Obesity.

I caught an English programme on PBS Monday night. I didn't finish it as it went on quite late, but the subject was why, when people are trying to eat healthy foods, are the English getting so fat. Low fat, fat people.This of course applies to large parts of the Western world. The basic premise is that people believe that if a food is marketed as healthy, lo or low fat, or similar, it will also be low calorie and help them lose weight. If  food is perceived to be healthy the general public will buy it even though in many cases it might contain more calories than a Big Mac. One case in point was a Subway foot long and a Big Mac, the foot

long has more calories but people perceive Subway food as being healthy food. According to the programme, this is what the big food companies are relying on and marketing towards. Personally I never buy low fat or fat free anything. If I buy food with a lot of calories in it, I don't eat too much of it at any one time. As they pointed out, low fat yogurts, for example, often have loads of sugar in them. The moral seems to be read the labels and read them properly. Don't believe the marketing on the processed food. I am not sure about England these days but our nutrition labels are a very good guide as to what is really healthy and low calorie. Actually the TV programme was pretty scary because of the way we, as consumers, are being targeted by the big food companies. They don't care about our health but only their bottom line. Matt and I do eat a sub now and again, but we only have a 6 inch. If you are a regular reader, you will know that I put a lot of effort into losing weight in the last few years (46 lbs) and I am also putting a lot of effort into maintaining that weight loss.  Another point was if consumers knew a food manufacturer or restaurant had a low calorie item, the apparently perceived everything from the same source to be low calorie whether it was or not.

Bearing in mind that in this part of the world many are suffering from pretty hot temps, I thought this dessert would go down well. No, this is not a low calorie dessert.

Berry Bliss No-Bake Cheesecake

Kraft Kitchens

Does the bliss come from the creamy cheesecake and sweet, juicy berries? Or the fact that it's a

no-bake recipe? (And does it really matter?)  

16 servings

What you need

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
•  1/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 cups mixed fresh berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, halved strawberries), divided
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Make it

• Mix graham crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan
• Mash 2 cups berries with 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl. Beat cream cheese and remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add mashed berries; beat on low speed just until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP; spoon over crust.
• Refrigerate 6 hours. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; remove rim. Top cheesecake with remaining berries. 

Have a great day
 

Storms, Nutrition and Obesity

I’m happy to say I was able to walk better yesterday. I guess bowling on a sprained knee is not a good idea. Josephine, make note!!! I’m still hurting, but nothing like Thursday.

We awoke to thick fog yesterday morning, couldn’t see anything first thing but it wore off in a couple of hours or so. Bearing in mind it was so warm on Thursday, maybe they did have rain here the night before. I still haven’t asked anyone, not been anywhere to do so.

A Tropical Storm, named Lee, suddenly popped up in the Gulf of Mexico over night. From the New Orleans area as far as the Florida panhandle they are expecting a lot of moisture. They talk about flooding, but I thought that area was suffering from drought the same as a lot of places this year although if you get too much all at once the ground cannot cope with it. Nobody mentioned Katya today but she is still out there and still heading for the American east coast. Not sure when she is due to arrive. The realtors in NC told me we would know more on Monday. Right now, according to my software, she is headed somewhat south of North Carolina which would be good for us, not so good for South Carolina or points south. It would be nice to think she would dissipate, sadly there doesn’t seem much chance of that at the moment.

Oops I didn’t realise there was a video of Jamie Oliver addressing the One Young World Summit in Zurich on Friday. There is a live stream video at this connection. This is a frightening statistic - 1.7 billion people are obese or overweight globally including 200 million children – Jamie in particular is trying to work to improve the situation by teaching people to cook simple meals where they had never cooked anything before and also by getting schools to co-operate on better nutrition both in the UK and the US. Speared by Michelle of Smothered in Butter, we are hoping to do something similar in our own small area. By the way, do read Michelle’s latest post, its about cookie making and  having a party in one’s home to make all these cookies, sounds like a good idea to me. The picture is of some of her Hallowe’en cookies which she posted on her blog. She also has a picture of some very pretty snowflake cookies. I basically do not make cookies because most of them will end up in one place – my hips.

