Spinach, Bok Choy and Zucchini Soup Recipe


Spinach, Bok Choy and Zucchini Soup Recipe
Ingredients:3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 medium potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 medium zucchini, loosely chopped
4 -6 baby Bok Choy
2 Japanese Eggplants
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
8 cups fresh spinach leaves, loosely packed
½ cup plain non fat yogurt
1 Tbsp Cardamom
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
2 inch piece Fresh ginger
1  lemon, juice of
Salt to taste

Directions:In a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) add the garlic, ginger and onions and saute for a few minutes along with pinch of salt - just until they soften up a bit. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft throughout, roughly 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the bok choy and about 5 minutes later add spinach, and wait for it to wilt, just ten seconds or so.  Add spices and yogurt. Puree with a hand blender until smooth. Whisk in a big squeeze of lemon juice. Now taste, and add more salt if needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.
Serves about 8.

Want to lose 25 or 50 pounds?

How do I begin a Weight Loss Program? Part 3 of 3

Putting it all together to lose weight.

This statement is used by many and is a key reason for weight loss failure.  The most important thing about weight loss that I want you to realize is that, "You can't outrun your appetite."  I don’t think anyone would disagree with me that it’s easier to gain a pound than lose one? Consider this as proof:

 One can eat a BK Triple Whopper Cheese Burger in about 3 minutes.  Add a large fry and chocolate shake and that fast food lunch could be eaten in about 10-15 minutes, usually while driving back to work.  The calories from these foods are 1230, 540, 920 respectively.  Add those all up and it’s a total of 2690 calories eaten for lunch.  My good friend orders this on the way home from a good night of drinking often.   This is more than an entire daily calorie requirement for most men and almost twice that for some women. 

            Now let’s take a look at the other side of the coin.  The amount of time required to burn 2690 calories through exercise.  Based on information by the American College of Sports Medicine you would need to exercise for the following times to burn your 15 minute or less lunch or late night snack.

Exercise	130 lb	205 lb
Biking < 10 mph	11.4 hrs	9.57 hr
Rowing machine, Light	6.5 hrs	5.45 hrs
Aerobics. Low impact	6.5 hrs	5.45 hrs
Running, 5 mph	5.1 hrs	4.2 hrs
Golf, general	11.1 hrs	8.5 hrs
Playing tennis	7.6 hrs	6.4 hrs
Walking 3.0 moderate pace	12.0 hrs	10.1 hrs

            We can see why we can’t out run our appetite; we can consume calories at a ratio 20:1 to as much as 48:1 times that which we can burn through exercise.  From these ratios it becomes apparent that exercise, while great for psychological reason and stress reduction, has little or no effect if you are not eating right in the first place.  The ACSM also states that the most weight that a typical person can lose from exercise is about 3%.  Sure the Biggest Loser folks lose more, but this is their job and they are working out as much as 5 hours a day and are on severely restrictive diets.

What this means is all the exercise in the world wouldn't help you lose weight if you eat poorly. Exercise allows you to lose about 2% to 5% of your body weight. If you eat right and exercise you can compound the results. to prove this point consider the following: 

Our health is directly affected by the food we put (or don’t put) in our mouths.  Weight loss is a simple formula, 3500 calories equals 1 pound.  The only secret to weight loss is if you are losing that pound or gaining that pound.  If you are overweight, there are two steadfast and proven ways to lose weight; calorie reduction in what you eat and burning calories through exercise.

 

Jane’s BMR=  655 + (4.35 X 140) + (4.7 X 67) – (4.7 X 45)

655 + 609 + 315 – 212 = 1367 = Jane’s Minimal Calorie Requirements

Jane’s EER = 354 – (6.91 * 45) +  1 * ((9.36 * 63) + (726 * 1.7))

354 – 311 + 1 * (590 + 1234) = 1867 Jane’s Upper Limit

            From these two calculations we can determine that Jane’s minimal or lower calorie limit is 1367 and ideal upper is 1867.  For those who are overweight or obese many times their dietary intakes are double the upper limit.  Consider you choice drink 3 – 32 ounce sodas a day to meet your minimal needs or eating 10 carrot sticks, 10 celery sticks, 3 cups lettuce, 5 apples, 5 oranges and 2 large potatoes each about the same calories.  Will the soft drink satisfy your hunger and provide nutrients for the body to function more than the variety of fruits and vegetables with the same calories?  What you chose to eat makes a difference.

From above we know that 3500 pound equals 1 pound.  What happens if we combine calorie reduction with calorie exercise burns?  Here are our options for someone wanting to lose 25 pounds and how long it should take...

