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We took a little trip this weekend to B&N after not having been for months. I was hoping to find one of the diet cookbooks on my Amazon wishlist- the Hungry Girl one (love that site, btw.) It was m.i.a. But there was one lonely copy of another cookbook on my list, Devin Alexander’s “The Most Decadent Diet Ever.” It’s worth noting that I do not like the word decadent. It’s like scrumptious. Let’s just agree to tasty and good and yummy, and leave those over the top adjectives where they belong, in 1890. That goes for you too, succulent. Go on…shoo. So I snatched it up, but not before all the cushy armchairs in the section were filled. Time to go.

I can’t ride and read well, so I had to wait until home to really dig in. But ever since, I have been glued. Yes, diet food conjures up images of bland bunny chow, cardboard and water. But this book might make you wonder why that ever was. Because let’s face it- Parmesan crusted fries and juicy barbecue burgers are not mainstays of most diet cookbooks. And it’s nice to see that those old standbys of crap eating can be remade into something a little (sometimes a lot) healthier. So I have been planning which recipe to start with all weekend. The Honey-Glazed Spiced Pork Tenderloin almost won, but Brian nixed it (we’re not pork fans, but that recipe looks soooo good. One day, we’re gonna have that for dinner, whether he likes it or not.) So I went with another honey recipe, the Honey-Lime Marinated London Broil. Only Brian couldn’t find a London Broil/top round, so eye of round it was. I don’t know a lot about cuts of meat, so I assume eye of round is fattier. And slightly cheaper. Anywhoo. The recipe is super easy, and the marinade and meat can all be put together the night before (marinade time is at least 6 hours.) I think they intend for you to eat it more the way you’d eat old fashioned roast beef, but we like to live a little. So fajitas it was. Try it now! It’s easy, tasty, and you have no excuse to not try out easy and tasty.

½ cup fresh lime juice

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1 TBSP plus 1 tsp honey

2 TBSP fresh minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1¼ pounds trimmed London Broil (top round steak)

Whisk lime juice, olive oil and honey in small bowl. Stir in garlic and salt. Place steak in resealable plastic bag. Pour in marinade, seal bag and rotate it so that steak is covered with marinade. Place in refrigerator and marinade 6 hours or overnight, rotating occasionally, if possible.

Preheat grill to high.

Remove steak from marinade and place on grill (discard marinade.) Grill 4-6 minutes per side for medium rare, or to desired doneness. Place on plate or cutting board and cover with foil; let sit ten minutes before slicing. Slice immediately before serving, or refrigerate uncut steak and slice just before serving.

(I served mine on low carb whole wheat 8” flour tortillas with chopped tomato and black olive mix, lettuce and Monterey Jack. Would also be great on a salad.)

I’ve been at my mom and dad’s since Saturday, and wound up staying until Tuesday afternoon. It was an adventure in crap eating I love my parents, but they no longer cook, preferring to eat nearly all their meals from anywhere that accepts drive thru or call in orders. Fantastic. Day 2 was innocent enough- We stopped at Taco Bell on the way down for brunch, and I got 2 bean burritos and one of those little bags of chips and nacho cheese. Not great, but I was craving a bean burrito. When we made it to my parents’ house two hours later, we decided that dinner would be from the new Taco Bueno (byoo-no, as my mom stubbornly calls it, despite muy mucho corrections.) It was a party burrito (beans and cheese) and a Mucho Nacho with no meat or sour cream. I was looking forward to those, because the picture showed them with black olives and tomatoes (yummy!) Nope. Just chips, beans and cheese. Clearly, day two was my own personal colon blow.

Day 3- Another Taco Bell brunch for me (the bean burritos and nachos.) Dinner was a baked potato with cheese, butter and green onions. I am not a real big fan of that particular onion (especially when so roughly cut), so they were picked off. Day 3 was not a particularly filling day, especially since we moved furniture for most of it. My most of me is still sore from that.

