_Every one seems to love ice cream. I have even watched my grandchildren playing with the xbox 360 controller  while attempting to eat ice cream and too engrossed to stop the game to eat.
I made myself some mini healthy ingredient, (no sugar or artificial sweetener gunk) ice cream treats this morning and have them in the freezer for when an ice cream craving hits again.

I got over my ice cream craving last night by eating some roasted almonds.

I just don't like eating processed junk food though I do love ice cream.
With a little prior preparation and portion control I can have my ice cream and eat it too. I will eat mine with crushed fresh roasted almonds on nuts on top. If you wanted a lower fat version get some recipies that use gelatine and water and skim milk powder. Most true icecream is a double wiping process. You do not need an ice cream maker, just a freezer and whip the mixture twice when it is semi frozen to aerate it then freeze again.  Forget recipes, just follow basic guidelines and choose your own preferred ingredients. Believe me it works.

All I did was to freeze pure cream in 1 teaspoon size dollops which I can eat how I like, sprinkled with cinnamon or spice or plain. I could have mixed pure vanilla essence or cocoa powder into them or mashed fruit, the choice is endless. The benefit is no highly refined carbohydrates to spike then crash your sugar levels if you are susceptible to fluctuating sugar levels. It fits in with a low to moderately low carb eating plan and there are no artificial ingredients.

No it isn't low fat. I actually do not eat low fat, I try to eat low saturated fats hence my freezing this ice cream into teaspoonful size treats not cup quantities.  A little of what I fancy without triggering my appetite as high sugar and high starch foods do.

I do not exclude any sort of food from my diet, I simply strive to eat healthy and balanced meals and consider myself fortunate not to have a sweet tooth however I know this is because I choose to eat nothing sweeter than natural friut - that definitely includes not touching those over sweet to my taste artificially sweetened so called diet and weight watcher (I refuse to call them food) junk.

Ice Cream. Healthy Easy No Recipe Version.

Well I bought the book and read it and frankly cannot remember very much of what I read and felt it was a little too much of a what you must eat and must not eat, rule book for me to take seriously as a lifetime eating plan, though i certainly agree with all the good healthy information in it and it would be a great guide to the importance of a healthy liver to those who tend to abuse that organ. 

What I love about this diet is

• listening to your body and only eating when you are hungry
• limiting sugar
• not becoming obsessed with counting calories
• eating only fresh foods
• eating more legumes
• choosing high-fibre breads that are free from artificial chemicals
• avoiding excessive saturated fats.

I do all those things yet I never consider myself to be following that diet.  I guess that is because of the food restrictions in the eating plan. 

What I do not eat, that is in this diet. I do not eat LSA  which is ground linseed, sunflower seed and almond. To me that is just another processed food.  Unless you make it yourself and eat it shortly after it is made,it will go rancid. Rancid oils are dangerous.  I LOVE my almonds and sunflower seed whole and the linseed goes in my home made muesli. I also believe in taking as many of my nutrients naturally and do not intend to take the 50-odd nutritional supplement formulas and liver tonics recommended or throw the healthy fibre out of my fruit and drink the juice. At that stage the diet author, 'lost me' and I considered this a crank pot diet despite its basic healthy eating plan you can use with your own variation.   I do not like diets that have stages.  Life time healthy eating plans are what works not quick fixes, IMO.

Frankly, in my opinion, the healthiest thing you can do for your liver is to forget about cleansing it and just don't give it poisons to deal with.  Cut back on chemicals, cigarettes, all unnecessary medication, drugs and do not binge drink and strive to maintain a healthy weight.

Overview
According to diet creator GP Dr Sandra Cabot, the body only runs well on foods that are 'liver friendly'. Apparently, if you feed the liver right, it will 'give a big sigh of relief and merrily get on with its job of regulating metabolism and burning fat'. Cabot says excessive weight is a symptom of liver dysfunction, so eating a diet that improves liver function will shed those extra kilos. There is no kilojoule counting, but it is recommended that you only eat from the meals listed for eight weeks. The menu includes all food groups, except dairy and red meat. You can stay on the eating plan as long as you like, but once you have reached your ideal weight, you can eat freely so long as you stick to the 12 principles of the diet.:

Sample Menu
Breakfast: fresh fruit salad and LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seed and almond).

Lunch: avocado, orange and mushroom salad with tuna or one hard-boiled egg.

Dinner: steamed fish and raw vegetable salad.

Snacks: raw juice, fruit, raw vegetables or nuts.

