The Other Woman Cooks

It's been a bad week for my healthy eating resolve anyway. The Wedding of the Year was yesterday -- the bride and groom glowed. As for that toast -- I remembered my lines and didn't knock over any furniture. The mic was a little faulty and I think some of what I said was lost. Still, I got my point across-- this was a joyous occasion. If good wishes carry with them fate, the new Mr. & Mrs. Vito are destined for a lifetime of happiness. The caterer delivered a superb dinner with three stations ... French, Mediterranean and New England cuisine. All yummy. And we danced and sang and danced some more. It was a big friend week around here. For another of our favorite people, the surgery was reportedly a success and there's nothing like a homemade sugary treat to sweeten recovery time. Capping off all the candy and toast making, I'm back on the Flat Belly Diet! I've lost just nine pounds not the fifteen I was hoping for but I'm so far down this road there's ...

Part of the encouragement boost in following Flat Belly Diet! are the success stories scattered throughout the book. On page 312 you'll meet Evelyn Gomer who, by her own admission, loves all kinds of nuts. Me, too. But I suspect she was referring only to the food kind. Peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc... all great MUFAs. Evelyn and I have other things in common. Neither of us had a clue what a MUFA was until we started reading the book. On page 30 there is a section titled Good Fats versus Bad Fats. Pretty similar to the good (HDL) versus bad (LDL) cholesterol. Bottom line is that healthy fats remain liquid at room temperature while the bad ones are solid or semi-solid at room temperature. There are three kinds of good fats: Monosaturated Fat (MUFA), Polyunsaturated Fat and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. And two kinds of bad fats: Saturated Fats and Trans Fats. It's important to note that dietary fat is actually an important energy source for our bodies. But eating the bad kind is prett...

Oh yeah -- sweet treats from Flat Belly Diet! I played with the recipe just a tad to lower the calorie count so I could have more of them! Page 232 says to make it a meal with 1 cup of nonfat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of pineapple tidbits or mandarin oranges for an under 400 calorie meal, great for breakfast. Try a snack pack with 2 cookies and 1 cup of cold skim milk poured into an ice cold frosted glass ... super yummy! Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies 2 cups quick oats 1/2 cup oat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour) 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon dash of salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup olive or canola oil 3 large egg whites 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped 1 cup walnuts, chopped 1/2 cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, oil, vanilla and egg whites unt...