The weekend has flown by too quickly, however I did have quite an enjoyable and relaxing Sunday. I woke up to this a bowl full o’ warming oats (1/4 cup each of oat bran and oatmeal) topped with maple syrup, crushed walnuts and a spoonful of better n pb.
Isaac said it smelled just like waffle crisp, the cereal. I don’t think I’ve had waffle crisp since I was in high school so I can’t tell you whether or not it really did. But what I can tell you that it was tasty.
After a few hours of lounging around I made a smoothie for lunch.
This smoothie had a left over nugget of a frozen banana, frozen blueberries, almond milk, ice cubes, chocolate protein powder, and 1/2 tablespoon of maca powder. I also had 2 camera shy slices of ezekiel toast with better n pb and jelly smeared on top.
The items above have been mainstays in the EBF casa for a while now. I’m sure you all are getting a little bored so let me tell you about something new I recently received to try out.
I’d never heard of the Flat Belly Diet before receiving an email from the PR firm about this book, probably because I don’t go out searching for the latest and greatest fad diet to try, although I have tried my fair share in the past. I decided to accept this cookbook because it’s just that- a cookbook. I love to look through cookbooks, read recipes, and try new dishes so naturally I couldn’t turn down a free cookbook. Especially one that promises a flat belly.
It has more than 200 recipes (many ready in 30 minutes or less) for breakfast, soups & sandwiches, salads & sides, vegetarian meals, seafood, meat meals, snacks and desserts. Each meal contains at least one ingredient with mono-unsaturated fat acids (MUFAs), which is apparently the key to the Flat Belly diet.
Upon thumbing through pages and reading some of the content I started to get the bright idea that maybe I should indeed try this diet out. If you’ve been reading EBF for a while now, you’ll know that I don’t go around reviewing different diets and I’m not necessary looking to lose a ton of weight. I’ve been at my current and happy weight (plus or minus a few pounds) for about 7 years. With all that said, I have been teetering at the higher end of my target weight range and feeling less than stellar about my stomach so this book came at a vulnerable/perfect time. (Depending on which way you look at it).
Along with the cookbook came the Flat Belly Diet Pocket Guide (PG).
The PG basically an overview the of the Flat Belly Diet book and it contains meal plans, ideas/tips for eating out on the diet, shopping lists, etc.
The Flat Belly Diet starts with an initial 4 day Jump Start that consists of eating 1,200 calories a day of specific non-bloating foods, limiting other foods that cause bloating, and drinking a homemade water blend called Sassy Water (with fresh mint, ginger, cucumber, and lemon). After this 4 day jump start you move into the traditional portion of the diet, which is a bit more reasonable. In a nut shell, it suggests you eat 4 meals of 400 calories 4 times a day equaling 1,600 calories and every meal must have one serving of a healthy MUFA. The MUFA can be an Oil (think along the lines of olive, flaxseed, walnut, and canola oil), Nuts and Seeds, Avocados, Olives, or Dark Chocolate. You can choose the other foods at each meal and almost no foods are restricted, but there are guidelines to preparing healthy meals. Say you choose avocado as your MUFA, you’ve want to pair it with 3 ounces of lean protein, or two ounces of lean protein and 1 dairy, 2 cups raw or steamed veggies, and 1 cup of starchy veggies or 1 whole grain serving
After reading through the PG I decided that the normal part of the diet isn’t too different from how I eat on a daily basis. It recommends eating whole natural foods while incorporating a MUFA at each meal to keep hunger at bay. It also suggests to limit the amount of white carbs, saturated and trans fats and sodium. Seems reasonable right? On the other hand, there are a few things about the diet that scream fad diet- the initial jump start phase and it’s limited food choices, the “Lose up to 15 lbs in 32 Days!” written on the front of the book, etc. And, I know that MUFAs aren’t some new breakthrough to getting a flat belly fast, but the diet isn’t irrational and shouldn’t be too hard to follow, so I think I’m going to give it a shot.
Back to the cookbook, there are definitely some recipes that look delicious and I decided to try one of them out last night.
Chickpea Curry with Cashews
It was super simple to make and included chickpeas, cashews, cilantro, onions, curry and a dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani). I served the dish with a side of instant brown rice. The curry was pretty tasty and I loved how quick and easy it was but it didn’t blow me or Isaac away. I think next time I would add some of my own spices just to kick the dish up a notch. The instant rice was blah…. I guess I’ve spoiled myself with regular brown rice and the instant doesn’t quite match up.
Last but certainly not least, I actually received two copies of these books (The Flat Belly cookbook and PG) and one lucky reader has the chance to win the extra copies. Simply leave a comment on whether or not you’ve ever tired a fad diet before and if it worked for you and you’ll be entered to win. The winner will be chosen next Friday October 2, 2009.
Happy Monday!
- Brittany
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Brittany Mullins, HHC
