Day two

So it is going ok I guess. I got rid of some junk food that was lurking seductively in my cupboards and went to Whole Foods market so I'm feeling especially virtuous.

I had a poached egg over some raw spinach with a side of toast for breakfast. The only thing it was missing was two slabs of french bread slathered with butter with melted ham and cheese in the middle....

I know, I know, in order to be a successful dieter, I must stop thinking like this. I must embrace a 'healthy lifestyle'. Ick. I wish it was the fifties and I could go on a weird diet program based on barbituates.

Stop the Insanity!

I'm trying to diet a little. I've gained a couple of pounds since coming back to the US, I think its because the food in Dubai is so much richer and possibly more satisfying that you end up eating less. I know there isnt any reduced fat yogurt in Dubai, of course its not all yogurt weight. It's buy one get one free. That just kills me. Especially keebler cookies...check out their amazing website...

Today for lunch I had a spinach cobb salad.
It was spinach, cucumbers, tomato, a bit of avocado, a bit of cheddar cheese, and a shredded slice of ham and topped it with 2 tsp. of basil vinaigrette dressing.
For the avocado and cheese I read somewhere that a piece of cheese the size of your thumb is a serving (NOT 1/2 the brick, evidently...)

It was tasty and sort of satisfying. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Sister-in-law Salsa

Everytime I go to my sister-in-law's house she whips up a big bowl of this deliciousness that I thought I'd share. So easy it doesnt really need a recipe, just a few pointers...

Take a container of fresh salsa. I personally like LaMexicana (check out their unfortunately named website...) which you can get at most supermarkets. Or go here to Salsa Central for a good, super-simple recipe. Add one can of drained and rinsed black beans, about 1/2 cup of defrosted, but not boiled, frozen sweet corn (maybe 2 ears of fresh) and one mashed avocado.

Serve with chips.

If you do serve these before dinner, expect everyone to gobble it and no-one to eat very much after. Which is possibly quite a cost-effective way of having a lot of people over to your house to eat...

Pork chops and apple sauce

So we're back in America and this time we didn't precisely gorge on pork products like the last time we came home. I think we are all becoming more ho-hum about our bi-continental lifestyle. However, our local Price Chopper actually had buy one, get one free packages of PORK CHOPS! Aside from the enviro-social problems with this idea and the obesity crisis to consider, I was pretty excited.

The first three, which were thick as my thumb, got butterflied and marinated in an apple vinaigrette. 2tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp apple juice, 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup oil, some thyme, rosemary and garlic powder. I also added some apple slices to the marinating meat and then put the whole thing on the grill. (put the apples on foil...) Very nice.

The second three were also marinated in mustard, thyme, rosemary, ginger, garlic and salt and pepper. I was kind of bad about measuring these so you'll have to make it to your own taste. They got broiled and served with rice.

I'm debating weather or not to buy a shoulder for 4th of July. Not sure anyone will make the trek out to my house to eat it with me...