Well hello, 2010!

Well it has been some time since I posted, hasn't it?

There are a few reasons for this, but I think one of the big big ones was...I fell off the wagon. Hardcore.

HARDCORE.

Christmas just turned me into an eating machine, and that is pretty sad. I am not really one of those people who will eat a box of cookies all at once, don't think of it that way. Think of December (and January) as one really long, steep hill. At the top of december, I was walking down the hill (the hill being the diet and food)...and as the month progressed it was harder and harder not to stumble, jog, and then run down the hill (or slide?) as it got steeper and steeper, and more holidays and parties materialized.

By Chrismas and new years, I was flailing my arms and running full out, eating whatever food was available and snacking/grazing on the treats and chocolates that were around the house.

I kept telling myself it was ok, January was coming, I'd be good then, etc. Damage control would begin after new years...only it didn't. Not really.

A few half hearted attempts, I guess. But mostly I was feeling overwhelmed by it all, and feeling fat and lazy, which is disheartening to say the least.

I finally was able to get back on the horse just last week. I tacked up a calendar at work to keep track of what days i did good and what days I did bad, and bought a mini agenda to write down whaat I was eating.

I've also bought a new exercise DVD that I plan to use on the days I do not have class. (I take pilates and bellydance. but even those I was skipping, often.)

I will let you know how it goes. I do have a few really good recipes I have tried, I just need a minute to sort them out and write them down for you all.

But I'm slowly getting back on the horse and already feel better, though my pants are still tight!!!!!!

Squashbob Baconpants!

...o.O

hi!

Contrary to what I have suggested with the title of today's post, this little blurb is not about a squashy man named bob who likes to put bacon in his pants! (That is another story entirely...)

Instead, I thought I'd write about soup. Soup? Soup. Possibly not as glamourous as our friend Mr. Baconpants, but definitely as yummy! Well, I think it's as yummy, anyways. :)

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with bacon, pepper and parmesan

Today's recipe is based loosely on the recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon, from the pink book. It was meant to be EXACTLY the recipe from the book, but I totally forgot it at work and therefore, hungry as a mad(wo)man, I felt the need to improvise and just get it done. I have to say, for my first time ever even handling a squash of any sort, I think I did pretty damn well. As for the recipe, I'll let you decide!

Ingredients:

- a bit of olive oil (1 tsp will do, but no measuring is required)

- Rosemary (dried is fine)

- One butternut squash, whatever size you like. (but get one you can cut in half easily, not one of the crazy shaped ones.)

- Cream

- Bacon, about 4 strips. More if you like.
- Fresh black pepper if you have, normal black pepper if you don't.

- Grated parmesan cheese.

- Chicken or vegetable stock. as low-salt as you can find.

Ok, let's start cooking!

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Take your squash and cut it length-wise. Make sure not to cut towards you or you might cut yourself badly, should the knife come unstuck suddenly. (I know because I've done this, and it's not cool.)

3. rub some olive oil on the squash, and then sprinkle it with rosemary. It smells nice and adds some extra dimension to the soup!

4. Plop the squash halves in the oven for an hour on a roast pan or cookie sheet. You'll know it's done when they're easily poked into with a fork or knife. Same theory as potatoes. If you're not sure they're done, leave them in a smidge more. Soft is good. :)

5. take them out and let them cool down a bit. you need to handle them, so leave them until they're cool enough to hold. Then scoop out the stringy part where the seeds are, and discard it.

Scoop the rest of the nice squishy squash into a food processor, a bit at a time. Add a 'glug' or two of cream, and then whiz it up so it's a squash puree! Empty the squash into a medium sized pot. Repeat until all the squash has been...squashed.(I really like the word squash.)

I used a magic bullet for this step as I don't have a food processor. It is a bit more work, as you cannot put very much in at a time, and it has a harder time getting all the pieces. So, if you have both a magic bullet/blender and a food processor, I think you should go for the food processor this time around.

5 and a half... While the squash is cooling, throw your bacon into a frying pan. We need the bacon to be small little bits, so either tear it up before you cook it, or cut it up with a knife or scissors after it's done cooking.

6. Take your pot of squash and throw in the cooked bacon. Throw in the parmesan cheese.I used about half a cup, but you could use more or less. I think next time I will add grated cheddar cheese as well, but that is totally up to you. Throw in your pepper - a teaspoon oughta do 'er. mix it all up a bit, and add another pour of cream for good measure.

