Extraordinary ordinary everyday eating all the time

Goodness knows that I love writing about the lavish meals I cook for special occasions. I love the research that accompanies a "blue ribbon" blog post and the subsequent hours of experimentation. Cooking is my passion and this blog is a great outlet for that. I've spent many a weekend building chilis to nowhere and crafting chickens that take 4 hours to reach finger-licking good.

But during the week, our cuisine is a different animal all together. Jenny does most of the day-to-day cooking around here and she gets as busy as I do. So in lieu of high brow, "break out the china" type stuff we often have simpler (but equally tasty) fare.

Since it's this sort of everyday eating that helps me achieve my goals I present to you a "food we normally eat during the week" post. Jenny is an absolute master at this sort of cooking. I'm more of an experimenter and my playing around ends up garbage disposal material more than I'd like to admit. My lovely wife, on the other hand, has a whole stable full of culinary workhorses that she can whip up at a moment's notice.

Just take a look at this tasty sandwich she made for me for dinner last night:

Look at that melted goodness, the crispy yet hearty bread. What sexy grill marks! Such a light yet decadent cascade of flavors! Did Jenny create this oozing work of art on a thousand dollar panini press? Heck no. She did it on this:

That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's a George Foreman grill with a honkin' cast iron skillet on top. Works like a charm. I had a piping hot sandwich in my exhausted hands within minutes of walking in the door. Jenny is an awesome wife!

No, wise guys, I'm not going to post a recipe for a grilled sandwich. Heaven knows that I don't want to beat a dead horse. We just get two slices of good bread, not the super low-fat stuff. Try a hearty whole-grain option like Jenny did. Then add some good mustard, turkey and provolone cheese. Jenny sprays the grill with our oil spritzer and tops the sandwich with a rosemary-garlic spice mixture (made by Spice Islands). Easy-peasy Japanesey.

The whole sandwich is a reasonable 7 points (not bad for a dinner sandwich) and is best consumed with a mound of fruit and a large glass of water.

P.S. - Since I was dumb enough to drink a diet Coke big enough to row a boat in for lunch yesterday, this post is being published at 3:45 AM. Caffeine sucks. As a bonus for you night owls, I'll grant a wish to the first people to 5 people to comment. No wishing for more wishes...

Mission Accomplished!

Woo hoo! After two weeks of ups and downs, I'm happy to say that I've reached the first of many goals for getting back on track. I'm under 200 lbs!

I remember the excitement of weighing in under 200 lbs. for the first time, and I hope I never forget the disappointment of watching my weight go the other way. The only thing worse that being overweight is losing it and gaining it back.

So what have I done differently? Well I've cut my snacking down to nearly zero. I'm trying to drink more water and watch my portion sizes at meals. I've also eaten out a lot and I've tried to order half as much food as I normally do. Basic stuff - but sometimes it's the easy stuff that makes a difference.

So now that I'm a proud 199.4 lbs., what's next? Well kids it's time for another goal. This time, I'm aiming for a svelte 195 lbs. Ok I know that seems like a lame goal, but it's important to keep your goals within reach lest you lose focus and motivation. When times are tough and you're emotionally fragile a simple thing like setting your goal at 195 vs. 190 can mean the difference between losing weight and losing hope.

P.S. - Since so many of you seem to have related, I've finally found a pair of jeans that don't squeeze my thighs like a sausage casing. It only took me 15 trips to the store to find one. Thanks for the moral support!

P.P.S. - Hmm....sausage.

My chili is more organic than yours!

As an active foodie and food blogger, I am well aware of the organic food movement sweeping the country. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but in general I don't partake. No, it's not because I have some problem with the philosophy or practice of sustainable agriculture. Mostly it's because I'm really cheap. Organic food, for all its benefits, is pretty darn expensive. I feel like the time is coming soon when it won't cost an arm and a leg for a cut of organic beef, but for right now I've found a better solution - wild game.

There are many of you who roll your eyes and make groaning noises when someone mentions hunting. Get over it. Hunting is practical, sustainable and fun. Long before anyone knew what a genetically modified organism was, wildlife officials were practicing effective, efficient management of the animal population. Besides, do you think that the packages of meat at the market are miraculously produced from good karma and fairy dust? No, animals have to die to give you your Thanksgiving turkey (warning - images of dead turkeys, but an interesting article).