Day 4- Started innocently enough. My mom loves salads from Spirits (Alexandria, La, if you’re ever in the area- I used to be a fan of their meatball hero and curly fries. Their salads are awesome, too, and all dressings are made fresh daily.) They have a “half and half” salad, that consists of a regular green salad and some pasta salad. I’m not a fan of pasta salad, so I got the half and half with extra spinach. This is where I slipped up; I was feeling a little blah, perhaps from all the work from the previous day, perhaps because of all the burritos. I decided I needed something more than just salad. I came thisclose to getting my beloved meatball hero, but decided to get grilled shrimp on my salad. Yup, it only too 4 days for me to go “hmmm, I want something meaty!” Granted, shrimp are not exactly “meaty,” but still. So, I slipped. It was a huge salad, seafood aside, and I was full for the majority of the day. When 8 p.m. rolled around, I finally asked what was for dinner. My mom decided pizza would be good, and this is where things got a little “ugh” inducing. I go to the bathroom (hello, or rather, goodbye, burritos!), and the next thing I know, my mom is telling me “We ordered a Supreme and a Meat Lover’s pizza. We would have gotten a cheese or Veggie pizza, but you can just pick off the meat.” Yeah. Thanks. So, I had a few pieces of basically wet dough with sauce and cheese, and a pile of meat on my plate. And that was day 4.

Day 5- Leaving meat land at last! Breakfast was picked over, leftover pizza and water. I am drinking a lot of water lately, which is good, b/c normally, I’m all about the DDP. I’m so down with it, I might just bleed DDP. Awesome. Dinner was some fries from Wendy’s and a side salad with Italian dressing (and I almost had some extra cherry tomatoes for a snack, but I was pretty zonked out after dinner.)

Day 6- Started well enough. A bowl of blueberries and a glass of choco Silk. I had a killer headache, so after breakfast, I laid on my new couch (yay!!!!) and watched about half of “The Big Lebowski.” When I woke, it was 3 p.m., and my head was still being a pain in my face. So, a bowl of shredded wheat and cow’s milk, followed by three aspirin, some chow mein noodles and a large glass of water. I pretty much just nursed my poor head today and slept a lot. Dinner was cheese and black olive pizza (since I was so not in the mood to cook.) And yes, I realize I eat a lot of crap foods myself. And right now, I have a giant glass of ice water. I like it when I am craving water (which is odd, b/c I’m drinking plenty of it anyway). But craving it makes me feel like my cravings are leading to something productive. Maybe I’m crazy though.

So, I realize that to keep this up for the next however many days, I need to shape up. Part of my problem is that I am so notoriously picky. I am really a nightmare for anyone who would want to cook for me, because my list of “foods I like” is about 1/4 the size of the “foods I hate” list. I am also one to want to eat the same thing everyday for a week (see days 2-3) just to avoid making a choice or trying something new. I feel better when I have a real breakfast, so now that I’m back home (where the groceries live!), I’ll be able to just go and grab a bowl of cereal, oatmeal, or make some eggs and toast. Another challenge for myself is seeing past salads. Yes, they are tasty, quick and good for you (if done right), but they are also boring after a while, and I detest washing lettuce.

I have decided to try to make eggplant parm later tonight (HOPEFULLY!) And maybe some hummus for lunch. I’m trying to be proactive about this whole thing, and the only way for me to do that is to keep up the willingness to try new things. I just hope they both turn out better than that funky, squishy fake chicken. Yecch.

Today’s Menu:

• Frosted mini wheats with chocolate soy milk
• Large bowl of strawberries (yummy!), an orange
• Broccoli, red pepper and water chestnut mix in orange sesame sauce by Green Giant, with a splash of teriyaki sauce, chow mein noodles and MorningStar Farms Chick’n strips

Review on the day: Breakfast was better than decent, lunch could have been more than just a bowl of berries (but as one who eats based on mood, it could have been much, much worse.) Dinner- I was so excited to try those chick’n strips. They are seasoned, so they smell really good in the bag. They look like real chicken strip pieces. The taste…not terrible, but the texture, vomit. Imagine a cross between silken tofu and fatty chicken bits. My first bite of it mixed with the vegetables nearly made me sick. I was really disappointed by them (shocker, Brian actually liked them. I’m sure I would have liked them better if I weren’t easily grossed out by squishy food.) So I picked them out and completely enjoyed my veggies and chow mein noodles. I’d make it again, without the chick’n. The vegetables are another one of those “steams in the microwave in 5 minutes” deals, so the whole dinner (the chick’n cooks in 2-3 minutes) took a whopping 10 minutes at the most.

I will make this meal again, perhaps with fresh vegetables, and without the chick’n. If you don’t mind squishy food, then try them, you may like them. The taste was not bad, I’m just weird about food texture

Tonight I decided to get a jump on the meatless eating by serving a vegetarian (but not vegan) dinner. Plus, I wanted to see Brian’s reaction to a meatless meal. Here’s what was served:

• Morningstar Farms Chick’n Nuggets- I have liked these for many years now, and have mostly only bought them as an occasional treat. The texture is not so different from regular chicken nuggets, but they don’t taste exactly like ‘em; however they are certainly not bad. For parents or caretakers of children, I think these could be used instead of the usual nuggets, and the kids would be none the wiser. Brian’s reaction- eh, but he’d eat them again. And that was a better reaction than I expected.

