Great Lakes Foodie

healthywage Challenge

Great Lakes Foodie — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:00:17 +0000

Well, I finally broke down and joined a group of people at work on a weight loss challenge. Knowing that I can still eat great, delicious food and lose weight, I figured it can’t hurt. What did hurt was the realization that my home scale wasn’t giving me an accurate reading on my current weight. Though I never wear clothes on the scale at home and weigh in before I eat and drink anything, I was still a few pounds off of where I thought I was.

To assist with our weight loss plan (we told ourselves this would help…but I think you all are aware this is a total fallacy!), we ate a big pasta lunch before weighing in. Crazy stupid….I know!

Wish me luck. Day 1 – 297 pounds.

Happy New Year!

Great Lakes Foodie — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:36:45 +0000

As with any new year, I try to think of ways to eat better and not eat out as much. With the food hangover I always start the year out with, it’s easy to get going on a plan of attack for delicious, homemade meals. The challenge, as with most resolutions and goals, will be to maintain the plan throughout the year.

I have already started plans this year. I’m not as ambitious as I was in 2010. That year, I had the first 45 days planned out before the year began. We didn’t eat out one night in January and kept to our plan almost through the month of February as well. The only thing to help keep our goals in line is to have a second goal. This year, we’re looking at remodeling our kitchen. From my standpoint, I’m looking for a gut and rebuild. We’ll see how that goes and see what that will cost. The financial aspect of eating in will defintely help with our goals. Wish us luck!

If you have any food-related goals for 2012, please post as a comment!

Technorati Tags: 2012, New Year, Resolutions

Recipe: Stuffed Cuban Pork Tenderloin

Great Lakes Foodie — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:58:29 +0000

I enjoyed the result of the meal. Given how pork tenderloin is sold in our stores today, this was a difficult rolled meat to prepare. I’m not sure if you’ve experienced the same. The pork tenderloins, sold by Hormel, are typically tenderized and very small. The end of one side of the tenderloin is extremely narrow. You may need to purchase two tenderloins to make a roll that stays together.

Would I make this again? Yes. The only change would be a second piece of tenderloin…or a longer search for a better piece of tenderloin than what our local stores have to offer.

Technorati Tags: Cuban, Pork

Recipe: Linguine with Two-Cheese Sauce

Great Lakes Foodie — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:51:35 +0000

This dish turned out well when I made it. I would use this as a jumping board for other meals. The basic concept is a cream sauce with basil. Try some of these suggestions…

For a hearty meal, add pancetta and peas.
An abundance of spring veggies? Try adding them to this dish…asparagus, peas, etc.
End of summer bounty? Why not try a few of those super sweet cherry tomatoes. Put them in at the last minute if you want them whole but warmed through. Put them in a few minutes earlier to have them become a part of the sauce.

Technorati Tags: Basil, Linguine, Mascarpone

Recipe: Hungarian Goulash

Great Lakes Foodie — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:23:26 +0000

Great weeknight meal. The dish can be hot or mild depending on the types of chiles you use. The version I made actually had quite a nice bit of heat. Unfortunately, I was the only one able to eat the dish at home!! I would recommend that you be careful with those with sensitive stomachs and allow for heat additions outside of the meal. A nice spicy bit of paprika on the table should do the trick!

Technorati Tags: Paprika, Pork, Weeknight Meal