2015 Advent Calendar – Day 1

 

If I D.I.D. it… 
WOOD you?
        It’s not a typo!!!  I meant to write it this way!  Wood is the symbol representing the 5 year anniversary, and today we are starting the fifth edition of the Food-Wise Advent Calendar.  If you are seeing this for the first time, you are in for a treat.  If you are a veteran, please know that you are among the top reasons why we continue to put out this daily December post.
So for the newbies, what am I talking about? We all know about the Advent Calendars sold in stores. Well in ours, you open an email instead of a cardboard window and get either a recipe, a tip or a thought.  December is the most difficult month to be pursuing a weight loss journey, but if you push through, it is also the month when you will learn the most.
Now last year, we gave our dieters a challenge and asked if on December 24th, they wanted to be able to say: “I D.I.D.it… I Dieted In December… (and learned a ton of new tricks and recipes doing it!)”. Many took on the challenge with great success.  What you probably don’t know is that when I first did my Ideal Protein diet, I started on November 25th so I Dieted in December (D.I.D.) which is likely one of the reasons why I’m such a big supporter of the idea. I learned a lot because of the multiple challenges and by the time Xmas rolled around, I was down 12 lbs instead of having gained a few.  People were complimenting me all the time and I felt amazing!
So this year, I am putting myself through the same challenge as I had, way back when, and I’m asking you: If I D.I.D. it,  wood you D.I.D. it too?
Before you decide, I want to share with you Lucia’s story.  Why? Because she D.I.D. it last December and it kept the momentum of her journey going.  I asked her permission before sharing this with you and because she is so proud of her accomplishments and hopes to inspire  all of you, she agreed!
My name is Lucia and here’s my story…
For the last few years, I was very aware that I had gained 50 lbs in what seemed like overnight.  I was trapped in my body and I hated that feeling –  this actually gave me anxiety attacks.  So I started running and wow, was it ever difficult.  I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t keep up with my friends.  I realized I had to do something to lose this weight (again – lost it 4 times in my 53 years – did every diet that exists).  In the meantime, I had been watching a colleague lose weight and she looked fabulous, but what amazed me were the awesome lunches she was having! When I spoke to her she said her sister, Lise had a weight loss business, Food-Wise.  She told me about the program, but I was skeptical, because after all I was the master of dieting and I had convinced myself that nothing would work for me.  But after watching her for the last 2 years, she has still kept her weight off.  I thought, hmm, must be something to this.
So I called Lise in June made an appointment, and then cancelled it.  Did the same thing in August but then in September 2014, I called her again, and this time I went to see this lovely lady and she saved my life.  I was determined after speaking to her because she made so much sense! I started the program and loved it! It was so easy, and I started feeling like myself again. I lost weight almost every week, but most importantly, I became more self-confident as I got smaller! I lost weight on my birthday, I DID IT (I Dieted in December) and I went to the Dominican in January and lost 3 lbs to boot. In all I lost 48 lbs,  I reached my goal in March 2015 and I have maintained my weight ever since. And, I know I will never gain this weight again, because I now understand how my body reacts to food! I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never in my life had such wonderful meals, especially breakfast.  Who knew that the secret to losing weight and keeping it off was to actually eat food!! And bonus, now I race, and I can keep up with the best of them!

Thank you, Lise! Thank you Food-Wise!

PS: This is how I look now?  Click here!
OVERVIEW
During the next 24 days, we will cover a number of subjects all of which I assure you will be relevant and help you during this more challenging time of year.  Every day of the week will have a different theme.  There will be fun stuff and of course more serious topics and even Throwback Thursdays!
Remember, I will be dieting it too so you won’t be alone!  Get ready for an amazing journey!
          Before I sign off I wanted to share with you the significance of the 5th anniversary WOOD:  


          “In ancient times, trees symbolized strength and wisdom.  By the fifth year of marriage, the married couple is developing strong, deep roots like a venerable oak tree and is gaining insight…”
 
            How does this apply to us?  Well the pair is you and us as an organization.  We have definitely grown deeper roots and continue to make a commitment to bringing you the best coaching. 
 
           The thing that surprised me is that in modern times, the symbol for the 5th anniversary has changed… to cutlery!   Let us celebrate this 
5th edition and continue our journey to health.
One last thing…
If you do not want to continue receiving the Advent Calendar, you may unsubscribe at the safe link below!  If however you want to use this month to increase your knowledge, get tips, recipes, gifts ideas for dieters and so much more… then stay put and look for each daily installment in your Inbox!
We love you lots!
Lise and all the coaching staff at Food-Wise Weight Loss
Food-Wise Weight Loss| 613-297-5090 | Email | Website

Skewed Gratitude

At this time of year when the leaves are mostly on the ground, the cold is setting in and we feel happy when the temperature reaches highs above 15°C, we all know what is coming.  For Canadians, the month of October is marked by Thanksgiving celebrations and for many, it is a time to reflect on what we are thankful for.