7. Finally, put the pot on the stove over medium heat. Take your vegetable stock and keep adding it a bit at a time and stirring it in, until the soup reaches a consistency you like. I kept mine very thick, almost like mashed potatoes. This was mostly due to my fear of the dish being too salty for my tastes, but now I know better. It's not salty at all! I could of added a lot more stock to thin it down, as the soup is very hearty and it goes a long way.

Whenever the soup looks good to you, and it's nice and hot, it's done! Serve at once with a pinch more of parmesan ontop, or mabye some parsley! The pink book suggests that if you want to fancy it up, you could add a drop of truffle oil. Most important: enjoy the soup, you've earned it with your hard work!

What I thought...

I liked this recipe much better than the cauliflower mash. Sure, it takes a bit longer to make, but it's frgging cheap (the squash cost me mabye 2 bucks....and I pretty much had the other ingredients in the cupboard/fridge already.) I personally find butternut squash a very rich and strong flavour, so one small bowlful is more than enough for me. It fills you up fast and is pretty satisfying. My one complaint was I didn't cut the bacon up small enough, and it wasn't as crispy as I'd like. I think perhaps if I used a thicker cut of bacon and made sure I cut it up really small, that would work better. I would also add more stock next time.

Will I make this again? most definitely. It's a really great low-carb lunch which fills you up and tastes great reheated! in fact, I liked it the best on the third day! So don't be afraid to make friends with squash. It may just be friendly right back.... to your taste buds.

Enjoy!

Faux Cauliflower Mash

Hello once more!

This post I've come to share a little bit of an accomplishment with you all: I have overcome my fear of a certain IPD recipe, namely, Faux Cauliflower Mash.

I have often heard low-carbers go nuts for this recipe, even those who generally dislike cauliflower. I myself am really, not a fan of cauliflower. I just couldn't fathom liking something that would contain this....vegetable.

Also, my mother used to try and pass off smashed steamed cauliflower as mashed potatoes to us when we were younger, and we would wail "These are not potatoes!!" She then would try desperately hard to say "I have no idea what you're talking about, it's mashed potatoes!" with a straight face. She always failed.

Anyways. Without further ado... I give you...
Faux Cauliflower Mash!

Ingredients:

- Half a cauliflower
- Butter
- Double cream
- Salt and pepper
- Nutmeg, if you like


Method:

Steam the cauliflower florets until very tender. Chuck into a blender. Blend with a generous knob of butter and a glug of cream. Season. Serve.

How is that for simple?

What I thought...

Well. It looks a lot more appetizing when done than I thought it would! And also.... I think it would make for really good and healthy baby food. For us grownups? I'm not sure. I think it might grow on me. When I really want mashed potatoes, it MIGHT get me through my craving. I can still taste the cauliflower (since, well, it is cauliflower). I also added a generous dollop of sour cream to the recipe when it was in the blender.

I also think that you need to leave it for a few minutes to firm up, which it does.

Will I make it again? Mabye. Probably.

I also wonder...if one was to add some minced garlic to it, what would happen? That might just change it from good, to great.

...I'm going to have to try that!!

The Pink Book - A Smallish Introduction

Well, here we are again. Another day, another dollar...or is it another pound?

After thanksgiving, I found myself weighing five pounds more than I did the week before. This was a bit of a shock, for sure! One week, many slices of pie and a reasonably large amount of not-quite-low-carb choices had done more dammage than a trip to cuba, and many small slip-ups had the entire summer!

It was time to get serious. So, I turned to the book that started me down this path of low-carb lifestyle LAST year around this time. The book, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet Guide is a fun, entertaining and INFORMATIVE book outlining their rules for a low-carb way of eating.

I think the things I really enjoy about this book are: It's short, It's detailed in as few words as possible, It's amusing, and it talks to you like your friend would, not like a doctor or nutritionist would.

Basically, this book will guide you through 2 weeks of "hardcore"ish low-carbing, and then a phase 2 and phase 3 plan which you will follow as long as it takes, or in my personal case, for the foreseeable future. The first phase can actually be followed as long as you like though, with no scary health repercussions like atkins, or other similar diets. You will still eat veggies, drink milk, take your vitamins, make healthy meals, etc. There are even some fun things like smoothies (Which factor largely in my weekday morning routine) and some really neat lunch and dinner recipes that ANYONE can cook.