25 Pound Weight Loss Goal

Activity	Daily Calories Reduction	100 Calorie Exercise Burns	Weekly Loss	Weeks to Goal
Calorie Reduction Only	500	0	1 pound	25
Calorie Reduction Only	250	0	½ pound	50
Some Calorie Reduction & Some Exercise	300	200	1 pound	25
Some Calorie Reduction & Some Exercise	150	100	½ pound	50
Calorie Reduction & Moderate Exercise	500	200	1.4 pound	17
Calorie Reduction & Moderate Exercise	250	100	.7 pound	35
Calorie Reduction & Cardio Type Exercise	500	500	2	12.5
Calorie Reduction & Cardio Type Exercise	250	250	1	25

From the above chart you can see the benefits of combining exercise with a calorie restrictive diet.  Experience shows the best rate for long term weight loses is ½ to 2 pounds per week.  For many of those who are obese with heavy dependence on soft drinks and junk foods, a 300-500 daily calorie reduction in cutting one large soft drink and junk food snack out of the many empty calories they consume everyday. 

 Weight loss at a pace more accelerated than ½-2 pounds per week will lead to your skin not naturally retracting with the weight you have lost.  Individuals who opt for rapid weight loss through surgery or lap band may be left with saggy skin, plastic surgery may be necessary for cosmetic reasons.  Restricting nutrient any further than 500 calories can make you feel hungry, tired and more likely to fail your weight loss goals.  Natural hormones that stave off starvation will seek to conserve the fat you are trying to burn, and your appetite will force you to seek quick easy calories through binge type fast foods.  The only way you should seek to cut more than 500 calories a day is through a max of 500 calories reduction in food and the rest through calories from exercise burn.  A slow steadfast weight plan should always begin by focusing on replacing empty calorie foods with nutrients dense calorie sparse foods.  Once this happens the individual will naturally eat less food and the 500 calories restriction might occur naturally without the feeling of hunger.

You're defined by what you eat and how much.   Making the smart choice to eat the right foods will save you countless hours in the gym and make you look better every month you stick too the above goals.

About the Author:

Charles Kandutsch is author of a nutrition book entitled, Eat The Right Foods were its his belief that you can’t out run your appetite. He also authored Cook The Right Foods a companion cookbook that teaches chefs healthy food preparation with over 300 recipes and instructions on steaming, stir frying and many other techniques. Both books are available in print or eBook formats and are incorporated into the BURN 500^TM weight loss program. Chef Charles has trimmed approximately 100 pounds of fat from his body over the last 2 1/2 years which was accomplished through lifestyle changes and eating the right foods not dieting and exercise. For information on books visit the website or contact Charles by email at charles@EatTheRightFoods.com.

© Copyright – Charles M. Kandutsch. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Calculating the lowest calorie limit a diet should have.

How do I begin a Weight Loss Program? Part 2 of 3

Calculating the lowest calorie limit a diet should have.

As someone who was lost over 100 pounds, there is only one secret to weight loss...

Chef Charles Michael

            For our calculations consider an average female Jane, age 45, 5 ft 7 that weight 140 pounds and exercises minimally.    5’7” = 67” = 67/ 39.37 = 1.7 meters  140/2.20 = 63 kg

Estimated Energy Requirement (EER)

            EER is the amount of energy required to maintain current body weight depending on the age, gender, and physical activity level for a reference sized individual. The 'Reference size' is based on median height and weight for ages 2 to 18 years. After the age of 18, the reference size is based on median height and weight with a BMI of 21.5 for females and 22.5 for males. The physical activity is defined as a lifestyle. 

 a) SEDENTARY lifestyle that includes only the physical activity of independent living.

b) LOW ACTIVE lifestyle includes physical activity equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to sedentary life style.

c) ACTIVE lifestyle includes physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour, in addition to sedentary life style.

                                    Inactive           Active             Very Active

Women (PA)   1.00                 1.12                 1.27

Men (PA)        1.00                 1.11                 1.25

EER Formula Weight in kilo Height in Meters

Adult Female EER= 354 - (6.91* your age) + PA * ( 9.36 * your weight + 726 * your height)

Adult Male EER = 662 - (9.53 * your age) + PA * (15.91* your weight + 539.6 * your height)

Jane’s EER = 354 – (6.91 * 45) +  1 * ((9.36 * 63) + (726 * 1.7))

