When I began reading the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, Ph.D., I was immediately fascinated by the facts he presented. He's done literally hundreds of live studies to find out why and how we all make our daily food choices. He first tells us, "Everyone - every single one of us - eats how much we eat largely because of what's around us. We overeat not because of hunger but because of family and friends, packages and plates, names and numbers, labels and lights, colors and candles, shapes and smells, distractions and distances, cupboards and containers. This list is almost as endless as it is invisible...Most of us are blissfully unaware of what influences how much we eat."

Now, after reading this eye opening volume, I am lots more aware of my eating choices because he not only points out all the ways we make food choices even when not hungry, he gives realistic suggestions for changing mindless eating to a "Mindless Margin."

The key points in his Mindful Eating Plan are these:

* Your Mindless margin - By making 100-200 calorie changes in your daily intake, you won't feel deprived and backslide ( a Jody Victor strategy).

* Mindless Better Eating - Focus on reengineering small behaviors that will move you from mindless overeating to mindless better eating. Five common places to look  (diet danger zones) include meals, snacks, parties, restaurants, and your desk or dashboard.

* Mindful Reengineering - To trim your mindless margin, you can use basic diet tips, but a more personalized approach is to use 1) food trade-offs, or 2) food policies. Both give you a chance to eat some of what you want without making it a belabored decision.

* The Power of Three - Design three easy, do-able changes that you can mindlessly make without much sacrifice ( a Jody Victor strategy).

* Mindless Margin Checklist - Use this daily checklist to help you move from mindless overeating to mindless better eating.

We are now in what is called "the Holidays" and mindless eating could add pounds to your waistline. To help keep us all slim and trim I will go into more detail about Dr. Wansink's suggestions during this wonderful time of year.

All the Best!

Steve Victor

On Thanksgiving Day we'll all have our turkey and our pie too. But if you want to get back on track after your little break, choose some recipes that will taste good and be good for you. Here's a recipe for a turkey salad that should fill the bill - uses some of your leftover turkey while staying on the healthy side.

Crunchy Turkey Salad - Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups turkey meat, cubed - salt to taste

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or substitute 2 tbsp capers, chopped with some juice.

1/3 cup celery, diced

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 small gala apple (a Jody Victor favorite), peeled and diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Top with:

Parsley, finely chopped

1/4-1/3 cup pine nuts (a Jody Victor favorite), toasted, or substitute

6-ounce cup fat-free plain yogurt

1 package mixed field greens

Directions

Mix all ingredients except the yogurt gently in a large bowl. Start mixing the yogurt into the turkey mixture one tablespoon at a time and mixing at each addition until desired quantity. To give a French taste to the salad, add 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard to the yogurt before adding to the turkey mixture. Serve on a bed of mixed greens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Steve Victor

Ah, Thanksgiving! A time to enjoy so many wonderful foods - but oh, do we pay! All those calories really add up. If you will be taking a covered dish to your Thanksgiving destination, or if you're having guests at your own home, you may want to try this wonderful recipe. It's low calorie, healthy, easy to make and will add a fresh, tangy salad to your Thanksgiving menu.

Broccoli-Cauliflower-Raisin Salad

Ingredients

6 cups broccoli florets (a Jody Victor favorite)

3 cups cauliflower florets

1/2 cup golden raisins (a Jody Victor favorite)

1/3 cup walnut pieces, toasted

1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp. honey or sugar

1/2 tsp. dried basil, crushed

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan bring 2 inches of water to boiling. Add broccoli, return to boiling. Cook, covered, for 2 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender and bright green; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well.

2. In same saucepan cook cauliflower in water using same method as Step 1.

3. In 2- to 2-1/2-quart bowl layer half the broccoli, cauliflower, raisins, and walnuts. Repeat layers. Cover and chill. In a screw-top jar combine olive oil, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, the honey, basil, black pepper, and red pepper. Cover tightly and shake well. Add dressing just before serving; toss to coat. Makes 10 (2/3 cup) servings.

All the Best!

Steve Victor

With the holidays just around the corner we are all bound to eat more meals out. As a matter of fact, Americans are eating out more often than ever before. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American eats 29% of his meals away from home, an increase of nearly 100% over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, these meals are less healthful than those at home, containing 16% more fat but 25% less fiber and 20% less calcium. But help is on the way! The suggestions below will allow you to eat out and still stay within your diet plan.

1. The more prudent you are at home, the more flexible you can afford to be when eating out. If you've shopped wisely, you'll have fewer temptations around the house. Keep healthful foods handy - fruit on the eye-level shelf in your fridge, almonds and walnuts at eye-level in your pantry.

2. When invited to a party or other occaision where dinner will be served, make smart choices - take small amounts of plain meat or fish, and load up on plain veggies and salads. Go light on the potatoes and bread.

