Back on one of the Tuesday Tips I mentioned that I was battling the bulge again and some of you asked for me to let you know how I was doing.
Well, I am doing great! I’ve lost 6.5 pounds in about a month. I feel better and my clothes are starting to get loose. I’m counting the minutes until I can drop a size.
But to accomplish that I had to do some soul searching and realize something very troubling – I am a carboholic. Worse yet, that being a carboholic was so not good for my system. All that bloating and big belly started to go away as soon as I curtailed my carbs.
I did that in part with that wonderful book my daughter gave me — Eat This, Not That. I have the supermarket edition which is great because it lays out in no nonsense fashion what to buy and what not to buy and the reasons for those choices (although there is one with which I do not agree and more on that later).
First I cut back on my carbs and the carbs that I eat are lower in fat and sugar and higher in dietary fiber. Fiber is wonderful because it fills you up and keeps you from having that empty sensation.
How did I do that? Thomas’ Light Multi-grain English Muffins. At 100 calories per muffin, they have only 1 gram of fat and 8 grams of dietary fiber. In the mornings I will have it with a smear of one of those Laughing Cow Light Cheeses – also great! Only 35 calories per little wedge, but packed with flavor.
For Sunday pasta meals, we switched to Barilla Whole Grain Pasta (suprisingly on the Not That list, but I don’t agree). With 200 calories per serving, it has only 1.5 grams of fat and 6 grams of dietary fiber. Plus, it’s tasty unlike some other whole grain pastas.
At lunch I make sure to have veggies of some kind, whether alone or with grilled chicken, or a sandwich made with a muffin, low fat cheese and low fat ham (not a big turkey fan which would help, I know) or chicken.
For snacks – nuts, nuts, nuts. A handful of almonds (approximately 12), cashews or walnuts are a great snack at around 3 pm.
At night we try to keep it simple. Grilled steak, chicken or eggs with veggies and a salad. Actually, we’ve been eating a lot more eggs. They are not as bad for you as people think and if you buy some Eggland’s Best or another high quality egg, they are packed with vitamins and have lower cholesterol than regular eggs. I always look for a sale on them and stock up.
For a late night (around 8 pm) snack, I’ve been making our own desserts – like a low fat fruit-packed ambrosia — or having a small handful of Brookside Dark Chocolate Covered Pomegrantes. I get a 2 lb bag at Costco and they are absolutely delicious. 22 pieces are about 200 calories, but I stick to about half that amount because they are so decadent and dark chocolate and pomegrante are packed with anti-oxidants.
Adding all those fruits, nuts and veggies has gone a long way in helping as well. They keep me feeling fuller and I’m not having those horrible hunger pangs that wreck most diets. In fact, I’m not even thinking about this as a diet anymore, but as a lifestyle change because I can see myself eating like this for the rest of my life.
So, that’s my confession about being a carboholic and how I’ve changed some of my habits. I’ve also been going to the gym regularly and that’s been a big help. Any increase in activity is good for you, including a brisk walk!
Hope today’s Thursday Thoughts might be of help to you. 
I love the taste of kabobs whether they have lamb, beef, chicken or shellfish. But the last thing I want to do at night after a long day at work is to come home and have to worry about skewering everything. Of course, I could do it the night before, but again, it’s too much effort on a weeknight.
So what can you do if you love that melding of veggies, but don’t want all the work of kabobbing them?
You can make your kabobs in the skillet sans skewering!
Ingredients
- Protein of your choice (or no protein for that matter)
- One Red Pepper
- One Onion
- One small zucchini aka green squash
- One small yellow squash
- 8 or so small to medium mushrooms
- One large tomato
- 1/8 cup sherry/balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce/juice/ketchup
Directions
Place a little olive oil in your skillet, preferably a large cast iron one. It’ll hold the heat better and will also give you some dietary iron for your system.
Put the skillet on high heat and get it nice and warm. While you are doing that, wash and slice the mushrooms. Place them in the skillet to cook first on high heat. Mushrooms have a lot of water and you want to evaporate all that water and get the mushrooms starting to brown before you add any other veggies, otherwise you will just be steaming them and not pan broiling them.
Next, cut the red pepper into inch cubes. Add to mushrooms once all the water is gone. Set the heat to medium-high.
Cut the onions into one inch cubes. Once the red peppers are starting to sweat a little, add the onions. Give everything a good stir every now and then.
Prep a second pan with a little oil for your protein or if you have a grill handy, get that warming up.
On a different cutting board, slice your beef/lamb/pork/chicken into thin slices for faster cooking. If you’re using shrimp or scallops there is no need to do anything with them other than cook them.
Chop the yellow and green squash in half and then slice into uniform slices. About 1/4 inch thick since we want it to cook fairly fast. Once the onions are starting to look translucent, toss in the squash.
