gourmet diet day 2

day 2 gets even better with each meal topping the last.



dinner was as gourmet as it can be. the lemony, herby taste of the chicken was fully complemented by the subtleness of the grits (a staple down here in the south -- think of it as ground corn made into a thick porridge; normally eaten at breakfast.) i was never into grits even after living most of my life here in the south. people either loved it or hated it. i hated it. but with most other stuff, it's an acquired taste. friends and family love it for breakfast with cheese and butter. to me, it's like eating cardboard. until we went on a family trip to Charleston, South Carolina last year. every restaurant there had shrimp and grits on the menu. a specialty of the entire coastal city. so i tried it. and my reaction was: and why in heavens did i not try this before? i missed out a lot. and now, i can't get enough of it.

Breakfast (380 Calories, 17g Fat)
Whole grain waffles with roasted cinnamon apricots and pecans. Ricotta cheese. Diet syrup and margarine.

Lunch (350 Calories, 7g Fat)
Roasted turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, Swiss cheese, roma tomato. Citrus salad. California natural trail mix. Fat free mayonnaise and mustard.

Dinner (460 Calories, 10g Fat)
Chicken breast marinated with lemon, rosemary, and thyme topped with sauteed mushrooms, artichokes, tomatoes, and onions. Cheddar chive grits. Brocolli and carrots with toasted almonds. Whole wheat roll. Apple butter.

gourmet diet

i was ecstatic to learn that our favorite chef from a highly-acclaimed restaurant in town has joined the bandwagon of a billion-dollar industry, by creating home delivered meal services targeted to make people eat healthier and lose weight. although the healthy and losing weight part was an added bonus, i was more excited to learn that we can now enjoy his amazing gourmet meals at home -- daily, and delivered, too!

complete, balanced meal plans are for 5 or 7 days and include breakfast, lunch, and dinner. you can select from four daily calorie levels: 1200, 1400, 1700, and 2100. the chef says "it is the only home delivered meal plan that combines healthy, balanced nutrition with a “gourmet” menu making eating healthy, affordable and convenient". sounds good enough for me.

i chose the 1200 calorie meal plan; while hubby had the 1700. i really need 1310 calories to maintain my current weight but i was thinking that all i have to do is drink a cup of skim milk daily to make up for the difference. the rest of my family are also doing the same thing (mom is a big fan of this chef and are on first-name basis!)



Breakfast (330 Calories, 9g Fat)
Herbed-omelette, Turkey Ham, Fresh Seasonal Fruit (cantaloupe), wheat English muffin

Lunch (470 Calories, 20g Fat)
Open-faced Steak and Portabello Mushroom sandwich on a baguette topped with Provolone Cheese, Fresh Roma Tomato, Mixed greens, Fresh Fruit (tangerine)

Dinner (410 Calories, 11g Fat)
Lobster & Ricotta Cheese raviolis smothered with a Thyme-Cream sauce and shredded Parmesan Cheese. Primavera Style Vegetables with Italian Seasoning. Fresh Mesclun Greens Side Salad with Italian Dressing

the herbed omelette was quite tasty; as well as the steak sandwich. but i can't stop raving about the dinner lobster raviolis. they had chunks of lobster tail meat inside and was really, really yummy. i mean really yummy. today's meals were truly gourmet.

on tomorrow's menu: waffles, turkey sandwich, and marinated chicken breast. i can't wait...

good ol' american beef stew

i love getting Williams-Sonoma catalogs in the mail. not only because they have cool gadgets for the kitchen, but because they have amazing recipes in every issue. the January 2007 issue has the most recipes i've seen -- one in almost every other page.

the beef stew recipe looked fairly simple and the picture that went with it looked good enough to eat. unlike Filipino tomato-based stews, the American counterpart are mostly wine based. there's a hint of sourness to it. vinegary but not over-bearing.

if you're used to the Filipino version (served over steamed white rice), you're gonna find American stew to be something of an acquired taste. don't worry, you're sure to love it. especially over freshly cooked thick pasta.

the recipe:
5 1/2 lb chuck-eye roast beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 oz. pancetta (or bacon), cut into small pieces (i omitted this)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
(i also added small red, white, and purple potatoes)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (i used dried)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup full-bodied red wine (substitute grape or apple or tomato juice) (i used 1/2 cup red wine vinegar plus 1/2 cup water)
2 cups beef stock
1 Tbs. veal demi-glace
Buttered parsleyed noodles for serving (i used french bread)
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Season beef generously with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook pancetta 5-7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towel-lined plate.