Alright, enough pontificating. Now I can't say that I harvested the animal myself as I'm a terrible hunter. In fact, I wouldn't call what I do "hunting" so much as "armed hiking". One of my buddies is a terrific hunter and this year offered to give us a half of a deer (warning - image of a dead deer). He dropped our animal instantly, minimizing the gaminess of the meat. Nice shot!

So now I've got 40 lbs. of vacuum-packed venison chilling a hole in my freezer. Jenny and I have never cooked with wild game, so we've taken our first steps with the 10 lbs. of ground meat that came with our bounty. Venison is very similar to bison in that it's a deep red color, very lean and can dry out faster than you can say, "this meat cost me 83¢ a pound!" This sounds like a call for some chili.

Normally I make a pretty vanilla bowl of red, but this time I decided to call a statue of liberty and go with a gimmick - coffee. I dropped a bit of instant coffee into my cauldron and added the complimentary flavors of cumin and chipotle Tabasco sauce (my favorite because of it's mild, smoky flavor....also, because it's fun to say "chipotle").

The end product is much more complex than my previous efforts and has a hearty chuck wagon flavor. It's a bit unconventional, so if you're timid you may want to half the cumin and coffee. For those that don't have ready access to cheap venison, you can just use ultra-lean ground beef (7% fat).

Oh and don't substitute ground coffee for the instant coffee. It does make a difference. Don't ask me how I know.

Wild Venison Chili

2 lbs. Ground Venison
1 lg. Onion, diced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 cans Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans Diced Tomatoes
2 small cans (8 oz. each) Tomato Sauce
4 cloves Garlic, mashed
2 1/2 cups Water
3 tablespoons Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
1 tablespoon 2 tablespoons Instant Coffee
2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large heavy pot coated with olive oil, brown the venison and onions. The oil prevents the lean meat from sticking too bad. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer as low as possible for 2 1/2 hours, or until thickened.

You can drastically reduce the cooking time by reducing the amount of water (down to 1 cup). But heck, you sat in the woods for 12 hours to bag that deer, so you might as well treat it right.

Makes 13 cups, 4 points per cup.

Update 2/14/07 - This photo was entered in this month's Does My Blog Look Good in This photography contest!

Update 2/28/07 - After thinking about it for a month, I'd recommend halving the cumin to 1 teaspoon, and doubling the coffee to 2 tablespoons.

Hitting the Reset Button

Ahh, the new year. The time of year where NTSC traffic spikes and the lines at Weight Watchers look like those bread lines in communist Russia, except without the carbs.

For years I looked upon New Years resolutions with contempt, believing that if you want to make a change you should start right away and not make excuses (still good advice). This year is completely different. A season spent drowning in a pool of stress, non-stop commitments and lots and lots of bad food left me reeling out of control.

So here I am, post break. I entered 2006 at a hefty 192.6 lbs. and left it at a hair over 202. So in 12 months I've managed to gain about 10 lbs. My pants don't fit, I get winded easily and I don't feel anything like I look in pictures from a year ago.

But it's a new year and I've left a few bad things behind. I know many would have liked to witness how I handle the holiday season, but I just didn't feel up to it. As a belated Christmas present, I'd like to share how I'm getting back on the wagon.

Step 1 - Milestones

Goal 1: Get my butt below 200 lbs. This is a major goal for me, as crossing 200 (going the other way) was a major achievement in my journey.

Goal 2: Fit back into my two best pairs of jeans. I blew out my "fat jeans" playing with my nephew and I don't seem to fit into any pants at the mall. I'm having a full-on wardrobe crisis.

Goal 3: Keep on Keepin' On. I want to stay on program and start dropping some weight. My all-time low was around 177 lbs., and I liked how I looked and felt at that weight.

Step 2 - Uh, go out and do it!?

Yesterday was a huge step forward as I actually said "no" to myself more than I said "yes" and stayed with the program. All I need are a few months of that and I'll be back into fighting shape!

Stay tuned...