Registered dietitian Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of the new book Eat Your Way To Happiness, has some tips to share below in “10 Steps for a Carb Makeover.” The tips may help you work with your carb cravings to make better food choices.

If you like the tips, you might want to check out Eat Your Way To Happiness. In the new book, Somer presents easy recipes to add to your daily routine to help energize you, elevate your mood and slim your waistline. Learn more about Somer’s new book at EatYourWaytoHappiness.com. And enjoy the carb makeover tips!

10 Steps for a Carb Makeover
by Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., Author of Eat Your Way to Happiness

If you are a carb craver, you need to treat yourself with a little kindness. It’s not your fault you can’t keep your fingers out of the cookie jar or the bag of chips. You can’t “will away” those cravings. They are hardwired in your head.

So work with your carb cravings. Make sure each meal contains at least one whole grain. Plan a quality-carb snack at your most craving-prone time of the day (typically midafternoon or late evening). To maximize your mood and minimize your weight, you need to take this quality-carb message seriously. That means tackling the issue with a 10-step plan.

Step #1. Purge the kitchen of all white flour. Open the cupboards and toss the junk. Throw out the obvious: the white rice, the instant mashed potatoes, any cracker or cookie made with anything but 100% whole grain (you are pretty much down to Triscuits and 100% Whole Wheat Fig Newtons), all potato chips, Pop-Tarts, boxes of bread crumbs, Pasta Roni, Hamburger Helper, cans of Chef Boyardi Ravioli, Costco muffins and such. Search the freezer for French fries, hash browns, breakfast foods made from processed grains or other high-calorie/low-quality items like Marie Callender’s frozen pasta entrees or pot pies.

Definitely toss your carb triggers, junk foods that you are powerless to resist. Remember, if you have to drive to the store to get ice cream, you will be much less likely to binge.

Then read labels on the rest. If wheat flour or enriched flour is in the top three ingredients on a label, you are holding a poor-quality carb. Toss it.

Okay, okay, if this cold-turkey approach is a bit over the top, then keep two or three junk carbs and toss the rest. But beware: these items may be “trigger” foods that tempt you to indulge. Also, keep in mind that this is not so much about “giving up” as it is giving to” your health, your mood, and your belly and thighs.

Step #2. Restock the kitchen with the 100% whole grains you like, such as 100% whole-wheat bread, old-fashioned oatmeal, Kashi Autumn Wheat Cereal or GoLean Cereal, Zoom hot cereal or instant brown rice. Experiment with new grains, like barley, millet, amaranth, whole-wheat couscous or bulgur.

If you can’t imagine your spouse or kids loving whole-wheat pasta or whole-wheat tortillas, then choose the next best thing. For example, try Aunt Jemima frozen Pancakes with Whole Grains, or tortillas or pastas made from blends of whole wheat and refined wheat, such as Ronzoni or Barilla whole-wheat blend pastas.

Step #3. Switch to quality carbs in recipes. For example, if a recipe calls for

• white rice: use instant brown or wild rice, bulgur, millet or other whole grains
• flour: use at least half whole-wheat flour
• bread (such as French toast): use whole-grain bread
• potatoes: use sweet potatoes, yams, squash and/or corn

Step #4. Plan snacks and bring grains with you. When packing your lunch and snacks for the day, make sandwiches with 100% whole-grain bread, use low-fat cheeses such as Cabot Vermont 50% Reduced Fat Cheese, and include other grains like 100% whole-grain crackers or air-popped popcorn.

Step #5. Create nonfood rewards. Praise yourself with a manicure, flowers, a game of golf on Saturday or a Netflix movie. Follow the “if . . . then” rule: if you steer clear of the junk, then you get the back rub, hour of alone time or bubble bath.

Step #6. Take time. Often we grab food before we even know whether we really want it. That knee-jerk reaction gets us into trouble. Take a 10-minute pause before diving into any snack, from popcorn to leftover doughnuts.

Step #7. Identify the craving. Is it for something crunchy or chewy? Cold, sweet or creamy? Once you have pinpointed exactly what you want, then find a low-calorie food that satisfies that craving. Luckily, the better you eat, the more your cravings for fatty or overly sweet carbs will dwindle.

Step #8. Eat breakfast. As discussed in Chapter 2, eat a nutritious breakfast and you are much more likely to resist junk-food temptations throughout the day.

Step #9. Keep hunger at bay. Eat small meals and snacks evenly distributed throughout the day. This helps keep serotonin levels (and other nerve chemicals like NPY) in the normal range.

Step #10. Out of sight, out of mind. Put another way, seeing is craving. Watch out for temptations at the mall, restaurants and friends’ houses. It is easy to overdo carbs when most of the ones offered to you are the low-quality ones. For example, studies at the University of Illinois found that people ate 45% more calories when there was a bread basket placed on the table in restaurants than when the waiter came by and offered them a slice from a basket. Ask that the tortilla chips be removed when dining at a Mexican restaurant and you will save yourself 300 unnecessary calories. Avoid the coffee shop with the display of muffins, scones and croissants.

10 Steps for a Carb Makeover: Copyright © 2009 Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of Eat Your Way to Happiness

Author Bio
Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of Eat Your Way to Happiness, is a registered dietitian and author of several books, including 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman’s Diet, Food & Mood and Age-Proof Your Body. She is a member of the editorial advisory board of Shape magazine and editor in chief of Nutrition Alert, a newsletter that summarizes the current research from more than 6,000 journals. She appears frequently on NBC’s “Today” and other national television shows.

