Do You Want a "New You" for the New Year?

Happy New Year! On or about New Year's Day, many people resolve to diet and begin excercise programs. I actually have jump on those who are making such new year's resolutions: I began my diet and fitness program in August. See my August 25 post (Click Here). I am now happy to report that I have lost 26 pounds. I have gone from 220 to 194 pounds, from a 38" to a 36" waist--and it is not from following any fad diet or doing anything crazy. I have put myself on a program of healthy and sensible eating and excercise.

I probably could have lost even more weight in the last five months if had gone for one of these radical weight loss programs. But I have opted for a healthier approach by which I am gradually converting fat to muscle, and becoming physically fit in the process. I must say, I have not starved myself. In fact, I have bothcreated and eaten almost all of the recipes that I have posted on my blog and published in my weekly newsletters for the past five months while I have been losing weight.

All of this has been a real education for me--and I think that is such an imortant word when it comes to dieting: "education." I have learned about how it is actually important to not starve yourself, but to become aware of foods which help to burn fat. I have learned about eating a number of small meals throughout the day, at the right times, and how this keeps the fat burning away!

No matter what anyone tells you calories are an issue in dieting. I began my diet by meticuloulsy recording my caloric intake each day. I found out that you can actually eat very satisfying meals throughout the day and stay within the limit of calories by which you can constantly lose weight! I don't count calories now, but I stay conscious of approximately how many I'm taking in througout the day--and I'm still losing weight. I also must tell you that two days a week I relax and eat what I want, when I want, and how much I want. I don't go wild on these days, but I reward myself, often with recipes like I've been publishing!

I have also learned that there are "good fats" and "bad fats." And there are definitley a lot of great tasting foods that are highly proficient at fat burning!

My new way of eating, coupled with my very sensible fitness program (one half hour of excercise three times a week) has made me feel better than I've felt in many years! If you are considering making some changes in 2008, here are some resources you might want to check out...

The Mediterranean Diet is also known as the Heart Diet or Cancer Diet and is currently one of the most respected diets known today. Now if you're like me, you might not want to totally commit to any one diet--but you might want to consider adding some of these unique, tasty and healthful recipes into your meal schedule. I reviewed this diet on the September 1 post of my blog at:

The Mediterranean Diet--Click Here!

Medical researcher Shola Oslo has written an ebook which gives all the details of extensive research on foods which fight fats--resulting in fast, yet safe and healthy weight loss. Shola tells us "...there are some scientifically proven foods that are known to aid weight loss? These are foods doctors, scientists, medical researchers and nutritionists know help weight loss." See my review of this ebook at:

Discover 110 Amazing Fat Fighting Foods!--Click Here!

Quickly shrink your waistline, lose body fat, eliminate low back pain and develop a stunning set of six-pack abs... David Grisaffi has been an exercise specialist, strength coach and personal trainer since 1994, working with all types of people from professional boxers to housewives who want to get rid of cellulite. Check out his course, Firm and Flatten Your Abs, at:

Firm and Flatten Your Abs!--Click Here!

The Greatest Gift Ever Given...

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." --Luke 2:10-11

"For God so loved the world that He gave His unique Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
--John 3:16

May You Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Griff's American Christmas Brined Turkey

I brined a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful. You might want to try this for your Christmas dinner. I put together a recipe for this largely based on a recipe by Alton Brown, but I made quite a few changes, especially in the aromatics. It was a joy both to prepare and eat this bird.

Brining is a process in which meat is soaked in a salt solution (called a brine) before cooking. The brine makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, through the process of osmosis. This process causes cells to hold on to the water while the meat, poultry or fish is cooking. That's the short version of it. Scientists could go on forever about this process, but I'm not a scientist. I just know that it works.

Ingredients:

1 thawed turkey (approx. 20 lb.)

The Brine:
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 gallon iced water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. Lawry’s® seasoned pepper (or black pepper)

The Aromatics:
2 cups water
1 large handful fresh parsley leaves (cut off the stalks)
6 (4” long) pieces celery
4 (4” long) pieces carrot
1 sliced red apple
1/2 sliced onion
4 whole, peeled cloves garlic
2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
Olive oil for basting

Instructions:

The night before: Combine all of the ingredients for the brine, except the ice water in a large (8 qt.) kettle and bring to a boil, stirring well so as to dissolve the salt and sugar. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Then combine the brine and the ice water in a large and clean insulated cooler. Place the turkey, breast side down in cooler, and put lid on. Marinate for about 8 to 10 hours, turning once.

When you are ready to roast the bird, combine the celery, the carrot, the apple, the onion and the garlic in a large, microwave safe bowl. Stir the rubbed sage and dried thyme leaves into the water and add it to the ingredients in the bowl. Microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the turkey from the brine and discard the brine. Wash the bird inside and out with cold water. Place the turkey in a roasting pan. Pat dry with paper towels and put the celery, the carrot, the apple, the onion the garlic, and the fresh parsley leaves in cavity. Tuck back the wings and coat the whole turkey liberally with olive oil.

Roast the turkey on the lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover the breast area only with a double layer of aluminum foil. Insert a meat thermometer between the thigh and breast just beyond the lower part of the thigh bone, making sure that the thermometer does not touch any part of the bone. Reduce oven to 325 degrees F and put the bird back in the oven. The remaining roasting time for a turkey of about 20 pounds should be anywhere from about 4 to 5 hours. Make adjustments for different size birds. Turkey should be done when the meat thermometer reaches 190 degrees F in the deepest part of the thigh muscle. (Some sources give lower temperatures, but I like to be sure.) After removing from oven, cover entire bird loosely with foil and allow 15-20 minutes standing time before carving. Discard the aromatics.

Write a Cookbook and Make it Sell

"It's a crying shame. There has never been a better time to publish a cookbook, but most of the people I speak with don't think they can do it. You know the type of people I'm talking about--the ones who, even with opportunity staring them right in the face, will always tell you why they can't do something."

These are the words of Ron Douglas, the author of a new, instantly downloadable instructional course, Write a Cookbook and Make it Sell. Ron shows you how to make quick cash by selling your own cookbook, even if you can't cook and don't like to write. Ron, a best selling cookbook author, reveals his inexpensive step-by-step system to create a cookbook and earn big profits in 60 days or less. Some great bonuses too! For all the details:
Click Here!