Just caught a story about Giant Octopus eggs hatching at a BC aquarium!!! If you check it out there is a video. I do hope they have big enough tanks for these giant octopus when they become adults. Not a sea creature I am particularly fond of.

As this weekend is considered the last holiday of the summer, its Labour Day on Monday, all the recipes you can find are for things like potato salads or beans which can be served at barbecues, on the other hand, Eating Well have some different breakfast dishes and I liked the sound of this one. Not sure how it would compare with my healthy cereal breakfast mind you.

Greek Walnut Spice Cake

From EatingWell: January/February 2010

A rich, flavourful syrup infuses this Mediterranean-inspired walnut coffee cake with the bright aroma of oranges and cloves. Heart-healthy olive oil and whole-grain barley flour add subtle complexity and texture to this nutty treat.

12 servings

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, divided
• 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour (see Note)
• 1/2 cup barley flour (see Note)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Syrup

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 small strip orange zest (1-by-1-inch)
• 2 whole cloves

Preparation

1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square glass baking dish with cooking spray and dust it with flour, shaking out the excess.
2. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast, stirring once halfway, until fragrant, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3. Whisk whole-wheat flour (see Measuring Tip), barley flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until thoroughly blended. Combine yogurt with orange zest and juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth; gradually whisk into the egg mixture along with oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in 2 additions, stirring well in between until just blended. Fold in 1 cup of the walnuts. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake the cake until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 45 minutes.
5. To prepare syrup: Meanwhile, combine 1/3 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, orange zest strip and cloves in a small heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring a few times. Adjust heat to maintain a simmer and cook until thickened, 4 to 5 minutes (you will have a scant 1/3 cup); remove the zest and cloves. Let cool.
6. When the cake is done, transfer the pan to a wire rack. Using a toothpick, pierce the top in about 18 places and brush the syrup over the cake 3 or 4 times, allowing it to seep in each time. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup walnuts and let cool for 30 minutes; loosen the edges with a knife; cut into 12 squares. Enjoy warm or room temperature.

Nutrition

Per serving :294 Calories; 14 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 36 mg Cholesterol; 38 g Carbohydrates; 7 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 215 mg Sodium; 166 mg Potassium

2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 other carbohydrates, 2 1/2 fat

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Store at room temperature under a cake dome or in an airtight container for up to 1 day.

• Ingredient notes: Barley flour has a mild yet distinct flavour, which some describe as slightly sweet and malty. Barley is high in fibre and has a low glycemic index. Look for it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or at natural-foods stores; it’s often available in bulk. Store in the freezer.
• White whole-wheat flour, made from a special variety of white wheat, is light in color and flavour but has the same nutritional properties as regular whole-wheat flour. It is available in large supermarkets and at natural-foods stores. (Or find it online from bobsredmill.com or kingarthurflour.com.) Store it in the freezer.
• Measuring tip: We use the “spoon and level” method to measure flours. Here’s how it is done: Use a spoon to lightly scoop flour from its container into a measuring cup. Use a knife or other straight edge to level the flour with the top of the measuring cup.

Have a great weekend

Obesity, Security Dogs.

I have been reading a blog called Smothered in Butter lately and in her last two posts, Michelle has been expressing her horror at the obesity so obvious in our local society – what is sometimes referred to as the Golden Triangle which includes Kitchener and Cambridge. Her website is http://smotheredinbutter.blogspot.com – she is local to me and as she says in one of her blogs, she was staring in shock at the people around her in Riverside Park, Cambridge, on Canada Day and the lack of provision for these people to eat healthily even if they had chosen to do so. Michelle wants to get a “conversation for change”  a la Jamie Oliver involving everyone in the food industry, schools and catering establishments as well as those of us who cook. Of course, as we know, its not all what you eat, it is the lack of exercise too. There is an ad running on TV at the moment which pushes the fact that kids need at least an hour of exercise every day. Thanks to technology and the lack of exercise programmes in schools, they are not achieving that amount. It is also a fact that Zehrs grocery store which is a Loblaws company. has introduced their Blue Menu items which are healthy products intended to help reduce obesity as well. This item shown is meatless, but not all their items are. You will be hearing more on this from both Michelle and me.

