Diet Meal Plans Q & A

Kelly Limpert asked:


Do you love chili? Did you think you had to give up this old favorite because you would switch to a low calorie or vegetarian diet? Well, I will introduce you two vegetarian chili recipes. With them, you can enjoy healthier versions of one of your favorite dishes.

Of the two recipes, one is for the average palate, and the other is for those who like something spicier.

* Easy Vegetarian Chili

Here is a simple, easy to prepare chili recipe. For this recipe, you will need:

- 1/2 onion, diced

- 1 bell pepper, diced

- 3 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 teaspoons olive oil

- 1 can of diced tomatoes

- 3 tablespoons vegetable broth

- 2 tablespoons chili powder

- 1 can of pinto or black beans, drained

- 1 can of kidney beans, drained

1. Add the olive oil to a large soup pot. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper to the pot, and saute for about 4 or 5 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth and chili powder to the pot. Stir the mixture together.

3. With the heat set to medium-low, add the black beans and kidney beans to the mixture.

4. Cook the chili for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you have the time, reduce the heat and let the chili simmer for a while. The longer the cooking time, the more enhanced the flavor will be.

* Hot and Spicy Vegetarian Chili

Do you like your chili hot and spicy? If so, this recipe is for you.

For this recipe, you will need:

- 1 onion, diced

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes

- 4 tablespoons of chili powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

- 1 teaspoon each of cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt

- 1 1/2 cups of hot salsa

- 1 cup of water

- 3 cans of kidney beans

1. In a large soup pot, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for about 4 or 5 minutes.

2. To the pot, add your tomatoes, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, red pepper, salt, hot salsa and water. Give the mixture a stir, and then let it simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the bean to the pot, then let the chili simmer for another 30 minutes. After that, it’s ready to serve.

If you are a chili fan and a vegetarian the same time, you can give these two vegetarian chili recipes a try. You may find that you do not have to give up your favorite dish to stick to your healthy diet.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Pauline K asked:


Warning! You may be eating sugar without even knowing it! Want to know more? In this article, I will tell you whether all those items that are promoted as being ’sugar-free’ are really sugar-free or not!

Look the nutrition information printed on the side of the food packages you purchase. If there is an ingredient which ends in ” ose”, then be careful – the food may contain sugar! For example, table sugar is known as sucrose. Other types of sugars include dextrose, fructose, lactose, glucose and maltose. Sugars whose names end in “ose” have a lot of carbs in them. If you consume just one gram of any of these sugars you have consumed one gram of carbs.

Beware of the products which hype themselves as being sugar-free or sucrose-free. Mostly, jams and jellies are promoted as sugar-free. The truth is that these jams may be made up of concentrated grape or apple juice, which are made up of fructose syrups, and contain a high amount of carbohydrates!

I would like to point out an exception. While most sugars end in “ose”, there is one sugar which end in “ose” and is still sugar-free. Can you guess its name? It is called sucralose- it is made up of the sucrose sugar, but don’t worry- it’s free from carbohydrates!

Now, I will give you a short description of each type of sugar and in which foods they are most commonly found. This will help you become extra-cautious when buying food packages. Remember, sugar is not good for your health, whether you are overweight or not!

1. Fructose: People generally recommend non-diabetic people to eat fructose because they claim that it is less harmful than the sucrose, or table sugar. The argument behind this is that insulin isn’t needed to control the level of fructose in blood. Nothing can be further from the truth. It’s true that insulin isn’t required to control fructose, but it contains a high amount of carbohydrates nonetheless. Also it is rather bad news that fructose doesn’t need insulin – since there is no insulin to check the level of fructose, it rapidly absorbs itself in our liver and produces glycerol, which ultimately leads to increased triglycerides and cholesterol levels. Fructose is present in both natural and artificial products. In case of natural fruits, fructose exists only in small quantities, because fiber occupies a large percentage of fruits. Therefore eating fruits that contain fructose is not harmful. However, artificial foods such as fruit drinks, soft, iced teas, baby foods, jams and jellies, candies, desserts and baked goods contain fructose in a processed and concentrated form, and therefore these foods are rich in carbohydrates!

