Monday, June 22, 2009

The Skinny - How to fit into your little black dress forever and a healthy breakfast to start your day


The Skinny – How to fit into your little black dress forever by Melissa Clark & Robin Aronson. I just finished reading this fabulous little bright fuchsia book with the sexy LBD (little black dress) on the cover and it will change the way you eat forever, at least it has for me. It’s filled with practical, no nonsense advice on how to eat so you can lose weight, keep it off and still enjoy all of the foods that you love.

They say very simply “don’t eat what you don’t want.” I know you’re saying to yourself - I don’t eat anything I don’t want. Well, think about it. I know I do. Sometimes I find myself mindlessly eating the cheeseburger, or whatever, even though it’s too well done, dry and tasteless. Thanks to this book I’ve begun to take a good look at what’s on my plate and only eat the things I truly find tasty and enjoyable.

Portion control is stressed. When it comes to your waistline and that little black dress, you can eat what you want, but you can’t always eat all of what you want. Slow down, stop eating when you’ve had enough, and leave at least a little bit on your plate. Incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet and learn to recognize when you’re full.

This delightful book brought back wonderful memories of our Haitian gardener Fifi that worked for us when we lived in the Bahamas. Fifi’s morning snack was a small bag of peanuts. He would sit down and carefully eat a peanut, one at a time. When he completely finished chewing the first peanut, he would carefully pick up the next one and eat it very slowly, savoring each bite. I’m learning to do the same thing. Now instead of standing in the kitchen and eating what I want straight out of the jar, I carefully measure out a portion, put it in a bowl, sit down in a quiet spot, and slowly eat each nut, one by one, savoring each bite - “Fifi style.”


Rebecca Subbiah of Chow and Chatter shared the Friendship Award with me. Rebecca is a dietitian, writer and personal trainer who lives in North Carolina, where I also live. She’s a Brit who enjoys food and travel and has a wonderful blog devoted to her passions of healthy living. I wanted to thank Rebecca for this award and I thought it would be fun to honor her with this book review and a healthy breakfast to start the day. Here’s to you Rebecca.

I’ve adapted this recipe for Yogurt with Apples and Nuts from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine, which I dearly love. The original recipe called for the apple to be grated, which I found made it watery and diluted the yogurt. I diced the apple and substituted toasted walnuts for the almonds and added strawberries and blueberries on top. We’ve used a variety of different apples with good success and, although the almonds were good, it’s fun to substitute different nuts, such as Georgia pecans, for a change of pace.


Yogurt with Apples & Nuts
Adapted from Everyday Food – Serves 2

One Granny Smith apple, cut into dice
1 ½ cups plain yogurt, preferably Greek
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup walnuts, lightly toasted
Fresh blueberries and sliced fresh strawberries

Combine the diced apple, yogurt, raisins, and honey in a small bowl and stir to blend. Divide equally among two bowls. Top with nuts and fruit. Serves 2.

What's your favorite healthy breakfast?

37 comments:

  1. Excellent advice (advise)..it is early in the AM and my mental spellchecker is not on yet:D

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  2. portion control is so important for sure, this book sounds very interesting. A yogurt with apples, berries and nuts sounds like a delicious and healthy breakfast!

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  3. this could be a favorite breakfast -it sounds so healthy and fresh

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  4. I am staying with friends who do not eat vegetables, yes, I am force feeding them healthy foods...at home we like our fruit, nuts, and yogurt, so this is right up my alley!

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  5. thanks Sam so sweet of you love the sound of this book, just curious what made you leave the island?

    Rebecca

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  6. Lovely breakfast!!! Portion control is key and it is amazing how much we eat because of that instant gratification thing in the mouth....only to find out a few minutes later that you have totally overdone it!!!

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  7. Looks like a good read and your breakfast looks fabulous!

    Happy Monday!

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  8. Thanks for sharing this information with us, Sam. I love your breakfast - or whenever - yogurt. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  9. Thanks for the info. I agree, although I seldom wear the LBD anymore.

    It was all good advice for good health.

    Thanks for the recipe. I had eaten breakfast, so I made myself your dish for lunch. It was delicious.

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  10. Similar to my breakfast which just now is yogurt with fresh sliced peaches, blueberries, and toasted almonds.

    Just noticed your sidebar --
    How I learned to cook -- Me too! One long cold winter in Iowa City while my husband was in grad school and I was unemployed, I worked my delicious way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking -- at least those part we could afford ingredients for.