• Green Giant potato wedges in garlic herb sauce (or something like that)- I found out that some Green Giant vegetable products sometimes contain chicken products (eeks!) I’m not sure these did, but there were creamy sauce chunks, so it’s possible (I did review the ingredients list, and didn’t notice anything suspicious, but I digress.) They were good, would have been a little better pan fried or roasted. I will likely not buy them again, but only because I want to make sure they don’t contain animal products, and I think I can make them a little cheaper from scratch. But for non-vegetarians, I totally recommend them as an easy side dish.

• Some random bag of frozen sugar snap peas- These steam in the microwave in 5 easy little minutes. Love that. They do tend to come out a little floppy, so perhaps steaming them the good old fashioned way would result in a crisper pea, but we were ravenous, and I’m a sucker for easy. They are a lot better with a sprinkle of sea salt; it really brings out the sweetness. And I was shocked that Brian finished his serving. I’ve seen him snub a pile of green stuff before, so when he finishes similar items, it pleases me

• For dessert, I made shakes out of Silk brand chocolate soy milk and Soy Dream chocolate frozen dessert (or soy ice cream as it’s going by around here.) They were goooooood. Soy ice cream has less of a “soy-product twang” than the milk, and adding more of that than the soy milk makes for a really cold, frosty shake. It’s not brain freezingly thick, but it is thick enough to give you nice, milkshake-y thoughts. Brian even asked for seconds. Love.

I recommend this as a quick meal for any couple or family that wants a good, filling meal fast. The nuggets are microwavable, but better from the oven and only take 18 minutes. The potatoes can be steamed in the microwave, but only take 12 minutes on the stove top. Plus, you get to smell the yummy garlicky, potato-y smell while they bubble in the pot. We’ll be doing it again sometime, just with homemade potatoes and old fashioned style steamed sugar snap peas. But to each their own

Time has recently slapped me in the face and kicked me in the butt. There is a certain event going down in 2009 (one that I refuse to attend, but have used it as a point of reference nonetheless) that is fast approaching. For this event, I swore I would be in better shape. I’m not only in bad shape, but shameful shape. So, I figured this was the time to work on a goal I’ve had since I was 12. It is time to give up meat. For 30 days starting August 1, I will not consume any meat, and try to limit other animal products (what I’m calling full time vegetarian/part time vegan.) And here’s why:

• Animals. The meat industry is truly a cruel and disgusting one. That aside, I can no longer continue to eat animal flesh and consider myself a lover of animals. It feels hypocritical. Plus, I wouldn’t wear fur, and there are several types of meat I have long refused to consume, so why not treat chicken and beef like lamb and veal?
• I can grow some of my own. This year’s garden was a bust (thanks to some wacky weather and our eventual move), but next spring, we’ll be in a new place with more room for a garden. Plus, we’ll have more money to put into it, so it’ll be like 12 times more awesome than the one I had planned for this year. I’m really looking forward to being more responsible for my food! I also get giddy like that when I think about the end products of various knitting/crochet projects I have around here
• Learning a new way of cooking. That was one thing that appealed to me about the raw diet, until I realized- I don’t really like a lot of raw veggies. Already, I have visions of ice cream made with coconut milk, cakes made with tofu, and trying new fruits and vegetables. We almost got a starfruit tonight, but I wanna find out how to eat it first, or it would likely just perish in the crisper.
• And health. I’m predisposed to obesity. But wait! There’s more! My family’s gene pool also plays host to cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. Plus, I have a spinal condition that is only exacerbated by extra weight. I’m sluggish, have blah skin, and milk is not my friend. If I can make my life better just by cutting out a few foods, then why not change?

I have decided to blog my progress, and if I feel better on August 31 than I do now, then I’ll keep on. Plus, I’m really looking forward to trying new recipes and posting them here, and reviewing new food items (already, I want to say- Soy Dream chocolate ice cream…omg. That stuff is good.) I’m looking forward to changing my body and my life, just by changing the way I eat. Stay tuned!

