Pre-Spring-Break Diet Recipes

If you can cook for yourself you're already at an advantage in getting thin for beach season. The more you make your own food, the more control you have over what you put in your mouth. Unfortunately, there is no perfect diet that will make you thin without working your ass off exercising. But when you combine those two factors, it's your best bet at getting in shape. That, and every time I think about eating something greasy and delicious I look at a picture of a Victoria's Secret model.
Here is some of the food I've been making to help fight the winter jiggle:

Strawberry and Mint Salad:
10 Strawberries
2 Cherry Tomatoes
2 Peaches
Chopped Mint
Dash of Olive Oil
Dash of Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Chop up all the fruit (yes, the tomato too), add the mint on top and then drizzle with the olive oil and then the balsamic.
I'm not much of a lettuce eater, so this is what I like to eat in stead. It's gorgeously colorful and super tasty. This will serve 2 people at 180 calories each.

Vegetable Soup:
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
2 Large Carrots, grated
1 Leek, finely chopped (sometimes I vary with 2 celery stalks)
4 New Potatoes, grated
1 can of Flageolet Beans, drained
1 Organic Vegetable Stock Cube, mixed with 4 1/4 cups of boiled water.
Salt/Pepper to season
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a pot and sauté the onions over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Add the grated potatoes and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the leek and heat everything until the vegetables are tender (about 3 minutes). Pour in the vegetable stock and keep on the heat until it boils, then take off the heat and slowly puree in a food processor or blender. Once it's all blended to a consistency you like, pour everything back into the pot and turn the burner on low heat. You can add in Chili flakes if like it spicy (they increase your metabolism too) and extra salt/pepper to taste.
Once it's boiling again, add in the can of Flageolet Beans and cook for a further 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.
This recipie will give you around 4 to 6 servings, so its a good one to keep in your fridge when you're trying to lose weight.

Seasoned Wild Rice With Tomato & Avocado
1 cup wild or brown rice
15 cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
1 avocado (cut up in bite sized pieces)
A few sprigs of cilantro (chopped finely)
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Cook the wild or brown rice as directed on the package it came in. Once it's ready, mix all the ingredients together, taking care not to smash the avocado, and then add salt and pepper to taste. You can also try adding tobasco or sriacha hot sauce. I actually just tried out this recipe for the first time tonight and thought everything looked pretty all chopped up on my cutting board, so I took a picture.

These are just a couple examples of what I try to shove down my throat instead of pizza and burritos. I also like to drink green tea, go out in the cold weather, and substitute soda and juice with water to boost my metabolism. Also, I've never been a munchies person but if you are, learn to fight off that urge when you smoke pot. It's easy once you've mastered it. Please know that I would never encourage crash-dieting and that it's a bad idea. While an appropriate amount of restriction is effective, you still must eat in order to maintain a healthy metabolism. I don't want to get angry emails so please do as I say. ALRIGHTY?