Black Bean and Corn Salad

Today's recipe comes courtesy of the unstoppably perky Rachel Ray. I actually enjoy her show, even though I only watch it from time to time. As you may have caught on, I'm a big fan of honest, unpretentious food that doesn't take 2 weeks to prepare.

This salad is a staple in our household because it's so easy to make and tastes incredible. It packs really well for lunches and matches well with a surprisingly broad range of menus. You can find the recipe here.

We've of course made it our own. The picture above shows Jenny's recent version, with sweet Vidalia onions (which should have been on our state quarter instead of the peach) instead of red onions and without hot sauce.

I prefer the red onions because I like their punch and because it makes the finished product so beautiful to look at, but this version is really good, too. I also leave in the Tabasco for the same reason. I'd also recommend using a high quality olive oil and real lime juice because you can really taste the difference.

It's so easy to make and stores so well that we make it 3 quarts at a time (a double batch). We've never had it last long enough to go bad in our fridge!

Feel free to mix it up! I added some diced ripe avocado and some diced grilled chicken and wrapped it in a low carb tortilla to produce some great healthy tailgaiting food before enjoying a Braves game with our friends (like Floren, below).

The Myth of the Big Weight Loss (or Gain)

Last week's weigh-in was a real eye-opener. Boom! Up 4.6 pounds. I've been on Weight Watchers for years now, so I know that even at my worst I only can gain 2-3 pounds in a week. That particular week was bad, but not that bad.

This week's trip to the scales revealed a startling but happy revelation - I was down 5 pounds! The results were happy, but equally suspicious. I know that I actually ate food this week, and even at my best I've only lost a few pounds in 7 days, so what gives?

Your weight fluctuates. That seems pretty logical. But most people, until they start accurately measuring their weight, have no idea how these fluctuations translate onto the scale. Here's what I think really happened. I gained about 2 pounds last week. I got mad at myself for gaining, so I turned on the jets and lost a little more than 2 pounds this week.

The night before my big gain I went to a party at a friend's house and overate by a good bit. It's this kind of binge that causes my weight to swell temporarily. After years and years of watching (literally) my weight, I know my body and how it responds to food. I still kept charging, not letting myself make excuses.

So the moral of the story is this: when hitting a huge gain, take into account that you may be experiencing a temporary high. Dig in, concentrate, and do your best to focus on the program. As my leader Janice said when I stepped on the scale, "Use this to focus on getting back on the program." DON'T get depressed and make a bad episode worse. DON'T overreact and starve yourself. And by all means, DON'T tell yourself it must have been last night's cheeseburger and keep on eating. That big gain may have masked smaller, but still significant gain over the previous weight loss period.

Know your body and learn how to interpret the scales.

Almost Fried Green Tomatoes

Most people have heard of the southern summertime treat of Fried Green Tomatoes. Most southerners are also aware of the extra high incidence of heart disease and diabetes that runs rampant through our beautiful countryside.

Being no stranger to risk factors, I decided to make my own version for lighter eaters. In the last 2 weeks, we've made this side 5 times. It's that good. It's great with any summer menu and cooks pretty fast.

Almost Fried Green Tomatoes

2 Green Tomatoes (it's ok if they're starting to turn red)
3/4 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 Egg Whites
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Non-stick Spray

Prepare a broiling rig as shown below. This is a jellyroll pan covered with aluminum foil, for easy cleanup, and topped with a cooling rack (thanks Alton!). Preheat your oven's broiler. Slice tomatoes in half, then into 1/4 inch slices. Liberally salt the slices on one side.

Dredge the slices in egg white, then in the bread crumbs until coated. Place on your broiling rig and spray with non-stick spray. Broil for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the tops are dark golden brown. More brown is better. When you flip them, coat the other side with cooking spray, being careful not to spray the heating element in your stove and lighting your kitchen on fire (take them out of the oven to do this).

When finished, lightly dust with cheese and serve hot.

This recipe serves 4, unless you love them like we do and then it only serves 2. The whole recipe is about 4 pts.

Strawberry Bread

Since we needed something to do with the 28 lbs. of strawberries we've picked in the last 2 weeks, I decided to try my hand at a low-point treat. Behold, strawberry bread!

I used Land 'O Lakes Light Butter and Splenda's Baking Mix to reduce the amount of calories and fat in the recipe. The recipe was adapted from this recipe.

