) are influenced by the amount of hours we sleep.  The less sleep a person gets, the lower the levels of leptin, and the higher the levels of ghrelin, causing you to be less satisfied after a meal and wanting more food.  Obviously, eating more after a meal can cause weight gain.  Research shows that those who sleep less often tend to be more overweight than those who get the right amount of sleep.  After finding this research, I have made a promise to myself to never lose too many hours of sleep.  If I want to be successful in losing weight and living a healthier life, I need to get about seven hours of sleep daily.

However, sleeping is not the only way to lose weight.  Obviously, food is a critical component.  For this week, my mentor as challenged me complete three recipes, side dish, main dish, and dessert, using the three healthy B's of cooking: Boil, Broil, and Bake.  Today I decided to begin with "boil."  I cooked a Minestrone soup using many vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, yellow squash, bell peppers, and onion.  The main ingredient that I used which is different from most Minestrone soups is Chickpeas.  I also used vegetable broth as well as pesto, and a variety of fresh herbs.  This soup was amazing, and had about 100 calories less than the average Minestrone soup.  This soup has about 133 calories per cup, and only 3.1 grams of fat.  It turned out great!

As the week continues I will try broiling and baking in order to experiment with the three healthy B's of cooking!

RANDOM FACT: In order to increase weight loss, it is important to get about 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night!

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

For my final recipe of the week, I made the classic dessert favorite: chocolate chip cookies.  Ever since I was little, I have always loved warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.  Because cookies are extremely detrimental when it comes to dieting, I did my research and found a recipe that nearly cuts the amount of calories in half.  The average medium-sized chocolate chip cookie contains about 200 calories and 9 grams of fat.  The recipe I baked today, however, only contains about 88 calories per cookie and just 1.5 grams of fat! After tasting the end result, you would never know that these are not the store-bought fattening treats.

Usually, when people think of dieting they feel that they need to cut out all excess foods, which include desserts and other treats.  However, based on my research, the key to dieting is to practice moderation.  By not depriving yourself of any kind of food, you program your brain to not want that food in heavy quantities because you have already satisfied your cravings with a small dose.  Although it is true that when dieting you should try to stick to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, it is also detrimental to eat too much of these healthy snacks.  Obviously, in order to sustain a diet and lose weight one cannot eat too much of anything, and anything is acceptable to eat if it is eaten in moderation.

Next week I will continue to cook diet-friendly meals that will add a variety to my everyday life.  Until next week I am going to continue eating healthy, researching, and exercising.  Check back next week to see what new recipes I am going to cook!

RANDOM FACT: When trying to lose weight, avoid using the scale everyday as this makes you focus on losing weight as opposed to body fat.

Lasagna...I Know Ya Wanna

After much debate I decided to cook healthy lasagna for my main course recipe.  Lasagna has always been one of my favorite dishes, but it is also one of the most fattening.  An average serving of lasagna contains about 870 calories.  That's more than half of a day's total calories!  When I found out the true nutritional facts for the pasta dish, I knew I had to find a healthier alternative.  The recipe I made contains about 240 calories for one serving.  That is less than half of the calories found in the average lasagna.  In order to slim down this meal I used thin slices of eggplant instead of ground beef or vegetables soaked in oil.  I also used fat-free ricotta cheese and fat-free mozzarella cheese.  As opposed to using multiple layers of lasagna noodles, I only used two.  In the recipe, I also used a variety of different spices to add flavor.  Not only did this recipe reduce the calories by a significant amount, but the flavor was so rich and delicious!

Today was not only a day of cooking for me.  I also met with my mentor to make sure I am still on track with my project.  We discussed the recipes I have already completed as well as the recipes I am going to try in the future.  Mrs. Patterson also gave me new ideas for my upcoming recipes.  We decided that each week she is going to present to me a new "challenge" to incorporate into my cooking.  Next week I am going to try the three B's of healthy cooking: Bake, Broil, and Boil.  This challenge has gotten me thinking of what I am going to cook next week.  I'll keep you posted!

Besides planning my upcoming recipes and reflecting on past recipes, I have also been looking into cooking classes with my mom.  We found a program that offers cooking classes on a variety of foods, and have begun researching to see if and when we can start.  Hopefully, within the next week I will be all signed up and ready to attend my first class.  As for now, I am going to continue cooking, researching, and exercising to keep up with my healthy lifestyle.

RANDOM FACT: When cooking, instead of using olive oil or butter to grease the pan, use a nonstick cooking spray such as PAM!

Mediterranean Mentality

Today was yet another very successful day of cooking as I decided to make a healthier version of hummus. Usually hummus is around 435 calories for just one cup; however, my recipe is only 91 calories!  Surprisingly, this healthy dip includes very simple ingredients, and is extremely easy to make.  I placed chickpeas, plain nonfat yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, ground cumin, and ground allspice in a blender, and pureed all the ingredients with water.  When I took the dip out of the blender, it was ready to eat.  Nothing is better than a healthy, fast, and easy recipe!  I am definitely going to make this recipe in the future and maybe incorporate it in other healthy meals. 

