After everything I’m sure you think you know me and you already figured it out that I love cake and that I won’t give it up even if it’s guaranteed that I’ll be same size as the Kates (Middleton and Moss); well, you’re right, but there is one food that I love even more then chocolate and that is TOMATOES!!!

I can eat live just on tomatoes. I love them so much and I love them all (I do prefer grapes tomatoes in case you want to know what to buy me for my b-day). I’m able to not eat chocolate for a week but a day without tomatoes is not a day!

Now you’re going to say…”good for you! Eating veggies”. Well, just like fruit, not all veggies are create equals and there are some veggies that can cause you inflammations and inflammation can cause problems like: cancer, heart attack, MS, Parkinson desease, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, asthma and plenty others so you want to make sure you don’t have inflammations. And an easy way to do it is to make sure you don’t eat too much “nightshade veggies”

Nightshade are also called solanaceae.

They are known for having a high amount of toxins and the legend tells that in Central America the natives used them for poison.

We, humankind, eat them on a regular basis! We eat poison! I’m not here to judge you because tomatoes are one of the nightshades and like I said before I can live just on it, but I don’t! I eat one tomato a day and I cut on the rest of the nightshade.

Don’t eat more than one nightshade a day and if you can cut on it completely I will be there to support you!

What else is considered a nightshade?

Here is a short list: Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, cayenne peppers and tobacco.

So you have something to think about and check again your plate because if you’re eating tons of salad and you don’t lose any weight it might have something to do with eating the cake is better than eating veggies!

Hope you enjoy this post if you have any question please contact me on twitter @DanaGatPT.

Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2013

It's Thanksgiving in a week!!!

This time it’s “eat the PUMPKING PIE and not get fat!”

Don’t you just love fall? I know I do! The scarves, the sweaters and squash!

Best time of the year to go to the farmers’ market if you ask me…

What do I love? Squash!!!

Why?

Here are a few reasons that should convince you to eat it:

·         It’s full of fibre.

·         It’s low in calories.

·         It’s high on vitamins A and C.

·         Squash is a high source of protein (the seeds).

·         Squash is high in omega 3 (the seeds).

·         Squash improves your heart health.

·         Squash also controls blood pressure.

·         Squash helps fighting cataract.

·         Squash decreases the chance of suffering from lung cancer or from any other lung problems.

And now after you all pumped up and are ready to go to buy any kind of squash out there let’s talk about what to do with them.

Well, the possibilities are endless, so let’s explore just a few of them.

1)      When you prepare squash ALWAYS keep the seeds. As I mentioned above they are high in omega 3 (the kind of fat you WANT and NEED) and protein.

Wash the seeds, dry them and roast them on 325F.

2)       Fill the Acorn! Cut in half, take the seeds out (roast them) and fill it. You can fill it with veggies and add quinoa. Now this is when it gets tricky, for the acorn to taste better you need to put butter and brown sugar/maple syrup, so don’t have it every night but have it a few times a season because it’s soooo good!

Bake them for 30 minutes in 450F.

3)      Make soup from scratch!

Choose whichever squash you want peel them, take out the seeds (roast them) cut into cubes and put it in a pot (you can add garlic and onion). Fill water until all is covered.

Cook until the squash is soft and you can make puree out of it. You can add more water if you need. Add half a cup of your choice of milk (0.25 cup of thick coconut milk), parsley and nutmeg.

4)      Make puree pumpkin, add any sweetener of your choice (I like maple syrup)  add cocoa, oats and your choice of nuts.

Make truffles and put in the fridge.

5)      Spaghetti squash! Or, how I like to look at it, “eat spaghetti, skip the calories”. You read right: there is a way to enjoy both worlds, and squash is the way!

Cut in half, take out the seeds, DON’T PEEL! Bake in oven for 40 minutes at 375F.

Run a fork in it to separate it. Make pasta sauce and enjoy!

6)      Feel like something crispy? Take zucchini squash, cut it really thin and bake with olive oil for 20 minutes on 375F. Yum Yum!

7)      Make gluten free, dairy free, deep fried free veggie burgers just by using butternut!

What do I do? I cook the butternut until I can make puree from it and then I add lentils/legumes and any other veggies/herb. I make a mini burger and bake it for 45 minutes on 375F.

8)      The possibilities are endless but there are a few websites with more ideas! So there you go:

·         for butternut fries try : http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/article-detail/Healthy-Butternut-Squash-Fries-Recipe-Low-Calorie-Gourmet-Fries/ah/

·         for wowing pumpkin soup try: http://www.naturalhealthmag.com.au/nourish/pumpkin-pear-soup-crumbled-stilton

·         for a bowl of comfort winter food try: http://www.naturalhealthmag.com.au/nourish/pumpkin-and-chickpea-tagine

·         for pumpkin pancakes try: http://www.allysonkramer.com/2012/10/pumpkin-maple-pancakes/

·         And of course you can’t have a fall without pumpkin pie! You get 2 options of gluten free and dairy free: http://cleancuisineandmore.com/dairy-free-pumpkin-pie-recipe-gluten-free-pumpkin-pie-recipe/, and

http://glutenfreeeasily.com/best-pumpkin-pie-ever-and-its-crustless-gluten-free-and-dairy-free/

Now go and explore! Enjoy the holidays and don’t worry about the pounds because you can

EAT THE CAKE AND NOT GET FAT!

Research and writing by Dana Gat 2013 ©