Posted 1 week ago

detox plan

Rather than following an extreme detox plan that limits just about every food except fruit and veg while at the same time getting you to down a nasty ‘detox’ drink every day, this plan is safer and more sensible and shouldn’t leave you short on nutrients if you follow it for just one week.

Detox Plan image

Foods to include in the detox plan

Your plan can include:

  • Fruit – your plan can include any fruit including fresh, frozen, dried or canned in natural fruit juice. This includes apples, bananas, pears, oranges, grapefruit, satsumas, sultanas, raisins, pineapple, mango, kiwi fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, nectarines, peaches, melons, star fruit etc
  • Fruit juice – either make homemade fruit juices or smoothies from fresh fruit, or drink ready-made juices. Make sure ready-made juices are labelled as being ‘pure’ or ‘unsweetened’.
  • Vegetables – eat any vegetables including fresh, frozen or canned in water (without salt added). This includes carrots, onions, turnip, swede, sprouts, cabbage, peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn, peppers, leeks, courgettes, broccoli, cauliflower, salad, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions etc
  • Beans and lentils – eat any beans, including those that have been dried or canned in water. This includes red kidney, haricot, cannellini, butter, black eye, pinto, red lentils, green lentils and brown lentils
  • Tofu and Quorn
  • Oats – sprinkle oats over fresh fruit or use to make porridge, sweetened with honey and fresh fruit
  • Potatoes – all types
  • Brown rice and rice noodles
  • Rye crackers, rice cakes and oatcakes
  • Fresh fish – eat any fresh fish including cod, plaice, mackerel, salmon, lobster, crab, trout, haddock, tuna, prawns, Dover sole, red mullet, halibut, lemon sole, monkfish, swordfish etc. Canned fish in water is suitable too eg salmon or tuna
  • Unsalted nuts – eat any including Brazil, peanuts, almonds, cashew, hazel nuts, macadamia, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio, walnuts etc
  • Unsalted seeds – eat any including sunflower and pumpkin
  • Plain popcorn – without sugar or salt
  • Live natural yoghurt
  • Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
  • Garlic, ginger and fresh herbs
  • Ground black pepper
  • Honey
  • Water – at least 2 litres a day. Tap or mineral water is fine.
  • Herbal or fruit teas

Foods to avoid during your detox plan

  • Red meat, chicken, turkey and any meat products like sausages, burgers, and pate
  • Milk, cheese, eggs, cream
  • Butter and margarine
  • Any food that contains wheat including bread, croissants, cereals, cakes, biscuits, pies, pastry, quiche, battered or breadcrumbed foods, etc
  • Crisps and savoury snacks including salted nuts
  • Chocolate, sweets, jam and sugar
  • Processed foods, ready meals, ready-made sauces and takeaways
  • Alcohol
  • Coffee and tea
  • Sauces, pickles, shop bought salad dressing, mayonnaise
  • Salt
  • Fizzy drinks and squashes, including diet versions

Detox Plan Breakfasts

  • Banana porridge
    Porridge made with water and topped with natural yoghurt, banana, raisins and sweetened with honey.
  • Fruit salad with yoghurt and oats
    Fresh fruit salad with natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of oats.
  • Fresh fruit smoothie
    Fruit smoothie made from fresh fruit, natural yoghurt and honey to sweeten if needed.
  • Muesli and yoghurt
    Homemade muesli made from oats, seeds, nuts and dried fruit served with natural yoghurt.
  • Fresh fruit and yoghurt
    Fresh fruit and a pot of natural yoghurt sweetened with honey.

