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!"

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.

Hot Dog Chicken...and I mean that in a good way!

I love coming up with new recipes to feed my family -- and I love blogging about them, photographing them, and sharing them with you. Nothing gives me a sense of satisfaction like making one of our standard lean proteins into something new, different and interesting. That's the feeling I got when I made and blogged about Island Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa a couple months ago. Ahh, what a refreshing summer flavor -- and healthy!

That night, Courtney ate hers (the whole thing!!!), but without the salsa. And of course she didn't hesitate to share her two cents about the meal.

Courtney: "This is SOOO good. It tastes like hot dogs."
Me: "Uh...(stammer)....wha....(gasp)...HOT DOGS?!?!"

I think my heart skipped a beat, and not in an "excitement" kind of way. HOT DOGS?! I mean, seriously, I'm aspiring to make "gourmet" food healthy. Hot dogs are the polar opposite of gourmet. Right?! But it sort of did taste like a hot dog without the salsa.

So for the next month, I smiled and nodded absently when Courtney asked for "Hot Dog Chicken." Of course she didn't mean it as an insult. She really loved it and wanted me to make it again. Hot dogs. Ahhh! Not really what an aspiring foodie wants her food to be compared to.

Then last week, PBS aired Food, Inc. I admit, I haven't been all that focused on organic food, sustainable agriculture, etc. I've focused my time and energy on cutting calories and fat and focusing on lean proteins, whole grains and lots of veggies. It didn't really matter to me where it all came from. But Food, Inc. really shed some light on things. Wow. So I'm paying a lot more attention now. Not only for the health of our planet, but for the health of my family!

I've always known that processed food is bad for us. Day-glow "cheeze" powder can't be natural. And the salt! Needless to say, it's a constant battle with the kids.

Courtney: "Can you PLEASE be 'Vacation Poopsie' again this weekend?!" (Keith affectionately calls me Poopsie, and now, so do the kids...I can't believe I just told you that. "Vacation Poopsie" was the person who ate everything in sight and let the kids go a little crazy with the junk food for a week.)
Me: "No, 'Vacation Poopsie' is only for vacations. You've got regular Jenny back now. And Jenny wants to feed you wholesome food that fuels your bodies." (All of a sudden, I'm referring to myself in the third person.)
Courtney: "But I'm known for my junk food! I have a reputation to mutate!" (We're embracing her growing vocabulary. SO CUTE.) "Can you PLEASE make Hot Dog Chicken?!"

OK, hold on. What did she just say? She thinks my chicken recipe is junk food. And it tastes like hot dogs, which are the ultimate junk food. We've all heard about what goes into a hot dog, so I won't go into detail. But I'm over being offended about the comparison. In fact, I may be a genius! And so what if hot dogs aren't gourmet? The point isn't to be a food snob, anyway! And I'll admit, I do like a hot dog every now and then. Who doesn't?

So Hot Dog Chicken it is! Served with a side of Cheesy Roasted Cauliflower (recipe forthcoming) that Keith says tastes sort of like French fries. Taylor agreed. Um....either I have food makeover super powers or I've effectively brainwashed all of them. Either way...

I did some Googling, and found out that the main two spices listed in the typical hot dog's flavor profile are coriander and garlic. OK! So now I know why my Island Grilled Chicken tastes like hot dogs. I'll be keeping that in mind the next time I read a recipe showcasing those ingredients! However, if you have a picky eater, a ball park junkie, or just love hot dogs, I encourage you to try this recipe. It's really fast, really easy, and REALLY healthy. And now, every time Courtney craves a hot dog, I can feel good about it. Enjoy!

Hot Dog Chicken Marinade

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients and marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts in mixture for at least 2 hours. Discard marinade and grill chicken until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees.

And that's that. I want to feel good about what my family is eating, and with each new svelte recipe, it gets easier and easier. They're starting to trust me more, and Taylor even said that she was craving healthy food this weekend and looking forward to my cooking! And I guess my chicken tasted like a hot dog this time, but I'm over it. At least it's adding some variety to the ho-hum chicken breast and Courtney's eating! Enjoy!

For more svelte recipes, order The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

Extreme Makeover: Recipe Edition!

Since you're all taking The Pantry Challenge and cooking at home this week, I thought it would be a good time for a recipe makeover! Send your favorite "not so svelte" recipe to me at jenny@thesveltegourmet.com. Over the next couple weeks, I'll choose a few to revamp. I'll publish the made-over versions in upcoming blog entries!

