Good Thursday Morning Movers and Losers!
Just a quick pop up for the thread and a note of appreciation for our thread of diversity. Neat things happen here, and I say THANKS!
CatLover: I slept for 3 days until I felt 'back to normal' this week! Sad but true. Mother Nature has a way of letting us know our limits. I hope you are able to get your rest soon. I feel SO much better. I've gone from needing 5 hours to 8 or 9 hours of sleep. Just the facts. I have to plan for it, and it is a real challenge to work it in.
OneDay: Thanks for the heads up on the trolley set ups. I'll check them out, and now I know where to look. I'm glad it was not just me, I wondered how long the biggest losers were moving it daily. I have a feeling it is an incredible amount of time. Again, is losing 8 to 10 pounds a week healthy? I don't think it is, and I am suprised a nationally syndicated show would promote this 'quick weight loss'. I just hope these losers safe healthy and are free of problems.
Here are some tips on shopping for ingredients as we attempt to prepare nutrient dense taste delights!
Buying better quality brands can be more expensive, but since you're using such small quantities, it's well worth it.
Parmesan cheese. Don't use canned, pre-grated Parmesan – it's nothing but oil and fillers. Instead, buy a small block of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a skim milk cheese from the Parma region of Italy. You can tell it's the real thing by the name stamped on the rind. Shave it with a vegetable peeler, or grate it with a microplane grater, available at cooking stores. Taste a bit of each cheese on its own and you'll be converted.
Fresh Produce. Use fresh fruits and vegetables, rather than frozen or canned conveniences. Sure, it's easier to buy pre-chopped, bagged, frozen onions, but your casserole will taste better if you dice a fresh one. Blueberries, cherries, carrots, broccoli — they're all better fresh. And that goes double for herbs. Buy fresh whenever possible. Double the amount of fresh to substitute for dried.
Seafood. Buy fish or shellfish at the fish counter. Avoid prepackaged, frozen, or canned fish (with the exception of tuna fish). Ask your fishmonger if you can smell before you buy. It should smell fresh, like the ocean on a spring morning — never like the tidal flats on an August afternoon. If you're buying a whole fish, the eyes should be clear, not cloudy, and the fish should have tightly closed, shiny scales.
Cold Cuts. Shop for deli meats at the deli counter. Use sliced fresh turkey breast or roast beef for your sandwiches, not prepackaged versions stuffed with salt and preservatives.
Pasta. Go for imported dried pastas like those made by De Cecco — they have a wheaty, bread-like taste and stay al dente better than most other brands. Or buy high-end American brands, like Hodgson Mill: Try their whole-wheat fettuccine. And while you're at it, don't put tasteless tomatoes on good pasta. If the fresh ones you have aren't quite ripe (or they've been refrigerated, which diminishes flavor and texture), use canned Italian tomatoes instead. (Make sure the label says "packed in Italy.")
Olive Oil. Olive oil should taste like, well, olives. There are plenty of good extra-virgin brands available in the grocery store, such as Colavita or Filippo Berio. Or go for one of the luscious new high-end bottlings from places like O & Co.
Vinegars. Use balsamic vinegar when you can – it's light and fruity. Look for Colavita Aged Balsamic, or indulge in a boutique bottling of syrupy balsamic to drizzle over salads or steamed vegetables.
Rice. Life's too short for tasteless rice. Rice Select makes many types that are robust in flavor: Texmati (toothy and mild), Kasmati (slightly fragrant), and Jasmati (almost floral). Try various types and find a few you like.
Honey. Honey should taste like flowers. Buy types from specific flowers or trees, like orange blossom, acacia, star thistle or even pine tree. Read the labels — many "blueberry" honeys, for example, are made with artificial flavoring.
Chocolate. Chocolate is never just chocolate. Some brands are cut with shortening. If you're going to splurge on chocolate, don't you want the very best? For baking, use Scharffen Berger, available in the baking aisle; or Lindt bars, often in the candy aisle.
Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are the authors of The Ultimate Potato Book (William Morrow, 2003).
Groceries are super expensive now, and it is important to make the best choices so we don't have to throw anything out. I hope this helps you, I thought it was really good.
I thought I would mention, after I read the article on the 3FChick that lost the 87 pounds using our site, and at the end I noticed the article was 'sponsored by ediets' I received no less than 10 emails from them! Just from reading the article, I did not reply or inquire about anything. Wild, huh?