Diet Fun

Can a diet be fun? Surprisingly yes, if you're creative and know what to mix and blend you can.It's just a matter of being open and experimenting. It'll make a new lifestyle change exciting.

This has been my mantra now that I'm on the cirrhosis diet. I have to admit it was more than daunting at first. Let's face it , giving up sugar and salt  is life changing.It's giving up cookies and the occasional cupcake. The salt is even worse. I have to give up my beloved pretzels and bacon along with the occasional bag of chips. Salad dressings, thanks to their high sodium content are also off the table. The one that kills me is the veggie broth, my always go to  when I feel sick or just want a very light meal. Luckily one of my favorite soups, Well Yes comes in  lower sodium and thankfully tastes the same. Other soups aren't so forgiving so it's up to me to get creative about them. I found a recipe for homemade veggie stock that sounds delicious , I can see adding whole wheat fusilli and chickpeas for a much healthier version of pasta e fagiole. I could also add Beyond Meat crumbles for a heartier chowder like soup. As for the salad dressings, I can use vegan Nayonnaise which tastes like the real thing. It's a low sodium sauce that can be blended with turmeric or cumin, both liver building spices. I also plan on cooking with those spices. I live them already and am looking forward to using it to flavor lentils and chickpeas.

As for the sweets, I was more than ecstatic to discover that very dark chocolate actually helps in slowing down cirrhosis. I went out and bought the seventy-five percent bars. These have a slightly sweet flavor but tastes more like baking chocolate - which I love. I decided to cut and then grate it into a cup of almond butter. It's the perfect sweet snack - and almost decadent in its' flavor.I plan on mixing it with plain Greek yogurt which I can also have. The Slushie cup I used for my Pepsi slushies can be used for making a kind of ice cream with these ingredients. I can't have the regular kind due to all the sugar but I can have this. I also plant on chopping and pureeing different fruits and mixing it with the yogurt for different iced treats. (Greek yogurt can also be used for dips for veggies too). As for candy' even the sugar free is out of bounds. Yet there are grapes and blueberries to enjoy and snack on. I can melt the  dark chocolate and dip strawberries and other fruits in it.  As for cakes, I'm looking into whole wheat ones sweetened with honey. This will be the rare treat, made on birthdays and holidays. There is an oatmeal cookie made with blackstrap molasses - again this last is acceptable, that I'm looking into too.

This diet won't kill me. Thanks to being creative , it will save me. There's so many ingredients I can play with to create delicious meals and treats. I'm looking forward to all these changes.

Baby Nutritionists

With school starting during the next few weeks , it's times to talk about the ABCs of nutrition. It's important to teach those little scholars about what's good to eat.The earlier they know, the better their futures, without obesity and sickness.

Parents with their eldest or only children going off to kindergarten or pre-K have it the luckiest and the easiest.Their little ones have not heard about snack or lunch swapping yet.Sliced peppers and tomatoes will still have appeal as will cubes of low cal cheese. Emphasize that healthy food leads to being smart and better grades. Also stress that potato chips and candy are fine at parties but not at lunchtime. This will be hard so it,s important to make the  food fun.Start with lunches or snacks at home.There are food cutters that come in all sorts of shapes from dinosaurs to hearts.Amazon has the best selection with prices ranging from eight to fifteen dollars.The more advanced kits also have fun animal topped forks and picks .Remember that these can also be used on such fall fruits as apples and pears. Another must do is taking the baby nutritionist shopping.Get him or her acclimated with the produce section. Show them the different kinds, try samples if they have them. Ask for their input when it comes to choosing.Always praise.Never criticize.

Here is the big poser: can you raise a baby vegan? The answer is a surprising yes. A child can live without meat.Just remember they do need vitamins and some protein.Children expend more energy per pound and need to take an equal amount or more in.Try to have healthy proteins such as almonds, nut  butters, and avocados. Try cut out almond butter sandwiches on whole grained vegan breads.Create fun guacamole for afternoon snacking.Show them the different types of nut butters on your next grocery trip. If they're intrigued by sunflower seed butter, buy it. butter.It's a nice alternative to the other butters and expands their palates.During the same trip introduce them to the avocado section. Let them feel the different textures and see the differences between ripe and green ones.Baby vegans also need Vitamin B-12, iron and calcium.The first can come from soy milks, veggie meats and non sugary cereals. Soy milk comes in chocolate flavor so you can interest them that way.Iron comes from vitamin C products and calcium can be found in fortified orange juice.

A baby nutritionist is easy to create.Get them interested in healthy food from pre K and kindergarten.They'll eat better and you'll feel better.