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Enjoy....and Happy Holidays from The Svelte Gourmet!

Eat to live? Or live to eat?

As I’m sure you can guess if you’ve been following me long enough, I’m the latter. I definitely live to eat. I don’t know if it’s my affinity for cooking, my love for experimenting with new foods, or that I’m just bored (not likely!), but I’m always thinking about my next meal. And in case you’re wondering, it’s not because I’m actually hungry. I’ve stopped using that excuse a long time ago!

I’ve run across a few people in my life who will say things like, “Wow, I forgot to eat lunch today.” Not me, buddy. It doesn’t matter what I’ve packed for lunch, I look forward to it from the moment I finish my oatmeal. Case in point – I decided that I’m not grocery shopping again until we eat the food we have in the house. So for lunch, I had cereal (to finish the milk) and left over green beans. Odd combination, I know. But I looked forward to it nonetheless.

I’ve also run across people in my life who have said – and believed – that if you exercise, you can eat whatever, and as much as, you want. This may work for those “I never gain weight!” people, but it doesn’t work for me. I suppose if I were a professional athlete, I’d have a daily calorie burn that would surpass the calories in anything and everything I could put in my mouth. But know this – if you’re trying to lose weight with diet and exercise, you have to do both. Typical daily exercise for most of us does not give us a license to eat whatever we want. It’s backfired on me before. For example, running burns about 100 calories per mile. I’m up to seven miles (woo hoo!), but I can promise you that it’s easier to skip the fried calamari than to run seven miles. Trust me.

Luckily, I’ve found that my “live to eat” mindset works even when my new lifestyle mandates a 1,200 calorie a day max. And like I wrote a couple posts ago, this is just about all I can eat (coupled with five workouts a week) if I want to drop a pound a week. Counting calories becomes a game. I learn what I can eat for a few calories. I figure out which foods keep me feeling full. I make exchanges….I eat whatever I want (office chocolate jar!), but I’ll trade the calories for something else later. It’s pretty much no holds barred if you watch your portion sizes and be honest and diligent with your food log. It can be fun if you think positively.

One thing it does take is a plan. Unless you’re ok with eating the same thing every day (we “live to eat” types aren’t), you have to be creative. What I’ve found is that if I keep breakfast to 250-300 calories, lunch to 350 calories, dinner to 400 calories and a 100 calorie snack or two, I’m there.

So what does this look like? I know several people who have recently started diets, and the common complaint is, “I just don’t know what to eat.” So they end up eating the same thing every day or drinking shakes, only to get bored and quit. Or worse, they eat restaurant salads every day and end up sabotaging themselves with thousands of calories of salad dressing and cheese.

I have a better plan. Luckily, each main course in my cookbook has between 300 and 400 calories for both the entrée and The Svelte Gourmet Signature Salad on the side (94 calories). If you measure/weigh your food and stay true to what a portion size should be – for dinner and your other meals – this isn’t that hard. And you won’t be bored!

EXAMPLE DAY ONE (Calories in parentheses)
Breakfast – Instant oatmeal (160) with 1 tbsp raisins (43), coffee with Splenda and 2 tbsp non-dairy creamer (60) (Tip: buy the Weight Control oatmeal. It has the same calorie count, but it’s packed with extra protein and fiber to keep you full!)
Lunch – 2 cups of TSG Creamy Broccoli Soup (150) and 4 oz. grilled chicken (140)
Snack – Snack-sized Greek yogurt (90)
Dinner – 4 oz. grilled London Broil (220), TSG Signature Salad (94), two cups steamed broccoli (60)
Snack – 1 cup frozen grapes (100) (you have to try these, they’re so good!)
TOTAL: 1,117 calories (yay, some to spare!)

EXAMPLE DAY TWO
Breakfast – high fiber cereal (160); ½ cup skim milk (45); coffee as usual (60)
Lunch – 6-inch Subway sandwich (turkey, ham or roast beef, no cheese, no dressing – meat, veggies and vinegar only!) (300)
Snack – Apple (100)
Dinner – TSG Eggplant Parmesan (330); TSG Signature Salad (94)
Snack – 4 cups air-popped popcorn misted with butter cooking spray and sprinkled with salt (120)
TOTAL: 1,209 calories

EXAMPLE DAY THREE
Breakfast – 2 eggs (140); sliced medium tomato (25); coffee (60)
Lunch – 1 cup TSG Chili with light sour cream (240); 1 cup cucumber slices (20)
Snack – banana (110); trip to the office candy jar (2 Hershey’s miniatures) (80)
Dinner – TSG Make Your Own Pizza (395)
Snack – Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (yum!!!) (140)
TOTAL: 1,210 calories

See that?! A full day’s worth of food, plus snacks, and you’re still sticking to a decent caloric intake. I promise you, this is feasible, even if you live to eat. It fits my live to eat lifestyle perfectly, it’s not boring, I can still experiment in the kitchen, and I have plenty of energy to fuel my workouts. Bon appétit!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

A mile (or three!) in my shoes.

When last we met, I was dishing on healthy summer sides – simple, healthy choices to make in order to beat the summer weight I inevitably always put on in the warmer months. I was determined to beat it this year, and not let my “special occasions” get the best of me. Enjoying party and boat food (and drinks!) once in a while is fine. But if you’re like me, summer becomes one giant special occasion.

If you read between the lines of that sentence, you’ll gather that I didn’t exactly practice what I preach. “Me…becomes….giant.” That’s how I read that sentence. OK, so it wasn’t that bad. I gained about eight pounds (rather quickly, I’ll admit). My bikinis looked good in June and not really that good in August (they must be shrinking). And my shorts and skirts are tight. Urg. I always get a physical in August, so there’s no avoiding the reality of the scale.

My Very Fit, Tiny Doctor: “How did this happen? We need to check your thyroid. I’m ordering a full work up.”

Me: “No need to check my thyroid…again. I ate ice cream every day since our vacation in June. No real mystery here.”

Tiny Doctor: “But we lose weight in the summer! All those great outdoor activities!”

Me: “You mean like eating?” (she didn’t laugh)

Tiny Doctor: “You need to lose 20 pounds.”

TWENTY?! I only gained eight. If I lose 20 pounds, all the clothes in my closet that I can’t button now will be too big. TWENTY?!

Me: “Ha ha, no seriously.”

Tiny Doctor: “I think you should weigh X pounds.”

Me: “I haven’t weighed X pounds since 8th grade.”

Tiny Doctor: “By next August, you will. Tell me about your diet and exercise.”

Me: “Well, I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. Classes, elliptical, Body Pump for weight training. And I write a healthy cooking blog. Whole grains, lean proteins, lots of veggies. I know what to do.”

Tiny Doctor gave me a look that all but said “knowing is clearly not doing.” Gulp. How embarrassing!

Tiny Doctor: “You need to run.”

Me: “I don’t run. What about the elliptical? Or step class?”

Tiny Doctor: “No, running is the answer. Three to six miles a day.”

OK. Hold the phone. Three to six miles? Running? I can't run. I mean, I can do hours of advanced step class like it’s nobody’s business. But running is a fight-or-flight-only activity. I last about three minutes on the treadmill.

