Happy New Year!

We are finally at the end of the year! I say finally because I am assuming that you have been waiting for this final weekend of 2011 to put aside all of your bad, unwanted habits and start anew, right? You might already know how I feel about this time of year. Not to say that I don't look forward to it, but I know that this 24-hour span of time is not enough to allow me to start or finish what I didn't do all year. Nor will it miraculously transform me into the strong-willed chicky that I am betting on becoming in the New Year! At the risk of creating envy among the masses, I know there are a few of you out there who will make a resolution and stick to it for the rest of your life based on the passing of one evening and the dropping of one ball, and yippie for you! Alas, the rest of us are again waiting for the final minutes before midnight to transform us into Cinderella on her way to meet Prince Charming at the ball. Oh wait! Strike that, and reverse it!

Cinderella turned into her old raggedy self after midnight, and all she had was her pumpkin and a few field mice to take her home. Silly girl! She should have just carved up that pumpkin and made some nice soup!

Seriously, at midnight on December 31st we will not be transformed for better or worse. Dreams do come true, but you are the one who must wave that magic wand. If I could do it for you, I would line up the lot of you, wave the wand and grant that all your weight loss dreams be realized! Ah, if only... But there is good news! You see, the only one who can transform your state of mind and body is you! You have only to convince yourself that you can do it!

Therefore, whatever your story is at the end of 2011, be you where you hoped to be or not, understand that the story never really ends. It truly is the journey that is important. I do wish you would reflect on this past year, focusing on the good: your strengths, your proud moments and achievements. Please lay aside the sorrows and supposed failures and self-recriminations. Move forward this year with the intention of enjoying your days, your meals, yourselves. What a concept, eh? Abandon your habits of beating yourself up and putting yourself down. Life is really too good for that, too rich for that, and you are too amazing to continue doing that. Besides, it really does get old, doesn't it?

I usually abstain from making New Year's Resolutions since I have never kept one of them, but I am making one this year in honor of my second Just Lose It anniversary!

I, Berta, resolve never again to ask another human being to answer the question "Do I look fat today?" Truthfully, I am tired of asking, and it has gotten quite boring. This year, I vow to accept myself and the way I look. Fat, bloated, or not, I am no better or worse than any other person walking about this earth; I am merely human. This year I will enjoy what I eat because I vow to choose food that nourishes and sustains my body, and refuse food that poisons and weakens it.

That is my resolution, and I vow to keep it.

How about you?

Tea Time with Berta

Resolve to Evolve

As I reflect on 2011-an inevitable activity at this time of year - I find myself going not to things that were not, but more to things that will be. I am not dwelling on that which I did not achieve; instead, I am focusing, with gratitude, on all that I have and all of the opportunities the future will bring to add even more joy to my life.

Despite my positive mindset, I have been troubled by many conversations I had this week with family, friends and clients whose outlook is far different from my own. It suddenly occurred to me that while most of us are evolved enough to recognize that we are our worst enemies, how many of us have stumbled on the deeper truth, the truth that we are our only enemies?

Most of us think and speak as though outside forces control the flow of our lives, and we seem to find comfort in this way of thinking, allowing us, as it does, to excuse our perceived failures by blaming others. As a result, we devote much time to deceiving ourselves about why our plans for tomorrow never come to fruition, to deluding ourselves about how busy we are, to rationalizing our anger at those who take consume our time, our energy, our love, our selves. Why do we lose ourselves in this blame game? I believe it's because we spend far too much time judging and condemning ourselves. The condemnation is too painful, so we take the next step and rationalize away our "failures" as events caused by others and beyond our control.

In truth, our only failure is that we don't give to ourselves. We don't give ourselves the time of day, so why should anyone else? We don't treat ourselves with love and kindness, so why should anyone else love us and treat us with kindness? We spend all of our time doing for others, caring for others, giving to others, and we expect them to give back to us; however, why would they after we have taught them that we deserve so little? We are the real enemy, lying and deceiving ourselves and blaming everyone else for what we lack. We are hypocrites, liars, cheaters, and thieves. Ah, what a group, we human beings...

In the spirit of new beginnings, this year I am going to bring kindness into my life by giving to myself first, not last. I will not wait for others to be kind to me so I can feel validated. I will be kind to me, and I will experience validation from within. I vow that I will neither give to others what I don't really have to give, nor will I give that which I need to bring peace to my own life. I promise to honor my truths, and speak them without shame! I will enjoy every day, but if unhappiness arises, I will not blame others. I will take credit for my joy and responsibility for my unhappiness.