Besides all the information, you get a background on neris and india, why THEY had to lose weight (and not just a few pounds..) and there are various diary entries to say how they felt on their weight loss journey. This is probably to me, the most important part of it all. It made me realize that they are real people who just want a freaking piece of chocolate, just like me. They want (And sometimes do) screw it all up, but can show you how to fix things. And how to deal with being bored or lonely or not knowing how to dress, etc. It's like having a friend you can carry around in your purse! (As I said, it's a small book).

You may ask, "Anne, why the hell are you pitching this book to us? Are you getting something for it?"

Er. No, I'm not. BUT! If someone DID want to, you know, drive a dump truck up to my house full of small, unmarked bills....

No, dear readers. I am simply letting you in on a book that has, at a bare minimum, revolutionized the way I think about food and how I can change my habits. I just wanted to share.

It will also help you get a handle for why I have started this blog. I need movtivation, I need a reason to post, and interesting things to think and write down. Because eating and cooking are a daily part of life, and because I am learning a new way of eating...boom! Inspiration strikes. :)

I would like to invite anyone who is interested in checking out this book to click here for amazon.com or here for chapters.ca. It would be cheapest to order it online (I paid about $18 in chapters. It was a very good $18 purchase.) and honestly, if all you get out of it is a chuckle at their story, well, there you go. There is also a cookbook, but you do not need that to get going. Just get the book, read it, and see if it is right for you.

But it might just be the push you need to take the plunge yourself into losing weight in a pretty unrestrictive way. No meetings, no microwave dinners, no real scary kitchen utensils required. Just a little bit of determination to change your circumstances, and a willingness to be open to new things.

I'm getting there. :) I'd love it if you'd join me!!

p.s., In part, this introduction will help you understand something I am going to start doing on this blog...and that is, journalling as well as posting recipes. My life is pretty crazy so often I re-cook things I've already posted. Hence, bigish time gaps between posts. Or, like right now, I'm waiting on my sister to post my photos so I can blog!! Val, hurry uppppp!!*whine*. So, yeah. What that really means is I may sometimes whine on this blog about my way of eating. Ha ha, lucky readers. Er..I mean...enjoy!

:)

Peppered Chicken with Demi-Glace Sauce

Happy Turkey day everyone! (From Canada, that is!)


I just spent the week in Ottawa with my family, completely derailing my diet. I have just realized that my family's roots lie in white bread, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. The main food groups of my parent's house are russet potatoes, overcooked ground beef, kraft dinner and burgers from wendy's.

Sigh.

Back to the real world tomorrow! And back to basics, low-carb style.

Coming up this weekend is Chris' birthday. Christopher is my wonderful boyfriend whom I have been dating for almost 3 years. I am planning quite the 'do' for us both for next weekend, but if he is free on his real birthday and not doing anything, I think a little home cooked meal is in order from his woman.

I was looking through the weight watchers cookbook I bought (and never used), wondering if it had any low-carb recipes...and it turns out it does.

And so, for the birthday dinner, I think I will try a new recipe, Peppered Chicken with Demi-Glace sauce! (Doesn't that sound fancy?) This recipe is featured in Weight Watcher's "My Turnaround Program Cookbook".

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoons whole tri-colour or black peppercorns
4 (1/4 pound) skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 and 1/8 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup white wine
3/4 cup demi-glace
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Method:

1. Place the peppercorns in a zip-close plastic bag. With a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, crack the peppercorns.
2. Sprinkle the chicken with the 1/4 teaspoon salt. Press the cracked peppercorns onto both sides of each chicken breast half.
3. Melt 1 1/2 teaspoons of the unsalted butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the demi-glace and mustard; cook until the mixture begins to thicken slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and swirl in the remaining butter and the 1/8 teaspoon salt. Serve the chicken at once with the sauce.

WW Tip: Demi-Glace is an intensely flavoured brown sauce that takes a while to cook from scratch. Fortunately, you can find prepared demi-glace in gourmet stores and in the meat department of some large supermarkets.

