Returning Home Soon

In two days I will be returning home.  I have been very busy with my work here as well as trying to continue with my healthy eating that I have not been posting much at all.  I am managing to continue my no excuses eating plan and exercising.  With the Fresh Market near the hotel I have been able to stock up on fresh fruits and breakfast foods as well as salads for lunch.  For dinner I have been eating light meals at the nearby Japanese and other restaurants  Tuesday night I ventured out on the metro to Bethesda and had a very good Asian salad from a food truck near Bethesda Row.  I noticed a farmer's...

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Eating in my hotel room

I'm on a very long business trip staying is a fairly nice hotel.  I have to spend 9 or 10 hours in meetings so there is not much time for fun.  My challenge is how to eat healthy during this trip.  I usually just eat all my meals out but that typically means buffet breakfasts, heavy lunches ordered in so we can continue working, and dinners out with colleagues or alone.  Since I am determined to stick with my healthy eating routine I don't want to passively accept that traveling is an excuse to indulge in excessive eating (like I did in the past when I was 20+ pounds heavier). It's not like I'm in Italy (where I was at...

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I understand the Fat Chef show

I mentioned the birthday party in my last post.  A woman asked me to come to her home and prepare the food for her daughter's 21st birthday party for her and 15 friends.  My good friend, Lisa Wright, agreed to help.  Between my "real" job, and preparing for my trip to Washington D.C., I was wondering how I would get everything done.  The menu selected by the mom was pretty simple, however I discovered that wrapping dozens of things in bacon is pretty time consuming.  The party went very well and the guests loved the stuffed mushrooms, bacon wrapped jalapenos, bacon wrapped chicken, Thai cucumber cups, Beef tenderloin...

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Party Time

I have been working on a party menu for a 21st birthday event for this Friday.  I'm excited to have the opportunity to try something different.  It's a small event, 15 girls, all of whom will be out on a wine tasting adventure prior to the party, and tasting wine with the food we prepare.  My friend, Chef Lisa Wright, is helping me with this event since it's during the work week and a busy time for me at work. The client is a person a met during the Taste Tour of Azle activities.  She was on the planning committee and attended the various events, including the VIP party which was caterered by Wild Mushroom Steakhouse. ...

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Mongolian BBQ at Home

Before there were chain restaurants like Genghis Grill mass producing "all you can eat" bowls of oversauced and weirdly seasoned Mongolian Barbeque I was making my own at home.  I first had Mongolian Barbeque in the 70's when I lived in Japan.  The Yokota Air Base Officers' Club had it on the menu once or twice a month.  There was a buffet set up with all the raw ingredients, the assorted meats and sauces. You gave your piled up bowl to the chef outside who cooked it on a very hot, huge, flat top griddle.  I always tried to pack as much into my bowl as possible without it spilling out.  It was so delicious! A...

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Asian Noodles with Spicy Slaw and Beef

We had  "Taste of Carswell" at work this week and I was asked to bring something representing my "culture" for approximately 60-70 people.  I didn't want to bring something that had to be hot or heated up since that is a pain where I work (in a federal prison).  I thought of a cold noodle salad that I could assemble right before lunch. I am posting of photo of what I made at home later that day for myself, but I had beef for the one at work.  I grilled about 5 pounds of sirloin before I left for work, sliced it thin and kept it chilled until lunchtime.  The salad was a big hit and the portion I made without meat for my...

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Low Fat Banana Cake

I guess I'll always have to bake something.  When I see the overripe bananas sitting in my basket on the counter I always think of banana bread.  I came upon a different recipe in a cookbook called The Brownie Lover's Bible by Lisa Slater and thought it might be a way to lighten up my usual banana bread.  It turned out very well and I will be making it again. For my husband, I made the ganache and covered his with chocolate. Low-Fat Banana Cake (adapted from The Brownie Lover's Bible) 1 1/3 cups (170 g) whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour 1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder 1/2 tsp (2 ml) baking soda 1/2 tsp (2 ml)...

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