Detox Plan Lunches

  • Vegetable soup and oatcakes
    Large bowl of vegetable or lentil soup (either homemade or supermarket ‘fresh’) with oatcakes.
  • Tuna and sweetcorn jacket potato and salad
    Jacket potato topped with tuna (canned in water) mixed with sweetcorn and natural yoghurt and served with salad.
  • Mediterranean salad with rice cakes
    Rice cakes served with rocket, avocado, tomatoes, fresh basil and black pepper. Plus a handful of unsalted nuts.
  • Guacamole with crudités
    Homemade guacamole made from avocado, lemon juice, fresh chilli, tomatoe and garlic served with vegetable crudités and oatcakes.
  • Tzatziki with crudités
    Homemade tzatziki made from natural yoghurt, garlic, cucumber and lemon juice served with vegetable crudités and oatcakes.
  • Avocado and prawn salad
    Fresh avocado served with prawns, salad, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.
  • Jacket potato with grilled cod
    Grilled cod fillet served with jacket potatoes and lightly steamed vegetables.

Detox Plan Dinners

  • Chinese vegetable stir fry
    Stir fry a selection of vegetables such as bok choi, spring onions, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and beansprouts in a little olive oil with garlic and ginger. Serve with brown rice.
  • Baked salmon with jacket potato
    Bake a salmon fillet and serve with a jacket potato and steamed vegetables.
    Detox Plan images 1 
  • Tuna and prawns with noodles
    Gently fry a selection of vegetables such as onions, mushrooms, peppers, courgette and leek in a little olive oil. When lightly browned, add a handful of prawns. Cook for a few minutes, then add canned tomatoes, tomato puree, black pepper and tuna canned in water. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce thickens. Serve with rice noodles.
  • Sweet and sour stir fry with rice
    Gently fry a selection of chopped vegetables such as onions, peppers, baby sweetcorn and mushrooms. Add canned pineapple (in fruit juice), canned tomatoes, tomato purée, white wine vinegar and honey. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Serve with brown rice.
  • Potato and bean casserole
    Gently fry a selection of typical casserole vegetables such as onion, carrots and parsnip in a little olive oil with garlic. When browned, add diced potato and fry for a few minutes. Add fresh vegetable stock, black pepper and your favourite beans. Bring to the boil and simmer until the casserole thickens.

Detox Plan Snacks

  • Fresh fruit or fresh fruit salad
  • Natural yoghurt mixed with honey
  • Plain popcorn
  • Handful of unsalted nuts or seeds
Posted 1 month ago

weight loss diets for women

So in this guide I am going show you the right principles so you can find the best diet for you.

The Principles

Luckily, there are only two principles you have to focus on:

  • Caloric load
  • Blood sugar normalization

The amount of calories you eat (i.e., caloric load) will ultimately control your rate of weight loss. And your levels of blood sugar will determine the quality of your weight loss – how much fat versus muscle you lose.

Ignoring all the chatter and focusing on these two principles alone will allow you to lose as much weight as you want.

And this reminds me of another important point: there is no single best weight loss diet for women. Rather, the best diet is one that youmodify according to your particular lifestyle and body type.

Again, this is why understanding principles is more important than understanding the mechanics behind a diet. So you can effectively manipulate your diet according to your unique needs.

Caloric Load

There are a million ways to control the amount of calories you eat. Which one is best?

Well, I recommend using a progressive approach here. Start off with the least invasive methods and if the weight doesn’t come off, start using the more involved methods.

As a starting point, you are going to have to control portion sizes. An extremely effective yet simple way to do this is with the palms of your hands. Have on palm-full of protein, one palm-full of carbohydrates, one tablespoon-full of fat and as many dark colored vegetables as possible in each one of your meals.

Using the palms of your hands will automatically adjust your portion sizes according to your body size and metabolic rate.

Now if this approach doesn’t work for you – wait at least a couple weeks – I suggest keeping a food journal of everything you eat. Then, either upward or downward adjust the calories you eat depending on your rate of weight loss.

Then, if this doesn’t work either you’ll have to weigh and measure everything you eat. Although not recommended, this is the only way to prevent “calorie creep.” A situation where hidden calories sneak into your diet and prevent weight loss.

Measuring and weighing everything is the only way to fully prevent this, although most women never have to go to this extreme!

weight loss diets for women images

Blood Sugar Normalization

There are two hormones in your body that control weight loss: insulin and glucagon. If insulin goes up, glucagon goes down. If glucagon goes up, insulin goes down. They oppose each other.

And blood sugar influences how much insulin your body has to secrete.

