Say Cheese!
While developing Plan Z, I never really thought much about what I now call the Crunch Factor. I was never the kid in our family…
Porterhouse Primer
As one of 7 children, I didn’t eat a lot of steak as a child. There were just too many mouths to feed and we couldn’t afford it.…
Gobble Gobble
The avian flu outbreak across the country has already taken a toll. The price of eggs has jumped a minimum of 13% but in some…
The Party Report
I think you all know we had a big party here at Plan Z HQ. It was a Saturday night blow out. For those of you who could not make…
How Now Brown Cow?
“Sugar — in the form of lactose — contributes about 55 percent of skim milk’s calories, giving it ounce for ounce the same…
School Lunch
President Truman started the National School Lunch Program in 1946. A little over a decade later I was born. I went to a Catholic…
Party Time
Next week I’ll be preparing food for 80. Most people gasp at the thought and want to know how I do it. So I thought I’d lay out a…
Required Reading
So why am I asking you to read this offering in the NY Times’ Op Ed Page? It’s because I think it should be required reading for…
What Happens to the Nutritional Value of Your Food Over Time?
When I was a kid, my mother and I did all of the grocery shopping for the week on Saturday. My mother was cooking for seven kids,…
80 Grams – A Day in the Low Carb Life
There is no number set in stone that tells you how many grams of carbs you can eat per day before you begin to gain weight. It…
Rice. A Four Letter Word
For me, a portion is ¼ cup COOKED. The kasmati rice container I bought suggests a portion is ¼ cup DRY. That would make about two…
Garden Experiences
In the 30-plus years that I’ve been gardening I’ve learned a lot about what I can handle and what I can’t. For instance, I quit…
Oh, but Wait! You CAN Maintain Your Weight!
You’ve lost a nice chunk of weight. Congratulations! Trouble is most folks just gain it back – and then some. There are tasty…
Your Cheating Mouth
Staying true to your diet can be tough. If you have to cheat, here is a primer on how not to screw up so badly.
My First Super Bowl
The very first Super Bowl took place in 1967. There were no award-winning commercials, no half-time bonanza, no Super Bowl buffet…
Total Carbs Vs. Net Carbs
You're reading labels. The box shows the amount of carbs, but then it has this other mysterious number called NET carbs. So…
My Friend Biggie – A Christmas Story
Josh had a problem. He was invited to a Christmas party and he didn’t have a thing to wear. Now, you usually hear that from a…
Gluten Free
If you are do not have celiac disease and are not gluten intolerant you can get away with eating some this stuff before the…
My History with Popcorn
When I was younger I was under the impression that popcorn was a low calorie snack. I thought it was good for me. Since then I…
BREAD
If I hammer home anything today this is all I want you to know. Bread is dessert and it has to be treated like a treat. It’s…