Strawberry Bread

1 stick Light Butter
3/4 cup Splenda Baking Mix
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Egg
2 Egg Whites
2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 cups Diced Strawberries

Preheat your oven to 325 and grease an 8x4 loaf pan with non-stick spray. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.

In a stand mixer on low speed (I use 2 or 3), cream the butter with the sugar mix and vanilla extract. When creamed, add the whole egg and mix until combined. Add the two egg whites and continue to mix until combined.

Slowly add the flour mixture until only about 1/2 cup is left. Stop the mixing. Toss the strawberries in the remaining flour mixture and add to the mixer. Stir until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out the loaf onto a rack until completely cool.

The bread is 3 pts. per slice (1/16 of loaf).

Gnocchi al Turbo

Since it's been weeks since I've posted a recipe on this blog, I'm going on a weeklong recipe bender. Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a tasty ride!

Jenny and I fell in love with gnocchi in Sienna, Italy two years ago. For the uninitiated, gnocchi is a potato pasta that's often matched with some kind of flavorful sauce. It's soft, smooth and sublimely good.

Unfortunately, it's a bear to make. You have to boil potatoes, make the potato dough, and then laboriously make each morsel. It's this level of trouble that has kept us from rekindling our love for this delicacy. That is until we found premade gnocchi at our local gourmet supermarket. We compared several varieties before selecting one made by Cucina Viva. The best part is that it's really light, only 3 pts. (180 cal, no fat, 2g fiber) per serving (1/3 package). The package is enough for a hearty dinner for 2 and requires no refrigeration.

This gnocchi is vacuum packed and cooks as fast as fresh pasta. We poured the package into salted boiling water and all the dumplings floated to the top in just a few minutes. We topped it with our staple impromptu tomato sauce and some shredded Parmesan cheese.

All told (with coupons) the whole meal cost us $3.50, was only 6 points for each plate, and was done in 15 min. Oh, and it was delicious!

Fast Tomato Sauce

1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 med Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Basil
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Spray a non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil from a spritzer. Sautee the onions and garlic with salt and pepper. When onions are translucent, pour in the tomatoes. Simmer until most of the tomato juice has evaporated off. Spoon over pasta.

Update 6/20/05 - The picture for this post was entered in "Does My Blog Look Good in This? #6", an online food photography contest! Also, I've since tried Cucina Viva's gnocchi with spinach. In my opinion, it tasted like fish food and Jenny and I dumped it out.

Picking Strawberries

Last weekend Jenny and I went down to Fayettville's Adams Farm to pick some fresh strawberries. Jenny's a strawberry fiend. She can practically live on them!


Vine fresh strawberries are infinitely better than what you get in the store. All the ones we picked were large, juicy and very ripe. And man how kids love playing along! We're definately going to bring our nephews and nieces down here if we get the chance. I figure we can sit my nephew Josiah in front of one of the bushes so he can go to town. That kid can eat fruit like a pro linebacker.

These farms also give you the opportunity to purchase other fresh produce. We picked up a vidalia onion and some green tomatoes, which will go into some refridgerator pickles. But that's another post...

We liberated 10 lbs. of strawberries from the farm, which will go into desserts, smoothies and maybe even some preserves, if I get the urge.

Here's the official NTSC spokesmodel with our bounty.

She's cute, isn't she?

The Eagle has Landed!

Today I got the ultimate kitchen machine...

I resisted buying a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for some time, mostly because we don't have the room for one in our small home. It only took 2 or 3 tries making hand kneaded bread to realize that if I ever wanted to be able to make my own sourdough or ciabatta that I was going to have to go from conventional to mechanized warfare.

It so happens there's a great promotion going on, and we fell into some gift cards to a local home store, so I took the plunge and got my hands on a 450W Professional 5 Plus. It wears a deep black coat of paint, which is especially appropriate given that I saw Star Wars Ep. III last night. There is a certain "Vaderesque" quality to it. It's already established itself as the ultimate force in my kitchen.

I look forward to playing with my new machine and sharing the results with you!

Visiting Boston, Part 3 - Haymarket

More than once, Jenny and I found something outside our guidebooks to make us pause and take note. Boston has got a lot of surprises, and we really got one Saturday night. We stumbled, quite by accident, into Haymarket, the crazy street market near Fanueil Hall. The place was steamy from the day's rain and exploding with activity.

It was the sort of encounter you see a lot in movies, but not too often around Atlanta. We had a pretty good time strolling through the crowds, watching the locals snatch up produce from the intense vendors at competitive prices. The place was full of great (and not so great) smells, interesting characters, and real people - the kind of people that you'd see if you lived there, but can't be found near where the tourists are.

Heck, it looked so cool that we decided to get in on the act. After convincing Jenny that we couldn't fit 50 oranges into our carry-on (she found a stand selling them at 25 for a dollar), we bought some blueberries and strawberries to eat for breakfast the next morning.

As a side note, we saved money and ate healthy by bringing instant oatmeal for breakfast. We'd heat water in our room's coffee maker and use it to cook the oatmeal. Before you roll your eyes, that's another tip that allowed us to drink beer and eat cannolis during the trip without gaining weight.

Boston was a great city to visit, for more reasons than just the food (I'd list them, but this isn't a travel blog!). We look forward to future trips together, and to many more memories created along the way. We've got a lot planned, so stay tuned!

Visiting Boston, Part 2 - Walking Around

So we've already established that Jenny and I ate and drank a fair bit in Boston. We both had a great time. We also managed to get by with little to no weight gained by walking our butts off.

That's right, we didn't take a single cab and only used the subway for extended trips. By my guesstimation, we walked close to 25 miles in a three day weekend. We were whipped at the end of the trip, but we got to see a fascinating and fun city without looking through a pane of glass.

I love these kind of vacations. Half because of the adventure of really navigating around, half because I know it allows me to eat 2 cannolis and a huge meatloaf sandwich (one of man's greatest inventions) in two days. Get active! You'll see more of where you're visiting, and have more fun doing it. There's an added layer of accomplishment when you really spend the time walking around, like you actually went somewhere.

Here's a great shot of me visiting the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plains. I know it doesn't relate to the post. So what. If you don't like it, get your own food blog.

"Somebody's boring me, I think it's me"

My mom used to tell me that all the time growing up. She got it from one of those daily calendars with quotes on it. In fact, she liked it so much she had it framed and put it outside of my room. The point is that it's up to us to keep our attention and focus. If you're bored, look inside.

This is especially important because of a major motivation killer, food boredom. We've all had it at some point or another, where we get into a rut and eat the same thing every day, week and month. One low point for me came before my marriage. I was getting lazy with preparing food and just ate ham sandwiches all the time. In one week I had gone through three whole loaves of sandwich bread. That's 36 sandwiches, for those that are counting. Keep in mind I was still sticking to Weight Watchers, but I certainly wasn't having fun doing it.

Like many other types of boredom, the solution is simple. Get out more. We live in an amazing time in civilization, the era of the "megamart". We can step into a store and be instantly transported around the world to sample thousands of cuisines. Often times, the results are healthy. Surprisingly more often, the unhealthy items coincide with a "low-fat" or "light" alternative. The "low carb" hurricane has blown through and left plenty of light foodstuffs strewn over the shopping landscape.

Instead of simply shuttling through the supermarket, explore the shelves like you would at a bookstore or library. Go down new aisles. Find the smaller boxes and jars and cans with weird labels. Sometimes I'll go to a supermarket and spend 2 hours strolling around (of course, I am a little insane too). Imagine if you could find one new meal a week. In a year, you'd have over 50 new alternatives for dinner, something that even Applebees can't match.

Just be sure to read the labels. The FDA has really helped informed consumers by mandating this information. Almost everything has calories, fat, sodium and fiber on it, and points values and other stats can be quickly calculated on the spot.

Visiting Boston, Part 1 - North End

Jenny and I recently traveled on vacation to one of America's great cities, Boston. I was born there, but I haven't been there since my family moved away 26 years ago. In the next three installments of NTSC, I'd like to share a few observations and tips. Call it NTSC's first road trip (or more precisely, air trip).

Jenny and I go nuts over Italian food. Absolutely insane. A few years ago we had the occasion to travel to Italy with a church group. In 10 days we ate everything from pasta, to gelato, to frescos of pasta and gelato. But that's another post...