I was reading an article lately and it really made me think about gratitude and the art of positive thinking. Some people start the day with a prayer of thanks, others end the day with one, but for many, we show an attitude of gratitude throughout the day whenever the inspiration grabs us.  Please understand that gratitude has nothing to do with religion.  Whether you are thanking God, the Universe or people around you, this includes you.

Now, let me show you a different twist to this attitude of gratitude.  Have you ever started the day on the wrong foot?  You know what I mean… you get up, step into a mess that the cat left for you during the night, get to the kitchen only to realize the fridge stopped working and the smell is starting to invade the house. You get into the shower and realize there is no soap, get into your car and get all the red lights on the way to work and finally arrive 15 minutes late!  Sound familiar?

In my family, I am known for my ability to think positively and although I do practice this habitually, the article I read lately took it one step further as it had to do with being thankful for all the things that didn’t happen!  Even with my positive attitude and my non-stop expression of gratitude, I had never thought of that!  Let’s rerun the above scenario:

You get up and step into a mess that the cat left for you during the night and you are thankful that she is not seriously sick; get to the kitchen only to realize the fridge stopped working and the smell is starting to invade the house but you think how thankful you are that you weren’t gone on holidays when this happened because with only a few hours of outage, the food is still salvageable.  You get into the shower and realize there is no soap but thankfully, you bought some recently when you did groceries so all you have to do is stretch to the vanity and grab a bar; get into your car and get all the red lights and think that with all that has happened this morning if you get into work a few minutes late, you are still doing well.  You are thankful for the time to decompress at each red light before starting your day.  If it weren’t for all these lights, you might drive too fast and increase your possibility of getting into a serious accident…  Wow, what a difference!

More than just part of positive thinking, scientists’ research shows that “Downward Counterfactual Thinking” (psych talk for this way of thinking) has a real and prompt effect on our level of happiness.  It can help improve your mood in the moment, so why couldn’t it help with long-term happiness, maybe even prepare us to deal with major challenges!  “As a paper in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology points out, small daily boosts of positive emotion improved life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms over time.”

Can you see how this can help you stay on track when trying to reduce the effects of stress on your eating habits? People report to me that their number one reason for eating off plan is stress!  The biggest issue that people have is stress and not surprisingly, that is also the top thing that people seem to have the least solutions for!  You can’t go on holidays every week; you can’t take time off work every time something stressful happens, but you can always think of how fortunate you are that it wasn’t worse!  Try it for yourself and see how effective this is!

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Lise and the coaching staff at Food-Wise Weight Loss

My Ideal Recipes (p. 166 – Honey Mustard Burger with Asparagus)

Give me a meal that you can make in less time than it takes to take a run to the drive-thru, and you’ve got my attention!  In this world of busy beyond belief, of schedules butting against other schedules, of taxi-moms & dads, we need simple, good meals that can be on the table in less time than it takes to make a go at the store to buy something ready made!  Our chefs, Marie and Michel, thought today’s recipe fit that bill completely… and really tasty to boot!  Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Burger with Asparagus (P 166)

Ideal Protein and Walden Farms products required:

Walden Farms Honey Dijon Dressing

Prep Time:                     5 Minutes

Cooking Time:               10 Minutes

Comments:

An oh-so-simple recipe, making hamburger patties…  But what a burger!  The spices and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette give this burger an exquisite taste.

This dish takes 5 minutes to prepare and all is ready in 15 minutes, a perfect recipe for a week day when time is of the essence.

M & M

Temps de préparation: 5 Minutes

Temps de cuisson:         10 Minutes

Commentaires:

Une recette des plus simple, faire des boulettes de viande hachée!  Mais que de bons burgers.  Les épices et la vinaigrette à la moutarde de Dijon donnent un goût exquis à ce burger.

Ce plat prend 5 minutes à préparer et le tout est prêt en 15 minutes, recette parfaite pour un soir de semaine quand on est pressé.

M & M

If you have tried this recipe before, please tell us about your impressions!

We’ll see you tomorrow!

Coach Lise, Food-Wise Weight Loss-  www.foodwisewl.ca

My Ideal Recipes p. 71 – Cajun Style Chicken Nuggets

This blog is intended for those of you around the world doing the Ideal Protein protocol and looking for new ideas of what to eat.  If you have not done so, purchase Chef Verati’s cookbook called My Ideal Protein and then follow this blog.  Every day, we will comment on one of the recipes until will have gone through the entire book!

So, crack open your books and get ready for 250 days of pure cooking joy!  This is the first of many days where you can join this forum and see what our “chefs” have cooked up from the “My Ideal Recipes” cookbook.  If you’re like me, you have several cookbooks from previous weight loss programs, from which you have looked at the images, made a few of the recipes and left the rest untouched!  We are hoping that this blog will incite you to join us in cooking these recipes… and add your comments to ours!

