Sausage & Spinach Summer Wraps

It's still too hot to cook here on the Emerald Coast, so I've been getting creative with dinner. My theory is that if I keep it interesting enough, my family won't notice that I'm not cooking. Last night I made Sausage & Spinach Summer Wraps. They took less than 15 minutes, only one pan, and were delicious. I hope you give them a try.

Start with a low-fat or turkey kielbasa, such as Healthy Choice. I usually keep several in the freezer, since you can dice them easily even while they're still frozen. Slice a 1-pound kielbasa sausage into half-inch slices. Cook the sausage over high heat in a large skillet. Mix together 1 cup of cranberry-pomegranate juice, 2 tablespoons of ketchup, and a few dashes of hot sauce, and pour it over the sausage. Cook until the liquid reduces to a sauce, about 10 minutes.
Wrap a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves and about 5 slices of kielbasa in a whole grain or low carb wrap, and drizzle some of the sauce over the wrap.

The crisp greens compliment the hot, tangy sausage, and the whole meal is wrapped up and easily enjoyed outside or in front of the A/C, whichever you prefer. You could make this wrap even more healthy by using low-sugar or low carb juice and ketchup, but the 3 main ingredients are already pretty darn good for you! Go ahead and play with it and make it your own. This recipe started with an idea from Jacques Pepin, which I then played with to make my own. His Fast Food My Way series has some wonderful suggestions for quick and delicious eats, and he encourages everyone to adapt recipes to his or her own tastes, local ingredients, and cooking style. Just beware that he IS French and some of his food is sinfully rich (read: not exactly low carb, low calorie, low anything!), but it's all delicious. If you do pick up one of his cookbooks, I hope you'll do what I do and use his great recipes as idea springboards to help you keep your low carb lifestyle full of flavor. Enjoy!

Summer Eats

Two weeks ago my friends and family in Maine were waiting for the last frost so they could plant their gardens safely. Here on the Gulf Coast, however, we're already eating the first veggies out of our gardens. Actually, I struggle to grow herbs, but I'm very lucky to have good friends with green thumbs who have generously given us lots of delicious food. There's something very satisfying, as a mom, about having your 5-year-old beg, "Puh-lease, Mummy? Please can I have just one more tomato?" Needless to say, our tomato supply didn't last very long, but we don't mind one bit. In fact, having torn through our stash of fresh veggies from our friends, I'm perfectly happy to visit the local farmer's market downtown, or even buy local produce at the grocery store. If you look, you can find local and/or organic produce in most markets now. Yea!

Because there's a heat wave here right now, I've been avoiding cooking, but I couldn't resist using those first fresh veggies of the season. I cooked several pounds of high-protein, whole grain pasta, for use in several dinners throughout the week.
*One evening I cooked yellow squash and zucchini, both cut into one-inch cubes, over high heat with olive oil and minced garlic and onion. I let them soften and brown slightly, then added red kidney beans, low-sodium beef broth, salt and pepper. I mixed this with an equal amount of pasta and tore some fresh basil over the top.
*Another night I roasted banana peppers and broccoli with sesame seeds and tossed them with a little ginger vinaigrette to top the pasta.

Each night's dinner required only a few minutes of preparation, one pan, and a few cents' worth of ingredients (even if we had purchased the produce). They were both full of flavor but low on carbs, sugars, calories and cholesterol. Talk about low cost low carb! Best of all, we got to enjoy several meals full of beautiful, bright fresh flavors right out of our friends' lush garden.

Supplements vs. Diet Pills

Weight loss through healthy living is the long, slow way to go. It's hard work, and it requires patience and dedication. However, as the millions of people who took Hydroxycut are now learning, diet pills and their promises of a quick fix can do more harm than good. It's important to understand the difference between supplements and diet pills, and make informed decisions about which, if any, would be helpful in your efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Diet pills are prescription or over-the-counter medications, usually containing an amphetamine or stimulant, intended to increase metabolism and help the person taking them to lose weight rapidly and independently of any other lifestyle changes. Hydroxycut is a diet pill. Dietary supplements, on the other hand, are concentrated forms of vitamins, minerals, herbs or dietary acids, used to provide these nutrients when the person taking them is not getting those nutrients in sufficient quantities from other sources. Your daily multi-vitamin is a dietary supplement.

People striving for a healthy lifestyle and long-term weight loss success are generally discouraged from using diet pills. They just don't do your body much good, and even if they're not harmful, they don't teach you how to maintain your weight. If you earn your lean body with hard work and dedication, you're much more likely to maintain the gorgeous final result. Dietary supplements, however, can help you live your healthy lifestyle. Check with your doctor or herbalist about which supplements are right for you. In Pete's case, taking a Chromium supplement helped stabilize his blood sugar and control his cholesterol. You may want to visit Dr. Andrew Weil's website for more information on natural dietary supplements. His free "Vitamin Advisor" will give you a list of the supplements he recommends for you based on your health and lifestyle, which you then order through his site or bring to your doctor to discuss. Another option for finding information about dietary supplements is your pharmacist. Many pharmacies carry a large selection of vitamin and mineral supplements, and most pharmacists are happy to discuss them with you. For a guide to finding the best pharmacy, click here.

