Vitamix Breakfast

I sliced up a grapefruit, just slicing off the peel and quartering it and cutting out the bitter pith at the core. I took out of the freezer some cactus pear pulp I had earlier frozen in ice cube trays. I added in a little water.

[I earlier used the vitamix to make the cactus pear pulp, grinding it up and then squeezing it through a strainer to take out the ubiquitous seeds.]

I added just a very little sucralose. I know this freaks some people out, but my own hunch is any risks associated with it are nothing compared to the risks of the excess calories from conventional sweeteners.

The result was quite enjoyable, and remember: it's not juice. It's pure fruit puree.

Oh, and I should add: both grapefruit and prickly pear have low GI, which means you can eat less and go longer on less.

Veggies for breakfast

One nice thing about the heavy vegetable emphasis is that it is almost impossible to get too many calories, even if I just keep eating. For breakfast today I grilled green onions, mushrooms, chopped red and yellow bells and spinach, and then poured some egg starters on top of it. So I had bulky vegetables, pure protein, and a tablespoon of olive oil. A huge breakfast, very filling, negligible calories.

Of note: Since starting I've dropped 11 pounds now, after a hiatus during Thanksgiving. I started at 173.5, which was very overweight for my height. Yesterday I hit a new low of 162. I expect that with my focus back on, I'll drop quickly again below the magic 160 mark. Target is my college weight of 150-153.

Greens dinner

I've been a bit naughty up to and after thanksgiving. Last night, I even had some bread pudding. Tonight, to atone, I had an all geen dinner. Snap peas from Costco, which are a very good GI. Mixed greens from Costco with sliced turkey breast on top and vinagarette. OK, not all green, need a little lean protein. And finally ... a wad of fresh microwaved spinach.

We go to Costco at least once a week now, for mushrooms, greens, grapes, peas, and baby red/orange bell peppers. It would be hard to do this if you were single, or even two people. Because the best stuff is in bulk at Costco. You just have to pile in and eat in bulk to get through it fast enough.

One possibility would be if there were someone else you could share it with, so that each of you went to Costco every other week and split the big bags of salad greens, spinach, bells, etc.

YES!

The purpose of this blog should be.... what? Other than "food fun" I vote we collaborate on a suggested daily diet, great easy recipes and smart snacks. Eric - your input (since your a healthy but hearty foodie) wld be appreciated.

This cld then help myself, Mom, Dad and anyone else that wants to lose weight and live longer to get there.

Being realistic with Mom and Dad - they need to lose weight and they both know that they do but it isn't going to happen by them going out and burning a ton of calories. So what to do?

Eat smart.