If I could describe my own eating plan it would be a cross between what I consider the best of the Mediterrainean and the CSIRO diets.   I don't actually think about it, I just shop for healthy foods I love, seaking both variety and the best economy I can get and when I plan a meal I present it with a god balance of nutrition and I make sure the daily nutrition balance is 'right.'   I will always value the nutrition training I have done and maintained, it makes foodd choices easy

I am taking a look at the Mediterranean Diet, or more correctly, eating guidelines, as there are no set eating plan.  That is good, I enjoy making my own decisions and not being told exactly what I have to eat.  I also think shopping with a set shopping list is a very expensive way to shop unless you are the sort of person waylaid by the processed food and desert foods. I am not.

What I LOVE about this eating plan is the handful of almonds as a snack and the glass of wine with the meal.
What I think we need to remember is that the dried fruit in the countryside where this eating plan originated is not the same high preservative laden fruit we get here in Australia.  I would be eating fresh fruit not dried fruit by choice as my second snack.  

I like that no food is banned. It calls for sensible, adult, moderation. It treats us as capable of making adult, portion controlled and healthy food choices while allowing the occasional special treat. That is a food plan I would be happy to live with. 

Overview
Unlike many diets, the Mediterranean Diet doesn't promote a specific step-by-step eating pattern or menu planners. Instead it offers an overarching philosophy to lifelong healthy eating habits. A number of studies into the traditional diet of the people from the island of Crete, in Greece – along with other Mediterranean populations – have found this diet particularly beneficial for good heart health. Over the years there have been numerous translations of the diet and it is being increasingly used as a means of controlling weight as well as improving overall health. It is a diet that emphasises:

• vegetables at every meal (any kind particularly green, leafy ones, as well as tomatoes)
• fruit
• fish
• healthy sources of fat (such as olive oil, nuts and seeds)
• breads, wholegrain cereals and legumes
• low to very low amounts red meat
• moderate amounts dairy products (although yoghurt is consumed daily)
• sweets consumed only occasionally as special treats
• herbs and spices used to flavour foods
• slow-cooking is often promoted
• wine is consumed regularly, but only in small amounts.

Sample Menu
Breakfast: bread topped with tomato, red onion, herbs and olive oil, plus grapefruit.

Snack: small handful of almonds.

Lunch: butternut pumpkin or soup with legumes, one thick slice of wholegrain bread, dates.

Snack: dried fruit.

Dinner: fish, vegetables, one glass of wine, and fruit for dessert.

Expert opinion
The Mediterranean Diet is often promoted for its proven benefits on heart health and reducing the risk of diabetes. But it is also gaining recognition as an effective tool in weight management, especially when coupled with portion control or kilojoule reduction. It is a balanced diet as there are no restrictions on major food groups. Meanwhile, the consumption of red meat is low –  and this helps keep the bodies pH balance at a level that promotes good bone health. Those almonds and legumes are fantastic for good bone density.   I like this eating plan.

I have the CSIRO Diet book and other than choosing to eat more turkey  and lentils than red meat and not considering processed meat like ham should be recommended on any healthy eating plan due to the nitrates in the processed meats that have been linked to bowel cancer, I believe this is a easy to modify to your own personal taste, fairly healthy diet.  It is not a great bone health diet unless you swap some of the meat content for vegetable protein.

Overview
This is a high-protein, low-fat, moderate-carbohydrate diet. It recommends beef, lamb or veal four times a week for dinner, plus fish and chicken or pork. It also recommends that 40% of your kilojoules come from carbohydrates. You're encouraged to follow the daily menu plans to familiarise yourself with how to break up the food groups. The daily food allowance is divided into:

• 200g of lean protein for dinner (beef, lamb or veal four times a week, chicken or pork once and fish twice) and another 100g for lunch
• two serves of carbohydrate (i.e. two slices of wholegrain bread or one cup of cooked pasta) plus one bowl of high-fibre cereal
• three serves of dairy (i.e. 500ml of low-fat milk + 200g low-fat or diet yoghurt)
• two serves of fruit and at least 2.5 serves of selected vegetables
• three serves of fats and oils (i.e 1 tsp oil or 2 tsp light margarine), and two serves of 'indulgence foods (such as 150 mL wine or 20g chocolate) per week.

One hundred and fifty minutes of exercise is recommended per week. Once you reach your desired weight, you can add kilojoules by experimenting with 500 kilojoule (120 calories) lots to work out the best energy intake for you to be able to maintain your ideal weight.

Sample Menu
Breakfast: high-fibre cereal, low-fat milk and fruit.

Lunch: turkey and salad sandwich with low-fat cheese.

Dinner: lamb patties, steamed zucchini and squash, tinned fruit, low-fat dairy dessert.

