Thanksgiving meals require a lot of high fat ingredients that help you to put on weight over the holiday period. Listed below are the ingredients that are usually to blame for causing expanding waist lines during the holiday season. Although many of the substitutions are not ideal, they are an improvement.

To some extend high fat in the diet is not the major problem - the major problem is that high fat meals hold more energy, therefore you are actually consuming far more calories when you cook with the high fat versions.

Although Thanksgiving is not really a time to go on a calorie controlled weight loss diet, there is no reason why you cannot improve your Thanksgiving diet by making a few small changes.

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Substitution Tips

Criticism of the Thanksgiving Diet

This diet, often referred to as a ThanksGiving diet, or holiday season diet, is really slightly flawed. Although there is more energy in fat than protein or carbs, low fat foods are often higher in sugar. To ensure that you do not gain too much weight, it may be more sensible to consume less starchy food, such as bread, past and rice, before and during the holiday period.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

This article from John Davenport explains how you can turn an unhealthy holiday meal into a healthier dinner which will not leave you feeling fatter and heavier!

Any one who is struggling with their weight knows that the holidays is a dangerous time. Among all holidays, Thanksgiving is the worst of all holidays because it’s centered around food. Just because you want to lose weight doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t enjoy yourself on this holiday; after all, it comes just once a year. But if you want to enjoy thanksgiving without letting it ruin your diet, I have a few ideas. Simple adjustments to the regular Thanksgiving dinner dishes can make all the difference between a calorie swamped meal to a lean but enjoyable feast for you and your family.

Here are some tasty and healthy thanksgiving recipes:

1. Turkey This is of course the center piece of any holiday meal and for no reason should you avoid it. Turkey is very lean in itself. The problem is that it’s usually basted in butter. Butter contains tons of calories and fat. If you’re the one doing the cooking, try swapping butter for another tasty dressing like fine olive oils and herbs. It’s very good, and extremely tasty.

2. Eggnog Eggnog is a calorie rich beverage and the bad thing is that it doesn’t even fill you up. If it’s possible, swap this drink for some hot cider (also traditional). If not, limit yourself to 1-2 cups at the most. It will be enough to get you into the holiday spirit.

3. Rolls and bread Swap white flour rolls for whole wheat or whole flour rolls. Try to avoid buttering your rolls., try olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead.

4. Sweet potatoes This is a healthy and low calorie vegetable. The problem is that people make it into casseroles with a lot of extra ingredients which are fatty and unhealthy. Simply bake the sweet potatoes. It’s both healthy and tasty.

5. Desert A lot of people simply go overboard with deserts. This is a calorie quicksand trap which can easily suck you in. Why don’t you try to serve fruit as desert? You can create an appealing bowl with lots of cut fruit and serve it to everyone’s admiration. People love fruit, and they’re very healthy.

I hope I’ve dispelled some of your fears regarding Thanksgiving and the effect it can have on you diet. Enjoy the holiday but make a commitment to yourself to go back on a diet once the holiday is over.

To read how you can start to lose as much as 9 lbs. and 11 days and keep it off, visit this webpage:
How to lose 9 lbs. every 11 days with The Shifting Calories method

The paleolithic diet, also known as the Stone Age Diet or Cave Man Diet, is simply a return to eating the foods that humans would have consumed before agriculture and farming became common. Also, it emphasises eating raw foods, as cooking would have been a rarity.

The paleolithic diet is intended to emulate the ancient diet of wild plants and animals that humans consumed up until the end of the stone age, which was about 10,000 years ago. It is based upon commonly available modern foods, including lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts. It excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar, and processed oils.

It was first popularized in the mid 1970s by a gastroenterologist named Walter L. Voegtlin. Building upon the principles of evolutionary medicine, it is based on the premise that modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors and that human genetics have scarcely changed since the dawn of agriculture, and therefore that an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that resembles this ancestral diet.

This dietary approach is a controversial topic amongst nutritionists and anthropologists. Advocates argue that modern human populations subsisting on traditional diets similar to those of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers are largely free of diseases of affluence, and that such diets produce beneficial health outcomes in controlled medical studies.

Supporters point to several potentially therapeutic nutritional characteristics of preagricultural diets. Critics of this nutritional approach have taken issue with its underlying evolutionary logic, and have disputed certain dietary prescriptions on the grounds that they pose health risks and may not reflect the features of ancient Paleolithic diets. It is not a realistic alternative for everyone.

Why is the Palaeolithic Diet The Popular new Approach?