If you do choose to take dietary supplements, there are a few considerations to bear in mind. First, check with your doctor before taking any new supplements, especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition, are pregnant, or may become pregnant. Make sure your doctor and pharmacist know about any supplements you're taking if you're also taking any prescriptions, as some prescriptions and supplements don't play nicely together. To get the most out of your supplements, take them consistently at the time and dose directed, and be patient. It takes a few weeks or months for your body to absorb and make good use of the nutrients. You should know that the FDA does not regulate herbal supplements, so always get yours from a well-known, reliable source. Supplements can be expensive, especially if you seek out the best ones (which you should!). Once you establish which supplements you want to take regularly, consider using an online source to save money. Online suppliers, such as Swanson Health Products, have been around for years and offer huge selections at excellent prices. Take advantage of all the information and tools available regarding dietary supplements and find out if there are any nutrients available that might help you improve the quality of your healthy lifestyle.

Brine, Baby, Brine

We know a great butcher. Still, lean meat in our house is more likely to be basic white meat, like pork or chicken, than filet mignon. White meat is lower in fat and cholesterol than red meat, but you also lose flavor and juiciness in the bargain. To make the most of your meat, try brining. The most basic brine is simply salt and water. Don't worry, it won't make your meat saltier, but it will make it juicier. Soaking white meat in a brine allows the salt to penetrate individual cells and hold moisture in during the cooking process. You can also add seasonings to the brine so your meat gets a boost of flavor at the same time. Both Old Bay and Bell's poultry seasonings dissolve well in a brine and add tons of flavor, so they're two of our favorites. Try one of these ideas, and click here for step by step brining instructions for the grill.

Crispy Sage Chicken: Mix a brine of 2 Tablespoons of Bell's seasoning, 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1 quart of hot water, and 1 quart of ice cubes. Brine 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts for 2 hours. Remove breasts from brine and roll crushed whole grain cereal, such as Wheaties. Bake in 375F oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Seared Seasoned Pork: Combine 2 Tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning, 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1 quart hot water and 1 quart ice to make the brine. Brine one pork tenderloin (usually about 3/4 lb) for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove pork from brine, slice into medallions about 1.5 inches thick, and pat dry. Sear medallions in preheated pan over medium high heat about 2 minutes on each side. Add 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth, cover pan, and cook until pork reaches 140F.

Of course, you can also use a basic brine to prepare the meat for any of your favorite recipes. Give brining a try and give your dinner, and your diet, a whole new dimension.

Drink It Down... Your Weight, That Is

It's not hard to find low calorie, low carb drinks in the cooler weather, as long as you take your coffee or tea black. I do, but unfortunately, Pete doesn't. Still, switching to a no-calorie sweetener and skim milk wasn't too hard. The hot summer weather brings new challenges, though. Sure, we should all drink water. Lots and lots of pure, clean water. In fact, it's the only beverage we ever need, and Pete does drink plenty of it. Me? I love water after a run or in the middle of the night, nice and cool and refreshing, but the rest of the time I just prefer more flavor. Statistically, I'm not alone. Even Pete, with his healthy water habit, craves something else sometimes.

When choosing a summer beverage, try to keep in mind what you don't want in your drink, and work back from there. You want to avoid lots of sugar, natural or artificial, and calories of course, too. Using the coffee example, you could enjoy iced coffee - REAL iced coffee, i.e. strong, black coffee over ice, with a small amount of sweetener and skim milk, if you prefer. Avoid the obscenely delicious dietary disaster that is the Toffee Mocha Poetccino from the Drowsy Poet Coffee House. Any of the coffee milkshake type drinks are off limits if you're eating healthfully.

Rather than working backward to your options, try staring with water and working forward, adding flavor without too many unwanted ingredients. There are tons of delicious flavored drink mixes on the market today. Carefully read what's in each of them and try different kinds before you settle on your favorites. Beware that some of them are full of sugar and artificial colors and additives, too. Read those labels! Alternately, add something you already know the contents of to your water. It's hard to beat sparkling water with a splash of fresh lime and cranberry juice. Add just enough of your favorite juice to tint the color and add subtle flavor, and use 100% natural juice with no sugar added.


If you're looking for something a bit more adult in nature, try some of the new low carb, low calorie beers available. Even beer snobs will enjoy Sam Adams Light, and lighter lagers like Michelob Ultra can be refreshing on a hot summer evening. Take a page out of the '50s and cut your wine with sparkling water for a grown-up seltzer, or try a light Sangria. Watch out, though, because alcohol is ultimately dehydrating and nothing but empty calories. Hard alcohol in particular is nothing but fermented sugar. Besides, too many drinks and you'll never make it to the gym in the morning.

Of course, you could always stick to the classic - water. There's a world of difference in the available waters out there, so try different options to find one you'll actually drink. I grew up on well-water filtered through the glacial granite of Maine - no wonder I'm a water snob! But even the tap water in Florida is okay with our faucet-mounted filter. Experiment with different sources and you'll be surprised by how varied water can be. If you ultimately choose bottled water, burn an extra 11 calories by walking that empty water bottle to the recycling bin! Now that's the way to hydrate healthfully in summer.