How to Keep Focused on Your Diet When Grocery Shopping

Try my useful method to resist temptation at the grocery store while dieting.

Forcing yourself to stick to your diet is a never-ending battle.  This can be especially true when surrounded by all your favorite foods while grocery shopping.  However, I have a few suggestions that can help you gain more willpower through this necessary task.

The most important thing that you can do is never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.  Otherwise, you might find yourself at the bakery counter or reaching for something to munch on like candy bars, cookies, chips, pretzels, etc. to get you through your hunger.

Another thing that I think helps is writing your grocery list at home with all the necessities that you’ll need before you hit the store.  This method will save you from impulse buying even when you pass the women with free samples and coupons of various products that always seem to tempt you with.

This may sound strange, but leave your credit cards at home and only bring a certain amount of money with you that is solely for your groceries does help control spending.  This way you will be forced to only buy those food items that you need.

Something else that you should try is parking further away from the store.  Instead of grabbing the spot closest the grocery store, I like to park further down.  This will save you from wasting so much gas driving for that ideal spot while giving your legs a workout.  Just remember that any exercise is better than no exercise at all.

In the winter, I like to keep a survival kit in my car in case it breaks down.  Inside, I stash blanket, flashlight, little shovel, a box of granola bars, etc.  Nonetheless, the thought of a chocolate-chip granola bar can call to me.  I have been good so far, but you might want to keep track of any hidden food stashed in your car.  

If you hid some candy bars or other snacks in your glove compartment or wherever such as those granola bars in your car’s survival kit and are constantly replacing them, then you just might want to take them out.  You can always replace with a food item that you’re not so fond of in case you’re stranded on the road.

What I shared here will only make it easier for you to keep going with your weight loss goals.  Trust me on that because it is working for me and hopefully will help you in the same way, too!

Dieting Secrets That Can Help Slim You Faster

Let me share some dieting tricks that has been helping me.

Regardless of how hard you try, it is hard to stick to a diet after a while.  This is especially true when your weight seems to plateau and stays at the same notch on the scale regardless of eating less.  Instead of letting your frustration with that diet discourage you, I wanted to share some dieting tips that can help with your weight loss.

Some people like to keep a food diary of everything that they eat through an average day.  This includes all the tablespoons you sample when cooking, etc.  I, on the other hand, find that you are more motivated when you see everything that you put in your mouth in plain view such as on a sheet of paper attached to your refrigerator door with a magnet instead of in a notebook that could be out of sight in another room.  This way you can constantly be reminded of your food intake while keeping track before opening the refrigerator to possibly sabotage your diet.  If you’re away from home, then jotting what you eat on a sheet of paper and later attaching that to your refrigerator door to add on to also works.  

Eggs can be your friend.

Also, what I found helpful is taking time to read food labels not just the advertising on the box, jar, or can.  The small print with the ingredient list is where truth lies not the blatant claim in large letters that may fool you into thinking the product is healthier or has lower calories than it does.  

Another reason I honestly believe that a lot of people fail with diets is because of feeling deprived of foods they love.  Therefore, you can eat high calorie or high fat like a small piece of cake or ice cream if you use moderation and balance out what else you eat through the day to make up for it.  When you need to eat cake, try to eat a lighter meal of, perhaps, a bowl of soup or hard-boiled eggs, etc.

Something else that I have been doing is eating a piece of fruit or a cup of soup before a meal.  This helps fill you up while adding extra fiber, vitamins and minerals. 

I think people fail at their diet because they crash and burn trying to live up to eating habits that are unrealistic in our modern lives.  Try to follow your diet six days a week the best that you can, but tell yourself that one day on the weekend is your "treat" day whether it is sweets or salt that you crave.  If you try that, you’ll be surprised at how much willpower you’ll gain with something to look forward on your “treat” day.  

Let me know your thoughts and if you try this because this has been helpful for me.  I truly hope it works for you, too!

Some Helpful Dieting Tactics After Too Much Holiday Feasting

A few changes to your menu and meal preparation can be all it takes lighten up.

