Diet DIY

You don’t need to be a chef to whip up easy meals like veggie stir fry in minutes. In fact, there are so many simple recipes you can innovate from core concepts and make them your own with your choice of ingredients and favorite spices. Make them once or many times, for one meal or pack them to go for work lunches or fun picnic fare.

Olympic Proportions

Skating legend Michelle Kwan @michellewkwan shared her favorite Bean Salad recipe on instagram recently:

I love a bean salad … it’s an easy meal that you can have you’re on the go … I also love throwing in the random vegetable that’s alone in the fridge. And it’s perfect when you have some extra quinoa or even bow tie pasta leftover.

Michelle’s Recipe

Many ways to vary this recipe, so can use this as a gentle guide.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 16oz can black beans
• 1 16oz can chick peas
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 - 1 red onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup cooked quinoa

Instructions:

Mix ingredients into a bowl. Add italian dressing or seasoning of your choice, such as her own balsamaic vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinaigrette (optional)

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper finely ground
• 1 large garlic clove minced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 1 salad
Tags: Vegan, Vegetarian friendly

Nutrition:

calories, grams fat

Comments

3468 Likes

Visitor comment: That sounds very good and healthy! Quinoa sounds good but I think I’d also enjoy it with brown basmati rice. Thank you for sharing!

More Weight Loss Ideas

More recipe ideas from this blog.

Visit Dr Aron Medical Weight Loss Center at WeightLossNYC.com and see how her medical weight loss program can work for you.

Labels: diet tips, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Why Vegan?

Vegan diets have been shown to have a number of health benefits, including weight loss. Vegan diets are typically lower in calories and fat, and higher in fiber and nutrients than traditional diets.

A study published in the journal Obesity found that people who followed a vegan diet for 12 weeks lost significantly more weight than those who followed a standard low-fat diet. The vegan dieters also had lower body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and waist circumference.

Similarly, a study in the journal Nutrition Journal, found that people who followed a vegan diet for 18 weeks lost significantly more weight than those who followed a vegetarian diet. The vegan dieters also had lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and insulin levels.

These studies and others suggest that vegan diets can be an effective way to lose weight and improve overall health. If you are considering trying a vegan diet (or any diet) for weight loss, consult with Dr Oksana Aron to help you make sure that you are getting the nutrients you need and that your diet is safe and healthy.

Health Benefits

Some additional benefits of vegan diets for weight loss patients inclulde:

• Vegan diets are typically lower in calories and fat. This can help you create a calorie deficit, which is necessary for weight loss.
• Vegan diets are higher in fiber. Fiber can help you feel full, which can help you eat less.
• Vegan diets are typically higher in nutrients. This can help you improve your overall health, which can make weight loss easier.
• Vegan diets are more environmentally friendly. This can be a motivating factor for some people.

Nutritional Needs

If you are interested in trying a vegan diet for weight loss, it is important to make sure that you are getting enough protein, as most plant-based meals cannot provide enough protein. Protein is essential for weight loss and muscle building. You can supplement protein from a variety of natural plant-based sources, such as beans, lentils, tofu, and tempeh.

For menstruating women, make sure you have enough iron. Iron is important for carrying oxygen in the blood. You can get iron from a variety of plant-based sources, such as dark green vegetables, beans, lentils, and fortified cereals.

It is also important to include enough calcium. Calcium is important for strong bones and teeth. You can get calcium from a variety of plant-based sources, such as dark green vegetables, beans, lentils, and fortified foods.

Switching to Vegan

If you are interested in trying a vegan diet for weight loss, start slowly. Don’t try to change everything overnight. Make small changes over time, such as adding more plant-based foods to your diet. Discuss with Dr Aron — she can help you make sure that you are getting the nutrients you need and that your diet is safe and healthy.

Start or update your medical weight loss program now, view hours and schedule online at WeightLossNYC.com. With a little planning and effort, you can successfully follow a vegan diet for weight loss, or enhance your current diet plan to one more supportive of reaching your weight loss goals.

Labels: diet, diet tips, dieting, easy weight loss, protein, vegan, women

Healthy Weight Loss

Losing weight doesn’t mean starvation and suffering. Real weight loss requires that you maintain proper health and nutrition every day. Finding the proper balance of nutrition and calories is key to success. Include a medically proven diet plan as part of your way to weight loss success. -Dr Oksana Aron

What you eat is more than just calories and nutrition, it also can affect systemically many aspects of your body and health. A key component to this is keeping your digestive tract healthy and replete with healthy bacteria, or microbiome.

There are more than 40 trillion bacteria in the body, essential for everything from digesting food to protecting against infection… We need a diverse microbiome to improve our gut health and have a healthy gut … ‘One way we can encourage this microbial diversity is by consuming a varied and colourful diet, and avoiding eating the same thing every day, even if it is healthy…’

Gut-Healthy Options

1. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir, along with tempeh and miso and kombucha offer support for favorable bacteria.
2. Avocados are a popular staple and for good reason, they source 13g of fiber and healthy vegetable fats providing good balance for your diet.
3. Asparagus is a good source of vitamin K, and prebiotic fiber - also found in garlic, onions, oats and artichokes.
4. Chia and Flax seeds both very popular sources of soluble fiber, easy to include into your diet via toppings on yogurt or mixed into smoothies.
5. Oats has shown good support in many forms, with 5 grams fiber per 50 gram serving.
6. Pears host pectin which binds to cholesterol in the gastrointestinal tract and slows glucose absorption by trapping carbohydrates.
7. Lentils and other legumes including peas, chickpeas, and kidney beans are another vegetarian fiber source, with one cooked cup of lentils yielding 15 grams fiber.
8. Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries and others are rich in antioxidants and fiber, plus effortless to add to your diet either on their own or added to just about anything.
9. Ginger offers anti-inflammatory properties stimulates improved digestion.
10. Inulin, a natural source of plant fiber, is recognized by the FDA as a natural food additive to boost dietary fiber.

Best Diet for Gut Health

From the list above and more, include high fiber and plant-based foods into your diet, looking at 30g fiber per day. Balance out the above with vegetables, fruits, nuts seeds, whole grains, legumes and of course salads. Also look to lower inflammation: manage stress, and avoid processed foods, refined sugars and excess fats.

Importance of Gut Health

Digestive health is more than just calories and nutrients, your body reacts to everything you consume. Serotonin and immune responses, as well as sleep quality are found to have links to your digestive system. More obviously, weight gain and other inflammatory responses are the counter to good health. With proper high-fiber diet, you will find need to snack and binge will be greatly reduced, and your body will also be better able to focus on nutrient absorption and clearing out waste.

Medical Weight Loss

Dr Oksana Aron specializes in medically supervised weight loss programs to help patients lose weight where other methods have failed. Visit Dr Aron Medical Weight Loss Center website to learn more and schedule your initial consultation.

Labels: diet, nutrition, vegan, vegetarian