354 – 311 + 1 * (590 + 1234) = 1867 Jane’s Upper Limit

Common Chart Found in Books and on Internet

EER General Chart		Activity Level
Gender	Age (years)	Sedentary	Moderately Active	Active
Child	2-3	1,000	1,000-1,400e	1,000-1,400e
Female	4-8 9-13 14-18 19-30 31-50 51+	1,200 1,600 1,800 2,000 1,800 1,600	1,400-1,600 1,600-2,000 2,000 2,000-2,200 2,000 1,800	1,400-1,800 1,800-2,200 2,400 2,400 2,200 2,000-2,200
Male	4-8 9-13 14-18 19-30 31-50 51+	1,400 1,800 2,200 2,400 2,200 2,000	1,400-1,600 1,800-2,200 2,400-2,800 2,600-2,800 2,400-2,600 2,200-2,400	1,600-2,000 2,000-2,600 2,800-3,200 3,000 2,800-3,000 2,400-2,800

Janes point of weight loss or gain is 1867.  If she read the chart she would be directed to eat 1800 calories just 67 calories less than the EER calculation.  Now consider Jane at different age, weight and height considerations.

Example #2 Assume now Jane, age 45, 5 ft 4 that weight 200 pounds and exercises minimally. 5’4” = 64” = 67/ 39.37 = 1.63 meters  200/2.20 = 90.91 kg

New EER  354 - (6.91 * 45) + 1 ((9.36 * 90.91) + 726 * 1.63)

                   354 - 310.95 + 1(850.92) + 1183.38  =  2077.35

Example #3 Assume now Jane, age 50, 5 ft 10 that weight 135 pounds and exercises minimally. 5’0” = 60” = 60/ 39.37 = 1.52 meters  135/2.20 = 61.36 kg

New EER 354 - (6.91 * 50) + 1 ((9.36 * 61.36) + 726 * 1.52)

354 - 345.50+ 1(574.33) + 1103.52 =  1686.35

In example #2, Jane's point of weight loss is 300 calories more.  If she tries to cut 500 calories a day off her diet (1300 calories/day)  to lose a pound a week, she is actually cutting calories by 777 calories.  This will cause Jane to not get enough calories to meet her BMR lower limit and she will probably fail at weight loss as the body will begain to conserve or give hunger pains eventually causing her to eat more.  In example #3, Jane cutting calories to 1300 calories a day would only be a 386 calorie reduction.  She is only meeting 77% of her goal and may not even realize it.  Instead of losing 1 pound a week or 52 pounds a year she will lose 40 pounds and may not know why she is not meeting her goals.  In part 3 we put it all together and reveal the secret to weight loss.

About the Author:

 Charles Kandutsch is author of a nutrition book entitled, Eat The Right Foods were its his belief that you can’t out run your appetite.  He also authored Cook The Right Foods a companion cookbook that teaches chefs healthy food preparation with over 300 recipes and instructions on steaming, stir frying and many other techniques.  Both books are available in print or eBook formats and are incorporated into the BURN 500^TM weight loss program.  Chef Charles has trimmed approximately 100 pounds of fat from his body over the last 2 1/2 years which was accomplished through lifestyle changes and eating the right foods not dieting and exercise.  For information on books visit the website or contact Charles by email at charles@EatTheRightFoods.com.

 © Copyright – Charles M. Kandutsch.  All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

How do I begin a Weight Loss Program? Part 1 of 3

Calculating the point of weight loss or gain.

Calorie counting seem to be at the center of every diet. But how many calories does one need to eat? There are two calculations currently in use; BMR & EER that give you an ideal range. From these points you can set your weigt loss goals.

A healthy weight is the weight your body naturally settles into when you consistently eat a nutritious diet, are physically active, and balance the calories you eat with the physical activity you do. Reaching a specific weight is not as important as the lifestyle changes you make to become healthy. Use the BMI Index of ideal weights as a guide. If you are a small framed person you should be close to the low end of the weight range, medium frame middle, and large frame high end. This approximate suggested ideal weight, use it as a guide. Weightlifters, athletes and bone dense individuals will slide the scales to the right a bit as muscle weights more than fat.

For our two calculations consider an average female Jane, age 45, 5 ft 7 that weight 140 pounds and exercises minimally. 5’7” = 67” = 67/ 39.37 = 1.7 meters 140/2.20 = 63 kg

Basal Metabolic Rate

Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate (metabolism), is the energy (measured in calories) expended by the body at rest to maintain normal bodily functions. This continual work makes up about 60-70% of the calories we use ("burn" or expend) and includes the beating of our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature. Your BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including age, weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, dieting, and exercise habits. This is the minimal amount of calories that your body needs to function.

BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Jane’s BMR= 655 + (4.35 X 140) + (4.7 X 67) – (4.7 X 45)

655 + 609 + 315 – 212 = 1367 = Jane’s Minimal Calorie Requirements

If you are on a highly calorie restrictive diet (diet lower in calories than BMR) it is sure to fail and you will probably be one of the 95% of the people who put the weight back on. Tomorrow we will calculate the point where weight loss begins.

