Drop 10 Diet Cookbook Giveaway
The Drop 10 Diet Cookbook offers some help for the usual New Year’s Resolution to lose weight. I’m giving away a copy of the book. To enter, just leave a comment at the end of this blog post.
“That’s all it takes: eat more delicious superfoods, lose weight. Study after study, plus our own testers and countless fans of the Drop 10 Diet have shown that loading up on these nutrition A-listers can improve the odds of weight loss success, help you eat less junk, and pass up the giant portions that pack on flab in the first place,” writes author Lucy Danziger, former editor of Self Magazine.
The book’s recipes are based on 30 whole foods that offer nutrition while boosting your metabolism and reducing hunger. This is a continuation of the Drop 10 Diet, featuring a five-week plan to whittle off 10,20, or more pounds. The author says that swapping some of these recipes into your regular meal rotation can help trigger weight loss.
Danziger’s list of “Superfoods” include almond butter, apples, artichokes, avocado, blueberries, broccoli, cherries, coffee, dark chocolate, edamame, eggs, goji berries, kale kiwifruit, lentils, mushrooms, oats, olive oil, Parmesan, peanuts, pomegranates, popcorn pumpkin seeds, quinoa, sardines, steak, sweet potatoes, whole-grain pasta, wild salmon and yogurt.
Some of Dangizer’s premises are that calcium blocks, fat storage, protein prompts calorie burning, healthy fats are more readily burned than saturated fats, and that fiber blocks some calories.
She came up with recipes that incorporate her superfoods. For instance, her Cream of Broccoli Soup with Parmesan Croutons lists broccoli, edamame, olive oil and Parmesan as superfoods. It gets its creamy texture from half-and-half, and pureeing the veggies. The edamame boosts the soup’s protein content. If you want to cut the saturated fat content further, you could substitute the half-and-half for 2% milk. But it might not taste as luxurious.
I’ll be doing a prize drawing for this book. To enter, just leave me a comment at the end of this blog. Tell us what your go-to diet food is, or a quick weight loss tip. You have until Thursday to comment, and I’ll draw a winner on Friday. I’ll notify you so you can send me your snail mail address so I can send you the book.
CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP WITH PARMESAN CROUTONS
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 head broccoli, top cut into florets, the stalk peeled and finely chopped
1/2 small white onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 white potato (about 6 ounces), peeled and diced
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 15-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup half-and-half
CROUTONS:
Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, broccoli stalk, onion and curry powder. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften. Add the potato, edamame and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, until the potato is soft. Add the broccoli florets and half-and-half and simmer 10 minutes, until the florets are soft. Blend in the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Serve immediately with croutons.
Parmesan Croutons: heat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan and bread crumbs. Place 8 heaping teaspoons of the Parmesan mixture onto the baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake 2-3 minutes, until the edges brown. Remove the croutons from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Makes four servings.
Nutritional information per serving with 2 croutons: 368 calories, 20 grams protein, 15 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 42 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 783 mg sodium.