Since the end of the Paleolithic period, foods that humans would have rarely or never consumed during previous stages of their evolution have been introduced as staples in their diet, namely dairy products, beans, cereals, alcohol, salt and fatty domestic meats.

In the last 150 years agriculture has boomed, with the production of refined cereals, refined sugars and refined vegetable oils, as well fattier domestic meats, which have become major components of Western diets. These dietary compositional changes have been implicated as risk factors in the many of the “diseases of civilization”, which include obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, autoimmune-related diseases and cancer.

Healthiest Foods to Eat on the Stone Age, Hunter-Gather Diet

There are too many foods that can be eaten, and that should be avoided, to list here. However, some of the allowed foods are also super foods, so we shall concentrate on these:

Salmon: Salmon packs a great source of protein coupled with omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is also a good source of vitamins B6 and B12. Choose wild salmon whenever possible.

Blueberries: A powerhouse of vitamins, antioxidants which neutralize cell damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer.

Kale: One of the best leafy greens. It is proven at fighting cancer and detoxifying. Kale provides a good source of Vitamin A and beta carotene; both essential for eye health and to prevent degenerative macular conditions like glaucoma. Kale contains 88% of the RDA of Vitamin C.

Apples: Healthy, high in fiber. The sweetness of an apple is due to fructose, a slow-digesting sugar that won’t spike your blood sugar. Fiber helps to regulate blood sugar and can control apetite better than other fruits. Apples are one of the foods we strongly recommend you purchase organic, and be sure to eat the peel.

Grass Fed Beef: Organic grass-fed beef makes our list of the ten healthiest paleolithic foods. The beef produced from grass-fed cattle is lean and comparable to the wild meats in a classic cave man diet. Grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3 essential fatty acids and beta carotene.

Almonds: High in monounsaturated fats, decrease cholesterol levels and aid in preventing heart disease. Eaten with a meal decrease the post meal blood sugar spike.

Beets: Red color gives them cancer-fighting properties. They lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease. Also full of antioxidants.

Avocado: Source of potassium and folate, lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. They also help you absorb more of the fat-soluble vitamins from the other vegetables.

Garlic: Great for your heart; reduces blood pressure. High in vitamin C, B6, selenium, and manganese. Choose fresh garlic over powders or even garlic sold pre-chopped in jars.

Carrots Cheap, versatile, full of vitamins and nutrients. One of the richest natural sources of carotenoids, have been linked to the prevention and fighting of several common types of cancer. Can be enjoyed raw or cooked.

So, time to act more like a cave man (or cave woman) and less like a junkie. Eating a natural diet like this will strengthen your immune system as well as your body. Bone strength and density is related to diet, as is a healthy cardiovascular system. If you want to be strong like a caveman, then eat like Captain Caveman!

Customer Reviews of Neaderthin

Fantastic book!
This book is truly amazing. I believe that the author has gone to his heart in order to access hundreds of thousands year old information that will allow us all to eat the way we are meant to. His book is easily understood and fascinating. I wish more people would read this book and exercise the simple principles found within. People need to see that what they eat (processed foods, carbohydrates - i.e. sugar) is killing them, making them weak physically and emotionally. It’s time for a revolution - eat meat! Get strong! Be alive! Become vibrant!

It’s now my second Bible
This diet is simpler than Atkins but very similar.
In my teen years a friend got me on a “natural kick”. I retained this through the years eliminating processed sugar,salt, food dies simply by reading labels. However I still needed more help. On finding this book my search had ended, here was clear logical guidance for a simple weight loss & healthy life style. Well it was not hard to drop grain products, dairy presented some problems, but once I maintained a state of ketosis and maintained a regular exercise program, I shed 30 lbs. and other health problems disappeared quickly. So dust off your bicycle, don’t eat another potato product, relearn to enjoy food again. p.s. WHY IS SOY used in 95% of all processed food?. This stuff is POISON. Unfit for human consumption.

The Cabbage Soup Diet is possibly the most infamous diet ever created. When people talk about strict weight loss diets, often the first that springs to mind is the Cabbage Soup Diet. People often feel slightly revolted at the thought of eating nothing but cabbage soup, with memories of over boiled cabbage served in school dinners being the main reason that people are put off!

The Cabbage soup diet simply involves a consumption of large amounts of low-calorie cabbage soup over the period of one week. It is really a typical short term fad diet, in that it is designed for quick weight-loss and requires no long-term commitment. Although the Diet claims that it can help you to lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of fat in a week, medical advisers are quick to point out that it is almost impossible to lose that much fat within a week. The likely reason for much of the weight loss during the seven day period is that water is lost, not fat.