In the second pan, place your slices of meat or shellfish. Leave them on one side until they are starting to brown and then turn. Keep an eye on the veggies and give them a stir or two.
While the meat/fish is cooking, slice the tomato into eighths and then cut those eighths in half. You want to toss the tomato in at that very last minute. You can also substitute grape or cherry tomatoes, but not very big ones.
Once all the meat is cooked, place it on a plate and let it rest for a second. You are going to slice it into strips and then mix it in with the veggies. Once it is all mixed, add the sherry/balsamic vinegar (not apple vinegar as it is too strong) to the veggie/meat mix and stir. Then add the tomato sauce/juice/ketchup. Not too much. Give it a stir and cook for just a few minutes.
That’s it. Skillet kabobs! Serve them over rice, couscous or rice pilaf.
Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday’s Tip!
I don’t know why, but toward the end of the summer I developed a taste for sangria again. Maybe because it was a delightful way to cool off on those hot summer days and nights. I’ve been playing with the recipe and have created this refreshing variation on the traditional mix!
I hope you enjoy it.
Caridad’s Sweet and Sexy Sangria
Ingredients
1 bottle red wine (a Malbec, Rioja, Cabernet or Pinot Noir will do. Maipe Malbec is great and sub $10 at Costco)
1/2 bottle Chilled Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider (or any other sparkling cider)
2 oranges
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup grapes
Directions
- Peel oranges. Cut into eighths and then cut the eighths in half. Cut grapes in half. Cut frozen strawberries in half.
- Place fruit into a pitcher and add wine. Let fruit and wine macerate for at least 10 minutes in the refridgerator. If you can wait longer, the flavors will be better.
- Add chilled sparkling cider to fruit and wine mixture.
- Remove some fruit from this mix and place in individual glasses. Pour wine/cider mixture into the glass and serve.
What I like about this mix is that you get the extra fruitiness and sweetness with the addition of the cider and don’t have to add sugar to get that.
Some recipes call for lemon in the mix and also don’t ask you to peel the citrus, but I find that the lemon and the peels make the mix too acidic. For a change of pace, cube some apples and toss them in or go even more tropical with some pineapple and changing to a white wine.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip.
Don’t forget to drop by Julia Amante’s blog for a chance to win a copy of SINS OF THE FLESH and a T-shirt. You can click here to visit Julia Amante’s blog.
The other day I needed to clean out fridge and freezer in anticipation of the space that I would need for all the Christmas Eve food prep! But what does one do with frozen berries and sour cream (they had a sale so I went a little overboard!).
Then there was the box of vanilla wafers just sitting on the shelf and I thought, why not a variation on a simple trifle. It took just a little prep, some sitting in the fridge and even my hubby, who is not a dessert person, loved it.
So, next time you want something quick, semi-healthy and light, try this Trifle with Berries and Sour Cream!
Ingredients
1 lb frozen blueberries
2 lb frozen strawberries
1 pint sour cream
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 capful vanilla extract
4 packets of Splenda
1 box of vanilla wafers
Directions
- Empty frozen strawberries and blueberries into a bowl. Let them thaw and cut strawberries in half. In the summer months you can use real berries, but you’ll need to put a little sugar on them to generate the juice you get from the frozen berries. Set this bowl aside.
- Dump sour cream into another bowl. Add capful of vanilla, Splenda and marshmallows. Mix well and place in fridge to set a bit. About an hour.
- Use a quart and half clear glass bowl (it looks nice to see the layers of cookies, berries and sour cream!). Line the bottom and one row up with the vanilla wafers. Spoon some of the berries onto this layer, but try to leave the liquid behind for now. It’ll make it’s way to the bottom anyway.
- Cover with about a cup of the sour cream mixture, spreading it out all over the berries.
- Add another layer and row of vanilla wafers above the sour cream mixture.
- Cover this vanilla wafer layer with more berries and again, another layer of sour cream.
- Place some of the vanilla wafers in a plastic sandwich bag and crush them until they are a little coarser than bread crumbs. It’s okay if you’ve got a few pieces that are chunkier, but not too big. Sprinkle these pieces on top of the sour cream layer.
- Refridgerate for several hours.
Easy, right? Now there are several variations you can do to this recipe. For starters, use light or fat free sour cream to reduce the calories. If you don’t like Splenda, substitute confectioner’s sugar. Real sugar will be too coarse in the sour cream mixture. Want to make it a little more adult? Add a touch of alcohol to berry mixture. Amaretto, Frangelica or Navan vanilla brandy would all be delightful. If you want to do strawberries only, try adding Godiva Chocolate Liqueur.
You can also add frozen or fresh raspberries to the mix. Just keep the ratio of 3 pounds to the one pint.