Tiny Doctor: “At your current weight and BMI, your body needs about 1,400 calories to maintain. I want you to eat 1,100 calories a day of protein and whole grains until you lose the weight and then 1,200 as a lifestyle. Run 3-6 miles 3 days per week and weight train 2 days per week. You should lose about 1 pound per week and lower your body fat by 2%.”

Hold the other phone! Take all the numbers out of this sentence and it reads like one of my blog entries. Eat right and exercise. Lean proteins, veggies, whole grains. Keep track of your calories. Eat less than you burn and you’ll lose weight. Lose weight slowly to keep it off. It's a lifestyle! I know how to do this! But really, I thought my base numbers would be higher.

What this really speaks to is the misconception that our bodies need 2,000 calories a day, as nutrition labels would suggest. Clearly if I ate 2,000 calories a day, I’d gain weight! (Which is evidently exactly what happened this summer.) One size does not fit all! I was shocked at my 1,400 number. That’s a strict diet for most people! I encourage you to have your doctor calculate your BMI and show you the number of calories that your body burns in 24 hours "just being" -- in other words, going through your daily routine without deliberate exercise. The burn number is probably a lot lower than you think. No wonder it’s so hard to lose weight! It's depressing, but once you have the math (your math), it's hard to argue. Calories in, calories out.

This is an outrage. Twenty pounds. Ha! I got to the office and shared my story, looking for a little sympathy. (“Can you believe it?! Twenty pounds!” “Where will you lose it from?” “I don’t know!”). Then I called my mom. She’ll be on my side, surely. Nobody tells her little girl she needs to change!

Me: “Mom, my doctor wants me to lose TWENTY POUNDS! Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Mom: “Good for her! You hold onto that doctor! She knows how important weight is at your age!”

Gee, thanks Mom! Now I’m fat and old. (wink…I love you Mom!) But I know she’s right. Eight pounds this summer is ten next summer, and 12 the year after that. And I’m almost 36, after all. It’s a recipe for disaster, and I have to get a handle on it now. Doctor's orders.

Oh well. I’ve always wanted to be a runner. There’s no time like the present! I went home from work and put my sneakers on. Our road is exactly half a mile. I’ll run down and back. That should be good for a start. And really, I wasn’t even sure I would make it a whole mile.

I ran and ran, willing my legs to keep moving. It was a brain game. And I did the mile. It was a moment of victory and it felt so good! The next day, I did a mile and a quarter. A couple days later, I went for two and I thought I was going to pass out. But I did it. I stayed there for a week, and then moved up to two-and-a-half miles. I can’t believe I’m doing this!

It’s been a month since my doctor visit and now I’m up to 3-mile stretches. I’m trying not to think about the fact that this is the minimum distance she wants me to do. Instead, I’m focusing on the feelings I have about this accomplishment. For me, this is huge. And to be honest, I’m starting to enjoy it. Keith bought me new running shoes to protect my joints. I got a heart rate monitor to track my burn. I’ve lost 6 of the 8 pounds I gained over the summer. Now it’s a mission for me – and not really as bad as I thought it would be. I picture myself totally fit at X pounds, and it motivates me. The calorie part is easy. The running part is monumental. This truly could change my life, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Stay tuned!

So what does one eat as part of this plan? Try the recipes in my cookbook -- all work perfectly as part of a 1,200 calorie per day lifestyle! The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Are you in "once in a while" denial?

But I eat right! I live a healthy lifestyle! It doesn’t make any sense that my clothes are feeling tighter. I only eat junk food once in a while. The dryer must be shrinking my jeans.

If this sounds familiar, then first let me congratulate you on your move to a healthy lifestyle! You’ve successfully transitioned to choosing lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies instead of their fatty/sugary/starchy counterparts as your now normal “diet.” So what’s the problem? Well, in my opinion, the only way to really, truly maintain a healthy lifestyle is to let yourself indulge once in a while. After all, you can’t live your life never having a nice three course dinner out, ice cream on vacation, or a piece of cake on your birthday. Right? At least this is how I like to live my life. Where I get into trouble is when the “once in a whiles” start happening way more frequently than they should. I think I’m eating right, but the treats are slyly creeping back into my normal routine. Are you in “once in a while” denial?

You can also think of this as “special occasion inflation.” That sort of rhymes, right? And if this starts happening, you really need to reassess how special the occasion really is. Here are some examples from my life recently:

1. The weather is starting to feel like summer, so Keith and I took the boat out a few weekends ago (in February! I love Charleston!). We packed fried chicken for the cooler and some other yummy snacks. “But I only eat like this when we’re on the boat!” Right. But we’re on the boat every weekend.

2. One day this week Lori brought doughnuts into the office. What a special treat! Then one of the guys surprised us all with sausage biscuits a few days later. How nice! But really, there always seems to be some sort of treat around here.

3. Which brings me to my next point – the office candy jar(s). Really, this is total sabotage. I can get by unscathed most of the day (that is, if I’ve managed to avoid the doughnuts and sausage biscuits). But come 3:00, it takes every ounce of my being to avoid that jar of chocolate. “But they’re mini!” Read here if you’re buying that logic!

4. We were out running errands this weekend and ended up grabbing dinner out BOTH nights. Not only is this a giant drain on our bank account, but I can cook this same food at home MUCH healthier. We ran ourselves ragged, didn’t feel like cooking, and made poor choices when we were overly hungry.

5. I traveled to Chicago last week for work. And for some reason, using my “once in a while” logic, I managed to justify eating catered breakfast, mid-morning snack, catered lunch, afternoon snack, all day coffee and soda, and an appetizer/salad/entrée dinner with wine. “But I’m traveling! It’s so hard to eat right!” Seriously? Lest you wonder, I can promise you that sitting in a seminar for 8 hours does NOT require the energy from this many calories.

6. The kids are really embracing the baking that we do on the weekends. So now what used to be once in a while weekend waffles has become “Jenny, can we make waffles again?” every weekend. Courtney and Taylor have also taken to making these quick “PopTart/Toaster Strudel” things we came up with a few weekends ago (simply frozen puff pastry sheets spread with Nutella, sealed and baked in the oven). Wow, they are SO good. And they want to make them every time they’re with us! There are few things I love more than cooking with the girls, so I oblige. So once again, “once in a while” has become “once a week.” They are always sized a bit differently, but I’ve calculated them to be somewhere around 350-400 calories each. Not good for impending bathing suit season! (But they look divine, don’t they?) I think this weekend I’ll hang my bikini in the kitchen as a reminder NOT to eat these. Because I know they’ll want to make them!

(Meanwhile, check out our cooking adventures on the girls’ blogs, http://www.taystreats.blogspot.com/ and http://www.courtneycreatesblog.blogspot.com/. I’m so proud of them!)

