There has been so may 'fad' diets, like Atkins, cabbage soup, South Beach, etc...
And many work, especially weight watchers BUT, many of these diets are not sustainable as too few calories are consumed. The body will slow the metabolism while in this 'starvation mode' and will store the calories as fat once a person goes off the diet and people will typically regain (and more) the weight they lost.
I am not a nutritionist but I have worked with nutritionists for over 20 years and am forced to learn a bit of their wisdom (through osmosis!). Atkins diet basically eliminates carbs, although they have a system called 'net carbs'. Net carbs is basically the total carbs minus the amount of fibre. So if an apple has 21 carbs and 2.6 grams of fibre, the net carbs would be 21-2.6= 18.4 net carbs. The problem with Atkins is it forces a person to increase their fat intake.
Recommendations are not consistent but roughly many agree on the following:
approx. 20% of your calories should come from fat.
approx. 15% of your calories should come from protein.
approx. 65% of your calories should come from carbs.
In the 20% fat total, only 7% of your total calories should come from saturated fat.
So, based on a 2,000/day calorie intake: 7% of saturated fat would be 140 calories divided by 9= 15 grams of saturated fat.
There are 9 calories per gram of fat. The other recommendation is to have 30-50 grams of fibre a day. Most people on an Atkins diet would be getting less than 10. The secret to weight control is not to 'diet' but rather to establish a 'healthy lifestyle' with plenty of fresh veggies, fruit. Low levels of saturated fats, zero levels of trans fats. Low sodium and high fibre and close to 2 litres of water a day. Avoid processed foods, especially fast food and processed meats, like sausages and bacon. These foods are very high in sodium and nitrates. Vegetarians need slightly more protein in their diets than non-vegetarians:
non-vegetarians need approx. .4 grams per lb of body weight.
vegetarians need about .5 grams per lb. of body weight.
Buy low fat milk, cheese. Buy whole grains. Buy deep green and deep orange veggies. Buy deep orange fruits and dark blue/purple fruits, like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cranberries. Avoid 'fizzy' drinks. Avoid deep fried foods.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Tomatoes!
After years of admiring my Father's tomatoes (I hope that doesn't sound too weird!), I decided to double our area for growing the prized, and expensive vegetable. I collected tomato seeds and bought a number of varieties from our local 'Seedy Saturday' event. The name can falsely mislead the uninititiated, believing 'Seedy Saturday' is a rather decrepit affair, and to be avoided. But nothing could be further from the truth! Our 'Event' attracts over 70, primarily organic, suppliers of seeds. Some suppliers only sell seeds for growing vegetables, while others have various grains, flower seeds and even mushroom cultures & mason bees. This year, armed with over $100 of seeds, I began to plan our garden.
In March, I began to place my tomato seeds into little peat containers with rich, sterilized potting soil. After a few weeks, a spindley little tomato sprout begin to emerge. It is important to keep the little guys in a warm area (60-70 f), with plenty of light and never let the soil dry out. After close to 2 months of babying we had about 36 little tomato plants to place outdoors, during the day. At night we bring them back inside, into the comfort of our home. This process is called 'hardening off', which basically 'hardens' them to the real world, outside-- aclimatizing them. Depending on your zone, planting of the tomatoes, after a week of 'hardening off', can begin in the beginning of May until late June. Most people in zone 6-8 wait until May 24th weekend, as asudden cold spell will either kill the sensitive plants, or stunt them. A stunted tomato plant is not a pretty sight!
Tomatoes love sun! But they don't like their leaves to get wet, so we try to construct a plastic roof over them during the spring or late summer/fall. Some varieties are called 'indescriminate' which means they grow....indescriminately! These are the sprawling kind which needs plenty of room, at least 6 feet to its nearest neighbour. Tomato plants, that are not 'indescriminate' need less space, but still need to be at least 3 feet away. This is a very difficult lesson as when the little plants are only around 8" tall, it is very easy to place the plants too close. If the plants are too close than disease can be transmitted between themselves, as touching leaves collect moisture, creating a nice environment for the various tomato diseases. (The other important task is removing 'suckers' from the crooks of the stems. These will grow tomatoes but they tend to weaken the overall plant.)
