The problem with diets

A friend of mine in Vermont recently won a free 6-week bootcamp, and I have been following her amazing progress (http://lisasmooserjourney.blogspot.com/)and cheering her on. In the process I have discovered her trainer Ben (http://theformerfatkid.com/) who is also inspirational, being formerly a "fat kid" who changed his life to become a fitness trainer.

While I think the intense daily workouts and strict diet plan is good for reducing and making a big change in my friend's life, I worry what will happen after these six weeks are over, because I believe that to sustain the weight loss over the long term, the changes have to be long-term as well. And I don't think this current boot camp plan is sustainable over the long term. Working out an hour a day with a trainer, who has the money for that? And carefully pre-planning every single meal? This is the problem with many diets, they are just not sustainable. While this is good for my friend right now as she wants to get down to a more healthy weight, she will need a new plan for the long-term to sustain her new lower weight.

To sustain weight over the long term, we must make small changes that we can truly keep on doing forever. These things will be different for each person, maybe someone could commit to only eat one plate of food every meal, not going for seconds. Someone else might decide they want to eat at least 50 percent of every plate full of vegetables. I personally commit to run one biggish race every year, and then train for that race, and that gets me more active than I otherwise would have been. Someone else might challenge themselves to buy one new vegetable each week, look it up on the internet to find a recipe, and cook it up to try and increase their vegetable intake. These small but sustainable changes will make a big difference in the long run, and they will make the difference between sustaining a weight loss or just going back to your old way of life, which would also give you your old body back.

Small but sustainable wins the game!

roasted Cauliflower and asparagus sandwiches

I made this tonight (minus the egg because I wasn't that hungry) but it was SOOO good, would be even better with an egg on top! http://dishingupdelights.blogspot.com/2009/03/open-faced-cauliflower-and-asparagus.html

Just the cauliflower/shallot puree is a great find! But I find the cauliflower takes more like 45 minutes to roast at 400 degrees. So delicious!

Also, for some reason, my ear is ringing.

A healthier Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian is a product of "Indian Chinese" cuisine. This is neither Indian nor Chinese, but a cuisine that has evolved over the many years Chinese people have had restaurants in India, similar to how Chinese restaurants in North America have items such as fortune cookies that you won't see in Chinese restaurants in China. Any city with a sizeable Indian population will have Indian Chinese restaurants. To me, the cuisine is totally unique and usually very delicious.

One of my favorite dishes is called "Gobi Manchurian." It's cauliflower florets breaded and deep fried and topped with a delicious piquant ginger/garlic/onion topping. You can order it dry with a minimal sauce, which is usually eaten as an appetizer or "wet" with a gravy that is usually eaten with rice as part of the main meal.

I love this dish but I like to eat healthy at home and deep frying just doesn't make the cut. So I tried a roasting technique I learned from another recipe, and put a gobi manchurian sauce on it. This is what I ended up with:

Roasted Gobi Manchurian

1 head cauliflower
2 tsp olive oil
salt
pepper

2 tsp Oil
4 tsp ginger, minced
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red chili flakes (or more, to taste)
1 small bunch spring onions (about 5) sliced thinly on the diagonal
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 450 F. Cut cauliflower into florets. Toss cauliflower with 2 tsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in oven for 45 minutes, turning once or twice during this time period, or until browned and fork tender.

When cauliflower is almost done, heat 2 tsp oil in a medium-hot frying pan. Add ginger, garlic and crushed red chilli and fry for a minute, or until slightly soft. Add the salt and spring onions, stir fry for just another 60 seconds or so.

Add 2 tsp. cornstarch to 1/2 cup water and dissolve well with a fork or whisk. Add to the onion mixture and stir continuously till it boils. Boil till the sauce becomes thick and transparent, not more than a few minutes. Add in roasted cauliflower, stir to coat, and serve.

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The cauliflower was great, Mahesh especially loved it. For me, it was very good but the sauce wasn't as strong/piquant as I remembered from the restaurant. Maybe it needs some vinegar? Not sure. I doubled the ginger and garlic in the recipe I am recording here for next time, and I will compare this with other Gobi Manchurian sauces to find out how to make this closer to the restaurant version, this sauce would be nice to try.

Apple Cheddar salad

I just whipped up this salad for lunch, it was great and I don't want to forget the recipe!

for one salad:
-- 2-3 cups spring mix
-- 2 T. thinly sliced onions
-- 1/2 med. apple, thinly sliced
-- 1 square inch sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

dressing
-- 2 t. blueberry jam
-- 2 t. apple cider vinegar
-- 2 t. olive oil
-- salt and pepper

-- put all dressing ingredients into a small tupperware container, shake vigorously, open up, taste, adjust ingredients/seasonings to taste

-- put spring mix on a plate, top with the onions, apples, and cheese. Pour dressing over. Eat!

Spicy Cornmeal Muffins take 2

I think this one is the winner. A mix of Indian spices, slightly sour creamy yogurt, vegetables, and smokiness makes this a very delicious muffin.

