Limited Edition Ice Cream - Go out and get some!!

Edy's Slow Churned Peppermint ice cream is so creamy and delicious, I had 2 servings. Well, ok, one and a half, but I also had a serving of the Slow Churned Vanilla Bean. Both are delicious.

The Peppermint is limited edition, I assume for the holidays. I was craving Peppermint Stick ice cream and this hit the spot. It's not overwhelmingly sweet and the peppermint is nice and smooth. The best part - slow churned means fewer calories! They have recipes on their website, like peppermint espressos!

Poll question - Has anyone tried the No Sugar Added ice cream by Edy's? It's made with Splenda. I opted against it tonight, because I rarely eat ice cream, mostly limited to sugar free popsicles and fudgsicles, and I didn't want to be disappointed. But I'd go for it in the future if I knew for a fact it was decent, or if it was on sale. I had some black raspberry ice cream made with Splenda at Captain Dusty's in Manchester-by-the-sea and it just wasn't the same.

I wonder if there's any ice cream made with cane sugar or sugar in the raw.

Final observation - the woman in line behind me bought a 12 packer of Jones Soda - made with cane sugar. It tastes different; I like the flavor.

High Fiber Cereal - South Beach Phase 2 Breakfast

Ever since I entered Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet, I've almost consistently had a bowl of cereal with fruit for breakfast daily. I've tried the following:

All Bran Original
All Bran Extra Fiber
Uncle Sam

The two All Brans taste virtually the same, and get soggy at the same rate (almost instantly). It's nearly impossible to eat this cereal without fruit. It tastes good but the consistency is kind of mushy. It's filling, though.

The Uncle Sam (usually found in the natural food section of the grocery store) is better, from a consistency standpoint. It doesn't really have any flavor, though, so I'll probably go back to the All Bran when this box runs out.

I like to add blueberries, strawberries, nectarines, peaches, apples, or bananas. Whatever's on sale at the grocery store.

On a side note, All Bran has started making crackers. I've tried the original and they're delicious with some sharp cheddar cheese. The serving size is 18 crackers, but I usually only have about half that amount. I think the SB Diet cracker serving is 4 multi-grain crackers but they may be referring to those Breton ones, which are about 2.5 or 3 times the size as the All Bran Ones.

On the days that I don't have cereal, I either have a fruit shake (yogurt, banana, frozen berries, milk or soy milk) or oatmeal. I've been buying Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Organic Rolled Oats. The oatmeal definitely needs some fruit added, or maybe some cinnamon, but it's pretty good and definitely filling.

South Beach Update

So... I really have been eating, though from the lack of activity on this blog, you wouldn't know it!

I lost about 10 pounds on the first 2 weeks of Phase 1 of South Beach Diet. Then, I went on a cruise, put on about 6 pounds, and started Phase 1 again for two more weeks when I got back. Man, was that difficult. It was okay for the first week (or third, really) but then I just got really tired of salad and started missing fruit.

I started Phase 2 on Monday, and so far, so good. I thought I'd be really happy to eat bread, but really, it's not that awesome. Maybe I'm just not eating the right bread. I have some Nature's Promise (Stop and Shop healthy line) multi-grain, and it's okay, but not like "Oh my god, I can't believe I've been missing this!!". What I really miss is the chewy restaurant bread that you dip in olive oil. YUM. But that's usually not whole grain, so it's out for now.

Some initial thoughts about Phase 2: I'm so happy I can eat fruit again and am really happy it's spring and good berries are about to be in season. Strawberries! Blueberries! Also, today I had a granny smith apple with peanut butter. That was delicious. I also really enjoy having cereal for breakfast. I'm trying All Bran. It's alright. Not like, freaking incredible, but alright, with blueberries in it. I don't like the Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Couscous. Grainy, dry, terrible. Not having it.

More updates in a while.

South Beach Comes to Worcester!

The last time I posted, I was on the "Skinny Bitch" diet. That didn't last very long, but it did introduce me to the idea of eating less, and more healthy. I was already eating pretty well, but that eating method forced me to add more vegetables into my diet. I saved a lot of money because I made my lunch almost every day, and didn't eat out as much.

Now, however, I'm eating meat, dairy, and Splenda. Yikes! I've been working out regularly for a couple of years, but I wanted to get to within a healthy BMI range. A friend suggested I do the South Beach Diet. He said it was easy, healthy, and not like Atkins. So... I got the book and started the next day. Well, I tried to start the next day, but since I had a dinner outing with the girls, and alcohol is off-limits for the first 2 weeks, I had to wait until the next day.

