Leslie Landis' The Opposite Diet

January 15, 2011

(To learn about The Opposite Diet, go to the right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”

The 8th Opposite Diet Tip:

8. The Art of Overeating (TAOO) says “Forget the Food Pyramid and follow the guidance of The Food Circle.  That way you can eat whatever you want in any amount you want because all food groups are equal in the TAOO Food Circle.

OPPOSITE DIET Advice: The U.S. Department of Agriculture must have been reading The Art of Overeating because it stole my idea of The Food Circle.  However, the Government’s Food Circle isn’t about eating equal amounts of chips, salami slices and fudge pops (or whatever your favorite unhealthy foods are.)  Instead, their food circle is divided into 3 sections – 1/4 for protein, 1/4 for grains and 1/2 for vegetables and fruits.  And there is a little circle floating nearby for dairy.  This is a good recommendation if you want to lose and/or maintain your weight.  To make it  easier to follow, you can mark a dinner plate with a line dividing it in half and then a line dividing one of the halves.  This would work best with a plastic plate or you can even buy a plate which is already marked for these different food groups.  Then fill up 1/4th of the plate with protein – usually meat for fish. Fill the other 1/4th with a grain.  Any kind of rice will work.  The remaining half of the dish is filled with whatever  fruit and/or vegetables you like.  Don’t say you hate vegetables!  Todays vegetables in any good supermarket deli are are very different from the ones your mom tried to shove down your throat.  There are many offerings of creatively mixed and interestingly seasoned vegetable dishes.  I have even had yummy brussels sprouts (my childhood nemesis!)  And you can make a delicious salad.  There are secrets to making a good salad and for that information, see my “Rave” below.

One word of caution about following the new Food Circle.  Nothing on your plate should exceed an 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) in height – except the salad!

My Rant ‘N Rave

When I was  a kid, we always had a salad before the main course.  It consisted of iceberg lettuce, a few slices of mushroom and a couple of cherry tomatoes.  The dressing was always some creamy concoction my mother bought at the supermarket.  This did not make me a fan of salad.  However, the idea of having a salad with dinner stayed with me.  So as an adult, I looked for ways to make a great salad.  What I have learned is that the lettuce has to be fresh and crisp, so throw out the wilted, soft leaves.  It is much more interesting tasting if there is a variety of lettuce types.  If you don’t want to buy whole heads or bunches of different lettuce, then buy a mixed pre-packaged container. (This can even be economical since there is likely to be less wasted lettuce.) Take your cue from restaurant salad dishes.  For example, I’ve had salads that have included dried cranberries and/or herbs such as dill and basil and/or fruit such pineapple of mango. When I tried these creative additions at home, my salad was great. Finally, the key to any great salad is the dressing.  I actually make my own.  I bought a cruet and I follow the indicated amounts on the bottle – athough you can vary the proportions to your taste.  I fill to one line with a balsamic vinegar, then I fill to the next marked line with canola oil (or safflower oil or olive oil.)  I add a lot of ground pepper and a little salt.  Sometimes I add a little mustard.  Of course, I shake it up before each use.

If you try my easy dressing recipe, I think you will RAVE about your salad.

February, 2011

(To learn more abut The Opposite Diet, go to right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”)

The 7th Opposite Diet Tip:

7.  The Art of Overeating (TAOO) says “Anytime is a good time to eat….Don’t worry about whether you’re hungry or not…the more you eat and the more often you eat, the less hunger is a factor.”

OPPOSITE DIET Advice: That’s true.  And it’s a “vicious” cycle. Once hunger is less a factor, then not only can you eat more and more often – you do eat more and more often!  So you have to get back to hunger dictating your eating.  How do you do that?  Eat 3 meals a day – breakfast by 9:00AM, lunch by 1:00PM, dinner by 6:00PM.  Furthermore, the portions of these meals must be half of what you are eating.  Will you feel hungry in between?  Yes, you will.  Will you die from feeling this hunger?  No.  Will your hunger feeling adjust to become only apparent just before breakfast, lunch and dinner?  Yes.  How long will this transition take? It could be 0ne or two weeks or maybe even one month.  Can you last that long?  Yes!

A caveat to this is that you can eat once between each of these meals – as long as you eat a small snack of fruit or nuts.  How do you make sure that you eat only a small portion?  For snacking on nuts, use a small bowl or container or cup that is about 2 inches tall by 2 inches wide and 2 inches in diameter.  Fill it only to the top.  If you have fruit, your container can be double that size.  That’s your snack!

My Rant ‘N Rave

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

I recently read an article that informed me of something I did not know about the new health care legislation.  Undocumented immigrants will not be able to buy health insurance in the newly created purchasing pools/exchanges even if they pay entirely out of their own pocket.  That means uninsured undocumented immigrants will most likely  go to a hospital emergency room , especially when they are seriously ill.  So the American public will end up picking up their health care bill for  more expensive illnesses.  Whether someone is pro-immigration or anti-immigration, this seems to me to be a mean-spirited and dumb idea.

