I’ve been there, and here’s a way out. Actually, you have probably been there before, too, and found a way out, around, or above.

In November my sweet Shih Tzu, Whisper, was diagnosed with Lymphoma. This was not only heartbreaking in itself, but brought up a lot of sad memories from losing my husband George (may his memory be eternal) to cancer 12 years ago. Like a sucker punch to the stomach. Then we all got the flu. Sequentially. By then we were way behind on preparation for the holidays. Craziness, lots of take-out, zero exercise, restless sleep. Not a pretty picture.

Because I’ve been there before, and getting people out of this is what I do for a living, I made a plan. Actually, not a formal plan, just a few grasps at what I knew would help. My Christmas list included a gift certificate for my favorite yoga studio (Core Power Yoga - thanks Jeff!) and a Vitamix. (These are not affiliate links, just FYI.) We have burned through three Magic Bullets and it was time to step up to the big boy of blenders. Now I had what I needed to get some exercise and green smoothies, both of which are essential for me to be my best self. Along with the joy of opening presents! And doing something positive leads to better sleep, more energy to cook at home, and way less stress.

Whisper, now in remission, and very happy

While my exercise and smoothies made absolutely no difference to Whisper, now she is in remission and doing well. She credits the french fries we got after chemo and all the extra treats. Just thought you’d want to know.

So, here’s what you do when life sucker punches you:

Think about what you need to be your best. Usually sleep is at the top of the list, so do what you need to do (record Castle and Hawaii Five-O) to get at least seven, and even better eight hours a night. I mean it, you are making yourself very vulnerable to every virus that comes around if you are exhausted. That doesn’t help anybody.

Next, think about what type of movement your body really likes. Don’t worry about how quickly it will take off the pounds, just get your body moving with whatever feels good. For me, hot yoga – actually warm yoga – is the ticket. I thought I would hate it, but I love it. So whether it is walking, swimming, dance, yoga, Zumba, Tai Chi, it doesn’t matter. Just do it and feel good.

Now get some green veggies on your plate. Nourish your body so it can heal itself from the stress (or the flu) and give you a dose of energy every day. Start taking care of yourself, even if it seems like there is no time, and you will find yourself able to accomplish so much more. Put on a pot of magic bean soup, toss a salad, and be comforted.

Nourish you soul as well. Family time, relationship time, YOU time. Even 10 minutes can make a big difference in how you feel. Especially if it helps you avoid checking out with a bag of Chips Ahoy or a pint of New York Fudge Brownie. I’m not giving you links to those.

Treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend, or your child. With kindness, compassion and love. It is the only thing that works. Baby step by baby step, you can make it. And then you can lead the ones you love.

Our bodies do not like this kind of change, and we are obviously getting something we need from filling these cravings. Energy, in the form of sugar. Salt, which we need when we are stressed and anxious (our bodies use it to make cortisol). Bread and cheese, to calm us down and give us a little hit of feel-good. Shoes, well we don’t really need to go there.

The trick to changing these habits is to really nourish our bodies. We are getting plenty of calories, but not enough nutrients. And our bodies will crave more food until we have all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants we need.

So, instead of beating ourselves up for giving in to these very strong cravings, lets try giving ourselves the nourishment we need. This nourishment comes in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans – you get the idea. Colorful, natural, whole and delicious foods.

After a few days of truly nourishing yourself, you will find those cravings a lot easier to shake. They will turn from strong yearnings to just habits.

Remember the other ways our bodies need nourishment: sleep, exercise, sunlight, and touch. Getting plenty of those will nourish not only your body but your soul. And our souls need nourishment, too.

So prep some salad greens, grab some veggies and fruits at the market, and plan a few home-cooked meals for the next week. Once you start thinking about food in terms of nourishment for yourself and your family, instead of the enemy of your waistline, this whole thing gets easier. If you want an easy plan, sign up for the 10 habits on the right side of this page. It will get you started  - quick and painless.

Just think how great next year will be, when none of your resolutions have anything to do with your thighs.

I have a solution that will actually work. No empty promises, just proven strategies to get the job done.

Imagine, not needing to put lose weight on your list of New Year’s Resolutions, because it will already be happening. No need to worry about lowering your cholesterol and blood sugar, either. We’ll take care of that.

Best of all, you will still enjoy your Holidays. You can have your favorites, enjoy your parties, and bake for your family. All you need are a few strategies and a really good plan.

If you would like to start next year in better health than you started this year, this plan was made for you.

This package is limited to 12 people or couples. So sign up now and don’t lose your spot.

photo by MKucova at istockphoto

Baked Apples for Apple Pie

Fall is here in all its glory, and one of the best things about it is the fabulous selection of apples at the market. They are fresh, smell fantastic, taste terrific, and are so good for us. Full of nutrients, especially quercitin, which helps keep our bronchial passages healthy.

