CUT CALORIES BY CHOOSING HEALTHIER DRINKS
When you’re trying to lose weight, selecting your drinks more carefully can help you take off extra pounds.
Although obesity research has revealed that numerous factors, including genetics and hormone levels affect weight, cutting the number of calories consumed is still the most recommended method to lose weight. Depending on the beverages you usually drink, you can cut up to 25 percent or more of your daily calories simply by choosing different drinks.
Soft drinks, as well as sweetened teas, gourmet coffees, juice drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks are common culprits with a high price tag that ranges from 100 to 400 calories, depending on the size. You may think that 100% fruit juice is a good choice, since it doesn’t contain added sugar and is made from fruits. However, juices are concentrated sources of natural sugars found in fruits, providing 85 to 180 calories in an 8-ounce glass of juice (white grapefruit and cranberry juice are lowest and prune and grape juice are highest). The calorie content of alcohol varies with the size and choice of drinks, but has a range for most “standard” size drinks (a 12-ounce beer, 5-ounce glass of wine or 1.5-ounce shot of liquor) is between 100 to 150 calories).
If you include one or more high-calorie drinks in your daily diet, substituting healthier choices can bring down your calorie count.
The healthiest option is water: It’s calorie-free and helps keep your body hydrated. Unsweetened coffee and tea are good options and both are linked with some health benefits. If you’re already a coffee or tea drinker but you add sugar (15 calories per teaspoon ) or half-and-half (18 calories per tablespoon), gradually cut back.
If you drink more than 4-ounces of juice per day, dilute the juice with plain water or club soda. For soda drinkers, try switching to diet soda, stevia-sweetened soda or flavored seltzer water. If you drink whole milk switch to low-factor skim milk and go from147 calories (whole) to 102 calories (low-fat) or 91 calories (skim) per 8-ounce glass.
Several companies now offer liquid flavorings; with a few squirts, you can turn plain water into strawberry kiwi or mango-peach. Exercise caution with these products: They may only have 0 to 10 calories, but many contain additives and preservatives. Also, if you use flavorings, add just enough to give the water a “fruity” taste: Sugar substitutes, including sucralose, stevia and monk fruit are 200 to 600 times sweeter than sugar, and they can train your taste buds to crave even sweeter substances.
Keep in mind that the fewer calories you drink, the more calories you can eat and eating solid food registers with your brain’s hunger control center in a way that beverages do not.
Source: Weill Cornell Women’s Nutrition Connection, May 2017.
REGARDING TWO-INGREDIENT AMAZING CHICKEN
From personal experience my recommendation is to make the recipe when you have 6 people to eat it because no matter how I tried, it wasn’t moist when reheated.
LOCAL ASPARAGUS SEASON IS HERE!
My patch is yielding more than I can use and what you buy in the supermarket is likely to be USA grown. Asparagus Cheese Pie does take a lot to make because you need 3 cups of finely chopped to do the recipe.
ASPARAGUS CHEESE PIE
3 cups finely chopped asparagus
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar Our Family cheese
1 cup Our Family light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
9-inch unbaked pie shell
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine asparagus, cheese, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Spoon mixture into the prepared crust. Bake 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces. Serve at room temperature.
FROM WHERE DOES PORTERHOUSE STEAK DERIVE ITS NAME?
Porterhouse steak is a cut of beef loin adjacent to the sirloin, which is more succulent but has a lot of waste. In England, no distinction is made between porterhouse and sirloin. An American named Martin Morrison gave porterhouse steak its name. In 1814he ran a New York City tavern called Martin Morrison’s Porterhouse, which specialized in this cut of beef.
A porterhouse was a tavern that served dark beer and ale, called porter supposedly because it was a favorite drink of porters and laborers. Ironically, these blue collar workers could seldom afford to eat a porterhouse steak.
Source: The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees.