Tired of Salad? Kick it up a notch with Bok Choy!

posted on April 25th, 2012 under Uncategorized

What’s Bok Choy?

Bok Choy is a species of Chinese Cabbage, specifically Chinensis. It’s also known as Pak Choy. While related to Napa Cabbage it doesn’t have a cabbage-like taste to it but has more of a spicy flavor with thicker leaves and stems. Bok Choy looks more like celery, with long leaves, rather than a lettuce head. It’s a good source of Vitamins A and C, Beta Carotene and Calcium.

How to use it

Bok Choy can be chopped in salads, used in stir fries, braised, roasted or added to soups during the last few minutes of cooking.

Recipe as salad

I recently made this Bok Choy Salad with Asian Dressing to accompany pork roast. It was a delicious pairing and the leftover salad was served next to chicken thighs for dinner the second night. Another great duo!

Here’s how I made it, adapted from a recipe I found on aveggieventure.com.

BOK CHOY SALAD WITH ASIAN DRESSING

DRESSING

• 2 tablespoons garlic/ginger stir fry paste (in the jar, usually found in the vegetable section)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Juice of a lemon
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (a little goes a long way)

Whisk ingredients together.

BOK CHOY

• 1 lb Bok Choy

Take off the bottom of the stems, rinse the leaves well. Chop the Bok Choy (I used my recently inherited food processor). Toss with the salad dressing. Enjoy!

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Per Serving: 69 Calories, 2.5g Protein, 8g Carbs 1.5g Fiber

Going Crackers!

posted on April 9th, 2012 under Recipes

Sometimes I just want a cracker. A crunchy, salty something for cheese or meat to sit on. No amount of sliced veg or celery will do. So I turned to my favorite source of unending information, the internet, and found some recipes for crackers.

The first one was a bust. It sounded right, with sunflower and sesame seeds. I processed the sunflower seeds into flour, added the sesame seeds and some water, and rolled it out flat. I cooked it in the oven and they indeed seemed crackeresque, but the taste was unimpressive and they tended to break easily.

Next up, flax seed and parmesan crackers. This recipe had potential and the reviews were mostly 4 star and above. Mine turned out a bit thicker than I’d have liked but I can work with that. I made a double batch that included 2 cups of flax seed meal and one container of grated parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt, all bound together with 1 cup of water. I just mixed it all together, rolled it out and pre-cut it with a table knife, then into the oven for 15 minutes, then 20 minutes, then 25. Finally, I just turned off the oven and let them hang out in there until I remembered them the next morning. Crispy, tasty, crackers!

These crackers have flavor potential. First, the flax seed meal. It was from the bulk section in Winco. Two cups were a mere 75 cents. Our acupuncturist Collin suggested golden flax seed meal for a more subtle flavor and finer texture. Also experiment with the cooking time. High and short, or low and long, whichever suits your taste. For now, I still have a few crackers left and they go great with sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

More about Flax Seed and Flax Seed Meal
Flax seed is either yellow (golden) or brown in color. One tablespoon of ground flax seed has approximately 37 calories, 2g protein, 3g carbohydrate, and 3g fiber. The oil from flax seed is also called linseed oil. Flax seed a good source of B vitamins, Iron and Zinc. It is also high in Omega-3 fatty acids. The best way to get the nutrition from flax seed is to grind it, otherwise, your body won’t digest it and will only benefit from flax seeds as a source of fiber.

Flax Seed and Parmesan Cheese Crackers
1 batch makes 24 crackers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground flax seed meal
• 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup water

Tools:

• Parchment paper
• Large mixing bowl
• Baking sheet
• Rolling pin
• Oil or oil spray

Directions:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to mix thouroughly.
2. Add water and mix to a sticky dough.
3. Oil the parchment paper and line a large baking sheet.
4. Spread the mixture across the pan.
5. Oil a second parchment paper and cover the mixture.
6. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat and thin.
7. Using a table knife or pizza cutter, slice through the dough to make 24 squares.
8. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until the crackers are no longer soft.
9. Serve with dip, cheese, meat, etc.

