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San Marzano Sauce

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Vanessa Wood

2 cans imported San Marzano tomatoes, break tomatoes roughly by hand, remove the core
2 cans tomato puree
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup water (rinse out the cans)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat, add the chopped onion, season with salt and pepper, sauté the onion until translucent, add the paste, swirl around for about 2 minutes to allow to rust into the onions, add the tomatoes and water, along with 1 cup of basil leaves and allow to simmer over medium-low heat for about 1 1/2 hours. Cook pasta separately, before serving, add remaining cup of basil leaves to the pot (chop if you like).

This sauce is easy to prepare and makes an excellent base to use in many dishes requiring tomato sauce. The key is quality ingredients simply prepared to allow the individual ingredients to shine.

Posted in Pastas and Sauces | Tagged easy sauce, fresh tomatoes | Comments Off

The Naysayers

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Vanessa Wood

Sadly, even after being at my healthy weight for over three years and having run four full and one half marathons, and having my story reported online for the world to see, I still frequently hear gossip and rumors behind my back from people I know and don’t know about how “the fat guy must have had gastric bypass surgery.” To these people, all I can say is, I don’t take your insensitive and ignorant comments to heart, as I had for years as an overweight person and as a recovering over-eater and codependent whose life and self-image depended entirely on feedback from others.

If you don’t want to believe I could have done what I did, then don’t. If you preferred having me as the fat guy you could make fun of, and now, instead of calling me fat, you choose to question what I did, that is your business. Anyone who needs someone else to gossip about or put down for whatever reason really needs to take an in-depth look at him or herself!

To those who know me and those who don’t, it all starts by looking within! Perhaps if you read and take into your heart my story and look inside yourself, you could see that within each of us is a God-given capacity and power to do seemingly miraculous things, and like me, you will go and create your own miracles and dream life and no longer feel the need to focus on putting down or gossiping about others.

This goes for people who have weight problems and those who don’t! Anyone could benefit from my story, even the insensitive people who for years made fun of me as an overweight person and those who today prefer to gossip and make untrue, disparaging remarks about me, rather than acknowledge that someone may have actually done something amazing and positive! I like the expression, “people who live in glass houses…” It all starts by looking within! If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything, and if you have something nasty to say, maybe you should look at why you feel so compelled.

I never thought such a transformation could be possible, but I am living proof that each of us can do amazing things if we focus on improving ourselves. Fortunately, whether the rest of the world believes me or not, I am grateful to have been given a second chance and to have claimed the life that was meant for me! Regardless of what anyone thinks, I am at peace with myself and HAPPY at long last! I am glad I found the solution within me! That is where I keep my focus—on the internal, not the external, and on the positive, not the negative! If we all could start by looking within ourselves and by focusing on the positive, the world would be a much kinder, gentler place.

Posted in Fitness | Tagged staying positive | Comments Off

Casey’s Baked Fruit

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Fred Bollaci

This is perhaps the easiest, lowest calorie dessert that doesn’t taste like a simple, low-calorie dessert! It works well with the fruit of your choice: apples, pears, peaches, or nectarines. Simply prick the fruit several times with a fork and place in a baking dish. Bake the fruit in a baking dish with ½ inch of water surrounding them in a 350 degree pre-heated oven uncovered for forty-five minutes, or until golden brown and soft. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes. These can be served hot, at room temperature, or chilled, and are great with some frozen yogurt or low-fat whipped topping.

Note: several golden raisins placed on top of each apple are excellent when baked with the apples.

Nutrition Facts (by serving)
Calories 160
Calories from fat 75%
Fat (grams) 14
Saturated fat (grams) 2
Cholesterol (milligrams) 0
Carbohydrates (grams) 10
Protein (grams) 2
Sodium (milligrams) 24

Posted in Desserts | Tagged fresh fruit | Comments Off

How to Lose a Pound a Week

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Vanessa Wood

A friend called me today, very distraught that she had gained ten pounds in the past year. We discussed her eating habits. Overall, she is a fairly healthy eater, who occasionally tends to “emotionally eat” during times of anxiety or stress. Her level of exercise is consistent, though not a lot. Although my friend is not really “overweight” per se, she is very concerned that if this continues, she will be, and was anxious about having to make drastic changes to her lifestyle to combat her weight gain. I suggested that her problem is not very serious, but it could become serious if not checked now.

I broke it down very simply, that to lose a pound a week, a person must burn 500 more calories than they consume. I suggested she consider a metabolic study to determine how many calories she burns without any exercise. I had one done when I started my epic weight loss. I learned I burned 1,700 calories doing nothing (I’ve been told average can be as high as 2,400 per day, or 100 per hour, but that sedentary people burn less, as their metabolism is slower). Assuming you burn 1,700 calories doing nothing, and you were eating 2,200 calories a day and didn’t exercise, you would gain one pound a week, as one pound represents 3,500 calories. I suggested that my friend establish a reasonable caloric intake (her physician or I can help with this), that she monitors food intake and counts calories, and that she starts a regular exercise routine. It is about more than simply cutting calories. Exercise has to be part of the equation. I suggested that if she wanted to lose a pound a week (not an unreasonable goal), that she cut her calorie intake by 250 calories per day, and increase her exercise by 250 calories per day, for a net total reduction of 500 calories, which equates to 3,500 in a week, which should translate to losing one pound.

Cutting 250 calories can be as simple as forgoing dessert, or substituting fruit salad and oatmeal for pancakes in the morning, eating 4 ounces of steak instead of 8, or skipping the Cosmopolitan before dinner. As for exercise, I suggested that simply walking two miles she should come close to burning the 250 additional calories, or if she preferred, she could ride a bike or swim laps for 25 minutes. For a sedentary or out of shape person, this may seem like a lot, but trust me, it isn’t all that bad. The key is getting out there and doing it.

Posted in Gourmet | Tagged burning calories, weight loss tip | Comments Off

Roasted Chicken

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Vanessa Wood

1 roasting chicken
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 orange, 1 lemon, slice into segments and insert into carcass
1 bunch rosemary- coat the chicken
handful sage leaves to coat the chicken
carrots
celery
onion
red new potatoes

Pre-heat oven to 425, roast for 20 minutes, then turn down to 350, continue to roast until thermometer pops, approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

Allow to rest approximately 20 minutes, serve with lemon wedges