If you find as you’re doing the layers that you’ve got left over berries/sour cream, just keep on layering. You can also puree some of the berries for a sauce that you can drizzle over the trifle once it’s served.
Hope you enjoy this little treat!
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Mexico on several occasions for business and totally enjoyed the time I spent there. The people are warm and gracious, the margaritas are refreshing and the food . . . Well, the food is divine. I could probably eat Mexican food every day and not complain!
My experience with Mexican culture and the many Mexican-Americans in the Jersey Shore area is what led me to make the hero of SINS OF THE FLESH, Mick Carrera, a Mexican-American. As for the heroine, she is Mexican-Irish, a nod to my editor at Grand Central Publishing as well as to two cultures rich in the arts.
There are a number of scenes in SINS OF THE FLESH where the characters are enjoying Mexican food prepared by Mick’s mother at his family’s Mexican restaurant. I’ve shared some Mexican/Tex-Mex recipes with you in the past.
There was my ever popular party food – the layered Tex-Mex dip. You can get the recipe for that Tex-Mex dip, by clicking here.
Or you can try some wonderful nutty and buttery Mexican Christmas Cookies by clicking here.
My friends at Cuervo, who are celebrating their 250th anniversary, have a mess of great margarita recipes at their site. You can check out the Cuervo Margarita recipes by clicking on this link.
But now, another recipe for one of the foods that you’ll see in SINS OF THE FLESH and it’s a simple one. While I love enchiladas and tamales, they are a lot of work. This is an easy recipe and one which you can use for your next party or as a side dish to your tacos, burritos or even as a topping on your hamburger.
Guacamole
- Ingredients
2 ripe Florida Avocados (or 4 ripe Hass Avocados)
Juice of two limes (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2-4 shots Cholula or Tabasco hot sauce (to your taste or omit if you do not like spicy)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup medium onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely minced
Optional:
2 ripe Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
- Directions
Slice the avocados in half and remove the seed. Scoop out the insides of 3/4 of the avocados. Leave 1/4 to the side for now.
Mash the avocados with a fork and add the lime juice and remaining ingredients. Mix together.
Chop the remaining 1/4 avocado into small pieces and add to your mixture. If you’ve chosen to add the tomatoes and queso fresco, add the tomatoes now and 1/4 cup of the queso fresco.
Mix all the ingredients lightly. Garnish with the remaining queso fresco.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip. Just to make it all clear and legal, Cuervo is one of my clients, but I’m recommending their products because they make a wonderful tequila! FYI – If you ever have a chance to visit the city of Tequila in Mexico, see if you can spend some time at Mundo Cuervo, a cultural center established by Jose Cuervo and dedicated to Mexico and the history of tequila. I’ve been there and it is absolutely amazing!
With the holidays here, this is one of my favorite dishes to put on the table! Yep, it’s the classic green bean casserole. My sister gave me an alternate recipe to use this Thanksgiving which was really tasty, but I also like this creamier traditional recipe, but with a little kick of course!
For the Campbell’s Traditional Green Bean Casserole recipe, you can click here. But why not try this variation on the classic!
Ingredients:
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
4 tablespoons butter
4 cups cooked green beans (frozen or fresh work best)
1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk (or for an even creamier taste substitute half and half)
1 to 2 cups French’s Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- If using fresh green beans, wash and cut into 2 inch pieces.
- Steam/Microwave green beans until just tender. Set aside to cool in a large mixing bowl.
- Saute onion and garlic in the butter over low heat until they are caramelized.
- Add 1/2 cup milk/half & half and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (this is much easier to do if you are using a non-stick pan.)
- Add mushroom soup mix and stir until creamy.
- Add onion/mushroom soup mixture to the green beans and toss. Then add 3/4 cups of both the parmesan and cheddar cheeses and toss. Also add about 1/2 cup of the French’s Fried Onions and toss.
- Lightly grease 2 quart casserole dish. Place green bean mixture into casserole and top with the remaining French’s Fried Onions, parmesan and cheddar cheeses.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.
For another variation, fry up some chopped red peppers and add to the mixture!
When I was researching SINS OF THE FLESH, I wanted to make sure that I gave readers a taste of the characters in a variety of ways, including in the foods that they would eat. Since my research revealed a large Mexican population down the shore as well as in towns like Freehold, it seemed that my mercenary and ex-Army Ranger hero, Mick Carrera, would be Mexican.
And since I love books with foods/chefs (THE PERFECT MIX, SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS and MORE THAN A MISSION), it only seemed right that after Mick’s family had legally immigrated to the United States, they would succeed in their American Dream by opening a Mexican restaurant in one of the shore towns.
But Mexican food is more than tacos and burritos or the Tex-Mex dip recipe I gave you so long ago. I’ve been lucky to visit Mexico City, Tequila and Guadalajara on various occasions and sample the amazing dishes available in those cities (as well as the margaritas!).