The holidays always lead us into more delicious temptation than usual.  Despite how hard we might try, this is prime time for overindulging, which can result in the pounds creeping up on us.  In order to protect yourself the next time you step on your scale, I have some simple ways to lighten your calorie intake without much effort.

For example, salads are wonderful and packed with nutrition.  The only problem is the dressings that we put on.  A tablespoon of ordinary French dressing is about 73 calories.  A creamy typical Ranch dressing is about 145 calories.  Of course, you always have the option of using a low-calorie or a fat-free version, but it comes with a price of substituting sugar, starch and salt in place of the fat, which is far from ideal since your mind could misinterpret it as the go-ahead to eat more.  However, you have other choices.

A suggestion is to dry your salad greens thoroughly after washing them before adding any dressing. 

Taking out your salad spinner will give you a workout at the same time while preventing pouring dressing over still wet greens to dilute the salad. A weaker tasting dressing may only increase the likelihood of you using more to pile on extra calories.

Soup is your friend, especially if you make it at home like chicken or beef soup.  You just don’t want to eat it first day.  Refrigerate the soup for a day and then skim off the fat before reheating.  What you’ll be doing is better for your health and shape.

If you love meats like beef, the best thing to do is keep your portion size about three-ounces.  You might compare this amount to the size of a typical bar of soap.  What I find helpful is cutting meats into cube size pieces and then pulling out my meat hammer to flatten them into thinner slices before marinading.  When you stretch the meat, it fools the brain into thinking that you’re eating more.  The beating process allows the marinade to absorb deeper through the fibers of the meat for the best flavor.  It also speeds up cooking.

Tell me what special calorie saving tips that you would like to share.  

How to Avoid Gaining Extra Weight Through the Holidays

With this strategy, you will not fall victim to delicious holiday temptations!

Many of us typically gain a few pounds over the holidays with all the delicious temptations set before us.  However, there are some helpful tricks that can help keep your diet under control without missing out on all the extra special treats set before you.

What I always found to work before visiting during the holidays is to eat ahead with something small that includes some protein like a one cup serving of cottage cheese.  This way if you fill up with a mini meal at home first you are not starving when you arrive at your destination. Doing so makes you more able to resist the platters of delectable hors d’oeuvres and cookies without falling victim to them.  The reason this helps is because protein is what you need to keep your blood sugar levels balanced and cravings under control.  

Of course, you don’t want to appear rude or miss out sampling some of the delights.  Yet, you might want to steer clear of certain types of hors d’oeuvres on crackers or walk away from bowls with pretzels, chips and other salty temptations.  Pretzels and chips are especially bad because who can eat just one chip or pretzel?  The refined carbohydrates they contain have the power to stir up your appetite, which is not what you want.  If a salty snack is what you long for, look for hors d’ouevres served on some fresh vegetable like filled celery sticks, filled mushroom caps, cheese, fruit, etc.

When it comes time to sit down to a meal, you have more freedom to treat yourself without worrying about piling on countless calories.  What I do is zero in on two of my favorites on the table to add to my plate and less of whatever else as well. Guilt of overindulging is reduced without sacrifice in this fashion.

These few dieting tips really do make a difference to keep holiday eating from getting the best of you.  It helps me and hopefully it will do the same for you.   

These Few Weight Loss Strategies Come in Handy Especially for Bathing Suit Season!

This beauty was ready for the beach and you can be too.

It is finally warming up enough to lose all the heavier clothing in favor of sleeveless summer dresses, shorts and body revealing bathing suits.  If you have tried your bathing suit on for the first time this year, you might smile as you pivot studying your reflection in a full-length mirror.  Then again, you might have put on a few pounds since the last time you either put that skimpy bikini on or shopped for a new one.  Instead of thinking an attractive cover up or a one piece suit is your only solution, then I disagree because there’s still time to get your body back with just a little patience and effort.

