A weekend of luscious food

Mustard Greens from A Simpler Place in Time

Last weekend was a weekend of luscious food.  Yesterday was my Weight Watchers meeting at work.  I imagined that I must have gained at least 2-3 pounds- so I went to the meeting late, signed in shyly and then weighed in after the meeting.  When the leader told me that I lost 2.2 pounds (total weight loss=, you could have hit me over the head with a hammer.  How in the world did I do that?  Literally- how in the world did I do that?  I was really bad this weekend with luscious food that I didn't track- things that could have been really healthy except for all the butter, and cheese, pancetta, and bacon that I added.  Yes folks, Sunday night I enjoyed a meal with both pancetta and bacon and still lost 2.2 pounds! And it wasn't portion control- but it might have been lots of luscious food.  Which gives me the idea of beginning the focus of dieting using The Addition Principle - along with Weight Watchers tools to help along.  Here are the main points of the Addition Principle (which I hope to put into a book one of these days)

The Addition Principle (Mary Rose Murrin © 1995)

*    Any small change in behavior will conquer any problem no matter how huge, given enough time and a little luck.

*    Every major religion teaches that God blesses those who make small  positive changes so believe that luck will be with you.

*    One step at a time in the right direction does a lot more than major overhauls, is easier, and the effects last longer.

*    Bigger problems need more little changes, but bigger changes will occur before you believe it.

*    When you have a big job that needs to be done, use the division principle- make the big job a lot of little behaviors

*    Abstinence feels like loss.  Loss is hard to endure.  Add behaviors, don't abstain.

*    Adding behaviors will change defeat into triumph, loss into gain, illness to recovery, grief into new beginnings.

 

The first time that I lost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers- I added a lot of artificial stuff- nonfat everything, artificial sweeteners, and allmy recipes came from Weight Watchers- after a few years, I got sick of nonfat everything and longed for milk fat- butter, cream, cheese, sour cream- and gained a lot of weight.  It's been a gradual process but over time, I have tried to eliminate the artificial everything and just go for all the local food.  Now you can eat local without all the fattening stuff but sometimes recipes are so inviting. 

This weekend I made two recipes that should never go together: The Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks- oh this is so yummy.  I saw this on TV this weekend and literally ran over to Publix and picked up some pancetta, leeks, and a block of parmesan cheese to make this luscious dish.  The only place that I could find the pancetta was in the Boar's Head section of the deli- I got half a pound but you need less than 1/4 pound for this dish- so you can make it twice.  Which is good because I am going to make it twice!  When I put it into my recipe builder- found that it was 14 points a serving.  This is not bad if it is your only supper- but I had two servings along with this- Rachel Ray's Braised Mustard Greens with Bacon which is only 3 points a serving- but I had 8 servings because Rob wouldn't eat his and I was hungry.  I would never recommend a 52 point supper but it was good- and maybe I was starving for wonderful fresh food.  If I made this again- I wouldn't cook the mustard greens- I would just make the sauce and use it as a dressing on a the raw mustard greens- keeping the wonderful biting mustard taste fresh and crisp with the bacon bits, bacon fat, vinegar and sugar to tame it down and make it luscious.

And even though these recipes should never go together because of the points- to me they went together just fine from the taste standpoint! But I would never cook these greens again- they went stringy- and were so yummy and spicy raw!

Which brings me to the conclusion that maybe you don't have to skimp to lose weight- maybe you just have to eat fresh- and splurge a little now and then!  And to be fair- one serving each was only 17 points which is not a bad points total for a big meal.  Tomorrow I will talk about Monday's dinner (roasted chicken with my fresh-grown herbs and Paula Deen's collard greens.

Which I have to admit is a really strange way to diet...

Spicy Eggplant and Cauliflower with Basil

This week, I decided to get the Locovore basket at A Simpler Place in Time- mostly because the basket consisted of three recipes that tasted yummy.  Last night I cooked Spicy Eggplant and Cauliflower with Basil.  It was not that tough because we had all the ingredients except basmati rice and basil already- and I had to get the rest of the shopping done anyway.

The basket this week had multi-colored broccoli and a purple-striped eggplant that was very pretty.  The cauliflower was pre-cut so all I had to do was throw it into my 9 by 13 pan.  The eggplant was large so I cut the wedges in half instead of using baby eggplant.  I also had the chickpeas in the freezer.  Instead of buying canned beans, I like to get the dried packages, soak and cook the beans- then pack them in 2-cup bags in the freezer.  When I want to use them, I simply defrost in the microwave- a fraction of the cost, healthier and tastier.  Instead of buying a bunch of basil, I got a whole pot- used a few sprigs- and will then plant in the garden.  Right now have a wonderful array of fresh herbs in the refrigerator- basil, dill, and parsley!

The sauce tasted way too spicy until you add the olive oil- guess that might be a trick to moderate the spiciness of dish- the olive oil just eats all of the harshness and leaves lots of flavor.  At first, we thought that the dish was a little boring until I remembered that I forgot the fresh  basil.  Don't skip this step!  The basil gives it a lovely exotic, flowery taste that just brings out all of those hidden flavors.  We will cook this again someday.

Until tomorrow!