I just watched a segment on GMA about trained German Shepherds which are being sold for large sums as protection dogs. I just Googled and found ads for these service dogs. They are trained in Germany and then continue in the US. From what I can see, the dogs are trained very much as police dogs were trained in the UK when I was involved with German Shepherd training years ago. I once owned three German shepherds at one time and was a member of two training groups in England, one of which specialised in German Shepherds or Alsatians as they are known in the UK. That was an upshot of World War I when anything German was frowned upon.

I like tomato, I like basil, I love bruschetta so what’s not to enjoy about the following recipe.

Grilled Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

By 2hot2handle on August 31, 2009

 

Photo by 2hot2handle

Servings: 8

About This Recipe

"What can I say? Absolutely sublime, but ONLY make with the freshest, ripest tomatoes. Prep time does not include the 20 minutes of "sit" time for the tomatoes."

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread

1 lb roma tomatoes or 1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup fresh basil, rolled together and sliced julienne

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt

Directions

1. Place the cut tomatoes into a bowl and salt them. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, basil and olive oil, stir to combine and let sit for another 10 minutes.
2. Cut the french bread into thick (1 inch) slices. Grill the slices until just toasted and slightly charred, about 1 minute per side.
3. Top the grilled bread slices with the tomato mixture and serve immediately.

Childhood Obesity, George's Birthday, Snow.

There was a segment on Good Morning America about childhood obesity, in fact the other day, they were talking to the First Lady, Michelle Obama, who is very involved in this whole scene and recently kicked off an initiative called Let's Move. This morning they were talking about the lack of exercise in schools these days; apparently a lot of American schools (I don't know about other countries) no longer have curriculums which include games and/or gymnastics. Admittedly I hated them when I was at school, but at this point in time, with so many kids who are morbidly obese, I think a sports curriculum is a must. Why don't they have them any more you ask? Because of money. In the US (again I don't know about other countries) they are spending billions on wars and billions on disaster relief around the world which leaves very little to spend on schools in their own country. Wrong. A big mistake. If they don't do something serious about childhood obesity, it is going to cost millions if not billions to care for them medically as adults, and many of them won't live very long anyway. Obesity leads to heart diseases, diabetes, thromboses and I don't know what else. I personally believe that the US should forget all these wars in countries which have been fighting for years and bring their troops home asap. All they are achieving is hatred on the part of the people in the countries where they are fighting. Leave 'em alone and let 'em get on with it. Help your own children instead.

It was quite funny on GMA this morning, it was George Stephanopoulos' birthday and there was lots of kidding including his wife, Alexandra Wentworth, dressed up as Diane Sawyer which was a hoot. There is a video clip. Then they presented him with a chocolate/coffee ice cream cake. I would think his wife would be the life and soul of any party, she certainly got George blushing. There is a hilarious piece of video at http://abcnews.go.com/gma showing George blowing out his candles.

The US is getting pounded with snow again today. They are accumulating record numbers in total snowfalls and as one friend in Philadelphia says, 'its getting old'. There are still thousands without power from the last storm and they are expecting many more to lose power today because the snow is so wet and heavy it breaks tree limbs and downs power lines. We had some snow last night, but not much for us at all. I guess its Murphy's Law that BC isn't getting snow when they want it and the east is getting it and don't want it. Of course some people are loving it and making the most of the snow games whether it be snowball fights or cross country skiing.

I mentioned yesterday that I watched Emeril Lagasse on Good Morning America making the following chicken dish. It was intended for Valentine's Day. I personally wasn't keen on the idea of this for Valentine's, but the dish itself seemed good, so I made it for supper last night and it was good, we both enjoyed it although I still wouldn't cook it for Valentine's Day. I must say it is extremely simple to make so long as you have all the ingredients handy. I didn't have fresh tarragon which was a pity so I used dried but I never use dried parsley, in my opinion it doesn't taste of very much at all. I also found the sauce didn't thicken as it should and had to add a little cornstarch mixed with water.