When the pounds start to creep on, it’s time to take a closer look at the “once in a whiles.” It’s frightening, if you add it up. Looking at my examples, I’m in grave danger! These things are happening nearly every week! Just a quick calculation from these gives me about 2500 calories in JUST THE TREATS. That is NOT counting the two dinners out or my entire day in Chicago. Add those in and I’m sure I’ve tripled that number. And if 3500 calories make up one pound, then you don’t have to guess where those spare 5 pounds came from. Urg. There is no reason I can’t pack healthy food for the boat and avoid the doughnuts at work. As a compromise, I’ll indulge when there’s an office birthday and we’ll go out to a nice dinner once a month. If I can stick with those as my “special occasions” and follow The Svelte Gourmet tips the rest of the time, I should be fine.

It’s time to get my “once in a whiles” in check. How about you?

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month Of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Perfect for every day, not just "once in a while!"

I have broccoli in my hair!

My dear friend Angie Kurtz emailed me last week about my goat cheese post, and told me that she'd recently discovered kale chips...and could I "please experiment with more veggie snacks?"

Besides Keith, the kids, and my parents, Angie is one of the few people who knows what a question like this can do to me. Can I?! I can think of nothing more fun! Woo hoo! Veggie snacks, here I come.

Taylor and I volunteered at the church food bank yesterday, and as we were driving there, I told her my plan. "Taylor, guess what!" "What?" "I'm going to dehydrate everything in the house today! Doesn't that sound awesome?!" "Oooh, fun!" (Eye roll, followed by giggle.)

I've roasted spinach before for spinach "chips." They are incredible! I tried kale once, too, but I burned it. So I figured this would be a great opportunity to try again. So on my lab table (kitchen counter) yesterday was kale, spinach, bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, rutabagas, beets, onions, apples....and half of the London broil that I took out for dinner (yay, jerky!). I thought I'd try roasting again, and I also pulled out my trusty food dehydrator. These dehydrators aren't expensive, and they're great fun. Beef jerky is one of our favorites (Keith's recipe is amazing). I had such a blast yesterday that I may just leave it out and see what else I can dry out. (Am I the only one who thinks this is fun? I sure hope not.)

Well, Angie, I have good news! With a little bit of trial and error (burning), I have a couple new veggie snacks for you to try! And I don't know if you've priced these things at the store, but the cost of kale chips and these other "all natural" vegetable chips is ridiculous. Check out this giant bag of fresh kale (pictured with my mixer for size reference) I got for $3. I roasted some, dehydrated some, and burned some and I still have half a bag left in the fridge! You'll make up the cost of the dehydrator in a couple days by making your own snacks. Plus, it goes along with the adage "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime." This is so easy, so make your own!

Here's what I found to work best:

Kale and Spinach - mist with truffle oil or olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, roast in oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. Dehydrator works well, too, but the flavor isn't as pronounced.

Tomatoes - slice and place in single layer on dehydrator for 3-4 hours. Yummy! This works even for those winter grocery store tomatoes -- I can't wait to try this in the summer. Amazing, concentrated flavor, much like sun dried.

Bell peppers - mist with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place in single layer in dehydrator for 4-5 hours. These will be great on salads!

Onions - whoa Nelly! Dehydrated for 3-4 hours, these are so strong and concentrated, they'll clear your sinuses. Right into the garbage! I'll try some other methods and get back to you.

Rutabagas - 4-5 hours in the dehydrator worked well. Blanch for 3 minutes first. The thicker the slices, the more leathery they'll be (versus crispy). I did some with a vegetable peeler and liked the curly end result.

Beets - first of all, put on an apron! My kitchen looked like a crime scene, but the result was worth it. I sliced these with a veggie peeler to get them as thin as possible. They came out nicely in both the oven and the dehydrator, but I preferred them blanched for 3 minutes then roasted at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Watch them closely so they don't burn! These taste a lot like potato chips, a little sweet, a little salty. So good....and pretty!

Broccoli - Blanch for 3 minutes, mist with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and dehydrate for about 4 hours (will depend on the size of your florets). SO YUMMY. I was shocked at how good and crunchy these were. Right up there with the tomatoes and beets as my favorites.

Apples - Medium slices in the dehydrator for 4-5 hours yields delicious, concentrated, apple-pie-like flavor with a chewy texture.

Jerky - choose a lean cut of beef (anything with loin or round in the name is usually lean - London broil is a top round cut). Slice thinly and marinate in the seasonings of your choice (watch the salt!), then place in dehydrator for 6-8 hours or overnight. Delicious and full of lean protein!

Phew! My hands are stained with beet juice, there are veggie shavings all over the floor, and I have broccoli in my hair. All in all, a great day! But I'd be remiss not to share my words of caution about this little experiment. What I did yesterday was simply take the water out of most of this food, therefore concentrating not only the flavor, but also the calories. This isn't really that big of a deal for leafy greens like kale (that entire 1-pound bag in the photo above only has 200 calories, so roast away!). However, see what happened to the rutabagas? Even though they have about 1/3 the calories and carbs of a potato, you probably don't want to eat all you can eat. Same goes for apples. Think about it this way -- which will satisfy you more, 20 grapes or 20 raisins? My answer will always be the higher volume of food with the lowest caloric impact, but yours might be the more intense flavors in smaller portions. Your choice, just be warned!

Pull out your dehydrators or set your ovens on low and let me know what you come up with! And Angie, I really miss you! Come visit me and we'll dehydrate a bunch of stuff. Yippee!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Goat cheese on my salad makes me happy!

This title only works if you sing it to the tune of the John Denver song. If you don't know which song I mean, here's a link.

Now everyone!

Goat cheese....on my salad....makes me happy!

I've been singing this for about a week now. Out loud. I can't get it out of my head. Keith just stares at me. Maybe it's because he doesn't care for goat cheese. Or maybe it's because he thinks I'm nuts.

Lest you also think I'm losing it (lost it), let me explain. For me, a little sprinkling of crumbled goat cheese (chèvre) can take an ordinary dish (salad, chicken, veggies) to the level of close-my-eyes-on-first-bite delicious. I love it that much. If I see it in a dish at a restaurant, I order it...often without even caring what the goat cheese is on top of.

Here's what I love about it (besides the yumminess, of course). Goat cheese is strong-flavored, so a little goes a long way. Don't get me wrong, cheese is by no means a low-calorie diet food. However, it follows the theory in my "umami" post about how strong flavors in small amounts can transform food with little caloric impact -- you can take a bland chicken breast, for instance, add a tablespoon or two of chopped umami-rich calamata olives, and you'll have a flavor explosion. Don't even get me started on calamata olives coupled with goat cheese. Bliss. Anyway, my point is that 1/2 an ounce of goat cheese (about 2 tablespoons, if you're using crumbles) only has 38 calories. This is all you need to sprinkle a single portion of salad, chicken, whatever. If you're like Keith and goat cheese isn't your thing, you can choose 1/2 ounce of any strong-flavored cheese for the same calorie range (1/2 oz of blue cheese crumbles clocks in at 50 calories, feta at 38, and Parmigiano Reggiano at about 40).

By the way, I highly recommend you pick up an inexpensive food scale (mine is plastic and was $5 at the grocery store), as many nutrition labels list portion size in ounces. Then you never have to guess! Once you get a food scale, you'll see what an actual portion should look like. You'll be shocked at first, but you'll get used to it and you'll still have plenty to eat. I promise. But that's a post for another day.

Goat cheese...on my salad...makes me happy!
Goat cheese...in my eyes...can make me cry!

...wait...that doesn't make sense. Catchy, though, isn't it?

So buy some goat cheese crumbles. Or blue cheese. Or feta. Or whatever strong-flavored crumbled or shredded cheese you like. Try it on your chicken, in your salads, in an egg white omelet, or over grilled sirloin -- just watch the amount you're using (like I said, a little goes a long way). You'll turn boring same-old entrees into fancy, flavorful fare. Let me know what you think and what flavor combination you come up with! And I apologize in advance if this goat cheese song is stuck in your head all week.

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

There's a Veggiesaurus on the loose!

Taylor is a Veggiesaurus (that's Keith-speak for vegetarian). She stopped eating meat this past summer, saying it was only temporary, but it looks like she's going to try to stick to it.

The rest of us are definitely omnivores. We eat a ton of veggies, but they're almost always balanced out with a healthy dose of lean meat. As you know, we don't eat a lot of starches. Dinner at our house is often sans bread, potatoes, pasta or rice. We have whole grain rice or pasta once in a while with our dinner, but for the most part, it's protein and veggies for us.

Taylor seems to be having no trouble at all finding things to eat, but for dinner here, she'll often just skip the meat and eat the salad and sides. This is fine once in a while, but I want to make sure she's getting enough protein, iron and other vital nutrients in her diet. It wasn't so hard in the summer. If we were grilling, Taylor and I would whip up a couple black bean burgers to throw on the grill with our chicken.

But I need to get more creative now. I mean, really, how many black beans can one person eat? This is tough for me, as I've never had to think meatless before. My Italian recipes like spaghetti and pizza are still great without the meat and my made-over Eggplant Parmesan is vegetarian and wonderful. Taylor loves the broccoli soup, but she seems to have taken after her father with the "recent leftovers" aversion -- I guess only I can eat the same thing at each meal for 3 days straight and be ok with it.

Beyond these few recipes, I'm stuck. About a week ago, though, the light bulb came on. What better way to think outside of the box than to actually live outside of the box. I'm going to be a Veggiesaurus, too!

Last Saturday, I decided I was going to start living a vegetarian lifestyle. I had visions of whipping up delightful and impressive dinner-party-worthy meatless masterpieces. Taylor was going to come back next weekend to an array of the most amazing -- and svelte! -- Veggiesaurus fare. This can't be too difficult.

Day 1 dinner: Cereal
Day 2 lunch: Vegetable soup....from a can (gasp!)
Day 2 dinner: Eggs

OK, this is harder than I thought. I didn't plan ahead at all. And I realized that I have a major fear of all the starchy foods that I assume are going to make me fat. But in order for this to work and provide the health punch I'm looking for, I'm going to have to embrace more whole grains. I just have to.

Here goes. This is more like it. Braised baby artichokes with garlic and lemon over basmati rice (which is similar to brown rice on the glycemic index). Yum! But really, yuck. The artichokes were so bitter, and I still haven't figured out why. I had to throw them away. I do other veggies like this and they turn out fine. For now, I'm blaming the produce. At any rate, Day 3 dinner: Basmati rice....with yogurt salad dressing.

OK, I'm starting to panic. Get it together! This cannot be that difficult.

So I took stock of the flavors that I love. Calamata olives. Strong cheeses. Mushrooms. Tomatoes. All of these umami-rich foods that are meatless. I realized that in my favorite recipes, it's not the chicken or beef that I love...it's the flavors that complement them.

Day 4 lunch: Amazing spinach salad with feta, pumpkin seeds, raisins and raspberry vinaigrette
Day 4 dinner: Spinach and goat cheese frittata

A frittata is basically an open-faced omelet. A couple eggs are beaten with a little milk and folded with some spinach and goat cheese, cooked on the stove until the bottom is set and then finished for a minute or two under the broiler. YUM. This one skyrocketed right to the top of my favorites list, and I even ordered something similar when Keith and I were out to lunch this weekend. So delicious, full of flavor, and meatless! (I know it's not vegan with the eggs, cheese and milk, but I'm just not ready for that yet. Life without cheese would break my heart, I think. I'll cross that bridge when another loved one goes vegan!)

But still, it's eggs for dinner. Geesh, no wonder Taylor is always eating cereal, waffles and French toast -- breakfast for dinner is so easy and good! But this is never going to fly with Keith, who happened to be traveling last week. The Svelte Gourmet's husband simply cannot eat cereal for dinner!

So what has enough substance to hold its own as a main course? The point of this experiment isn't to go down the path (or grocery aisle) of soy-derived meat substitutes (though I'm sure they're quite good). The idea is to find foods that my family will eat while still providing our Veggiesaurus with the nutrition she needs.

One of Taylor's favorite foods is beef stroganoff. And though she was partial to the kind in the box (ack!), we made it from scratch once and she loved it. It wasn't the beef that took center stage, it was the rich and wonderful flavors in the sauce that made this dish special.

This week, I made a version of mushroom stroganoff that meets all my objectives. It's meatless. It's svelte. It's a filling main course. It's delicious.

Stroganoff has a flavor profile that makes it the perfect comfort food. This isn't one of those meals that will hit you like a ton of bricks with a bold flavor explosion. Instead, it tastes like cozy. It's a curl-up-in-your-college-sweatshirt-and-fuzzy-socks kind of meal.

Even better than tasty comfort food is healthy comfort food! This recipe makes about 10 cups, so you can eat 1 2/3 cups for about 300 calories or 1 1/4 cups for 230 calories. Pair this with some broccoli or green beans and a side salad, and you have a perfectly healthy dinner under 500 calories.

Enjoy!

"Tastes Like Cozy" Mushroom Stroganoff
Serves 6-8

1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
32 ounces mushrooms of your choice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional, as Worcestershire is most often made with anchovies. Wizard's Organic Sauces makes a vegan version)
2 tsp flour
1 cup light sour cream
12 oz whole wheat wide egg noodles
1/2 tsp dill weed

Heat salted water to a boil and cook noodles until al dente. In the meantime, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Cook onions until slightly soft, then add mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release some of their water. Add flour, stirring well to combine, then add white wine (I use whatever I have on hand, usually Chardonnay), salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire. Cook on medium until liquid reduces and begins to thicken and mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and dill. Add hot, cooked noodles and stir gently so sauce coats noodles.

This dish is quick and easy, and even tastes great reheated for lunch! I don't plan on being a Veggiesaurus for long, but I have learned a few things this week. My body is functioning fine, if not better, than before. I have a ton of energy. I haven't craved meat. I got over my fear of eating more starches and grains -- partly because I realized that subtracting the calories from the meat means you can eat more of the other things! I'm eating more fiber. I know I can cook for Taylor and not have to make a different dinner for the rest of us. Victory!

Stay tuned for more meatless recipes, but in the meantime...

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Spinach Artichoke Au Gratin. Dinner party done light!

Ah, November. I've always loved autumn, and here in Charleston, it's just starting to feel like it. For me, November always sparks the beginning of the holiday season -- at least the planning part. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite meals. It's the one meal of the year that I let myself splurge. (OK, seriously, I splurge regularly -- but this is the one meal I'll admit to!)