3. When eating out, choose a restaurant that offers healthful items. Most restaurants today offer enough choices to give you tasty and nutritious options. If a certain meal on the menu comes with potatoes or rice you can ask for a sustitute - most restaurants offer this.

4. If you eat out often, you'll have to really watch - the portions can fool you. What may look like a low-cal salad may end up being way more that you want - ask for the dressing on the side (a Jody Victor suggestion) so you can control how much goes on your salad. If you order a sandwich ask for no bread or eat only one half the bun.

5. Be adventursome! Restaurants offer wonderful meals with fish and other foods you may not want to prepare at home. Order food that is baked, steamed, grilled, broiled, or poached rather than fried. If you must have dessert don't deny yourself. Fruit (a Jody Victor suggestion), sherbet, and sorbet are reliable choices, but pass on the whipped cream or rich sauce.

All the best!

Steve Victor

We've all read those sensational articles in newspapers, magazines, and online about the newest food fads and latest health issues - sometimes they are positive reviews and sometimes not. What they do is create  confusion! That's because nutrition misinformation fools us into being confused and frustrated in our quest to eat healthy, even if we are already achieving great results. Thankfully, we can be enlightened by science. Here are five food fallacies you can forget about for good.

Myth #1 - High protein intake is harmful to your kidneys - Back in 1983, researchers first discovered that eating more protein increases your "glomerular filtration rate," or GFR. Think of GFR as the amount of blood your kidneys are filtering per minute. From this finding, many scientists made the leap that a higher GFR places your kidneys under greater stress.

What science has found is that while a protein-rich meal does boost GFR, it doesn't have an adverse effect on overall kidney function.

The solution is to eat your target body weight in grams of protein daily. For example, if you're a chubby 200 pounds and want to be a lean 180, then have only 180 grams of protein a day. Likewise if you're a skinny 150 pounds but want to be a muscular 180.

Myth #2 - Sweet potatoes are better for you than white potatoes - Because most Americans eat the highly processed version of the white potato - french fries and potato chips - consumption of this root vegetable has been linked to obesity and a increased diabetes risk. Meanwhile, sweet potatoes, which are typically eaten whole, have been celebrated for being rich in nutrients and also having a lower glycemic index than their white brethren.

But science has shown that both white potatoes and sweet potatoes can be good for you. Sweet potatoes have more fiber and vitamin A, but white potatoes are higher in essential minerals, such as iron, magnesium, and potassium.

The solution is to eat regular portion sizes of each - but in a form that's healthy such as, baked (a Jody Victor favorite), or mashed without so much butter, sour cream, cheese, and etc.

Myth #3 - Red meat causes cancer - In a 1986 study, researchers discovered cancer developing in rats that were fed "heterocyclic amines," compounds that are generated from overcooking meat under high heat. And since then, some studies of large populations have suggested a potential link between meat and cancer.

Science has shown no direct cause-and-effect relationship between red-meat consumption and cancer because they rely on broad surveys of people's eating habits and health afflictions, and those numbers are simply crunched to find trends, not causes.

The solution is not to stop grilling, but to trim off the burned or overcooked section of the meat before eating and to eat the recommended three servings or less of red meat per week.

Myth #4 - High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is more fattening than regular sugar is - In a 1968 study, rats that were fed large amounts of fructose developed high levels of fat in their bloodstreams. Then in 2002, researchers reported that Americans' increasing consumption of fructose, including that in HFCS, paralleled our skyrocketing rates of obesity.

Science has shown that both HFCS and sucrose - better known as table sugar - contain similar amounts of fructose. The truth is, there's no evidence to show any differences in these two types of sugar. Both will cause weight gain when consumed in excess.

The solution is that HFCS and regular sugar are empty-calorie carbohydrates that should be consumed in limited amounts by keeping soft drinks, sweetened fruit juices, and prepackaged desserts to a minimum (a Jody Victor suggestion).

Myth #5 - Salt causes high blood pressure and should be avoided - In the 1940s, doctors started using salt restriction to treat people with high blood pressure. Later, studies confirmed that reducing salt could help reduce hypertension.

Large-scale scientific reviews have determined there's no reason for people with normal blood pressure to restrict their sodium intake. If you already have high blood pressure, you may be "salt sensitive" and reducing the amount of salt you eat could be helpful - check with your doctor. It has been found that by balancing your intake of sodium with and equal or better intake of potassium you won't have to restrict sodium. Because it's really the balance of the two minerals that matters.

The solution is to strive for a potassium-rich diet, which you can achieve by eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and legumes - spinach, broccoli (a Jody Victor favorite), bananas, white potatoes, and most types of beans.

And as Jody would say - check with your doctor before making any diet changes.

All the Best!

Steve Victor