Sunday 27 January 2013


Spice girls were my favorite band when I was growing up.
I loved baby spice and posh spice, but just like them, the spice girls can’t be “it” anymore; the same goes for store-bought spices.
I don’t know if you noticed already, but some of the things you buy, I still don’t approve, even though they are organic.(just wait for when we’ll talk about whey powder), and you know why?
Because you’re hurting yourself and you get fat in the process.
This world that we are living in has a lot of bad things going against it but it also has amazing things going FOR it!
Before we even start to talk about the benefits for your body, let’s think how much you can help the planet when you’ll stop using pre-made and pre-packed store-bought products.
When you buy fresh products you reduce the amount of garbage you leave after you, meaning less garbage going to the ocean…
Think about the dolphins…
And now, after we did our good deed for the day (thinking of how we can help with keeping this beautiful planet beautiful!) let’s talk about what we’re going to do in order to make this amazing body of yours even more amazing.
I’m willing to put money that some of you are missing out on the taste of food. The taste of real food that is, without all the fake flavors you put in it.
What is the biggest spice box in the store?
Last time I checked, it was this gross bacon bits… That is not a spice! That’s just human-made poison …
If you want to lose weight or even to just look hot, get rid of that! Like now! Take it and put it in the garbage.
That’s not food and it’s not spice!
I’m going to give you a list of foods that can be used as spices too!!! (I don’t know if you noticed but I’m giving you in each blog a way to save more money):
Garlic, onion, lemon, parsley, ginger, basil, mint, rosemary and cilantro.
They are all foods and they are all spices and each and every one of them is a superfood J.
I do use other spices too but it’s very important, VERY important, that you get yourself a mortar and pestle. (in case you don’t know what it is go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_and_pestle)
Because you’re going to buy a whole spice, and not a gross powder and you’re going to have so much fun. Guaranteed!
Some of the spices you’re going to use, you can just shred by yourself.
Did you ever think how spices end up in our kitchen?
I choose to believe the ancient healers used them as medicine and then they used them to prevent disease and put them in their food and other people’s food and when they left this world they took the knowledge with them and we were left with spices and zero knowledge about what to do. So we, as usual, are messing things upL.  
If you think of it most spices can be used as anti-inflammatory components:
Turmeric – you can buy whole fresh turmeric and shred it! It looks like ginger with orange color. You can use it the same way as the powdered turmeric, only now you know what’s in it and it’s fresh. Something I like to do is to put it in my tahini (I also put lemon juice in my tahini and sometimes garlic/parsley).
Cinnamon – buy cinnamon sticks and grind them using your mortar and pestle. It’s not going to be easy, but what’s wrong with a little arms workout? You’ll thank me next time you’re waving to somebody…
Cinnamon is one of the best superfoods out there; it’s not just anti-inflammatory; it also helps you to balance insulin and blood sugar levels.
I like to put cinnamon on my hot chocolate or on my oats or on yogurt with silver almonds.
Nutmeg – did you ever smell a whole nutmeg? AMAZING!!!  What I like to do with the whole nutmeg is to put it in while I’m cooking and then after it has done its job and given the food everything it could, to throw it like yesterday’s paper.
Nutmeg is also a superfood that helps you to clean your liver and kidneys and helps reduce pain.
Cloves – cloves is another spice you grind using your mortar and pestle and then put in your food.
It’s great for toothache and helps against viruses like the flu.
I don’t use it as often as the others but that’s because I really like the others.
Before we start talking about our conclusions from this post I want to talk about one more spice…
Cayenne pepper – herbologists called it “the king of herbs” and it sure is!
What makes it so spicy is what makes it such a help in stimulating your heart beat and blood flow.

It’s an anti-cold, anti-flu and anti-allergen. It helps with the digestion, prevents and treats blood clots, is a joint-pain reliever, supports heart health and helps with weight loss.

 

You do want to be careful when you use it; it’s very spicy. But you can use it just like any other pepper.

 

So what did we learn? (so what have we learned?)

*you can make you own spice from stuff that grow in your garden.

*spices can be very healthy for you if you’re using the right kind.

*bacon bits it not spice.

*you’re probably ruining your taste buds by using what I call “fake spices” and what you call “pre-made store bought spices”.