I know what you're thinking. There's no way "my famous xyz" will be the same with lighter ingredients! Well, you're right, it probably won't be exactly the same. But here's what I can promise you -- it will still satisfy your urge for whatever it is supposed to satisfy! In other words, comfort food will still comfort you, dinner party food will still impress your guests, and quick-to-the-table dinner will still be speedy. Remember, this is a lifestyle change. We still need our favorites from time to time. Denying ourselves these guilty pleasures just leads to a backslide to bad behavior. My goal is to make your guilty pleasure with a lot less guilt!

Some of the made-over recipes from The Svelte Gourmet include spaghetti, lasagna, pad Thai, burgers and even pizza -- a pizza so good that my family says it's better than delivery. They request it weekly and I oblige. After all, the entire 8-inch pizza only has 400 calories and is loaded with wholesome ingredients and no preservatives! That's my kind of diet food!

So send me your favorite guilty pleasures and I'll get to work on some svelte make-overs! Don't worry, I won't publish your original "secret" recipes -- just the new versions, attributed to you.

Send your recipes to jenny@thesveltegourmet.com. Go ahead, challenge me!

If you need some recipe ideas in the meantime, The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

Food: Fashion or Fuel?

So I was cleaning up at the news station after my cooking segment the other day, and I was talking to one of the anchors and another show guest. The anchor really enjoyed the Creamy Broccoli Soup, and she was especially happy to learn the yogurt substitution trick. She was telling me about a cooking class that she took. During the class, she raised her hand and asked if there were any substitutions they could use to make the food more healthy. She said the chef gave her a glare that was like daggers. Then the other guest added that he once took a French cooking class, and he asked the chef if he could substitute soy butter. The chef threw a book at him. Wow...I'm prepared for a whole bookshelf to be thrown at me! I make creamy soup with no cream (gasp!) and I use a meat thermometer in my chicken (!!!).

I'm not bashing chefs or culinary training, nor am I saying that there is no place for rich foods or restaurant meals. I love eating out and trying unique, beautiful dishes! I am in awe of the amazing chefs who make it their life's work to create gastronomic masterpieces for us to enjoy. We are entitled to our nice dinners and guilty pleasures. I read cooking magazines and cookbooks and watch cooking shows daily. I love to cook and consider myself a foodie. But if I ate like that 3 meals a day, I'd be unfit inside and out. I also like to try rare and special ingredients, gourmet cheeses and foods that turn every night dinner into fancy fare. But if I did THAT for 3 meals a day, I'd also be broke. What I am saying is that we shouldn't be chastised -- by anyone! -- for wanting to keep ourselves and our families healthy most of the time.

I couldn't find a statistic on it, but I'd be willing to bet that 99% of people responsible for putting food on the table at home do not have formal culinary training. Many of us learned our cooking skills and eating habits from our parents -- good habits and bad! Recently, I've heard comments like, "my parents/grandparents ate fried food everyday and they lived to be 90." Well, my great grandmother baked bread everyday and fed her family a diet loaded with potatoes. After all, that's the most cost effective way to feed a husband and 13 children. But when you knead the bread yourself, dig your own potatoes and wash clothes for 15 people on a washboard, you're getting your cardio! I'll go out on a limb again and say that most of us do not have what is considered an "active" job. I certainly don't -- typing doesn't burn many calories, and even a thousand laps around my kitchen can't be considered cardio.

Anyway, I write this blog and share my recipes and lessons for the "every day" cook. Whether we have formal training or not, we all have to eat. Several times a day! I love the craze surrounding food and cooking -- there's even an entire television network devoted to it! But with food as fashion, the concern has mostly been taste, not nutrition. What's gotten lost is the concept of food as fuel. We need it to survive, and if we want our bodies to perform optimally, we have to put the best stuff in. Lean proteins, heart healthy fats, vitamin-rich vegetables and whole grain carbohydrates. The good stuff.

In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 32 percent of American children are considered overweight and 34 percent of all Americans are considered obese. WOW. This is a serious problem. And the culprit isn't fancy restaurants, chefs or the Food Network. Really, I believe it's the drive-thrus and the processed and frozen food aisles at the grocery store. We've sacrificed nutrition for convenience. We're spending more time on the couch and in front of our computers and less time exercising. And we're going to pay the price for it. And this is not about being skinny, it's about being healthy inside, too. Keith used to have digestive problems and high blood pressure. Since he's been eating healthier and staying away from the sweet tea, he no longer has acid reflux and his blood pressure has normalized. Oh, and he's lost 20 pounds -- just a bonus.

Preparing healthy food everyday may seem daunting, but it really can be simple, fast, inexpensive, AND delicious! I receive so many comments from fans about what they do to make healthy food for their own families, and I love that this blog has become a forum for us to share our ideas. I've also received a little criticism here and there from those who have "expertise" in one area or another. And that's fine, throw those books! Dodging them is great cardio!