While that may seem like justification to indulge in apple pie, the fat and refined flour in the crust and sugar and butter in the filling take a healthy apple and drag it down. Now, I’m all for a special dessert now and then, and if someone you love made you their famous apple pie please enjoy a piece. But for everyday type desserts, try baked apples instead. They are easy, delicious, and pretty much guilt free. Also gluten free!

Here’s how to make them:

Heat oven to 350 F

Core apples, and peel a strip or two off the stem end, slice a little off the bottom if they won’t stand up.

Place in a pie pan, or baking pan that will hold the apples upright.

Sprinkle apples inside core and over the top with cinnamon and sugar – I like a 2:1 ratio of sugar to cinnamon

Stuff core with raisins and chopped nuts – dried cranberries are also good

Pour about a cup, depending on how many you are making, of apple cider in the pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife can be inserted easily into apples. Do not overbake, or they will fall apart. It is good to baste them every so often, too, so the tops stay nice and moist.

*You can put them in the oven when you take dinner out, they will be ready when you are done eating, and they can keep warm for a while, too.

Your house will smell heavenly!

Enjoy!

Some people have had success making these in the microwave. They seem to take about 5 minutes, your timing may vary. Let me know if this works for you.

Yes, you read that right. A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, August 2011, found that women who ate Vitamin C rich foods on average 60 times per month – that is twice a day – had a 45% lower risk of developing an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (cold, flu, bronchitis, etc.) Yes, their risk was cut almost in half!

There was no significant reduction in risk with supplements of Vitamin C in women. In men it was the opposite, and the researchers’ theory is that the intake of Vitamin C from food in the men studied was so low that only large amounts from supplements helped. It seemed too few ate enough Vitamin C rich foods to make a difference.

Why was food better than supplements for women? If you’ve been hanging out here for a while, or if you have taken my Cancer Class, you know why. Smarties! Vitamins, especially the antioxidant ones like A, C and E, play better with others. Meaning, the foods rich in these vitamins are also rich in complementary nutrients that make the vitamins work better, and you just don’t get all those complementary nutrients in a supplement.

So which foods are rich in Vitamin C? Veggies can be eaten cooked or raw, fruit can be fresh or frozen. They are all good.

1. Asparagus
2. Bell peppers – all colors, especially orange and red
3. Berries – again, all kinds
4. Broccoli
5. Brussels Sprouts
6. Cabbage
7. Cauliflower
8. Citrus fruits and juices
9. Kale
10. Papaya

I’ve made a handy checklist for you to put on your fridge, or wherever you like. Download it here.

You may notice that these foods are also high in other nutrients. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

Work two of these foods into your diet each day, and you will see more healthy days this Winter. There is also some evidence that you will recover faster if you do catch a cold if you eat plenty of Vitamin C rich foods.

Another bonus: these foods will make your skin look fantastic since they are also high in other antioxidant vitamins, not to mention very figure-friendly.

Q:

I am invited to a lot of dinner parties where dinner will be served at eight. I usually eat dinner at six, so by the time I arrive at the party I am starving. I eat and drink too much, too fast, and end up not enjoying the party as much as I would like. After a few of these shindigs, my party clothes get a little too tight, too. What is the solution?

-Popular on the Potomac

A:

Hello Popular, I can absolutely help you! This is common, since it is so fashionable to eat later, and weekday hostesses need some time after work to get everything ready.

If you are coming from your home, eat a good salad at your usual dinner time. You’ll get a good serving or two of veggies, which are usually in short supply at holiday parties, and will be ready to eat but not starving when you get to your party. Skip the cheese or creamy dressings, though, they can make your breath less than fresh.

If you are going straight from work to the party, a few nuts and an apple are a perfect pre-party snack. They take the edge off, without making you feel bloated or giving you dragon breath. Dried fruit in trail mix can stick in your teeth, and see above for cheese. Crackers or cookies just make your blood sugar spike then plummet, right around party time.

When you get to the party, have a non-alcoholic drink first. Quenching thirst with alcohol leads to too much drinking, and drinking on an empty stomach leads to embarrassing, intoxicated episodes. We’ve all seen it happen, and its not pretty.

Eat the veggies that are served, along with your regular portion sizes of anything else. Pay attention to how full you are – eating too much or too fast can lead to heartburn. Most of all, enjoy the party! Eating well most of the time during the holidays means you can indulge in your hosts’ special dishes without guilt.

Hope this helps! What do you all do when parties through you off schedule?

Here’s the deal with veggie ground crumbles, you need to use them in something where the ground meat is in a sauce – like chili or spaghetti sauce. You will be unhappy using them for meatloaf. I’ve tried the Morningstar Farms and Yves brands, and they both were good.