So the lower your blood sugar is, the less insulin you’ll secrete and the more glucagon you’ll have circulating around.

And this is exactly what you want – more glucagon for more weight loss.

In fact, the best weight loss diets for women raise your levels of glucagon the most.

So how do you lower blood sugar for maximum glucagon production?

Again, there are multiple strategies you can implement here and I recommend using the easiest and only transitioning to the hardest if absolutely necessary.

Now the easiest way to lower your blood sugar is by eating balanced meals with slow digesting carbohydrates. To do this, pick one food item from each group every time you assemble a meal:

  • Protein
  • Carbohydrates
  • Fat
  • Vegetables

Of all of these, carbohydrates will have the biggest impact on blood sugar. So try to make beans and legumes your primary sources of carbs – they lower blood sugar the most.

Insulin Resistance

Now if eating balanced, portion controlled meals doesn’t work you can consider a cyclical carbohydrate diet.

By cycling carbohydrates in and out of your diet you’ll lower your blood sugar even further without entering ketosis – a state in which your body runs off of ketones.

Unfortunately, ketosis is brutal and of all the different weight loss diets for women it leads to the largest weight gain rebound.

But you can avoid this by cycling carbohydrates. So how is this done?

Simple.

On the days you are exercising maintain a regular carbohydrate intake. And on the days you aren’t exercising eliminate carbohydrates.

Just keep in mind that you may not be able to tolerate eliminating carbohydrates even if it’s for just one day. So listen to your body and adjust accordingly. If you can only eliminate carbohydrates from half of your meals on your non-exercise day, that’s completely fine.

Now if you are working with an extremely tight deadline, if you needed results yesterday, be more aggressive with your carbohydrate restriction and supplement your diet with caffeine tablets, loose leaf green tea and/or loose leaf yerba mate.

All of these will energize you and keep you productive on the days that you restrict carbs.

But what about all those other “best diets for women?”

Well, let’s review some of the popular diets and see how they might apply to you.

High Protein/Low Carb Diets For Women

This involves lowering your blood sugar to the extreme. You stop eating carbohydrates, crank up protein intake and watch the weight fly off of your body.

But there is a catch…

The catch: most of the initial weight loss is water.

Also, these diets are not sustainable and lead to lean muscle tissue breakdown.

Having said that, these diets do have their place if you are trying to go from lean to super duper lean. But if you are reading this article you most likely do not fall into this category.

And even if you were trying to reach a ridiculously low body fat percentage, you wouldn’t want to follow this type of diet for too long.

High Carb Diets For Women

The idea here is that calories control weight loss and as a result, you can eat as many carbohydrates as you want as long as you are within your caloric “allowance.”

Unfortunately, although calories do control weight loss, you cannot ignore blood sugar and insulin.

And if you lead a sedentary lifestyle (i.e., work at a desk) you should not be eating a massive amount of carbohydrates.

You only need a lot of carbohydrates if you are doing a tremendous amount of physical activity. So if you are an endurance athlete, by all means eat as many carbs as you want.

But for the rest of us, a high carb diet will not be the best diet here.

Low Fat Diets For Women

Yes, a gram of fat has twice the amount of calories in comparison to a gram of protein and carbohydrates.

But this does not mean that a low fat diet is best here. You see, dietary fat affects too many critical processes that regulate weight loss.

For one, the membranes of your cells need dietary fat to maintain their permeability. This means that a diet with insufficient fat will lead to higher amounts of nutrients getting shuffled to fat cells.

Dietary fat also influences your ability to recover from exercise and your ability to produce fat burning hormones.

I hate to sound cliché, but you do need to eat fat to burn fat.

Liquid Diets For Women

The main problem with liquid nutrition is that it digests too quickly which in turn makes your levels of blood sugar go up.

Also, solid food is much more satisfying than a shake. And remember that “meal replacement” powders will never be able to rival the nutrient synergies found in natural foods.

One more thing: slower digesting, solid food will lead to less lean tissue breakdown which in turn will preserve your metabolism.

Fasting/Detox Diets For Women

Yes, stop eating and the weight will come off. But once you start eating again it will all come back with a vengeance.

