Its time for good healthy resolutions again…. this book is timely and appreciated! ~ Sheila
I am always trying to find ways to stay healthy… stay fit… and I admit… I constantly find the pitfalls… (what? Am I the only one that hides good chocolate behind the Harlan Coben section of their book shelf?) When this book came my way I was excited to take a look at it. We have a Mayo Clinic in Minnesota so this also peaked my interest in knowing more. I was not disappointed!
The Mayo Clinic Diet Book starts out with a 2 week period of ADDING 5 Habits – BREAKING 5 Habits and ADOPTING 5 Habits. What I love about this method is that it is doable. That’s right… it is simple steps that the journal (I love the journal!) helps you calculate and keep up on day to day.
The Journal has a Habit Tracker within it so you can put in your starting weight… and check off the habits you are applying each day. This is great for someone wired like me as I have to have the visual in front of me…. plus, I like goals… and challenges…
With great habits to remember like eating a healthy breakfast, fruits and vegies daily, eating whole grains, healthy fats – and my favorite habit: MOVE! That’s right – get out there and well, MOVE! 🙂
In the two week period you will also be encouraged to break 5 habits and this is good to doccument as well – like no eating while watching TV (guilty!), No sugar, no snacks, only moderate meat and dairy, and no eating at restaurants.
Now this is just part of the journal habits to break. In the two week period if we focus on breaking these habits we are on our way to new and healthier ways to enjoy life… The back of the book has a break down of good carbs and healthy choices as well as recipes. This book will be one I can refer to again and again!
The book talks about what motivates us… find what will give you an ongoing, burning desire to succeed. For me – I love being fit. I feel better about myself, I have more energy and I am just better. I dont know any other way to describe i
t. In September of this past year I fell a little off my routine and have yet to get back into where I was. I started not eating as healthy and skipping some of my workouts. My time management became cluttered and now in January I find myself 7 pounds heaver than my usual 125 pounds.
So – in light of this review – a new year, a great read… I am starting this two week program today. I will probably do a recap at the end of the two weeks on how I did. This book has motivated me to do what I need to do to get back on track. Using the journal as a guide and the book to help me with those pitfalls I am looking forward to and expecting success.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this book and cant say enough about the journal. Having a workbook that I need to keep track of what I am doing daily is a great motivator for me.
Healthy Cooking
By the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H.
Authors of The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight.
Healthy cooking doesn’t mean you have to become a gourmet chef or invest in special cookware. Simply use standard cooking methods to prepare foods in healthy ways. You can also adapt familiar recipes by substituting other ingredients for fat, sugar and salt.
Use these methods
These methods best capture the flavor and retain the nutrients in your food without adding too much fat or salt.
• Baking. Besides breads and desserts, you can bake seafood, poultry, lean meat, and vegetable and fruit pieces of the same size. Place food in a pan or dish (covered or uncovered) and bake. You may need to baste the food with broth, low-fat marinade or juice to keep the food from drying out.
• Braising. Braising involves browning the meat or poultry first in a pan on top of the stove, and then slowly cooking it covered with a small amount of liquid, such as water or broth. In some recipes, the cooking liquid is used afterward to form a flavorful, nutrient-rich sauce.
• Grilling and broiling. Both grilling and broiling expose fairly thin pieces of food to direct heat and allow fat to drip away from the food. If you’re grilling outdoors, place smaller items, such as chopped vegetables, in a long-handled grill basket or on foil to prevent pieces from slipping through the rack. To broil indoors place food on a broiler rack below a heat element.
• Poaching. To poach foods, in a covered pan gently simmer ingredients in water or a flavorful liquid, such as broth, vinegar or juice, until cooked through and tender. For stove-top poaching, choose an appropriate-sized covered pan and use a minimum amount of liquid.
• Roasting. Roasting uses an oven’s dry heat at high temperatures to cook the food on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. For poultry, seafood and meat, place a rack inside the roasting pan so that the fat can drip away during cooking.
• Sautéing. Sautéing quickly cooks small or thin pieces of food. If you choose a good-quality nonstick pan, you can cook food without using fat. Depending on the recipe, use low-sodium broth, cooking spray, water or wine in place of oil or butter.
• Steaming. One of the simplest cooking techniques to master is steaming food in a perforated basket suspended above simmering liquid. If you use a flavorful liquid or add herbs to the water, you’ll flavor the food as it cooks.
• Stir-frying. Stir-frying quickly cooks small, uniform-sized pieces of food while they’re rapidly stirred in a wok or large nonstick frying pan. You need only a small amount of oil or cooking spray for this cooking method.
Find new ways to add flavor
Instead of salt or butter, you can enhance foods with a variety of herbs, spices and low-fat condiments. Be creative.
Poach fish in low-fat broth or wine and fresh herbs. Top a broiled chicken breast with fresh salsa. Make meats more flavorful with low-fat marinades or spices — bay leaf, chili powder, dry mustard, garlic, ginger, green pepper, sage, marjoram, onion, oregano, pepper or thyme.
To bring out the sweetness in baked goods, use a bit more vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg.
The above is an excerpt from the book The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight., by the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print.
Reprinted from The Mayo Clinic Diet, © 2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H., is chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine and a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is also an associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. A specialist in nutrition and weight management, Dr. Hensrud advises individuals on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. He conducts research in weight management, and he writes and lectures widely on nutrition-related topics. He helped publish two award-winning Mayo Clinic cookbooks.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that the needs of the patient come first. Over 3,600 physicians and scientists and 50,000 allied staff work at Mayo, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, Mayo Clinic treats more than 500,000 patients a year.
For more than 100 years, millions of people from all walks of life have found answers at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic works with many insurance companies, does not require a physician referral in most cases and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
What did I learn by reading this book? I learned again the importance of balance and how really eating healthy has to do with going back to the basics. Drop the artificial processed foods – exercise and use moderation and in no time you will drop the bad habits and get on the right track.
For more information, please visit www.goodbooks.com/mayoclinicdiet and www.mayoclinic.com/diet.
See my reviews on Amazon here:
Mayo Clinic Diet Book Mayo Clinic Diet Journal
This book fits into the following challenges:
2010 100+ Reading Challenge
I received my review copy of these books from FSB Media
Book Journey 