Nutritional facts: Each cracker has 44 calories, less than 1 g net carb, & 2g protein.

Are You a Hunter-Gatherer?

posted on March 16th, 2012 under Kristin's Advice

When you think of the grocery store you might not see the similarities between you going up and down the aisles with your grocery cart and an aboriginal hunter-gatherer heading out for a day of searching for sustenance. And since your food choices have changed since starting your weight-loss journey, it might feel more like a scavenger hunt for foods that are on your go-list. Having a hunter-gatherer frame of mind can be helpful in relieving the stress of choosing what goes into your cart.

Holiday Celebration: Yikes or Yipee? Your Guide to Restaurant Food!

posted on December 15th, 2011 under Dr. Gulick's Weight Loss Blog

For most people, the holidays are time to spend with family, friends and colleagues. The place most of us spend it? Around a table, bar or buffets. The All-American way to celebrate! The thought of dining out can turn someone on a weight loss program into a split personality: Part of you says “Yipee”-the other part “Yikes!” Balancing the two emotions are crucial to eating out successfully while still maintaining a healthy weight, or even losing some. Here are some ‘dos and ‘don’ts’ to help you stay in control the next time you head out to a restaurant.

Do remember:

You have a choice, the menu is not set in stone. You can modifiy any meal on a menu. Most chefs are happy to oblige. Don’t be afraid to ask for such things as; “Dressing on the side, please.” “Could you broil that fish, chicken, meat?” and “instead of fries (baked patato, corn), I would like extra vegetables.” Most restaurants will not charge for substitutions since you are removing one item and replacing it with a great choice!

Do remember:

The fancier the food, the more likely it may have hidden calories. Simple is best. As food becomes more ‘adorned’ it’s likely to have more calories and fat added. Sauces, gravys and side garnishes may look nice but they are filled with extra calories you don’t need. Ask ahead of time if the meal is topped with anything and if it is, ask them to remove it or put it on the side. Another option is to look for entrees that are on top of something else, rather than the other way around: Try broiled salmon over vegetables, grilled chicken strips over salad, or a simple seared tuna over steamed spinach.

Do rmember:

It is okay to leave food on your plate. Recent studies have shown that restaurant portion sizes have more than doubled since the 1950’s. If you are like most of us, you were told to clean your plate. But it is okay to leave food on your plate. You can always ask for a “people bag” and have your left-overs the next day, as part of your meal plan. The social aspect of eating out can make us eat mindlessly. Participate! Be at the party. Be at the table. But you can “play with your food”. Cut it up, push it to one side. Pick up your fork – make a conversational point and put it down again. Think Italian-wave your hands around. You can be a lively part of a dinner celebration without putting the fork in your mouth very often. Pay attention to how fast you are eating and how much you are eating. Another solution is to share an entrée with a friend – or to ask for your half of food to be put in a to-go container before your meal is even served to you.

Don’t think ‘It’s ONLY a salad or appetizer’. There can be so many hidden calories in these choices!
Well-meaning dieters often think the salad and appetizer options are better choices. Just because they may be smaller portions, greener or appear healthier, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are healthier. Many Entrée salads can contain more than 900 calories (especially the ones with cheese, bacon, and lots of dressing). That plate of fried calamari with garlic sauce can easily pack on 500 calories. If you must have an appetizer or salad, remember you can always share it! It may be better to skip the salad or appetizer completely and focus on an entrée with a lean protein and a vegetable in it.

Enjoy your holiday celebrations. Keep your “Yikes” at bay by using these tips and enjoy your Holiday Celebrations with family and friends, “Yipee!”

Warm Regards,
Colly

Dr. Miles Hassell Reverses Diabetes

posted on November 2nd, 2011 under Medical Articles

This latest newsletter from our friend and colleague Dr Miles Hassell is one we wholeheartedly agree with! Read about a patient’s case that matches our own regular experience in helping patients regain their health, here at OMWL. We see this every week! This is what we do. You can do it to.