To learn about The Opposite Diet, go to right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”

The 6^th Opposite Diet Tip:

6.  The Art of Overeating (TAOO) says “Always clean your plate…because you will make the dishwasher’s job easier.”

OPPOSITE DIET Advice:  In addition to that great reasoning, many of us associate the phrase “always clean your plate” with our parents’ admonition that it is wrong not eat everything because – somewhere in this world -  there are children that are starving.  So, a lot of us have grown up feeling guilty if we leave food on our plate.

Let’s get real!  What good does it do anyone else if we don’t eat everything.  You can’t mail your leftovers to others that need it.  Donating money to charities is a much better and more efficient way to help.

As someone brought up in the Midwest, I am “genetically” predisposed to not waste anything.    However, it is not my fault or your fault if the portions we are expected to eat are large enough for an entire football team.

A past boyfriend liked to take me to expensive restaurants.  When he saw me struggling to “clean my plate,” he told me, “I’m paying for a meal to bring you enjoyment from its taste, not from its volume.  Eat to your comfort level.”

I realized then that food is actually more enjoyable if we eat enough to satisfy, but not enough to stuff.  So make it a habit to leave something on your plate – and I’m not referring to the twig of parsley.

If you still feel guilty – get a dog. They love leftovers!

My Rant ‘N Rave

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

My vote for a great dessert goes to sorbet.  It has everything.   It’s sweet, tasty, refreshing and low calorie.  And the flavors!  You name it. Sorbet can be made in endless flavors.  There are fruit flavors such as mango, lemon, orange, lychee and on and on.  Then there are more exotic tastes.  I have had basil sorbet and, recently, honey.  Both were delicious

So if you haven’t tried sorbet for dessert, give it a try.  I think you are in for a treat.

The 5^th Opposite Diet Tip:

While I was writing down my husband Martin’s overeating exploits – which inspired me to write my book, The Art of Overeating, it occurred to me that for him, food equaled love.  Given his background, this made sense.  He was an only child in his immediate family, as well as his extended family.  The entire family expressed their love for him and for each other, with food.  They gathered often for extended eat-a-thons, lavishing extra helpings and treats on him – a dollop of this, a scoop of that.  Every Sunday, his mother asked him to make out his menu for the coming week – and she made everything on it.

This got me thinking about the connection of food with the emotion of love.  After all, as I point out in my book, the first love we ever receive is given to us in the form of milk from Mom.

There is nothing wrong with associating food with love or with good times.  That is why so many of us feel a sense of wellbeing when we eat our special childhood “comfort” foods.  The problem comes when we use food as a substitute for love and happiness.

When you pass the deli counter and every liverwurst is screaming out, “I love you,” every salami, “te amo,” – that’s not good.  While you can love and enjoy food, food cannot love you back.  It can sustain you and give you pleasure.  That’s it!

Food fills your stomach, not your heart.   So this Valentine’s Day, look for love in other places.  Find it in a person that will say “I love you” or an animal that will have that special shine in their eyes or that wagging tail when you are with them.

Besides a companion, there are so many ways to reap the reward of  love.  There are children and people who need your help.  There is an old friend or relative who would be so happy to see you.  There is the puppy or kitten waiting for you in the animal shelter.

Enjoy your food and live to love.  Than love will fill you up!

MY RANT ‘N RAVE

Today, my rave is, appropriately, for love.  When we express love, when we give love – we are putting out positive energy.  That helps everyone – and even the planet!  Most of all, it helps us.  Positive energy attracts positive energy.  So spread your love and reap the reward.

To learn about The Opposite Diet, go to right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”

The 4^th Opposite Diet Tip:

4. TAOO says “Save the environment and eat everything you order.”  OPPOSITE DIET Advice:  The idea is that if food is uneaten or left to spoil, it goes into the garbage and then into a landfill.  So, the TAOO joke is eat everything you can to cut down on landfill waste.  However, there is another important way to keep excess food out of the landfills and help the environment.  That would be to only buy or order the amount of food you can eat and need to eat.  All food production has a carbon footprint – gasoline for farm machinery, and water and fertilizer to grow the food; gasoline for the delivery of food to markets and restaurants; electricity or gas to prepare the food and water to wash the dishes, pots and pans.  In other words, a lot of energy goes into producing what you are eating.  How much better you would feel – psychologically and physically – if you ate just what your body requires and cut down on the energy waste and your waist!

MY RANT ‘N RAVE

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

Have you ever noticed how unhappy people like to share their unhappiness by trying to make everyone around them miserable with rudeness, thoughtlessness, anger and sometimes outright cruelty.  It might come from the unhappy store clerk or neighbor or driver. I guess that is where the saying “misery loves company” comes from.   My best advice to you and to me is to not let them affect us.  Refuse their “gift of misery.”  Don’t give them power over how you feel.  While you are walking away or driving away, feel sorry for them and think a positive thought for yourself.