Expert opinion
The good news is that this diet incorporates all the major food groups, is low in fat, promotes lots of vegetables, and encourages home cooking. It is based on scientific research which showed it is as effective as a higher-carbohydrate, low-fat diet in bringing about weight loss. The recommendation that a higher volume of fibre is incorporated as part of this regime is good advice because a diet high in fibre, even if accompanied with a diet high in meat, is kinder on the bowel than a high-protein, low-fibre diet. However the red meat intake is above the recommendations for health. It also doesn't suit vegetarians.

KFC has been in the news quite a lot recently with some bad press following Fiji refusing to allow it to bring 3 ingredients of its secret formula into that country.  There was no secret that one of the ingredients was MSG and one is left to wonder about 'secret recipes' and if I for one want to eat a produce that contains ingredients I cannot read on the packaging.  I believe consumers have a right to know what they are ingesting and the percentages of each ingredient.

These days KFC does not promote the fact it has a secret recipe. Many people like me, demand to know what they are eating.

So to follow on from that bad press, KFC is out doing the rounds of good PR this morning and I saw them on the morning show promoting the following.:- All food and no play: KFC ditches meal toys

Fast food retailer KFC has begun removing all toys from its children's meals, in a move welcomed by anti-obesity lobby groups.

I brought my Sweet Poison Books away with me and never found time to read them.  I see they are featuring the sugatr free eating plan on TV at the moment...I must pull the books out and read them.


You will shed the kilos if you simply cut sugar from your diet and reduce your risk of getting lifestyle disease as most of the unhealthy fats are in processed foods that are combined with the refined carbohydrates...or simple pure sugars that are so unhealthy to eat..

Sweet Poison author's tips: Stuff you can eat when going sugar free.

Throughout these meal plans I refer to something called dextrose. I’m talking about a white powder which looks like caster sugar.

It is pure glucose (the good half of sugar) bonded to a water molecule. You can buy it in the home brew section of your supermarket in 1kg bags which normally cost around $3.

Sometimes it can be used instead of sugar and sometimes it can’t. The water molecule gives it some different properties when cooked.

More Info at www.sweetpoison.com.au

Breakfast

Any unflavoured Oats
Wheat or Oat Biscuits
Most kinds of bread (except fruit or raisin toast), spread with butter, avocado or vegemite
Most cooked breakfasts but use (reduced) Passata instead of sauce.

Lunch

Sandwiches (spreads as per breakfast) including most meats and salads but use only whole egg mayo’s and no other sauces

Dinner

Pretty much anything you like, just no sauces other than passata based or whole egg mayo
Pudding is out unless you go with the dextrose based ones in the book (which includes things like ice-cream and fudge)

Snacks

Cracker biscuits and chips (avoid chilli and chicken flavours)
Any of the biscuits and snacks (dextrose based) in the book
Fruit is fine as long as you have no more than 2 pieces per day (1 for a child) and eat only the whole fruit (no juicing or drying).

Drinks

Water (sparkling is fine as long as it is not flavoured)

Diet Drinks

Milk (unflavoured)
Lucozade (original only)




Contacts from this story

• Sweet Poisonhttp://www.sweetpoison.com.au

Now i will add that there is NO WAY I would be eating artificial sweeteners or diet driks as a substitute for sugar...replacing n unhealthy ingredients with an worst one in order to loose kilos is plain stupid in my opinion. Slim is not necessarily healthier...this is a huge myth that I do not buy into.  I am all for self nurture and understand that refined carbohydrates, sugar and white flour are devoid of nutrient and empty calories.  Going refined sugar free is totally different to going carb free, unrefined good carbohydrates are essential to health.   I will hunt up my Sweet Poison book and have a read.

The way I manage to stay within your budget, both for dollars and for calories is by NOT shopping with a shopping list but with a knowledge of good nutrition and an eye for value.

With fruit and vegetable prices rising and falling up to 1000%  overnight depending on availability and meat and poultry easily varying in price 300%, I consider it unwise to decide what to buy until I see the quality and price of what is on offer.

I always eat before OI head out shopping and I pack healthy snacks like almonds to take with me in case I get hungry while I am out and there are no healthy eating options.  This saves my budget too as take away food is costly.

By cutting back on eating out, I save a fortune — money I can spend on healthy groceries! Plus, I can guarantee that everything I putting into my mouth is fresh and healthy.
Of course, you can't always make your own food or control your environment. I do still eat out, but rarely. When I do I order grilled white fish and plenty of vegetables, this suits my calorie budget and my taste buds.

"The only way to do it is to do it"  Merce Cunningham.
Motivational fridge magnet from the sunflower art.
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