The 7 Day Cabbage Soup Diet

Beverages are limited to water, and unsweetened fruit juice on days when fruit is allowed. This is a typical outline of the diet:

• Day 1 - Cabbage soup plus as much fruit as you like, excluding bananas
• Day 2 - Cabbage soup plus vegetables including 1 jacket (baked) potato with a little butter
• Day 3 - Cabbage soup plus fruit and vegetables excluding potatoes and bananas
• Day 4 - Cabbage soup plus up to eight bananas and as much skimmed milk as you like
• Day 5 - Cabbage soup plus up to 20 ounces of beef and up to six tomatoes
• Day 6 - Cabbage soup plus as much beef and vegetables (excluding potatoes) as you like
• Day 7 - Cabbage soup plus brown rice, vegetables (excluding potatoes) and unsweetened fruit juice

This diet is similar in style to the Maple Syrup Diet, in that it simply restricts calorific intake in an extreme way. Many people claim that the diet does not work, but this is almost always because of one or more of the following reasons:

1. They do not adhere to the strict rules over the week (i.e. cheat foods are eaten, sugary drinks drunk)
2. After the diet they revert back to their old lifestyle rather than taking advantage of a lighter frame to do more exercise.
3. They eat some bread with their soup! Yes, some people think that bread cannot make you fat. Those people are wrong!

Since I’ve been losing weight, I’ve been experimenting with ways to create some of my favourite standard meals - most of which it turns out, were very, very fattening. My family has always been really big on Italian and Mexican foods, and those types of dishes are traditionally very, very high in both carbohydrates and fat. With this healthy chicken Parmesan I tried to cut the fat - but also go really big on taste to make up for it.

Ingredients:

1/3 Vidalia Onion
10 baby or one large carrot shredded
1/2 large green pepper
5 cloves garlic
Italian seasoning
garlic powder
3 tbsp Xylitol (or other sweetener)
1 Jar Spaghetti sauce (or make you own healthy Bolognese sauce)
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 large tomatoes or 6 Roma tomatoes
1 lb organic wheat pasta (I used Thin Spaghetti)
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

I’m part Italian, but not enough so that I have to make my own sauce for hours and hours. I do however, like to make a hybrid half-homemade and half-jar tomato based sauce. You could just use premium sauce from the jar - but that just wouldn’t be as good would it? I usually like to use up veggies in the fridge, and in this case I had a bowl of fresh tomatoes and a pepper from the garden that smelled especially good.

Start out by adding the olive oil to a large skillet/saucepan on the stove. Place your 4 chicken breasts in the pan and turn the heat on medium-high. While this cooks, chop up your onion and pepper, and shred your carrot. By this time your chicken has cooked on one side 5-8 minutes, turn it over and add these veggies to your saucepan on top of the chicken. While that cooks, chop up your garlic cloves and set aside. Next Dice up your tomatoes. By the time you are done chopping the tomatoes it’s time to turn your chicken again. Add the chopped tomatoes and garlic to the pan, stir everything up around the chicken the best you can. You can turn the heat down just slightly above medium now.

While that simmers uncovered, next I run the hot water and then fill a 4 quart pot halfway with hot water and place on the stove on low. I want the water to be just a minute away from boiling when I need it (pasta cooks quick). Now I add some Italian seasoning and some garlic powder, and even some salt and ground pepper to the chicken and sauce base. I’ll let this cook maybe 5 minutes more and then I add the entire jar of spaghetti sauce and the Xylitol and mix it up really good with the veggies in and around the chicken. You might have to pile the chicken up in either side of the pan twice to do this effectively. Then, cover your pan with a lid and simmer and medium low. The reason I use Xylitol sugar substitute is because it gives the sauce a slightly sweet taste and it balances out the garlic and enhances the natural sweetness of the carrots. Xylitol is good for you because it’s a natural sugar substitute (found in vegetables), and it has no cooking aftertaste, it tastes exactly like sugar - with none of the calories. It doesn’t affect blood sugar at all. You can get it at any health food store.

Now turn the water pan up to high and get it boiling, add the wheat pasta and boil for 6-8 minutes. About halfway through stir up your chicken and sauce mixture. Drain your pasta, and I usually drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to keep it from sticking, and also a bit of fresh ground pepper. Now you can turn off the chicken. Grab four plates, and distribute the pasta evenly. Place one chicken breast on each mound of pasta and sauce over the top and onto the noodles. Sprinkle your fresh ground parmesan cheese over each sauce covered chicken breast and serve!