The recipe makes 4 servings. 195 calories, 7g fat, 4g carbs, 1 g fibre, 26g protein. (And 4 WW points. heh.)

What I thought..

This recipe sounds delicious. Anyone following WW should purchase this book (I bought mine at my local WW centre, I'm not sure if you can get it from chapters but it's worth a look). It has many really delicious family friendly recipes, for every meal and occasion. It is a non-scary approach to cooking, it has neatly organized sections and the graphics are energizing and clean. It also has some great recipe photos, though not every recipe gets a photo. Check it out!

The Great Cheesecake Debate Part 1

So.

I am planning somewhat of a surprise for my boyfriends birthday, at the end of October. I've been scheming since the summer (because I like to have exciting things to look forward to) about what we would do, eat, etc.

I am pretty sure he will never find himself on this blog page, but I won't give the specifics away just in case. In any event, I will need a birthday cake of sorts to mark the occasion.

Only he said he doesn't like birthday cake.

Damn. There goes the betty-crocker-in-a-box plan.

So I tried to ferret out of him what he WOULD like, and it was an ice cream cake, or a cheesecake.

Sadly I'm not going to be able to option #1 do to my secret and nefarious plans. But a cheesecake is doable!!

Now here's where the low-carb aspect comes in. I COULD be a good girl and be oh so good at supper, and provide low-carb desserts for the birthday part. (did I mention this is a party for 2? :) I could find a low-carb cheesecake recipe, and I could bring white wine, or low carb coolers for the drinks. (and diet coke, etc.)

OR, I could not...and do a really good cheesecake recipe like this one and just try to not go insane, but you know, enjoy! Not worry about it!

Normally I am definitely in camp #2, which is the "forgeddaboutit, it's a birthday!" camp. But I am also in the camp of...everything tends to turn into a celebration and a cheat day, and therefore it becomes hard to not cheat. I've been stuck at my current weight for way too long after doing so well at the beginning of the year. I know it's because I cheat too much.

Hence the internal debate... To cheat, or not to cheat, that is the question.

Why does it matter you ask? "Stick to the plan!" I hear some of you yell.

Well.

Option A: Eat full fat, awesome cheesecake, have what we want for dinner, make some other treats. Suffer the consequences of possible poundage!

Option B: Eat a modified cheesecake (possibly awesome as well, unsure as I've never made one), have good but low carb choices at dinner (I.e. skip the potato) and have low-carb drinkies. Possibly suffer minor consequences, but more importantly, possibly suffer awful, cardboardy cheesecake.

SOLUTION:

TAAAASTE TEST!

I will make This Strawberry Cheesecake which my friend Mishky touts as the best cheesecake EVAR, with 37 carbs per 1/16 of the cake as your serving.

I will also make this This Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake which is low-carb, and sounds delicious and fancy looking!

And we'll see which one goes over best.

The problem will be to do this when the boy isn't around...

Stay tuned!

Low-Carb Hot Chocolate!

Hi there everybody!

I am a huge chocoholic, and I have been lamenting lately about having to cheat just to get my hot chocolate fix. For example, my normal indulgence used to be Carnation light hot chocolate. However, it has about 12-14 carbs per serving.

On a more thrifty week, I bought some noname hot chocolate, which sums up at 21g of carbs, 17g of sugar.

I also (being a connoseur of such things) received laura secord hot chocolate for christmas, which weighs in at a whopping 28g of carbs and 20g of sugar! Quel Dommage!

However, this afternoon I ran across this easy recipe over at bella online for Low-Carb Hot Chocolate!

Here we go...

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 packets Splenda
• 1 Tbsp cocoa
• 1/8 tsp vanilla

Method:

Mix all ingredients then microwave for 2 minutes or until hot. Enjoy!
(I personally did this on the stove instead)

Servings: 1
Carbs per serving: 2g

What I thought...

This is a realllly rich, satisfying hot chocolate. It doesn't make a very large amount though. Enough for like, a fancy teacup. So I (being a person who likes to drink huge mugs of hot chocolate) added another 1/3 cup of unsweetened soy milk, so I could have a more normal cupful. This'll only add a few carbs, so it's no biggie.
All in all, I think this recipe is well worth the effort - it only takes about 5 minutes on the stove.

Definitely a good way to keep your little joys without sending yourself into a spiral!!!

Enjoy!