Five Years -My pants are Half the Size Without a Diet

Pants five years ago on the left, pants on the right from today.  No formal dieting! I gave up diet soda and beer (I still have dry wine and single malt scotch on Friday nights). No fast food, nothing fried except for Saturday Morning breakfast burrito extravaganza, but made at home so the potatoes are sauteed, not deep fat fried.  I follow the tips and recipes in  Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Diet (there are multiple books, all excellent) with whole grains instead of simple carbs, oils, and sugars on my meat free days.  I keep my meats very lean, and eat more wild caught salmon. I eat a LOT yet slowly and steadily the weight I couldn't get rid of for 20 years disappeared.

I use coconut oil and Avocado oil and avocado oil but in very limited quantities for sauteeing and stir fries or sandwiches. I eat at least 8 servings a day of veggies and non-starchy fruits and all bake my own bread with non genetically modified Einkorn flour so my bread isn't full of chemicals and additives.  I've replaced lunch meat with homemade veggie burgers and spreads (coming soon will be my recipe for mock tuna salad made out of chickpeas and veggies). And I do have dessert, the dark chocolate brownies from the E2 Plan being a house favorite even for my carnivore husband.

I work out twice a week for 90 minutes, which includes 20 minutes with a punching bag for cardio. On those days I will have a small piece of wild caught salmon that I have shipped to me from

• Wild Alaskan Company

I grew up near the mouth of the Columbia River in Washington State and grew up on fresh caught salmon.  Which is why I never bought salmon at the grocers.  Wild Alaskan Company salmon is as fresh and good as what I grew up on, and is pretty much the only animal protein I now eat.

I drink at a minimum of 3 quarts of water a day. I am never really "I'm starving" hungry, like when I lived on Slim Fast and diet frozen meals and fruit and still never lost a single pound.

Dieting sucks. Eating and living healthy does not.

Gluten Free Scones

I have a good friend with Celiac disease so when she visits I make sure I make something from scratch for her. These are so tender and nicely sweet and sugary, you'll never guess they start out with a baking mix. One of our choir members made them for after church coffee hour and so many ladies asked for the recipe she printed it out the following Sunday.

If you aren't gluten sensitive Bisquick can be substituted for the g.f. baking mix

Gluten Free Scones

2 cups King Arthur Flour gluten-free baking mix (this brand contains Xanthan gum already)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (or full-fat coconut milk)
1 egg or equivalent egg substitute (I regularly make "eggs" for baking from flax seed and water)
additional heavy cream or milk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, raisins, or craisins
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

additional sugar for topping

Heat oven to 425 F.  Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.  Mix all ingredients just until combined into a soft dough,   Pat into an 8-inch circle (if fingers stick to dough sprinkle them with additional baking mix).  Brush with additional cream or milk and sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.  Cut into 8 wedges.

Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Carefully separate and serve warm.

Thai Carrot Ginger Soup

I love Thai food more than any other ethnic cuisine.  I'm not a big fan of Pad Thai, too many years of munching on airline peanuts as both pilot and frequent passenger, but I love everything else.  My favorite  - some of the soups as well as ginger anything.

But how about making my own.  This soup was easy, creamy and delish and spicy without being "hot" and was a great way to use up some extra carrots. The ginger and spices balanced the taste of the carrots quite nicely.

You also want to make this with the canned coconut milk and not the carton style that you would use on your cereal.  That's essential to get the creamy taste as well as making it extra filling while still being less than 300 calories a serving.

 It also freezes well.

Thai Carrot Soup 

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
3/4 large sweet onion chopped
2 pounds carrot, peeled and chopped (1 pound of carrots is about 5 medium sized ones, no wider than an inch and about six inches long)
4 teaspoons jarred minced Garlic
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground Cumin
1 teaspoon ground Coriander
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger
pinch of crushed red pepper
3 cups low-sodium veggie or chicken broth. (I used chicken bone broth for a Paleo version)
1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk, (the full-fat kind)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, deep saucepan or Dutch Oven.
Add the onion and carrots and sauté until they begin to soften and onions are browning up)10-15 minutes)
Add the garlic and remaining spices and sauté until fragrant (1 to 2 minutes).
Add the broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer until the carrots are completely cooked.
Let cool slightly and then place the soup into a blender and blend until soup is creamy. 
Return to stove and heat for couple more minutes on medium.
When reheated, add a 1/4 teaspoon coconut sugar and a squeeze of lime before serving. (Optional)
Serve with some chopped basil or cilantro  (Optional)

Chily Days - Chili Mac

We had an unusually cold day for June yesterday, requiring a sweater while out for a walk, so a warm dinner sounded good, warm as in "heat" as opposed to temperature.

This was an experiment started by tweaking an internet recipe and it turned out REALLY good.   I made it with ground sirloin and bone broth that really complimented the flavor.  It's really low in fat, high in protein and was very tasty served over either gluten free pasta or steamed finely chopped cauliflower if you want a low-carb meal.

Chili Mac is something I never had growing up and didn't see it until I moved to the Midwest in the mid 90's.  It's easy to make, some folks just make a box of Kraft dinner and add a can of regular chili or it can be made from Scratch. (trust me, do the "from scratch").  Traditionally the dish doesn't contain peppers but as I had a handful left from another meal I threw them in and they added a nice taste.

Chili Mac.

In a crockpot place:
1 28-ounce can of Italian seasoned crushed red tomatoes (I love organic  Muir Glen).
A handful of chopped onion and
About 1/3 cup of chopped red and green pepper (small bite-sized)
1 Tablespoon honey

Start heating on low while you cook the meat.

In a skillet cook 1-pound ground grass-fed sirloin until about 3/4 cooked through. You will be cooking without adding oil to the pan so make sure you move the meat around the pan as it cooks so it doesn't stick

Sprinkle with:

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chopped minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (omit if you want a much milder version)
1/2 teaspoon mild smoky hot sauce (I used Scoville Brothers Singing Smoke which is available online and my absolute favorite brand of hot sauces)
add 1/2 cup bone broth (my favorite is Fire and Kettle which is simmered for 20 hours with various herbs and spices)
Cook until meat is cooked through and liquid is reduced by 1/2, stirring occasionally.

Stir meat mixture into tomato mixture and cook in the crockpot on low 4-8 hours.  You could also make this on the stove, just cook until the veggies are soft and the mixture is bubbly.

Top with shredded low-fat cheese and/or low-fat sour cream if you wish.