The next day, I had some Indian food. That's not in the South Beach diet, so the official start was 2 weeks ago, Sunday, May 4.

So far, I'm a fan of the South Beach Diet. The first 2 weeks is heavy on veggies and protein. I pretty much eat a spinach omelet (no cheese) with vegetable juice for breakfast (pretty good), a string cheese for snack (I can't believe I like it), salad with grilled chicken for lunch, an afternoon snack of nuts or hummus or something, and then a healthy dinner (chicken or fish or tofu with vegs). I follow the meal plan in the book so it's really easy.

There's a dessert in the book that's on the menu daily. It's part skim ricotta cheese with either vanilla, lemon or lime zest, or unsweetened cocoa powder, and Splenda. It doesn't sound that good, but it's not bad. Especially after not having had much sweet food all day. Jello is on the lunch menu, which is good (sugar-free, of course) and I do love Jello.

One snack I didn't like was the lettuce wrap. Lettuce, deli turkey or ham, and mayo (I used mustard). It didn't sit well at all.

Eating out isn't that tough, especially if you like fish. I had a fantastic meal at Legal Test Kitchen, and at the Atlantic Fish Company. Reviews to come later.

I'm moving into Phase 2 tomorrow. I'm going on a cruise, so this should be a challenging week!

P.S. I lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks!!

The Amateur Gourmet is at it again

I can't be bothered to post about food or restaurants. I'm too busy cooking for myself, eating the same old takeout, or reading other blogs. So... for those few readers, here's something that I'm hoping happens each week. The Amateur Gourmet playing dinner music.

Snyder's Multi Grain White Cheddar Puffs

I just bought the new Snyder's Multi Grain White Cheddar Puffs and I have to say, I recommend them. Small servings, though. If you eat too many, you stop tasting the cheese flavor and then you're just wasting calories. They sort of taste like Pirate's Booty, except they have a nice crunch and little brown specks of what I guess are the multitudes of grains. And they're shaped like little logs. Go out and get some for yourself!

That link points to the main multi grain page. Click on the Cheddar Puffs link and scroll to the White Cheddar version. The other kind of cheddar puffs, the bright orange ones, said they were artificially flavored, and I thought that might be kind of gross.

Wine in a Box

I needed some white wine to make an artichoke sauce (recipe at end of post). I went to Austin Liquor on Gold Star Boulevard. I was going to buy some Cavit but the large bottle was $11.00 and I just needed 1/4 cup. After wandering around for a while, I came across the boxed wine. Hmm, I thought. Five liters for only $10.49? That sounds like a bargain!! And it has a spout, for easy pouring. I bought it. It turns out, Ellen likes it too.

I bought Franzia Crisp White Table wine. It's described as a medium bodied wine with floral aromas and fruit flavors.
Verdict: Terrible warm, quite tasty chilled. Great in the sauce. Dangerous to have around; very easy to get at.

Sauce Recipe

Warm some chopped garlic and olive oil in a pan
Add sliced mushrooms if you like them
Sautee
Add a can of quartered artichokes (in water, not oil, drained). You can also use frozen artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's. They're really good.
Add about 1/4 cup of white wine.
Simmer for a while, until everything's nice and warmed up.
Add salt and pepper.

Toss with tortellini. I like the frozen artichoke tortellini from Trader Joe's. The gorgonzola and walnut is good too but the flavor is a little strong. You could also serve over rice. You could also add some frozen or fresh spinach, though you might need to add more oil since these items are watery.

Forays into Organic Goodness

Because of a book I read, and in the interest of trying to stay healthy, I've changed my diet somewhat. I'm eating less dairy, though by no means cutting it out. Cheese is so delish. I'm not swilling pints of milk daily, though, and I haven't been eating ice cream, though Summer's coming so that will probably go right out the window.

I've been eating practically no meat. I hadn't really had any since mid-February, with two exceptions: chicken from chinese rice. I thought it was veg. And prosciutto from Al Fresco in Holden (review to come). Last weekend, I broke down and had the chopped salad from The Cheesecake Factory, which included grilled chicken and bacon. If I was going to fall off the wagon, that was the way to go. This salad was freaking fantastic. I always love the chopped salads because they're so easy to eat. It also had avocado, and was dressed in a house vinaigrette. I'll definitely geti again!

Anyway, I wanted to give an update on what I have been eating.