Now a few housekeeping things before we get started:  each recipe is calibrated and calculated to provide 4 portions of both the evening protein and the mandatory 2 cups of vegetables.  I know that sometimes this may seem a little out of whack but trust us on this one!  The purpose was to make things very easy whether you are cooking for one, for two or for four!  If you have more mouths to feed, simply double the recipe.

We will start each comment with the following to help you decide when to make this recipe:

1) the list of Ideal Protein packets and the Walden Farms products if any are required

2)  the preparation time and the cooking time.  This will help you decide if this is something you can do during the week or if you should wait until the weekend.

So here we go!

Cajun Style Chicken Nuggets (p. 71 My Ideal Recipes)

The mere mention of the word nugget and I bet you can’t help yourself thinking of the kids meal at the golden arches!  Am I right?  Well let me tell you that this recipe is the furthest thing from anything you might imagine!  Full of taste because it is rich with spices, this will no doubt become a family favourite!  But what do our chefs have to say:

Ideal Protein and Walden Farms products required:

            Ideal Protein BBQ Ridges

___________________________________________________________

Prep Time:                           10 Minutes

Cooking Time:                    15 Minutes

Comments:

A perfect recipe for those hectic work days, these Chicken Nuggets are excellent, one of our favourite recipes so far.

A little piece of advice, when preparing the dry ingredients for the coating, I would double the quantities, since we found that there wasn’t enough to equally cover all the pieces of the chicken. (only double the spices, not the ridges, to avoid adding protein or carbs)

And, for people on phase 3 or 4, leftovers, if any, would make for a great portion of protein for tomorrows lunch

This dish was enjoyed by our entire family, even those not following the program!

M & M

___________________________________________________________

Temps de préparation:     10 Minutes

Temps de cuisson:            15 Minutes

Commentaires:

Une recette parfaite pour les jours de semaine quand on est pressé.  Ces « Chicken Nuggets » sont excellents, une de nos recettes préférées à date.

Un conseil, doubler la quantité des ingrédients secs utiliser pour la panure, car il n’en a pas assez pour couvrir toutes les croquettes uniformément. (doublez seulement les épices, pas les croustilles, pour ne pas nuire aux calculs de protéine et glucides)

Et, pour les gens en phase 3 ou 4, les restants feront une bonne portion de protéine pour le lunch du lendemain.

Ce plat a été adoré par tous les membres de notre famille, même ceux qui ne suivent pas le régime.

M & M

If you have tried this recipe before, please let us know what you thought!

We’ll see you tomorrow!

Coach Lise, Food-Wise Weight Loss  –  www.foodwisewl.ca

A love affair gone wrong…

Who doesn’t like a good love story that ends well… give me the red ribbon ending and I’m happy every time!  Well, here’s a story that has all of the elements for a great love affair but that is doomed to fail, right from the start.

I’m talking of course about the love story between people and food.  First of all, there is a physical attraction that cannot be denied.  Food looks good, it’s as simple as that!  A lot of us actually refuse to eat the stuff that looks bad.  I for one, never use to eat anything GREEN.  I was convinced that it could not taste good, a notion that came undoubtedly from my childhood memory of the taste and smell of green beans coming out of a can! Yuk! So we like foods that look good… ever notice that bakers make the best looking foods?  You can pile those bright coloured veggies in a beautiful, symmetrical, aesthetically pleasing display… it can’t compete with a cake even if the icing is not fancy!

Second, there is the rush.  Not just the sugar rush… people who like pasta and bread and chips get the rush too!  It’s a lot like the way you feel when you first fall in love!  Remember after a first date that really went well, that carried all the hope of a “forever after”?  You can’t wait to talk to or see the person again… Are you starting the get the picture?

Finally, the one that sucker punches us every time… is the notion of bad!  How attractive is that!  You know what I mean, we have all been attracted to someone in our lives that we knew were the bad boys or girls!  When we were with them, we felt like we were living on the edge, we even looked better and got noticed more in their company.  There is also something irresistible about the thought that with us, they would not be bad, that love would conquer all and they would see themselves in a new light and become good.  Heck, millions of dollars in movies and book sales have created that notion for us and those are the best stories!  But this is where the story turns sour.

Yes my friends, I am sorry to say that this love affair doesn’t have the same ending as in the book, which in fact is where a lot of problems stem from.  Our story evolves like this… we love these foods and give them an almost life like persona, then when the doctor gives us the “reality-check” or we tip the “Toledos” at a new record high, we feel as though we have to take a “break” from the relationship. But after a few months of being away, we feel bad for having abandoned our love and we pay them a “visit”… and then, if we are not careful, we fall in love all over again!  They haven’t changed and the attraction is still there.  We sometimes even try to make up for our time away by giving more attention than we use to.

The reality is that food will not change.  The bad will stay bad and the good will stay good.  What we have to do is change the perception that we have that the bad food is somehow more attractive.