To make a successful sway, you will want to add more liquid to the recipe – start with adding 1/2 the liquid again, and go from there. You will also need to add a little oil, like plain olive oil or canola oil, for the texture. And lastly, you will want to bump up the earthy spices in the recipe, like oregano and cumin.

This is our favorite chili – it is guilt-free and absolutely delicious. I took The Pioneer Woman’s chili recipe and made it veggie. If you don’t tell, I won’t tell, and no one will even suspect you swapped out the ground beef. Once they taste it, you won’t have to hide the wrapper.

Veggie Chili

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbs. olive oil (not extra virgin) or canola-type oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

1 Tbs. ground cumin – generous

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 Tbs. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper – or to taste, depending on how spicy your chili powder is and how you like your chili

2 packages of veggie crumbles, about 12 oz each

1 14-15oz can tomato sauce, no salt added if you can find it

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 cup masa or corn flour, you can use fine ground corn meal if that’s all you can find

2 15oz cans of beans – I like kidney, pinto or black beans – drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis, like RoTel

1.  Heat oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, and saute onion until translucent

2. Add garlic, spices and veggie crumbles, and saute until blended and veggie crumbles are hot

3. Add tomato sauce, swish out can with some water to get the rest, pour it in and bring to a low boil

4. Cover the pot and simmer about 20 minutes to meld the flavors

5. Mix the masa with 1/2 cup of water, and add to chili; let simmer uncovered a few minutes

6. Add beans and tomatoes, heat through

7. Enjoy chili with your favorite toppings, like grated cheese or red onion or avocado!

Experiment with these crumbles, and you may never go back to ground beef again – think about it, those days of draining all that yucky fat from the pan into an old coffee can can be behind you! Along with a healthy heart, a smaller backside, and a happy family.

Swap #3: steel cut oats for cold cereal or instant oatmeal

I know, you are thinking you don’t have all morning to stir oatmeal on the stove. Neither do I. Here’s a way to get all the whole-grain goodness of steel cut oats without turning yourself into June Cleaver. Not that she didn’t rock those pearls.

Anyway, while wandering through Target (all “I’m finally getting my life in order” resolutions begin with a trip to Target) I found the most handy little gadget, a 2 qt. little crock pot. I couldn’t download a picture, but you can see it here (not an affiliate link, I just like this). For about $10. My regular meal size crockpot is way too big for morning oatmeal.

Crockpots are not my favorite cooking method, mostly since I work from home in the afternoons and just stick stuff in the oven. But this is my favorite kind of kitchen gadget, one that solves a problem easily and cheaply. So I bought it, and am very glad I did.

Now we have delicious steel cut oats ready for us in the morning. It’s like the timer on the coffee maker – one of the best inventions ever. Here’s how we do it:

Slow Cooker Oatmeal

This makes enough for two adults.

Before going to bed put 3/4 cup steel cut oats and 3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk in the crockpot (almond milk will be a future swap, you can use water, skim or 1% regular milk, soy milk, whatever you like)

Add a pinch of salt and 2 Tbs ground flax seeds

Stir, cover and turn the crockpot on low and sleep like a baby knowing breakfast is already made.

WARNING: When you wake up and look at your oatmeal the first time, you will curse me. It will look all wrong. But it is really fine. Just give is a good stir, getting all the thick stuff off the bottom, turn off the crockpot and put the lid back on. In a few minutes it will look normal, I promise.

Add whatever fruit you like in your oatmeal, some chopped nuts (unsalted), and a little sugar if you need it. Yum! My husband has 2/3 of the oatmeal and I have 1/3.

If you are adding frozen fruit, let it cook with the oatmeal overnight. The color will change, so don’t be alarmed. Your kids might really like purple oatmeal!

You can try as many flavor variations as you can imagine: pumpkin with pie spices, apple and cinnamon (add chopped apple with the oats in the evening), mango and ginger – there are so many possibilities.

If you have regular Old Fashioned Oats, this works fine too. Use the ratios on the package for the number of servings you want, and reduce the liquid just a little since there will be no evaporation during cooking.

Enjoy this yummy breakfast all winter long. Your cholesterol, blood sugar and waistline will thank you.

Add beans to your salad instead of chicken.

I don’t know about you, but if I see one more skinless, boneless chicken breast I just might lose it. Both chicken and beans provides protein, B vitamins and iron, but beans add fiber, antioxidants, calcium (!), and other minerals too. For fewer calories and less money.

