The Other Woman Cooks

After a delish girls night out at Judie's in Amherst, I came home ready to tackle the beast again. It's been awhile since I've mentioned Flat Belly Diet and that's because JP and I have been lax. Down 12 instead of 14, the gain was actually less than expected after the last few weeks of lobster crazy around here. So we're back on the program. With the garden popping, our timing is good to be trolling for yummy lo-cal recipes using summer's best.  This morning's breakfast of a half cup cinnamon sprinkled oatmeal drizzled with 1 teaspoon honey, 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds (MUFA) and a cup of fat free lactose free milk was perked up lots by a cup of fresh picked blueberries from Easy Pickin's Farm in Enfield, CT. And now that M & M candies come in dark chocolate (another MUFA), we might just consider adding the M & M diet plan to our daily weigh of life! Just kidding. :-)

If you've never slathered low fat  pound cake  toast with homemade low sugar  refrigerator jam , or store bought marmalade or peanut butter or even a whisper of butter or margarine, you've been missing out. Sprinkle a teaspoon of sunflower seeds on top and you have an under two hundred calorie  Flat Belly Diet breakfast complete with MUFA. So brew a pot of tea and pull out your toaster -- eating healthier never tasted so yummy.

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...

What were my slightly snug at the waist jeans fit right out of the dryer. In the beginning, small victories help foster success. It also helps that the first four days of the Flat Belly Diet! are very structured. The book supplies a grocery list and there’s no need to count calories. You simply eat what you read -- an instant weight loss program. Just add Sassy water (pages 6 and 80) and you’re good to shrink. Just when I wondered if it was possible to stick to a low-cal diet without losing my mind along with the extra pounds, it was Day 5. Relief came in the form of “extra” calories. Three squares and one Snack Pack at 400 calories each, 1,600 calories -- up from the 1,200 calorie Jumpstart . There are lots of great recipes in the book, but well, you know me … I like to fiddle. With the help of some great calorie counter websites, it wasn’t too hard to come up with a tasty main dish. 2/3 cup of steamed sugar snap peas (40 calories) and two tablespoons of jellied cranberry sauce (50 ...

I love romance. When I meet someone who is single my natural inclination is to butt in and introduce them to another single person. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. There are more couples together than apart among my victims over the years. So what does this have to do with why I haven't blogged lately? Well, two of my friends are one month away from becoming husband and wife. I introduced them to each other and got teary happy when they asked me to make the toast at the wedding. Like I said, I love romance. But I don't love the size of my behind and being the center of attention for even a few minutes gives me agita. Someone is going to take my picture when I raise that glass and I'll be damned if I don't manage to lose a few pounds before the blessed event. Lamenting my situation to another friend (and a fellow guest at said wedding) caused her to say she'd bought Flat Belly Diet! and would give it to me to read. Instead, she bought me my own cop...