By Rhonda Jones
After reading my column last week, I hope you are on your way to better health and weight loss. I tried to lay out plans that are easy to follow and provide quick weight loss. One of the easiest ways to lose weight and get healthy is to eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible. Dr. Fuhrman recommends eating a large, raw salad every day for lunch and three fruits a day. But, we don’t always have time to make salad and many of us are at work and can’t make a salad.
I have followed his advice, and the big salad at lunch does aid in weight loss. The raw vegetables and fruit are so nutritious, so I don’t get hungry for a few hours. If I am hungry at night, I have vegetable bean soup for dinner, but I do try not to eat after 5 p.m. Ideally, the longer we fast between dinner and breakfast, the more benefits we receive.
In addition to more weight loss, the body has more time to heal, so many maladies can be cured or greatly lessened by having more time between meals. If the body is not spending time digesting food, it can have more time to concentrate on healing and discarding unhealthy cells, leading to better health. So, here are some tips to make life easier for you.
First, you have to set some time aside to do some preparation, especially for salads. While you are watching a football game or a movie, try making soup. It is as easy as buying some frozen veggies, a bag of frozen greens, a box of Pomi tomato sauce, and a couple of cans of low-salt beans. Just dump it all in a pot and heat it up on the stove. You can add water or some low-salt vegetable broth to give that soup consistency. When the ingredients are heated through, liberally add spices you like (use salt substitutes; don’t add salt). Let the soup cook on low as long as you like to make sure the spice blends into the soup. Make enough to last a few days.
Now for the salad. The most nutritious food on the planet is greens, so get a variety of greens for your salad. I usually buy romaine, a box of mixed greens, and a bag of shredded cabbage. I also buy shredded organic carrots, radishes, and celery. I have six big containers, and I divide the greens, cabbage, carrots, celery, and radishes (add onions if you like them). Fill up these containers and put them in the fridge. When I get ready for salad, I take out a container, dump it in a big wooden bowl, and use a mezzaluna to chop up the ingredients. This releases the nutrients and makes the salad greens easier to eat. Once the greens are chopped, I put them in a bowl and add tomatoes, fruit, some nuts, and some beans. I add the dressing, and there you go.
For work, get some mason jars. Fill the jars with salad, starting with dressing on the bottom, then nuts, tomatoes, fruit or other veggies, and end with lots of greens. Just cram them into the jar, or you can chop them with a mezzaluna and then add them to the jar to get more. Screw on the lid, and when you get ready to eat, just pour it all into a bowl. You have everything you need.
Dressing can be as simple as balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, and a little maple syrup. However, here is a quick Ranch dressing that you might like:
1 cup water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup raw cashews
1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Please put all the ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth, then store in the fridge. If you are cutting out nuts, try 1 cup of navy or other white beans instead. It will be good.
Here is a great hummus recipe that goes great in a salad or a filling for sandwiches:
2 cans chickpeas (low salt) drained but reserve liquid
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ lemon, peeled
1 garlic clove peeled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt-free seasoning, optional
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, adding chickpea liquid if needed to thin a bit.
It truly is all about the food, so eat those veggies and get healthy!

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