What I suggest is start measuring each portion of the food before it goes on your plate.  You will be shocked at how much you can eat when you use a measuring cup and a scale to weigh your foods. Believe it or not, estimating portions may have caused you to eat less of the nutritious foods for each meal than the recommended diet portion.  Therefore, it is easy to understand how you might have been filling up with empty calorie snacks to compensate.

For a beverage, water also helps to fill you up.  Besides herbal ice tea, you might also want to try a small glass of almond milk.  A cup of chocolate almond milk has 100 calories and tastes decadent when want something delicious and sweet that can curb your appetite.  

Something else that helps distract your mind off of the urge to eat is occupying it with another activity.  Have you ever noticed that you are never as hungry when you’re busy immersed in a project or a physical chore than when you’re just relaxing, perhaps, watching television?

One last piece of advice is brushing your teeth and floss within thirty minutes after eating.  I found it helps curb the urge to snack between meals since I don’t like to dirty my mouth and do the whole brushing and flossing again.  It may sound bizarre, but this works ideally after dinner when I would like to snack.

These weight loss strategies helped me and that’s why I’m sharing them with you.  Losing weight is hard and can be an everyday struggle, but is better when you have someone else going through it with you-–like me. So stay positive and keep trying because that bathing suit is waiting for your many admirers to see.  For more helpful advice, check my sidebar under the dieting label for additional suggestions.

Unintentional Mistakes That You May Be Making to Hamper Your Weight Loss Efforts!

Are you helping or hindering your weight loss efforts? 

I always had a great appreciation for delicious food.  Unfortunately that love can sneak up on you and add unwanted pounds to the body.  If you are also guilty of overly enjoying food and want your body back, then you know what follows next with the cycle of dieting and exercise.  However, if you’ve been losing this weight loss battle more than winning, then you could be unintentionally sabotaging yourself because of what you assumed was true.

While it is true that drastically cutting calories does seem to initially help you weigh less when you jump on the scale, attempting this form of dieting also backfires in time.  In the world we live, temptation is all around us. Constantly denying yourself something you crave eventually sets in.  Your willpower breaks, only resulting in you eating more, perhaps even to make up for all you missed. 

An Unbelievable Way to Curb Your Appetite That I Swear by!

Regardless of my love of baking on the weekends, I do try to behave myself and control my eating most of the time for those other five days.  Trying to cut back on those calories is never easy and can be a daily struggle, but I  found a way to help curb eating that honestly does work.  

You won't believe how beneficial a carrot can be until you read this post.

What I have been doing is eating fresh carrots one hour before dinner.  Believe it or not, I peel a fat carrot or several small carrots and then slit lengthwise into thinner strips.  I like to prepare them that way because it takes longer to eat.  

Timing my carrot break one hour before dinner allows me to eat a lot less.  Seriously, I’ve tried those nutrition bars and shakes that are meant to curb appetite, but nothing ever really helped as much as turning to carrots in their value to lose weight.  

I can almost hear you snickering through the computer as you read these words, but as you fill up on all that fiber, beta-carotene that converts into skin beneficial vitamin A and other antioxidants like vitamin E, C, and copper, you're also beautifying your skin along with improving the look of your body.  Carrots are also a great source of biotin (B7) for nail and hair health and other skin friendly B vitamins like pyridoxine and pyridoxamine (B6), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), and folate (B9) to keep it thriving.

Before you chalk this off, I hope that you try what I am suggesting here.  If so, I know that you will be amazed at the power of what the mere carrot can do to fill you up and improve your overall appearance. The only way that I can make a believer out of you is for you to try my method.  Trust me, but you will eat less and notice your weight drop once you step on your scale!

How to Stop Letting Emotional Eating Take Control of Your Life and Body!

Food and emotions affect people differently.  For example, some of us when bored, lonely or under stress cannot eat.  On the other hand, others experiencing that same thing may find themselves mindlessly eating more–and usually not what’s good for them.

If you’re one that reacts to such obstacles in your life with food, then you are not alone. Half of my own family, including yours truly, have been known to find temporary comfort in ice cream, cakes, pies, and too many cookies when problems occur while the rest need coaxed to eat anything because they lose their appetites.  Instead of letting those emotions get the better of us, I have some suggestions that may help keep you from falling into this emotional overeating trap.

