Amazing people those Americans! The other day in "my friendly grocery freezer" I saw fried green beans. Why would someone take perfectly wonderful diet food and ruin it? I don't get it..

Two weeks ago I was in Bahamas for a long weekend. I just had to take this photo:

Так вот, как обещала, по заявкам телезрителей, диетическая запеканка.

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Yes, right, you are going to say, after reading the topic of this blog post. Most people think that there is no such thing as a healthy cruise. When we think about cruising we think of endless buffet lines and chocoholic midnight buffets. But it’s possible! I did it! I am happy to report that not a pound was gained during my latest one week Caribbean cruise. So, this is how I did it.

1. I ate healthy (well, if you don’t count two peaces of tiramisu I had one night). Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) actually has a contract with Cooking Light magazine and to my delight they had plenty on healthy options. One of the dining options actually included a restaurant that served a complete menu from Cooking Light magazine (calories, carbs, fat grams and all actually included on the menu). Of course I could not torture my poor husband and son to eat during their entire vacation in the healthy restaurant, but… regular restaurant and a buffet also included one healthy option of an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert. So I was in my glory. Most days the food from the Cooking Light menu was excellent. I was only disappointed once during lunch on the day at sea, but I just replaced with a healthy salad from the salad bar. Amazingly enough, salad bar did not have any low fat or fat free dressings (which I would not eat anyway, G-d only knows what kind of chemicals are in there), but olive oil and vinegar was available, which is my number one choice anyway.
2. I exercised everyday. NCL has very nice gym on board (small, but had all of the necessary equipment). Additionally, NCL offers classes in a specially designated studio which is very spacious, some for an additional fee. More specifically, every morning at 7:30 AM Morning Stretch Class was offered for no extra fees, which I did not attend. Most of the days, a free Aerobics class was offered as well. I actually attended one during one of the days at sea. The instructor was good, the music was good, but the class was a little short (about 30 minutes versus the usual hour at my gym on shore). Spinning, yoga, and pilates classes were also offered for an additional fees of $10 per class or a flat fee of $70 for an unlimited number of classes. I also did not attend since my latest craze is BodyPump and Zumba. Finally, there were two running tracks on NCL Sun, a shorter one on the 13th floor and a longer one on the 6th floor. Three and a half loops on the 6th floor made it a mile long run. So every morning I ran with the ocean breeze in my face and a sight of a beautiful Caribbean island that our ship was approaching. It was just great!
3. I chose activities that burned a lot of calories. I recall reading somewhere that dancing burns about 600 calories an hour, so we danced almost every night. During one of the sea days, my son and I participated in a Scavenger Hunt contest that required running around the entire ship. We walked a lot on every island. Finally, don’t forget the swimming we did every single day.

Healthy cruising is possible, doable, and actually enjoyable.

For a while now I have been wondering which salt is better for you and why. Here is the answer according to Nathan Lyon:


"Pay close attention to the type of salt you use in the kitchen. I use Kosher salt the majority of the time when cooking, followed by sea salt, and finally fleur de sel, which I reserve only as a finishing salt on special occasions. I do use iodized salt, but only to gargle with for sore throats. I find iodized salt too salty for cooking, and the flavor somewhat metallic. Iodized salt is processed and the grain extremely small, so teaspoon of Kosher salt and a teaspoon of iodized salt are not actually the same according to volume. When I go out to eat I'll politely ask for a side of Kosher salt if I need a bit more seasoning. So if your finished meal at home is too salty, check the recipe, more than likely it calls for Kosher."

Все мои друзья называют этот салат "Испанский," т.к. это традиционный салат с исторической родины моего мужа (а точнее из Гондураса).
Салат очень сытный, т.к. свежая капуста долго будет у вас перевариваться. Лучше есть сразу пока все хрустит, потом уже не так вкусно будет.

Ингредиенты: белокочанная капуста, репчатый лук, помидоры, кинза, лимон или лайм (я предпочитаю лайм), майонез, оливковое масло.

Нашинковать капусту, нарезать мелко лук, помидоры, и кинзу. Все перемешать. Выжать лайм на салат, добавить майонез и оливковое масло (не больше ложки, т.к. там много жиру и калорий, а майонез естественно обезжиренный). Соль, перец по вкусу.

Потом расскажите понравилось или нет :)

Вот что я сегодня буду на ланч лопать. Очень вкусно, сытно и по моей диете :)

Салат нужно выкладывать слоями, но для лентяев можно все это перемешать.

1-й слой - 1 крупная луковица. Порезать тонкими колечками, лук замариновать в таком составе: 1:1:1 сахара, воды и уксуса, поставить на 1 час в холодильник. Вынуть и выложить как первый слой.
2-й слой - 1 крупное красное яблоко или морковка (я предпочитаю морковку). Потереть на крупной терке, положить слоем на лук.
3-й - слой 1 сваренных вкрутую яйца. Потереть на крупной терке, положить слоем на яблоко.
4-й - слой Грецкий орех нарезанный мелко, не очень много, т.к. там слишком много жиру.
5-й - слой тертый сыр (Ну сами понимаете что нужно купить обезжиренный сыр). Потереть на крупной терке (или купить уже натертый), положить на слой из яиц.
Сверху полить майонезом (fat free) и поставить на 1 час в холодильник.

Have you ever tried shirataki noodles? I just read about them in one of the communities and got very intrigued. I am going to go try them this weekend and post for everyone interested. Here is one more link I found to be useful.

Сил моих больше нет. Сижу себе спокойно, никого не трогаю, кушаю батончик диетический. Вдруг является одна баба и разговор происходит так:

Она: Ты что это шоколадку лопаешь?
Я: Нет, не шоколадку.
Она: А похоже на шоколадку.
Я: Да нет же, не шоколадку.
Она: Что ты думаешь, что самая стройная и красивая и уже не можешь сознаться что жрёшь шоколад? Что от того что ты правду скажешь сразу располнеешь?

Я показываю ей обертку от батончика. Дама удаляется ненавистно на меня поглядывая через плечо.

Ну чем я то виновата что она сама приняла решение жрать все подряд и быть жирной, толстой, противной коровой? Я же не бегаю к ней и не тычу ей на ту гадость какую она жрёт? Какие все же тётки есть гнусные и противные.

Something new I just found out today.

7 grams of sugar on food label = 1 tablespoon of sugar

For example, if the label on your strawberry yogurt says it has 21 grams of sugar, that's the equivalent of 3 tablespoons. And the 20-ounce frozen coffee drink you had as an afternoon snack not only had 400 calories, but also 18 teaspoons of sugar. Now that's a little hard to swallow.