Sautéed Chicken Breasts with Dijon Herb Sauce Emeril Lagasse

4 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper 2 Tbs olive oil 2 Tbs chopped shallot 1 cup dry white wine 1 Tbs Dijon mustard 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley 1. Season the chicken on both sides with the salt and white pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, and cook until golden, about 4 minutes per side 2. Increase the heat to high, add the shallot and white wine, and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the chicken and set it aside on a serving plate. 3. Whisk the mustard and heavy cream into the pan, and bring the sauce to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 2 minutes, until thickened and bubbly. 4. Add the tarragon and parsley, and remove from the heat. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, and serve immediately. Servings: 4 Have a great day

Obese English Girl, Witchcraft,

Watching a segment on GMA this morning about a young English girl, Georgia Davis, who weighed over 400 lbs. She was absolutely huge and only in her early to mid teens. Social workers in the UK helped her get to the Wellspring Academy in North Carolina and in 9 months she has dropped to 202 lbs. which, to me who took a year to lose 20 lbs recently, is absolutely incredible. read here. She is now on her way home to England and I do so hope she can maintain her healthy lifestyle. She has to look after her mother so it won't be easy for her. From the pictures, her mother too is overweight. The Academy emphasises movement too and Georgia had a pedometer as a virtually permanent attachment. She must have been at the GMA studios really early this morning (it runs from 7-9 a.m.) and yet had already done 4,000 steps.

 Glenda, at Tropic Temper (see link this page) was again writing about the horrific story of two Malaysian charlatans who, in the name of religion, are beating 'witches' to death because of the spells they are casting on certain Malaysians residing in England. Although this is happening in the civilised West, little is being done about it. Do read her blog today. I see the religious organisation has a web site as well.

 Yesterday, I promised a recipe which we had eaten for dinner the previous night. Here it is. It came from the bag in which we had bought Royal Sea haddock loins which were very nice pieces of fresh haddock. Royal Sea is only sold at Costco so if you don't have one in your area, you will just have to go to your local seafood place and ask for haddock loins or just have nice fillets of haddock. We enjoyed this dish very much.

Pan Seared Haddock with Tomato and Black Olive Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 Tbs capers, rinsed and chopped
1 Tbs Basil, finely chopped
2 Tbs black olives, pitted and diced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs dry oregano, divided in half
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 Tbs Canola oil
1 Haddock loins (chunky fillets)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to season

 In a bowl combine tomatoes, basil, capers, black olives, oil, vinegar and half the oregano. Stir, cover and refrigerate until needed. Heat canola in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Rub oregano on both sides of the Haddock loins and season with salt and pepper. Pan sear Haddock in heated pan for three minutes. Flip and cook other side for same amount of time or until fish is opaque or begins to flake. Transfer fish onto a plate and spoon Salsa on top. Serve over cooked pasta tossed in olive oil and oregano.
 Servings: 2
 Source: Royal Sea