Taking comfort in rich foods to distract you from what's going on in your life can backfire.

When the first thing you do when faced with a difficult situation is to head to the freezer for ice cream or raid the refrigerator for something rich and loaded with calories that you’ll eventually regret eating later don’t deny yourself what you’re craving.  My advice is to eat what you’re hungry for, only a moderate size serving. Though a treat or that snack piles on extra calories, denying yourself what your mind has its heart set on will only make you want to eat that wrong choice of food more.  

How to Survive Winter Without Adding on the Pounds!

Keeping your scale close to where you eat  in the kitchen helps your thinking about what goes into your mouth.dd caption

I don’t know about you, but winter is always the time of year when those pounds can creep up.  Overeating or indulging in higher calorie dishes and treats during the holidays doesn’t help to start this fattening cycle. Later, you tell yourself that you simply need to eat more to keep warm–-at least this has always been my excuse.  Nonetheless, with the dieting strategies that I’m about to share, you’ll be better equipped to keep your eating more in control.

Some Simple Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight As Quickly As You Had Hoped!

This beauty may be blaming herself when there could be other reasons those pounds linger.

Following a diet can be rough.  This is especially true when you keep checking the scale and that number doesn’t seem to move, leaving you frustrated and confused since you are doing all the right things.  Though as disciplined as you might be, there are others factors that may be to blame.

Here's Some Realistic, Doable Dieting Advice That Can Help You Lose Weight!

Losing weight can be a challenge, but it is easier with this strategy that worked for me.

Dieting is tough business.  We all start out determined that this time we will succeed and stay on track.  No one expects that once your weight plateaus that you might blame the diet or just stray off the course due to food boredom.  However, I want to share some useful dieting pointers that worked for me.

Though you have a set number of pounds to lose, jumping on the scale every morning may not be the best idea.  When that number on the scale doesn’t move as fast as you were hoping, this can leave to frustration. Therefore, weigh yourself weekly at the same time allows how your efforts are really working instead of disappointment when that number doesn’t move fast enough.

Foods That Can Help Your Dieting Efforts When You Have the Urge to Snack!

Apples are just one food you may want to stock up on when dieting.

Trying to shed weight is never an easy task.  Whether you’re cutting back on your calorie intake or changing your diet and food choices, you may find that you’re still hungry.  Instead of suffering because you’re determined to stay on track, then I some helpful dieting advice that I want to share.

What I suggest is eating foods that provide plenty of filling protein or are loaded with fiber will keep you more satisfied than what you’re eating.  For example, a lowly large egg, for one, has only 78 calories each while being a great source of B vitamins, vitamin D, and minerals such zinc, selenium, iron, and copper.  When that urge to break your diet strikes, try eating a hard-boiled egg over a former snack choice. 

Recipe: My Delicious Mediterranean Tuna-Bean Salad is Another Ideal Light, Make-Ahead Summer Meal!

My Mediterranean Tuna-Bean Salad is no-work, delicious, cool when it's hot, and can free up a summer day!

Instead of being cooped up in your kitchen around a hot stove cooking, I have a wonderful light meal that you can use also as a side dish that is perfect to make ahead and enjoy later with fresh vegetables. Another nice thing about my recipe is that it is perfect to take with you for a lunch at work. 

My Mediterranean Tuna-Bean Salad is easy, protein packed with hardly any fat while being absolutely delicious and bursting with flavor from sweet Vidalia onions, oregano, a little garlic, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar flattering tuna and white beans.  

How to Select Great Tasting, Figure and Skin Beneficial Melons

This beauty knows and appreciates the benefits of eating melons!

Fresh melons are abundant right now and friends of your figure, skin, and overall health with all their vitamins and minerals that they provide.  However, they can be confusing when you are trying to pick out a good one.  