In the second part of this article, I will tell you about other types of “hidden sugars” that you must avoid. To access the second part of this article, simply click on the link in my resource box below!

Fit Yummy Mummy!

John Wellington asked:


When I was a freshman in college my father had a heart attack. This was in the late 1970’s and bi-pass surgery was a new procedure. The only place in our area that you could have the procedure performed was at the University hospital. This is a teaching hospital and so there are many innovative procedures that are preformed there. The hospital receives patients from

all over the United States so there was a four month waiting list prior to dad’s surgery. He was sent home with medication and a restricted diet. Suddenly my mother was looking for healthy recipes to cook. This was a great change for her because she used a great deal of butter and salt in her cooking, and they ate out in restaurants a great deal. Neither one of my parents had ever given a thought about healthy recipes and fat or salt content in their foods.

The heart attack really frightened my mother. She was determined that dad would regain his strength and be healthier. She became a fanatic at making sure everything she served him was made from healthy recipes. At that time there was not the number of fat alternatives that there are today. The alternatives that were on the market were poor tasting and poor quality.

My older sister tried to tell my mother that she did not need to try elaborate healthy recipes, but instead broil chicken and fish and serve fresh vegetables. The most difficult thing for dad was giving up chocolate as well as the rich desserts that mom made. She made pound cakes that melted in your mouth. She would make several at a time and freeze them. When ever she needed a dessert she would thaw one of the cakes and serve large pieces with fresh whipped cream and chocolate sauce. We teased my dad that it was probably a piece of mom’s pound cake that clogged his artery.

During the four months of waiting for the surgery my parents gradually became accustom to their new life style. Mom did find some healthy recipes that tasted quite good. She learned to cook simpler meals and they both learned to make wiser choices when eating out in restaurants. Dad had his surgery and needed to stay in the hospital for a month due to complications. After his hospital stay he had several weeks in a rehab hospital closer to

home. Once he returned home he was able to resume most activities that he did prior to his heart attack. As the years went by

mom found that it was easier to create tasty healthy recipes with the improvement of reduced fat products.

Fit Yummy Mummy!

Jack Prime asked:


The dietary habits adopted by developed countries over the last centuries are largely responsible for many of the chronic diseases that are now commonplace in Western society.

Diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer of the colon are virtually unheard of among the few hunter-gatherer populations still remaining in the world.

The stone age diet is based on the foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have eaten before they became farmers.

Even over the last fifty years, our food has drastically changed. Where once our food was made up of simple, natural foods with minimal added ingredients, our food now contains a multitude of different ingredients.

Often it can be hard to even find modern-day food that does not contain some form of milk or wheat, which are common triggers in food allergies, and this leads to people eating the same ingredients every day and often at every single meal.

The stone age diet is nutritionally balanced and a very low allergen diet ideal for people who suffer from food allergies or food related ailments.

The foods you can eat on the stone age diet should be from natural sources and include items such as fruit (except citrus), fresh fruit juices (except citrus), all game and fish, free-range eggs, all vegetables, fresh vegetable juices, fresh nuts (except peanuts), herb teas, natural seasonings (salt, black pepper, herbs) and bottled or filtered water.

The foods you must avoid on the stone age diet are milk in all forms, milk products, cereals and their related products, any form of sugar, domesticated animal meat (meat from pigs, cows, sheep etc.), chicken, eggs (unless free-range), citrus fruit, alcohol, coffee, tea and all manufactured foods such as canned, packaged, bottled foods and ready-meals, processed meat or fish, chocolate and cocoa products, spices and tap water.

The above list may seem restrictive but you will find your health and well-being dramatically improves just be removing the foods to avoid from your diet.

There are also some exceptions which you are allowed to eat on the stone age diet which do fit in with our modern lives and dietary practices. Live low-fat yoghurt in moderation is a good addition to the diet and some grains which are well tolerated, even by those with a food allergy, are rice and millet.

If alcohol needs to be consumed (perhaps you’re at a wedding or celebration) then a small amount of dry white wine or real ale can be taken.

The stone age diet is based on natural, nutritionally rich foods and following the dietary habits it provides will ensure you reap the benefits and achieve a strong, fit and healthy body.

Fit Yummy Mummy!