Canned beans are fine, just rinse them off before using them. They will keep in a ziploc or bowl in the fridge for several days at least. One can usually makes about three salads for me. Here’s how I do it:

Quick salad:

Greens – romaine, baby spinach, arugula, mixed greens, whatever you’ve got

Cherry tomatoes – no chopping required – or dice up a regular tomato

Goat cheese or feta – just crumble a spoon or two

Nuts – unsalted taste best in salad, use whatever you have, almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.

Veggies – whatever you’ve got, like broccoli slaw or grated carrots

Cannellini beans

Oil and vinegar dressing, I like balsamic (2 Tbs.) and olive oil (3 Tbs.) with salt and pepper – makes enough for 3 salads

Easy, filling and really good.

Taco Salad:

Greens, crunchy ones like romaine work best here

Cherry tomatoes, onions, peppers – you can use pico de gallo from the deli section if you like

Diced avocado – 1/4 per person

Kidney, black or pinto beans (refried works too – sounds crazy but the creamy texture is good)

Pepitas – raw pumpkin seeds – about 1-2 Tbs. per person

Salsa or oil and vinegar dressing – lime juice (2Tbs.) and canola or olive oil (3 Tbs) with salt and pepper – enough for 3 salads

Roasted Vegetable Salad:

Leftover roast vegetables (onions, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, etc.) or ratatoulli

Cannellini or Garbanzo beans

Feta cheese or goat cheese, about 1 Tbs. crumbled on top

Add some of the balsamic dressing above if the salad is dry

I roast extra veggies just to have this for lunch the next day

You will be full, satisfied and healthy with these salads. And have some extra money in your pocket.

If you want to cook dried beans, they are even cheaper and will taste exactly the way you like. Soak them in water and some salt the night before, then drain the water and give them  a quick rinse. Put into the pot, cover with water, add a bay leaf and and simmer until tender. Add salt and any seasonings you like about halfway through. The beans will keep, either in the broth or drained and in a ziploc baggie, about a week in the fridge. To find heirloom beans and great recipes, check out Rancho Gordo. They rock.

We’ll start with the one you hear lot: swap sweet potatoes or yams for regular white potatoes. Yes, the humble yam is getting the glorious first spot. I do love me a good sweet potato. In fact, you could call me a Sweet Potato Queen if you like, although its not official.

Anyway, this is a great swap. Sweet potatoes and yams don’t raise your blood sugar as much as regular potatoes do. They are great sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, and antioxidants like Beta Carotene, along with wonderful fiber. And they are delicious, even without the marshmallows. Seriously, they really are. The lighter colored ones are similar to Yukon Golds in color and texture, and can fool those people who think they don’t like sweet potatoes. I pulled this over on my grandfather last year, and was not the least bit sorry when he had seconds.

The deal is, sweets or yams have more moisture than a regular Russet or red potato, and you need to cook them a little differently to get the results you want. This is the part they don’t tell you in those cute magazine articles. Store sweet potatoes and yams in the pantry where they can get some air and be in the dark, they will turn mealy in the fridge.

Baked Sweet Potatoes or Yams:

1. Line your pan with foil – you will thank me later

2. Heat oven to 400 F, a little hotter than with a regular potato

3. Scrub your spuds, then prick all over with a fork, and rub them with a little oil – canola or olive, doesn’t matter

4. Bake for about 44 – 50 minutes, they are done when a knife slips in and out easily

5. Cut an “X” in the top and push in the ends, they will open like a regular potato and be fluffy

Season to taste with salt, pepper and butter (a little goes a long way)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Yams:

1. Brush sheet pan or pans, depending on how many potatoes you are roasting, with canola oil (you can also use a paper towel to spread the oil, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per sheet pan

2. Preheat oven with sheet pans inside to 400 F – hot pans make a crisper crust on the potatoes; if you forget, they will still be delicious just not as crispy on the outside

3. Scrub potatoes and slice into wedges, about 8 per potato

4. Toss potatoes with a Tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper (I like kosher or sea salt for this)

5. Place on preheated pans and roast until potatoes are golden brown, about 30 minutes, turning them over about halfway through (sometimes I skip turning them over, but they are better when you do)

If you are short on time, or just want some basic fries, the frozen sweet potato fries are great – make them in the oven using the directions on the bag, I usually find they need an extra few minutes to get as crispy as we like them in our house.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Yams:

For 4 servings, 2 pounds of potatoes

1. Scrub, peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2 inch dice (approximately, I’ve never actually measured a dice in my life)

2. Add potatoes to 2 Tbs. milk (1/2 and 1/2 or cream if you are having company) and 2-4 Tbs. butter, 1/2 tsp salt and a teaspoon of brown sugar in a medium saucepan (you should have 2-3 layers of potatoes in the pan).

3. Cook over low heat for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender

4. Mash in the pan, adding salt and pepper to taste

Trust me, this is one swap you won’t be sorry you made.