When you are looking for a ripe watermelon, you want one that has more of a nice, uniform shape and a creamy yellow underside.  Those that are all green in color haven't fully ripened.  The bit of yellow at the bottom is a sign that the melon had a chance to better mature for as long as it sat on the ground.  Another sign of sweetness is looking for marks where a bee might have stung it.  Some people like to tap their melon to tell if it is ripe.  I never had much luck with that method, but my friend swears by it.  If you hit that watermelon and hear somewhat of a hollow sound, then this is another indicator of a good melon.

Watermelons not only have ample vitamin C and A that you can get a fifth of your recommended daily supply, but are low in calories with 46 per cup so you can enjoy snacking and dessert more freely.  This fruit cleanses the toxins.  Equally impressive is that this particular melon doesn’t cause bloating like what you can experience when eating peaches or plums with the way it breaks down the sugars in your system.

Cantaloupes, on the other hand, need a different sort of inspection.  What you want to do is carefully examine the indented area where the stem was.  If that stem end fails to look sunk in enough, then pass that one by because it is not fully developed.  It should have stayed on the vine longer!

What I really love about cantaloupes is what it can do for your skin with all its antioxidant power and carotenoids for beauty for protecting and renewing tissues, but also for its anti-inflammatory phytonutrients for general health.  

To pick out a great honeydew melon, make sure that the rind has an even texture with white, pale green or some yellow color to it.  Those that like to judge a melon by smell, a good honeydew is one that has somewhat of a light fruity aroma.  Avoid ones that are overly fragrant or have a hard stem end.  You want to find a bit of softness near the stem.

Besides having just 60 calories per cup, honeydews are just helpful for your system as watermelon with all the water this melon contains.  Believe it or not, honeydews and bananas are comparable in potassium. They also are rich in B vitamins like thiamine (B1), niacin (B3),  pantothenic acid (B5), including copper to further benefit your complexion.

Now is the perfect time to take advantage of what the melon has to offer with their healthy deliciousness and nutritional capabilities for what they can do for our bodies and skin!

Recipe: You Won’t Miss Taste, Only Calories With My Creamy, Low-Cal Italian Salad Dressing!

 A delicious plate of my Creamy, Low-Cal Italian Salad Dressing!

Though extremely appetizing, creamy salad dressings often can have more calories in a few tablespoons that a total meal.  Of course, you can always have the option of dipping a dry salad just for the lightest way to eat it.  Nonetheless, it isn’t the same.  But, what if I told you that the recipe that I have for you is more friendly for your diet and will fool your taste with its satisfying creaminess, spices and herbs while being more nourishing with cottage cheese in the base at the same time?

Why You Really Need Breakfast If You Want to Keep Weight Off

Eating breakfast energizes the body and mind but also helps with weight.

How many times have you heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? After all, it is the fuel your body needs to get going as well as carry you through all you do until lunch. Yet, some of us may tend to skip it either for lack of appetite or just because of time.

If this sounds like you, then you aren’t doing your body or health a favor.  Research has shown those that skip breakfast usually eat more calories through the day than breakfast eaters.  In fact, close to half of those that don’t normally eat breakfast have a significant weight problem.  

Perhaps, you wake up and feel too full to even consider a bowl of oatmeal, cereal, eggs, yogurt, fruits, smoothie, or the like.  If so, the cause could be from eating too late at night whether your dinner or due to bad snacking habits.  

Hunger does kick in even if it is an hour or two later and when it does, we do satisfy it with foods that are available like visiting vending machines for empty nutritional calories from candy bars, chips, etc.  Instead, you might want to start retraining your eating habits to get yourself back on track.  How does this happen you might wonder?  

Recipe: Chase Away Thoughts of Cold With a Plate of My Special Nippy Stove Top Mac and Cheese!

 With a plate of my Special Nippy Stove Top Mac and Cheese, you heat up in record time!

As you might know, I am not a fan of winter or laboring too hard in the kitchen when there is no need. Today, I want to share a quick way that you can heat up after you come in from the cold with this easy quick dish. Though you may think this is just another plain, old mac and cheese recipe, I assure you that it is not.  My Special Nippy Stove Top Mac and Cheese may have the creamy, velvety texture and cheese, but I doubt it has red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, fresh mushrooms for extra protein, and my secret ingredient until now of just a little salad dressing to heighten the flavor.