Not to mention that you are more at risk for all the nasty side effects with this type extreme dieting – hair loss, brittle nails, gall stones, etc.

Keep in mind that your body will make a lot of adjustments it you diet too aggressively. Your fat storing hormones will up regulate, your fat burning hormones will down regulate, your metabolism will slow down and life will become miserable.

You are better off coaxing your body to lose weight, don’t force it.

Your Hormonal Nemesis: Estrogen

Now one of the biggest challenges you will face when losing weight is overcoming estrogen. The good news is that you only have to do two things here:

  • Lift weights
  • Eat 25-30% of your calories as fat

And remember that lifting weights burns so many calories that you will actually get smaller, not bigger.

Weight Loss Diets For Women: My Final Thoughts

Your best strategy here is to absorb the principles outlined above and then modify a diet to your particular needs.

Most importantly, take action.

Just start eating right and course correct along the way.

You will learn the most about your body and the type of diet it responds to best by taking action.

So stop reading and start dieting!

source : http://www.skinnywiz.com/best-weight-loss-diets-for-women/
Posted 1 month ago

weight management tips

Here are seven tips to successfully manage your weight.

Cut down on portions

Portion your meals in a calorie-conscious manner. One quarter of your plate should comprise a palm-size portion of lean protein, such as salmon or chicken breast; another quarter should comprise a fist-size portion of unrefined grain, such as brown rice; and one-half of your plate should be filled with a variety of colorful vegetables.

See the example below:

 Weight Management Tips images

If you are still hungry after eating your meal, try waiting about 20 minutes to allow your food to digest. If you are still hungry, eat a tossed salad, extra vegetables, or a small piece of fruit.

Do not skip meals

Eating three meals a day plus snacks is essential in weight management. Don’t forget breakfast! Eating breakfast in the morning jump-starts your metabolism. Remember that food is your body’s fuel: without it, your body cannot work as efficiently.

Front-load your calories

Eat the majority of your calories in the first half of your day. Enjoy portion-controlled snacks during the day to keep hunger under control at night. After all, you’re generally most active during the day. Choose lighter dinners to coincide with evenings when you are less active.

Double up on fiber

Most women do not receive the 25-30 grams of fiber recommended each day. To help you boost your fiber intake, choose whole-grain, high-fiber breads and cereals; choose whole-wheat pasta and rice instead of white; and include more dried beans in your meals. Fiber helps fill you up faster, which can cause you to eat less and curb hunger. Most importantly, soluble fiber can help lower you cholesterol.

Good Food Sources of Fiber

Insoluble Fiber: whole-wheat products like breads, pastas, cereals, wheat and corn bran, the skins of fruit and root vegetables, and most vegetables (like broccoli, potatoes and green beans).

Soluble Fiber: oats, oat bran, barley, psyllium, legumes like dried beans and split peas, most fruits and vegetables.

Exercise daily

Participate in physical activity daily as recommended by your physician or exercise physiologist.

Include 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day

Fruits and vegetables are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are naturally low in calories and fat.

  • Eat at least 2-3 servings of fruit daily
  • Avoid juice and canned fruit
  • Eat fruits with the skin for added fiber and nutrients
  • Have plenty of vegetables with lunch and dinner daily. They are also great as a snack.
Drink plenty of water

Include 6 to 8 glasses of fluid each day. It’ll help keep you adequately hydrated and often helps prevent overeating.

source : http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/women/weightmanagementtips.aspx

Posted 1 month ago

eating plan to lose weight

The best diet meals are those that allow good selection of nutritious and low fat foods. Studies have shown that the best way to lose weight is not to starve yourself. Eat 25% less calories than normal and you will lose weight. After several months your weight loss may plateau and you may need to decrease total calories in your diet meal plan by another 10% to keep losing weight.
 
Design your meal plan around foods that you enjoy but keep the total calories to a minimum. The average women meal plan should consist of 1200 to 1400 calories per day. This allows for good nutrition without feeling hungry all the time.
 