Ok, as traditional enchiladas go, they’re a chicken or ground beef affair, in a corn tortilla, smothered in red sauce. Yummy. But tradition doesn’t always fly here, and all the old school ones I’ve ever had in my life have been, well, puny. No more. These are beyond easy, and just as good for breakfast the next day (not to mention super filling.) Enjoy!

• 1-1.5 lbs ground beef, drained (use taco seasoning if you feel so inclined- I do!)
• 1 can Red sauce (I use Old El Paso)
• 1 16-32oz can vegetarian refried beans (I use Taco Bell brand)
• flour tortillas (amount will vary)
• shredded cheese- cheddar, pepper jack, monterey jack, colby jack, Jack Palance, whatever. I use a lot

Assuming you have browned, drained and seasoned your beef already, remove it from heat and set it aside. Spray baking dish with a bit o’ cooking spray, and pour a small amount of red sauce into bottom of dish (making sure to spread it all over). Preheat oven to 375 or whatever temp is recommended by your sauce brand. Start spooning beans onto tortillas (I spoon them straight from the can with a large spoon), and top with beef (about 2-3 tbsp). Roll up and place in dish, seam side down. Repeat until dish is full. *I use an 8*8″ Pyrex dish, so my yield is usually between 4-6, but I always have a good amount of leftover meat and beans. If you have more mouths to feed, use a larger dish.* Pour on remaining sauce and top with cheese. Lots of cheese…..Bake for 15 minutes, and cool for 2 (ok the cooling is not imperative, especially to hungry, impatient types. They may be easier to plate after a slight cooling, but I wouldn’t know, because I’ve never waited, sorry.)

I normally serve these alone, 2 per person. They are pretty darn filling. Of course, you can serve them with some Spanish rice, a little salad, or my personal favorite, Rotel dip. Which is also a yummy breakfast treat :p

In my world, there is no greater cuisine than Mexican (except Chinese, but that’s for another day). It’s spicy, sizzling, and there’s cheese, too (and we all know, I love chee!!). I also love fajitas. Warm tortillas, grilled beef and chicken (and shrimp if you can!), nestled in with cheese and pico de gallo. It’s warm, it’s cool, it’s heaven on a plate. As it happens, my favorite Mexican place is about an hour away, so it’s nice to have an easy to do alternative at home. Best of all, it cooks quickly (even in the slow cooker), so you can fix it and amuse yourself some other way. Like thinking of the last time you went out for fajitas and had a bad experience with a pomegranate margarita. Here’s what you need:

• 1 pound stir fry beef (it’s even better if pre-sliced)
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 3/4- 1 cup water
• squirt of lime juice (as much as you like!)
• white vinegar (I used roughly a tablespoon)

Place the steak strips in slow cooker. Mix taco seasoning with water and pour over meat. Turn on low if you have all day, high if you have only a few hours (mine cooked in less than 2 on high). Add lime juice and vinegar to taste, cover, and go do something else for a bit. You will want to stir it once or twice to keep meat from sticking to the crock.

I’m serving mine with vegetarian refried beans, cheese and salsa on tortillas. But I’m sure the meat would be just as tasty served over Spanish rice (if you like it). And while these are obviously not identical to traditional fajitas (hence “faux”), they do a great job of satisfying any craving for the real thing you may have, without all the work. Or the long drive, in my case Enjoy!

I received this cutie cookbook (written by Jessica Seinfeld, comedian Jerry’s wife) for Christmas from Brian’s brother, Scott. The premise is “sneaking” various fruit and veggie purees into foods so your kids will get more of them in their diets (especially helpful if you have picky kids). I have no kids, but a picky Brian. I can’t say I’ve done much cooking since then, mostly tacos/enchiladas, that sort of stuff. I’ve been meaning to try out the recipes within the pages, and what better place to begin that macaroni? You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t love those noodles in cheesy sauce. In my heart, it’s tied for first with mashed potatoes as the ultimate comfort food.