These past few months, I've been working really hard in the gym and staying within my limits in the kitchen. It's paying off! I feel fabulous and while I love Thanksgiving, I want to find a way to do it without the elastic pants. I know it can be done -- after all, the base of the meal is turkey. Diet food!

That's about where the diet part stops, unfortunately. And I know this post may make me unpopular at first, but don't shoot the messenger! It's time to break it down. I'll gain my popularity back with the recipe later in the post...trust me!

So what are we really eating at Thanksgiving -- or any holiday meal or dinner party, for that matter? It's difficult to calculate, since the traditional family recipes can vary so much. However, research and averages can get us pretty close, at least as far as the staples go. My numbers are based on relatively small serving sizes, since Thanksgiving dinner often has so many choices, you can't even fit them on one plate. And herein lies the problem, at least for me -- I can't leave anything to chance, I have to try it all!

I make it a rule not to eat potatoes for regular meals, but Thanksgiving has two kinds. Mashed potatoes, often with butter and sour cream, and sweet potatoes, often sweetened even more with brown sugar, nuts, even marshmallows. Unfortunately, both pack on the calories -- 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream can have over 200 calories. And that's without the gravy! Steer clear of that sweet potato casserole or the candied yams. They boast a staggering 200-300 calories in just a half cup. Shockingly, the side serving of this popular dish from Boston Market has 460 calories. Ahhhhhhh! For me, a sweet potato doesn't need any extra sweetness. Try eating one plain and see what you think!

By this time, you should know to stick to white meat turkey instead of dark meat. Fewer calories and half the fat! Gravy is made of, at a minimum, turkey drippings (stock and fat) thickened with flour. If you have to have the gravy just this once, don't drown that turkey! Have only a tablespoon or two. I like to have a side of tomato slices and/or pickles with my meals, so I dip whatever meat I'm having in the juice from those (yes, I know I'm weird).

OK, so those are the obvious ones...right? Stuffing is made of bread and fat, and though family recipes vary greatly, it's already off to a bad start. And speaking of bread, that little 2-inch dinner roll has 80-90 calories -- without the butter! A pat (about a teaspoon) of butter adds another 30-40 calories. So you should stick to fruits and veggies, right? Not this time! That quintessential green bean casserole has 167 calories in just 1/2 a cup. The cranberry sauce packs 209 calories in 1/2 cup. I know half a cup of tart cranberry sauce is a lot, but my brother can eat that much -- watch it, Evan!

Well now I've depressed myself. And I knew what I was going to say before I said it. A quick calculation, if you try everything (which I do), brings us to 1010 calories. That's 4 oz of white meat roasted turkey for 120 calories, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce and one measly dinner roll with butter. I didn't even calculate stuffing or gravy...or myriad other sides....or dessert! So it's shaping up to be a meal that has more calories than I might eat in a day, maybe two.

So I've been quite long-winded, but I feel it all needed to be said. No wonder we unbutton our pants and fall asleep after dinner. Don't blame the tryptophan -- we just eat too much!

So what do you do? Make this! This Spinach Artichoke Au Gratin recipe is the answer and I can't wait to make it for my family this year. It has gourmet ingredients that make it special, it looks and tastes fancy enough for a dinner party, and it's bursting with the flavors of artichokes, Parmigiano-Reggiano and prosciutto. Delicious! And you don't even have to tell anyone that it only has 80 calories in 1/2 a cup. I promise they won't suspect!

Spinach Artichoke Au Gratin
Serves 12 (1/2 cup servings)

16 oz. package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
18-20 oz. quartered artichokes (frozen or canned and drained -- not the marinated kind!)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup skim milk
1 egg
2 oz light cream cheese
2 tbsp light sour cream
3/4 cup shredded, grated or ground Parmigiano-Reggiano (divided)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 oz prosciutto, roughly chopped
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roughly chop artichoke hearts and combine with spinach and garlic in a casserole dish. In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, cream cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper. Beat with an electric mixer until cream cheese and egg are mixed in well. Pour mixture evenly over casserole, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano mixed with the panko, and top with prosciutto. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until top just starts to brown and the prosciutto crisps. Avoid digging in before your guests arrive!

So what about dessert? For fear of adding insult to injury, I'll skip that discussion until next week. Don't worry, the svelte Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing will be your saving grace! Stay tuned...

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Go ahead, flaunt that muffin top!

OK, I know what you must be thinking...but I didn't mean it that way! The term "muffin top" has developed a bad reputation of late, due in part to the increasing popularity of the hip-hugging skinny jean. With only the skinniest of skinny able to wear them, it's no wonder the rest of the world experiences some some spill-over.

This season makes me crave comfort food like no other season. But I want to wear my favorite jeans, body-skimming sweaters and cute boots without looking like I'm stuffed into them -- or coming out over the top!

At some point over the past few years, bakery muffins got bigger. You may still own a standard-sized muffin tin, but you'll be hard pressed to find a standard sized muffin at your regular breakfast place, bakery or coffee house. Instead, you'll find giant, crumb-topped masterpieces that are sure to ruin any diet. In fact, you could have two doughnuts for the same calories as that muffin -- not that you should! While a muffin may seem like the healthier choice with its fruit and nut-filled goodness, don't be fooled!

I'm left with only one option, since I'm craving a muffin -- reinvent comfort foods! Hopefully this will become a series for fall, as I already have some ingenious recipes planned. The first, however, is one of my favorites -- my mom's blueberry muffins, reconfigured.

Let's get one thing straight. My mom is a wonderful cook and she's always kept a keen eye towards feeding us healthy food. She's my inspiration! Where she doesn't use substitutions to make the ingredients healthier, she is always careful to keep portions to a reasonable size. I've taken her recipe for this standard-sized muffin and made just a couple tweaks to make it even lighter! I hope you love it as much as we do -- this is one muffin top you can be proud of! And they're so easy, the kids whip them up by themselves on a regular basis!

Mom's Blueberry Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar OR 1/2 cup stevia-based granular sweetener
2 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
3 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk (skim or lowfat)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, cut in applesauce (it will give you a texture like meal, as cutting in a fat would), combine beaten egg with milk and turn liquids into the batter. Stir vigorously for about a minute, then fold in blueberries. Using a long-handled 1/4 cup measure, fill muffin cups (greased with cooking spray or lined with muffin cups) 2/3 full. Lightly sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the center of the oven until the tops start to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Play with the ingredients and see what you like! Using regular sugar in this recipe yields a muffin with about 150 calories and virtually no fat (just what's in the milk and egg). Using a sweetener instead of sugar cuts the calories in each muffin down to 100. Try it with both kinds of flour and see what you like -- the whole wheat will keep you feeling fuller longer! What I can tell you is that I've played with the combinations and one thing is certain -- you'll end up with a delicious, crackly-topped muffin that pairs perfectly with your morning coffee.

Enjoy!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

Raising the (salad) bar!

I've heard from many of you that the biggest problem with The Svelte Gourmet recipes is portion control. I'm flattered that you enjoy my recipes so much! I'm as guilty of portion uncontrol as anyone -- and with the ridiculous portion sizes in most restaurants, it's no wonder that we don't know when to stop.