There is another kind of love story that I really like… it’s the story of the ugly duckling, the story of the ordinary looking becoming stunningly beautiful… the story of the goodie-two-shoes Sandy in “Grease” who becomes the hot and sexy, curly haired goddess at the end of the movie!  Can you imagine your ordinary good food changing into the most amazing stuff you have ever eaten?  Can you imagine not being able to stay away from it? Can you imagine giving into such foods without guilt or restraint?  I can! Start Google’ing my friends, there is an entire world of fancy, sexy, tasty, looks-bad-but-it’s-good foods out there and it’s waiting for us to dig right in.  Here are a few web site and recipes to get you started…

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/healthy-recipes/main.aspx (diet section – low glycemic impact)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Lemon-Broccoli/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broccoli-with-roasted-red-peppers/detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/broccoli-in-roast-chicken-drippings/detail.aspx

http://www.cookingnook.com/ ( Diet & Lifestyle section for healthy recipies)

http://www.cookingnook.com/cauliflower-salad.html (substitute White-Wine vinegar and honey)

http://www.cookingnook.com/mushroom-recipe.html

Thinking of you as always!

Lise

www.foodwisewl.ca

Ten things to consider when choosing a weight-loss program!

There are more varieties of weight-loss
program than we can possibly imagine.  I
did a quick search to see what is out there and I was bowled over by the number
of possibilities – all, more or less, contradicting the other!  As anybody knows, finding the right one for
you is not something you want to take lightly and knowing what to look for is
probably a great starting place.

Here are 10 things to consider when
evaluating a weight-loss program!

These things are offered to you in no
particular order because what matters to you may not be the same as what
matters to me. 

         
Is it sustainable financially? –There
are programs out there that are so expensive that a few weeks into it, you
can’t see yourself continuing.  The
stress/emotions that this single aspect puts on you and your family can easily
become one more reason for you to want to snack or down‑right binge!  Some programs know this all too well so they
get you to prepay for the entire program in advance creating an obligation for
you to continue… Really, shouldn’t you be free to continue for the right
reasons? Be sure you don’t fall prey at a time when your emotions are at skin
surface which they most assuredly are when the urgency of losing weight is at a
peak! 

 

         
Is it sustainable physically? – In other
words, are you going to be hungry!  This
is one of the most important things to consider.  I don’t care whether you have 10 lbs or 100
lbs to loose, you can’t make it through to the end while fighting hunger every
day.  Consider that, on certain programs,
1,200 calories aren’t enough to keep hunger away while, on other programs, you
can feel energized and never hungry with only 850 calories.  Ever wonder why?  That’s because calories are not all the same.
 Calories that come from carbohydrates
are not going to sustain you while calories that come from protein will nourish
your muscles and help rebuild your metabolism. 
When asking how many calories, don’t be afraid to ask what they are
from!

 

         
Is it sustainable emotionally? – I bet
you never considered this aspect.  What
do I mean? A great many people who seek to lose weight attest to being
emotional eaters.  What gets eaten during
those episodes?  Anything and
everything!  You want your program to
have answers and solutions for that… Usually your weight-loss coach is your
best resource which means that your relationship with your coach has to be
solid.  A good coach will be able to find
adapted solutions for you!

 

         
Is it sustainable socially? – Have you
ever noticed that the minute you start a diet, your social calendar fills
up?  Doing a weight-loss program from
Monday to Friday and then kicking it as an old habit on Saturday promising to
start again on Monday is NOT the way to do it! 
To be successful, you want a program that will carry you through the
whole journey so that you can be done with it! 
What is often missing is a knowledgeable coach that can give you good
suggestions and sound advice to get you through those social events.  The best part is that those are the very
moments that you will feel the most proud, which in turn will fuel your desire
to be even more successful!

 

         
Is the suggested food list something you can work with? – There are two sides to this coin. 
Number one, if you don’t like very many vegetables, you may be stuck
regardless of the program you chose, you can’t lose weight eating potatoes and
corn!  On the flip side, if you don’t
like most of the food on the program, you are going to be miserable.  The one thing to remember is that during the weight-loss
period, your goal is to increase your knowledge and appreciation of the things
that are good for you.  Start with the
things you already know and like, then gradually add foods you don’t know and even
some you don’t like.  You would be amazed
to find that cooking something you don’t like in a different manner can turn it
into a new favourite just like that! Adding new foods to your favourite list
will avoid you going back to all the foods you used to eat, which were likely
responsible for the weight you put on.

 

         
Is the environment one where you feel comfortable? – Some like to be in a crowd, others are very private.  If you are of the first kind, doing a group
program is likely for you.  The downside
of this is that the “subject of the week” may not really apply to you.  If this happens to fall on a week where you
have a personal challenge, you may leave the meeting feeling empty with still
more questions than answers.  Having a
personal coach who meets with you one-on-one every week is usually more
beneficial.  Think of any learning
process; private lessons are always more effective than classroom… and it
doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. 
Seek the programs where the coaching is included!  If you are at the right place, they will
understand the importance of building a trusting relationship with your coach
so they will assign you one coach for the duration of your journey! 

