Belly Buster Blog

Diet Snickers™ Caramel Chocolate Milkshake

2012-01-07T19:37:00.018-05:00

Photo All rights reserved by johanna_otoole
*this doesn't have any Snickers in it but sure tastes like you are drinking the candy bar! I promise, your eyes will roll back in your head! Mmm good!

1/2 c. soy milk (or Hood's Low Carb Milk if allergic to soy)
12 oz. water 2 heaping tsp. PB2 (powdered Peanut Butter)*
1 pkt. of Before and After Chocolate Drink**
1 heaping Tbsp. Walden Farm Fat Free Caramel Dip**
1 pkt sweetener or 3 drops stevia if desired
1 cup of ice Blend on the ice crusher with your blender!

*PB2 can be obtained through our weight loss clinics for $6.95 per jar. More recipes are on this blog for this product. You can mix with water to make regular peanut butter but the kicker is: regular PB has 16 grams of fat in 2 Tbsp and this only has 1.5!!!!

**Both the protein and Walden Farms can be purchased through Before and After Weight Loss CLinics at 1-888-657-5042. You may pay with paypal or a major credit card. You can substitute the Protein drink for others if you are not on our program or for chocolate milk if you are not dieting. To read more about our program, go to www.bellybusterdiet.com .

Peanut Butter Pie

2012-01-06T22:43:00.010-05:00

ORDER YOUR PB2 FROM US 1-888-657-5042
$6.95 per JAR
ONLY 1.5 g of fat vs.16 in

Peanut Butter Pie

1/2 pkg. Fat-free Cream Cheese

3/4 cup PB2 ( Powdered Peanut Butter)
1/4 cup water 1/2 cup milk or soymilk
1/2 cup Splenda or 3 droppers of Stevia
1 Tsp. vanilla extract
1-12 oz. container frozen whipped
topping

CRUST 15 melba toast, crushed in blender
15 peanuts crushed (opt)
2 Tbsp. PB2
2 Tbsp. Walden farms Caramel Dip

Mix the water and milk with the PB2 before adding it in the blender to the cream cheese and other ingredients. Stir the Cool whip in. For the crust, you can bake it for 10 min. in a 9-in. pan first if you desire. You may serve with Whipped topping or Walden Farms chocolate sauce over the top.

GO to www.bellybusterdiet.com to find out more about our diet and get two weeks for just $10 bucks! Also fill out your health profile and get a FREE metabolic assessment!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

2011-11-18T23:29:00.004-05:00

3 pkts of B&A Chocolate Pudding
8 oz. Water
4 oz. Soy Milk
3 Tbsp. PB2 (Powdered Peanut Butter)
1 pkt. Knox gelatin
2 pkts. Splenda

Crust:
15 Melba Toasts
2 tbsp. Caramel Dip (Walden Farms Fat-Free, Sugar-free)
1 tsp. PB2
1 pkt. Splenda

Top with Cool Whip. I like to put 2 Tbsp. Walden Farms Fat-Free Sugar-Free Marshmallow Creme in the Cool Whip--it makes the whole container tastes like marshmallows!

ANNOUNCEMENT! PB2 is here!

2011-10-22T19:27:00.002-04:00

Our newest product-- PB2 is here! Powdered Peanut Butter! Regular Peanut Butter has 16 grams of fat in 2 Tbsp but PB2 has just 1.5 grams!!!! Yep--that is not a misprint! If you would like to order it from us, call 1-888-657-5402. It is just $6.95 per jar. WE will send recipes along with your order. Here are a few
ideas to get you started:

1) You can mix it in pudding--it tastes great in our Butterscotch, Chocolate or Vanilla Creme Pudding.

2) You can blend 2 Tbsp- 3 Tbsp into a Chocolate milkshake made with our Chocolate drink or our Double Chocolate Pudding.

3) You can make candy with it: blend a tablespoon of Walden Farms Carmel Dip and Chocolate Sauce into 4 tablespoons on top of a piece of plastic wrap. Then roll and wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. SO yummy!

4) Make a Chicken Stir Fry with a can of chicken, Japanese frozen veggies and 2 Tbsp. PB2. I also use a Thai spice called Spice Hunter Thai seasoning that has some coconut powder in it and, boy, does this taste authentic!

5) Put it on fruit--apples, peaches, nectarines or on celery. If you are on maintenance or have children--you can do Ants on a Log with celery, PB2 and raisens down in a row!

