Body Sense

Previous posts Foodie Friday posts:

Joseph DeLeo

This exotic martini (from my new book The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life) has just 156 calories—162 fewer than a traditional one!

In cocktail shaker, combine 2 ounces premium vodka, 1 ounce lychee juice (from a can of lychees; available at the grocery store or Asian grocery), and 1 ounce club soda. Shake well, and strain into a chilled martini glass; add lychees for garnish. Fab!

 
Related Links:

Miki Dusterhuf

Q: My guy eats fattening stuff and never seems to gain weight. How can I avoid wrecking my diet with him?

A: If it’s a question of him constantly wanting you to eat what he’s eating, then you need to call him on it.

Otherwise, do what I refer to as “taste everything, eat nothing.” In other words, eat all your healthier foods as usual and then have just a little bit of a variety of the decadent stuff. No food is fattening in small quantities. Key word: small.

 
Related Links:

Looking for a fantastic all-natural wine? Try one of these fabulous picks for your next dinner party. View the slideshow.

Istockphoto

It’s hard to resist that innocent-looking chocolate bunny or all those pastel-colored sugary treats that appear every spring. So how do you keep from packing on extra pounds with bathing suit season just around the corner? We’ve got eight healthy ways to indulge your sweet tooth that won’t ruin your beach bod. View the slideshow.

Kate Sears

This leafy herb doesn’t just spice up Mexican food—it can kill bacteria, soothe sore muscles, and pep you up.

Bag the bloat
To flatten your stomach, try cilantro, a natural diuretic, says Sara Snow, green-lifestyle expert and author of Sara Snow’s Fresh Living. (The herb also aids digestion and prevents nausea.) Just chop it up and sprinkle it on top of your salad.

Make meals safer
Cilantro’s essential oils kill salmonella and E. coli, according to studies in the Journal of Agricultural Chemistry. Try this zesty cilantro marinade from Fiona Beckett, author of The Frugal Cook. Combine 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon white pepper, and 1 small bunch chopped fresh cilantro (stalks included) in a blender; marinate meat or poultry for 1–2 hours.

Ease post-gym aches
Got sore joints and muscles? Ease them fast with a rub made from cilantro, an anti-inflammatory, recommends Maoshing Ni, PhD, who practices traditional Chinese medicine and is the author of Secrets of Self-Healing. Finely chop 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, and combine with 1/4 cup aloe vera gel; apply rub to tender areas.

Get smooth skin
Who knew the oils in cilantro calm irritated skin? Soothe and hydrate the natural way with this body mask from La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. Blend 1/2 avocado, a squeeze of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, and 1/4 cup avocado oil in a food processor; apply mask to skin, let sit for 20 minutes, and rinse in the shower.

 
Related Links:

(Web Gallery of Art)

Bigger portions and plates are one reason for the obesity epidemic. But is portion distortion a new phenomenon?

To find out, researchers (and brothers) Brian and Craig Wansink examined 52 famous paintings of the Last Supper and published the results this week in the International Journal of Obesity. Over the past 1,000 years, they found, entrée size grew by 69%, plate size by 66%, and bread size by about 23%.

Although the Wansinks don’t specify which paintings they analyzed, they culled them from the book Last Supper. Did the portions really get bigger? Judge for yourself. Here’s a chronological look at depictions of the world’s most famous dinner party. View the slideshow.

I was recently faced with a dinner dilemma. After spending a fun-filled girls’ weekend in D.C., I was trying to reestablish kitchen order in my postage stamp–size Brooklyn kitchen. I was tired. Willa, our 12-month old, still isn’t sleeping through the night, and I had gone out in Manhattan the previous night and had too many “artisanal” cocktails. My mind was foggy, but I was trying to hew to the New Year’s resolution I had made to cook more, buy less this year.

I dug through the fridge and rescued a Romanesco cauliflower (an amazingly sci-fi looking vegetable in both the broccoli and cauliflower families) that had been gorgeous when I bought it at the farmers’ market two weeks ago.

Then I spied a butternut and a spaghetti squash that we’d done a very good job of ignoring for at least a month. I didn’t want to cook, but I figured I’d rescue these vegetables in the nick of time, and make some baby food while I was at it.

I preheated the oven to 375° and got to chopping. I baked the Romanesco cauliflower with some olive oil and sea salt (the pink Himalayan stuff is off-the-charts good) for 25 minutes. Then I cut a large turnip into batons and threw that together with the butternut squash wedges (vegetables that are the same texture and hardness can be paired up easily), olive oil, and salt and pepper, and baked it for about 40 minutes.

At the same time, I halved the very old spaghetti squash and threw it on an oiled baking sheet for the same amount of time. I ended up with absolutely nothing for dinner last night, but everything for dinner all week long.

Here are my favorite ways to use roasted veggies.

(Getty Images)

Pasta
Cook up some whole-wheat penne and toss with any roasted vegetable, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (no I won’t call it EVOO), salt, pepper, and some good grated Parmesan. Some chopped fresh herbs, like parsley or basil, are a bonus. Here’s a great recipe for lasagna using leftover roasted veggies.

Soup
Since your vegetables are already cooked, putting a soup together becomes ridiculously easy. If you like it chunky, you can just simmer some low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, and add in diced roasted veggies. If you like a smooth soup, blend the roasted vegetables in a food processor with chicken broth and a bit of low-fat milk. Season to taste before serving. Try this Apple–Butternut Squash Soup.

Pizza
Get refrigerated dough from your local pizzeria or grocery store. Preheat your oven to 425°. Roll your dough out on a floured surface and fold over the edge to create a 1-inch border. Sauce it up with jarred sauce, sprinkle with shredded part skim mozzarella, and top with the roasted vegetables.

Salad
Serve your roasted veggies on their own, simply tossed with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice, or you can serve them over a bed of greens. I like arugula, and here’s a good recipe for Roasted Squash Salad With Maple Vinaigrette.

Whatever you do with them, you’ll be happy you didn’t let those winter veggies languish one more day. After all, it is nearly time for spring cleaning.

Related Links:

I guess you can call me an equal-opportunity milk drinker. I’ll drink cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and my go-to, soy milk. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with other mammal-free options including almond, hemp, and rice milk.

They are not “milk” in that someone is squeezing liquid out of nuts or grains. The new options are dairy-free, lactose-free, saturated fat–free (for the most part), and cholesterol-free, so they appeal to vegetarians, those who are allergic to dairy products, or non-discriminating milk buyers like me. Manufacturers make them by reconstituting the “flour” that results from pulverizing soy, hemp, almonds, or rice.

So how do they stack up nutritionally compared to skim milk? You may be surprised that the original soy milk, almond, and hemp products are actually lower in calories than skim milk. However, rice milk and flavored nondairy options are generally higher in calories (120 or more) and added sugars (15 or more grams) compared to skim milk.

Because they are plant-based products, you can expect that some of the beneficial phytonutrients present in soybeans, almonds, and hemp seeds will be present in these products as well.

The first ingredient of many is water, so most contain less protein than cow’s milk, but also have a gram of fiber and no saturated fat. All are now fortified with calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients, so they provide key vitamins and minerals that women get by drinking skim milk.

(Getty Images)

My faves? I find the taste of almond milk refreshing and less nutty than soy milk, but I also like soy milk because I’ve been drinking it for years and am used to it. Rice and hemp are my least favorites to drink straight up, but I would not have any problem having them on my cereal or in my tea.

Here’s a nutritional breakdown for a cup (8 ounces) of the most popular milk-free milks:

Related Links: