Wendy Bazilian

Dr. Wendy Bazilian returns to LIVE to give tips for staying healthy and lean in 2015. We focus on cutting calories, salt, sugar and fat, and it can be overwhelming to always think about that! But what if we started also focusing on superfoods and real ingredients we can savor, to find a diet that’s full of nutrition and really great flavor! She is a consultant and writer for the spa industry and is cofounder of Bazilian’s Health Clinic in San Diego with her husband, Dr. Jason Bazilian. Wendy is author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet. CLICK HERE for Wendy on Facebook!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Apples and Dried Cherries Recipe

Muffin Pan Meatloaf Recipe

Easy "Oven-Fried" Walnut Crusted Chicken Recipe

7 Simple Shifts to Carve 100 Calories from Dr. Wendy Bazilian

Carving 100 calories daily through easy and tasty practices can really add up! If you made one shift per day from this list or using your own strategy, you’d save 36,500 calories in a year. That’s more than 10 pounds that you might just say farewell to from your body without that much fuss!

1. To your morning coffee, add cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg (and maybe a little pure vanilla extract) instead of sugar or flavored syrups. Sprinkling the cinnamon right over the grounds before brewing makes a delicious and aromatic pot of coffee.

2. At breakfast, add fruit first to your cereal bowl. Adding the banana or blueberries first leaves more room for fruit and a little less room for over-pouring your cereal. (And look for 100% whole grain cereal or oatmeal.)

3. At lunch, “hold the croutons” and instead add crunchy veggies to your salads and say “half cheese, please” on those sandwiches.

4. At dinner, pass on the bread basket. Period. Enjoy your grains with the meal, not before it!

5. On side dishes, instead of butter, dial up the flavor by sprinkling dried herbs and spices and a adding a squeeze of lemon.

6. For decadent desserts, split with one or more people or use the 3-polite-bite rule. Or order a fruit based dessert or some fresh berries as an alternative occasionally. Three polite bites=small fork-tip bites: the first is the “wow”, the second is to savor and the third is simply a bonus that put an ‘exclamation point’ at the end of a great meal.

7. Anytime: practice portion control and leave 2-3 bites on your plate.

Top Ways to Slash Sodium in Your Home from Dr. Wendy Bazilian

In General:
• Eat more veggies and fruits and much less processed foods.
• Eat at home more often. Restaurant meals can be a disaster when it comes to salt—and only about 10% of our intake comes from what we add at the table and in cooking.

In Your Kitchen. Limbo limbo with the sodium throughout the kitchen...how low can you go!?
Go low! On the Sodium, that is--soups, veggie juices, pasta sauce, crackers, condiments--look for low sodium and no salt added varieties and you’ll save 25%-50% or more immediately.

Pantry • Rinse those canned beans!: 40-50% is removed in a few seconds of rinsing.

• Crackers: Look for “Hint of salt” varieties or mix low sodium crackers with regular.

• Pasta sauces and soups: no salt-added, low sodium or even reduced sodium varieties can slash the sodium in half without upsetting the wonderful flavor you love. And add your own herbs and spices to boost flavor if you like.

Freezer:
• Look out for those frozen meals. Read the label and keep them to 450 milligrams (600 absolute max). Hard to do? It takes a few minutes of reading the labels, but it can slashes the sodium in half—or more!

Fridge:
• Salad dressings and condiments. Read the nutrition facts label or go for olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice instead. Watch the soy sauce and even ketchup. Just be aware and you can save 25-75%!

• Vegetable and tomato juices. While it’s true, they’re rich in veggies—just go low sodium and add a squeeze of lemon and/or some fresh or dried herbs and spices of your own if you want a flavor boost.

On the Counter:

• Have a fruit bowl –and include bananas and avocados that are high in potassium. More fruits and vegetables in the diet can help decrease blood pressure. First, they are low-sodium, but more important still are the nutrients they do contain. Potassium and other essential vitamins and minerals are important in balancing and regulating blood pressure.

• Nuts:
Mix it up! Nuts and other salted foods. Love a little salt on your nuts? Buy one bag that is salted and another one unsalted and mix them. Your taste buds will be tricked into thinking there’s saltiness in EVERY bite. Savings 50%! And some stores have even started offering a 50% less salt (lightly salted) nut variety. And you can mix in dried fruits and crunchy cereals, too.

In the Cupboards:
• Use dried herbs and spices for flavor and phytonutrients (plant nutrients). Did you know that many of our herbs and spices have vitamins, minerals and plant nutrients at comparable levels of fresh fruits and veggies? And they have ZERO sodium. Oregan, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, paprika, crushed red pepper, ginger. . .they offer terrific flavor without the salt!

Finally, the Stove and Table:
• On the stove and on the table, about 11% of the sodium in our diet comes from the salt shaker at the table and adding it to our cooking – So, the # 1 way to slash sodium. Don’t ADD it! Use those herbs and spices-full of flavor and antioxidants instead. Salt savings? 100%!!!!

Save the salt to soak your feet after a long and tiring day, to salt the icy walkways during the icy winter months, or to toss a bit over your shoulder for good luck—and good health!

Wendy Bazilian

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