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11 Tips for a Sensational Salad

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  1. Include in your salad: leafy tops (celery, radish, carrot), hearty bottoms (broccoli and cauliflower stems), and fresh herbs.
  2. Add the dressing last. The oil makes it soggy. Plant cells allow water from the vegetables to pass through into the oil of the dressing, making the salad wilt.         (oil & water don’t mix)
  3. Reuse empty spice jars to take your healthy dressings with you wherever you go.
  4.  Soak greens in cold water and gently agitate the water until the dirt and grit settles on the bottom.
  5. Dry greens completely using a salad spinner or laying them flat on paper towels. Dressing does not stick to wet greens.
  6. Tear lettuce leaves instead of chopping with a knife. The metal from the knife can cause bruising on tender leaves.
  7. Use baby spinach, kale, and mustard greens instead of lettuce to boost nutrients in your salad.
  8. Immerse your vegetables in an ice water bath to crisp them for an irresistible crunch.
  9. Add an egg to your salad for a quick protein kick.
  10. Toss the dressing in the salad in a separate bowl before serving to allow for an even coat.
  11. Add leftover cooked veggies from the previous night, hot or cold to your salad.

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Mason Jar Salad

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LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!  These are perfect for parties, picnic, BBQs, etc. So easy and I can make these a day in advance. Packs well and is already portioned, what could be better?

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Serves 1 Cook Time 0

Ingredients   In this order:
2 Tbsp Low-Fat Dressing
1/4 Cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 Cup chopped baby portabello mushrooms
2 radishes, cut into half moons
1/2 large tomato, chopped
1 small cucumber cut into half moons
spinach, as much to fill

Directions:

  1. Place all the ingredients in that order (keep the dressing on the bottom- the oil from the dressing makes lettuce leaves wilt). Cap it.
  2. When ready, just shake and serve.

WARNING!!!! Your imagination tends to go wild with salad possibilities… Be prepared!

Recommended for patients on the Modified Profast (Fast and Flexible) Program,  Nutriplus (Balance Your Pyramid) Program or Maintenance Program.

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How to Hard Boil the Perfect Egg

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Eggs are an important part of a healthy diet. They are an easy, quick way to get a burst of protein as an addition to your salad, deviled, or plain, but cooking them can cause us to “crack”. How long should you cook them? Should the water boil or not? When are they done? After all, we can’t really look inside and see when they’ve finished cooking.

Boiling eggs have never been easier with this fool proof technique. Ever boiled an egg, cut it in half, and seen that ugly greenish ring?  That greenish ring is caused from the egg cooking too fast, too long, and too hot.

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Step 1) Place cold eggs in a large stock pot and fill it with cold tap water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Add a pinch of salt. (Salt reacts with the eggshell and keeps it from accidentally cracking)

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Step 2) Place the pot, uncovered, over medium high heat and bring the water up to a boil.

Metabolic Medical Center - Metabolic ArticlesStep 3) As soon as the water reaches a good boil, turn the stove off, remove the pot from the burner and cover with a tight lid. Let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Bring the pot to the sink, pour out the hot water and replace it with cool water.

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When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel and prepare them your favorite way. Perfect eggs every time. Try this and tell us what you think!

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How to Caramelize Onions

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Slice 1 onion into thin, half-moon slivers, toss with (1-2 Tbsp) olive oil to coat. Slice 1 onion into thin, half-moon slivers, toss with (1-2 Tbsp) olive oil to coat. Sprinkle evenly with salt . Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook for 10-15 minutes stirring and shaking the pan a few times. Get creative and add a little wine or brandy to get the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

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How to Segment an Orange

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All you need is a very sharp paring and a cutting and you’ll be ready segment an orange or any other citrus fruit.

Metabolic Medical CenterFirst, cut off the very top and very bottom of the orange. Not too much, just enough to expose the fruit and give it stability.

Next, cut away the orange skin and the white pith. Star at the top and slice downward, follow the curve of the fruit as best you can. If you missed it the first time, you can go back and trim up the orange.

Now it’s time segment the orange. With your paring knife, slide the knife between one of the segments and the thin membrane. Cut until you get to the middle of the orange, but don’t cut through the membrane.

Using a scooping motion, turn the knife back onto itself, hook under the bottom of the fruit and pry it away. Continue using the same motion with each segment. With a little practice, these segments will pop out.

