What is a Rhizome, and why should I put it in my mouth?

A rhizome is the edible root of some plants. We are very familiar with one of them in the states - Ginger.  Another one that is good and easy to obtain is Turmeric.

In recent studies, more and more good things are being discovered about these roots. For instance, it's thought that turmeric can help prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's and certain kinds of cancer, such as prostate and melanoma. Ginger is very well known for helping with nausea and digestion, as well as other stomach problems.

The beauty of these spices are that they contain almost no nutritional value as a simple food, so there's not really a need to worry about using too much. Besides, you don't need that much to flavor your food anyway.  They add some interesting flavor to what you're eating, and they have those "mysterious" health benefits.

Recently, my favorite way to use turmeric is to saute ground chicken and onions, then add plenty of turmeric, a dash of salt (I use the low sodium salt) and some red pepper. Mix that all up, and then beat some eggs and toss that in there. If you want, you can even add your daily oat bran to the batch. Scramble that all up and enjoy. I like mine really hot, so I add a ton of chili powder to it.

Ginger is one of the key ingredients in some Indian curries. A great way to use it is to mince it with garlic (ginger garlic paste is used heavily in Indian cooking). Put a little oil in a pan and add the garlic ginger paste. Cook it for a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Garlic gets really bitter when it burns. Get some chicken (whatever kind you like) and fry it up with a small amount of oil. When it gets nicely sauteed, add a good helping of turmeric and mix everything up. It will seem a bit dry, probably. That's ok. Add whatever vegetables you like (eggplant is good, or broccoli. Anything, really). The moisture from the veggies will help create a kind of sauce. If there still isn't enough, add a tiny bit of water. Add other spices (coriander, star anise, etc) or just use store bought curry powder (just be careful it doesn't contain a lot of salt. Some curry powders are filled with it).  Let it cook in the sauce for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Like I said, recently I LOVE turmeric. So if anyone out there has other good recipes, I'd love to hear about them.

Mustard - King of condiments!

According to Dr. Dukan, mustard is a condiment you can easily use. He warns that you have to be careful about using too much because of the salt content, but as a flavoring, it's at the top of the list.

As I've stated in a previous post, I think the average sodium intake for an adult is around 1500mg.  A teaspoon of mustard has around 50mg of sodium. Looking at how much salt reduction we practice on the Dukan Diet, it's an extremely small amount of sodium considering how much flavor it adds to food.

Also, since there is such a large variety of mustard, you can get different tastes. Let's take look at some of the types and how they can be used.

DIJON MUSTARD (120mg sodium) 
This mustard originated in the Dijon region of France (duh). So of course it contains wine.  As you can see above, Dijon probably has the highest  sodium content  out of the mustards.   It's rich and creamy with a slight bite, so you don't really need very much to flavor food. I really like this mustard, just because it makes everything taste so French.  A popular brand is Gray Poupon, or the slightly spicier (and in my opinion) more delicious Maille.

YELLOW MUSTARD (56mg sodium)
The all-American favorite. Yellow mustard gets its bright yellow color from turmeric (as far as I know anyway).  Look in almost any fridge in the States and you'll find a bottle of it. It's not as spicy as Dijon mustard, bit still has a good tanginess.  I just recently started using this. Since it's so yellow and popular on things like hot dogs and hamburgers, I had always assumed it was full of artificial things. On the contrary, it's simply another type of mustard. Give a try if you want a slightly milder flavor. French's is probably the most famous, as well as Plochman's in the little barrel shaped bottle.

BROWN MUSTARD (50mg sodium)
I grew up eating "Spicy Brown Mustard" on things like bratwurst hotdogs and cold cut sandwiches (part of the reason I bulked up so nicely). I haven't actually had it for quite some time, but I can remember it being spicy, almost like horseradish, which I never really went for so much. However, if you want a little punch, try it out. It's quite low on the sodium scale. Gulden's is probably the most famous of this batch.

ENGLISH MUSTARD (42mg sodium)
My only memory of English mustard is the ridiculous spiciness of it. My family only ever seemed to have the powdered version, which I would try to mix with mayonnaise or simply with vinegar. It was always way too hot for my taste. But then again, that was when I was young. It's the lowest of the straight mustards. Why not give it a try. Maybe you'll find a use for it that is amazing.

WHOLE GRAIN MUSTARD (55mg sodium)
In doing research, all I could find about whole grain mustard is that it is basically the same as regular (prepared) smooth mustard, only that the seeds haven't been ground. Because the seeds aren't crushed, the flavor isn't as powerful. However, it has a really nice texture and taste. It's a little harder to spread on things like meat or vegetables, because it's clumpy little bunches of seeds, but it makes great sauce and marinades. Maille makes a nice whole grain mustard, but the king of all mustards for me is Pommery. It comes in a big clay jar and literally, I could eat spoonfuls on food, it's so good. Try it to treat yourself.