John Pratt writes about his Fastest Weight Loss Diet, in addition to healthy recipes like this at Free Recipes Online

Eating healthily is a hot topic at the moment, with good reason obviously. There is no need to go through the benefits here because there is a wealth of information readily available on the internet. Suffice to say that eating well is good for the body and the conscience!

On a Budget or Short of Time?

The problem is, many people think that eating well is either time consuming, expensive - or both. If you don’t like cooking or you’re feeding a family on a budget, it is all too tempting to opt for ready meals or other processed food that is quick, easy and cheap. That’s understandable of course: in our busy lifestyles thinking about cooking can be seen as an unnecessary hassle. However, it doesn’t have to be like that and below is a list of ten quick, easy and healthy meals that will hopefully inspire and encourage!

1. Roast Tomato & Garlic Pasta
This is well worth a try because it is absolutely delicious! Simply chuck a load of cherry tomatoes in a roasting pan together with as many peeled cloves of garlic as you fancy. Drizzle with oil, add some crushed chillies and a little bit of sugar and roast in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. If you’re feeling that way inclined, add some diced chorizo - but of course in moderation because it’s supposed to be healthy! Cook up some pasta, mix with the roasted tomatoes and garlic, and enjoy!

2. Chicken & Avocado Salad
This recipe can be found at the BBC Good Food site. It’s a great summer recipe and delicious. Add whatever you like to the salad - peppers, radishes and olives are always good!

3. Black Eyed Beans with Spinach
This is nicer than it sounds! It takes about an hour, but it’s not labour-intensive. Soak and cook the dried black eyed beans according to the instructions. When they’re cooked, take the pan off the heat and add loads of spinach for 3 or 4 minutes. Strain and serve with lots of tomatoes, red onion, olives, lemon and olive oil.

4. Spiced Chickpea, Avocado, Pepper & Tomato Salad
This recipe can be found at the Waitrose Web site. If you’re feeling particularly in the mood for cooking, you can follow the recipe and prepare the peppers and tomatoes according to the instructions. Otherwise just dice the peppers and halve the tomatoes without bothering to de-skin the peppers and de-seed the tomatoes.

5. Spiced Lentil Soup
As with the black eyed beans mentioned above, Spiced Lentil Soup is nicer than it sounds. In fact, if you’re not a great fan of veggies, make a soup out of them! Believe it or not, even cauliflower soup and broccoli soup tastes delicious!

6. Chicken Noodles with Black Bean Sauce
This has got quite a lot of salt so don’t have it too often. The list of ingredients is simple but for an even nicer, healthier dish add baby sweetcorn, broccoli florets, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Just make sure you have a big wok!

7. Super Quick Fish Curry
If you’re not a great fan of fish, this meal is ideal. Cod is mild and is disguised anyway by the delicious sauce.

8. Pasta Salad
This is a great dish that can be rustled up in a flash. Cook up some pasta and add whatever ingredients you have in your kitchen - tomatoes, sweetcorn, artichokes, avocado, garlic, sun dried tomatoes and rosemary are all good in this dish. Add olive oil and a touch of wine vinegar if you like it tangy and serve with crusty brown bread.

9. Sticky Chicken with Mango Couscous
Delicous, quick and healthy - what more do you need! The recipe for this dish can be found at the BBC Good Food site.

10. Mixed Mushroom & Ham Salad
Another great summer meal, but perhaps give the butter a miss.

For links to all the recipes above visit our original article at http://www.watchingusloseweight.com

The Egg Diet is not a diet consisting of only eggs. However, it does involve eating a larger part of your protein allowance in the form of eggs. The egg diet has its origins in the induction phase of the Atkins Diet, as eggs are one of the healthiest ways to consume a high protein, low carb diet without increasing saturated fats. Eggs are an excellent source of protein and other vital nutrients. They contain all the essential amino acids in the correct proportions and are therefore a good source of complete protein. They are also a significant source of vitamins B2, B12, D, E, and folate, in addition to iron.

The iron in egg yolks, like the iron found in meat, is easily absorbed by the body. Eggs contain other vitamins and minerals in smaller amounts, including vitamins B1 and B6, phosphorus, and zinc. Eggs are also one of the best sources of choline, a substance involved in the transport of fat in the body. Choline is also important for the manufacture of phospholipids, which are the major structural components of cell membranes.