To learn more about Metabolic Syndrome, reversing Diabetes or gaining back your health through losing weight, come to one of our Seminars, go hear one of Dr Hassell’s talks or buy his book. At the very least, empower yourself with pertinent updated labs and an informative consultation that will help you figure out how whether your weight is actually only the ‘tip of the iceberg’.

Pow! Man knocks down diabetes!

Overcoming type 2 diabetes requires an aggressive approach. This means vigorously tackling those habits that make it easy for diabetes to sneak up on us. Or even better, knocking down the disease before it gets to us, which is possible if we know the warning signs. For example, alarm bells should go off if you happen to have three or more of the following risk factors, which is a condition called the metabolic syndrome:

1. high blood pressure (greater than 135/85 or being treated for high blood pressure),
2. high triglycerides (greater than 150mg/dl),
3. low HDL (“good”) cholesterol (lower than 40mg/dl),
4. high blood sugar (fasting blood sugar greater than 100mg/dl or being treated for high blood sugar), and a
5. large waistline (greater than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men; or less for small-framed people).

The metabolic syndrome should not be taken lightly – if you have it, your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and some cancers is substantially increased.

Eating Out: A Trick to Stay on Track

posted on September 13th, 2011 under Dr. Gulick's Weight Loss Blog

Dining out with family or friends is a time-honored tradition celebrated in every culture around the world. While these experiences provide a very fun means of having a meal, it is the relaxing nature of the meal that can lead to overeating. The restaurant is in charge of your portion size, and long as the other people at the table are eating it is easy to continue yourself, regardless of whether or not you are hungry. A good first step is to choose foods that are healthy choices, but this is only the first step. No matter how healthy the meal you choose, if you eat too much you will gain weight. Here are a few strategies to help combat growing portion sizes so you may continue to enjoy these fun, socially-driven dining experiences.

New Study on the Role of Vitamin D in Colon Cancer

posted on September 2nd, 2011 under Dr. Gulick's Weight Loss Blog

Excerpted from The Vitamin D Council

Professor Hector Palmer and his co-researchers at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, Spain, announced this morning the reason vitamin D may be an effective treatment early in the course of colon cancer, yet have little effect later as the cancer becomes more widely spread.

Link to the Research Article

Can Drinking Darker Coffee Improve Your Health?

posted on August 31st, 2011 under Dr. Gulick's Weight Loss Blog

Excerpted from Mercola.com

Recent research has shown that moderate coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are believed to be involved in both of these diseases, it was theorized that antioxidants in coffee might contribute to the risk reduction.

Scientists examined whether or not dark roast coffee has a stronger antioxidant effect than light roast. They found that dark roast was the most effective.

According to the study, as reported by Green Med Info: “Furthermore, administration of the [dark roast] led to a significant body weight reduction in pre-obese subjects.”

Dr. Mercola: The Dangers of Fruit Juice

posted on August 29th, 2011 under Dr. Gulick's Weight Loss Blog

Excerpted from Mercola.com – Numerous studies have linked high sugar/fructose consumption to a long list of health problems. Not only will fructose raise your insulin to chronically high levels over time, it also metabolizes differently from other sugars. Both of these facts significantly contribute to the creation of chronic diseases. Thanks to the excellent work of researchers like Dr. Robert Lustig, and Dr. Richard Johnson, we now know that fructose…

Why do I want to see a Weight Loss Doctor?

posted on August 22nd, 2011 under Medical Articles

Many people struggle with their weight day in and day out – and struggle valiantly. Often they have tried many programs – some helpful, some not so much. These earnest folk have exercised, attended groups, purchased supplements and limited portion sizes. However, they are still hungry all the time and any weight lost always seems to creep back, or constantly threatens to.

As Doctors specializing in medically supervised weight loss, we pride ourselves on believing patients who know they are trying harder than their weight suggests.

We understand, from years of specialty training and expertise in this area, that patients usually have underlying medical reasons for their weight gain and re-gain, and especially for their relentless, physiologically-based HUNGER…