6) Put it in this year's pumpkin pie! But be careful that it doesn't overpower your pumpkin taste.

Scroll down to find last year's pumpkin pie recipe--it is THE best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten and it is hard to believe that it is dietetic! Thank you, Sonya Clemmons!

2011-10-22T18:58:00.002-04:00

Curried Mushroom Chicken

This can be served over toast, spaghetti squash, or Shirataki Tofu noodles! We just added these tofu noodle to our Belly Buster Diet menus and you can get them at the grocer in the vegetarian section. They have only 3 carbs per serving!

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

2 pkts Before and After Clear Chicken Soup

2 pkts Before and After Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 stalk of celery

Broil chicken until about half down in the oven. (OR use chopped cooked chicken to do quickly on the stove). Put half the ingredients on the chicken and simmer for 30 minutes, then add the other half and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serves two.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2011-04-14T22:46:00.008-04:00

1 lg. can of white chunk chicken

1 jar of Walden Farms Fat Free Ranch or Blue Cheese Dip

1 cup of Walden Farms Fat Free/ Calorie Free Original BarBQue Sauce

8-oz. Fat-free cream cheese

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped spring onions

Celery sticks

Mix the dip and sauce with the softened cream cheese in a 9x13 glass dish. Stir in the chicken chunks. Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with onions if desired. Serve with celery sticks.

Butterscotch Apple Crisp

2011-01-30T10:43:00.001-05:00

2 packets Before and After Oatmeal Protein Supplement

1 packet Before and After Butterscotch Pudding Protein Supplement

3/4 cup soy milk

3 Tbsp. light Bisquick

1 large Rome Apple or any baking apple, sliced in a greased 8x8 dish

Sice the apple and then pour the remaining ingredients over it. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 4. If still dieting, drizzle with our Walden Farms Caramel Dip and serve with Cool Whip. If on Maintenance: serve with Breyer's Low Carb Vanilla Ice Cream and top with six pecans.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED STRAWBERRIES

2011-01-30T10:22:00.001-05:00

So easy to make! Just mix 1/4 cup of Sugar-free Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce with 1/4 cup of Eggbeaters or egg whites and dip each strawberry in the mixture. I like to leave the stems on to hold the berry while I dip. Pleace the berries on a cookie sheet or in a miniature muffin tin sprayed with cooking spray and place in the freezer for 20 minutes. The berries will be cold and frosty and, oh....so delicious!

2010-12-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

Sonya's Turtle Pumpkin Pie

Crust: Crush melba toast and mix with 3 Tbsp. Sugar-free Walden Farms Caramel dip; press in bottom of 8x8 glass pan prayed with cooking spray.

Topping: Mix 3 Tbsp Sugar-free Walden Farms Marshmallow dip with small container of Cool Whip. The whole thing will taste like marshmallows!

Pie: In a blender combine 3/4 c. Eggbeaters (or 3 eggs), 1 c. milk or soy milk, 1/2 can pumpkin , and 2 pkts of Vanilla Creme Pudding mix and 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice. It will be thick. Pour over crust and bake at 350º for 30 min. Cool in the refrigerator until completely chilled and then serve with 2 pecan crumbled over each serving with a Tbsp of Marshmallow mix and just a little Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce drizzled back and forth over it.

2009-12-05T00:52:00.000-05:00

Sweet and Sour Cherry Gelatin Ring

Have you ever had a dish that was so good that ya just wanted to have it over and over again at least once a week? Well, I seem to have a hankering for this one quite a bit, and if I weren’t post-menopausal I would think I was pregnant the way I crave it! My gawd, is it ever good! Ya gotta try this one! It is good for breakfast, it is good for an appetizer, it is good for a dessert. It is good with pork, and it is good with chicken, and it is good with fish. (Gosh—I am starting to sound like Dr. Seuss!) Well, you are not going to believe it, but it only has four ingredients! That is, until you make the topping which only has three! So let me tell you how to do it … Do you want the diet version or the fattening version? Of course you want the diet version. When you have company, just get the fattening stuff. Figure it out.

Anyway, here goes:
Ingredients
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 21-ounce can Comstock sugar-free cherry pie filling
3/4 cup Diet Dr. Pepper
2 packages, 3-ounce cherry sugar-free gelatin
1/2 cup water (Oops—I lied—there are five ingredients but you didn’t have to pay for the
water ... or did you?)