What else I think that you’re going to love about this delicious change from your standard macaroni and cheese recipe is how simple and extra filling it is with adding a cup of onion, two cloves of garlic, and a half of pound of fresh mushrooms. 

You also may notice that this recipe has less cheese and milk instead of the richer half-and-half or evaporated milk to make it a bit more diet friendly with less calories and fats.  Trust me, I am a cheese fanatic, but you will not feel deprived of that cheese once you taste this.  In fact, I used 2-percent milk over whole milk and no one suspected. 

Review: Sugarless Sensations Sugarless Subscription (Winter Traditions 2015 Box) Can Make Weight Management Easier!

**Disclaimer:  This post has been compensated through a free product (s) or monetary payment.  Opinions are solely mine. All links are "no-follow" links.**

Sugarless Sensations Sugarless Winter Traditions 2015 Box

Sugarless Sensations

According to the USDA, the average American consumes somewhere in the range of 150 to 170 pounds of refined sugars a year, which increases our weight and chance to develop diabetes.   Yet, unless you were told to watch your diet, have diabetes, or live with someone that may be a pre-diabetic, then you probably would never give it much thought or know how hard it is to miss all the cookies, cakes, pies, desserts, ice cream, etc. while the rest of the world continues to eat those sugary treats without you. However, with a Sugarless Sensations Subscription I can honestly tell you would never know the difference.  

Take a look at all you get and the generous sizes in a Sugarless Sensations Box like this Winter Traditions Box.  A card detailing each product comes with it.

Anyone trying to find delicious sugar-free substitutes, low-carb or low glycemic foods really would love this subscription.  Each Sugarless Sensations box has anywhere between six and eight sugarless treats and tasty, savory snacks that would fool even your pickiest eater for a cost of $39 a month with free shipping.  

You may think that I must be exaggerating because nothing sugar-free or low-carb could possibly compare to the real deal.  I was of the same thought until sampling this fabulously curated selection that came in their Sugarless Sensations Winter Traditions Sugarless Box.

Trust me, watching your diet will never taste better with the companies chosen for this box.  Wait until you hear more about that Winter Traditions Sugarless Box that arrived and then you can judge.

The Help You Need When Bloating Occurs to Get Your Svelte Figure Back!

Of course, you can unbutton your jeans when bloating begins.  However, you can do more with these helpful tips.

Having a bloated stomach is no picnic.  Despite how great an article of clothing fit you before, it can suddenly ruin your look and mood when you come face to face with your full-length mirror.  When this problem occurs the immediate solution is rummaging through your closet and trying one thing after another for a better fit. However, you lessen your chances of bloating if you know the difference between foods that can cause bloating and others that can help reduce it.

When your body bloats, it is also retaining extra water that needs to leave your system.  Therefore, foods that are natural diuretics can help get those trapped fluids moving along as they should.  

Foods That Help When Bloating Occurs

Bananas are excellent for help with water retention.  They not only have potassium for keeping leg cramps away but also for how wonderfully that specific mineral rids the body of sodium in the process.

Watermelon is another fruit that helps reduce that bloat with all its juice.  It also has a healthy dose of potassium, vitamins A and C, dietary fiber and more lycopene than any other form of fresh produce according to Watermelon.org.  For 40 calories per cup, you can enjoy its sweetness without guilt that you are breaking your diet.

Other natural diuretics are citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons.  They can help push excess water out while keeping you hydrated.  Instead of coffee that contributes to bloat, you might want to try switching to water with some fresh lemon for your beverage. It’s refreshing and also will act as a mild laxative to keep everything moving instead of adding to this problem.

Leafy green vegetables also have a lot of beneficial potassium that will come to your rescue when your tummy swells.  Fresh spinach, kale and Swiss chard are just a few rich sources of potassium as well. 

Asparagus is another winner when bloated since it has asparagine, an amino acid that makes it a natural diuretic also.  

