14-Day Pritikin Weight-Loss Plan Day 4

All Your Meals for Day Four

Breakfast
1 cup fresh fruit
1 cup nonfat plain or nonfat, no-sugar-added yogurt
Hash browns. In a nonstick skillet misted with a little cooking oil spray, stir fry until brown diced baked potatoes with sliced onions, sliced green bell pepper, freshly ground black pepper, and paprika.
1 cup tea or coffee with 1 tablespoon nonfat milk or soymilk and 1 packet of sugar substitute.

Mid-morning Snack
12 baked tortilla chips
½ cup of black bean salsa. Combine ¼ cup of canned black beans (no-salt-added variety) with ¼ cup salsa, ideally a no-salt-added variety.

Lunch
A large salad of mixed baby salad greens with assorted fresh veggies such as sliced radishes, cherry tomatoes, and sliced jicama, topped with a few slices of avocado and 2 to 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
1 to 1½ cups of whole-wheat penne with tomato and mushroom sauce. For convenience, start with bottled, ready-made, low-sodium marinara sauces (good brand choices are Enrico’s, Roselli’s, and Walnut Acres), and add your own stir-fried mushrooms. Or start from scratch. It’s easy! Simply combine no-salt-added tomato sauce, chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped garlic, and assorted sliced mushrooms. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Finish by adding freshly chopped basil leaves. 
Bowl of strawberries

Mid-afternoon Snack
½ cup low-fat cottage cheese with ½ cup to 1 cup fresh diced fruit, or use pop-top canned fruits packed in juice or water, no sugar added. Good brands include Del Monte and Dole.

Dinner
2 cups baby spinach salad with 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
1 cup of Black Lentil Soup (Thaw 1 cup of the Black Lentil Soup you made on Day 1 and have stored in your freezer).
Zesty Grilled Chicken Breast (see recipe below).

Sweet potato “fries”. Look in the refrigerated sections of markets for bags of fresh sweet potatoes that are prewashed and cut in the shape of French fries (one good brand is Mann Packing Company). Toss about 1 cup per person on a nonstick cooking sheet, sprinkle with a little garlic powder and black pepper, and bake, turning once.

Grilled pineapple slices. While you have the grill fired up, throw on a slice of fresh pineapple right alongside each chicken breast. Blacken up the pineapple a bit, and the natural sweetness comes right through. Place the pineapple right on top of your chicken.

Dessert
Very Berry Ice Cream (see recipe below)

Zesty Grilled Chicken Breast

Freeze the chicken breasts you don’t eat tonight in single-serving freezer bags for future lunches and dinners.

Serves 8

Eight 4-ounce portions of chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon orange zest

Marinate chicken in combined remaining ingredients for 1 hour. Grill to order.

Nutrition Information (per serving): 148 calories, 2g fat, less than 1g saturated fat, 66mg cholesterol, 27g protein, 1g fiber, 77mg sodium

Very Berry Ice Cream

8 servings
Freeze what you don’t eat tonight in individual servings for future desserts.

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
2 bananas
¼ to ½ cup soymilk
¼ cup frozen apple juice concentrate

Four to six hours prior to dinner, peel and slice bananas. Seal in plastic bag and freeze.

Just before serving, put frozen berries and bananas in a food processor. Pulse fruit and add soymilk to desired creamy consistency. Add apple juice concentrate. Blend.

Nutrition Information (per ½-cup serving): 75 calories, less than ½ g fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 2g protein, 2g fiber, 15mg 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.