We knew that our trip to Beantown wouldn't be complete without eating in Boston's North End, center of the Italian community and home to dozens of spectacular restaurants and wicked good bakeries. Atlanta has little in the way of ethnic neighborhoods, at least with the density and quality of places like San Francisco's Chinatown or Boston's North End, so Jenny and I took the opportunity to sample some local eats.

We treated ourselves to a truly stupendous dinner at Bricco (I had the filled pasta and organic meatballs on the top right of the linked page). We rarely eat out at home, and we'd decided to go all out for dinner. It was worth it. We did, however, save room for dessert.

A friend of ours recommended a local bakery for some post-dinner eats. Turns out this place wasn't some dive, but a cornerstone of the North End baked goods scene. Mike's Pastry is known for its cannolis and cakes, and on weekends the lines frequently lead out the front door.

Frankly I didn't bother with the cakes. Don't get me wrong, they looked incredible, but I had a serious hankering for a cannoli. This place didn't dissapoint. Jenny and I worked our way up to the counter where a nice, but obviously busy lady took our order. We couldn't sit in the place because it was so packed, so we took our delightfully wrapped box outside and ate our dessert standing on the sidewalk. We didn't feel too wierd, as there were other patrons hanging out, mouths stuffed with powdered sugar dribbled on thier shirts. My cannoli was so rich and creamy, and had just the right amount of sweetness. It was SO worth it (worth enough, in fact, to go back the next day).

I loved Italy, and I think because of my fond memories of Rome I got a soft spot for the North End. Frankly, I could have spent my whole vacation there, eating pasta and walking around the narrow streets.

How'd we manage to keep with our healthy lifestyle? Stay tuned for part 2...

Bravo Governor!

My original plan for this blog was not to comment on media issues or politics, but instead focus on my personal journey to better health and the foods I prepare and enjoy to take me there. I'm not a pundit. Occasionally, though, I'll take a moment to pass on a gem of information or two.

This article on MSNBC featuring an interview with Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee just really hit the nail on the head for me. In case you hadn't heard, he's co-chair of a campaign with President Clinton to raise awareness for childhood obesity and life-long wellness. He's also lost 110 lbs by controlling eating and exercising more.

That instantly caught my attention.

His story (at least on the surface, I haven't read his book) , seems to mirror my own. I too started out in the 280s, and have lost over 100 lbs. by the same methods. I think one of the keys is taking his approach - changing your mental outlook and lifestyle. Losing weight is about wellness and better health, not about diets. To be truly successful, you have to have to have a holistic approach. It doesn't matter what you do to lose the weight, as long as you learn new skills and methods for living. This includes nutrition, portion control, exercise, discipline, repsponsibility, mental health, stress management, etc.

When my wife and I reach our goal weights, we're not just going to turn our weight loss switches to "off." We're going to keep doing what we've been doing for the last 4 years. This is for life, and we're very happy with our lifestyle.

Read the article.

In celebration of AB

I have been a devout watcher of the Food Network for almost 8 years now. I've had my share of favorite personalities over the years. Ming Tsai is sorely missed. He was eloquent, creative and extremely watchable. Like everyone else, I went through my Emeril phase before his schtick got a little old.

In 2000, I discovered my culinary hero, Alton Brown. He's my absolute favorite for so many reasons. First and foremost, he's not here to show the world how fancy he can cook or to push his restaurant. He's here to educate and enlighten. For him, success lies in preparing simple, Good Eats.

He also concentrates on technique and science rather than recipes. As an engineer I can really appreciate this approach. Knowing what goes on in a pan or on the stove has made cooking so much more fun for me. Instead of blindly searching for good food, I can now predict, create and innovate in my own home. Knowledge of cooking technique and science has given me the ability to be a chef, and not just a cook.

Finally, he's fun and entertaining to watch. He's not just a pretty face behind a countertop. His show is dynamic and wacky, but always with a serious eye for food. Segments on nutrition and food anthropology, featuring excellent guest commentators, elevate foods to more than just "stuff we eat". Frankly, I never get more excited about cooking anything than I do after seeing one of his shows.

