Isabel De Los Rios Talks About Misconceptions With Food

Q: You clearly state that soy is NOT a health food. Does this go for everyone including those people who want to gain muscle?

A: This goes for absolutely everyone, but especially for those who want to build muscle. I would even say the effects of eating soy will contribute to the exact OPPOSITE hormonal changes in your body that you want if building muscle is your goal. This is because most soy products on the market today contain phytoestrogens. These phytoestrogens mimic the effects of estrogen in the body and have been shown to decrease the testosterone levels of rats, monkeys and other animals, including humans. It has been known for quite some time that soy lowers testosterone to the point that there is an old Japanese wives’ tale that says women punish straying husbands by feeding them a lot of tofu. Now what do you think that means?

If building muscle is your goal, definitely stay away from any protein powder or protein bar that contains soy or soy protein isolate. Make sure to read labels carefully as it is in more products than you think.

Q: When choosing a protein powder, should I really be concerned about artificial sweeteners harming my body?

A: Artificial sweeteners have been found to be one of the most toxic substances we can put inside our bodies. Besides the fact that it causes brain and metabolism dysfunction, they clog up your liver to a point where it can not fully function.

Why is your liver so important? Your liver is not only responsible for eliminating toxins from your body but it is also responsible for metabolizing fat. If it is so busy processing through artificial sweeteners (a harmful toxin), it will not spend a sufficient amount of time processing through the unwanted fat you are trying to lose.

Believe it or not, I have had clients give up Diet Coke and lose up to 10 lbs in 2 weeks!

Q: Why are artificial sweeteners so bad if they supposedly have "zero calories"?

A: Zero sugar foods are actually much worse than sugar containing foods. Artificial sweeteners (like aspartame, sucrolose, and saccharin) are poison to our bodies. Whenever the body reads an ingested food as a potential danger, your liver comes to the rescue to help ward off any danger these foreign substances may cause. People who eat and drink “diet” foods and “diet drinks all day, are overwhelming and taxing their livers. Your liver is crucial in the weight loss/fat burning process. So if your liver is taxed and not working at optimum, it becomes near impossible to lose any weight. This is why I give my readers many alternatives to sugar free foods and sugar containing foods. There are natural alternatives that are ideal replacements for any of these diet foods, without the potential harm to the liver.

Q: In your program, you talk about good dairy and bad dairy. Any tip you can provide before I buy any more dairy?

A: Dairy is one of the leading reasons most people can not lose weight or, worse yet, are constantly gaining weight. The shocking truth about dairy is that it is only healthy in its raw form. All of the pasteurized dairy in the supermarkets today are really keeping people fat and making them fatter. Besides the countless amount of research that has been done showing us how healthy raw dairy is, the proof is really in the thousands of people and children that are overweight or obese and drinking several glasses of pasteurized milk each day.

Q: Eating organic food is really expensive. Is it worth the extra cost or completely over rated? Will it really make a difference in building muscle faster and losing fat quicker?

A: The answer to this question takes us back to the function of the liver. The pesticides, antibiotics and hormones that are being added to most foods are clogging up our livers. Again, a clogged up liver can not burn fat. And worse yet, will continue to store fat. Yes, organic food may be a bit more expensive. But most of my clients notice their grocery bill is the same once they eliminate the expensive cereals and “so called” expensive diet foods they were eating before.

Q: Do you think fat burning pills are helpful in the weight loss process?

A: I think people really don’t realize the severe damage they are causing their bodies with fat burning pills. Whenever you attempt to artificially spark your metabolism with harmful pills, you are essentially creating a “lazy” metabolism. When you go off these pills, your metabolism is too lazy to do anything. Almost every person I know who has taken fat burning pills complains of gaining even more weight when they attempt to get off of them. Of course this happens. Their metabolism is now "on vacation" and not sure if it will ever come back as strong as it was before. The best way to spark your metabolism is to eat good amounts of healthy protein, fat and carbohydrates all day long. This is what your metabolism was designed to do: metabolize healthy food into energy and muscle for the body to utilize.

Q: Are there really certain foods that are toxic to our bodies? How do we know which foods to look for?

A: The amount of toxic chemicals that are now added to our foods is actually quite frightening. The same pesticides that are designed to kill bugs are all over conventional produce and these pesticides go into our bloodstream when we eat these sprayed fruits and vegetables. The 2 worst forms of chemicals are hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup. Hydrogenated oil is a toxic change in oil to make it more shelf stable, hence keeping foods like packaged cookies, cakes and most processed foods in the stores longer to make maximum profit by these companies. My program teaches people exactly which chemicals they must stay away from if they want to finally lose their excess weight (and often times, these chemicals are exactly what’s keeping them from achieving their desired goals).

