My mind changes all the time as to which dishes I like to prepare. Most of the things I cook are quick and easy - things I can throw together in twenty minutes or so if I want a good meal. And since I rarely buy packaged meals anymore, advanced planning is essential if I want to eat well. Right now, these are the meals I’ve been enjoying, plus the ingredients I need:

• Spaghetti tonno - canned tuna, preferably from Italy, capers, tomato sauce, garlic and onion]

• English muffin pizzas - whole wheat english muffins, tomato sauce, meltable cheese

• Oatmeal - old fashioned or 1 min quick oats, flax seeds, honey, cinnamon, almonds, and raisins

• Soup - making soup is a hassle. I buy the boxed soups from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods

• Omelets - My favorite combo right now includes mushrooms, garlic, capers, and oregano

With those ingredients in my pantry I know I am only 20-30 minutes away from having a nice, satisfying meal. This is also a good weight loss strategy because it prevents you from eating out when there’s nothing in the house.

Make a list of 5-10 dishes that you love to prepare and eat and then make sure the ingredients are always available. For me, my list changes about every two weeks or so. This week it’s spaghetti tonno. Next week I may prefer spaghetti puttanesca or spaghetti with asparagus. It all depends. Right now, I happen to be craving tuna.

I watch a lot of cooking shows. In fact, I learn most of my cooking technique by watching others. It started with my mom and grandmother and continues with cooking programing and the rare chance I get to observe cooks in action, like I did this weekend at Trattoria Grappolo in Santa Ynez, CA.

Anyway, I thought I’d give you a list of the cooking shows that continue to bring me joy. Most of these are on Public Television, but some are on the Food Network as well.

• Everyday Italian - Food Network

• Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello - Food Network

• Lydia’s Table - Public Television

• America’s Test Kitchen - Public Television

• Fast Food with Jacques Pepin - Public Television

There was a time when I watched the food network all the time. Now, I only watch a few select shows, and not every day. Instead, I’ve discovered the cooking shows on public television which are all unique and entertaining in their own way.

It’s no secret that I love food. I love to cook and try new things - dessert included. I believe that if you eat healthy most of the time, one small portion of dessert or any other of the not-so-healthy foods that I enjoy (like mac and cheese!) will not be a problem.

That’s why I pay attention to all the healthy eating tips I can get my hands on. And, that’s also why I don’t like diets. Dropping pounds should not be a miserable endeavor. Some of the best tips are so simple and easy to implement I hardly notice. Here are some of the ones I’ve been implementing lately:

Drink water before every meal. I find that the water curbs my appetite somewhat. Another benefit is that it brings me one step closer to reaching my water goal for the day.

Eat soup. Since beginning my weight loss journey, I eat a lot of vegetable and lentil soups. It makes a nice lunch in a bigger portion with a slice of bread. I also eat it in a small portion (very small) before a larger meal. This helps control my appetite so I don’t consume as many calories during the meal.

Think about healthy desserts. I have a bit of a sweet tooth after dinner. But I’ve learned that this doesn’t need to result in a calorie fest. Dried fruit, yogurt, and soft cheese (like camambert) seem to do the trick. And for days when I really do want chocolate, I keep 70 - 85% dark chocolate on hand. It’s more satisfying and has a ton of antioxidants.

I can do without hard liquor. I’ve also learned that I can do without hard liquor unless I really have a yen for a particular cocktail. For example, I love Irish Coffees. If I know I want one, I eat a salad for dinner and have the cocktail for dessert. Otherwise, I just drink wine with my meals.

Eat breakfast right away. If you eat breakfast right when you wake up, it revs your metabolism for the whole day. I’ve really had to work on this one. I used to wait an hour or more before having breakfast. You really should have it within thirty minutes of waking up.

Drink tea. I drink a lot of tea - mostly when I am working. There was a time when I used to eat mindlessly. Now I’ve replaced that with tea.

I’ve learned all this about myself because I kept track of what I ate for a few days and observed my habits. I think everyone should do this. That way, you can find out what areas you need to work on. For me, this is the relaxed, non stressful approach to weight loss. In fact, it’s actually kinda fun. AND - I’ve lost about three pounds so far.