This particular macaroni recipe called for 1/2 cup cauliflower, broccoli, or butternut squash puree’. I have had a bag of cauliflower in the freezer for…a bit, so I figured now was as good a time as any to use some of it. I began by boiling about a cup of it in about a cup of lightly salted water, while boiling 1.5 cups elbow macaroni in lightly salted, lightly oiled water (for about 7 minutes). While you’re waiting for the boiling to commence, spray a large skillet with non-stick spray, heat it just a tad over medium, and brown a tablespoon each of olive oil and all purpose flour (about 3 minutes). When it is barely browned, add 1/2 cup skim milk, and cook, stirring often, until mixture thickens (I believe it went a little quicker than the book said; our stove is a little wonky on the controls). After that has thickened, add 1.5 cups reduced fat shredded cheddar, stir until melted, and add 4 oz. of reduced fat cream cheese. Keep stirring until all is well incorporated, and add salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders, and paprika to taste. It’s a really thick mix! Hopefully by now, the pasta is perfectly al dente, and the cauliflower is boiled and smelling like butter (it helps to follow the advice of the book here- keep pre-made, frozen purees on hand. It’s a wee time saver, and worth it). If you haven’t yet, mash or process the cauliflower by hand or with a food processor or blender (I used a blender, kind of a pain, but ok if it’s all you have). Add the puree to the cheese mixture, drain the pasta if you have not by now, and add the sauce to the pasta. Serves four.

At first glance, I thought “At last! A healthy, super-creamy macaroni Brian and I can both enjoy!” It was a lovely shade of light yellow-orange, and looked generally perfect. I called him in for the taste test, and his first words were “too much cream cheese.” I am a big fan of the Philly, but I have to agree- there was something distinctly non-macaroni-ish about it. It wasn’t the cauliflower, and I followed the recipe to the letter (which is pretty abnormal here). Brian did wind up eating a sizable pile of it, as it wasn’t terrible, and I decided that next time- and there will definitely be a next time- I will slightly up the milk and use half the cream cheese. I had the leftovers for lunch today, with an added sprinkle of regular shredded cheddar, and it was so much better. The cream cheese taste was barely noticeable. But I don’t always want to wait overnight for my precious noodles n’ chee. The worst part was having no idea where the camera is; I served the macaroni with some Italian breadcrumb and Parmesan crusted chicken strips and a side salad. I had a nice looking plate going, but no evidence b/c there’s no telling where Brian left the camera…

This meal was born of my love for cheesy biscuits made from Pioneer baking mix (or Wagon Wheel, as it’s known in this house), and thick, creamy potato soup. I’ll eat it any time of the year, but it’s especially great in winter. So I’m a bit late posting, but now you know for next time

Also, I don’t always use exact measurements in cooking (yeah, it’s a little Rachael Ray, but not intentionally). So these are the best measurements from all the times I’ve made this. Except for the biscuits. You can’t just throw some stuff in a bowl all willy-nilly and expect awesomeness to result. Not with baking, at least.

Soup:

• 4-6 medium sized potatoes (I’ve used Russets and red skinned new potatoes with equally great results)
• water
• Cooked bacon or real bacon bits (I like the Hormel brand, in the glass jar)
• paprika, to taste
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• heavy whipping cream and skim milk
• shredded cheddar

Peel, wash, and chop the potatoes into small chunks. Rinse the chunks, and place in a 4-quart crock pot. Add enough water to pot to cover potatoes, and add spices. Turn cooker on high, and go do something else for about 5 hours. In the beginning of hour six, add bacon bits (half the jar should do), and about a cup of cream and enough skim milk to make it soupy- whatever soupy means to you. Cover and cook one hour more. For the last 20 minutes of that hour, it’s time to make the biscuits! Here goes:

Chee Biscuits:

• 2 cups Pioneer baking mix
• 2/3 cup milk, plus a splash of heavy cream (about a tablespoon should do)
• shredded cheddar- I just throw in two handfuls. I love cheese.
• half a jar of bacon bits. They have to be the real deal. Not those dehydrated bits. It won’t be the same.

Preheat oven to 400. Put baking mix in mixing bowl, add cheese and bacon bits, and mix it a bit with your hands. Don’t be afraid to get dirty. Add milk and stir just until mixed. If the mix still looks a little dry, add the cream (and if not, do it anyway. it makes a difference!) Spoon onto a baking sheet. Non stick spray is often helpful, so use it if you like. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. When done, brush them with a bit of melted butter or margarine. You don’t need the butter, and if you don’t like it, it won’t make a difference. I just prefer mine butter-basted By this time, the soup is done, the biscuits are out and still piping hot, and you’re hungry. So dig in. I also love to sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of the soup, mostly if I decided not to add any to the soup in the crock. I know this meal sounds like an artery clogging fat fest, but no one told you to eat this way every night. Once in a while though, you can misbehave, and I won’t tell if you won’t. One last note- if you like spice, red pepper goes really well in this. I especially like red pepper flakes in the biscuits. But not too much, because I like my tongue not on fire. But a little bit of heat really complements the salty bacon and cheese. Either way, they’re just awesome biscuits, and super easy.