Increase heat to medium-high. Brown beef in batches, 3-5 minutes per batch. Transfer to bowl. Reduce heat to medium; warm oil. Saute onions and carrots 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaves; saute 30 seconds. Stir in flour; cook 1-2 minutes. Add wine, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Add stock, demi-glace and pancetta; bring to simmer. Add beef, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, 2-2 1/2 hours. Serve over noodles. Garnish with parsley. Serves 8-10.

the Florida series: food

we stayed a total of 8 fattening days in Florida. four restaurant meals (average) a day equals about 32,000 calories for the week. maybe more. since we went to Ghirardelli almost every night. so i'm thinking more like 40,000 calories for the entire stay. that equates to 8 pounds of weight gain. ugh! worse, to lose 8 pounds, you'll have to jog for 56 hours. at 5mph. yikes!

oh but the sundaes, steaks, lobsters, seafood...

the holidays in Orlando: part 1

we've always spent the Holidays away from home. the parents said it's way better than any Christmas presents from Santa we'll ever receive. because two weeks after Christmas, we've long forgotten what Santa gave us. besides, most of the toys we've received would have been broken by then. but we will never forget the trips we've been to. amen to that.

i remember vividly our family Christmas/New Year trips to Europe, USA, Pacific, Caribbean, Asia just like it happened yesterday: the time when Europe had their worst winter and still, we found ourselves trekking along Champs Elysees in knee-deep snow while trying to dodge dog poop; the time we went to Turkey pre-9/11 and had to be pulled out of the aircraft ten minutes before take-off then get stuck in the airport tarmac for 6 hours while US federal agents with their guns drawn inspect each of the 6,000+ baggages of each and every passenger while being interviewed then only to be ambushed by Turkish media upon landing in Istanbul and to find out the hotel we booked was flattened by a 7.0 earthquake days ago; or the time the airline lost our baggages in Tahiti so we had to buy everything for the week-long trip paying 7x more than we should not only because we're on a remote island where there's no department stores but because it's a French territory so prices are just like in France only worse; or the time Disney Hongkong just opened and they turned away hundreds of tourists but since we got our tickets months in advance we were able to just breeze in; or when we found ourselves stuck at the Singapore airport for two days because the airline overbooked their flights; or the time we couldn't leave Bangkok for Manila because we didn't have our return tickets back to the US with us; or when the cab driver in Jamaica tried to dupe us into paying $100 more for cab fare because, well, he could; or when the mom brought 6 balikbayan-size boxes of premium cookware from Germany for our personal use and told the US Customs officer that no we didn't do much shopping; or when we had to literally carry our 100-pound scuba diving gear in Mexico and go on foot for 20 minutes under the scorching sun from the meeting point all the way to the boat because the dive operator forgot to tell us we would have to; the time when the parents insisted on eating Filipino food at a London restaurant and ended up having food poisoning... and all the 'memorable' times when we, as a family, seem to always encounter when we travel together. yet, each and every trip is as fun as the last.

the family has grown yet the tradition continues. we are now joined by our spouses and kids. the more the merrier!

ok, too much digression. this year's trip was to Orlando for a week. our third time this year. the place where we always stayed at was fully booked but the concierge recommended a brand-new 2600-acre resort with a 54-hole golf course designed by Watson, Palmer, and Niklaus. other resort amenities include a water park, several pools with jacuzzis, tons of tennis courts, bike trails, a spa housed in a separate building, state-of-the-art fitness centers with free towels and bottled water, to name only a few. the resort is not time-share -- each unit is owned and can be rented when the owners go back to their real homes. Units consist of one bedroom/one bath, two bedrooms/two baths, and 3 bedrooms/3-and-a-half baths. there are also homes with as much as 8 bedrooms/8 baths each with its own pool. best of all, there's a 24-hr concierge, each unit/home has 24-hour room service and daily maid service! it's a resort with a hotel concept.

our unit was a 3 bedroom/3-and-a-half bath two-story villa which is about 250 sq meters! it has a full kitchen with granite counter tops, Kohler fixtures, and equipped with GE appliances, British bone china service for 8, stainless steel silverware, and Cuisinart cookware. we were so amazed by the kitchen. but who really cooks when on vacation? it's nice to know, though, especially for those with little kids, that there's a kitchen when you really need one.

all the bathrooms have granite counters and daily-replenished amenities from Gilchrist and Soames. there were 2 master bedrooms (one on each floor) with king-size beds and down comforter/pillows. the 3rd bedroom had 2 queen-size beds. the best thing -- huge walk in closet!

out in the backyard patio was the most pristine golf course. we woke up one morning to have room-service breakfast served outside then opted to go inside instead for fear of golf balls hitting us while we ate. and since it was a hotel concept, we didn't have to wash and put away the dishes. nor save our towels as they were changed daily. aah, this is one vacation we all needed having been through an emotional snag a few weeks back. and a home away from home with so much amenities is just the answer. of course, second only to having the entire family spend the holidays together. again.

lazy foodie's Christmas dinner

after coming back from a very emotional tiring Manila trip, this foodie got lazy and opted to let her fingers do the dialing and ordered the family's 'early'* Christmas dinner: roasted turkey, HoneyBake Ham, veggies, pies...

*early -- because we celebrated a day ahead since we've never been home for Christmas. ever. we always go away on trips during Christmas (til the New Year's) because the parents think it's more memorable that way. we agree. more on that plus photos coming up.