Day 42-47: Dieting during a busy period (Week in review!)

We were really busy this week, setting up for Sawa's hat show.  Lot's of running around, talking to buyers (we hope), and generally not having time to cook
We basically took a lax attitude for this week and said "Whatever will be, will be".  Read on faithful followers, to see what our week held...


MON - FRIDAY REVIEW
MONDAY
John - 100.4 (-0.2kg)           Sawa - 49.0 (-0.1Kg)
TUESDAY
John -  99.3 (-1.1kg)            Sawa - 49.0 (0.0kg)
WEDNESDAY
John -  99.9 (+0.6kg)           Sawa - 49.2 (+0.2kg)
THURSDAY
John - 100.6 (+0.7kg)          Sawa - 49.4 (+0.2kg)
FRIDAY
John - 100.4 (-0.2kg)           Sawa - 50.0 (+0.1kg)
SATURDAY
John - 100.2 (-0.2kg)           Sawa - 50.6 (+0.6kg)

We went out for lunch and dinner a couple of times.  There was a day of Subway sandwiches. Another day we went to a steak restaurant and had a delicious huge steak.  That was actually the day before I lost the 1.1Kg. After the exhibition we went to Dennys for a really late dinner, and finally, on Friday, we ate a nice lunch and said "Oh come on. Let's have some cake". We indulged away our long week.

So overall, I was down 0.2Kg from the first day, and sawa was up 0.6Kg. She'll lose it quickly though. She's a real fat burner.

5 Weeks and Breaking through a barrier!

Hello faithful readers. (Do I have any readers? Please leave a comment if I do).
Today we see the end of week 5.  And today both Sawa and I broke through a small barrier.  (Well, small for her, larger for me).

Here's our starting weight -
John - 109.6Kg  (241.62 lbs)
Sawa - 55.9Kg   (123.2 lbs)

Current Weight -
John - 99.6Kg   (219.58 lbs)
Sawa - 49.6Kg  (109.34 lbs)

It's a HUGE motivator to see that number in front change.  I'll be honest. I haven't been below 100Kg since I got married, I think, at least more than ten years. So to finally see that breakthrough feels so good.  Sawa too.  She got out of the 50's and is now in the 40's. (She Japanese, so she's pretty small).


WEEK 5 BREAKDOWN
Weight Lost - John: 1.8kg (3.96lbs) Sawa: 0.8kg (1.76lbs)

Day 35

Lost - JOHN: +0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST/LUNCH: Tofu burgers and fried eggs (John) Tofu burger, fried egg and bran muffin (Sawa).
DINNER: Bran porridge (John),  Nothing (Sawa).OTHER: No snacks today.

Exercise

Walked around town for about 40 minutes.
Notes
Gained 0.2Kg today. Sawa down 0.2kg. We seem to be on a teeter-totter of weight loss!

Day 34

Lost - JOHN: 0.4Kg   SAWA: 0.6Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Shrimp soup (John), Bran muffins (Sawa).
LUNCH: Tofu burger and brocoli (John), Shrimp soup and Kanten (Sawa).
DINNER: Soup with bran in it (John), Soup (Sawa).
OTHER:Fish cakes.

Exercise

Walked home from work.
Notes
Sawa was down a lot today. I'm surprised I'm down so much as well.  We're still trying to walk and do the baths everyday, which seems to get a lot of sweat out of us.  I guess they both help a bit.  Still not sure how much the baths are helping really, but they are relaxing.

Day 33

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: +0.8Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu burgers (John), Bran muffins (Sawa).
LUNCH: Sliced beef (John), Tofu burgers (Sawa).
DINNER: Bran porridge (John),  (Sawa).
OTHER: No snacks today.

Exercise

Walked home from work.
Notes
Down 0.2kg from yesterday. This happened last time I went out, and the next day I was up.  So I'm curious if the same thing will happen, or if my metabolism will let me coast through this one.  Not so lucky for Sawa.  Up almost 1kg.  Wow.  Of course, we're assuming it's just water.  If it's gone tomorrow, that's probably it. 