Most of the vitamins and minerals in eggs are found in the yolk, but the white is also a good source protein and contains little fat a no cholesterol.

A word of warning - eggs are one of the main sources of cholesterol in the average western diet. However, eggs are relatively low in calories an saturated fat, in fact egg white does do not contain any fat. Nutritionists used to advise that eating eggs should be limited, but this advice has been revised. Research also shows that there is no link between egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease.

Eggs are an almost ideal protein source. Low in saturated fat and calories, but an excellent source of complete protein, eggs provide an inexpensive and nutritious addition to your diet. Before the days of protein shakes, athletes and boxers would simply eat more eggs, often raw with milk, for breakfast.

How Many Eggs Should You Eat a Day?

Cholesterol is not found in large amounts in many foods, except in eggs and in offal such as liver and kidneys. The cholesterol in these foods does not usually make a great contribution to blood cholesterol levels. However, if you have a high level of blood cholesterol it is probably wise to limit eggs to about three a week. If you need to reduce your cholesterol levels, it is much more important to reduce the total amount of fat you eat, and to change the types of fat you eat. This is because saturated fat has more of an impact on blood cholesterol levels than eating foods high in dietary cholesterol. Eating a high-fibre diet may also help to reduce the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed into the bloodstream.

There is no limit to how many egg whites you can eat, so look at ways to use more egg whites in your cooking. When cooking eggs, avoid adding butter and cheese, which will add saturated fat.

An ideal egg meal would be a filled omelette. Eggs are a useful source of many important nutrients. An omelette filled with mushrooms and tomatoes will make a quick, tasty, and nutritious lunch.

See also: How Many Eggs Is Too Many Eggs? Are Eggs Good or Bad for Health? and The Benefits Of Protein Powders. Egg is a major ingredient in many protein powders!

Nuts are not enough to be a diet in themselves, but should form part of a healthy and well balanced diet. Nuts are a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, and Nuts are 10-25% protein, high in both mono- and polyunsaturated fats, and a good source of dietary fibre. Nuts are also free of cholesterol, like other plant foods. However, as because all nuts are high in fat, they should be eaten in moderation. Also it is best to avoid the salted varieties.

So, which are the best nuts to eat?

Almonds: Almonds are high in monounsaturated fat, and are also a good source of protein, vitamins B2 and E, calcium, iron, and zinc.

Brazil nuts: Rich in protein, iron, calcium, and zinc, Brazil nuts also contain the highest natural source of selenium - one nut exceeds the recommended daily amount (RDA).

Cashews: High in fat (but lower than almonds, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts), these contain essential fatty acids, fibre, protein, carbohydrate, B vitamins, and iron and zinc.

Chestnuts: Containing less fat than most other nuts, chestnuts do have microminerals and potassium, but are not a good source of protein.

Hazelnuts: Containing fibre, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin E, these are a good source of protein.

Peanuts: Technically a legume (i.e. more like a hard pea than a nut, thus the name “pea nut”), these contain more protein than most nuts (20-30%), and good amounts of fibre, folate, and niacin.

Pecan nuts: These contain vitamins A and B1, fibre, and iron, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus. They are mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

Pine nuts: The small edible seeds of pine trees, pine nuts are high in protein, calcium, and magnesium.

Pistachios: A very rich source of potassium, these contain calcium, magnesium, iron, fibre, and protein as well as vitamin A and folate.

Walnuts: Rich in vitamins, folate, plus magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc, these are als antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.

So, for a healthy diet, eating a selection of the above nuts is really a good idea, as they help fill in the nutrient and mineral gaps that may have been missed by the rest of your diet. If you are exercising a lot and building muscle, then the higher protein varieties are recommended too. Also, the fat content of nuts provides both a great source of energy, and is also essential for good health. Unlike saturated fat found in meat, these fats are good for the heart and also help tp regulate cholesterol. Some nuts do contain saturate fats

Fish cakes make a great healthy snack, starter, or can be part of a main meal. Salmon is a healthy low fat fish, with healthy omega-3 fatty acids and protein.

Ingredients:

2 salmon fillets
1 egg white
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Simple beat the egg whites in a bowl until thick, then in a separate bowl, combine the salmon, parsley, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and pepper flakes. Then fold the egg white into the salmon mixture. With your hands mould cakes from the mixture, then cook in a frying pan over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, turning frequently to prevent burning. Sever with 70g of wholemeal rice and steamed green vegetables.

A perfect healthy meal for athletes and dieters alike.