Sometimes I just need a system reset. A few days of calorie reduced meals to shed the extra pounds of overindulgence. Enter the mighty salad! Salads for lunch and dinner for a few days cut out a ton of carbs from your normal diet and still keep your metabolism moving (unlike skipping meals, which will backfire!). Filling up on mostly veggies really means that you're cutting down on the rest of your portions.

Now here's the kicker. You can bore yourself to death with veggies and store-bought diet dressings, leaving you unsatisfied and with the propensity to overeat later. Or you can completely sabotage your efforts by ordering a salad right off the menu in a restaurant -- sadly, many are WORSE than ordering that cheeseburger. Check out this recent article from Men's Health, titled "Worst Salads In America." Frightening!

So how do we choose between complete boredom and diet sabotage? We don't! If you're having a salad with your meal, try The Svelte Gourmet Signature Salad. At under 100 calories, it's a great way to fill yourself up before digging into that main course and overeating. We have this salad virtually every night with dinner, and it remains Keith's favorite part of the meal. Try it!

So what about the main course? Well, my philosophy is that you can take any type of cuisine and make it into a satisfying, low calorie salad. Again, if you're a purist in your approach to cooking (Greeks wouldn't consider this Greek, or this veggie isn't found in Asia), then you probably won't be a fan of my interpretations. But to me, they taste great, help me to lose weight, and are completely boredom-free. I can have a different salad for each meal and not feel like I'm eating the same thing over and over!

Start with the basics -- lettuce, mixed greens, or spinach. Add cucumbers, tomato and any other raw veggie you like (I avoid potatoes and corn because they're starchy). Then you need a lean protein. If you have a favorite chicken or beef marinade that's calorie and fat conscious, then by all means, use it. For grilled chicken, I like to marinate it for 30 minutes in 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup water, then baste it with a fresh batch of the mixture. Delicious! This is pretty much "Dad's Chicken on the Grill" from the cookbook. For this purpose, London broil or sirloin (both lean cuts!) are great grilled with just salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Now it's time to mix it up! Start with the base of veggies and the protein of your choice (try to stick to 4 ounces cooked and sliced on top). Now add the flavor:

Asian Salad
Sliced green onions
A few chopped peanuts
Red pepper flakes
No sugar added Mandarin orange segments
Dressing of rice vinegar, a few drops of sesame oil and minced ginger to taste

Mexican Salad
Onions (cooked until somewhat soft and browned in just a touch of olive oil)
Sliced jalapenos (you can cook these with the onions, leave them raw, or use the pickled kind)
Less than one ounce finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
Dressing is simply the tomato-based salsa of your choice -- as much as you want!

Greek Salad
Red onion
Less than one ounce crumbled feta cheese
One tablespoon sliced or chopped calamata olives
Dressing of red wine vinegar, lemon juice and dried oregano

See? Easy, right? And trust me, you'll feel like you're eating a different meal every night. No more boring salads!

For more variations, try different proteins -- shrimp, fish like salmon, or tuna mixed with 1 tbsp light mayo and chopped pickles/celery/onions. I often use whatever protein I have left from a meal for a salad the next day. Just watch your portions -- try to stick to 4 ounces. If you follow these rules, each of these salads has between 250 and 350 calories -- in the whole meal!

My rule of thumb for dressings is simple. If the traditional version is vinegar- and oil-based, just skip the oil or replace the oil with water to cut down on the harshness of the vinegar. If it's a creamy dressing, use plain yogurt or fat-free buttermilk (or a combination of both) instead of sour cream or mayonnaise. Using fresh herbs, vinegar and garlic will work great for a ton of flavor. If you're not that motivated, even those powder dressing packets work great in a pinch! The Italian dressing packet that comes with the glass carafe is great if you fill the vinegar to the V line, then use water to both the W (water) and O (oil) lines. If you're making ranch with the dressing/dip mix, simply replace the sour cream/mayo with the yogurt/buttermilk as aforementioned. Using these tricks will make your vinegar-based dressings have virtually no calories and your creamy dressings will have about 10 calories per tablespoon. Can't beat that! Just watch the salt and be on the lookout for MSG if you're using a store bought "packet" of anything!

If you're eating out, order mixed greens and veggies with grilled chicken or fish. Skip the bacon, cheese, and whatever else comes on that salad -- if you see something on the ingredient list that wouldn't fit into a diet at home, don't order it on your salad! The lettuce does not automatically make it healthy! Skip the prepared dressing and ask for the oil and vinegar carafes -- and just use the vinegar!

I challenge you to raise the (salad) bar. I promise it doesn't have to be boring. Mix it up and you'll see results without the traditional "salad diet" boredom. Enjoy, and please let me know what versions you use! I would love some new ideas!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

"Faux"jitos!

I love mojitos. A bubbly concoction of rum, mint and lime, they're especially refreshing. The mojito (moe-hee-toe) is my favorite summer cocktail, and it pairs beautifully with my porch rocking chair and a nice summer breeze (did I just say that? Wow, I'm getting old!).

However, there are a couple inherent problems with my favorite drink. The first problem is that on the rare occasion that Keith and I go out for drinks, I'm usually looking at a 50/50 shot at getting a mojito, since a lot of restaurants don't stock fresh mint. The second problem is that once the bartender tops the rum with sugar or "simple syrup" (simply sugar and water!), this refreshing Cuban drink can pack a caloric punch to the tune of 200+ calories -- each!

Lucky for me, the only thing I've managed to grow successfully in my summer garden is spearmint. It's popping up everywhere, including outside the garden. I don't think I could kill it if I tried...which is good, because as it turns out, I don't have much of a green thumb. I did manage to harvest a few lovely tomatoes before the plant mysteriously wilted and my basil is doing ok. So really, my summer is pretty much complete with the endless makings for mojitos to serve with caprese salad. Yum!

OK, so now to tackle the second problem. A mojito, at its most basic, is white rum and lime juice muddled with mint leaves and sugar, then topped off with crushed ice and club soda. Once you add up 1 to 2 ounces of rum and throw in the sugar, each drink comes in around 160-200 calories -- or more (some places will top it with sugary Sprite or something in lieu of club soda or sparkling water).

My solution? The "faux"jito! Faux (pronounced "foe") is the French word for fake or false. If you're a purist in your beverage mixology, I suggest you stop reading now!

My "faux"jito comes in around 69 calories (just about what's in an ounce of rum, really). It's light enough to be diet friendly, and since it doesn't go overboard on the rum, I can have more than one and enjoy my company without tipping over (as I said, we don't get out much). I should also note that I rarely include ingredients in my recipes that contain artificial sweeteners, but it's necessary in this case. If you come up with an equally light alternative, please let me know! A classic mojito is typically served in a high ball glass, but I was feeling festive.

Lastly, I hope that you enjoy your summer, your family and your friends, but please drink responsibly. Enjoy!

"Faux"jito
serves 1

Mint leaves
Lime wedges
White rum
Diet lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite Zero, Diet Sierra Mist or Diet 7-Up)
Ice
Sugar (just for the rim of the glass!)

