Menu Planning

Cauliflower is the low carber's best friend. (Well, after meat and eggs.) Why? Because it stands in for so many other things, and does the job so well. Most low carbers know about fauxtatoes - pureed cauliflower served in place of mashed potatoes. But that's only the beginning of cauliflower's many charms.

Amber Allen-Sauer share's her menu for a friendly Belly Fat Cure Brunch: I decided to make a low-sugar Belly Fat Cure-approved brunch for them.

Vitamin B6 is essential to many body processes. Vitamin B6 deficiency was first discovered to cause skin problems, including eczema and seborrheic dermatitis. It can also affect your Low-Carb diet.

Holidays bring a myriad of emotions. The joy of spending time with family and friends can be the highlight of the season. The flip side of this coin is that family gatherings tend to center around food, and the inevitable pressure to eat everything your Aunt Trudy made. After all, she made that sugary carb-loaded favorite just for you! Will it really hurt to have just one serving and save her fragile feelings?

Call it stuffing, or call it dressing, it's just not a holiday turkey without it! For me, stuffing is an essential part of holiday dinners. Indeed, I used to have what I like to call an "indulgence" (a term I prefer to "cheat") on holidays largely so I could have stuffing! Since then, however, I've learned to cut back on the carb count of my turkey stuffing. Here are some ideas:

We have all heard and/or made self-defeating statements regarding our low carb plans, but the enticement to stray is far more insidious during the holiday season. Watch out for these statements of sabotage which can wreak havoc on your low carb plan.

I really wish Jorge would come out with a children's Belly Fat Cure. Childhood obesity is a national epidemic, and sometimes parents just don't know the right choices to make. Until he does, here is my take on it.

Autumn is leaf season, deer season, Halloween season, and - Brussels sprouts season! However, Brussels sprouts are one of those vegetables that are often invoked as evidence that vegetables in general are loathsome, nowhere near as tasty as some other categories of foods. I, too, once disliked Brussels sprouts, yet I have come not only to like them, but to love them, and so has my formerly Brussels-sprout-phobic husband.

Let's talk a little about vitamin A. Vitamin A is important stuff, but it's a bit complex. Vitamin A is essential for your health, but because it's a fat soluble vitamin and can be stored in your body, it's possible to get too much. It also comes in a couple of forms, both with their virtues and their drawbacks.

Jorge Cruise's latest book is a companion guide to the Belly Fat Cure. The book is small, 5x7 inches and slim. It's the perfect size to keep in your bag for shopping and dining out. This book was really necessary, since most nutritional value books don't list the sugar content, a sure sign that most people are not concerned with their sugar intake.

Writing a column on convenience foods goes against the grain for me - I'm always nagging people to just cook something, will you, for crying out loud?! A little simple, plain cooking is your best defense against bad food, not to mention a sky-high food budget. But I am aware that many people rarely eat anything that takes more preparation than three minutes in the microwave. Even folks who do cook occasionally have days when they just want something fast.