Day 32 Friday

Lost - JOHN: 0.4Kg   SAWA: 0.1Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: No breakfast.
LUNCH: Sandwiches, potato salad and scallop salad (John & Sawa).
DINNER: Hamburger patty, salad, some french fries, fried oysters (John), Hamburger patty and rice, corn soup, french fries (Sawa).... Pumpkin icecream parfait (John & Sawa).
OTHER: XX

Exercise

XX
Notes
Back down from yesterday's gain.  Today, one of Sawa's customer/friend came over and we had sandwiches for lunch.  For me and Sawa, it seems like such a spurge.  Bread, potato salad, cheese in the sandwiches.  But her friend said it was such a healthy lunch.  Funny how that lunch can look so dangerous right now. 
So then we decided why not just make a day of it and eat something nice for dinner. We went to Denny's with Sawa's grandmother and had hamburger steaks. It was really nice.  We even finished off with a small ice cream parfait.  Whoa. First time I've had something that sweet in a month. It was really good!  We'll just have to see what happens tomorrow.  But it sure was tasty.

Day 31

Lost - JOHN: +0.4Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu burgers (John), Bran Muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Chicken Breasts (John), Tofu Burgers (Sawa).
DINNER: Bran porridge (John), Kanten (Sawa).
OTHER: No snacks.

Exercise

Walked home from work (John) walked to shops (Sawa).
Notes
Up 0.4Kg? From what? I can't imagine what did that.  Sawa down again though.  She's almost at her goal.  Doing really well.

Day 30

Lost - JOHN: 0.4Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu Burgers (John), Bran Muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Chicken Stirfy with Broccoli (John), 1 1/2 Tofu burgers(Sawa).
DINNER: Bran porridge (John), Half tofu burger, hanpen with creme cheese(Sawa).
OTHER: Fish saussage

Exercise

None today.  Too tired in the morning, then it rained like crazy this evening.  Darn.
Notes
I'm getting close to a little milestone here.  Almost ten kilos.  Just a couple more to go.  Sawa has steadily been losing 0.2kg every day.  Great, eh.

Day 29 - Month 1 Review

MONTHLY SUMMARY -
Weight Lost - John: 8.2kg (18.07lbs) Sawa: 5.5kg (12.12lbs)

Wow, that's all I can say.  One month and I'm down over 8kg, Sawa 5 and a half.  When you think about it, one month isn't long at all.  I've spent more time wondering how to lose weight or trying to decide whether or not to start dieting.  The best thing we did was just start it, and stick to it.

I think this is a huge motivation, to see your results like that and realize it is working, without that much effort.  First month's advice for anyone trying out would be just to keep trying new things.  Go different ways on your walks so you don't get bored, try to make some new dishes.  And most of all, be prepared.  Don't find yourself without the proper food, because that's when temptation can set in and cause problems. 
Also, I think we stayed pretty much on the diet. One day we at the McDonalds, another day we went out for dinner at the Chinese restaurant. But it was only one meal at a time, and we always ate a bit more strictly on the next day.  Don't get discouraged with small gains.  They're mostly water, I think, and end up coming off quickly. 
Can't wait to see what next month brings!

Weekly Summary
Weight Lost - John: 1.2kg (2.64lbs) Sawa: 1.4kg (3.08lbs)

Today's breakdown:
Lost - JOHN: 0.4Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu Noodles (John), Bran Muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Tofu gyudon (John), Tofu burgers(Sawa)..
DINNER: Bran porridge (John), Kanten(Sawa).
OTHER: Grilled chicken on a stick.

Exercise

Walked home from work with Sawa.
Notes
Keep climbing!

Day 28

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Nothing (John & Sawa).
LUNCH: Stuffed Peppers and cucumber/tomato salad (John & Sawa).
DINNER: Bran with milk (John), dry bran and kanten (Sawa).
OTHER: No snacks today.

Exercise

One hour walk around town together.
Notes
Finally getting rid of that water from the McRib.  It sure was tasty though.  Today was a veggie day again, and I wanted to try something new.  In Japan, the bell peppers are notoriously small.  About the size of kiwi fruit, if you can imagine that.  The other day I found some that would be considered small in the states, but looked big enough to stuff.  Came out really nice.

Day 27

Lost - JOHN: +0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.2Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Boiled eggs (John), Dry Bran(Sawa).
LUNCH: Gyudon (John & Sawa).
DINNER: Bran and Milk (John), Jelly (Sawa).
OTHER: Crab sticks and creme puff (Sawa ate that).

Exercise

Walked home from work.
Notes
So the salt seems to have showed up today.  Up 0.2 kilos.  Sawa didn't lose anything yesterday, but today she'd down 0.2Kg.  I still find it strange the way different peoples bodies react.

Day 26

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.0Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu noodles and boiled egg (John), Bran muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Tofu burgers and crab salad (John), no lunch(Sawa).
DINNER: Bran and milk (John), Tofu burger (Sawa).
OTHER: No snacks.