By July, we were beginning to think that we planted our tomatoes too late as we had few tomatoes and even fewer flowers, and wondered if would get much produce. Were we ever wrong...
Well, we grew bushels of tomatoes. We had tomato salads, greek salads with tomatoes, tomatoes off the vine; we had so many tomatoes that I began to roast them and make sauce. 375 degree (f) for 1 hour or so. I rubbed the tomatoes, first, with olive oil and added whole garlics covered in olive oil for the last 20 minutes. I then simmered the tomatoes, garlic and carmelized onions for 1 hour or so, removing the tomato skins. I then froze the sauce in tupperware containers or ziplock bags. I made one mistake though; I forgot to label everything. I know, you're thinking "why label tomato sauce". This is a good question but I forgot to mention that I made other recipes with the tomato sauce. The other day I was de-thawing a ratatouille (tomato sauce with garlic, roasted eggplant & red peppers), or at least I thought I was de-thawing ratatouille. It turns out it was curried shrimp with tomato sauce. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem but I was planning to use up the goat cheese.
It is late January and we still have over 50 pounds of frozen tomato sauce or tomato-based sauces in our freezer. My wife has begun to take tums...
In March, I began to place my tomato seeds into little peat containers with rich, sterilized potting soil. After a few weeks, a spindley little tomato sprout begin to emerge. It is important to keep the little guys in a warm area (60-70 f), with plenty of light and never let the soil dry out. After close to 2 months of babying we had about 36 little tomato plants to place outdoors, during the day. At night we bring them back inside, into the comfort of our home. This process is called 'hardening off', which basically 'hardens' them to the real world, outside-- aclimatizing them. Depending on your zone, planting of the tomatoes, after a week of 'hardening off', can begin in the beginning of May until late June. Most people in zone 6-8 wait until May 24th weekend, as asudden cold spell will either kill the sensitive plants, or stunt them. A stunted tomato plant is not a pretty sight!
Tomatoes love sun! But they don't like their leaves to get wet, so we try to construct a plastic roof over them during the spring or late summer/fall. Some varieties are called 'indescriminate' which means they grow....indescriminately! These are the sprawling kind which needs plenty of room, at least 6 feet to its nearest neighbour. Tomato plants, that are not 'indescriminate' need less space, but still need to be at least 3 feet away. This is a very difficult lesson as when the little plants are only around 8" tall, it is very easy to place the plants too close. If the plants are too close than disease can be transmitted between themselves, as touching leaves collect moisture, creating a nice environment for the various tomato diseases. (The other important task is removing 'suckers' from the crooks of the stems. These will grow tomatoes but they tend to weaken the overall plant.)
By July, we were beginning to think that we planted our tomatoes too late as we had few tomatoes and even fewer flowers, and wondered if would get much produce. Were we ever wrong...
Well, we grew bushels of tomatoes. We had tomato salads, greek salads with tomatoes, tomatoes off the vine; we had so many tomatoes that I began to roast them and make sauce. 375 degree (f) for 1 hour or so. I rubbed the tomatoes, first, with olive oil and added whole garlics covered in olive oil for the last 20 minutes. I then simmered the tomatoes, garlic and carmelized onions for 1 hour or so, removing the tomato skins. I then froze the sauce in tupperware containers or ziplock bags. I made one mistake though; I forgot to label everything. I know, you're thinking "why label tomato sauce". This is a good question but I forgot to mention that I made other recipes with the tomato sauce. The other day I was de-thawing a ratatouille (tomato sauce with garlic, roasted eggplant & red peppers), or at least I thought I was de-thawing ratatouille. It turns out it was curried shrimp with tomato sauce. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem but I was planning to use up the goat cheese.
It is late January and we still have over 50 pounds of frozen tomato sauce or tomato-based sauces in our freezer. My wife has begun to take tums...
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