 

         
Is there an educational component to the program? – In my 22 years of yoyo dieting, this is the aspect that was
almost always absent!  Ever heard the
catch phrase “knowledge is power”? 
Learning more about how the body metabolises food and how the body
stores fat… and how it releases it is so important and that’s just the
beginning.  What about the role of
protein in your body, and carbs and fat? 
There is so much to learn!  Think
of the generations to come that will benefit from you learning this.  If you are third generation dieter in your
family, isn’t it time you learned all this so that your kids don’t have to be
stuck in the same cycle.

 

         
Is the maintenance phase part of the program? – If you have dieted before you know that most programs end when
you reach your goal weight…  But wait;
who will tell you if you are doing well or not on maintenance?  Who will guide you so that you don’t go back
to old habits? Who will be in your camp so you don’t start feeling guilty if
you put on a pound or two. So be sure that your coach is going to continue to
see you after you reach your goal.  This
is, in fact, the most important part of your journey!

 

         
Is your centre accessible? – We all work
with someone – especially at this time of year – who seems to be very
successful on a particular diet.  In
fact, it is often how we decide which program to do… If they have a coach worth
travelling for, then go for it!  We have
had people travel as far as 45 minutes to an hour and a half just to be mentored
by one of our elite coaches.  But that’s
not for everyone!  Be sure that the
process is sustainable.  See if your
clinic has a “sister” location closer to where you work or live!

 

         
What about conserving your muscle mass?
When you lose 3 lbs according to a set of scales, have you ever wondered what
the 3 lbs is made of?  Well most of the time,
it will be made of fat, muscle and water. 
Although a great number to see on the scales, what you want to lose is
fat, NOT muscle, and NOT water.  So how
do you conserve muscle and stay hydrated? 
Well that’s part of another article but let’s just say that some diets
aim specifically at conserving muscle which is really important because muscle
is what boosts your metabolism and burns the calories you eat.  You don’t want to waste any of your muscle
even for the sake of seeing the number on the scales go down! Know what you are
burning, the best programs will be able to tell you!


Everyone’s
priorities are different!
  You might want
to build an evaluation grid and score the programs you are currently looking at
to get the big picture.
  Attribute a
value of 1 to 5 to each element and see what you get. Don’t leave anything out! 

On a final note,
one of the reliable ways to test an organization you are considering is by
asking what they are willing to share before you make your decision.
  If all you get is a price, then you may be at
the wrong place!
  If you get actual,
usable, information, well, think of it this way, it’s like watching a movie
preview, it will help you get a glimpse of what they are really made of!

Lise Hamilton-Carrière

Owner/Certified Weight Coach

Food-Wise Weight Loss

Day 24 – Christmas Presents…

As it is the
tradition on the last day of our Advent Calendar, I wanted to share a
Christmas story with you. This is a story that involves a single mom and
two kids, a son and a daughter who are ten and seven years old
respectively. The mom is me and the story takes place 16 years ago…


Putting a little bit of yourself in each gift…
 

On the first
Christmas after I became a single mom, my budget was pretty slim but I
wanted to give my kids something that they would love and that would be
worth more than the price that was paid… I thought “if I could, I
would give them a piece of me…” At a time when their world had been
rocked to the core with their dad and me separating, all I wanted was to
give them back a bit of the security they felt they had lost…  

 

Anyway, one of the
things I had in abundance were pyjamas… I know, it sounds weird right
but every year for Christmas, my first husband would lavish upon me a
new PJ from La Sensa… great quality stuff that takes years to wear
down. So with my simple sewing skills, I converted two of them into PJs
for my kids. The one was an blue Oxford stripe night shirt which was
turned into a top and boxer shorts for my son… and the other one was a
long night gown that had teddy bears dressed in plaid (with berets if
you please…) that I converted into a top and pj bottoms for my
daughter. When my kids opened these presents they beamed! They couldn’t
wait to get them on and I only realized why a bit later… It was
because even thought they had been washed, the kids could still smell ME
in the fabric of the pjs! They wore these pjs until the flannel was so
worn that it would rip and even then I would be asked to mend them so
that the life of the precious night clothes could be prolonged! Little
do we know the real gift that lies behind a home made gift!

 

I have since made
other presents for my kids… we themed some Christmases “Low tech –
High touch!” When you put your hands in the making of a gift, you can
label it a high touch gift… in today’s world these are less and less
frequent and yet they mean so much more!

 

I wanted to share this story with you today because I recently came upon a similar story from Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe.
If you are not familiar with this wonderful Canadian story teller, you
must get acquainted with his dry sense of humour and his highly gifted
talent for writing and telling a story!