Exercise

Walked home from work (John and Sawa).
Notes
Down 0.2kg from yesterday. I'm sure I'm going to gain some weight  tomorrow then. That McDonalds was of course so salty. Let's see.

Day 25 - Friday

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.3Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: No breakfast today (John & Sawa).
LUNCH: McDonalds- McRib and QuarterPounder (John) Fish sandwich and QuarterPounder (Sawa) and chicken nuggets (shared).
DINNER: Bran with milk (John), Dry bran (Sawa).
OTHER: No snacks today.

Exercise

Walked around town for about an hour (John and Sawa).

Notes
Today was a "forget the diet day".  The McRib came to McDonalds. And like Homer Simpson, I couldn't pass it up.  So we went there for a kind of late lunch. Then we went for a long walk around town. I also noticed that I think my actual stomach has shrunk, because about halfway through the meal, I was already feeling a bit full.  One great side-effect of this diet. My appetite has gone down a bit. 

Day 24

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.4Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu burgers (John), Bran muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Chicken and veggie stirfry (John & Sawa).
DINNER: Bran with milk (John), Kanten Jelly (Sawa).
OTHER: Fish sausage, kamaboko

Exercise

Walked home from work (John), 30 minutes walk (Sawa).
Notes
What a day yesterday.  At my job a student brought us a big box of donuts and sausage rolls.  Another student brought some high quality chocolates. I had one of the chocolates, which was 77% cacao, so maybe that's ok.  Heh heh. But, overall I think the willpower held out pretty well. 

What's a "Hanshin yoku"?

So recently, my wife heard that doing "Hanshin yoku" is good for a diet. What is that, you might be asking yourself?
Turns out it's just a bath that's not completely full. All you have to do is fill the bath so the water comes to about your belly button. The temperature should be between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius (100 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit).  You should try to stay in it for about 30 minutes. Just make sure you keep the top half of your body out of the water. This way you'll sweat a lot.
It's basically like a home sauna. I don't know if it really helps, but the days we do it, I usually see some kind of weight loss the next day. So why not give it a try. Get a good book, jump in the bath and relax for half an hour.

Day 23

Lost - JOHN: 0.2Kg   SAWA: 0.1Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu burgers (John), Bran muffins.(Sawa).
LUNCH: Chicken breasts (John), Tofu burgers(Sawa)..
DINNER: Bran with lowfat milk (John), Kanten (Sawa).
OTHER: Fish sausages.

Exercise

Walked home 30 minutes from work (John), walked 40 minutes (Sawa). We both took a bath.
Notes
Still losing weight.  Not much happening this day.  A usual all-meat day for me.  Sawa's still eating tofu burgers for lunch and Kanten almost everyday.  Tomorrow is a veggie day.  Big 'ol stirfry. 

Day 22

Lost - JOHN: 0.6Kg   SAWA: 0.3Kg
The menu

BREAKFAST: Vegetable omelet and cucumber salad (John), Bran muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Chicken stir-fry (John), tofu burgers and some okara(Sawa)..
DINNER: Yogurt with bran (John), Cream puff (Sawa).
OTHER: Crab sticks and fish sausages.

Exercise

Walked 30 minutes in the morning together.
Notes
Still going down.  Great great great.  Today was a veggie day for me, so I tried to eat a lot, like the cucumber salad, and the omelet had a bunch of veggies in it. Sawa had her usual, except this evening she at a cream puff.  Can't be helped. Her customer offered it to her.  You have to keep the customer happy.
Late night tonight, so I didn't have the half-bath.

Day 21 - Week 3 Review

WEEKLY SUMMARY
Weight Lost - John: 0.6kg (1.32lbs) Sawa: 0.4kg (0.88lbs)

This was a real yo-yo of a week for me. I went up and down and up and down, and finally only ended up losing about .6 kilos, which all came off on the last day. I don't know what it was, if my body was finally getting adjusted to the protein only diet, but seems it's still working. I'll take -.6Kg any day over +.6kg.  Sawa did great as well. She almost dropped a pound this week. Again, I'm really impressed with this diet. 


Today's breakdown:
Lost - JOHN: 0.6Kg   SAWA: 0.6Kg
The menu
BREAKFAST: Tofu Burgers (John), Bran Muffins(Sawa).
LUNCH: Crab salad (John), Tofu burgers(Sawa)..
DINNER: Yogurt and bran (John), Kanten(Sawa).
OTHER: Crab sticks and fish sausages.

Exercise

Walked together for 40 minutes around town. Walked home from work about 30 minutes (John).
Notes
Wow, week three finished.