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Egg-Ceptional Eggs!

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Tips and Tricks under the shell
What’s that greenish ring?This discoloration is the result of a chemical reaction between the sulfer in the egg white and the iron in the egg yolk. It happens when an egg is cooked too long OR at too high a temperature.

Can you microwave eggs? Yes, but not in the shell. Steam builds inside the shell and has no where to go except out! (All over your microwave)

What’s the best way to peel a hard boiled egg? After the egg has finished cooking and sitting in the hot water bath, allow it to cool to the touch. The cooling process causes the shell to constrict slightly inside the shell. Gently tap the egg on the counter top until the egg is cracked all around. Roll the egg between your hands to really losen the shell. Start peeling at the large end and hold it under cold running water to ease the shell off.

How long will hard boiled eggs keep? Eggs will keep unpeeled for one week. Peeled eggs should be eaten the same day.

Fun Facts:

  • High-quality protein helps in weight loss. Eating more high-quality protein foods, such as eggs, and fewer carbohydrates helps preserve lean muscle tissue and increase fat loss during weight loss.
  • The yolk gets its color from the yellow-orange plant pigments called lutein and zeaxanthin. Lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown to reduce the risks of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in those 65 and older.
  • The protein found in eggs, can benefit people of all ages in many ways, including forming muscle tissue, building muscle strength, repairing muscles after exercise and warding off the loss of muscle tissue as we age.
  • The name meringue came from a pastry chef named Gasparini in the Swiss town of Merhrinyghen. In 1720, Gasparini created a small pastry of dried egg foam and sugar from which the simplified meringue evolved. Its fame spread and Marie Antoinette is said to have prepared the sweet with her own hands at the Trianon in France.
  • To tell if an egg is raw or hard-boiled, spin it. Because the liquids have set into a solid, a hard-boiled egg will easily spin. The moving liquids in a raw egg will cause it to wobble.
  • Double-yolked eggs are often produced by young hens whose egg production cycles are not yet completely synchronized. They’re often produced too, by hens which are old enough to produce Extra Large-sized eggs. Genetics is also a factor. Occasionally a hen will produce double-yolked eggs throughout her egg-laying career. It’s rare, but not unusual, for a young hen to produce an egg with no yolk at all. This is only seen in farm fresh eggs, not in grocery stores.
  • It is said that an egg will stand on its end during the spring (vernal) equinox (about March 21), one of the two times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are of equal length everywhere. Depending on the shape of the egg, you may be able to stand it on its end other days of the year as well.Try this and let us know what happens.

What’s the nutritional value of an egg?
Per Serving calories: 72
total fat: 5g
saturated fat: 2g
polyunsaturated fat: 1g
monounsaturated fat: 2g
cholesterol: 186mg
sodium: 71mg
carbohydrates: 0g
dietary fiber: 0g
protein: 6g
vitamin A: 270.0IU
vitamin D: 41.0IU
folate: 23.5mcg
calcium: 28.0mg
iron: 0.9mg
choline: 125.6mg
vitamin C: 0mg
vitamin E: 0.7IU
trans fat: 0g
sugars: 0g
potassium: 69.0mg
magnesium: 6.0mg
selenium: 15.4mcg
phosphorus: 99.0mg
vitamin B12: 0.5mcg
vitamin K: 0.2mcg
vitamin B6: 0.1mg
copper: 0mg
vitamin B1 – thiamin: 0mg
manganese: 0mg
zinc: 0.1mg
vitamin B2 – riboflavin: 0.2mg
vitamin B3 – niacin: 0mg
omega 3: 0.1g
omega 6: 0.8g

Research from Incredible Edible Egg

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Clean up your kitchen, Clean up your diet

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Clean up your kitchen, clean up your diet by cooking healthier.

Cleaning up your kitchen will clean up your metabolic diet. It goes well beyond scrubbing and wiping and into choosing, mixing and preparing. When you have the right tools in front of you, you can make your very next meal the healthiest one yet.

Use Good fats.
Not all fat is bad fat. Use up to 3 teaspoons (= 1 Tablespoon) per day of unsaturated fats that come from plant based foods such as: olive oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, canola oil, flaxseed and grapeseed. Use your oil when you need the flavor to enhance your food. For example, in a marinade or a salad dressing. Utilize a non-stick cooking, no calorie cooking spray for foods well seasoned with herbs and spices that do not depend on the oil’s flavor. For example, as fast saute or as non-stick surface when roasting.