Most men can lose 2 or more pounds per week on a meal plan between 1500 and 1800 calories per day. Below is a diet that we think is easy to follow and consist of 3 main meals with 2 snacks.  If you need help designing a good meal plan to lose weight, we specialize in personal diet plans. 
eating plan to lose weight images
Breakfast Diet Menu

Fruit & Fiber Cereal or favorite cereal with milk – use 1% fat milk – 220 calorie

Water (1 cups) or

Coffee (1 cup) if desired

Mid Morning Snack

1 slice of wheat bread with low fat peanut butter – 100 calorie

sliced orange – 50 calorie

water (2 cups)

Lunch Diet Menu

Hamburger (lean beef) on toasted wheat bread with low fat cheese. Make at home and warm up at work – 320 calories

Healthy Choice Soup - turkey and rice (1 cup) – 90 calories

Water (2 cups)

Mid Morning Snack

Fuji apple - 80 calories

Water (1 cup)

Dinner Diet Menu

Tomato - Herb Chicken 

1/4 cup fat free chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skinless

1. In large nonstick skillet, heat broth over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes or until tender. Add tomato sauce, syrup, vinegar, oregano, basil and pepper to onion mix. Bring mixture to boil and reduce heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Add chicken to sauce and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Turn chicken and simmer an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings; Per serving: 270 Calories, 3 Fat Grams

Steamed cabbage or broccoli – 60 calories

Entenmann’s Light cheese cake - 1 serving – 130 calories

Water (1 cup)

source: http://www.dietforum.com/diet-meal-plan.htm

Posted 1 month ago

what is ketosis?

Ketosis is a state where the body is burning fat for energy and generating high levels of ketone bodies in the blood as a result. These compounds are the result of the breakdown of fatty acids and while they are always present in the body, their levels are elevated in people who have reached the state of ketosis. Substantial research has been done on how people reach this state and what happens metabolically. There is some debate about whether or not ketosis is potentially dangerous or even beneficial for some people.

The body’s metabolism works to balance the energy needs of the body by utilizing stored energy from food. One of the preferred forms of energy is glucose. In people who eat a low carbohydrate diet with limited glucose sources, the body starts to burn fat for energy instead. In this process, ketone bodies are produced as a byproduct. If the diet persists, the person will enter ketosis. People in this state usually have slightly fruity breath and dark urine, a reflection of the ketone bodies being expressed in their breath and urine.

 what is ketosis images

Is ketosis the same as ketoacidosis?
There is often confusion as to the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis.
Ketosis is the state whereby the body is producing ketones. In ketosis, the level of ketones in the blood can be anything between normal to very high.
Diabetic ketoacidosis, also known as DKA, only describes the state in which the level of ketones is either high or very high. In ketoacidosis, the amount of ketones in the blood is sufficient to turn the blood acidic, which is a dangerous medical state.
When does ketosis occur?
Ketosis will take place when the body needs energy and there is not sufficient glucose available for the body.
This can typically happen when the body islacking insulin and blood glucose levels become high.
Other causes can be the result of being on alow carb diet.
A low level of carbohydrate will lead to low levels of insulin, and therefore the body will produce ketones which do not rely on insulin to get into and fuel the body’s cells.
A further cause of ketosis, less relevant to people with diabetes, is a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Is ketosis dangerous?
The NHS describes ketosis as a potentially serious condition, whereas a number of popular diets cite ketosis as being an essential part of weight loss.
Ketosis is described as being potentially dangerous as very high level of ketones can make the blood acidic, a state known as ketoacidosis, which can lead to serious illness in a relatively short space of time.
Posted 1 month ago

best diet plan

What are the best diet plan? Every body has different needs, and we try to take these needs into consideration as we look at everything from low-carb diets to low-fat ones.

There are some super foods and drinks that should be on any diet. For many people, simply adding these foods to their diet give them the weight loss boost they need. They feel restricted on more formal diets and just want to lose weight without counting calories or carbs.