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  11. We're trying to eat a little healthier as well -- less food with "things" in it -- more fresh farmer's market food. I'll have to try this -- yogurt and fruit is often on our breakfast table.

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  12. Excellent advice Sam. I'll have to look for this book at the library.

    I love the breakfast, healthy and full of flavor.

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  13. I started laughing when I pulled up your post, cause I'm sitting here with a jumbo chocolate cookie! Definitely not LBD conducive! I just read a very similar book and it pretty much said the same thing. It's common sense - but it's amazing how I never seem to follow it! :)

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  14. This sounds like a great breakfast! I love greek yogurt, it's vastly superior to the regular version.

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  15. Good healthy breakfast Sam. In the summer I like to toast whole wheat bread with a little olive oil in the toaster oven until it begins to brown, then add two basil leaves and a peppered tomato slice on top and toast until tomato begins to soften and toast is brown. The book sounds like it has a lot of good advice.

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  16. Sam, I love these kinds of breakfasts! They are filling, and full of good things to keep you from snacking throughout the morning. Plus it is beautiful with all the colorful fruits.

    BTW, thank you for your kind words on my blog... you are very sweet.

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  17. This is a gorgeous breakfast and I think it would do me good to read this book! Thank you for telling us about it!!

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  18. This is my kind of breakfast! Moderation is the key. Great post!

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  19. But I don't have a little black dress...GREG

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  20. I'll have to think about what I really want to be eating. I know I should take more time to sit and truly savor. Great suggestions!

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  21. I love it! From now on, I'm eating "Fifi-style". I often find myself inhaling my food without tasting really tasting it the way your gardener apparently did. And for me, eating 'what I dont' want' means forcing myself to finish what's on my plate because it's there - the dread clean-plate mentality. I'll have to check out this book.

    Your adaptation of this breakfast dish sounds perfect - toasted walnuts are such a treat and fresh berries make this so much more than just plain ol' breakfast!

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  22. Sam,
    This sounds like a very good breakfast without a lot of calories. That book sounds intersting. Sure wish I could wear that nice, slim dress.

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  23. Good advice, "don’t eat what you don’t want" coz' we are from what we eat :)

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  24. Love all the eating advice. Reall good tips. Your breakfast looks so healthy and refreshing.I usually have a fiber bar with coffee coffee coffee oh did I say coffee for breakfast.

    You lived in the Bahamas, I adore the Bahamas..I want to go back yet again.

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  25. My breakfast? Muesli, home made low sugar preserve (have just made cherry and apricot preserve for next winter), yogurt, fresh squweezed orange juice, and .... coffee (French press, Guatemala or Brazil beans)

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  26. I just ate 3 pieces of cherry clafoutis, hot out of the pan.
    Now that's eating what I want!

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  27. I have to read this book, sounds really good. Thanks!

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  28. Isn't that a great magazine? I really love the simple granola recipe with dried blueberries and coconut they featured a couple of months back.

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  29. What do I want to eat? I do understand and try my hardest to stop and ask myself if I really want to eat something. It is starting to work! I do try and pace myself when I am eating a meal, though, and I have stopped noshing in the evening. Now when will I fit back into that LBD or those LBJeans?

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  30. First congratulations of the award :-)

    Thanks for the advices...and love the yogurt with fruits and nuts...yummie and healthy.

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  31. I read the title and it already made me smile. I really need to fit into my little black dress! Lovely post.

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  32. What a interesting book there~I think from what you mentioned, she has hit the nail on the head....controlling the intake of foods, the ole push-back exercise.Like you, I do not eat what I don't like...hummm.What could that be..Anchovies! Heck, how many of those could you put away and gain a pound or two. I am with you on the healthy foods, though.

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  33. This sounds like a smart book. Thanks for sharing it with us and congratulations on your award. Always well deserved. :)

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  34. Because I'm lactose intolerant, I ration dairy carefully. My breakfasts are usually high-protein, low-carb. I love an afternoon snack of fresh fruit cut up with just a dab of Stonyfield Farm yogurt and a sprinkle of toasted sliced almonds. A 6-oz. container of yogurt lasts me a week. Stonyfield Farm says their yogurt helps lactose intolerance.

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  35. The book sounds like it is full of good tips for eating right.

    Your breakfast looks yum-and much better than my bowl of cereal.

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  36. Sam, I am following your blog.

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  37. nice advise. Congrats on award. apples looks delicious.

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