Here are a couple of recipes that got a thumbs up from my husband and me: Ratatouille Soup 1 small eggplant (abt. 1#), left unpeeled and cubed 2 medium zucchini, cubed salt 2 t. olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 lg. clove garlic, finely minced 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped 1 c. canned chopped tomatoes, with their juices 4 c. defatted chicken or vegetable broth 1 lg. or 2 small bay leaf 2 T. chopped fresh basil leaves 2 T. chopped fresh parsley freshly ground pepper freshly grated parmesan cheese Combine eggplant and zucchini in a large colander, sprinkle liberally with salt, toss, and allow to stand and drain for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a heavy 4 or 5 qt. saucepan over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggplant, zucchini, and red pepper and stir well to combine. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini and eggplant begin to lose their raw appearance, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Add the tomatoes, broth, and bay leaf; stir to combine, and increase the heat to high. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, partially cover the saucepan, and simmer until the vegetables are completely tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in 2 T. of the basil and parsley and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove bay leaf. Transfer the soup to a food processor or blender or use an immersion blender, and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and reheat before serving. Garnish each serving with parmesan cheese, as desired. 6 Servings 77 calories, 2.3 grams fat I think the soup would be good cold as well, like gazpacho. Turkey Scaloppine 1 lb. turkey cutlets c. chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 7.5 oz. can tomatoes, cut up 2 T. dry white wine 2 t. capers, drained 3 oz. slice mushrooms ¼ t. dried oregano, crushed 1/8 t. pepper Nonstick spray coating Place each cutlet between 2 pieces of clear plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound meat to about 1/8 inch thickness. Sprinkle meat lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside. Repeat with each cutlet. For sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook onion and garlic, covered, in 2 T. water till onion is tender but now brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, wine, capers (if desired), oregano, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Keep warm. Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray coating. Saute mushrooms 3 to 5 minutes, till slightly browned and softened. Remove mushrooms from pan and keep warm. Spray skillet again with NS coating, if needed. Cook meat, half at a time, over medium-high heat for one to two minutes per side or to desired doneness. Transfer meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Serves 4 196 calories, 22 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat To serve, spoon sauce over cutlets. Sautéed Salmon with Zucchini Noodles and Red Bell Pepper Coulis These sautéed, julienne-cut zucchini strips are a lower-calorie alternative to pasta. A coulis is a thick purée or sauce. Red Bell Pepper Coulis (recipe follows) 4 medium zucchini 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon minced shallots 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper 1 garlic clove, minced 6 (6-ounce) salmon fillets 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon butter, divided Chopped fresh parsley (optional) Freshly ground pepper (optional) Prepare Red Bell Pepper Coulis; set aside. Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips, stopping at the inside part of the zucchini containing the seeds; discard middle portions. Cut strips lengthwise into long, thin "noodles"; set aside. Combine lime juice and next 4 ingredients (lime juice through garlic) in a small bowl. Rub salmon with juice mixture. Dredge salmon in flour. Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove salmon from skillet. Set aside; keep warm. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in skillet. Add zucchini noodles; saute 4 minutes or until wilted, tossing gently. Spoon Red Bell Pepper Coulis onto 6 serving plates. Top with zucchini noodles and salmon. Garnish with chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper, if desired. 6 servings CALORIES 376 (45% from fat); FAT 18.7g (sat 4g, mono 8.7g, poly 3.6g); PROTEIN 38.9g; CARB 12.3g; FIBER 1.8g Red Bell Pepper Coulis This recipe goes with Sauteed Salmon with Zucchini Noodles and Red Bell Pepper Coulis 2 teaspoons olive oil 3 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper 2 tablespoons minced shallots 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper 2 garlic cloves, minced 3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon salt Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, shallots, jalapeño pepper, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Add broth; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Place pepper mixture in a blender, and process until smooth. Strain purée through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Stir in vinegar and salt. Yield: 1 cup (serving size: 2 1/2 tablespoons) CALORIES 40, FAT 2g (sat 0.3g, mono 1.1g, poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 1.1g; CARB 5.4g; FIBER 1.3g I use the zucchini noodle trick a lot. Good luck to all!