2 tsp oil
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp. sambar powder (or any indian masala spice mix)

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal -- it is not a good idea to substitute polenta for this (I found that out the hard way)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp canned chipotles and sauce
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp minced cilantro
1 cup lowfat yogurt (or buttermilk)
1 large egg
1 tbsp butter, melted

-- Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit
-- spray oil or butter on 12 muffin tins, set aside
-- Saute cabbage, onion, and peppers with sambar powder in oil in a frying pan until cooked through. Add salt and pepper.
-- Measure out dry ingredients into bowl
-- Measure out wet ingredients into a smaller bowl, mix up so the egg is well incorporated
-- Add veggies and wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix up. Spoon into muffin tins. I got 12 muffins with this recipe. Bake for 35 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

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The taste of these was good, but the texture was a bit too wet. Maybe because of the additional vegetables. Next time I would try less wet ingredients, maybe only 3/4 cup yogurt?

Mona's Chilaquiles

I have no idea if this recipe is authentic in any way, but it is my new favorite breakfast/brunch dish so I wanted to share:

Mona's Chilaquiles
(amounts for one person)

2 eggs
2 taco-sized corn tortillas (maybe 5 inches across)
2/3 cup black beans (I use my black beans from below, but canned would be just fine)
2/3 cup salsa
2 Tablespoons avocado
1 Teaspoon canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, if desired (Mahesh likes the smokiness of this, I don't like it as much so I leave it out of mine)

IF YOU LIKE POACHED EGGS WITH RUNNY CENTERS (like me!):

1. Toast the corn tortillas in a dry skillet until they start to crisp up a bit, be careful not to burn
2. Remove tortillas from skillet, chop or tear up the tortillas into strips
3. Put black beans, salsa, tortillas, and chipotle if desired into skillet. Mix up and cook until bubbly.
4. Make two wells in the mixture, crack an egg into each well. Add salt and pepper onto each egg. Cover with glass lid and let the eggs steam/poach until done to your liking. You may need to add a bit of extra water if the bean mixture looks like it's drying out. I like my yolks totally runny for this dish.
5. As smoothly as possible, pour the bean mixture and eggs out onto your plate. Try to keep the eggs on top of the bean mixture. Top with avocado and salt and pepper the avocado a bit.
6. Enjoy!

IF YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS COOKED THROUGH (like Mahesh)

1. Toast the corn tortillas in a dry skillet until they start to crisp up a bit, be careful not to burn, remove from skillet.
3. Add a bit of butter or oil into skillet, when hot crack eggs into pan, add salt and pepper, and fry eggs over medium heat until hard throughout, flipping once.
2. Meanwhile, chop or tear up the tortillas into strips
3. When the eggs are fried to your liking, remove to your serving plate.
4. Put black beans, salsa, tortillas, and chipotle if desired into skillet. Mix up and cook until bubbly.
5. Add your fried eggs back on top of mixture and cover with lid until everything's heated through. Nothing's worse than cold eggs.
6. As smoothly as possible, pour the bean mixture and eggs out onto your plate. Try to keep the eggs on top of the bean mixture. Top with avocado and salt and pepper the avocado a bit.
7. Enjoy!

BLACK BEAN RECIPE HERE:
http://monasrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/11/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html

These are a few of my favorite things

When I moved to Vancouver I found good Mexican food (or Tex-Mex, or Cali-Mex, or anything) to be in very short supply. "Short supply" meaning "nonexistent." At first I sobbed and moped around the house, hankering for a small bite of El Cholo's fajitas, or even a nibble of a baja fish taco. Margaritas? Forget about it. The situation was almost too disheartening to bear.

But one fateful day, I took matters into my own hands and started making Mexican-styley food myself. One of the first recipes I found was for these "Mexican-Style Beans" from the Schwarzbein Principle Vegetarian Cookbook and ever since I first made them I haven't stopped. Now, I cook these puppies up by the bucketfull and freeze them in two-cup increments and then use them for months in all sorts of recipes, from bean burritos, to enchiladas, to that squash casserole I made the other day. Sometimes, when it's very late and I'm very hungry I eat them just as they are, warmed up in a bowl with some sour cream/cheese and cilantro.

Mexican-style Beans

2 Tablespoons oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 diced green or red bell pepper (I usually use red)
1 small diced fresh jalapeno pepper, or just add in some red pepper flakes or tabasco sauce to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (or 1 teaspoon coriander, or both)
4 cups cooked and drained black beans or pinto beans*
1 cup tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, or canned diced tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

*I cook my black beans from dried for this recipe. 2/3 lb. of dried black beans will cook up to the 4 cups necessary for this recipe. Soak dried beans for 4 hours and cook in a pressure cooker for 7 whistles and let the pressure release naturally. If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak beans over night and boil 1 hour or until done or just buy canned, it's okay.

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In a large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, cumin, oregano, and coriander if using. Saute until vegetables are softened and nearly tender, about 5 minutes.

Add drained beans, enchilada sauce or tomato sauce or tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste (it will need a LOT of salt) and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, taste, and adjust seasonings.

Enjoy!