14-Day Pritikin Weight-Loss Plan Day 2

All Your Meals for Day Two

Breakfast
3-egg-white omelet stuffed with 1 cup of assorted grilled vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli

Bowl of blueberries (fresh or frozen and thawed) and sliced bananas

1 cup hot cocoa. Mix nonfat milk or soymilk, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, and 1 packet of sugar substitute, such as Splenda.

Mid-morning Snack
A big handful of grapes

Lunch
1 to 2 cups of homemade Cream of Crab & Mushroom Soup (see recipe below). The soup makes 8 cups. Freeze what you don’t eat today in single-serving containers for easy-to-thaw-and-heat-up soup for later in the week. Pritikin-style homemade soups are much healthier than many restaurant and canned soups because Pritikin soups are very low in sodium – about 100mg of sodium or less per 2-cup serving. By contrast, 2 cups of most canned and restaurant soups contain a blood-pressure-busting 1,200mg or more. That’s shocking considering that our Institute of Medicine, comprised of the nation’s leading experts on health and nutrition, recommend that we consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium for the entire day.

A huge salad of baby spinach and other fresh veggies, such as sliced carrots and tomatoes, topped with your favorite canned beans. (Look for no-salt-added varieties since rinsing the beans through a colander removes only 30% of the added sodium). Toss salad with about ½ teaspoon of wasabi (to taste) and 3 to 4 tablespoons of rice vinegar.

½ whole-wheat bagel smeared very lightly with a teaspoon of plant sterol-enriched margarine such as Benecol or Promise’s Activ (formerly called Take Control). Plant stanols and sterols have been found to block the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines, which can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels in the blood. Go lightly on the margarine, not more than 1 or 2 teaspoons daily, because all margarines, even heart-healthy ones, are dense with calories and can sabotage your weight-loss goals.

Mid-afternoon Snack
1 pear

1 cup of nonfat plain or no-sugar-added yogurt (good choices include Dannon Light & Fit, Stonyfield Farm, and fat-free, plain Greek-style yogurts such as Oikos and Fage)

Dinner
2 to 3 cups of mixed baby salad greens and ½ to 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved, with 1 to 1½ tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1 to 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and 1 to 2 teaspoons of canola oil.

Spinach-Stuffed Salmon with Mango Sauce (see recipe below). Eating seafood at least twice weekly is great insurance that you’re getting enough heart-healthy, essential omega-3 fatty acids.

1 cup cooked whole-wheat couscous

Dessert
1 cup fresh strawberries in 1 tablespoon Marsala wine

Cream of Crab & Mushroom Soup

Serves 8

2½ pounds button mushrooms, washed and chopped
½ pound Vidalia onions, chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh garlic
½ pound Idaho potatoes, peeled and chopped
½ pound parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable stock
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon porcini powder
1 tablespoon Wasabi powder
2 cups nonfat milk
2 cups fat-free sour cream
½ pound lump crabmeat
¼ cup snipped chives

In a large nonstick stockpot, sauté first 9 ingredients (through soy sauce) for 10 minutes.
Add vegetable stock, oregano, basil, porcini powder, and Wasabi powder, and cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Add milk and blend until smooth. Add sour cream and crabmeat. Stir and blend. Serve, garnished with chives, and, if you desire, one fresh strawberry.

Nutrition Information (per 1-cup serving): 60 calories, 0.5g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5g protein, 3g fiber, 45mg sodium

Spinach-Stuffed Salmon with Mango Sauce

Serves 4

Mango Sauce
1 mango, peeled and diced
½ cup plain nonfat yogurt
Juice of one lime

1 cup sliced oyster mushrooms
1 tablespoon sliced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
Four 4-ounce salmon fillets, butterflied (cut crosswise and spread open flat)
4 thin slices pineapple
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black peppercorns, ground

For the mango sauce: In a food processor, purée all three ingredients until smooth. Chill.
In a hot nonstick skillet, sauté the mushrooms, shallots, and garlic until garlic is light brown. Add the spinach. Cook for 1 minute, and remove from heat.
In the butter-flied salmon, layer the pineapple slices and the spinach mixture. Close salmon, and dust with the paprika and pepper. Lay skin side up in a hot skillet and cook over medium heat until bottom is cooked, about 3 minutes. Cover and lower heat. Cook for 8 more minutes. Serve with mango sauce.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 309 calories, 13g fat, 4g saturated fat, 57mg cholesterol, 30g protein, 5g fiber, 179mg sodium

The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life
You will find many more great food and healthy lifestyle tips in the new book The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life by renowned cardiologist Robert A. Vogel, M.D., and Paul Tager Lehr, director of the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Aventura, Florida. The Pritikin Edge is now available wherever books are sold, and includes:
75 recipes for flavorful and healthful dishes
A complete guide for dining out healthfully and deliciously
Quick-fix snacks and salad dressings
Sample menu plans 
Physical activities that are most effective for weight loss and heart health
Key strategies for stepping around stress and becoming a happier, more emotionally nourishing person. When it comes to heart disease, your head really is connected to your heart.