Start Out Right
Every Monday is diet Monday in this house. It feels like it starts the week out proper like. It brings us back to a place where we know we should be with our diet at our age ( closer to 50 than 45). Low calorie, healthy and nutritious. It’s like there is a standard we want to achieve, and Monday always takes us back to that standard. Every Monday my husband groans, “I hate Monday”. So my challenge is to make Monday as painless as possible. This rich tomato dish tastes indulgent, but is very low calorie and healthy.
Here is another Monday, low calorie recipe to try, Eat All you Want Soup.
Balance
The weekends tend to be a time to celebrate life and indulge our desires. To balance life, we get back to a place of self discipline, detox and healthy living every Monday. There are certain rules that are followed at all times. We never eat red meat, pork, fast food and for me, no Gluten or sugar. But the weekends are our time to relax and enjoy the things that make our life fun. We have cocktails (sugar free for me), Low Calorie French fries or chips and maybe a delightful French cheese. By the time Monday morning rolls around, it’s always time to get back on track. At our age, we have to set limitations and rules. We break the rules on birthdays and holidays, but that just makes celebrating even more fun.
Killer Sugar
Lower calorie, less fat cakes, cookies, muffins, doughnuts are just there to distract us. They are there to makes us feel like we can have them, because they have half the fat and a fewer calories. But in reality, they deceive us into including them into our diet and we delude ourselves that they are OK because there is less fat. No. They are Ok because it’s ok to eat fun food when we keep them in balance. But they are still just sugar, which is the very worst of all the food groups that you can put in your body. That includes agave and honey and raw sugar. They all break down into carbohydrates.
Keep them Seperate
There are two categories of food. Nutritious and fun. Don’t get them confused. The fun stuff is what we all love. Having 30 or 40 calories less if we eat a lower fat muffin or cake, just deceives us and leaves us unsatisfied. If you are going to have a sugar cookie or brownie, have the real thing and remember that it is in the fun category. Have one, delicious, sugar filled, fat filled treat that really hits the spot. Not 3 times the amount because we tell ourself that it’s ok. Keep them as a treat. Don’t be fooled into thinking they are ok because they have a less calories or half the fat or are made with agave. If you want to cheat with a treat, don’t pretend it’s ok if it’s got less fat. Just have your treat and get back to eating a low calorie, healthy diet the next day. It doesn’t help us loose weight because our cake has fewer calories. We loose weight when we don’t eat the cake. Don’t get the two categories confused. Have your treat and make it count. Enjoy the rich, full taste and then get back to your fruit, vegetables and lean protein. Keep them separate and remember the difference.
6 Servings
1 Cup White Beans – Cooked
1Tbs Coconut Oil – or Butter if not vegan
1 Onion – Chopped
5 Cloves Garlic – Crushed
2 Tbsp Pesto
18 oz Marinara Sauce
1 Bay Leaf
2 Not Chick’n Stock Cubes ( or chicken stock if not vegan)
1/2 – 1 Cup Water
Freshly Ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Thyme sprigs to Serve – Optional
1 oz Butter – Optional, Gives a rich authentic Italian Taste.
Sauté onion and garlic in coconut oil (or butter).
Add remaining ingredients and gently simmer for 45 minutes.
Serve with salad and baked potato or broccoli.
