Two yummy recipes with minimal ingredients.

Food Recipes have been my hot topic of the week recently, and is one of the most favorite things I love to talk about. I really love trying new and creative ways to keep my meals fresh, delicious and interesting, and of course I enjoy passing on that information to all of you.
Today I’ve got 2 fantastic recipes for you, whose claim to fame is going to be “delicious with minimal ingredients”. The first is my all new favorite pregnancy snack (and, NO, you don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy it), and the second is a recipe I have all set to make this evening as a treat for my family.

In my search for new and creative recipes, I actually chose these two because they have very few ingredients and are super quick to put together while still being delicious (of course!).

As many of you have realized by now, I really LOVE trying new foods, and finding new ways to make meals tasty while still fitting into my healthy way of eating. I also got very much into cooking, once my son started getting older because I realize that if I want him to continue to eat healthy, it’s really up to me to make his food YUMMY. This is also true for adults who want to continue to keep a healthy way of eating…if your food tastes good, a healthy way of eating is easy to follow. If your food tastes bad, well, then you know what’s going to happen…frustration, abandonment and a possible quick trip to the closest fast food joint.

These 2 recipes came straight out of Dave Ruel’s Metabolic Cooking cookbooks. His cookbooks are really great and you’ll see below that his recipes are a great complement to our principles of healthy eating.


Without further ado, here are 2 great recipes for you to try this weekend:

Apple No-Crisp (1 of my new favorite snacks!)

INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 1 SERVING
• ¾ cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 apple, sliced or diced
• Pinch of stevia
• Pinch of cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir well and enjoy!

LEMON-HERB STUFFED SALMON
(I picked this one because it sounds delicious)

INGREDIENTS - RECIPE MAKES 2 SERVINGS
• 2 salmon fillets (4 oz each)
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Make a horizontal cut in the salmon fillets, for 2/3 of the fillet’s length.
2. Lay the salmon on a baking dish (I prefer a glass dish for fish).
3. Stuff the salmon (in the horizontal cut) with lemon slices.
Do the same with the scallion.
4. Mix together the two herbs and stuff them into the salmon as well.
5. Bake the fillets for 15 minutes.

Top 10 Foods you May Think are Healthy, but are NOT

Hi Its Isabel:
Just a few weeks ago I told you how I spent the weekend filming some great fat loss nutrition videos. Well one thing I had to do before I started filming was go to the grocery store and buy several "bad" food items and "good" food items (Actually, I already had most of the good in the fridge, so that part was easy).

I walked up and down the aisles looking for foods that claimed to be "healthy" or "good for you", but listed ingredients on the label like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil and artificial sweeteners.

Do you know what happened?

Before I knew it, I had a cart completely full. The number of products I found seemed endless. I couldn't believe all the false marketing claims all over these foods and needless to say, I ended up ridiculously angry by the end of this trip! (Don't worry. I abstained from throwing stuff around the store. I try and keep my composure in public.)

Why would I get so angry? Well it just makes me so mad to imagine all the people that have fallen for these false claims...all in an effort to eat healthy or try to lose weight. It breaks my heart actually (and no, I'm not exaggerating), probably because I used to be one of those people who thought they were doing the "right" thing but I had fallen for all of this false marketing as well.

Now it would take me pages and pages to list all the foods and ingredients I found in each of these products, but here

Isabel's "Top 10 Foods you May Think are Healthy, but are NOT" (and I'm going to hope that your favorite meal, snack or drink is not on this list):

1. Whole Wheat bread - all contain enriched flour and some contain high fructose corn syrup
2. Low Fat and/or Low Sugar Salad Dressings - canola oil, sugar (or some use artificial sweeteners instead...which is worse!)
3. Sports Drinks - high fructose corn syrup, not to mention all the nasty dyes that are used to make it all sorts of fluorescent colors
4. Dry Roasted Almonds - canola oil and some add sugar
5. Almost all Protein and Energy Bars - soy and sugar
6. Almost all High Protein and High Fiber cereals - soy and canola oil
7. Low Sugar Instant Oatmeal - sugar, soy, and artificial sweeteners
8. Diet and Weight Loss Shakes (and other diet shakes) - canola oil and sugar
9. 100 Calorie Snack Packs - enriched flour and artificial sweeteners
10. Flavored Yogurt - sugar or artificial sweeteners

