Sylvia's Scenario

This is my most favorite chili recipe and it contains no tomatoes or beans, can you believe it?  Tomatoes and beans are high lectin foods so I've been avoiding them as part of my anti-inflammatory diet.  If the beans are pressure cooked, then the lectin content is reduced.  Unless you pressure cook your own beans, the only other kind they say are compliant are  Eden Organic Beans   which are sold at a store near my house but I don't mind avoiding them.  And they say you can eat tomatoes if you avoid all the seeds and skin so tomato paste and sauce is O.K. if you know that they process them that way such as the brand   Pomi .  So, there are lots of ways to avoid lectin by not being that restrictive in your diet but I've found that there are so many good recipes out there by avoiding high lectin foods altogether, like this chili recipe.  It's amazing you can love a chili with no tomatoes or beans, but trust me, you will.  I've ma...

I hate to be a kill-joy, but I'm still following a  low lectin diet .  Yes, even though it's the holidays.  I did great over Thanksgiving and did not gain any weight for the first time in years.  And we basically had two Thanksgiving since my sister had dinner at her house and then the next day, I hosted a post-Thanksgiving meal so everyone could come over who had other obligations on Thanksgiving.  That way, we can also use up the leftovers from Thanksgiving and Bruce and I can still do a turkey which we like to do.  I like having leftovers and making soup with the bones afterwards.   I ate traditional foods at Thanksgiving but stuck to low lectin for the most part.  I've found that I don't have to do it 100% for it to work.  I'm doing it mostly for the anti-inflammitory reasons.  I can tell that it's easier to get in and out of the car, go up and down stairs, I have more energy, sleep better, etc.  I didn't ...

It's been too hot to cook around here so last night I  made this easy salad using a wild sockeye salmon fillet that we got from a "buy one, get one free" offer at our local grocery store.   There are some variations to this salad so you can add or subtract items depending on your preferences that I'll add to the recipe. I'm still experimenting with the low lectin diet that I talked about in my last post and this recipe is low  lectin.  I am reading the bo ok  The Plant Paradox   that basically goes beyond a gluten-free diet and eliminates foods with lectins which the author claims is the cause of a lot of health problems.  I'm realizing that The Plant Paradox book is a diet itself because the author outlines other dietary restrictions besides low lectin when following his regimen like limiting sugar and only 4 ounces of meat daily.  So, the P.P. diet (Plant Paradox diet) is actually more than a low lectin diet. (My chocolate cake from my last...

I'm all about quick and easy meals on an everyday basis.  This is another  Cooking Light Diet Plan  recipe that fit the bill.  I prepared some roasted yellow squash and zucchini with it and once again had another delicious dinner in less than an hour.  The key to this recipe is to let the sauce reduce down to about half the amount.  It would be really good with mashed potatoes or rice to soak up this saucy chicken. Serves 4 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds) 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1/2 cup dry white wine (I use d Pinot Grigio) 2 Tbsp. capers, drained 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 fresh thyme sprig 3/4 cup chicken stock 1-1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh, flat-left parsley 1.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. 2.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 Tbsp. oil to p...

Our latest dinner from   Cooking Light was this salmon recipe that I made tonight along with some Swiss chard and rice. The mustard sauce went really well with the chard and rice and the recipe was super simple to make. We eat salmon a lot so it's always nice to find a fast, simple, yet flavorful way of preparing it to change things up a bit. The salmon was on sale this week at our local grocery store as a "buy one and get one free" offer so I knew we would have salmon this week, for sure. If you're not a fish lover, this recipe just might change your mind.    Serves 2 1 pound of skin-on salmon fillet 5 thyme sprigs  2 Tbsp. country style Dijon mustard 1 tablespoons honey 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 lemon, thinly 1. Preheat oven to 450°. 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 3. Arrange thyme sprigs in a long row on parchment.    4...

We had another delicious dinner tonight from  Cooking Light Diet Plan  that won over our taste buds.  This recipe is really filling so you don't need to eat much before you are completely satisfied. I love greens like Swiss chard, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. with a little vinegar sprinkled on it.  If you like this then you will love this recipe. Tonight, I used Swiss chard for this recipe.  It's a very simple recipe just like yesterday's recipe so you can whip up dinner in less than an hour.  It's a low carb. recipe so once again, Bruce made rice to go with his but I ate mine without rice and was totally satisfied.  The black-eyed peas go really well with the greens and the vinegar making a good combination.  I also love Southern cooking so this is one to add to my list.  It's a Southern tradition to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens in the New Year so now is the time to try this recipe.  Happy New Year...

This week I signed up for an online menu plan by Cooking Light and tonight I made our first dinner with it and it was great! I subscribed to their cooking magazine years ago, back in the day when we would clip out recipes and save them, before the internet. I got a lot of good recipes that way. When I saw their ad promoting their Cooking Light Diet Plan, I remembered how good their recipes were so I signed up for 3 months for around $22. They email me everyday with the day's menu plan. You can also look ahead at all their menu choices, too, and save good ones you like in your "cookbook". You can choose between vegetarian, gluten free or the one I chose called SmartCarb. SmartCarb is minimally processed foods and refined sugar and is overall lower in carbohydrates. That one seemed closest to the way I eat. Bruce does not eat low carbs. and also eats much more than me so then I get tempted to overeat. For example, he wanted more of that granola  I made for our ...