1200 calorie diet

I have been on a diet for a couple months. I have been trying to eat around 1200 calories. It is so important when dieting to make sure that the food you consume is nutritious. I realized too that I have refined my eating habits a lot while dieting. Some of the things that appealed to me a couple months ago, do not appeal to me now. The good news is I have lost 15 pounds. The bad news is I still need to lose another 20.

Rice Maker

I used to have a hard time making rice that came out perfectly. It tended to sometimes stick to the bottom of the pan, or be too dry, or mushy. I have gotten better at making rice through trial and error, but there were still times when it would come out less than perfect.

I just bought a rice maker and used it for the first time over the weekend and it is great. It is simple to use and it produces perfect rice every time and will even keep the rice warm after it's done. Plus, it cost just twenty bucks.

I recommend a rice maker to anyone who wants to make rice quickly and easily.

Dark Beer

I have read studies that suggest that dark beer is good for your health, and I can understand how this could be so. It is rich with whole grains and these are good for you, but I can see another underlying health benefit that many people may not consider.

I think that unwinding at the end of the day with a glass of dark beer diminishes stress and alters the tense mood that you may have brought home from work. You become more lighthearted and leave the issues of the day behind you for a time, and you subsequently sleep better.

There is a saying that says "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy," and I think that I agree with this assessment.

Avocado Sandwich

I am not a strict vegetarian, but I don't eat red meat and the vast majority of the meals that I eat are indeed vegetarian, so I have tried a lot of different veggie combinations.

A very good and nutritious sandwich is an avocado, lettuce, tomato, and onion sandwich. You can add cheese if you want to, or any other veggies like sprouts, cucumbers, or spring mix.

I like to use Goddess dressing on them, which is basically a tahini and lemon based dressing. Annie's offers it, but there are other brands that have it as well.

Get yourself some nice bread or a roll and I guarantee that you will enjoy your version of the avocado sandwich.

Why Eat Healthy?

We like to talk about healthy eating on this blog, and some people may ask, why? Are you a "health nut?"

Did you know that 325,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest? When I eat a soy dog rather than a regular hot dog, I am doing so to avoid becoming a part of that statistic.

Veggie Hot Dogs

I am like a lot of people in that in the summer, I like to fire up the grill and enjoy the smoky taste of outdoor cooking. When you are trying to eat healthy, however, some of the favorite barbecue foods that we all grew up on really don't fit the bill, and hot dogs are one of them.

I still like a nice grilled hot dog, with relish, onions and mustard, and I do indeed get to enjoy them and still stay within my dietary standards: I just eat veggie dogs made out of soy. It is true that they are not as tasty, but after being grilled and smothered in some great toppings, the difference is minimal, and the health benefits are significant. Give them a try!

Healthy Food On The Go

Though I decry fast food on this blog, I can understand why people sometimes feel as though it is the only alternative when they are in a hurry or on the go. I am actually moving tomorrow, and when you have everything all packed up and you are on the the road heading to your new home you are certainly going to consider fast food. It is tough to eat healthy when you are on the road and in transit.

Breakfast

I am an individual who has gone through most of my life without eating breakfast. I know that they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I have always found that I just don't feel very hungry the first thing in the morning and I am reluctant to eat when I'm really not hungry.

The thing that I have realized is that when I do eat breakfast, I feel more energy immediately. I never realized that I would experience an immediate positive impact from eating breakfast, but I have now become a believer. It makes sense that food is your fuel, and when you wake up, you haven't eaten for at least the eight hours you were sleeping and probably a couple of hours previous to going to bed, so skipping breakfast results in maybe 12 hours or more without a meal, and that has to result in low energy

Healthy Cooking

I think that in our modern culture we have lost sight of the value of taking the time to prepare a nice meal for ourselves and/or our families. The thing that separates a truly good meal from just eating is the insertion of love into the act of cooking. You have to really want people to enjoy what you are making and do the cooking from the heart.

One of the many things that I don't like about fast food and even chain restaurants is that they do not care about the food and it is not a creative act filled with good intentions. It is fast repetition of corporate recipes concocted merely to maximize profit.

When it comes to food and cooking, I always ask, where's the love? If it's there, you can taste it.

Healthy Foods From India

My son works in a natural food store and he gets a lot of samples of various products, and he brought home some Tulsi tea one day and I really enjoyed it. He has also passed along a number of different Ayurvedic medicinal herbs and since I don't believe in pharmaceuticals I have always been willing to try them out.

There is a good web site that I came across called OrganicIndiaUSA.com that has a great variety of teas and herbal remedies. They also support sustainable farming and paying fair prices to farmers, and this is something that I wholeheartedly agree with. Check out OrganicIndiaUSA.com and improve your health while supporting a conscious business.

Yerba Mate

I am like most people in America in that I like coffee, but I think that it is more of a habit than it is that I just love the flavor. A few years ago I learned about a tea that is called yerba mate. It grows in the rain forests and it is a stimulant and an antioxidant, but it is much more subtle and mild than coffee. People in South America drink a lot of it, and it is good for you. You can feel a good energy when you drink it. Check it out if you have never tried it.

Pizza

There are a few peculiarities about human nature that I have noticed over the course of my life, and one of them is this: I have never met anybody who does not like pizza, and I find that to be amazing. Pizza restaurants have the best demographic opportunity imaginable because there is nobody who doesn't like their product.

Pizza is a nutritious food that doesn't have to be bad for you if you select the right toppings and use healthy ingredients. I like to make pizza at home, and of I have some favorite pizza restaurants as well.

I don't know if it will ever happen, but I am going to keep looking around and try to find someone who doesn't like pizza. There has to be somebody, right?