Jenny and I had the great fortune of attending a book signing for his 2nd cookbook, I'm Just Here for More Food. I was a little nervous about meeting him. After all, what do you say to a celebrity who's met a billion raving fans? My butterflies were calmed as his handlers led me up to his table. He eagerly extended his hand and said,"Hi, my name's Alton. What's yours?" He was funny, eager to talk and meet with his fans and share in the joy of food. Great guy. It should be noted that he talked to EVERY fan who came, much to the chagrin of the bookstore staff. My few minutes talking to him were worth the hours in line.

If you've never seen his show or read his books, I'd highly recommend them. Many people ask me how they can learn to cook and I always tell them to check out his first book I'm Just Here for the Food. It's pretty much the textbook for Cooking 101. If you've got cable, his show is even better. It's like having a cooking instructor come into your home daily.

I'm sure we'll revisit him and his show in future installments of NTSC.

P.S. - Here's a great review of AB and Good Eats

McConway McBreakfast McSandwich

So all these fancy-schmancy recipes are fine and good, but what if:

1. You "can't" cook (which is completely untrue, anyone can cook)
2. You don't have time to cook (ok, I'll give you that one)
3. You don't have a pantry full of fancy ingredients

Well your prayers have been answered. Behold! I give you the McConway McBreakfast McSandwich!

Ok, so it doesn't look like much, but whoa mama does it taste good! It's also filling and good for you. Besides, when's the last time you saw a real Egg McMuffin? They don't exactly look like their ads, either.

I've been eating these egg sandwiches religiously for years. I've gotten my routine down to where I can make one in less than 4 minutes and only have to throw a dirty fork in the dishwasher. No pans necessary!

McConway McBreakfast McSandwich

2 Egg whites
1 Slice Extra Lean Turkey Bacon
1 Light English Muffin
1 Slice Low-Fat American Cheese
Basil, Pepper
Non-stick cooking spray

Here's what I do, in order:

1. Break the english muffin in half, toast in a toaster.
2. Heat the bacon in the microwave for 30 seconds.
3. Beat the egg whites with a fork with some pepper and a little dried basil in a disposable foam bowl sprayed with non-stick spray.
4. Nuke the egg whites for 45 seconds. You'll have to play with the time in your microwave to make sure they're fully cooked but not dry and rubbery.
5. Lay the muffin out on a paper towel. Rip the bacon in half and place on one side and put the slice of American cheese on the other. Put the hot eggs on the bacon.
6. Top the sandwich and let it sit for a few seconds until the eggs melt the cheese.

By ditching the egg yolks, I lose all the fat while keeping all the protein. I use Jennie-O extra lean turkey bacon (1/3 pt. per slice) and Weight Watchers or Thomas low fat/low carb english muffins (1 pt. per muffin). For the cheese I use 2% milkfat cheese.

The bacon may not taste good to some people, but I like it in this recipe. Fat free cheese tastes a little gross, in my opinion, so I use the 2% fat varieties. The step down from regular singles to 2% singles is barely noticeable, especially when there's already so much flavor in the sandwich. My wife prefers Laughing Cow cheese spread instead of American and exchanges a 1 pt Western Alternative bagel for the muffin.

The entire sandwich is only 3 pts, vs. 7 for a real Egg McMuffin.

Update 9/11/05 - I've started using Louis Rich turkey bacon for my sandwiches. After all this time, I've gotten a little sick of the facon stuff. This brand tastes and cooks a lot more like the real pork product, and only adds a point onto the sandwich. I've also stopped seasoning my egg so that I get more egg flavor. I guess I'm becoming a purist.

Update 10/06/06 - I've posted an update to this recipe.

Cooking for each other...

As with many things, it's easier to lose weight with a partner than it is to go at it alone. For almost two years now, my wife has been a resolute partner in my pursuit of better health. A successful "loser" herself, she's lost almost 50 lbs.

The picture above was taken on Valentine's Day of this year. We both were trying to focus on our weight loss goals after a rocky and indulgent holiday season, so instead of going out to dinner, we continued our annual practice of staying in. We've found this to be every bit as (if not more) romantic, less expensive and healthier than venturing out to a restaurant.

Cooking has become a cornerstone for Jenny and I on our weight loss journey. By skipping restaurants, we have precise control over what goes into our bodies. There's no guesswork involved, no hidden fats and calories that can trip you up.

It's easy, too. Learning to cook meals from scratch can be learned with practice, and surprisingly good results can be obtained in less than half an hour. Try getting food that quick in a decent restaurant at dinnertime.