 

For your enjoyment, I am including the story that inspired today’s email. It is called Christmas Presents.
Now most of Stuart’s stories involve the same little family: Dave, the
dad, who is originally from Cape Breton, Morley, the mom, and two kids,
Stephanie and Sam. In this particular story, Morley has thought up this
brilliant idea that for Christmas this year, they should each pick the
name of a family member and hand make a present for that person. It is a
funny story but as you will hear; it is also very touching and I
couldn’t help but be moved by it. My hope is that you will be too!

I take this
opportunity to say how much, once again this year, I have enjoyed
writing these emails. I have appreciated the help from Jiji and Carolyne
and all the feedback that I have received from our clients. Thank you
and to all a Merry Christmas!

 

Sincerely, 
 
Lise Hamilton-Carrière
Food-Wise Weight Loss

Day 23 – Adding the WOW factor!

Holidays
are here and everywhere we go, we see lights, decorations and music.
Some may think it’s a little extreme but for the other bunch, it gets us
really excited! Today I want to show you a few creative ways to attract
your guests and get them excited about grabbing good foods instead of
the bowl of caramel popcorn or the glass jar filled with chocolates.
It’s very important to create a good ambiance for your guests when you
are hosting the holiday get-together. We have all attended a few that
were great and as expected, we have all tried to copy what worked
well…

One of my personal discoveries…
 

So, today I will show you one of my personal discoveries; how to present your veggies and create the WOW factor!

 

My mother is the
hostess with the most-ess… a real party queen of a host! She always
takes the time to make little cards with everyone’s names to put on the
table beside their plate. Each person has a glass with a little pendant
to identify which is theirs. She always has the right holiday music, the
huge decorations, centerpieces to die for and we all love it when it is
her turn to host the party! She has shown me many ways to take some of
the simplest things and turn them into something amazing… and it
always gets the conversations started! Over the years, even the small
gestures she did have remained vivid in my memory and they will be
etched in there forever! They have made a huge difference in how we
celebrate as a family. That’s why today I am sharing these food
decoration tips with you.

 

By the way, my
mother did the IP protocol. She is a phase 4 graduate now and is doing
great in maintenance. She has changed some of her buffet styles over the
years and now we look forward to the delicious veggie buffet. YEP,
Veggie BUFFET! Even if we have the usual holiday foods as well, the
veggies are so pretty that you just keep going back for more!

 

As you can see in the picture, it’s beautiful yet simple. Making
art out of food doesn’t mean you need to take classes and learn how to
carve a wildflower with your tomatoes! You just need a little time to
put it together. As you can see, glasses can be used for dipping sauce
and vases for the veggies. This is fun, attractive and clean! Add a few
bows or ribbons and some candles and voila it’s done! You can even get
the glass jars at the dollar store!

 

For those who are
attending a party rather than hosting one, here is a fabulous way to
bring something healthy but fun and good all at once! Just cut up some
of your favorite veggies, add your walden farm dressing at the bottom of
little cups and fill them with the veggies. Serve your cups on a gold
platter and voila! Looks great and trust me, these will be gone fast! This is so simple and easy to make, and everyone gets their own portion!

Remember that staying on protocol during the holidays will help
you reach your goal faster… And without compromising your ketosis you
will save yourself having to go through the dreadful symptoms of those
first few days.

Phase 4 tip…

 

Being able to eat whatever
food you want on a fun day is such a pleasure isn’t it? But that
doesn’t mean NOT eating anything healthy!  Don’t forget that you are
what you absorb and if you eat some good healthy foods, you are giving
your body the gift of nutritional abundance! That gift keeps on giving!
You will stay more alert, less stressed out and not feel like you need
to roll yourself out of the room lol. You will also avoid feeling like
you are hung over from a carb overload!

I
want to personally wish you the best holidays ever! If you are dieting
this year, know that the gift of health is priceless. All your loved
ones appreciate the extra years you will get to spend with them in good
health! Enjoy your parties and stay “Food-Wise”!  

 

Happy Holidays, 
 
Carolyne Sauvé
Food-Wise Weight Loss  

PS: if you have little ones, this last veggie/fruit platter set up is for you


  

Day 22 – Goldilocks at Midnight Mass

Christmas
traditions have drastically changed through the years, and I can prove
it! Today’s blog is a story about angelic songs, white gloves, beautiful
dresses and endless tables of food made with love.This Christmas Story
is my gift to you.