Drain the pineapple juice to a saucepan into which you are adding the water and bringing to a boil. Reserve the pineapple for later. Add the gelatin and stir until dissolved. Stir in the 3/4-cup of Dr. Pepper (you can drink the rest)! Stir in the cherry pie filling and the crushed pineapple, then pour into a round mold. Refrigerate until firm and serve plain or with the topping below.

Topping
1/2 cup Cool Whip
1/2 cup Fat-Free Sour Cream
3 packets Splenda (or any sweetener you are into)

Whip all three ingredients together and dabble a bit on top of your beautiful red sweet and sour ring. Beautiful for Christmas, All-American holidays with a few blueberries sprinkled on top and for just about any time you are hungry for a light salad or appetizer!

Tootaloo! Lee

2009-11-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

Here are the Rules to enter the MckLinky Giveaway
Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each Entry!

* For the first entry - Go to: www.bellybusterdiet.com and click on the products page and tell me whether you would like to win the program or the wrap and why. The site will tell you more about both. This blog is for our recipes and for our cruise.

* 1 extra entry - blog about the give away, and leave a link. (or add a picture with a link to the sidebar of your blog)

* 1 extra entry - Twitter about Belly Busters: Win a free weight loss program w/Belly Busters or a free body wrap www.bellybusterbabe.blogspot.com

* 1 extra entry - mention the give away on Facebook with a link, let me know that you did

* 1 extra entry - Fill out your Health Profile at http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/get_started.html to get a free metabolic assessment

*1 extra entry - subscribe to the blog

* 5 extra entries - purchase something by calling 1-888-657-5402- leave me a comment telling me what you purchased.

The draw will take place on: December 24 at 10PM EST.
This is open to anyone in the USA and Canada and the Caribbean.
Good Luck Everyone!!

2009-11-25T22:48:00.001-05:00

Click here to see the entire Blog Hop List....

Friday night Come to the Blog Hop to see what free things YOU can win!!!!

We are one of the Sponsors! Tell your friends and see what we give away!

Belly Buster Weight Loss Cruise

2009-11-16T19:13:00.000-05:00

Belly Buster Cruise Details!
Go on the cruise and then diet with us at http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/!
We go on a Weight Loss Cruise each year to the Caribean and YES we all lose weight together!
The 2010 Belly Buster Weight Loss Cruise will leave from Miami and go to Cozumel and Belize! We will cruise from March 22-27, 2010. Please join us and our Belly Buster Babes and learn a new way of eating!

If you put a deposit of $200per person on the cruise now, you can keep doing that each month and have it paid for by March! It is refundable through end of November. After December, cabins may not be available as they fill up fast with only 3 months to go.We are trying to get sponsors like Walden Farms and Promise Margarine and Silk Soy Milk--companies we promote who may pay for 1/2 fare on your cabins through contests,etc. But you would need to have your name in the hat ahead in order to get a "sponsorship" from them. You may also do fundraisers in your community to go. Anyone have ideas?

The rates on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas for March 22-27 are as follows:
Cat. N / interior: $659.00 + $79.08 (tx)= $738.08 pp.
Cat. H / oceanview: $769.00 + $79.08 (tx)= $848.08 pp.
Cat, E2 / balcony: $899 + $70.08 (tx)= $978.08 pp.Call in your card number for your deposit to me, on my cell:772-708-7026 or to Kathy Mehal--Iwill give you her number when you call me if you want travel insurance also. She is our Cruise One travel planner handlingthis and I highly recommend you get it in case of an emergency as it does notcost much.If you would prefer to mail me a check, let me know you are doingthat, but mail it to:

4909 South US 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34982

Anyone can go--you do not have to be a client or a consultant! It costs less than Richard Simmons cruise, although I would LOVE to go on his! We will have speakers and classes and exercise depending on the needs of the group. Will keep you posted on some of the fabulous guest speakers we have in mind.

Pumpkin muffins

2009-10-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin muffins tastes like sweet potatoes! Make them in the small muffin tins or they won't get done in the middle.

1packet of Before and After Vanilla Creme Protein Pudding

1packet of Before and After Oatmeal w/ Apples Supplement

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

3 drops of Stevia

1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until brown. Makes 18 muffins and 9 are a serving! Tastes great with our Cappuchino Protein Supplement!