I started Monday and am on day 4 I have lost almost 4lbs. I am a male and started at 215lbs and I want to get down to around 195 or maybe 190. I am following the Dr. Simeons 500 calorie a day plan and am weighing food and eating when and what the plan tells me. I take the drops as instructed and follow the plan. I also got some dark chocolate covered rasberries with my kit and it says I can have 3 a day, but usually only eat 1 or 2. I was really hungry the first day and a little the second day, but now I am okay I think most of the hunger is just being used to eating anything I wanted for years lol. I do have a slight headache most of the day everyday. 2 Advil will take care of it, but it does return within 3 to 4 hours. Some of the blogs I have read say the headaches will go away and that they are carb withdrawl headaches. I did eat many, many carbs for the last few years so I am hoping what I read is true. I see people on here that have lost 10 pounds in a week and some who have lost only 5 so I guess we just chalk it up as every body is different and usually the heavier you are the more weight you will lose at least thats my belief.In closing good luck to everyone!

rosiequilts, I lost 50 pounds last year by calorie counting, which is just another way of saying "eating-loads-of-fruits-&-veggies-so-you-can-eat-the-most-food-with-the-fewest-calories". I learned to love vegetables! A pile of eggplant, onions, mushrooms & peppers with a little spaghetti sauce on just 2 oz. of pasta & 1/4 cup grated mozzarella is delicious & filling. Spaghetti squash can be substituted for the pasta (just put the spaghetti squash whole in a crock pot & it's done in 4-6 hours). For salads, I love to mix spinach, lettuce, diced raw green beans, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and use 1/3 cup dried cranberries for dressing, or sometimes green olives and a little of the olive juice in the jar. If fresh produce isn't on hand, then combining frozen veggies & cooking in the microwave is tasty: kale, lima beans & cauliflower, for example. Veggies in combination taste much better than just plain. In winter I enjoy turnip greens & squashes. Cabbage is a versatile veggie, good for filler in soups & stews, sauteed, microwaved, or sliced for low-fat cole slaw made with Splenda. For munchies, I love to microwave a tub of Brussels sprouts or cauliflower & keep it in the fridge for mindless snacking (you know, when you get those urges to eat but you're not really hungry). A little butter or oil won't hurt you and, in fact, makes the vegetables more nutritious. Your body absorbs the nutrients better when a little fat is present with the veggies. Sometimes I like to make a green sauce of chopped fresh spinach & French parsley in a little cream & parmesan cheese, heated in a sauce pot. I serve this over a big plate of broccoli & cauliflower, and it's delicious. There are so few calories in the veggies that you can afford to indulge in the cream sauce. But then, that's dinner -- no bread, no side dishes, no heavy meats. Anyway, didn't mean to hijack this thread. Just wanted to pass on some good veggie food ideas. When you walk through the cookie/cracker aisle with indifference, but your mouth starts watering when you get to the produce section, you know you've made a good change!