In the spirit of fresh starts, this year I will listen to my body and nourish it as it deserves to be nourished. Without exception, I will eat only foods that bring me life and health and my taste buds joy; and I will take great pleasure in consciously creating health, happiness, and fulfillment. I renew my promise to reject food that hurts my body, depletes it of nutrients and steals its vitality. I will not be seduced by deceptive advertisements for bogus products that guarantee renewed youth, incredible good fortune, and rapid, effortless weight loss!

In the spirit of self-acceptance, this year I will not abuse my body and soul with negative thoughts, negative behavior, negative beliefs. I will not ridicule or diminish myself. I will not deceive myself with false promises about what tomorrow will bring. I will be thankful for all that I have, and I will not be envious of what others have achieved. I will know myself and accept who I am

In the spirit of generosity, this year I will put myself first. This does not mean that you will come second. Rather, it means that I will nurture myself so I can give to you from a place of abundance and not depletion. This year, I will take my commitment to help others to a new level by helping myself to the first-place ribbon with my name on it. While I used to think that this race we call life was a race between me and all others, in reality, I am the only one in my race, and there are only two ribbons bearing my name: first-place and last-place. I used to think that reaching for the first-place ribbon would have the effect of denying someone else, someone more deserving, of her shot at the prize, so I always went for the last last-place ribbon...Only now do I see how wrong I have been.

In the spirit of growth, I vow accept that there is a first-place ribbon for everyone to choose. I promise to learn that if I choose mine, yours will still be there waiting for you. This means that the winner's circle is open and waiting for all of us to enter! This year, I am going to change my mind about how I see my place in the world. I will choose the first-place ribbon and embrace my place in the winner's circle. This year I resolve to evolve. Will you join me?

Happy New Year everyone!!

My Favorite Foods!

Grilled Green Onions and Asparagus with Romesco

If you are at all like me you are on a continual quest to eliminate water retention! So, for the bloats among us, I am going with a great natural diuretic: asparagus and onions! This time done Catalan style in honor of my own heritage!

Enjoy!

What you need:
•16 large green onions (about 4 ounces)
•1 pound asparagus, trimmed
•1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/8 teaspoon black pepper
•2 tablespoons Catalonian Pepper and Nut Sauce (recipe below)
What to do:

1. Trim root ends of onions, keeping the bulb heads intact; discard roots. Trim tops so that about 4 inches of upper green portion remain.
2. Cook onions in boiling water 2 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well, and pat dry. Place in a medium bowl.
3. Cook asparagus in boiling water for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well, and pat dry. Place in another bowl.
4. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil over onions, tossing to coat. Arrange onions in an even layer in pan, and grill for 30 seconds on each side or until grill marks show. Transfer onions to a platter.
5. Drizzle remaining 1 teaspoon oil over asparagus; toss to coat. Arrange asparagus in an even layer in pan, and cook for 1 minute on each side or until grill marks show. Transfer asparagus to platter. Sprinkle vegetables evenly with salt and pepper. Divide evenly among each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1 1/2 teaspoons sauce.

Romesco Dressing!

What you need:
•2 dried ancho chiles
•2 small red bell peppers
•1/2 cup hazelnuts
•1/2 cup blanched almonds, toasted
•4 garlic cloves, chopped
•1 (1-ounce) slice bread, toasted (its just a little in the sauce, dont sweat it)
•1/4 cup red wine vinegar
•2 tablespoons tomato paste
•4 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
•1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
•2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
•1/4 cup hot water
•1/4 teaspoon salt

What to do:
1. Place ancho chiles in a small saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Drain well. Remove stems, seeds, and membranes from chiles; discard. Place chiles in a medium bowl.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and cut into 2-inch pieces. Add bell peppers to chiles.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
5. Arrange hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until toasted. Turn nuts out onto a towel. Roll up towel; rub off skins. Place hazelnuts in a food processor. Add almonds, garlic, and bread to food processor; process 1 minute or until finely ground. Add chile mixture, vinegar, tomato paste, paprika, and ground red pepper; process 1 minute or until combined. With processor on, slowly pour oil through food chute; process until well blended. Add 1/4 cup hot water and salt; process 10 seconds or until combined.
6.Note: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

*Recipe from Joyce Goldstein's, Cooking Light.

Bon Appetit!