So, I’ve been embarking on a journey to clean up my diet. For the past two weeks or so, I’ve been working on eating breakfast. Sounds simple, yes. But it really hasn’t been.  Oh sure, I’ve been eating breakfast - but I wait. Sometimes it’s two hours before I actually bother. In order to boost metabolism, breakfast should be eaten right after waking up.

The only rule is that breakfast should contain plenty of fiber, fruit, and a good protein source. Here are some ideas:

• Smoothie - Made with frozen berries, soy milk, protein powder, and flax seeds.
• Oatmeal - My favorite is old fashioned oatmeal with dried fruit and almonds
• Cereal - Choose something high in  fiber and low in sugar. I use soy milk but you can use skim milk. To make it a complete breakfast, add fresh berries and nuts.
• Eggs - This is an excellent breakfast. I like to serve it with a mushroom saute and whole wheat toast.

What are your favorite breakfasts?

This year, I am embarking on a journey to drop some extra pounds. I know, I am part of the typical statistic. Through the month of January, gyms will be crammed, people will be dieting, and then eventually they’ll give out.

I don’t Diet

Let me just say, I am not dieting. I am getting healthy. Yes, this is definitely a weight loss journey. But, I am not going to do it at the expense of eating. I cook, I eat. I’m Greek, afterall. But I am going to apply some of the proven “tricks” for losing weight. That’s what this series is all about.

Keep a Journal

If you would like to join me, find a journal that you can use. Don’t overwhelm yourself with it. Of course, you can do anything you want with your new healthy life journal, but in order to follow along with me, all you need to do is focus on the tip I give you.

Keep Track of Your Breakfasts

For now, I just want you to write down some ideas for healthy breakfasts. After you eat breakfast for the day, just write down what it was and how you felt. And that’s it. Each tip is designed to be your focus for a solid week. But to tell the truth, I’ve been working on this breakfast thing for a while and it still isn’t a habit, so I am not introducing a new tip until it is.

Breakfast Rules

Yes, there are rules. But it’s easy to follow.

• Eat within thirty minutes of getting out of bed.

•  Have something with protein, complex carbohydrates, and a fruit or vegetable.

• Drink water and take your vitamins.

• Have a cup of green tea with breakfast.

And that’s it. For me, I need to work on eating right when I wake up and making sure I get enough protein. For the past few days breakfast has been quick pizza with low sodium marinara, low fat cheese, and fiber rich rye bread. I also have some fruit and tea with it.

Our next tip is going to be to focus on lunch. But don’t worry about that now. I just wanted to tell you so you know what to expect.

Are you in the need of some foolproof Christmas dinner recipes? I haven’t decided if my husband and I will go out for dinner or if we will cook a nice dinner at home. We went out for Thanksgiving, and it was fun. For the past few years, we’ve been doing the entertaining. It’s a nice break to have someone else worry about the food preparation.

With that said, I love searching for winning recipes. So, I decided to hop on the ‘net and find some great options in case I do decide to cook. Here’s a roundup of my favorite finds:

From Epicurious.com - This is one of my favorite cooking websites. This includes recipes from Gourmet.com, Bonapetit.com, Cookinglight.com, and Self.com. They have a page on their site completely devoted to Christmas.

Greek Butter Cookie - Kourabiedes - This is my all time favorite Christmas cookie. This is an improvement on my family recipe. The link takes you to a recipe posted on my Greek cooking blog.

Healthier Recipes at Cooking Light - Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean it’s okay to overeat. The wonderful recipes on this site are figure friendly without sacrificing taste.

When I sit down to make Christmas dinner, there are a few essentials that need to be there such as roast turkey and apple pie. In fact, the dinner mirrors Thanksgiving in a lot of ways. I also like to serve ham - especially if I am entertaining a sizeable crowd.

But lately I’ve been wanting to do something interested, such as roast a goose. Maybe because I’ve mastered the turkey thing, and my first goose was a bit of a disaster that makes me want to try again. So if I do decide to cook dinner, I will likely shy away from the typical menu items and do something different.

I need to drop a few pounds because it will make me healthier if I do so. I’ve sort of made the effort off and on for the past few years, but it’s half-hearted. Most diets leave me feeling unsatisfied - not physically - but mentally.

