Pomegranate Salad

This is a good time for you to branch out and try foods you haven't had before. Before I started on this low glycemic eating plan I had never heard of grains like spelt and kamut but now these are part of my diet. Dark chocolate with a minimum of 70% cocoa and natural peanut butter are also part of my plan. Once you lose your weight then you can eat whatever you want with moderation and still stay on track.
It does matter what you eat. There's a lot of diet confusion out there, so forget everything you've ever heard about diets. Don't kid yourself that what you eat isn't important because it is. The food choices you make every day help determine whether you are healthy or sick and how long you'll live.
This is what it takes to be a winner in the weight loss stakes: The National Weight Control Registry keeps records of people who have lost a minimum of 30 pounds and have kept it off for more than 5 years. Many of them have common stories of how they did it that will help you. Many of the winning dieters failed a number of times before finding a diet that worked for them. Be sure to find an eating plan that you can live with because this is going to be a lifestyle change. Eat a healthy breakfast every monring. Move more, sit less. All the winners in the Weight Control Registry exercised a lot. Calories and portion size count. Leave off the junk food and spend your calories wisely by eating nutrition dense foods. Fill up on fruits and vegetables. Eat the right foods, lower your calories, exercise more and you can be a winner too.
How to roll with the punches and stay with your plan: You have to live in the real world filled with food temptations and stress. You need to know how to cope with your new eating and exercise plan when life throws you a curve. Your child could be sick, you might have a big project due at work in two days, and family emergencies happen. Does this mean you should throw in the towel and dig into a piece of hot fudge cake just because right now you don't have time to exercise regularly or eat the way you should? If you can work in a 15 minute walk three times a week it will make you feel better. The main thing is to go right back to your healthy eating and exercising as soon as the crisis is over.
Eating right isn't enough; you have to exercise to get and stay healthy. You don't necessarily need to join an expensive gym to exercise. You can buy an exercise book, some good walking shoes and some dumbells and exercise at home and in your neighborhood. The point is to make exercise a priority in your life. Schedule 30 minute exercise sessions three to four days a week to start. Plan for exercise in your day; don't wait until you've finished everything else. I used to exercise to burn calories and to lose weight. Now I exercise to relieve stress, boost energy, improve flexibility and strengthen my bones and heart. My concern now is improving balance, muscle tone, endurance and being able to do more work and maintaining my independence as I get older.

The following recipe is from my upcoming cookbook Eating Your Way to Healthy Living.

Pomegranate Salad
Very seasonal and festive this salad makes the most of the luscious red pomegranates that are available in the fall. I used red pears which added more color but you can use any variety of ripe pear.

• 1 bunch curly green lettuce
• 1 bag mixed green and red butter lettuce
• 2 ripe pears, halved, cored and cut into wedges. Leave the skin on.
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese
• 1/3 cup pecans, broken into large pieces and toasted
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds from 1 pomegranate
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Please follow these directions.

1. Slice a medium sized pomegranate in half and cut each half into quarters. Fill a mixing bowl with water and gently pull out the pomegranate seeds under the water.
2. Drain the seeds in a strainer and discard any of the white rind.
   
3. In a large salad bowl put curly lettuce and the butter lettuce that has been washed, dried and torn into peices.
   
4. Add the pears, feta cheese, pomegranate seeds, toasted pecans and chopped parsley. Sprinkle in some freshly ground black pepper.
   
5. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice and Dijon mustard. Pour the dressing the salad and mix well.
6. I did not use any added salt since the Feta cheese is salty. Also if you use all of the lettuces you may have to double the ingredients for the dressing so you will have enough.

Serves 8.