Take a look in your fridge and in your pantry right now and see if any of your favorite foods contain ingredients that may just be stopping you from reaching your fat loss goals. Sometimes, seeing results or overcoming a weight loss plateau is as easy as getting rid of some of these so called "healthy" foods.

Now on to a happier topic...

I've got some great news!

I've been asked to speak at a LIVE, in person event, along with some of my favorite fitness authors and coaches. Not only is this an incredible honor, but it is a great opportunity for me to meet you and all of my other wonderful readers and subscribers. I'm so excited!

This event will be taking place in sunny Tampa, Florida January 16th - 18th, 2010.

The weekend will be jam-packed with activities, each day beginning with morning workouts instructed by premier bootcamp coaches like Craig Ballantyne and Scott Colby, followed by motivational and educational presentations in the Grand Ballroom from training, nutrition, and mindset experts like Joel Marion, Jon Benson, Vince Del Monte, Shawn Phillips, Holly Rigsby and ME...just to name a few!

And yes, there will be plenty of time to interact and socialize!

Tickets will go on sale next week and I know seats are going to be limited (all of the speakers, including myself, want to make sure we have enough time to meet all of the attendees). All you need to do right now is clear your calendar for January 16th - 18th and watch your email inbox early next week for the link to the early bird discount. I'll be sure to let you know the second these tickets become available.

Are you confused about Carbs?

By now you should be seeing some good changes happening in your body. Yes, even just after a few days! Many people report feeling energized, lighter, and less bloated just by applying the 3 "magic rules" and incorporating some more healthy fats into their meal plans.

A question I do get quite often after people have eliminated white foods such as pasta, white rice, potatoes, and bread from their eating is "Isabel, don't I need some carbs?"

The word CARBS often induces more fear in people than the words Monday morning, Taxes and Shark combined. (AAAhhhh!)

Your fears may have some merit (but no need to scream), as many carbs in our supermarkets today are really just doing us more harm than good. Most breads, pastas, cereals, cookies and crackers are overloaded with refined flour and happen to be one of the leading causes our planet's obesity rate is on the rise.

Here's the dilemma. You really do need carbs to function properly. Your brain does not function as well without carbs (hmmm...does this explain anything about some people you may know?) and you may lack energy and be unmotivated to do anything (even fun things) without them.

Where is the happy balance? How can we get enough carbs for a healthy body and prevent weight gain? Or even better, lose weight?

Do carbs make you fat and how can you incorporate them into a healthy meal plan? The answer is here:

Do Carbs make you fat video.
What carbs do you need to modify in your current eating plan to help your body shed off its unwanted weight? Start with one or two food items and replace them with the healthier carb options I mentioned in the video.

Remember, there's no need to go "low carb". Just pick the "right carbs" to see the weight drop off.

The best place to start for maximum Fat Loss

Hello Readers,

I'm going to post everyday some great and valuable nutrition information from Isabel, that you are going to be able to get started with right now. I am not holding back!
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Let me begin by telling you my "3 magic secrets" to getting many of my clients to lose their first 5-10 lbs in just 2-3 weeks. It begins with a short story about my uncle and a conversation I had with him last summer.

My family and I spent this particular Saturday afternoon at my cousin's house barbequing and having a great time. There are 2 things guaranteed at my family functions: lots of laughter and LOTS OF FOOD!