Lee's Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

Ingredients
1 dropper Stevia (Eng. Toffee or Clear or Cinnamon Flavor)

2 tablespoons Walden Farms Pancake syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup Eggbeaters
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup plain Soy milk

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust**

(or make it with recipe below to save more carbs!)

2 cups Cool Whip

Add a packet or two of Vanilla Creme pudding if you are on the Belly Buster Diet to fill you up faster and it will make the mixture creamier. I mix it all in the blender when I do that!

**crust:Can use 1 jar of Walden farms Marshmallow dip and
1 box of crushed Melba toast to make a great pie crust!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large mixing bowl, stir together Stevia,syrup, salt, and cinnamon. When these ingredients are well mixed, stir in the egg whites followed by the pumpkin and evaporated milk. Pour into the pie crust.

Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the pie comes out clean. Cool then top with whipped topping before serving. Note
Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8 of pie)

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For more information about the Belly Buster Diet visit http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/ and for a free metabolic assessment or to order Walden farms or Wisdom Natural Brand Stevia products mentioned in these recipes, call 772-708-7026 or 1-888-657-5402. You may fill out our health profile online for a free metabolic assessment to see which diet plan and supplements you should be on, at http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/get_started.html .

**************************************************************************************************************

Cauliflower Popcorn

2009-10-11T23:19:00.000-04:00

This is from Angi Wuebben in response to me saying "the only thing I miss on the diet is popcorn!" However, this tastes a little like fried okra to me, which is something else this Southern Belle misses! I wonder if you can do the same with okra?!

For a picture and other reciptes visit at Mrs. Dash's website:
http://www.mrsdash.com/recipes/recipe-view.aspx?recipeID=721

Cauliflower Popcorn
Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower
3 Tbsp. (45mL) olive oil (or Canola/Enova oil would be best--your body does not absorb it!)
2 Tbsp. (30mL) Mrs. Dash® Table Blend
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C).
Cut out and discard cauliflower core and thick stems. Trim remaining cauliflower into florets the size of popcorn.
Toss thoroughly in a bowl with olive oil and Mrs. Dash® Table Blend.
Spread cauliflower on a sheet pan and roast for approximately 60 minutes, or until nicely browned (that's the carmelization process converting the dormant natural sugars into sweetness).
Turn three or four times during roasting. The browner the florets, the sweeter they will taste. Serve immediately.

How to start the Belly Buster Diet

2009-10-11T13:43:00.000-04:00

First, fill out your health profile at http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/get_started.html and then

Someone will call you to do your FREE metabolic assessment.

Your consultant will help determine which of our 6 programs and herbal selections are right for you and place you on a plan involving a preconditioning phase, diet phase, stabilization and maintenance plan and give you the cost for a whole year.

You will be given a phone number for group therapy classes and a toll-free number to the home office.

Your counselor will tell you how you can attend local cooking classes, if available, or even become a consultant yourself!

THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE BELLY BUSTER DIET IS: YOU CAN SAFELY LOSE 2-5 LBS. PER WEEK BECAUSE YOU ARE USING A PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT TO PROTECT YOUR MUSCLE TISSUE AND HAVE A TRAINED COUNSELOR GUIDING YOU!

You may also call us for more information at 1-888-657-5402 or 772-708-7026....ask for Lee.

2009-10-06T21:23:00.000-04:00

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/2 head of broccoli
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 small onion, sliced exceptionally thin
1/2 bottle Walden Farms dressing of choice**

Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces in a large bowl. Stir in the peppers and onion. Drizzle the dressing into the salad while stirring slowly. Can add a half of jar of Hormel Bacon bits just before serving or, peanuts, almonds or sunflower seeds IF ON MAINTENANCE. Some of my favorite Walden Farms with it are: Creamy Italian, Creamy Bacon, Balsomic, Honey Dijon, or Zesty Italian.
Marinate overnight for best flavor.
**************************************************************************************

Please go to http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/get_started.html to fill out your health profile for you free metabolic assessment!

***************************************************************************************

2009-09-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Potato Salad without Potatoes

Serves: 4
There's no potatoes in it but

you'd never guess it !!!!
2-hard boiled eggs
2- 10-oz pks of frozen cauliflower
1/2 chopped onion
4 Tbsp Hellman's LiteMayo
2 Tbsp bacon bits
Seasoning salt to taste
Cook cauliflower, cool and mash it then put in refrigerator for 1/2 hr to
cool. Chop up the eggs add to cauliflower. Mix other ingredients with
cauliflower and eggs
Refrigerate for an hour.