Other people benefit from being on a weight loss plan. When choosing a weight loss plan, there are many things to consider. Will you enjoy being on the diet? A diet that you hate is stressful, and it is hard to lose weight when stressed. How much weight should I lose?

best diet plan images

Keep in mind that few weight loss programs can maintain a rapid weight loss.

Some of best diet plan guide:

  • Calories
  • Protein
  • Fat
  • Carbs
best diet plan images 1

Regularly evaluate the health aspects of any weight loss program that you go on. If you enjoy eating out, what are your options on each plan? Check out our section on diet food deliveries for more information.

Support of your family members and friends makes dieting easier. If sharing meals with your loved ones is important, look for a plan that your family can join you on. Finally, although this site is about the best diet foods, remember that exercise is an important part of losing weight. Incorporate physical activity into your life at leastthree times a week. Exercise coupled with the best diet foods makes the weight melt off.

Posted 1 month ago

low carb yogurt

Before consume a yogurt, read the label and there’s the carb count. Or even, knowing that yogurt is just milk with bacteria added, figuring that plain yogurt should have the same amount of carbohydrate as the milk is was made from. Yogurt is one of the more confusing foods when it comes to carbs. Here is part of an email I received: ”I was trying to watch my carbs and also going with some other report that yogurt could help you lost weight — specifically belly fat. So here I was eating my ½ cup of plain non fat yogurt morning and evening…come to find out there is 19 carbs per serving. Stuff is Added to Yogurt, even plain yogurt often has added ingredients that increase carbs. In the case of this reader, it was almost certainly nonfat milk powder, which is often added to thicken up nonfat yogurt. Milk has lactose, and powdered milk is going to have a greater concentration of it. Lactose is a kind of sugar, hence, added carbs. Moral: Read the label carefully.

low carb yogurt images

The best yogurts for low-carb diets are low-fat yogurts with no added sugars. Ideally, they should contain live cultures, which are “good bacteria.” Most yogurts with live cultures contain 7 or 8 grams of carbohydrates to begin with. The general belief (particularly according to the GO-Diet, which allows 8 oz of yogurt per day) is that bacteria continue to eat away at the lactose in yogurt over time, thereby decreasing the yogurt’s lactose content. Since lactose is a form of sugar, there will be fewer carbohydrates in the yogurt as they are eaten away by the bacteria.

There is some reason to believe that high carbohydrate diets and the overuse of some drugs, like antibiotics, may promote abnormal yeast overgrowth in and on the body. One natural way to combat this problem is to use an ancient remedy that is natural and well tolerated by anyone. This remedy is to restore healthy bacteria to your body in the form of cultured milk products such as kefir, yogurt, and buttermilk. 

low carb yogurt images 1

A bacterium called “lactobacillus” is a very important conditioner of the human gastrointestinal tract. It is much more delicious to take your bacteria in live culture kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk. Kefir is made from cultures containing a specific mixture of bacteria and “friendly” yeasts that are obtained from the kefir grain. There are currently research projects being undertaken in the United States to assess whether there are additional benefits to kefir. There are patents on anticancer substances extracted from kefir grains. Recent research has shown that among its many good qualities, these bacteria also stimulate the body to produce important immune response chemicals called “cytokines.” These molecules include interferons and tumor necrosis factor and therefore might improve our resistance to disease. They also form a great deal of bulk for the formation of well-formed, non-constipating stools. Even lactose-intolerant individuals can tolerate kefir, yogurt and buttermilk.

How much carbohydrate can we subtract? Two factors are involved in how much lactose gets eaten by the bacteria. First, you must determine that live cultures are in the yogurt. This does not mean that the yogurt was “made with” live cultures; by definition all yogurt is made that way. If the yogurt says on the label that it was “made with” live cultures, you can bet that those cultures are not living now. After the bacteria are killed, the carbohydrate level becomes stable. So you want the label to say that the yogurt ”contains” live cultures, with the names of at least two kinds of bacteria (and the more the better), such as lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidus, or l. casei.