One of the reasons I enjoy making my own meals is because I am aware of every ingredient put into my food, whereas if I eat at a resturaunt I may not recongnize the hidden ingredients used.  While cooking my healthy meals, I make sure to use whole foods instead of processed foods because it is proven that whole foods are much healthier.  Whole foods are foods that have not been altered by synthetic chemicals.  They contain nutrients and enzymes, which cannot be found in processed foods, but are essential to the body's health.  Processed foods are infused with chemicals and preservatives, and therefore are mainly artificial.  These processed foods are high in trans fat, refined grains, salt, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils, all of which have been linked to serious heart conditions and health issues.  Obviously, processed foods are detrimental to one's health and should most definitely be avoided.

For the rest of this week, I plan to continue cooking, adding a main course and a dessert to my cookbook.  I am going to continue researching the healthiest ways to cook, making sure to use as many whole foods as possible!

RANDOM FACT: In order to lose weight, eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism going fast!

Live to Eat or Eat to Live?

This week was extremely successful for my WISE project!  I began cooking, and learned more in depth about the basic components of an effective diet.  Yesterday, I met with my mentor, Mrs. Patterson, and we spent time discussing the progression of my cookbook as well as interesting topics that related to my project.  One phrase that my mentor said to me that really stuck with me was "Food is Meant to Nourish the Body".  This stuck out in my mind because although food is primarily meant to keep the body alive, in our society, people use it for taste variety, comfort, and social aspects.  Food is the basic matter of survival.  Without it our bodies lack nutrients and our biological mechanisms shut down.  This is interesting to me because it questions whether or not people live to eat or eat to live.  Most people live to eat; they enjoy the variety of tastes they experience on their pallette as well as the entertaining aspect of sitting down with friends and enjoying a meal. 

Although food is simply an ingredient to sustain life, I still find happiness and excitement in the food that I eat.  Therefore, I am going to continue to create recipes that are filled with variety and taste, while still keeping the necessary nutrients to keep my body healthy.  Today, I completed my first dessert recipe.  I made a 154 calorie serving of monkey bread.  Compare that to the average monkey bread with 437 calories per serving! In order to slim down this recipe I used splenda, light whipped butter, and sugar free syrup.  Other ingredients included cinnamon, brown sugar, baking powder, and Pillsbury dough.  Even though this recipe has less than half the calories, it has double the taste! 

As my first week of cooking comes to a close, I can proudly say that each recipe was a success and will be included in my final cookbook!  Next week I will continue to cook, adding three more healthy recipes to my list!

RANDOM FACT: When using oil, olive oil is a great choice because it contains Omega-3's which can help strengthen your heart!

Fiesta Food and Tips from a Pro

In order to learn more about healthy food choices and why people often make poor food decisions, I decided to interview Sheryl Weiss. Sheryl is a Weight Loss Counselor and Food Coach who works for a medically supervised weight loss program. She encourages her patients to lose weight and make healthy food decisions. 

According to Sheryl, when looking to lose weight it is important that you eat from all food groups, and keep a variety of foods in your diet.  She also stated that eating every two to three hours will help speed up your metabolism, allowing for more rapid weight loss.  Also, contrary to what many people think, incorporating oil into your diet is essential as it contains omega-3's which help strengthen the heart.  When I asked her what foods to fully avoid while cooking, she said that most foods are okay to eat if consumed in moderation.  She also stated that "food preparation is a big consideration. Try to stay away from fried and breaded foods as well as those served with lots of heavy sauces".  Evidently, my interview with Sheryl was definitely helpful when thinking of how I was going to proceed with creating my new and healthy recipes!

To make my quesadillas, the basic ingredients I used were fresh vegetables (onions and peppers), low fat, whole wheat tortillas, and fat free cheddar cheese. I also used a low fat guacamole and a 2 ounce chicken breast which i grilled. After compiling all of the ingredients, it was the best (and healthiest) quesadilla I have ever had. Recipe #2 proved to be another success!

RANDOM FACT: Keep your house stocked with lots of fruits and vegetables to promote healthy snacking!

Squashing the Calories

This week is off to a great start! Today I tested out my very first recipe of my upcoming cookbook.  I decided to begin with a side dish.  I chose to start with something small and easy in order to ease my way into playing the role of a chef.  I made a healthy alternative to an American favorite: French fries.  After asking many teens my age what they snack on during the day, I found that it was common for most to engage in driving through fast-food chains to pick up a side of French fries.  Because these fries are extremely unhealthy, with an average of 370 calories and 20 grams of fat per order, I deemed it necessary that there be a healthy alternative.  After much research, I found that butternut squash fries have the same delicious taste as the fried favorites.  The only ingredients necessary are one butternut squash and salt.  After slicing and salting the butternut squash, all that is left to do is place it in the oven for about 40 minutes.  Quick, healthy, and easy! 

Butternut squash is a type of winter squash that has yellow skin and an orange pulp.  This vegetable grows on a vine and has a taste similar to that of a pumpkin.  As the squash gets ripe, the taste grows sweeter.  Butternut squash is very low in calories and serves as a great healthy alternative to potatoes.  I found my squash in the produce section of my local grocery store.

This recipe was an absolute success! It was almost impossible to tell the difference between my healthy fries and the original greasy French fries.  This recipe squashed the calories and kept the taste!

RANDOM FACT: Plan your meals ahead of time! By planning out your meals you will be less likely to snack on unhealthy foods in your kitchen, and you will also avoid making irrational decisions when it comes to ordering in food from a local restaurant.