So, just as we're chowing down on steaks, chicken legs, hamburgers and hot dogs, (I swear, I was not the one eating the hot dogs) my uncle came up to me and said "Hey Isabel. Your mom says her knees don't hurt anymore like they did last year. My knees are killing me. What do you think is wrong with them?" (All the while he's still chomping down on his second hot dog and cola).

"Well Tio (I speak Spanish to all of my relatives) let me give it to you straight. (Look of fear in his eyes). This past year my mom, your sis, lost 40 lbs. That's 40 lbs less weight that her knees have to carry around. Of course they feel better. I guarantee if you lost a few lbs. yourself, your knees would stop hurting."

At this point Tio looks like he wishes he had just asked me about the weather, the upcoming election or even quantum physics, ANYTHING but be told that he needs to lose weight.

"Isabel, I'm 60 years old and I have been this fat forever. I wouldn't even know where to start."

So I gave him 3 super easy rules to follow. (These are my magic bullets for getting your metabolism in fat burning mode.)

"Tio, follow these three rules and I guarantee you, better yet, I promise you, you will lose a minimum of 10 lbs. in 14 days."

1. Don't eat anything that is white. Think about most foods that are white and chances are you shouldn't be eating it. Specifically, I'm talking about white bread, pasta, sugar, white rice, and most milk products. Healthy foods like cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish are all exceptions to this rule. Based on Tio's current eating habits, I didn't think he was all too worried about cauliflower anyway.

2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee is ok. Can you add half and half?...Well is it white?

3. Don't eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it's whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h-e-a in between, you can't eat it.

Tio agreed that he was up for the challenge. Anything to make the knee pain go away and make his niece stop lecturing.

I highly recommend you follow those same rules for the next 14 days (No, not for the rest of your life. Just for the next 14 days.) You will absolutely amaze yourself with your results. Remember, no white foods (except for the few I mentioned above), only water to drink and no wheat products.

I promise this is not how you have to eat for the long term in order to lose weight and keep it off but I do know that this is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism and see some initial weight come off a bit faster.

Don't let one more day go by without feeling and looking as great as I know you can! Don't wait until you have eaten all the food in your fridge or "used up" all the food in your pantry. It's not worth the wait! Commit to this e-course and your new incredible body right now and I promise the results will be worth it. And I will be here to guide you and support you along the way.

3 Easy Tips To Lose Fat

Losing fat does not have to be difficult, especially if you have a few tricks up your sleeve. By this I don't mean you would not want you to take a dangerous, radical approach to your fat loss, but only one that would be healthy and prove great results at the same time.
I have had many clients, friends and family members ask me, "Isabel, is there a way I can drop my first few pounds of fat quickly and easily?" Yes, there is. It will require a few dietary changes on your part, but the results are incredible. I have had hundreds of people use these tips with great success, easily losing their first 10-15lbs of unwanted fat.

Here are my 3 Simple and Easy Fat Loss Rules:
1. Don’t eat anything that is white. Name every single food that is white and chances are you shouldn’t be eating it: bread, pasta, crackers, most cereals, flour based products, white potatoes, white rice, and pasteurized dairy and cheese are all no-no's during this time. (Healthy foods like broccoli, cauliflower, chicken, turkey, fish, white pork are all exceptions to this rule).

2. Only drink water, NOTHING else! How about coffee? Just to keep any possible withdrawal headaches at bay, one small cup of organic black coffee. Can you add half and half?…Well is it white? Drink a minimum of 1/2 of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (ex. If you weigh 200 lbs, you need to drink 100 ounces) to really see the fat fall off.

3. Don’t eat anything with the word wheat in the ingredients list. What if it’s whole wheat? Look, if the word starts with W and ends in T and has the letters h e a in between, you can’t eat it. This includes bread, pasta, crackers and cereal. Many packaged snack foods also contain wheat so be sure to read the ingredients list carefully, check out wheat free diets.
Are you up for this challenge? Apply these easy fat loss rules to your own eating plan for the next 2 weeks and I know you will be seeing some amazing fat loss results in no time.