Body for life by Bill Philips

"Body for life"  by Bill Philips

This book came to my attention in the year 2001 when I was sitting in Borders in Chicago drinking coffee loaded with sugar and cake on the side while looking through the book. The first thing that struck me on this book that I have not come across in other nutrition and fitness publications was the amount of space dedicated to the images and stories of people who transformed their health and bodies by the eating and exercise plans described here, which were really inspirational and pulled me right into the book.  While this program is designed for 12 weeks (used by some brave ones to compete for a prize based on amount of progress and physical transformation), in reality it is meant to encourage a life time commitment to yourself and your well-being.
The basis of the exercise plan is only 20 min of aerobic first thing in the morning for 3 days and weight training 3 times per week. The instructions for the exercises are very clear and mostly could be done with variety of dumbbells in the comfort of your own home especially for beginners and ladies who would not need to work with heavy weights in the beginning. The eating plan is very simple and clearly described with "all you want to eat Sundays". Over the years I have read many books on fitness and nutrition but the "Body for Life"  stands the test of time with its common sense approach, clarity in the description on plans and instructions and the sheer motivational power it conveys through the true stories of people that actually executed the program with great results.
My only issue with Body for Life at the time was the outright advertisement of the nutritional supplement products by the author's company - At another time I would like to review various supplements including the products advertised in this book - so stay tuned!

O.S.

Top ten tips for getting a healthier lifestyle

Step 1:Eat 6 small meals a day. Its a classic for a reason. When you are hungry you will reach for the wrong things to eat.

Step 2:Drink Plenty of water. There really is no substitute to it.
Step 3:Stock the cupboards and fridge with healthy foods like fruits, veggies, nuts and dried fruits. You will find yourself reaching for the right things if they are easily available.
Step 4:Drink green tea. It has so many benifits. Its high in anti oxidants, its supposed to be slimming , really benifits are endless.
Step 5:Exercise. Really guys drag yourself to the gym. You will feel so much better for it. I know its hard but its so worth it.
Step 6:Do not cut anything from your diet completely. You will end up craving it too much. Everything in moderation. That's the key.
Step 7:Be informed. Read about health and fitness. I don't mean get obsessed but try to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Step 8:Try to cook as often as you can.Choose good ingredients. Always read the label on the packet. It contains most of the required information.
Step 9:Give yourself a reasonable deadline. And review your progress regularly.
Step 10:Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night.

Very Healthy Lemony Cheesecake

Ingredients:
For the base:
Butter 25gm
Xylitol or similar sweetner 15gm
Chopped almonds 50gm
Chopped hazelnuts 25gm
Sunflower seed 25 gm
Pumbkin seed 25 gm
Nairn's rough organic oatcakes 25gm(ground in a blender)
Ginger 2tsp(Grated)

For the filling:
Eggs 4 medium sized
7 tbsp xylitol or similar sweetner
Low fat cream cheese 275gms
Natural yogurt 125gms
Zest of 5 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp
Cornflour 4 tbsp

Pre-heat the oven to 150c and line a medium sized cake tin with baking parchment. Heat a pan and add the butter very gently to it taking care not to make it bubble. Add the sweetener. Keep the heat low and stir gently to make sure that it does not bubble. Once they are mixed  remove from heat and add other ingredients for the base and blend them together to form a rough mixture.Press the mixture firmly into the cake tin to form the base of the cheesecake. Bake this in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 170 c.Blend all the ingredients for the filling together till smooth.Pour this filling into the cake tin over the base. Bake this in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set. Allow it to cool and then cut and serve yourself ;-)

Microbiotic lentil soup

Ingredients:
Green lentils 1 cup
Celery stalks 2 diced
Carrot 1 medium diced
2 Bay leaves
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms
3 small spring onions diced
Juice of 1 lemon
4 lemon slices to garnish

Soak lentils overnight. Boil the lentils in a covered pot till they are about halfway through(30 minutes). Add the celery ,carrot and bay leaves.Add salt and boil till everything is soft.Heat the oil in a pan.Add cumin and turmeric.Then add mushrooms and spring onions and saute for about a minute.After the mushrooms are soft add the mixture in the pan to the soup and boil for 2 minutes. Add the juice of a lemon to the soup.

Garnish with slices of lemon/lime.

This soup is extremely high in anti-oxidants.
The more you eat this soup, the more you will love it.

Mean Meatballs

Ingredients:

Lean minced Lamb meat 250gms
Cornflour 1 tbsp
Red Pepper 1 big
Single cream 2 tbsp
Tomato paste 150 gms
Ginger 1 tbsp(grated)
Garlic 2 cloves(crushed)
Red onion 1 sliced thinly
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Cardamom pods 6(crushed)
Coriander/parsley to garnish(Chopped)

Grill the pepper at 175c for about 30 minutes till the skin falls off. Remove the skin and seeds from the pepper and mix with the meat. Add the cornflour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make sure that you Can make the meatballs easily. If not keep adding a little more cornflour till the paste is consistent enough. Each meatball should be about the size of a strawberry.

Grill the meatballs in a pre heated oven for about half an hour at 175 c. Once they are done, remove from oven and keep on a cooling rack. Heat a medium sized pan on stove. Add the olive oil and the onions. Once the onions become translucent, add the ginger and the garlic. Add the tomato paste after a minute. After the tomato is cooked for about 2 minutes, add the meatballs. Do not cook the meatballs for more than a minute on heat. We don't want them to become hard. Add the cream and stir gently. Add the crushed cardamom and remove from heat. Garnish by adding the chopped coriander.

These meatballs go very well with Lemon Rice. Check out the recipe for Lemon Rice on this blog.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:
Basmati rice 150 gms

Curry leaves 20 individual leaves
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Peanuts 3 tbsp
Juice of 1 lime (You can use lemon instead of lime in a pinch)
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp

Boil 1 litre of water in a deep pan.Once the water starts boiling add the rice and remove the lid from the pan. Cook the rice for about 7 minutes. The idea is to almost cook the rice but not quite. Once the rice is done, drain and cool.

Meanwhile heat a pan and add the oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. While the mustard seeds pop be careful not to get too close to the pan as they tend to jump up when the pop.Add the curry leaves and peanuts. Add the turmeric powder and cook for about 2 minutes.And that's it.

Add the contents of the pan to the rice.Add salt to taste. Finish by adding the lemon juice.

This dish goes very well with the Mean meatballs (look for the recipe on this blog).

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