Carefree Gourmet

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Pam and I are back from our hiatus! Yes, we took a couple of months off the web, while we promoted our book, Carefree Gourmet Buffets, in person during the holidays. We had great fun meeting so many wonderful fellow foodies!

We also spent time outlining the direction of our new book. The title is TBD, but the focus will change slightly but maybe significantly. We will still be creating party menus and recipes that are fast, easy, and simple. However, based on feedback from our readers and fellow entertaining mavens “carefree” is now going to also me healthier. No, this is not a diet cookbook. It is a party book that you will find your friends and family will love because the recipes won’t clog their arteries, rocket their sugar levels up or put pounds on their hips. We promise, however, that they will be tasty!

We have outlined 12 parties for this book, yes, Pam is looking at me with raised eyebrows. We have 6 months to get this baby created, edited and to the printer. And our last book, well, it took us years to complete. But we don’t have years this time! We hope to be in the holiday issue of Sunset Magazine and want our new book in place when the publicity hits!

So our blog for the next year is going to be a little different. Each week we will focus on the food that we are testing and provide one demo/cooking video per week on one of the recipes we are testing. We would love your feedback and any contributions to our menu. In fact, if your recipe gets selected, it will be printed in our book with full acknowledgment to YOU!

Our book is going back to real food. Superfoods from the earth. We will be selecting a variety that complements the palate as well as providing balanced nutrition.

This month, our focus is on getting in shape, staying in shape, we’ve nicknamed it The Buff Party. That name will change of course, but we like catchy names during development. So what do body builders eat? They eat lots of protein, no sugar, and need lots of vitamins, minerals and enzymes to build muscle. Yes, we are going to build a fun party full of tasty recipes that your figure conscience friends will love! I have started working out… slowly. I am a work in progress and hope in a few months to be able to flex some muscle myself!

Dr. Ola Madsen Body Builder

Hopefully you tuned in with us last week when we interviewed Dr. Ola Madsen, a man who decided at age 58 to compete in body building. According to Dr. Madsen, he was like everyone else….. love handles included! Well if you look at the photo of him now, you won’t see a single handle. Only hard muscles and tight skin.

Now maybe you don’t want to compete in body building competitions…. but maybe you would like to lose the handles and keep the love. Well, Dr. Madsen has a simple diet and exercise plan. It is very simple.

First of all, you got to get moving! Walk to the corner and back, then walk around the block. Slowly increase your distance until you are walking 3-4 miles in 60 minutes. Dr. Madsen has an annual pass to Disneyland and walks around the park. Creative idea! Where in your neighborhood could you walk that is interesting, well lit (if walking at night) and meets the mileage goal? 60 minutes 5 days a week. You can do it!

His diet is also easy, here it is. Download it, stick on your refrigerator, put a copy in your purse or briefcase to take with you shopping or dining out. It is about consuming less calories that you burn. Not rocket science, but in our world of abundance, it is easy to over indulge “calorically”.

Dr. Madsen’s diet is posted on our website.

Tips:
- Avoid simple sugars (e.g. candy/chocolate), fried foods, fruit juices and excess dressing on salads.
- Drink a minimum of 96 oz of water per day in addition to other liquids (coffee, tea etc.)