But today’s Tuesday Tip comes courtesy of a visit that my daughter paid to a local Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia. She made the dish for us and it was delicious. Plus, it’s simple and incredibly tasty. What could be better? So here is today’s Tuesday Tip Recipe:
Ingredients:
- ripe plantains (2) or 2 packages of Goya Frozen Ripe Plantains
- sour cream
- queso fresco
- chopped chives
Directions:
- 1. Most stores carry plantains, but they must be ripe for this recipe. That means they should have a deep yellow/spotted black outer skin so they will be sweet. Getting them perfectly ripe can be hard, which is why I cheat and rely on the Goya Frozen Ripe Plantains. Always ripe, no peeling and lots of sweet.
- 2. If you’re using fresh plantains, peel them. Cut diagonally into ovalish slices. Alternative – open the Goya box.
- 3. Fry up the plantains, either in vegetable oil or butter. This is one time not to use virgin olive oil because it will overpower the sweetness factor. Cook until golden and caramelized.
- 4. Place the fried plantains on a slightly greased serving dish (They are so sugary, they will stick!).
- 5. Garnish with sour cream, some crumbled queso fresco (available in the dairy section) and the chopped chives.
- 6. Serve. This recipe will comfortably provide a side dish or appetizer for 4 to 5 people.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Behind the Scenes look and Tuesday Tip recipe!
I was in Costco last weekend and came across Jose Cuervo Strawberry Margarita mix. Yum. The only thing tastier is a mango margarita, but I’m not sure that flavor is popular enough to merit a mix.
But, I love strawberry margaritas and even better – It’s delicious as just a smoothie! Add a banana or some other fresh fruit or even some fruit sorbet to kick your smoothie up a notch.
I haven’t tried adding a low fat yogurt or ice cream for a creamy smoothie, but I think I’ll give that a shot this weekend when I have some friends over.
For more great Jose Cuervo products and recipes, you can visit www.cuervo.com.
**Disclaimer: In my other life, Jose Cuervo is a client, but I’m offering you this Tuesday Tip because it’s an awfully good mix!
Sunday was one of those lazy days and neither hubby nor I wanted to cook. Plus, I had done some food shopping and there were some things we had to use so they would stay fresh. Hubby recalled a recipe he had seen on TV and did a little improvisation. You can as well and end up with a healthy, hearty and economical meal!
So today’s Tuesday tip is a recipe for Cannellini & Pasta! Now the fun thing about this is that if you some protein in the meal, you can use either ham, chicken, sausage or even shrimp.
Bob’s Cannellini & Pasta:
Ingredients:
2 cloves Garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup Olive Oil
28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
1 16 oz can cannellini beans
2 handfuls fresh spinach (baby if possible, if not, please chop)
1/2 pound pasta (preferably a rigatoni, penne, etc. This is for 2 people. Make it a pound for more than 2 people)
Optional: 1/2 pound protein (ham, chicken, sausage, shrimp)
Directions:
Saute garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil until garlic is soft.
Add canellini beans and also, the liquid from the can. Saute for a few minutes and then add crushed tomatoes. Reduce sauce until it begins to thicken. Add chopped spinach. Allow spinach to wilt. Spinach has a lot of natural water, so you will need to reduce the sauce a little more.
If you are going to add the ham, chicken or sausage, cook this first with the garlic and red pepper flakes. If you’re using shrimp, you don’t want to overcook them and should add them with the spinach.
Hope you enjoyed this Tuesday’s Tip. Also, don’t forget about the Brenda Novak auction and some fun news for you – we’re having a guest blogger tomorrow – Kathye Quick. Kathye is a dear friend and the author of several books. Tomorrow she’ll be blogging about her latest CYNTHIA AND CONSTANTINE. Here’s a little blurb about it! Also, if you drop by and leave a comment, you will be eligible to win a CALLING T-shirt!
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé. Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leyborne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William – including Cynthia. Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers that the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land. Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives.
There are just some herbs and spices that I always keep around the house. Basil. Parsley. Oregano. Chili. Cinnamon. Garlic (is that a spice?)
Lifetime TV has a list of spices for you to use to spice up your life! Just click here or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/health/diet-nutrition/best-bites-nice-spice-3?cmpid=Email-Healthy%20Living-2009-03-31.
Some of Lifetime’s recommendations are cayenne, my favorite cinnamon, cloves (blech!), fennel (double blech!) and my most popular garlic!
I use cinnamon a lot in my coffee, hot chocolate and my grandma’s secret cold recipe (not so secret since I told you about it last year). Garlic is great on food, but also by itself when it’s roasted and you can spread it on bread.
What are some of your favorite spices?
