Ingredients
11 ounces dried white beans (pinto, navy, Great Northern)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
8 fresh parsley stems
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
2 2/3 cups water
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, (cut into small pieces)
1 cup dry white wine (optional)
8oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ cups frozen corn (no-salt added)
½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
½ tsp hot pepper sauce
1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. black pepper
½ cup parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Put pinto beans in a microwave safe 1 ½ quart casserole.
2. Bind parsley stems, bay leaf and thyme together with a string.
3. Add bound seasonings to beans along with ½ tsp of the salt and the water.
4. Cover beans and microwave on high for 30 minutes.
5. Continue cooking on medium for one hour, stirring every thirty minutes (add water as needed).
6. In a large stockpot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil.
7. Add chicken, wine and mushrooms.
8. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
9. When beans are cooked, stir half into the pot with chicken.
10. Mash the remaining beans and add them to the pot.
11. Add corn, peppers, hot pepper sauce, oregano, salt and pepper.
12. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in chopped fresh parsley.

Serves approximately 10

Health Benefits: An excellent source of protein, chicken is low in fat and easy to digest. Beans are rich in fiber and protein and low in fat and cholesterol. The fresh herbs add flavor so you can hold the salt to a minimum to keep sodium levels low.

Did you know that having a dessert or sweet treat every once in a while actually increases your chances to lose weight successfully? Why? Because if you allow yourself this bit of luxury you can’t do without, you are much less likely to cheat on your diet and then exaggerate it. After all, if you can eat what you want, there’s no need for cheating.

The secret of enjoying desserts when you want to lose weight is to choose low calorie desserts. And fortunately, with some simple tricks you can create low calorie desserts that don’t really taste like boring low calorie food.

There are four ways of reducing calories in your dessert:

• reducing the amount of fat
• reducing the amount of sugar
• reducing the amount of other simple carbohydrates
• reducing portion sizes

Reducing fat
Most fat in your desserts comes in form of butter or dairy products like cream, milk, cream cheese and mascarpone. You can reduce fat very easily without losing much taste.

• Replace butter with a good margarine. That’s not only less fat but also healthier fat. In many cake or muffin recipes you could even use canola oil instead.
• If cream is not used beaten, you can use butter milk or coconut milk instead. They contain much less fat and also taste great.
• Use low fat milk instead of full cream milk. It works just as well and you will barely notice the difference. Plus, you cut calories coming from milk to about one third. Buttermilk can replace milk in shakes and smoothies.
• Use low fat smooth cottage cheese or ricotta in place of cream cheese or mascarpone. Your dessert will have significantly less calories and also be less heavy.
• Buy low fat ice cream. Try to find one that is not too high in sugar. Alternately, you can make your own ice cream with low fat milk and artificial sweeteners.

Reducing sugar
This is a bit more tricky but still possible. In many recipes you can simply reduce the amount of sugar. If you then feel it’s not sweet enough, you have several options:

• You can use artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Aspartame. They are very sweet (so a little will do) but contain almost no calories.
• You can also use natural sweeteners like honey, fructose or maple syrup. They contain fewer calories than sugar, and since they are much sweeter you need less. But remember that they still do contain calories. Natural sweeteners are a great option if you just want to sweeten something a little. But if you want to use a large amount, then rather don’t go this route.
• Add naturally sweet foods like fresh or dried fruit to your dessert. This will reduce your need for additional sugar and at the same time provide you with many important vitamins and fiber.

Reducing other simple carbohydrates
Of all carbohydrates, sugar is the one that causes most damage. But there are other simple carbohydrates that have a quite similar effect on our body. Refined products like white flour also contain simple carbohydrates. These are stored as fat when you eat too many of them, so you should reduce these foods as well when you want to lose weight.

The best way to do this is to swap white flour with whole grain flour. You can completely replace it or mix the two, depending on how much you need or want to reduce calories. The good thing about a whole grain muffin is that it also fills you quicker and better than one made of white flour. So you will eat less.

Reducing portion sizes
One of the best and most effective ways of reducing calories is certainly simply eating less. I’m not saying you should have tiny portions. You don’t really need five scoops of ice-cream, two would also do. Rather stick to smaller portions and enjoy them without having to worry too much about the calories.

Diet charts are maintained for people wanting to take 1200 calorie diet or 1500calories per day. But there is no need of watching calories in this diet chart. An uncomplicated means to do all this is to obtain a low calorie snack. These snacks are easy to make, less time taking and filling also. Here are some low fat snacks on the go for you and your family.

Easy Low Calorie Snack on the go

If you want to have a low fat diet, then it is advisable to include a low fat snack in your diet. It can be very time consuming to prepare a low calorie snack for people with demanding careers but you must be curious about these snacks that give you energy along with all the nutrients required by your body. It is essential to include macro-nutrients with 50% carbohydrates, 25% fat and 25% protein in your daily diet. Then what should be your diet? You must first ensure the nutritious value of your food before you opt for a diet snack. You can make a start with your favorite diet snack.

Cereal bars, oat bars and chocolate bars: You can reduce your calories by eating ready-made snack bars to be had in the market. They have only 140 calories which is a good reason for you to choose them.

Rice cakes and wheat breads: Comparing rice cakes [60 calories] in the market with whole wheat breads, they have only 40 calories. That is why; they are considered best.

Beans and peanut butter: Some beans like pinto beans include 120 calories with lots of fibers. Peanut butter is a great choice for people trying to have instant weight loss.

Whipped butter and sugar free jell-O: Two most important things in low calorie snacks are sugar free products, sugar free jell-O and whipped butter, which do not have many calories.