Fish. Fish and more fish. Salmon and haddock, mostly. It's lighter than meat and is good for you. I do need to read up on the mercury factor, though.

Beans and veggies. I've been making many variations on my favorite black bean soup recipe, and have cut out the taco seasoning, since it's high high high in sodium. Basically, any kind of bean, frozen or fresh veggies thrown in the pot, seasonings including garlic, and served over rice or with tortillas. Sometimes I add cheese and/or sour cream. I read somewhere that you should always eat beans with rice because they digest well together.

Fruit shakes, homemade. This is for breakfast. OJ or whatever J, though I like OJ best. A banana. Frozen berries (straw, black, blue). Frozen pineapple or fresh, frozen mango (from Trader Joe's). Blend it up, drink. I usually make about 16 ounces. It keeps me full for quite a while, though without the banana it's not as filling. I think that you could also do peanut butter, milk, and banana. That would be good. This is a good book, though I know there are other smoothie books out there.

Nuts. Pistachio, mixed, whatever's on hand. A good afternoon snack that helps me not starve when I go to the gym after work.

Organic pepper jack cheese from Trader Joe's. Soooo good.

I've been trying to buy everything organic or pesticide free. It's not always easy in this city of Worcester because the grocery stores don't always have good organic sections. If they do, often the frozen foods are mostly meat items. Shaw's in Shrewsbury has a decent section. Big Y on May Street is terrible. Shaw's on Gold Star is ok, but the produce is really lacking. I guess I could try the Living Earth but I hear their prices are really high, and I don't really like their parking lot. You could get a ding in your brand new car just like that.

Also, I hear there's a food co-op that I've been meaning to try out but I don't really like the neighborhood and I can't get there during the week. I'll probably check it out during the daylight hours. So, this is a plea to Whole Foods... Please come to Worcester. We will pay the high prices for the quality food. We will!

Yes, We Have No Bananas

Why is it that Shaw's on Gold Star Boulevard never has any yellow bananas? I wanted to eat one "right now!" and I had to buy green ones because that's all they had. Right in front of the sign that said "ripe and ready bananas".

Ach. Annoying.

Banana Bunker

I totally want one of these. I love bananas but hate the brown spots that appear instantly when I put them in my purse or leftover grocery store bag to bring to work. Check out the banana bunker! The thing is, it really looks like a "toy" more than a food saver.

found by way of Corduroy Orange, a great food blog for the practical cooker/eater.

A Change in my Diet

Recently, I read a book called "Skinny Bitch" (A no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous.) This book is not a diet book. It's a pro-vegan, pro-organic, anti-factory-farm book. No details are left out about why milk is bad for you, how pesticides are in every freaking thing, and why you shouldn't eat meat or drink coffee. For at least a week, I could barely eat anything. I couldn't drink non-organic milk without thinking about the cows in the factory farms and all the details that the book described. Most of this, I knew, and blocked out. Some of it, I didn't know, and it was gross. I'm not going to outline all the details here. If you want to know where your food comes from, and can handle the shock-value that these authors are going for, get this book.

What I will say is, I am now eating less dairy, buying as many organic products as I can, and avoiding red meat, chicken, or pork (for the time being.) There is one thing you can't get from a vegan diet, vitamin B-12, and having had a B-12 deficiency in the past, I will not go through that again. If and when I do go back to red meat, it will probably be in the form of pepperoni (ok, I had both chicken and pepperoni last weekend, but not much), or it will be free-range meat that I cook myself.

Since I've been trying to buy a lot of organic foods that I haven't bought in the past, I'll be reviewing some of the best and worst here. Stay tuned.

Here's a quick review:

Newman's Own Fig Newmans - Wheat and Dairy Free: These are great. They taste almost the same as regular Fig Newtons, and after I ate about 5 or 6 of them, I still felt pretty good, not all full of fat. Price-wise, they were a little more than Fig Newtons, but not outrageous. I think somewhere around $3.50.

Snack Attack!!

Here are some reviews of some recent snack purchases.

Snyder's of Hanover Pumpernickel and Onion Sticks
These are fantastic alone or dipped in hummus or maybe a nice sour cream dip. I dipped them in Tribe Zesty Lemon hummus, which is quite delicious. Great consistency (not too chunky, not too too smooth), lots of garlic and lemon flavor.
I bought the Snyder's sticks because the grocery store (Price Chopper on Pullman St.) didn't carry the Pepperidge Farm brand of pumpernickel; they only had sesame and I think multi-grain.

