A Secret to Surpisingly Good Breakfast Taste

Here is a tip that got one of the most challenging clients (our former Goverenor Cayetano) really liked. I was told that his cook started doing this everyday because the Governor liked it so much and the cook himself started eating oatmeal this way as well.

Eat More, Weigh Less(r) Tip #12

Good Break­fast Taste Without Milk, Butter, or Sugar

You've seen that starting your day with oatmeal or another whole grain cereal is an excel­lent way to Eat More and Weigh Less. Unfortu­nately, many people are used to adding milk and/or sugar to their cereal grains. I do not recommend either milk or sugar for reasons that I have explained in the Eat More, Weigh Less(r) Diet book. You don't need sugar and dairy anyway. Whole grains can be tasty without them. Simply dry-roast the grains in a hot skillet before cooking in water. This "dextrinizes" the grain and give a rich aro­matic flavor that will enhance your enjoy­ment. Little tips like this and the other simple ones that follow can make any simple breakfast food a delight.

What You Can Do: Try dry roasting your grain before you cook it. This will add a rich, nutty flavor to it.
Toasty Cooked Cereal
1 C Dry oatmeal, bulgur wheat or other whole grain break­fast cereal

Water (according to package instructions)

Dry-roast grains by put­ting them in a non­stick skil­let. Roast over a low flame or heat, shaking and tossing a little until it browns lightly and emits a nutty aroma.
Next simply cook the whole grains with water, as described on your package or in the whole grains cooking chart on page 46 of the Eat More, Weigh Less Cookbook. Makes 4 por­tions. (1 portion oatmeal = 145.0 calories, 2.4 grams fat, 16% protein, 69% carbo­hy­drates, 15% fat) (1 portion bulgur = 152.0 calories, 0.4 grams fat, 14% protein, 84% carbo­hy­drates, 2% fat)

An Ideal Sweet Snack or Side Dish

Tip #31
An Ideal Sweet Snack or Side Dish

As simple as this sounds, you have to try it to taste how good simple food can be.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE: The total fat content of 7 whole sweet potatoes combined is less than 1 gram of fat (0.91). And it takes 5.3 pounds of it to provide one day worth of calories.

SOME FACTS: Another excellent potato that you can use for the purpose of snacking or a side dish is the sweet potato. If you eat 3 slices of sweet potato instead of 3 average cookies (7.8 grams of fat for 3 medium cookies), you'll save over 7 grams of fat.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: When you have some time, try steaming up a bunch of sweet potatoes and keep some in the refrigerator for snacking on later. When you have a sweet tooth or crave something like a cookie, instead use sweet potato slices to satisfy your desire for something sweet to snack on. You will find that they are very filling and quite satisfying. The best part about it is that sweet potatoes are not only moderate to high in EMI, they contain only about 1% fat by calories.

Steamed Sweet Potatoes or Yams
6 med. Sweet potatoes or yams
Water
Place whole sweet potatoes in steamer with 1" of water and steam for approximately 15 minutes or until fork tender. Slice and serve. Or create glazed sweet potatoes by covering with the following sauce and baking for 5 more minutes. Makes 6 portions. (1 sweet potato portion = 117.0 calories, 0.125 grams fat, 7% protein, 93% carbohydrates, 1% fat) (1 yam portion = 127.8 calories, 0.1 grams fat, 5% protein, 94% carbohydrates, 1% fat)
Sweet potatoes and yams are simple and simply delicious by themselves. They don't have to be eaten only at Thanksgiving. They are great at any meal or as snacks.

How to Save 8 Grams of Fat Per Meal

Save 8 gm. fat!
Tip #37

Sauté Without Oil
WOULD YOU BELIEVE: A one-cup serving of vegetables sautéed in oil can be as high as 8.4 grams of fat per cup or 42% fat by calories.

SOME FACTS: Usually, people sauté their vegetables in oil. (This is also called frying.) Unfortunately, sautéing with oil causes the fat to seep into the vegetables, and your High EMI dish slides all the way down to the low end of the EMI scale.
Frying in oil is never necessary. It always adds calories to any meal. A better solution is to learn how to cook without oil. One way is to use a nonstick skillet and simply sauté your foods in water. The small amount of water keeps the vegetables from sticking to the pan and will cook the vegetables nicely.
If you want to add some flavor, simply sauté in vegetable broth. You can use a vegetarian powder to mix with water, or simply use a low-fat canned vegetable broth, which can be found in any supermarket.
Another flavorful sauté sauce is wine or sherry. Cooking wines are delicious and you can experiment with other wines as well.
One way to make foods especially tasty is to sauté onions and/or garlic in vegetable broth first until they are slightly translucent and then add other vegetables to complete the sautéing process. In this way, you can get a delicious vegetable stir-fry without adding oil. You've already been using this method in some of the preceding recipes.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Now try the following to see how delicious a vegetable stir-fry can be.



Vegetable Stir Fry
1 can Mushrooms or 1/4 cup dry shiitake
mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1 med. Carrot, sliced diagonally
2 stalks Broccoli, sliced diagonally
2 stalks Celery, sliced diagonally
1-1/2 Round onion, sliced into
thin crescents
1 piece Ginger, crushed
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1-1/2 Tbsp. Corn starch
1/4 C Water
Seasoning:
1 Tbsp. Oyster sauce (vegetarian)
1 tsp. Soy sauce
1 C Stock
Heat pan. Sauté ginger, garlic, and onion in water, remove from pan. Add seasonings and cook 2 minutes. Add stock, mushrooms, carrot, broccoli, and celery and cook until vegetables are crisp and tender. Make a paste with corn starch and water to thicken the gravy. Makes 4 to 6 portions. (1 portion = 59.4 calories, 0.3 grams fat, 19% protein, 77% carbohydrates, 5% fat)