Although the process continues slowly after chilling, the vast majority happens in the stage where the yogurt is kept warm. Most commercial yogurt does not ferment long enough for the maximum amount of lactose consumption by the bacteria. Dr. Goldberg says that most commercial yogurt with live cultures has 7 to 8 grams of carbohydrate per cup, but that that amount will continue to slowly diminish over time, even after purchase. If you make your own yogurt, it may take as long as 20 hours to get to this point (depending upon temperature).

Posted 1 month ago

sandwich recipes for lunch

Roast Beef Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is a very filling sandwich, great to make ahead and for your lunch time or any other time. But you better like beef and cheese.

 Lets get start make sandwich recipes for lunch!

Moist and tender roast beef along with sauteed onions and peppers in grilled cheese form is a truly decadent way to enjoy your leftovers! A touch of horseradish gives this sandwich a bit of bite and if you have any gravy leftover feel free to use it for dipping!

sandwich recipes for lunch images

Servings: makes 1 sandwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1/2 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 onion (sliced)
  • 1/4 bell pepper (sliced)
  • 2 slices roast beef
  • 2 slices swiss or provolone or mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 tablespoon horseradish
  • 1 tablespoon gravy
  • 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
  • 2 slices bread
sandwich recipes for lunch images 1
Directions
  1. Heat the oil in a pan.
  2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the bell pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
  4. Assemble sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Posted 1 month ago

Spinach-Berry Salad

Recipe: Spinach-Berry Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c almonds, slivered
  • 4 c baby spinach
  • 3/4 c strawberries, quartered
  • 1 T balsamic vinegar
  • 1 t Dijon mustard
  • 1 t honey
  • 3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Spinach-Berry Salad images

Instructions

  1. Place the almonds in a dry skillet or saute pan. Cook over low heat, shaking the pan the entire time until the almonds are toasting. Almonds are done when you start to smell a “nutty” scent.
  2. Remove almonds from the pan to cool. (Do not cool in the skillet because they will burn from the heat that remains in the pan.) Wash and dry the spinach.
  3. Prepare the dressing by placing the vinegar, mustard, and honey in a mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until all is incorporated. Place spinach in a large bowl. Add strawberries, almonds, and dressing. Toss to coat. If desired, season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 2 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Microformatting by hRecipe.

source: Chef Meg’s Spinach-Berry Salad

Posted 1 month ago

Parmesan Chicken with Tomato-Basil Salad

While Chicken Parmesan is traditionally fried, this lighter version is delightful atop a hearty green salad.

Minutes to Prepare: 5

Minutes to Cook: 10

Number of Servings: 4

Parmesan Chicken with Tomato-Basil Salad images

Tips

Like this recipe? You’ll love “The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight.” Click here for more info.

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken
breasts (2 breasts)
1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
2 egg whites, beaten
6 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fines herbes, dried (mixture of dried
chives, parsley, basil, and tarragon)
3 plum (Roma) tomatoes, seeded and
chopped
2 tsp shredded fresh basil leaves
1 lemon, juiced
Dash of black pepper
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups mixed baby salad greens (mesclun
mix)

Directions

1. Trim any visible fat from the chicken breasts 
and slice them into four 4-ounce servings.
Place the chicken between two sheets of wax
paper or plastic wrap. Pound with the bottom
of a pan or rolling pin until the meat is 1⁄4- to
1⁄2-inch thick.
2. Prepare three pie plates or flat-bottomed
bowls and place the flour, egg whites, and
Parmesan in each respectively. Toss the dried
herbs in with the cheese. Working with one
piece of chicken at a time, dip the meat into the
flour, then the egg white, and finally the cheese.
Shake off any excess egg white before coating
with the cheese. It is best to use one hand for
the dry coatings and one for the wet to avoid
clumping the batter.
3. Spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking
spray and place over moderate heat. Sauté
the chicken until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes
per side.
4. While the chicken is cooking, combine the
tomato and basil in a small bowl. In a separate
bowl, combine the lemon juice and pepper.
Slowly whisk in the oil, then pour the mixture
over the tomatoes.
5. To serve, toss the greens with the tomato
and dressing and divide among four plates. Top
with the chicken.

source: Parmesan Chicken with Tomato-Basil Salad (Chef Meg’s Makeover)