As with most things in life, it's not so much about what's "BETTER", but rather about the choices afforded us. We each have to weigh our options based on information or emotions and figure out what's "better". I've worked in three health food stores and managed one of them, and was a consultant in the start-up of another, as a point of reference only. Having done so, however, does NOT make me an "expert" at anything.... My experience comes from self-study and a decade of use of agave nectar that goes beyond a Google search. I've tried and tested a large number of sweeteners over the years, not just sold them. I did a serious 5-year study and test on a wide range of sweeteners. When I come across something new, I'll test it as well, and study as much information as I can find on it. I'm the only person I've known to work with dairy sweet whey as a sweetener, as an example. I've used Trutina Dulcem, a kiwi fruit glycoside, which had a bitter aftertaste similar to chemical sweeteners, and leaves baked goods dry and unappealing. As my husband and I work to prevent diabetes (which runs in his family), we have based our diet on foods on the lower half of the Glycemic Index of Foods, as well as whole foods, for many years now. Agave Nectar fits in this plan nicely because it is one of the lowest foods on the index (11) compared to white sugar (100) and it's a natural sweetener which works like sugar in cooking and baking - unlike stevia and chemical non-calorie sweeteners. The big test for most sweeteners are in baking. As an additional plus, none of my husband's diabetic family members have any blood sugar problems eating foods I make with agave nectar. Even when it's cake and ice cream! Because it tastes much sweeter, much less is needed to equal the same sweeteness of sugar. I normally use only half as much agave nectar as sugar called for in a recipe, that means for every teaspoon of sugar (16 calories) I use 1/2 a teaspoon of agave nectar (10 calories). As an example - I make a loaf of banana bread using 1/4 c. of agave nectar - less if the bananas are really ripe and sweet. Baked in a Danish Loaf Pan (which is long and narrow), I get 24 slices from one loaf, so that's not many calories per loaf from agave nectar.... Agave nectar is made from the carbohydrates present in the Agave plant through a totally natural thermic (heat) process with no chemicals used to make it. Virtually all varieties of agave nectar are organically grown, should that be of interest to anyone. The darker, unfiltered varieties contain more minerals - I've only had the thick, unfiltered, molasses-like, type once - a gallon from a brewery company - it's hard to find but is a good substitute for molasses. I do keep the filtered darker versions on hand, they add a little more flavor while the light varieties are nearly flavorless. Unlike honey, agave nectar is safe to use with young children and babies. I choose to avoid chemical sweeteners for a number of reasons, including my own negative experiences. I've known too many people who have had adverse reactions from consuming them. I try to avoid "chemcial concoctions" in our foods as much as possible. That's another choice I make. For all of you who enjoy and use chemical sweeteners, that's your choice. When used in yeast breads, agave nectar contributes to fermentation and helps keep breads moist due to it's high monosacchride content. Agave nectar has a high osmotic pressure and this characteristic helps to inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Agave nectar also has a high hygroscopicity - which increases the water retention properties of a food. This is helpful in breads and other baked goods. "...in bread making and baked goods helping these products to maintain their freshness and texture." As a secondary result of the hygroscopicity of agave nectar, I can often significantly reduce the fat in baked goods and still get great results. Agave nectar doesn't crystalize like honey, and has a long shelf-life. These are the kinds of things I've gathered from an assortment of reference materials to learn more about agave nectar, as well as years of use. To my knowledge, Stevia has never been approved as a sweetener, but as an herbal supplement. Many people have successfully used it and love it - it never passed the taste test at our home even through I did lots of testing using a variety of types. I would, however, heartly recommend the cookbook, "Stevia" (naturally sweet recipes for desserts, drinks and more!) by Rita DePuydt for anyone who is interested in using stevia. It gives information about the many forms of stevia and leans a little towards healthier ingredients and uses whole wheat flour in most of the recipes. I'm not sure if stevia plants are organically grown? I also know they add other ingredients to many of the stevia types/brands and it's a highly processed food that is far removed from the plant and the green herbal sweetener that you can make at home if you grow stevia. Some people are also combining stevia or Splenda WITH agave nectar to reduce the bitter aftertaste of the stevia and Splenda; and to get better baking results - such as browning you can't get with chemical sweeteners and stevia, and moisture in the crumb of baked goods (especially noticable the day after the foods are baked). Once again, it's about choices. As far as Sucanat is concerned, it's one of the sweeteners I keep on hand and use - especially when a liquid sweetener isn't the best choice, or it throws the baking science off too much. The "nutritional" aspect of Sucanat is mostly hype - it's still a high-glycemic sweetener and I use it very sparingly. I doubt that most people choose their sweetener for it's nutritional value, it's just a nice little plus you get with Sucanat. When it comes to candy making, I have a few original recipes that use agave nectar, but good old white sugar is the sweetener of choice when it comes to a batch of Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge at Christmas. -Grainlady