Cucumbers are something else to reach for when bloating occurs due to its quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant that counteracts swelling.

Celery can also rescue you when you’re bloated.  This vegetable is also a natural diuretic.

Tropical fruits like kiwis, pineapples and papayas all have protein-splitting enzymes that could help with digestion and a bloat problem.

Probiotics like yogurt or soy drinks or any labeled foods with “live and active cultures” have beneficial bacteria that can help.  

Something else that comes in handy is trying fennel seeds, especially if you’re suffering with painful gas. The most direct way is to chew about one-half teaspoon of these seeds.  

These are just some suggestions that can help relieve the discomfort as well as deflate that puffy stomach. However, if bloating happens more often than you like then you may want to eliminate some foods from your diet.

Foods That Contribute to Bloating

Cabbage, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli are just a few examples.   They contain a sugar called raffinose that can stay undigested in your gut for a time until your own body’s bacteria kicks in. Unfortunately, this wait can cause stomach expansion and gas pain with it.  

Dairy products can cause the same problem if you happen to be unable to digest lactose.  A simple fix is buying lactose-free milk and nondairy replacements for cheeses.

Coffee is not the only beverage that causes bloating.  Carbonated beverages can also be blamed, especially worse are the ones that contain artificial sweeteners that have sugars that your digestive system has difficulty in breaking down.

Apples have a lot of natural sugars that can bring on bloating due to how long it takes the body to process them.  Pears, raisins, prunes, and grapes can be just as detrimental.

You also might want to try salting your food less or use a salt alternative.  Do try my herbal salt substitute recipe. Here are two other flavorful homemade substitutes I like to use.  If you do, you will retain less water and have a flatter stomach.  

Start looking at the sodium content of the foods that you buy because you may want to buy lower-sodium products.  Convenience foods are notorious for having too much sodium.

Hopefully the information presented here will help keep you staying and feeling as beautiful as possible.  If all else fails, you also may want to see your family doctor to see if there is another cause.

Recipe: Time to Pamper Yourself With My Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake!

Unlike a typical New York style cheesecake that calls for several eight-ounce packages of cream cheese, my recipe is a delicious, low-calorie version.  What I have for you today with my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake tastes just as decadent, only mine has an airier texture since it uses cottage cheese instead. You will be surprised at its luscious creaminess and how the combination of chocolate and orange zest are so perfectly matched to give it something special.

In this photo, a piece of my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake looks lighter and more the shade of pumpkin pie.  However, this is just the lighting.  In reality, this color is more brown than it appears.

Making this cheesecake is also so simple because you just need to beat the filling ingredients together in your food processor first and then pour into an unbaked pie shell.  The hard part is waiting for it to chill in the refrigerator until it is ready to serve.

Although many may prefer a graham cracker crust, I use the easy oil pie crust recipe that I always do.  In fact, my recipe can be stretched thin enough to fit in a 10-inch Corning Ware fluted quiche that I’m using, which is another reason to love it because you get a large cheesecake without eating all that much crust.

If you don’t have any fresh orange to finely grate, you can use orange extract.  Another suggestion is the next time you have some nice, thick-skinned oranges, do what I do and grate, wrap a few packets and freeze for later use for cakes, frostings, sweet rolls, and coffee cakes.

Do try this cheesecake because I promise it’s a keeper!


My Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake

3 large eggs
1 pound of cottage cheese
2/3 cup of sugar + 1 tablespoon
½ cup of dry milk solids
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of finely grated orange peel
1 tablespoon of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 unbaked 10-inch pie crust 


Make your pie crust and fit it into your well-greased pan.  I get a large cheesecake out of this recipe and fit mine into a white Corning Ware 10" fluted quiche pan.

In your food processor beat: the eggs, cottage cheese, sugar, dry milk solids, cocoa, orange peel, flour, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Pour into your unbaked shell and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until you insert a toothpick or a slender knife into it and it comes out clean.

ENJOY!

Here is another photo of a piece of my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake.