Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Drink at least eight glasses of water each day. Watch your fat intake.  Eat more lean poultry and fish and less red meat. Increase your fiber by eating wholegrain bread, pasta and cereal.

Does this advice sound familiar? It should because whatever you may choose as a weight loss program, all encourage you to change your food intake.

My father was a camera buff.  Because of it, he recorded the history of our farm. When I took over the keeping of his films, I had them put on videotapes. While watching them, there was one other fact of history that was being recorded. As the team of horses was traded for a tractor and the shovel for a hoist and auger, my dad started to gain weight -- as did the others who worked for him.  My mom, on the other hand, continued to set the food out in the same amount. After all, a well-laid table showed good manners and hospitality to those who shared a meal -- which was every noon, whether they are workers or visitors.

Now, how much more is automated for us?  And, we continue to eat the same amount.

Farmer and I got to the point that we had to do something. Buy new clothes or lose weight; those were the only two choices we had. We joined Weight Watchers, and we have learned to make choices and still eat the foods we like. It has not been easy, but farmer has lost seventy pounds.  I lost thirty. We are back into clothes we thought we could never wear again and feeling physically better.

Herbs and spices can play an important part in making foods taste good, as well as tricking our brain into thinking this food is okay. In an article from the Cosmopolitan Magazine of Dec of 98, Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell and Taste Treatment Research Foundation in Chicago, stated: “Almost 90 percent of what we consider taste is really smell.”

Savory herbs and spices such as sage, rosemary, dill, fennel, basil, thyme, oregano and cilantro are infused with intense aromas and flavors that can trick your brain into thinking you’ve eaten more than you have.

In the same article, it stated that studies show that fiery spice such as chili pepper and hot mustard seed can boost your metabolism by 25 percent up to three hours after you eat, burning up to 75 calories without your doing a thing.

With that thought in mind, how about some salsas -- not just on chips, but on baked potatoes instead of sour cream? We make a taco salad without the taco and add some fat free tortilla chips. We are satisfied at the end of this meal and do not feel we have been deprived of anything.

In the same article, it tells how spices such as cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger are essential ingredients in many sweet treats. For example, nutmeg and cinnamon are standard in apple pie and pumpkin pie.  So, adding these ingredients to certain foods while forgoing the sugar can quell cravings simply by association.

Using herbs and spices to flavor foods can be a way of increasing flavor while decreasing fat.  The rule of thumb I like to follow is to put together combinations that will suit your taste.  Here in this household, we like the flavor of chili powder, garlic and onion. I use with a light hand other herb combinations. Here is something that I did the other day and had no complaints from farmer. On spareribs as they grilled, I sprinkled salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and sage instead of using a barbecue sauce.

Something else we like is fried potatoes, sautéed onions and peppers.  Using a non-stick skillet and nonfat spray. sauté onions and peppers until tender.  Then, add grated potatoes and cook until done. They will stick, and stirring is required.

Changing your way of eating is not the easiest thing to do; but by staying with foods you like, it will help. Exercising takes determination to stick with it, but it does pay off. 

Do any of you have ways of preparing a favorite food?  If so, we would like to hear from you. Send us a recipe.