About the Author:

Charles Kandutsch is author of a nutrition book entitled, Eat The Right Foods were its his belief that you can’t out run your appetite. He also authored Cook The Right Foods a companion cookbook that teaches chefs healthy food preparation with over 300 recipes and instructions on steaming, stir frying and many other techniques. Both books are available in print or eBook formats and are incorporated into the BURN 500^TM weight loss program. Chef Charles has trimmed approximately 100 pounds of fat from his body over the last 2 1/2 years which was accomplished through lifestyle changes and eating the right foods not dieting and exercise. For information on books visit the website or contact Charles by email at charles@EatTheRightFoods.com.

© Copyright – Charles M. Kandutsch. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Apple Raspberry Crisp

Featured in our Kids Cook Cooking Video
Watch the video it's so cute!!

Apple Raspberry Crisp

4 Granny Smith apples
1 pint of fresh raspberries
1/3 cup of sugar
Toss together and place in individual crisp bowls or baking pan.

Topping:
½ cup each: Butter cut in pieces, sugar, and light brown sugar, flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In large bowl mix all topping ingredients together. Use a hand pastry blender to
incorporate into a granola like consistency. Shape mixture in mountain like
peak on each baking dish. It will melt down and be flat after cooking. Place on
aluminum foil covered baking sheet for easy cleanup. Bake for 20 minutes at
350°. Serve with ice cream and top with whip cream if you like.
Did you know that a crisp has the fruit on the bottom and a crumble crust
on the top, while a cobbler has a crust on the bottom and fruit on top. The pie
has crust on both the top and bottom of the fruit.

Raspberry Crisp Recipe

Raspberry Crisp Recipe

serves nine to sixteen, depending on how you cut it

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of raspberries, frozen
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Steel cut oats
• 1 cup Whole Wheat flour

• optional: stevia to sweeten tart raspberries

Preparation Instructions:

Before you start, you will need to thaw your raspberries before making the crisp, so be sure to allow the time to do so.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).

2. Spread the raspberries evenly over an 8-inch square glass or Pyrex baking dish. Optional: If raspberries are too tart for you, add some granulated stevia or sugar to taste.

3. In separate mixing bowl, melt the butter, then mix in the vanilla extract.

4. Mix in the brown sugar, until smooth, creaming it.

5. Mix in the Steel cut oats.

6. Slowly mix in the flour (all-purpose flour, ok too), a little at a time. The mixture will start to get crumbly, and that is okay, just keep mixing in the flour as best you can.

7. Once it is well blended, crumble the mixture over the raspberries in the pan. You want the topping to fall fairly evenly over the berries, but gaps here and there are perfectly fine.

8. Once the oven is preheated, bake for at least 35 minutes or until the topping is crispy and slightly browned, and the berries are bubbling all the way to the center.

9. Serve. May be enjoyed with vanilla ice cream, even better yet yogurt.

Why Raspberries are my favorite

Why Raspberries are my favorite food!!

As a kid whenever I got a cold my mother or grandmother used to serve me canned raspberries that my grandfather and I had picked in ice cream buckets from 1 of about 7 secret patches.  Some days I'd eat so many raspberries that I'd just sleep in the sun, and after my grandfather had picked his bucket he would say to me, "Charles Michael, from the size of your belly, at least you didn't eat the bucket.  This blog will contain many recipes that are my favorite, a fair share of them use raspberries the perfect fruit.  As it turns out the raspberries that made me feel better as a kid contain the following reasons:

Raspberries. As an antioxidant food containing ellagic acid, raspberries help prevent unwanted damage to cell membranes and other structures in the body by neutralizing free radicals. Raspberries possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries, three times that of kiwis, and ten times the antioxidant activity of tomatoes.  Raspberries emerged from our nutrient ranking system as an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C, two critical antioxidant nutrients that help protect the body's tissue from oxygen-related damage. They also qualified as a good source of riboflavin, folate, niacin, magnesium, potassium and copper. Coupled with this strong B vitamin and mineral content, raspberries qualified as "excellent" in terms of dietary fiber. This combination of nutrients makes raspberries a great fruit choice for having minimal impact on blood sugars.

As I look back at my childhood, and remember all the times my mother had to look for me sleeping in the raspberry patch, she even installed a bell that rand so loud you could hear it for a 1/2 mile, I think I was destined to share nutrition advice that made be feel better, lose 100 pounds and become healthier.  As I write this post i just polished of a carton of Driscoll's only the Fines Berries. 

Raspberrries or Framboises my favorite.

Tomorrow one of my favorite raspberry tart recipes.

Chef Charles Michael's

Eat The Right Food

Pictures from the Farmers Market