Another of Mary Ann Black's fabulous recipes! Thanks Mary Ann!

Remember to check out our annual Belly Buster Weight Loss Cruise to the Caribbean below and contact us if you are interested and watch for our coming website:

http://www.lunchwithlee.blogspot.com/

2009-08-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

Belly Buster Cruise Details!

Go on the cruise and then diet with us at http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/!

We go on a Weight Loss Cruise each year to the Caribean and YES we all lose weight together!

The 2010 Belly Buster Weight Loss Cruise will leave from Miami and go to Cozumel and Belize! We will cruise from March 22-27, 2010. Please join us and our Belly Buster Babes and learn a new way of eating!

If you put a deposit of $100 per person on the cruise now, you can keep doing that each month and have it paid for by March! It is refundable through end of November. After December, cabins may not be available as they fill up fast with only 3 months to go.

We are trying to get sponsors like Walden Farms and Promise Margarine and Silk Soy Milk--companies we promote who may pay for 1/2 fare on your cabins through contests,etc. But you would need to have your name in the hat ahead in order to get a "sponsorship" from them. You may also do fundraisers in your community to go. Anyone have ideas?

The rates on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas for March 22-27 are as follows:

Cat. N / interior: $659.00 + $79.08 (tx)= $738.08 pp.

Cat. H / oceanview: $769.00 + $79.08 (tx)= $848.08 pp.

Cat, E2 / balcony: $899 + $70.08 (tx)= $978.08 pp.

Call in your card number for your deposit to me, on my cell:
772-708-7026 or to Kathy Mehal--Iwill give you her number when you call me
if you want travel insurance also. She is our Cruise One travel planner handling
this and I highly recommend you get it in case of an emergency as it does not
cost much.If you would prefer to mail me a check, let me know you are doing
that, but mail it to: 4909 South US 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34982

What Tastes Like Pizza but is Dietetic?

2009-08-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

Mary Ann Black, one of our clients at the Before and After Weight Loss Clinic in St. Lucie County, Florida, is a fabulous cook and when I met her I immediately liked her. But the real bond has come in sharing our love of cooking and discovering that she used to be a weight loss counselor, too, with a passion for helping people lose weight! So I have invited her to help me with these blogs and our soon-to-be "Lunch with Lee" web site!

Recently, Mary Ann brought us the most wonderful pizza squares that she invented, so I want to share that with you first! They are ON THE DIET! Mary Ann has lost 25 lbs. with our program( I think that is right--I will change the figure tomorrow if I am wrong) and is now on our maintenance program. Way to go! Keep the recipes coming!

Antipasto Squares (Tastes like Pizza!)

Preheat over 375

1 package Low Carb LaTortillas (approx 4 to 6)

Thin sliced Low -Fat meat: Turkey
(approx. 1/4 pound each) Roast Beef
Turkey Pepperoni (95% fat free)

Approximately 4 to 5 slices ea. Swiss cheese
Mozzarella
Provolone

(or any meat/cheese combination you prefer)

1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers, (9 to 10 oz. Jar, cut into bite size pieces)
2 Eggs or 1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Spray an 8” x 12” baking dish

Arrange the Tortillas in baking dish to completely cover the bottom, (I cut them in strips and place them on the bottom of the baking dish)

On top of the Tortillas, layer the meat, cheese, meat cheese, etc.

Top the meat/cheese layers with the Roasted Red Peppers

Mix the Eggs or Egg Beaters together with the grated Parmesan cheese and pour about 3/4 over the Roasted Red Peppers

Top with another layer of the Tortillas

Pour the remaining egg/parmesan mixture over the top of the Tortillas and spread evenly

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes

Enjoy! and be sure to visit our web sites: http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/ for a free metabolic assessment by filling our your health profile and http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/ if you are interested in our out-of-town program or being a consultant.

Frittata with Fruit for Fall Breakfast!

2009-08-03T22:42:00.000-04:00

One of my clients http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/ recently came in the clinic saying that she had a zucchini frittata for breakfast and I just had to look that up to see if it was even on the diet! Low and behold, it is! Granted, we are supposed to have scallions (green onions) rather than sweet onions, but oh my goodness is this ever good! On maintenance you could add a couple of tablespoons of low-fat Bisquick to it to make it more like a quiche if you like.

