"The Skinny"
on Weight Loss!

April 2009

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A typical vegetarian consumes 500 calories less each day while eating more food!

• Vow to go vegetarian at least twice each week. Evidence indicates that a vegetarian diet causes calories to burn long after meals, which means that foods from plants are being used as fuel instead of being stored as fat.

• As with any diet, success is all about portion control! Generally, each day vegetarians should have 5-8 servings of grains, 3-5 servings of vegetables, 2-4 servings of fruits, 2-3 servings of dairy products, and 5-7 ounces total of beans, nuts, eggs, etc.

• Keeping a food and exercise journal may actually double the number of pounds that a dieter loses according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. If writing down every calorie you eat is too labor-intensive, don't despair! Recording your food and the approximate amounts is just as effective as long as you record everything you eat. It's no surprise that those tastes and bites add up! For a convenient way to record this information, see our Easy Weight Loss Tips' 30-Day Food & Exercise Log!

Meet Sassy at VeganCoach.com

"Discover the secret to balanced vegan nutrition and easy vegan cooking with AND without recipes. Includes vegan food selection and cleaning tips, cooking techniques, and "Vegan Flavor Matches" that make vegan cooking a breeze. Plus helpful everyday vegan nutrition advice."

In an effort to save money and calories, more and more people are attempting to find their inner-farmer!

For people of a certain age, it may bring back memories of victory gardens. In 1943, Eleanor Roosevelt planted a kitchen garden on the lawn of the White House and inspired 20 million Americans to do the same!

A 30 feet by 30 feet plot can provide enough vegetables to feed at least one person for a whole year! If you don’t want to give up a piece of your lawn or if you don’t own outdoor living space, consider growing vegetables in pots. One tomato plant, for instance, can yield ten pounds of tomatoes!

The best investment you can make in your kitchen garden is good soil. It should be the consistency of crumbly chocolate cake. Using a compost pile of dried leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable scraps can create the best soil. That takes time though, so you may want to purchase organic fertilizer, manure, and a bag of lime, which you will need to till together with your existing soil.

Easy vegetables to grow include beets, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce, scallions, lettuce, Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, basil, parsley, and Alpine strawberries. You can literally save $500 a year in produce by growing your own, on a small scale! What could be healthier than produce you grow yourself?

Editor's Note:

There are three main types of vegetarians. “Vegans” eat no animal products at all. Vegan diets consist mainly of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds, and nuts. “Lacto-vegetarians” add dairy products to their diets and “lacto-ovo” vegetarians include both dairy products and eggs.

“Rachel Ray’s Veg-Head Three Bean Chili”
(submitted by Sheila)
(12 servings)

2 T. olive or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large each red and green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 cup pale beer or vegetable stock or broth
1 (32 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz.) can each black beans and dark red kidney beans
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cayenne pepper hot sauce (or less, to taste)
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 cup spicy vegetarian refried beans

Toppings:

Shredded spicy Monterey jack or smoked cheddar cheese
Chopped scallions, whites and greens
Diced fresh seeded plum tomatoes
Blue and red corn tortilla chips or black-bean tortilla chips, for dipping

1.Set deep pot over moderate heart, add oil, then add onion, peppers and garlic. Sauté 3-5 minutes.

2.Deglaze pan with beer or broth. Add tomatoes, black beans and red kidney beans; stir to combine. Season chili with cumin, chili powder, hot sauce and salt. Thicken chili by stirring in refried beans. Simmer over low heat 5-10 minutes longer.

3.Serve in bowls, topped with shredded cheese, scallions and tomatoes, with tortilla chips on the side.

Calories: 134 per serving

Editor's Note: One of the easiest and most delicious ways to consume plenty of vegetables is to roast them in the oven. I cut squash, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and anything else that appeals to me into bite-sized chunks. After putting them together in a large bowl or baggie, I add about a tablespoon of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and toss together. I spread this in a single layer on a large, foil-lined, cookie sheet sprayed with Pam, and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. I often make a large batch on Sunday and enjoy it all week long! You can't get much easier or healthier than that!

Vegetarian Weight Loss: Quick and Easy Tips to Guarantee Success!

Sheila's Story

Sheila on one of her many trips to Ireland!

Sheila's story in her own words:
“I became a vegetarian about eight years ago. When my husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the year 2000, we chose to do everything we possibly could to keep his immune system as strong as possible. After two consultations and a two-week cooking school in Massachusetts, we learned to cook and eat a macrobiotic diet.

To this day, I still believe that when done correctly, it is the healthiest way to eat. Without question, it did keep our immune systems strong. The downside is that it is impossible to eat anywhere but at home where the food is prepared and it is very time-consuming. We had many macrobiotic dinner parties at home during that time! We remained faithful to it until the end of my husband’s life and I did so for several months beyond.

Because dining with friends and eating in restaurants is such a part of our American culture and definitely a part of my circle of friends, I began feeling pretty left out of circulation because I couldn’t eat in any public place in this area and maintain my macrobiotic diet. I could not deny the fact, however, that my body responded well to the vegetarian way of eating so I have continued to do so for the last several years. I eat whole grains and fresh vegetables, pasta and fruit. I also occasionally eat some kinds of fish.

I have found many benefits to not eating meat. I feel “lighter”, my skin is smoother, and my digestive tract is more settled. I just feel better most of the time. My energy level is strong.

If you are interested in a vegetarian lifestyle, I recommend trying it for a couple of weeks to see how you feel. Listen to your body and see if you feel more energized! Good luck!”

Sheila hiking in Colorado!

Thank you, Sheila! Your story is inspirational!
I would love to include a "Subscriber's Success Story" each month. If you would like to be featured here or if you know someone who would, please reply to this email or use my contact page. Pictures aren't imperative, but they sure are inspiring!

• Did you know if Americans reduced their meat consumption by only 10 percent, it would free 12 million tons of grain annually for human consumption? That alone would be enough to adequately feed each of the 60 million people who starve to death each year.

• Did you know famous vegetarians include Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Socrates, Plato, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Drew Barrymore, Paul McCartney, Chelsea Clinton, Lisa Simpson, Hank Aaron, Bryan Adams, Alicia Silverstone, Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein?

Thank you for subscribing, and I hope you enjoyed the all-vegetarian issue of "The Skinny" on Weight Loss! Stay tuned next month when our May issue will focus on Summer Weight Loss!

Remember, if you have comments, ideas for future issues, or any kind of feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to this e-zine and tell me what you think! You can also reach me through my contact page.

For comprehensive information about weight loss and wellness, please visit, Easy Weight Loss Tips!