*Coconut and palm oils are plant based but are considered a saturated fat.

Go naked.
As much as you can, opt for fresh, organic grass fed meats and vegetables that have not been sprayed with harmful chemicals and preservatives. These are more costly, but when you stop buying the just as costly processed foods, your wallet and waistline will benefit.

Simple Substitutions.
Substitutions can be made everywhere. Reaching for low-fat dairy items in place of the full fat versions mean you don’t have to compromise on nutrition. There seems to be more sugar-free choices now more than ever before. Use these with caution if they tend to trigger your hunger. Fresh vegetables are preferable to canned due to sodium content.

Portion Sizes.
Reasonable portion sizes can be hard to get a handle on in this day of super sized, deluxe meal plates. You would be surprised at the amount of food it takes to fill up and stay satisfied. Keep portion sizes in check with this “handy” thought. An approximately 3 oz. serving of meat is almost the size of the palm of your hand. A 1 cup serving of vegetables is about the size of a closed fist.

Watch the Sodium.
Salt food as you cook it to avoid salting after it is on the table. Use salt with caution because too much can elevate blood pressure and cause fluid retention.

“Flavorize” you food.
Cook your food with fresh lemon/lime juice, vinegars, herbs and spices. Season your food after it has been cooked, there’s no limit! Be bold in you flavors.

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Steaming Food

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Many cooks recommend steaming as a healthy cooking method, but why? Steaming is the least destructive cooking process. It preserves vitamins, minerals, and fiber in fruits and vegetables. Steaming foods also concentrates the natural flavor allowing the taste to really shine.

Steaming is also a fast and easy way to cook food with very little clean up. It generally takes most recipes between 3-6 minutes to steam cook. You can steam in the microwave, stove top, bamboo steamer or a steam oven.

Look for recipes that use steaming as the main cooking method!

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6 Healthy Herbs and Spices

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Metabolic Medical Center Weight Loss tipsHealth experts are coming back to earth. We owe much of modern day medicine to the benefits of centuries old herb and spices. I’m certainly not advocating going back into the dark ages with healthcare, but what the ancients new about the healing power of certain herbs and spices should be considered.

While they have not been shown to cure diseases, they have been shown to improve symptoms.

Gathered here are 6 powerful herbs and spices that you can enjoy everyday without interfering with your weight loss.

1) Sage
Active Ingredient: extract
Improves: sore throats, upset stomachs, memory, learning and mood
Serve With: pork and beef, drink sage tea
Due to the delicacy of the sage leaf, it is best added at the end of the cooking process. Gently rub the leaf between you hands to “bruise” and release the extract.

2) Turmeric:
Active Ingredient: curcumin
Improves: inflammation, arthritis pain
Serve With: garlic, curry powder This is best used as a powder and served as part of curries in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. It does stain so wash your hands thoroughly after handling.

3) Rosemary:
Active Ingredient: rosmarinic acid
Improves: mental focus, concentration, fights bacteria
Serve With: chicken, citrus flavors, garlic and onions
Rosemary is a tough herb and can handle everything from a long roasting process to a quick saute. The small leaves can chopped and added to a dish or the whole sprig can be tossed in the pot.

4) Chili Pepper:
Active Ingredient: capsaicin and capsinoids
Improves: pain, inflammation, boosts metabolism
Serve With: fresh meat, soups
Handle chili peppers with care. Its active ingredient will cause a severe burning sensation if you touch any sensitive skin. These can be eaten raw or cooked. You can reduce the heat by removing the seeds and white membrane.

5) Ginger:
Active Ingredient: ginerols
Improves: upset stomachs, arthritis pain
Serve With: citrus, soy sauce, garlic, peppers
Ginger is a root and has a thick skin that must be removed to expose the white flesh underneath. It can be grated, sliced, chopped, etc and added to food. Add it at the beginning of the cooking process for a subtle flavor and at the end for a strong flavor.

6) Cinnamon:
Active Ingredient: cinnamon powder
Improves: blood sugar spikes, relieves indigestion
Serve With: coffee, teas, fruit, nuts, cloves
Simmer whole sticks in your next cup of tea or sprinkle this over your next Middle Eastern inspired meal.

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