Dejunking Junk Foods

If you thought there was a way to make that Twinkie you're snarfing a little less dangerous, I have a short answer for you-no. If this is a little too close for comfort, how about pizza? You like pizza, don't you?

I don't think I've met anyone who doesn't love pizza (if you're the one in the over 50,000 subscribers here that doesn't, please don't email me and let me know). I'll take your word for it!;-) For the rest of us humans, pizza is a part of our own personal food pyramid. We order it on Fridays or another night of the week when we've blown our prep time for making dinner-any of this sound familiar? Anyone feeling guilty yet?

It's not my intention to ratchet up guilt-I'll leave that to your mother. My intention is to bring you over to the healthy side of pizza and to leave that yucky old take-out stuff to the cretins who know no different. YOU can have your pizza and eat it, too! And, it can be a healthy food!

You've already heard me spout about lycopene, the wonderfully potent phytochemical found in tomato sauce. So it goes without saying, that the sauce is already quite healthy. And calcium? Well, a nice low-fat mozzarella is full of it-just go easy. The crust? Now let me tell you white flour and water makes....play doh. You want THAT in your colon for the next 50 years? I have a solution to that one...keep reading.

That leaves the toppings. Pepperoni and sausage aren't exactly the poster children of good health, so top your pizza with tons of veggies, fresh basil, some ground turkey seasoned with fennel and oregano...you get the picture, it can be done.

Now for recipes. If you think pizza needs to be difficult, get over yourself! Pizza is easy...it only look intimidating when you watch the guy at the pizzaria tossing the dough. No one says you have to TOSS the dough. All he's doing is getting the gluten (in the wheat) to stretch-it's a form of kneading, LOL. If you're smart, you'll merely knead it on the counter. If you have children with relatively clean hands, you can get your kids to do it or if your children's hands are completely untrustworthy (like my son's), you'll want to use your Cuisinart or other reasonable facsimile thereof.

Here are the recipes and this time I mean it:

Kneadless Pizza Dough

Makes 2 crusts-size depends on thickness of crust

1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons yeast

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

In a measuring cup, add yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of the honey. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, in a food processor bowl, add flour, oil, salt and remaining honey. Pulse to blend. Now keep the food processor running, and slowly add the yeasty water through the feed tube. Let the machine run for about a minute (this is the fake kneading part). Dough should be smooth when it's done, if not, add more flour or more water depending. Now let that dough rest about 5 minutes. You'd need a good 5 minute rest too, if you were violently spinning around a food processor for a minute.

Divide the dough in half and roll out and use according to your recipe.

Per serving: 110 Calories; 3g Total Fat; 4g Protein; 2g Dietary Fiber; 19g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 180mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Fat.

Roasted Garlic Pizza Sauce

Makes enough for two crusts

1 bulb roasted garlic - squeeze roasted garlic to taste (see recipe below)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (28-oz.) can plum tomatoes

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, crush tomatoes with a potato masher, add remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil. Let simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Per serving: 13 Calories; 1g Total Fat; trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; trace Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch).

How to Make Roasted Garlic

1 head garlic - slice off top to expose garlic. Remove any excess, papery peel.

1 teaspoon olive oil

Slice off the tip top of the garlic head to expose garlic. Don't slice too much off!

Sit the garlic on it's root end in a casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil on the top. Cover with a lid.

Bake about an hour at 375 degrees. The heavenly scent of roasted garlic will waft all over the house. Let cool.

When you want to use it, pick it up and squeeze the soft, buttery contents out into whatever you're making-pizza sauce, garlic bread, mashed potatoes, whatever. Not good with chocolate.

Per serving: 44 Calories; 5g Total Fat; trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 1mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Fat.

Leanne Ely
~ The Dinner Diva ~
http://www.savingdinner.com
Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/savingdinner

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Type 2 Diabetes Food List - Recommended and Forbidden Foods For Diabetics

There is nothing in this world that has the impact that food does. At the heart of every celebration lays food. First dates typically revolve around food. Mothers are always trying to make their kids all their food. We need it to stay alive and enjoy it so much that millions of us are overweight, and millions of us now have to watch we eat pretty carefully because we have developed type 2 diabetes.