You see, I love cooking. I enjoy food and trying new recipes and ingredients. When “dieting” in the traditional sense, this part of me gets lost in the process. It completely erases my pure enjoyment of food. Although most of the foods I prepare while “dieting” are tasty, I don’t like feeling confined. The idea that certain foods are off-limits doesn’t seem to fit well.

I want to eat chocolate, drink wine, and still lose weight. Why can’t I? There’s actually no reason why I shouldn’t be able to balance these things out. If you think about it, weight control should be natural. I think approaching it from the perspective of needing to “diet” is going about it all wrong.

What will I do instead? I am not going to count calories or worry about anything excpet eating a healthy diet and exercising.  If I decide to have a glass of wine or a piece of chocolate or a cocktail when I go out so be it. Life needs to be about balance. Dieting puts this out of balance. And for me, I need to cook - luckily my favorite foods tend to be healthy.

Instead of worrying about losing weight through restriction, I am going to exercise the “Everything in moderation”policy. For me, it’s the only way to be truly success in my efforts to drop a few pounds.

I’ve been cooking essentially since I was a child but I STILL have kitchen disasters. I can’t seem to avoid it. I tried to cook baby octopus for the first time. My problems were numerous.

1. They were too tough to cut with a knife so I needed to use a pair of scissors to snip them. I highly suspect the scissors are now ruined.
2. The were gross to touch. I should have worn gloves! Very slimy. It felt odd picking one up with my bare hands and snipping away.
3. I cut the pieces too big. I wanted to get it over with! But when I put the octopus in the skillet the pieces started to puff up. I thought protein based foods were supposed to shrink?
4. To try to get some of the toughness out, I squirted lemon juice all over them. Something about the lemon didn’t interact well with what I had in the pan. They smelled.

So in the end I had smelly, rubbery baby octopus. I promptly shut the pasta water off and decided to make scrambled eggs instead.

I fell asleep last night while watching a travel show about Paris, a place in Europe I’ve never been to. That evening I had just composed and served my first classic French multiple course meal. It was a wonderful experience and an excellent time to enjoy a date night without spending extra money out on the town. Here’s what I did:

• Entree Course - This is the appetizer - in the US we mistakenly call the main course the entree, but it is really the appetizer. For me, I had soup. My husband had meatballs.
• Releve - I didn’t serve this course but thought I’d share it with you. It’s the fish course, and we weren’t hungry enough for it. Whole fish is usually served accompanied with vegetable.
• Main Course - I had roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots.
• Salad - The salad gets served after the main course in a French meal, not before.
• Cheese course - I actually didn’t feel like eating cheese but I brought out a plate of strawberries garnished with mint. You can substitute yogurt for the cheese.
• Dessert - I had these wonderful dark chocolate dipped cookies from Germany that I served.
• After dinner coffee - I put hazlenut kahlua in this coffee with a little sugar and milk. Yum! If you do this, heat the alcohol in a microwave or with a creme brulee torch.

And of course, wine and bread were out at the table at all times. I served the meal with a red zinfadel. The bread was boring and last minute. Bag a bread slices of whole wheat. But I understood this to be a symbol of my hospitality -  without the bread on the table, the meal would have been missing a traditional element.

I’ve been enjoying the late summer harvest, particular the foods out of my dad’s garden. We’ve gotten a lot of rain this year so the cucumbers have been doing well. No bitterness as is the case with the cucumbers during near-drought years. The tomatoes are still tasty, but not as good as last year.

For me, that’s part of the fun of gardening, planting, and eating treats from the farm stand. What is going to be extra good this year? That’s what I ask when I shop or enjoy a home garden harvest.

My favorite way to eat garden veggies is to make a salad. Since cucumbers have been extra good, I’ve been making salads with tomato, cucumber, pepper, and garden herbs such as parsley and scallions. Add some feta cheese and Greek olives and I feel as if I’m visiting Greece all over again.

I also love making pasta sauces out of the fresh tomatoes. A good way is to take cherry tomaties and split them in half and toss them in with whole wheat penne, chopped garlic, and olive oil. A little garden parsley or basil acts as a fresh garnish. It’s quick and easy and rich with flavor because the ingredients are so fresh.

How do you enjoy your garden vegetables?