*using pre-made store bought spices can make you fat but if you make your own spices you can Eat The Cake And Not Get Fat.

 

Bye now J

Researched and Written by Dana Gat  2013 ©

 

Saturday 19 January 2013


Welcome to rule # 4 – Green means GO!
Got it? Like lights? I’m so smart, I know… Lol
So what does green food mean to you? For me it’s mostly green leaves but also other green veggie and fruits with lots of nutrients like: broccoli, kiwi, Granny Smith apple, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, okra, green beans, avocado, limes etc.
Of course, I don’t use spices like you do (spoiler alert to rule #5). when I’m cooking, because I don’t like to use processed stuff, I’m using stuff like: basil, mint, rosemary, parsley etc. (once again rule # 5 is all about it so you’ll have to wait and seeJ)
I know you want to know what kind of green leaves I am talking about, so here you go: kale, spinach, chard leaves, beet leaves, Chinese broccoli, Asian greens, arugula and watercress.
You have a big list now so let’s talk about what to do with that.
DO NOT do cleanse and just eat green for a week. Don’t get me wrong: you will lose weight this way but you will gain it back sooner than you want to believe.
You want to EAT THE CAKE AND NOT GET FAT? Use lots of it but not just that (we’ll talk about why not just greens when we’ll talk about rule #6).
Before we talk about boring facts let’s talk about the mental reason for eating green foods.
It looks healthier when there’s a lot of green in your food, so it makes you feel good; when you feel good you look good. And that, my friends, is also a factJ.
Now let’s talk for real why it’s so good for you and why I’m using so much of it (warning: you are going to hear about some of the fruit and veggie here again when we’ll talk about other rules because they are so amazing).
I would like to break it to 3 parts just like we did in the beginning of the post: leaves, fruits and veggie and spices.
Leaves:
I use all kind of leaves because all of them have tons of nutrients and they are low in sugar and high in fibre. We hate sugar (not really hate. I think the word that suits better is we are in love with sugar) and love fibre because fibre make us poop the food our body doesn’t want or need.
What I do is: if I’m making myself a wrap with eggs in the morning I’ll fill it with spinach so it can be a huge wrap with only 2 eggs and spinach.
What’s the harm in this wrap? Nothing!
Trust me: it will fill you up like you won’t believe. You can even have 2 of them (in this case I’ll suggest using one egg in each wrap or 2 eggs white for each wrap)!
It won’t make you fat.
Fill your plate with leaves so it will fill you up and give you the nutrients you need without eating too much food that makes you fat (like wheat).
You can use leaves in your eggs, sandwich, salad, rice, pasta, fish, meat etc.
The more you use those amazing superfoods the less you need to worry about getting fat.
Before I forget I have to tell you that I don’t count calories anymore because calories = energy.
If you want to have energy to do stuff in your life you have to eat, calories are just a way to tell you how much energy you’re getting from your food  - not how fat you’re getting, it’s getting to be a problem when you have too much energy and you sit and play video games all day.
The most amazing thing in those leaves is that they give you crazy amounts of nutrients and you don’t need to worry about too much energy and how to get rid of it so you can eat as much as you want from it!
Eat Eat Eat!
It’s so funny! You won’t believe what just happened! Right now (while I’m writing this post) the amazing Bob Harper (biggest loser) put that as a status on his Facebook page “No one has ever gained weight by eating leafy greens. What greens are on your plate today?”  Haha… I guess I’m in good company…
Now…Veggies and fruits
Each veggie and each fruit has vitamins that are good for you and/or other nutrients that you need and we will look more into it in every post because the list above each and every one of them is a superfood.
All the veggies and the fruits on the list are good for different reasons.
Avocado is good for you for the fat in it (remember rule #1?).
Green beans are good for you for the protein and the fibre in them. (a rare combination, usually you have high protein or high fibre).
Brussels sprouts are good for you because of the vitamin C in them.
Kiwi fruit is good for you because it is high not just in vitamin C but also in vitamin K and E, that are difficult to get from food (rule # 6 will be about vitamins).
Lime is good not just for the crazy amount of vitamin C in it (30% of your daily intake!), but also for helping to regulate your liver activity (especially if you drink it first thing in the morning with warm water; I never have the time to do that but I should try harder).
Now for our last part….spices!
This part is very short. All those spices are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and every time you cook, all you need to do is just put some of them and you’re good!
You can drink them, cook with them or eat them as they are!