Activities for Kids ~ Doll Dresses!

I remembered my childhood days when I made dresses for my dolls and wanted to make them for my daughter. It was some months ago that I thought that I should do. But Konda's vacation got over and another one has also come. Now I thought I should surely make else the vacations would go waste without me not teaching her anything.

I finally came around making them for her Barbie dolls. Since almost a week she has been asking me. Every evening when I get back home, the first thing she asks me is to make those dresses. And every time I tell her Saturday! So I thought I will be able to make only if I take off a day and when morning came, She was ready with the question.

I finally sat down making these. Gosh I really wondered how I managed to make so many all those years ago!

Konda was patiently sitting with me, watching me cutting and hand stitching these. I even gave her a piece and asked her to complete. I still have some frocks and shirt in mind.

I had another type in mind, but taking a needle after almost many years, I was struggling to get going. This took me some 3 hours of labour! I guess most experts would get this done in 10 minutes time. But well I was happy remembering all those years back when I had made similar dresses and I was happy I could make these again for my daughter.

As I thought about not letting our kids experimenting with scissors, i think if you explain and show them how one should handle, they will do fine. I have overcome the fear that she might hurt herself.

As far as activities for girls, there is nothing more interesting than playing with Dolls. Will have to see what to plan when it comes to my boys!

Infact I showed her how to get the needle going. Anyway long way to go for us to learn each other!

Gooseberry Rice ~ Usirikai Annam!

I have been wanting to post some good recipes that are healthy and recommended for people who suffer from diabetes mellitus, but never seem to come around them. So when we made this rice, I thought yes, this is the chance I was waiting for. I have even roped in my Dad to help me with the project of getting a good exposure and awareness on Diabetics and how one has to handle it. Will be out with the notes soon!

Meanwhile here's the first in the series of dishes that are suitable for people diabetic. This is a simple rice dish made with Gooseberry which is a rich source of vitamin C and mostly recommended to be consumed.

Ingredients needed:

Rice - 100 gms
Gooseberry - 1 big
Garlic - 4 pods
Green Chillies - 4
Turmeric a pinch
Oil- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

For Seasoning

Bengal Gram - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urud Dal - 1/2 tsp
Ground Nuts - Hand full
Cashew Nuts - 5 - 10
Green Chillies - 1 slit
Curry Leaves a few

Method to prepare:

Soak rice for 10 mins and pressure cook it Once its done, transfer to a bowl and let it cool. The grains should be separate.

Meanwhile take Gooseberry, chillies, garlic and run it in a mixie to get coarse paste.

Heat oil, add all seasoning items, fry till they are light brown in colour. Add the gooseberry paste and Turmeric. Add salt and cook till the raw smell goes away.

Finally add the rice to the pan and mix well. Adjust the seasonings according to your taste.

Udhi Bonda ~ Urad Dal Bondas!

It all started when we had gone to Tirumala for Darshan along with both my sils families, for the twins tonsure function. The kids had a great time with so many of them and they even didn't bother much about us being with them. They simply went off with their uncles and aunts. During one such event, Peddu went off happily with his uncle to the shop and ended up eating Bonds. When hubby dear went in search of them, he saw Peddu, happily gobbling away bondas without qualms. Since then whenever he thinks of them, he says Booonda Boonda. Last night, when I was trying to make them sleep, he suddenly remembered those tasty bondas and wanted them right away. I somehow convinced him otherwise. He finally went off to sleep.

He infact kept saying boonda for a while.

This evening when I came home, I saw Athamma being very busy. On asking her, she said Peddu has been after her to make boondas. As she couldn't make anything right away, she had soaked some Urad dal as its very healthy. Finally we made the bondas and much to Peddu's merry, the boys enjoyed the bondas. They came out very tasty and simple to make.

Ingredients Needed:

Urad dal - 1 cup ( small cup)
Ginger garlic - 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Thick Curds - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

You can use coriander leaves, curry leaves as per taste. Use your judgment for the chili spice

Method to prepare:

Soak Urad dal for 30 mins, grind along with green chilies to a smooth paste without adding water.

Then mix in the ginger garlic paste, salt, thick curds and set it aside for 5 to 10 mins. You can add coriander leaves, chopped coconut pieces as per taste. But since this is for 2 year old kids, I didn't add anything.

Heat a kadai with oil enough to fit small bondas. Scoop spoonful of batter and gently drop into the hot oil. Cook on both sides and drain to kitchen towels.

Adjust the spice as these are small kids. But the kids simply loved these and they disappeared within minutes of making them!