Muddle a few (3 or 4) mint leaves with 1 ounce white rum and the juice from 1 lime wedge (1/8th of the lime). Muddling is done by lightly crushing the mint (just until the leaves bruise) using a mortar and pestle, a muddler, or whatever you have on hand (a small wooden spoon would work just fine). Just don't shred the mint! Run the squeezed lime wedge around the rim of the glass, then dip the top of the glass in a shallow plate of granulated sugar to coat the rim. Pour the muddled mixture into your glass, fill with crushed ice, and top off with the diet soda. Cheers!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Thanks for reading!

Operation Rescue! Plus, Black Bean Burgers.

So Taylor has decided that she wants to be a vegetarian. I think a few too many "predator vs. prey" episodes on the nature channel made her think twice about eating meat. And I can't say I blame her! Keith and I told her that we would support her decision to become an herbivore as long as she's feeding her body the fuel and vitamins it needs to operate properly. Apparently, she'd been simply skipping the meat in her meals and just eating the sides. But what about protein?! Sugary peanut butter just won't cut it in this house!

Hmmm...I've never ventured down the meatless path. I had to think about this one for a while. And in the meantime, we planned a lovely day on the boat with the kids and our dog Penny. Charleston's waterways are a beautiful network of tidal creeks and inlets. We love to hop in the boat for a day of exploring. When the tide is low, the sandbars emerge and some of the saltwater wildlife gets a chance in the sun.

Ahhh...sunshine and a slight sea breeze make for a gorgeous day on the water. Add family, tunes, and some ice cold Corona (Light, of course!) and you have what I consider a nearly perfect day. The tide was going out and we stopped at a nearby sandbar to explore. Taylor, Courtney and Penny hopped out of the boat and ran to play with hermit crabs, dig for clams and play in the sand and surf. That didn't last long, though. It only took a few minutes for the girls to discover some abandoned crab traps -- unlawfully abandoned, I should add. You see, trapping crabs is legal, but allowing the traps to shift to a place where they emerge at low tide is not. Unfortunately, these particular offenders even clipped their distinguishing buoys, leaving traps full of crabs to be buried under the sand and bake in the sun.

Fortunately for these crabs, we had animal activists Taylor and Courtney on the case! And a majority of the crabs were still alive! With the traps clipped and buried in the sand, the crabs must have surely been starving, surviving only when the tide came back in. So we started digging. Even Penny helped! It was hard work, but those girls dug for hours. "Hmmm....we need some water to pour in here to rinse the sand away. Jenny, can we use your beer bottle? Oh wait, we don't know if these crabs are 21!" Oh, precious Courtney.

We managed to save many blue crabs and stone crabs, releasing them into the water for another shot at life. It felt good. And it made me realize that if Taylor was serious about being a vegetarian, then I needed to do what I could to teach her how to do it the right way.

My first attempt? Black Bean Burgers! At first we looked in the frozen food section of the grocery store, comparing and contrasting the veggie burger section. First of all, the sodium content in many brands is as bad as the "bad" processed food. Couple that with preservatives and an exorbitant price tag, and I'm done with that option. So homemade it is! And I must say, I didn't miss the meat in my meal that night at all.

What I found is that with a very basic (and inexpensive!) base recipe, you can adapt your black bean burgers to your taste and mood. For flavor, anything goes! I flavored these with a somewhat traditional "barbecue sauce" made with ketchup, mustard, honey, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Yum! If you're in the mood for Asian food, season them with soy sauce, garlic, ginger and Sriracha. That's next on my list, because it sounds amazing. If you're in a hurry, a few tablespoons of bottled salsa will do the trick -- and don't forget the guacamole to top it off! Like I said, anything goes. Play with what you like and let me know what you come up with!

Now, here's the basic recipe:

Black Bean Burgers
Serves 4-6

2 cans black beans (14.5 ounces each), drained and rinsed
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (using whole wheat earns you bonus points!) 1/2 cup wheat bran
2 eggs

That's it! Roughly mash the beans with the back of a fork or potato masher, incorporate the rest of the ingredients and the flavorings of your choice! Grill over medium heat for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through and misting with olive oil or butter spray so they don't dry out or burn.

Serve them with some Svelte Macaroni & Cheese, Unfried Green Tomatoes, Roasted Spinach with Truffle Oil & Sea Salt, or The Svelte Gourmet Signature Salad. Voila! You'll get plenty of protein and fiber from the burgers, but you won't be asking "where's the beef?!"

I'm inspired now. Dozens of crabs lived to see another day. And I'm going to break out of my comfort zone a little bit and try more meatless main dishes. Stay tuned!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Unfried Green Tomatoes!

"It's good, but it's NOT fried chicken." Oh, what does he know?! I don't know how to deep fry, and besides, real fried chicken can't taste THAT much better than crispy "oven fried" boneless skinless chicken breast. Right?

I never thought I'd marry a Southerner, let alone move to the Deep South! Never say never. I did it, and I'm so glad. I've never been happier. An especially noteworthy day in my assimilation to Charleston was the very first day I got here -- the very first day I had actual fried chicken. And not fast food, either. OH. MY. GOSH. Keith was right. My oven fried version tasted good, but it WASN'T fried chicken. I think I had fried chicken every day that first summer. And somehow, I didn't gain much weight. I didn't lose any, but I didn't gain that much, either. I think it was a glorious act of God.

Anyone who's known me for any length of time knows that fresh summer tomatoes are my most favorite food (now next to real fried chicken!). So imagine my surprise when fried green tomatoes started popping up on the menus of virtually every restaurant we went to. Green? And fried? Why would anyone ruin the potential of a perfectly good tomato like that? What is the fascination here? You can't do better than the flavor of a ripe red 'mater! You just can't.

Of course I had to try them. Well. Now this is something else entirely! Tangy on the inside, crispy and salty on the outside. And in today's world of food fusion, your classic Southern specialty takes on whatever role you give it, making it ubiquitous appetizer fare. Italian served with marinara sauce. Straight out of New Orleans with a tangy remoulade. Even accompanied by bacon and lettuce for a truly amazing twist on the BLT. They're even good naked!

OK, so now I have two new loves. Fried chicken and fried green tomatoes. Neither even remotely svelte. What's a newly Southern girl to do?! Reinvent, of course!

The true test? Keith. And he says my "Unfried Green Tomatoes" taste better than the ones we get in restaurants. And they're baked! I prefer these without sauce, but anything goes. The sauce on the ones pictured here was a puree of random ingredients I had in the fridge -- onions, apricot preserves, Sriracha, lime juice, and what else? Tomatoes! Red ones for the sauce. It was tasty, but I still preferred them naked. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Unfried Green Tomatoes
Serves 4

2 large green tomatoes
1 egg
1 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded, NOT grated)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Olive oil or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mist a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray. Slice tomatoes between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Beat egg. Combine Parmesan cheese, panko and spices. Dip each tomato slice in the egg, then into the breading mixture, pressing to coat both sides. Place breaded slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Mist tops with olive oil or cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. No need to flip them.

