I'm Eating Cheese and Still Losing Weight

Yes, technically I've only eaten cheese for two days (after about thirty-five days without), but on this morning of the third day, my scale confirmed I'd lost a couple more pounds.

Great!

I can find so many ways to add cheese to my day. Just be sure to read the labels and stick to generally the zero-carb versions, adding in the one-carb types mindfully. And remember that fat satiates; therefore, your body will tell you when to stop eating cheese.

So here are examples of my cheese indulgences. Of course, my fave applewood cheese stands alone as a snack.  Add a pinch or two of any cheese (don't go heavy-handed here) into omelets. If the cheese is soft enough to spread, fill some celery stalks and get the added benefit of fiber. I mentioned yesterday my affinity for caprese salads. Top with fresh basil. Yum!

Today chicken parmesan is on my menu (but without the bread crumbs in the crust). I plan to plate it on a bed of arugula.

I'm also craving my ex-MIL's homemade pimento cheese, stuffed in celery. But I will need to make my own mayo. The prepared kinds have soybean oil (my body cannot tolerate soy) and the addition of HFCS. I may search for a mayo recipe later today.

Granted I'm only on day three adding cheese back into my diet but have noticed no side effects. Since I've never experienced constipation, I have no worries about that. I am watching for nasal congestion overnight and for any dreaded MSG reactions (which are harsh and happen within thirty minutes for me), as both were present before and I had linked them with dairy (most likely half-and-half and cream for my coffee).

When I have ingested cheese over a week or two with no bad results like mentioned above, I may add in organic half-and-half or cream again for my coffee to avoid those awful MSG reactions.

Note also that I am not purchasing organic cheeses, although my favorite applewood cheese comes from England and, in my mind, with the UK's higher food standards, makes it a better candidate over an American brand. Just my opinion here.

I hope my trials and experiments help someone else out there to better define their lifestyle eating habits.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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Healthy Eating Is All About Substitutions

Yesterday I wanted the equivalent of my favorite roast beef sandwich, which previously consisted of soft white bread or artisan sourdough, mayo on both pieces, thinly sliced onions topped by roast beef (from the deli or my own oven) and sea salt. Perfect for me in its simplicity and the wonderful things this does to my senses.

So yesterday I fixed two healthier versions to see which fit my craving best or even exceeded it. Both started out with a huge leaf of romaine lettuce, one slice of deli roast beef on each, which was longer than the lettuce leaf. For the first, I added sliced black and green olives, diced tomato and onions, along with a drizzle of EVOO and a sprinkle of S&P. This is a very plain-Jane olive salad, used on muffulettas and such. For the second, I added onions and a bit of horseradish mustard.

Both were good but didn't hit my expected mark.

Later that day I ate a quick snack, which was nothing more than two deli slices of roast beef, each rolled around half a stalk of green onion; the mostly white part went in one, and the mostly green part went in the other. Next time I'm gonna slice the green onion lengthwise and then halve it. That way the mild onion taste is mixed in with the more bitter parts. No oil added much less anything else. And this hit the spot. This was the taste I was wanting.

And I thought it had more to do with the mayo. [At this time I'm avoiding all dairy as it does lead to a stuffed nose at nighttime. Plus the MSG hidden in most brands of cream or half-and-half gives me a facial itch and redness irritated by the scratching/rubbing or even worse makes my eyelids itch unmercifully, akin to poison ivy. Since I can't put Benadryl on my eyes, I flush it out of my body by drinking copious amounts of water, plus applying olive oil carefully to my lids and just waiting it out. Takes about two hours. Not fun. But as I've mentioned in other posts, my body is a highly effective MSG detector.]

The moral of this story is: pick out the best complements within each of your fave foods and leave out the rest. For instance, I have this recipe for date nut cake from my paternal grandmother. It is better than dark chocolate most times, and I'm a severe chocoholic. But let's not discuss that now while I'm doing without all forms of sugar (day four, folks!). Or for that matter, the date nut cake. I'll be quick about it to make my point.

My grandmother's date nut cake is... Well, there aren't adjectives to do it justice. But you know what? I found a date stuffed with a walnut is the essence of that cake, without the added sugar, white flour, much less all the time and effort and heating-up-of-the-kitchen-in-the-Texas-summertime involved.

So find the heart of the foods you love and distill it down to the healthier core.

Experiment. Have fun. Take good care of you.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

http://bit.ly/DeniseBarkerBlog

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