Obesity, Autism, Me

Yesterday there were reports on recent studies of overweight children. They have found the majority of them have the arteries of 30 yr olds with advanced arterial damage. What a frightening thought. These kids are at risk of heart problems at a very early age, in their 30s or so. How can people get through a) to the parents and b) to the kids themselves. I have a friend who has two enormous children, they are technically adults now, but the pair of them are huge and no-one ever did anything about it. I believe they were fed too much when they were young, but they are now old enough to make their own decisions and neither of them appear to be doing anything about it. If you want to read more about this click here for the GMA article. Of course obese children are also at risk for diabetes and a host of other major illnesses caused by overweight. Having struggled with weight all my life, I am very concerned with this problem. Another fascinating segment on GMA this morning, was about a school which is making great strides with autistic children. Again if you want to read the article click here. They are giving the autistic children a way to communicate. Unfortunately it is a private school and costs quite a bit to send kids there. It is a wonderful programme apparently and really does wonders for these children. The young man in the picture is one of their students. They work by getting into what the children are interested in and not structuring their education. I wasn't too well yesterday, I developed a cough and ended up getting very little sleep on Monday night. Matt didn't get much either unfortunately. Then several other things got to me yesterday so I didn't go to my volunteering job but just stayed at home mollycoddling myself. I am better but not 100% today. So send good vibes my way please. I haven't got a cold exactly, but that picture shows how I was feeling. That's nice, just to cheer me up, they are testing the fire alarm bells this morning, this will probably go on all day so I think we will have to find a reason to leave. OK I will put my money where my mouth is and give you a Weight Watchers Recipe from their New, Complete Cookbook. Roast Beef Salad with Arugula A perfect recipe for making use of leftovers from a Sunday roast. Makes 4 servings 1 red onion, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 cup ice water 10 sun-dried tomato halves (not oil packed) 1 cup boiling water 1 tbs balsamic vinegar 2 tsp Dijon mustard Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil 8 cups arugula, thick stems removed 1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms 1/2 lb thinly sliced roast beef, cut into strips cracked black pepper to taste 1 lemon cut into 4 wedges Soak the onion in the ice water 1 hour; Drain and pat dry. Soak the tomatoes in the boiling water 2 mins; drain and pat dry then finely dice To prepare the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper; whisk in the oil, a little at a time, then add the tomatoes and beat in 1 Tbs water. In a medium bowl, toss the arugula with 1 Tbs of the dressing, divide among 4 plates. In the bowl, toss the onion and mushrooms with another Tbs of the dressing. Divide amonth the plates. Toss the roast beef with the remaining dressing and place on top of the salads. Sprinkle with the cracked pepper and serve with the lemon wedges. This is 4 points per serving. Have a great day.

Labelling and Obesity.

I just saw a segment on Good Morning America about food labels. Apparently they are not always very accurate. They hired a lab to do some testing for them. I already knew that when a label says 0 fat it could have up to .5 mg in it and still be within the legal limits. The upshot of their studies seemed to be stick to the advertised serving size. Now this is fine if its something like cookies, but have you seen the serving sizes on some cans and packages, not enough to keep a flea alive. Very unrealistic, so you end up eating more than you should - according to the label - and then you have a problem. They used a very prevalent statement about chocolate cookies "who can eat just one" I must say I can. I find just a taste of chocolate satisfies me and I can stop at one quite easily.

I have seen some really huge people lately and wonder why they don't do something about it, their doctors should be able to give them some assistance. I saw one woman who's rear end would have covered three chairs, I saw her overflowing one. At least she was still ambulatory, I saw others who were huge and in wheelchairs. There is a tendency to blame glands on such problems, but its amazing how many of these grossly obese problems can disappear once they are under medical supervision. The horrifying cases are those who live in their beds permanently because they can no longer move, how can anyone let themselves get this morbidly obese. Its not like I don't sympathise, I have been fighting obesity all my life, but self discipline has to come into this somewhere. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, diabetes is costing Canada something like $13 billion a year, in the States it is over $100 billion and a lot of that cost could be alleviated by people losing weight. Even covering the cost of bypass or lap band surgeries would help. A friend of mine who was very overweight had a procedure done and has now lost over 50 lbs. Before she had the procedure she was showing high blood sugar counts, now she is no longer bordering on diabetes. That is simplistic and would not happen for everyone perhaps, but the doctor at the expo said even a 10 lb weight loss helps. Sorry about the rant.

Bowling again today so Matt was polishing his bowling balls yesterday. I bought him some for a birthday present a few years ago. He then didn't get a lot of use out of them for a while, but they have now come back into use. We found out the other day where he can get them engraved quickly and will get them done, probably at the end of this season. I never realised how much care these bowling balls need. Matt was given instruction by the owner of the alley where we started our interest in the game. You have to buy special polish which also has an abrasive in it. I don't have any bowling balls and don't think I want any.

The following recipe is one Matt has made for finger foods at parties. We had a period in North Carolina of having such parties and these disappeared very fast.

