Garbage soup makes a magical bone broth

DIY with a different soup every time

The story of how bone broth came to be

On a winter’s night after a long day’s walk, a ragged beggar finds himself in a quiet farming village. He dreams of a warm fire and a hot meal. He knocks on the door of a tidy house. A pair of eyes peer out at him from behind the printed curtain. But no-one opens the door. At the next house a young woman with a crying baby tells him she has nothing to spare. He is even turned away from the Ukrainian church, where a few women are sewing together on a patchwork quilt.

Fish for omega-3s with BBQ salmon

Pee-yew!

Eat fish for omega-3s

If you hate smelling up your kitchen, don’t let that stop you from enjoying the deliciousness of  fresh or fresh-frozen fish. Just cook it on the barbecue, outside! It’s easy for every day and delicious enough for any special occasion.

Fish is full of those hard to come by but oh so important omega-3 fatty acids. They are important, first, because we can’t manufacture them in our bodies.

eGgs and veG… Breakfast many ways

Humpty on the half-shell, with hard-boiled egg and beets on toast

“What experiments are we doing, today, Vinny?’ asks Will, poking his head into my basket of vegetables.

“So many ways to cook eggs for breakfast,” says Vinny with glee. “Today, we’re going to try three of them.”

Lemon water and lemon curd magic

Lemony Snicket!

 Daily cup of warm water with lemon… a Miracle Worker?

I don’t like sour. But Dr. Mike of 17-day diet fame advises a glass of warm water spiked with the juice of half a lemon every morning…the minute we get up.

At first this sounded dire… like voodoo… a magic-potion sort of thing straight out of the pages of Lemony Snicket. But in the interests of scientific experimentation, I gave it a shot.

Talkin’ turkey with a light bean chili

Use left overs from your holiday turkey for this recipe. Ground turkey works as well.

The ingredients

Turkey gets a little attitude in this dish, with black beans and lots of chili powder, garlic, onions and peppers. The spices give your metabolism a kick. That gets you burning calories faster.

Turkey offers lots of protein coupled with just a little fat. It’s an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins. Turkey chili makes a perfect recipe for those on the 17-day diet.

Kick up your heels for buckwheat and mushroom soup

Ukrainian Christmas stars kasha, AKA Buckwheat Groats… ♪♪♭♪

Vinny’s soup recipe today features an ancient food called  buckwheat groats. If you aren’t of Ukrainian or Russian descent, buckwheat might be new to you. This slow-carb staple, though, is not a grain. It’s a flower bud. How lovely is that! Eastern Europeans traditionally boil buckwheat with water or milk to make a porridge they call kasha. But buckwheat is good any way you cook it.

Green tea for two plus tea trivia galore

Green Tea makes for strong hearts.

 

Green Tea comes with benefits

Host a green tea party for two and do your hearts a favor. A beautiful smile, fresh breath and glowing skin are some other ways green tea can improve your love life.

Even better is the boost it gives your memory, as well as your metabolic rate. All that should earn you some brownie points with your heart’s desire!

Miss Chicken wears orange for a bolder style

 

Chicken

Take heart, boys and girls. The first meal in my 17-day-diet series is not a salad. Instead, it tells the tale of how the bland and boring Miss Chicken found her style.

We wanted her a little bolder. A little edgier. We also wanted her to have the power to keep you healthy. To do all that we partnered her with the color orange!

The 17-day diet, starring Dr. Mike Morano

A doctor’s plan for rapid weight loss
Sharon talks to Vinny about her adventures with the 17-day diet

Vinny: How fast can you lose weight on this diet plan?

Sharon: Ok. Right off the bat my radar goes up. Anybody knows you can’t expect to lose weight fast… and keep it off. But Mike says, yes you can! He promises results that last. It’s right there on the front cover.

When I crack the book open, his first words to me are, “Just give me 17 days.”

Vinny: How is this plan any different from all the other pitches out there?

Fave fotos à la 2012

A year in review, through Vinny’s favorite pictures. The pictures are a fun way to index some of  the posts you liked best. Should old acquaintance be forgot… click through and remember!