Enova Oil is found along side the Canola at the grocer and the neat thing about it is your body does not absorb it! Goes right through you and NO diarrhea! One less thing to make you fat! Many people ask me why we are allowed to have so much cheese on our diet...it has fat in it, too!

However, melted cheese has a chemical in it called CLA ...conjugated lineloic acid...which actually helps you burn fat! SO it is a good fat!

Asparagus or Zucchini Frittata Recipe
2 teaspoons Canola or Enova oil

1/2 small onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped

off, spears cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths

OR 1/2 cup peeled and diced zucchini

4 large eggs, lightly beaten (Eggbeaters)

1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Heat oil into a 10-inch oven-proof frying pan over medium high heat. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until the asparagus are barely tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour in eggs and cook until almost set, but still runny on top, about 2 minutes. While cooking, pre-heat oven broiler.

Sprinkle cheese over eggs and put in oven to broil until cheese is melted and browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from oven with oven mitts and slide frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.

Serves 4. And while you are eating, check out Belly Busters at http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/ !

2009-07-23T09:24:00.000-04:00

July is Blueberry Month

sponsored by http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/

Blueberries have long been recognized as the fruit with the most antioxidants. The United States Department of Agriculture on May 8th, 1999, proclaimed July to be National Blueberry Month. Blueberries are grown in 35 states, with the United States producing over 90% of the worlds supply.

One of the easiest fruits to prepare and serve, these tasty berries offer as much as four times as many health-giving antioxidants than other fruits and veggies. Because blueberries have few natural pests, (other than birds), pesticides are generally unnecessary when growing them. A powerhouse among fruits, blueberries rich antioxidants are valued for their cancer and heart disease fighting properties. They are also shown to help improve memory, balance, and coordination.

Adding fresh summer blueberries are a great way to give a little health punch to some of your favorite dishes. Try them in yoghurt, pancakes, muffins, on your salad, over ice cream and even blueberry salsa.
We invite you to enjoy a few of our tasty blueberry recipes below and tell us the ways you like to eat these healthy berry bites.

Care Solutions
* Don’t wash berries until just before using to prevent berries from becoming mushy.
* Chill berries soon after picking to increase shelf life. If refrigerated, fresh-picked blueberries will keep 10 to 14 days.
* Freeze berries in freezer containers without washing to keep the skins from toughening.
Fun Facts
* The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the U.S. The strawberry is number one. Over 200 million pounds of blueberries are grown commercially each year.
* Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease.
* The blueberry muffin is the official muffin of Minnesota.
* Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for former president Ronald Reagan.
* The blueberry is the official state fruit of New Jersey, which also raises the most cultivated fresh blueberries in the United States.

Punch Bowl Cake (Great for July 4th because of it's Patriotic Look!)
2 pkg of pudding mix
2 pkgs of strawberry jello mix
2 cups of blueberries
2 cups of strawberries
1 angel food cake (sugar-free)
1 lg. Cool Whip

Make up the pudding mixes and jellos according to directions and then layer between crumbled cake. I put pudding, then cake, then a layer of jello with the stawberries in it, then cakem then pudding tieh the blueberries on top, etc. In a glass trifle bowl, this looks so pretty! For an American holiday, very patriotic on your table. Great for diabetics and for those on a diet!

Frost on the Berries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

2 Tbsp. Walden Farms Marshmallow Dip

Fold the dip into the blueberries and let set. Can eat alone or over yogurt.

For more information on dieting, go to http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/ and fill out your health profile for a free metabolic assessment.

Muscle Helps Burn Fat

2008-08-05T09:06:00.000-04:00

Increasing Muscle Mass
The most important factor of metabolism is lean body mass. Muscle burns up to 90% more calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn in a day. By adding three to five pounds of muscle you could actually burn 100 - 250 additional calories a day. Try adding a weight bearing activity 2-3 times a week such as lifting free weights, walking, or resistance training. Simply carrying your groceries home could be considered weight bearing! Lifting 5-8 pound hand weights while watching your favorite television show could go a long way towards burning calories.

Don’t Skip Meals!
The myth that skipping meals decreases your total calorie level and helps you to lose weight is not true. When people skip meals or decrease their calories significantly (<>

Regular Activity
Regular exercise routines such as biking, walking, or hiking will help raise your metabolism during the activity and for several hours after. Even simple movements such as taking the stairs, house cleaning, or simple yard work can help increase your burn rate.