And that’s it for now. You got the list and I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it and I’m sure you’re dying to go and try to cook something now. So go and do and I’ll stop mumbling.
P.S.
Here’s a nice dressing I use it for salad/rice/grilled veggie etc.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil (I prefer extra virgin)
1 cup chopped parsley
4 tbsp lime juice
Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth
Enjoy J

Researched and Written by Dana Gat  2013 ©

Sunday 13 January 2013


So you survived so far! Good for you! But don’t you dare to rest, because the fun starts now!
After the last two posts I got a lot of great comments from all of you and also a lot of requests and questions about pretty much everything that involves food.
The most common comments I got were that until you read it in the blog you didn’t think about cocktails and the effects they have on your body and that it’s great that I’m not saying “Don’t eat it or drink it ever again”, because losing weight is not a problem, keeping it off is.
In case you forgot what we are trying to do here, it is to find a way for you to be hot, healthy and happy for a life time - and not just for 3 months!
I want to remind you that EAT THE CAKE AND NOT GET FAT does involve your eating the cake because life is for the living!
I thought about making it rule # 7 but I think we don’t have a choice but to make it rule # 3 because only yesterday I realized that most people don’t know what it does to their body. Sometimes I forget that not everybody is a health freak like me, who spends all day in studies about it. Thank god you have me to summarize it for you and give you the conclusion from personal experience and years of research.

Rule # 3 – Wheat Is Gross!

At some point in the 20th century we decided the we didn’t want to be fat and that we should cut on fat. Now, I’m sure you read rule #1 and you know that if you don’t want to be fat you need to EAT fat
Let’s go back to 20th century and our weird decision that cost us our health and that was that fat was bad for you, so you didn’t have any other choice but to eat more carbs (Yes, I say carbs and not carbohydrate; get used to it J ) and therefore to eat more wheat, up to a point where it dominated our diet.
Of course you need to eat carbs; cake has carbs in it and we are never going to give up on cake, right?
The correct answer is “never ever in my life!”
Let’s try to stay on topic, we’re taking about why wheat is a so bad for you (Don’t worry, rule #4 is on something that is good for and you need to eat more of it).
First of all, most of us eat wheat in the processed form of it and processed is bad for you. You can’t turn this one around: processed food = shorter, fatter life!
99% of us eat wheat when it is processed so even when you eat whole wheat you still eat highly processed food; and processed food is bad for you even if it says on the package “whole wheat”…

How much wheat you eat a day? I’m guessing if you’re like me you eat cereals or eggs with toast for breakfast?
What are you having for lunch today? A multi grain sub from subway loaded with veggie and some kind of protein?
What about dinner? A whole wheat pasta, salad and fish? Looks pretty healthy, right? WRONG! Tell me something, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF????

“Stop! Makeover time!” (You’re supposed to sing it like “hammer time”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxm_mwz9sRo  )

Here are a few changes to your diet:
If you love cereal, go for oatmeal.
Oat is not just a superfood; it is considered to be in the royal family of the super food. 1 cup of oat has more than your daily dose of vitamin b12 and an amazing amount of other vitamins and minerals!
 If you don’t have celiac disease there’s no single thing that is bad for you in oats so go ahead and eat some!
And now to the eggs lover, what about eggs with hash brown instead of toast?
Or if you have to have the bread taste in the morning try eggs wrap with veggies? (For recipes go to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eat-the-Cake-Not-Get-Fat/554539097907759)

You can even try gluten free bread or bagel; it’s still highly processed  but in small portion it’s still better then wheat (even whole wheat) for 2 reasons: wheat is one of the most genetically modified organisms (gmo) out there so we don’t really know what’s in it (It’s for sure not whole wheat).

This is for real! And wheat is one of the worst. When I hear about children that suffer from gluten or wheat allergies I salute them. Do you know why? Because something in their bodies know that is bad for them so when people call it celiac disease I disagree; it’s not a disease – it’s an instinct!