A Christmas story for you…
 

Once
upon a time, in a far far away land called “le Lac St-Jean” lived a
French Canadian family, my mother’s family. Every second year or so, my
mother would decide to celebrate Christmas with her family; which meant
music, tons of grandma’s food (yummy!) and skidoo rides very late at
night. Even though the road to get there was long, I didn’t mind; it was
worth it every time. During the train ride, we would talk about
grandma’s “tourtière du Lac St-Jean” (wild meat pie), her amazing “pets
de sœur” (a.k.a, nun’s farts, a dessert) and also her “soupe aux
gourganes “(broad beans soup). We also anticipated the skidoo ride.
Believe me, for city kids like my brother and me, going on a skidoo ride
at 1:30 am was a thrill of a life time. All that said, what called my
heart the most was the Midnight Mass! I don’t know what it is about the
sound of a choir in a Cathedral, but ever since I was very little, it
has always made me feel really close to Heaven, so close it’s

simply indescribable.  

The
preparation to go to the Mass (just across the street) was an event in
itself. All the kids had to go upstairs and take a nap for at least an
hour. I have to ad
mit, we were pretty obedient; those who did not
sleep, didn’t get to go on the skidoo ride that took place right after
Mass. Well, we didn’t want to be left behind that’s for sure! While we
were sleeping (or doing a really good job of pretending to…) the women
would get all the tables ready. Food was everywhere! Each mother also
had to lay down the winter gear for her kids, the pair of long mittens
that covered your entire forearms, the huge winter boots and the one
piece snowsuit; let me tell you, no one was cold. As for the men, some
would get the bonfire ready at the cabin in the woods, (our skidoo
destination) while others made sure all the skidoo’s had gas and were in
good mechanical condition. Everybody knew their part; the collaboration
was astounding.

 

Then,
just around 10:30 pm all the mothers came upstairs to get their kids
ready for the Midnight Mass. The beauty of that moment is that ALL the
girls/women: mothers, daughters, grand-daughters, nieces and
aunts
(and grandma of course), were dressed in white, and the boys/men:
fathers, sons, grand-sons, nephews and uncles, (and grandpa of course)
were dressed in
black and white; absolutely every member of
the family without exception. When I think about it my heart melts.
Once inside the church, we all sat together, waiting patiently for the
angels to start singing. You see, the particularity of that Mass, is
that all the members of the choir had angel wings attached to them. We
called it, the angel choir of Christmas. Some churches had the live
Nativity Scene, we had the angel choir. I loved it! I used to close my
eyes gently and keep them close all through the songs. I literally let
myself float on each note. I was way up there amongst the angels. When
the last note evaporated, I would slowly open my eyes with perfect peace
in my heart.
 

 

After mass was
over, we all rushed home to get our snowsuits and mittens on for the
skidoo ride. The air was filled with electric energy, laughter and
giggles. Outside, the sound of the skidoos was so loud; we had

to look for sign language to communicate with each other. Within 20
minutes we were all riding along. After a while a glittery orange light
would be waving at us; it was the bonfire “telling us” we were almost at
the cabin where hot vanilla milk and ice cream with warm cinnamon
apples were waiting for us. That part of the evening was truly unique to
our family. After our little treat we would all go back home to feast,
sing and dance. Our celebration could last until the break of dawn; for
us, there was no Christmas morning.  
 

 

I
don’t go to Mass anymore, or wear white long satin gloves at Christmas,
but I did create my own little family traditions. Things have changed,
and sometimes I wish my kids and grandkids could live one of my
childhood Christmases, but life moves forward and brings with it new
experiences.  

 

Today,
I want to provide a recipe that you can incorporate into your Christmas
memories and if you like it enough, maybe it can become a new tradition
for you. This recipe is particularly good to have on hand for aging
parents who are burdened with diabetes. With everything else on the
table having one dessert that contains no sugar/carbs might be welcomed
not only by those who are protecting their ketosis but also those who
are monitoring their sugar intake! Enjoy!

 

Zucchini Apple Crisp (by Rebecca Mascano)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of zucchini sliced and without the peel

2 packets of Splenda

Juice of one lemon

½ teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ teaspoon of nutmeg

1 packet of Walden Farms Pancake Syrup

1 Ideal Protein Apple and Cinnamon soy puffs packet

“I can’t believe it is not Butter” spray

 

Preparation

Peel zucchini, cut lengthwise and then in fairly thin slices

Toss the zucchini in the bowl with the Splenda, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and syrup.

Place the zucchini in a baking dish

In the bag, crush the apple and cinnamon soy puffs, sprinkle them on the zucchini

Spray the top with the spray

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes

 

And dig in without guilt! 

Phase 4 tip…

 

Being in Phase 4 often means feeling
free from restrictions. Although this is true, making sure your
Christmas family traditions don’t hinder all that you have accomplished
and maintained so far is very important. If you could have the feeling
of grandma’s apple pie without it getting the best of you, wouldn’t that
be good? This may be just the recipe for those multiple fun days
stringed too close together!!! You CAN have this on a day following a
fun day!

With
only two days left before Christmas, we are all scrambling to get last
minute things done. If you have not yet purchased your turkey, you need
to know that they are available at Food Basic’s for something like
$0.76/lb (or $1.61/Kg). You can use Carolyne’s brining instructions from
Day 2 of the Advent Calendar to get a juicy, tasty turkey!