Doctors, dietitians, and other health care professionals will tell you that there are two main things that make for a healthy body - eating right and getting enough exercise. If you are like me, and like I was when I was first diagnosed with diabetes, you probably want easy answers. You wish you could just get a big magic list labeled "Type 2 Diabetes Food List - Forbidden and Recommended Foods for Diabetics." Well, for the most part, there is no easy magic bullet that will keep your diabetes in check, and it is definitely important to eat a variety of healthy foods every day and get exercise every day as well.

That being said, we can have a bit of a guide that can serve as a kind of a list of forbidden and recommended foods for diabetics. That list, really, is the diabetic food pyramid put out by the American Diabetes Association. The pyramid divides foods into six categories. At the top - as close to forbidden as possible - are the fats, oils, and sweets. Just like the regular ADA food pyramid, the top area is to be limited. That means that cakes, cookies, doughnuts, and so on are on the forbidden list.

Down on the bottom two levels are grains, vegetables, and fruits. Just like the regular food pyramid, the diabetes food pyramid puts the "best" foods at the bottom. That means that grains, fruits, and vegetables are the recommended part of the list.

Type 2 Diabetes

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The Importance of Feeding Young Children the Right Foods

We have all heard doctors and nutritionist talk about the importance of getting a well balanced diet. How many of us believe that we are eating correctly? What about our children? Why is it so important for a child to eat healthy food?

Whatever we eat affects every cell in our body. Eating healthy helps us to grow and develop correctly. When you look at the children in underdeveloped countries who have a very poor diet, most of them are extremely thin with very large bellies. Many of these children do not make it to adolescence.

A typical diet should supply all the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins needed for proper growth and development. Proper nutrition carries its greatest influence during infancy to childhood, when the body is actively growing. There are many wonderful books available on nutrition. Your pediatrician should have literature on what to feed your baby as they develop from birth to childhood. If you are vegetarian, be cautious about placing your infant and young children on a strict vegetarian diet. Do your research.

Food contains carbohydrates (bread, cereal, rice, pasta, potatoes), protein (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, nuts, milk, cheese), lipids (fats, oils), vitamins, minerals and water. All six of these nutrient groups are found in foods in varying amounts. A healthy diet may supply all the essential nutrients and calories for typical growth and development during childhood.

At least half of all calories consumed should come from carbohydrates. High carbohydrate food produces fuel and provide energy for the brain. Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and released as needed for energy.

Protein should be 10 to 15% of the total calories consumed. Protein provides amino acids which help with new tissue, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. It also proceeds nitrogen, which helps to keep tissue healthy. Generally speaking, animal protein is higher in essential amino acids then plant protein. A lack of protein in the diet, especially during infancy, can lead to a reduction in growth rate and muscle depletion.

Lipids (or fats) are another important source of energy. They are also involved in the maintenance and well being of membranes, hormones and cellular signals. Fats produce energy, give food its taste, and make us feel full. Fats are also what generally cause us to gain weight, have cholesterol problems, and can cause blockage in the arteries. Infants require a higher percentage of fat calories then older children.

Vitamins stimulate metabolic reactions without being used up. Fresh food contains vitamins naturally, while they are added to processed foods. If a child is eating a well-balanced diet, they should not require vitamin supplements. Consult with your pediatrician before giving your child vitamin supplements.

We all need various minerals to ensure appropriate body functioning. Minerals such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, help with the formation of bones, teeth and for normal muscle contraction. Potassium, chloride, and sodium maintain the body's fluid balance. Having a mineral deficiency, even in the minerals which you only need a minute amount of, can cause some major health problems. Talk with your pediatrician if you think your child may suffer from a mineral deficiency.

Water is essential for life. It is important in the prevention of constipation and dehydration. Water transports nutrients to and waste products from cells, helps to regulate the bodies temperature and is involved in metabolic reactions.

Fiber, although not listed as one of the essential nutrients, is important in your daily diet. Fiber, in the proper amounts, helps to keep your gastrointestinal track healthy.

You can find more detailed information on the Food Pyramid by visiting

www.mypyramid.gov There are also some very interesting website for kids that will help them make the right choices in eating.

Wendy Greif is a mother and graduate of USF in Special Education. She has taught children with various disabilities in both South Carolina and Florida. Mrs. Greif operates an informational website for parents and caregivers of children and/or adults with special needs ([http://www.specialneedschildrenandadults.com]).

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