Now let’s talk about another reason why wheat is bad for you.
The  components of wheat (the organic kind not the gmo kind) is what makes it so bad for you, even if you eat unprocessed whole wheat, organic wheat, it’s still going to be bad for you (not as bad of course but still very bad) .
When you choose to eat something that has sugar you need to buffer your body with fibres… That’s one big thing that you do to take care of your body the way your body deserves it, but unfortunately wheat has too much sugar for the amount of fibre in it, so it’s difficult for your body to absorb it and when your body doesn’t absorb sugar it becomes excess sugar, and excess sugar becomes fat.

When I started to write this post I decided to give wheat another chance so I’ve eaten a bagel a day and cereals…. I even went to gym and I still gained weight just because of the wheat!
I’m realistic enough to know none of us going to give up wheat and I know I’m not going to give it up. Not because I like it; just because sometimes you don’t have any other option and that’s ok: you won’t get fat from occasionally eating wheat but don’t eat it every meal every day.Wheat is the one thing I recommend to eliminate from your diet, it’s a promise! Don’t eliminate anything ever because life is for the living but wheat…: eliminate!

If you want to read about the bio-chemistry of wheat, the best book for it is “Wheat belly: lose the wheat,lose the weight and find your path back to health” by William Davis
But I’m not going  to talk about it because it’s REALLY boring but what I can do is tell you (on my next blog) how all the weight I’ve gained from eating whole wheat droped without any problem.

Before we finish here I would like to give you a few superfoods to use instead of wheat for extra points: oats, oats bran, quinoa, brown rice and buckwheat.
Thank god we have those grains so we don’t have to eat wheat. And like I’ve said before, for recipes go to our facebook page.

And remember you can have it all just try to keep the wheat to a minimum, ok?


Researched and Written by Dana Gat  2013 ©

Friday 4 January 2013



After we have talked about rule #1 (eat fat )if you don’t want to be fat) it’s time for rule #2.
Are you ready? Are you sure? Rule #2 is: Abstention from alcohol!
In order for you to understand it, we are going to break it into 3 parts: beer, wine and my favorite personal poison of choice – hard liquor!!!
Beer:
Beer is made from water (we love water), hops, yeast and barley. Now, we all eat barley some time (and I can’t wait to tell you all about how it is killing you softly) but for now I’m going to summarize it for you: Barley and yeast are gross! There is not there even a single nutrient that you need. True, there is the benefit of fiber; but if fiber is what you are after - try Quinoa  (it has 8gr of fiber per  100 gram). nobody needs barley or yeast. It’s going to blow you up. Now, there is gluten-free beer but they still use tons of sugar to produce the alcohol so think about it…
Hard Liquor:
Hard alcohol! Vodka, Gin, Rum, Tequila etc. You know, all the fun stuff J! I’m not going to lie to you. when I do drink (yes I sometime break the rules J) I love hard alcohol; Crantini is my favorite,  with 1.75 oz. Vodka and 0.25 oz. triple sec and cranberry juice; I LOVE it! One of the biggest problems with hard alcohol is that we drink it in a cocktail and we forget all the rest of the ingredients in it. For example Caesar, one of the most popular drinks here in Canada has 156 calories and 567mg sodium. Now you probably drink 2 or 3 when you go out, so it’s almost 500 calories and 1700mg of sodium!!!! Your daily recommended allowance of sodium is 1500mg so think about it…
Wine:
Wine is not good for you, but compared to the rest (beer and hard alcohol) it’s not as bad for you, because there no wheat nor barley nor yeast in it. But there is still sugar in it - and a lot! But most of us do not drink enough wine to get drunk, meaning we don’t drink as much of it to have too much sugar. Still, it’s all about portion when it comes to wine. So if you have to drink alcohol go for wine but try to not drink more than 3 glasses in one night and not more than 5 glass per week
One of the big problem with getting drunk is that we all tend to eat when we are drunk. We eat way more then what we usually eat and let’s be honest with each other: Way more greasy So you’re going out for the night, you have some appetizer with some alcohol - maybe Caesar, maybe beer and you get drunk or just buzzed and you then you go and have some yummy pizza and we all know that when you wake up after a night of drinking how much you want greasy food. So go ahead and do the math for how many calories you just put in your body I’ll wait for you at the gym, ok?
Rule # 2: be careful with what you drink because it is easier not to pay attention to what you put in your body and if you want to eat the cake and not get fat - stay sober!
Dana Gat  2013 ©