Oriental Pot Stickers

Source: Cooking Light - Jan/Feb 94

1/2 lb mixed scallop/shrimp (cod)
1-1/2 tsp veg oil
1 tsp peeled, grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic minced
3/4 C finely chopped leek
3/4 C finely chopped water chestnuts
2 Tbs finely shredded carrot
1 Tbs dry sherry
1 Egg white
30 Wonton wrappers
2 Tsp cornstarch
Veg cooking spray
2 tsp veg oil
1/2 C water

Ginger Soy Sauce

1/2 cup plus
2 tbs water
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbs thinly sliced green onions
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp peeled grated ginger
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp dry sherry
Instructions: Coarsely chop seafood by hand or processor. Set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic, saute 30 secs. Add leek, sauté 3 mins til tender. Combine fish, leek mixture, water chestnuts and next three ingredients in a bowl, stir well, set aside.

Work with 1 wrapper at a time (cover rest) spoon about 2 tsp of mixture in each wrapper. Moisten edges with water bring opposing corners to centre, pinch, repeat with other corners. Place on baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch and set aside.

Coat a nonstick skillet with spray, add 2 tsp oil heat over medium. Arrange potsticker in skillet, cook 3 mins until bottoms lightly browned. Add 1/2 C water, cover and cook 1 min til bottoms are crisp. Serve with warm Ginger-soy sauce.

Sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Yield about 1 cup. Serving size about 3 tbs.

Have a great day.

Portions, Weight Watchers and Burritos

There has been a lot in the news lately about portion control. It is certainly something which isn't done very often in North America, all the fast food joints advertise bigger and better burgers and large sized cokes, etc. I must admit some of the ads one sees on TV make me feel sick there is so much stuff piled on one bun. But its not just fast food, a lot of ordinary restaurants do it too and I know at least one couple who aren't satisfied unless they can take a doggie bag home with them. Not everyone takes a doggie bag though, most of them eat what's there. Buffets are the worst, people pile their plates with food and then don't eat it all and still go back for more. They definitely consume way, way too much.

As for High Days and Holidays, the tables are groaning with food and people eat and eat and eat. Yes, I am guilty of doing this too although I don't eat as much as I did. I think age decreases one's appetite. When you think that a portion of meat or fish should be the size of a pack of cards, then think what most people consume, it is no wonder so many are obese. I hate that word, but it is the medical description of anyone really overweight, morbidly obese is even worse. Something I have never understood is how anyone can wear a bikini when they are so overweight. My one visit to the Dominican Republic shook me as there were huge women wearing bikinis, I was about a third of the size of some of them and wouldn't have dreamt of wearing a bikini. Wearing a swim suit was bad enough.

Having said all that by the way, I have now lost 13 lbs. which I am very pleased about. Mind you if I had kept off all the weight I have lost in my lifetime, I would be a Twiggy. Wasn't it Irma Bombeck who said something similar and that she could have ended up as a bracelet charm if she'd kept off all the weight. I do find using the Points Tracker on the Weight Watchers' site helps terrifically. I don't use anything else other than the weight tracker, none of the menus and so on. So often the menus contain foods I wouldn't eat anyway, or things I can eat a half of, what on earth do you do with the other half? Avocado springs to mind, Matt isn't keen on avocados and you certainly couldn't keep a half. I suppose guacamole would keep for a day, but then you have to add other things such as chips or crackers. Nope, no good.

Yesterday I gave you a dessert recipe, so only eat a small piece if you make it and are on a diet, today, how about burritos. We've had these several times and they are very good.

Chicken Burritos
Readers Digest Great Recipes
Serves: 4

1 Tbs corn or peanut oil
1 lb chicken meat cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 lge yellow onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs flour
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 C chicken broth
1 C buttermilk
4 oz chopped green chilies, drained
2 tsp tomato paste
8 6 in flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 375F. In a heavy 10 in skillet heat the oil over moderate heat for 1 min. Add meat and cook, until no longer pink (unless using precooked meat) transfer meat to a bowl. Cook onion and garlic uncovered in same pan until soft. Blend in flour, chili powder and cumin and cook sitrring constantly for about 2 mins.

Stir in chicken broth, buttermilk, chilies and tomato paste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 4 to 5 mins or until slightly thickened. Return meat and stir.

Place a scant 1/4 C of the mixture on the lower third of each tortilla and roll it up like a cigar. Place seam side down in an ungreased baking plan and drizzle any remaining filling down the center.

Bake uncovered for 5 mins.

Have a great day.