Adequate Protein
Protein provides the building blocks for muscle. Without adequate protein you may actually lose muscle. You need about .4 - .5 gram of protein per pound body weight. For a woman weighing 160 pounds she would need approximately 64 - 80 grams of protein daily.

Sleep!
A 1999 University of Chicago study showed that sleep loss affects the way we metabolize carbohydrates resulting in glucose intolerance and possibly leading to increased hunger and a slowed metabolism. Lack of sleep also can interfere with our energy levels during the day and cause us to skip our exercise routine because we are “too tired”. How often have you told yourself that?

Decrease Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol may suppress your body’s ability to burn fat. Studies show that when you drink alcohol, your body burns fat more slowly than usual during that particular meal. Watch your alcohol intake.

WHAT IS THE GLYCEMIC INDEX & HOW CAN I USE THAT TO HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

2008-06-24T09:40:00.000-04:00

Think of Glycemic Index as a measurement of the how carbohydrates in foods will affect your blood sugar. It works like this: pure glucose is assigned the index of 100 to compare it to how other foods affect the blood sugar about two hours after eating. All other foods in the index are given a number relative to the glucose number.

Foods with a low index typically break down slowly and don’t cause drastic fluctuations in blood sugar. Foods with a high index typically do. For instance, broccoli has an index of 10, while corn flakes have an index of 92. Originally the index was developed to help diabetic control their blood sugar. The numbers will also help people losing weight, as well, because when the glycemic index is high, you get hungrier when your blood sugar starts falling again. The more it has to fall the more ravenous you can get when your blood sugar is not under control. If you can keep your blood sugar more stable, you don’t have such strong cravings.
Type II diabetes, as well as various cancers and cardiovascular disease, are all highly correlated with high index diets. There’s abundant research that shows that reducing the overall glycemic index also reduces the risks of those problems.

The index includes mainly carbohydrate foods, because protein and fat don’t have much immediate effect on blood sugar. At Before and After Weight Loss Clinics and with the Belly Buster Diet, we find the index more helpful than counting calories or grams of fat. We watch whether the foods we’re eating have a low, medium or high index, not individual numbers.
As with any rule, there are exceptions. For instance, watermelon has a pretty high glycemic index, about 75, which is even higher than table sugar. Does that make it bad for you? No. Because in spite of its high index, watermelon actually has a pretty low glycemic load. That’s a measure based on the amount of food you’d actually consume, not just an arbitrary quantity used in testing, as with the index.

The glycemic load of a food can be determined using the glycemic index number for a food, divided by 100 and multiplied times the available carbohydrate you’d eat. With most foods, low index is consistent with low load, but there are the quirky exceptions. Of course, to find them, you’d be back to doing a bunch of math again, and that’s just not the way people normally eat.
That’s we encourage people who are trying to develop a healthy diet to avoid getting caught up in the numbers game and look more generally at the foods in the index, leaning toward those at the low end. Anything over 70 is considered high index, 55 through 69 is medium and below 55 are foods with a low glycemic index.

And look what’s in those groups: high index foods include most breakfast cereals, white breads and other processed baked goods, most potatoes, ice cream, candies and table sugar.Lower index foods include cherries, grapefruit, broccoli, legumes like lentils and beans, most whole grain baked goods and most dairy foods. We like to encourage clients to think of glycemic index and glycemic load as just two more tools that can be helpful in developing healthier thinking and planning about dietary habits.

Fruits tend to have a high glycemic index, so I recommend that people take their fruits with a meal, or with some protein like cottage cheese or regular cheese. These protein sources help the fruit sugar be released in the blood stream more slowly. If you are snacking on a half of an apple for instance, eat a piece of cheese with it, or if you eating watermelon, eat it with a meal rather than an in between snack.

A final thing to remember: there’s not one standardized list and most indexes include brand-name items that people buy on a typical shopping trip, as well as the more generic items like vegetables and fruits. Her are some indexes I have found helpful:

Click here: Glycemic Index Food Chart

Click here: Glycemic Index Food List from FIFTY 50

Click here: Glycemic Index Food Chart: List of Glycemic Values of Foods

Click here: Glycemic Index List of Foods - BestDietTips.com

For more information on how you can be on a diet that uses the glycemic index to it's advantage, visit http://www.bellybusterdiet.com/ or fill out the health profile on http://www.beforeandafterdiet.net/
and get a FREE metabolic assessment!