(Cover Image: Harlequin; daisies via stock.xchng)

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10 Steps for a Carb Makeover

My favorite way to eat popcorn is with a combination of popcorn salt (it’s a smaller granule than traditional, so it sticks better) and brewers yeast. I spray the popped corn with cooking spray and that helps the salt and brewers yeast to stick.

Another of my specialities is caramel corn, but I only make it a few times a year. It’s so sweet that  a little bit goes a long way. Click here for popcorn recipes including Italian Cheese, Spicy Popcorn Southwest Style, Garlic Cheese, and Popcorn Balls.

If you are looking for a cheaper, healthier way to make Microwave popcorn, then try the recipe below. It uses no oil. A cup of air-popped corn is about 31 calories. Oil-popped is a bit more at 55. Did you know that it’s believed that popcorn originated in Mexico and was introduced to the colonists at the first Thanksgving feast?  They ate it with milk and sugar, like cereal.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

*1 brown paper lunch-size bag
*1/3 cup popcorn kernels

1. Pour the corn into the bag, then fold it down about 3 times – small, tight folds.
2. Set your microwave for 4 minutes at high.
3. Listen carefully and when the popping slows to about 5 seconds between pops, remove from oven.
4. Open immediately, keeping the bag pointed away from your face.

Image credit: Sxc.hu

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National Popcorn Poppin’ Month

When you’re in the mood for pizza, but don’t have time to make the crust from scratch a pita makes a great alternative individual pizza crust. This recipe from Daisy Cottage Cheese

I have some fresh ripe Roma tomatoes in my garden right now, I bet they’ll be wonderful on these pizza pitas.

I think these mini pizzas would make a fun lunch, or easy after school snack. They don’t take long to make. Use whole grain pitas for the crust, to make this recipe even healthier.

Pizza Pita Snackers

* Prep Time: 5 Minutes
* Time To Table: 5 Minutes
* Serves: 2

• 2 pita bread
• 2 tablespoons basil pesto
• 1 cup Daisy Brand 2% Cottage Cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped Roma tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese *optional

How to make it:

1. Toast pita bread until crispy and firm, about 1 minute in a toaster oven.
2. Spread pesto on each pita bread, lightly covering entire surface.
3. Spread cottage cheese evenly over each pita.
4. Top with chopped tomato and fresh basil.
5. If desired, sprinkle each pita with Parmesan and a garlic bread seasoning.
6. Slice each pita into 4 wedges and serve immediately.

Courtesy of Daisy Cottage Cheese

Post from: Blisstree

Easy Pizza Pita

Rachel just shared her recipe for a  banana breakfast or dessert. She called it Crunchy Monkeys. It’s simply  a half banana with a stick stuck in it, spread with a peanut butter and honey mixture that is then sprinkled with granola.

It sounds good, but it got me thinking…. granola is a little hard for little ones and their baby teeth. Couldn’t you do the same thing with another type of cereal?  How about Rice Crispies or Honey Nut Cheerios? 

Another idea – how about yogurt?  Skip the peanut butter and spread the banana with your favorite flavor of yogurt, then sprinkle with the cereal of your choice. This could even work as a breakfast on the go. School-age child running late?  Hand your kid a banana on a stick as they hurry out the door.

If you do send your child with breakfast on the go, then I suggest you pack a to-go toothbrush in their backpack, so they can brush at school. I’m a bit of a stickler for dental hygeine. Everyone teases me about it, but I don’t care as I’ve got healthy teeth to show for it.

Image credit: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Breakfast On the Go: Banana Treats

I’ve tweaked a bunch of different recipes to come up with this one. Check it out:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1/3 t. curry powder
• 5 carrots (small to medium), chopped
• 2 1/2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 c. chicken broth
• juice of half of a lemon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper

Heat the oil and cook the veggies and curry together until tender. Turn the pot up to high and add the broth. In the meantime, take the veggies out of the pot and put them in a blender. Pulse them until they are puréed. Then put them back into the pot, which should by now be boiling with broth. Turn the heat down and add lemon, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Curried Carrot Soup

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Best budget easy family meals from Delish!

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (you can adjust this to what you have – I’ve used as little as a pound)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. oatmeal
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

Mix together and place in a 13×9 baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350.

Then add:

1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. frozen peas
1 bag frozen tator tots

Bake the whole thing for one hour.

You can adjust the peas and tator tots as well. The tots ideally should cover the top of the ingredients, but if you don’t have that many, just use what you have. This is one dish that is very flexible and good for left over ingredients.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Tator Tot Casserole

In a two-quart baking dish, place:

4 cups potatoes (sliced very thin)
1 T. minced garlic
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. dried parsley

Then, mix the following:

1 pound ground beef
2 cups bread crumbs or ground up soda crackers
1/4 c. onion, diced
3/4 c. evaporated milk
1/4 c. ketchup
1 t. salt

Spread the mix over the potatoes, and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

This is a great recipe to “stretch” your dollars. And who doesn’t need to do that these days! It’s also a good way to use ground beef that’s slightly different than meatloaf.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Beef and Potato Loaf

More than that, however, since this is a cookbook for kids, I asked you what was the thing you first learned to cook as a kid. My first food item was French toast, and it looks like I wasn’t alone. French toast was a popular answer, as were brownies and cookies. (Looks like baking is a popular thing to do with our kids.)

Mac ‘n cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches also ranked as a popular “first food” items. A few of you learned to make recipes passed down from family member to family member, like corn bread or pancakes. Others, (sadly) said their parents never let them cook when they were a kid! What a shame.
I think what we’ve learned is that cooking with our kids is a great way to bond with them, and it also encourages them to eat what’s on their plate. They will be more inclined to eat something they helped prepare.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Winner of Kitchen Basics

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Would you like some Asian-style halibut?