And I guess if I have to have a point, it is best said by this alliteration (because I'm nerdy like that) -- food can be fun, fashionable, and fancy (and fantastic, of course!), but most importantly, it should be fuel. Feed your bodies right (most of the time) and you'll be fit inside and out. And it feels good!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. A portion of sales will be donated to Louie's Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting childhood obesity.

Enjoy!

Move it and lose it!

It hurts to type. OK, not really to type, but with my arms hovering above the keyboard like this, I can tell I've worked hard this week! Lucky for me, I happen to like muscle pain. It makes me proud that I've done something good for myself and makes me aware of my muscles...some I didn't even know I had! Ouch!

As you've probably surmised, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. And at this computer. And while I'm proof positive that it is possible to lose weight just by eating right, exercise is the other half of the equation. Sitting, cooking and eating (though svelte!) just don't cut it. Unfortunately, once you've taken some time off from the gym -- say, to get married, start a new business and write a cookbook -- it's SO hard to get back into it. A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to jump back in with both feet. The holidays are over, the cookbook is published, and Charleston bathing suit season is right around the corner (gasp!). My friend invited me to a boot camp trial session my gym was offering, so I thought, "what the heck?" Smart, right? Get right down to business!

I huffed and puffed my way through the hour. It really wasn't too bad -- after all, not too long ago I was in pretty good shape! But it's amazing how much muscle tone you lose after just a few months of not working out. I managed to get through the session, drive home, take a shower and make lunch. Then I sat down at the computer to write. A couple hours later, it was time to start dinner, only I couldn't move. My legs were like Jell-o. I wasn't sore, per se, just weak. But eventually I made it out of my chair and headed for the stairs, groaning with every step. And as I took the first step down, my other leg gave out and I ended up bouncing down the stairs on my backside. Now I know why they call it a "landing!" And thank God we have one!

OK, so I'm also really clumsy, which may account for part (all) of this. I fall down A LOT. But whatever the reason, doing that boot camp was the best thing I've done in months. My muscles hurt for days, but I felt strong! It was just the motivation I needed to get me back in the gym 4-5 times a week. Once I was back in, I remembered how good working out feels. The endorphin rush, the strength, the stress relief! It still takes a lot to get me out the door, but once I'm there, it's great.

As I said, it is definitely possible to lose weight without working out. After all, it's really just mathematical -- calories in, calories out. Experts say that 3500 calories make a pound -- either gained or lost. Burn 500 more calories than you eat each day and you'll lose a pound every 7 days. Simple as that! The tough part is figuring out how many calories your body burns in a day and then working to raise that number through metabolism and exercise.

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is how many calories your body burns in a day just "being." And obviously, calories are burned when you move -- a few for lifting your arm to work the remote control, many more for taking a spin class. But still, every little bit counts toward your total daily "burn." Experts agree that many factors can effect your daily burn -- for example, muscle burns more calories than other body tissues, even when you're not moving. So building muscle will help speed up your metabolism. Moving more, eating smaller meals more often, and even eating spicy foods are all suggested theories for speeding up metabolism. But again, the point remains the same -- burn more calories than you put in, and you will lose weight. So say my BMR is 1700 (based on an age/weight calculation, but only a fitness pro can tell me for sure!), I burned 300 calories running at the gym and doing housework, and I ate 1500 calories today. If I did this everyday (taking in 500 calories less than I burn), I would lose 1 pound a week.

I designed The Svelte Gourmet dinner recipes to fit within this sort of model. I estimate that a main course entree with the Signature Salad and a green veggie total between 500-550 calories, depending on your ingredients (read your labels and pay attention to serving sizes!). And it's all lean protein, whole grains, heart-healthy fats and veggies with the herbs and spices to make them taste great! In the grand scheme of things, really good for those on restricted calorie diets and even better for those who have been eating poorly! This allows us to eat a decent breakfast, a light lunch and some healthy snacks throughout the day, and we're not hungry at all. Top it off with the work I've been doing at the gym, and it speeds up weight loss that much more!

If you've been trying to lose weight and you're eating better, then congratulations! The next step is to get moving! Every little bit counts, and you'll see your efforts reflected on the scale in no time. Move it, and you'll lose it! Start with walking and you'll be amazed at how quickly you see results -- I got a pedometer that I wear everywhere and I aim for 10,000 steps a day. No easy feat, but even my thousand trips around the kitchen count! Take the stairs instead of the elevator and park far from the door. Those steps add up quickly!

Just be careful on the stairs -- hold on, and don't fall! Or maybe that advice is only necessary for me?

A portion of all cookbook sales through the end of February will be donated to the relief efforts in Haiti. The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.