So now I'm torn. Pick the unripe tomatoes to make this recipe, or let them ripen into their full, red deliciousness? Urg. Anyway, y'all let me know what you think!

P.S. I'm still working on the chicken. Stay tuned!

For more "magic" recipes, The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

It's summer and I'm roasting!

Literally. Roasting isn't just for winter Sunday dinners anymore! I think roasting is about the easiest -- and tastiest! -- way to enjoy foods from any season.

This month, I've been focusing on roasting vegetables. I've put everything in that oven, from your standard fare (root veggies, Brussels sprouts, etc.) to the strange and unthinkable (radishes and even spinach -- check out the recipe below!). Roasting tends to bring out a vegetable's sweetness, so it's especially good for those that tend to be a bit bitter. Roasted Brussels sprouts drizzled with just a touch of browned butter, sea salt and chopped pecans makes an amazingly simple and light side dish that will impress your dinner guests -- even if you serve it with some summery grilled chicken! Roasting cauliflower is my favorite way to prepare it, and it couldn't be easier. One of my best new discoveries is roasted cabbage. If you haven't tried it, you must...TONIGHT. Simply cut cabbage into wedges (aim for about 8 wedges from a whole head), mist with olive oil or spray butter, sprinkle with salt, and roast at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, flipping the wedges over halfway through cooking. They'll start to brown, but that's the best part!

In fact, roasting just about any vegetable is just that simple. Mist or lightly toss with just a touch of oil and sprinkle with salt/pepper/garlic powder/anything that fits the flavor profile of your dinner (Indian flavors, Asian flavors, Spanish flavors...you get the idea). Heartier veggies like carrots and other root vegetables should roast for about 30-45 minutes at about 400 degrees. I do cabbage and Brussels sprouts at this temperature, too, but I cut the cooking time to 20-30 minutes. If you want to be brave and try a more fragile veggie like the recipe below, I would suggest 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes. You have to play with your food (ha ha!) and see what works for you!

So last week I got adventurous and tried to create some healthy snacking options to satisfy my salty/crunchy cravings. Obviously, potato chips and pretzels don't fit into The Svelte Gourmet basics. I tried a bunch of things -- "chips" made of very thin slices of carrots, radishes and even eggplant. They were tasty, but the "Spinach Chips" experiment really knocked my socks off.

Roasting spinach?! Was I crazy?! Evidently not -- I can't tell you how to package and store these, as not one of the batches I made was around long enough to put away. Even the kids gobbled them up! As you know, I always have a bag of spinach on hand for The Svelte Gourmet Signature Salad we eat nightly. So I decided to throw some on a baking sheet to see what would happen. I opted to mist them with white truffle oil for a bit of indulgence -- WOW, was that worth it! The truffle flavor hits you almost as an afterthought..."hmmm....did I just have truffles? I think I did!" SO good. You can buy truffle oil in most high end grocery stores and specialty food or kitchen stores. Starting at around $15/bottle, it's a far cry from the $900/pound truffle itself! Yikes! And a little goes a LONG way. Oh, and these "Spinach Chips" would also make a tasty and very impressive garnish for your next dinner party! The paper-thin crisps almost melt in your mouth and the flavor is amazing.

Spinach Chips

Spinach leaves
White truffle oil
Sea salt

Toss spinach leaves with a few drops/sprays of white truffle oil. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (they won't lay flat) and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast at 300 for about 15 minutes. Within minutes, the spinach leaves will wilt and flatten to the pan, but that's ok. When you take them out, gently remove them from the pan before they cool and become too crispy and fragile. Bon appetit!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!

Foraging for nettles...and other Earth Day challenges!

I used to just love to cook. Then I learned to love to cook healthfully. Now, as we celebrate Earth Day, I'm trying to learn to cook more responsibly -- both for the Earth, and the health of my family! I have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I've picked up a few ideas this week that I want to share with you. Please feel free to share your thoughts on how we can all be a little bit greener in the kitchen!

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing two cooking demonstrations at Charleston County's Earth Day Festival. I showed a very health-minded audience how to make TSG Creamy Broccoli Soup and TSG Chicken and Snow Pea Salad with Yogurt and Tarragon (recipe in the cookbook!). What shocked me the most was the difference in eating habits and palates between the attendees at the festival and those I encounter in my every day life. Let's just put it this way -- I had children asking me for seconds and thirds of broccoli soup and discussing the flavor of tarragon. It was thrilling!

Now, as I said, I have a lot to learn. In my quest to use and eat whole foods, whole grains and ingredients that pack a nutritional punch, I'm now putting a lot more stake in sustainable agriculture. Not only is it better for the environment, the food is so much healthier for us! And while cost is a concern for many, especially in this rough economy, the good news is that the prices seem to be coming down as sustainable and organic food become more ubiquitous.

Now that spring is upon us and summer is just around the corner, it's so much easier to be a "locavore." Eating locally in Charleston isn't too hard this time of year, with home gardens sprouting, farmers markets buzzing and the ocean's bounty right here. I want to eat more fruits and vegetables, so I've been experimenting with some new recipes that will come your way shortly! It's also a great time to stop eating the processed foods from your freezer section -- for good! What I've learned recently about processed food, what's in it, what's not in it, and what it's doing to us and to the environment is enough to make me want to avoid it altogether.

I'm also going to try to reduce my footprint in the ways that I cook, too. I've always known that raw food retains more nutrients than cooked food, and I happen to love raw veggies. So that's one way to reduce the energy I use in the kitchen -- don't cook! I'm also going to start using the toaster oven when I cook for just Keith and me. In my house, the ovens run overtime, so hopefully this plan will cut down on the energy I use -- and save me some money on my electric bill!

Cut down on "disposables." Use the money I save on my power bill to buy more sustainable food. Eat from my garden and the gardens of local farmers. So what else can I do?

Now here's where I draw the line...

Foraging for nettles. Specifically, stinging nettles.

Over the past couple weeks, I've become obsessed with two great food sites -- TasteSpotting.com and FoodGawker.com. Really, these are foodie sites that are more interested in the photographs than the food itself. Food as art. So I've started cooking during the day so I can photograph my food in natural light, playing with my photo editing programs, and really getting my creative juices flowing to turn my food into art! And it worked! I've had five food photos published on the sites, driving hundreds of new readers to the blog. Hooray! Welcome, new readers!

But in the meantime, I've discovered that there are food bloggers of all kinds out there -- including those who forage for food. And it seems that you can cook and eat stinging nettles! Who knew?! Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the plant that I used to avoid as a kid because it stings you when you touch it? I think we used to call it "burn hazel" growing up, and I recently introduced it to Keith and the kids during our hike in Pennsylvania. Ouch! And people are eating this! You have to wear gloves when picking it, but apparently it's great when boiled -- and makes a really pretty picture! Amazing.

Foraging is one of those things that I just won't do. Not because there's anything wrong with it, but because I'm certain that I'll poison us. At the Fox residence, foraging in the woods is in the "do not try this at home" category. So I'll leave foraging to the more adventurous foodies! In the meantime, I'm going to be more mindful of the effect that food has on not only my family, but also the environment. Any suggestions? Happy Earth Day!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. Enjoy!