  

As
this is my last entry on this Advent Calendar, I wish to take this
opportunity to extend my best wishes to you and your family! May this
season bring your family closer together while you create memories that
will last a lifetime!


Merry Christmas my friends!

Sincerely,

Julie-Jeanne Darc
Food-Wise Weight Loss

PS,
I trust you have enjoyed this daily email, I certainly have enjoyed
writing for you and sharing some of my stories! Take good care, I hold
you in my heart!
 

Day 21 – Who’s the entertainment?

Do
you remember Christmases when you were a kid? I don’t know about your
family but although my sister’s and my musical talents had yet to be
developed, our family still enjoyed singing at Christmas. Each member of
the family had their song and nobody needed to pry it out of them, they
sang it willingly. It was one of the highlights of the gatherings…

You’ve got talent… (YOU, not America, not Canada!)

If the weather keeps you inside this weekend and you

It
is funny how the time has passed and in many family gatherings,
including ours, we simply end up talking around the table but the
entertainment has subsided. The kids go to the family room and play
video games instead of board games, and they text their friends who are
in their respective families having their own Christmas gathering and
doing the exact same thing, playing video games…

 

In
my family, things too have changed since I was a kid. Today, my sister
is a full-on musician playing the organ and the guitar and she sings in
the locally renowned mega-choir called “Les chansonniers d’Ottawa”… my
daughter plays the guitar and the ukulele and sings with a voice that
makes the hairs on my arms stand right up it is so beautiful… and I
play several instruments and sing… and yet none of this comes to light
at our family gatherings.

 

My
mother and father would be the first to tell you that they miss the
music and can’t understand why it went away. Maybe it is because we run
through life and have so little down time to appreciate everyone’s
company so when we do get together we would rather talk than sing… we
need to spend real moments appreciating each other and understanding
each other… Believe me, I understand… but we must remember that our
kids will look back and all they will remember is that we sat around and
talked. Maybe that’s the reason why they leave the table and go play
video games.  

 

A quick anecdote…

 

Last
August, my daughter came to spend a weekend at our trailer. On Saturday
night we went over to the neighbour’s camp fire with our guitars and
sang a few songs. Everyone was energized. My daughter’s voice awed
everyone and then she pushed the limits by doing something that really
impressed everyone… she did the cup song! (If you are a movie buff,
this is the Beca’s audition in the movie Pitch Perfect)
Well I was so impressed that I asked her to show me the moves… We
almost drove my husband crazy from all the practicing… but ah, the fun
we had!  

 

Fast
forward two weeks later when my husband and I attend our godson Jesse’s
18th birthday. After dinner, the teens are showing us dance moves and
videos when I pipe up and say “do you know the cup song?”… Well they
get really excited and Jesse goes to the kitchen to get three cups: one
for his girlfriend, one for his girlfriend’s sister and one for
himself… That’s when I say “hey, where’s my cup?”… You should have
seen the expression of surprise on everyone’s face! So off to the
kitchen he went and handed me a cup… All four of us did the cup song
together and it was a blast! Two generations tied together in the same
activity!  

 

I
woke up this morning with this in mind and wanted to show you how to do
the cup song. If you have kids… teenagers especially, or young
adults… don’t worry, they know about the cup song! Imagine their
surprise when you suggest it and join in. You don’t need to have a great
voice (play the video in the back ground), you don’t need to play an
instrument either… all you need is a cup! Included here is everything
you need to learn, except the cup…LOL! There is a tutorial for you to learn the moves, the cover song so you get the moves with the music and the actual artist video of the song!


OK,
so what does this have to do with dieting and food? Everything! Have
you ever tried to sing and eat at the same time? What about play tap-tap
on a cup and eat at the same time… When you get absorbed in an
activity other than eating, the time passes and you stop focusing on the
things on the table that would taste great in your mouth, but that you
would regret eating the minute you swallowed! It only takes one person
to get the ball rolling and then others want to show you their talent
too… this is a time to create memories for your children… I bet you
they won’t forget this one!

Phase 4 tip…

 

There is no phase 4 tip here… Regardless of the phase you
are in, the above applies! Think back to your own childhood memories and
see what you remember most… When we went to my dad’s side of the
family, there was one cousin in particular… he never joined the kids
upstairs as we played bingo (it was the only game available), no this
cousin stayed downstairs and told jokes to the adult crowd (some weren’t
even appropriate for our/his age group)! How each of us wished we could
entertain the adults instead of playing bingo!

Maybe
you are one of our readers who is in the process of deciding if this
January you will join our great family and our amazing program, maybe
you have done this program already and have been finished for over a
year or two even… Maybe you have kids or maybe you have grand-kids…
My goal here is simply to help you create a new setting around the
dining room table, one that focuses on something other than food!
 

 

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Sincerely,

Lise Hamilton-Carrière
Food-Wise Weight Loss