Hummus
Another recent delicious hummus find was the Trader Joe's Organic hummus. Fantastic! Avoid the non-organic one though. It's flavorless and too smooth. It's more like a paste.

The best hummus ever, though, is from Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Market on Pleasant Street in Worcester. You can't go wrong. Tangy, garlicky, thinner consistency than most storebought brands.

Other good things to dip in hummus: baby carrots, tortilla chips, and Wheat Thins.

Chocolate Love

Dove dark chocolate hearts are so chocolatey and creamy that I'm going to stock up on them on Friday, when they go on sale. Go get yourself a bag!

Piccolo's on Shrewsbury St

I tried to go to Mezcal on Friday night, but at 8:20 pm, the wait for a table was an hour and a half. There were only two of us, and we were too hungry to wait that long. The bar's pretty small, and it was really loud. We decided to try Piccolo's, right across the street.

I ordered the ginger ale, which was good, but probably only about 9 ounces, and didn't have free refills. I guess it cost about the same as the water I bought at the movie theater - $3.68! But I needed it, I was having a coughing fit. Ok, back to the restaurant review.

We shared the Insalate Bel Mondo, which was absolutely the best salad I've had in forever. Romaine, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, green apples, and the best dressing made with white balsamic vinegar. The salad was gigantic and could have easily been shared by 3 people.

This was the best part of the meal. We ordered two appetizers that I thought were kind of disappointing. The giant chicken and ricotta filled ravioli, topped with pink sauce. The pink sauce was great, there were fresh tomatoes in the sauce, but the ravioli filling was bland, and the ricotta seemed kind of grainy. The other appetizer was an eggplant, chopped up and mixed with some other things, (can't remember what) and then put back into the mini eggplant shell. It was okay, just not awesome. Next time I think I'll go for a pasta entree. They all looked delicious but I didn't have the appetite for a big pasta meal. I filled up on salad!

Service was great.

My New Coffe Maker

I got a Keurig one-cup coffeemaker for Christmas! This is by far one of the most frequently used and most useful appliances in my kitchen. It's awesome. In less than a minute, I have a fresh cup of coffee, and then, almost instantly, there's another 8 ounces of hot water ready to go. I think one of the things I like best about this machine is its slick black and stainless look. Yeah, it's all about style.

This machine makes coffee that comes in little plastic pods. They go into a little vessel and the hot water runs through them and makes a nice cup of coffee. This version also came with a reusable filter so if I run out of pods, or if I want to drink the tasty Starbucks ground coffee I bought when all I had was an old-fashioned drip coffeemaker, I can use this filter.

Another awesome thing about the Keurig is that you can get just hot water! Instantly! As you can see, I'm making some lovely mint herbal tea. This Bigelow collection is quite tasty. I like the Sleepytime, a mixture of chamomile and mint. I also use the hot water feature to make instant oatmeal. I wonder what else I can use it for.

The machine came with 90 pods. Mostly coffee, but a couple of tea and some cocoa. I'm enjoying the Newman's Own Extra Dark roast. The Green Mountain Nantucket Blend is useless... pretty watery. The Caribou Organic coffee is okay. You can buy more pods online (kind of pricey but sometimes they go on sale at Target). I've been told that the Green Mountain Breakfast Blend is good, so I'm keeping my out for that, and will probably buy more pods when I run low. There are a 190 varieties of K-Cups (that's what they're called).

My First Spanakopita

I was volunteered to make the spinach pie (aka spanakopita in Greek) for Christmas 2007. I'd never made one before, but I've seen it done so many times, I figured it was easy enough. Plus, my sister made one a few weeks before, her first one, and it came out great, and we were using the same recipe.

I'll admit, it was delicious. My ratio of phyllo was a little off; could have used more on the bottom. Plus, I ran out of olive oil and had to stretch it at the corners, which were pretty high due to all of the folding over.

The recipe I used is from an old Greek cookbook, slightly modified by adding a half cup of uncooked rice (to soak up the water from the spinach) and a diced onion. You can find a good recipe here at Foodtv.com. Follow the variation that refers to the 13 by 9 inch pan. Easier and just as tasty.

Here, sauteeing one diced onion and olive oil.

2 pounds of baby spinach, wilting. Be sure to mix the onions in so they don't burn.

Melting butter and olive oil. This is for brushing between the layers of phyllo.

Crumbling the feta. One pound of feta to two pounds of spinach. Crumble it into fairly large chunks so that it doesn't melt when you mix it in with the spinach.

Ready to go into the oven.

Spanakopita is served!