What is your opinion or your Rant ‘n Rave?  Let me know.

Next week – Opposite Diet Tip #5

I was on “The View from the Bay” show in San Francisco. Everyone on the show was welcoming and wonderful. I had the opportunity to talk about my book and my “Opposite Diet” tips. What a great experience!

To learn about The Opposite Diet, go to the right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”

The 3rd Opposite Diet Tip:

3. TAOO says “Order from every category on a menu.” OPPOSITE ADVICE – Keep it to 3 dishes. Have you noticed how lots of restaurant menus have added more and more categories? There’s the bread, the starter, the appetizer, the soup, the salad, the specialties, the 1st course, the 2nd course and on and on. Think they want you to order – and eat – more food? Don’t fall for this. Make up your mind before you see the menu – even before you enter the restaurant – that you are going to have 3 courses and no more. A balanced and enjoyable meal would be one appetizer or salad or soup, one main course (with no sides) and one dessert. Choose any dessert you want, but pass on the accompanying scoop of ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.

By using the same strategy at home, you will save time in meal preparation and extra food costs, as well as calories.

MY RANT ‘N RAVE

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

Today I have a Rave! I just had a new (to me) dish at one of my favorite restaurants. It is called flash fried spinach. If you like salads, as I do, this is worth trying. It is so tasty and different. The spinach is crispy but moist. I found a recipe for it online:

- Heat 4 c peanut oil in a deep fryer (or deep pot) to 375°F.

- Deep fry 10 oz of clean fresh spinach (about a handful at a time) for about 30 seconds.

- Remove and drain on paper towels.

- Sprinkle parmesan cheese to taste.

This salad is delicious. Enjoy!

Next week – Opposite Diet Tip #4

To learn about The Opposite Diet, go to right column and click on “About The Opposite Diet.”

The 2nd Opposite Diet Tip:

2. TAOO says “Never share.”  OPPOSITE ADVICE – Always share. Whenever possible, split a meal with your dinner companion or companions.  That’s one meal for two or two meals for three or four.   Of course, everyone has to be on the same page.  If either you or your companion is a vegetarian or has food allergies, choices will be more limited and those restrictions must be taken into consideration.  Whatever the situation, sharing will often involve compromise.  You can take turns in choosing what to order.  One meal out will be your choice and the next one will be your companion’s.   It really is a win-win situation, because you and your companion(s) will feel better about the amount eaten and everyone (ever with the split charge) will save money and their waist.

The home is just another version of a restaurant.  If you are eating alone, prepare half your usual portion. If you have a companion, share a smaller meal.  If you have a family, certainly don’t underfeed growing children, but it may also be an opportunity to teach them to eat a healthy amount of food.

MY RANT ‘N RAVE

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

If you have read anything about me on my website, you may have gotten the idea that cooking for me is bringing food in and heating it up.  So one of pet peeves is when I order take-out food, I am almost asked if I want (plastic!) silverware.  I always say “no.”  Not only is that more garbage for the landfill, but that’s why I have silverware at home.  No one listens!  When I get home and open that bag containing the food – there is the plastic silverware!

I know you are thinking that I should check the bag before I leave the restaurant.  You are right, but since I usually forget, I need a method to help me remember.  Any suggestions?

What is your opinion or your Rant’n Rave?  Let me know.

Next week _ Opposite Tip #3

1.  TAOO says “leave no leftovers in restaurant.”  OPPOSITE  ADVICE -  Ask the waiter to divide whatever you have ordered in half and put one of those halves in a doggie bag before you are served. That way there will be leftovers for dinner the next day.  Most people think they will take home whatever is left over, but then usually finish everything.  You don’t have to worry about not having enough to eat because most restaurants provide humongous portions.

What do you do when eating at home?  Same thing.  You just bought or cooked a chicken or a steak or a bowl of pasta.   Cut it in half and put the other half in the refrigerator for tomorrow.

Yes, this does take some will power because now you have seen the food before it was put on your plate.  Strengthen your resolve with these thoughts – which you can write and keep on paper in front of you:

1. Now you have already prepared food for tomorrow.

2. Leftovers taste best!

Finally, along with each week’s tip, here is a feature called:

MY RANT ‘N RAVE

(sometimes about food and sometimes not…)

Last October, my beloved Blackberry Pearl finally met its demise.  I decided to replace it with a Blackberry smart phone, the Tour.  To my dismay, I found that I had to buy a new car charger.  Why? Because Research IN Motion (RIM) changed the port sizes on this new phone.  Why?  I think it is to force people to buy new accessories.  I’d love to find a company that isn’t trying to squeeze the last dime out of consumers!

What is your opinion or your Rant ‘n Rave?  Let me know.

NEXT WEEK – OPPOSITE TIP #2

A Sumo knows how to overeat.  It makes him big and strong.  Happy New Year!

And coming in 2010:

“The Opposite Diet”

from Leslie Landis and The Art of Overeating