My new favorite spices

I've been trying to do some experimenting with spices for the past year or so. My goal is to determine how spices affect food taste. I think of myself as a cooking chemist, attempting to find interesting combinations of spices and foods. These are just some of the preliminary findings and please keep in mind these are MY OPINIONS based on my eating habits, my unsophisticated palette, and my quest for low fat/low carb foods to eat. OK, let's go.....

Paprika

The smokiness of paprika really intrigues my taste buds. Paprika has a slight bite to it but I have never found it to be overbearing. It also adds great color to food as well.

I would recommend using paprika in recipes that feature eggs, chicken, fish, and even in creamy dressings.

Garlic and onion

Mixing garlic and onion and browning onions is one of the most delicious combinations on the planet, bar none. If you are looking for a topping for a burger, salmon, even shrimp...try this...brown diced onions in olive oil, and then add in and stir in crushed garlic to taste. Oh my God!!!!

You can also dump this into your favorite salsa to give it a burst of flavor. (May store bought salsas are quite bland, except for Jack's Special Salsa found at Costco, it's out of this world great.)

Onions and garlic are great for you as well, eat as much of these as you can for good health.

Cayenne pepper or Curry powder

To test your palette, use cayenne or curry in eggs, on potatoes (in limited doses), on meats....especially if topping these foods with a good cheddar cheese. These peppers can make you sweat a little but are chock full of flavor. I don't understand the chemistry yet, but it is a flavor enhancer in these foods and is much better for you than salt. I love it.

Black pepper and salt

Believe it or not, black pepper is a wonderful way to make a dull food exciting. And you can call me a 'pepper snob' but in using plain pepper, you have to pay up for good black pepper, do not go cheap. I am as cheap as anyone but I have to tell you all that good black pepper is well worth it, and the more expensive black peppers are not THAT much more expensive. And expensive black pepper is less expensive than other spices, so if you are looking for flavor and don't want to spend a lot, high quality black pepper could be for you.

This is just a start for me. I am also looking at many other spices and will report as I gather more information to recommend for foods and recipes. If you have any ideas for spice/food combinations, please share with me.

Happy eating.

Great Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is a quick and easy recipe that I tweaked to make it the soup that it is. Leftovers of this stuff are the very best.

Ingredients:
32 oz of chicken broth
2-4 cups of cheese - I prefer cheddar, but use your favorites and play with it to suit your taste
1 cup of half and half
1 cup of finely minced onion
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
2-3 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of red pepper or cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
4-6 cups of finely chopped broccoli

Combine all the ingredients and stir to mix in the flour. Heat to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.

While heating, chop up your broccoli and mix. I like to put a lot of the little broccoli stems in the soup along with a little larger pieces to provide some texture.

Let cook for 15-30 minutes on simmer, again play with the time it to make the broccoli as soft as you prefer it, stirring occasionally.

Another Weight Loss Idea

Back again, hey would you like a great way to help you lose a few pounds, get more fiber in your diet, and generally have more energy?

I have found two Arbonne products that have allowed me to substitute for a meal or snack and keep healthy with no cravings. The products that I use are the Figure 8 Fiber Booster mixed with the Figure 8 Go Easy protein shake mix.

The 'recipe' is 9 oz of cold water, one scoop of the Fiber Booster and two scoops of the shake mix. The scoops come with the products.

Nutrition: 170 calories, 40 from fat, 20g protein, 10g carbohydrates. The shake mix also provides across the board 15% of the daily recommended amounts of most vitamins and minerals, 22 different vitamins and minerals.

This is good stuff and you can get it at http://www.lisacalice.myarbonne.com/ . The Arbonne products are of the highest quality and the value for the dollar is matched by none. Try it and see if you feel better and lose a little weight. Good luck.

JC’s South Park Diet:

Bits of South Beach Diet (Dr. Agatston) and The Zone (Dr. Barry Sears) Read these they are both incredibly educating. They will help you to understand how your body processes what you input into you.

Typical Breakfast

½ cup Egg Beaters omelette filled with a layer of turkey bacon or sliced ham and mozzarella (I like hot sauce with my omelette)

Typical Morning Snack (any one of the following)

Celery

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of cucumber with salt

Typical Lunch/Dinner

Hamburger (no bun)

Lamburgers

Buffalo burgers

Baked or grilled chicken

Salads with Olive Oil (1/3) and Red Wine Vinegar dressing (2/3)….but limit the onions (sugars), no carrots (lots of sugar), no corn

Baked spaghetti squash (a JC favorite) topped with low fat spaghetti sauce or a spicy salsa and parmesian/romano cheese

Broiled salmon

Diced ham fried in olive oil with melted shredded mozzarella on top; put over diced fresh tomato (this is fab)

Typical Afternoon Snack (usually I need a little higer level of fat with low carbs, energy food)

Sliced tomato w/slices of mozzarella cheese

Mozzarella cheese stick

Slices of turkey bacon

Great adders to recipes above

“Silk” soy coffee creamer

Hot sauces (RedHot, Tabasco, whatever you like)

Low fat salsa on top of anything is excellent

Cook everything in Olive Oil or even better use Pam Olive Oil spray

THE RULES: (the most important part)

1. IF YOU ARE HUNGRY, EAT. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF, DO NOT WAIT TO EAT IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A SNACK WITH LOW FAT, AND LOW CARBS AT ALL TIMES. Your whole goal is to keep your hormones that regulate insulin in your body at a low, even level throughout the day. Insulin is the substance that your body uses to store fat. At low levels, you will not store fat, you will have great energy all day. This is the most important rule.
2. Read labels on your food; your goal is LOWER carbs (not zero), and LOWER fat (not zero) and ideally you want a little of both when you eat to maintain insulin as described in rule 1.
3. Limit (and by this I mean avoid if you can):
1. Sugars
2. Breads
3. Pastas
4. Alcohol
5. High fat foods
6. High carb foods
7. Anything that reads “Partially Hydrogenated (blank)”

Good luck, if you need ideas, assistance, coaching, or cheerleading please comment or email me, talk to me anytime. JC

South Beach Recipes

Does anyone have any South Beach recipes to share. I am back at it for this year. I am trying to shed 30-35 lbs by the end of April.

I have been diligent thus far, I have lost 8 lbs since the January 1st.

I would also like to hear success stories or if anyone has questions regarding the foods and regimine I use, please comment.

Good luck to all.
JC

Hot Italian Sausage + Eggs

I tried something different tonight. It was fabulous.

I browned a hot italian sausage in a skillet, cut it into little pieces then scrambled 3 eggs with the cut up sausage. Oh my was it good. Simple as that.

Try it.
JC

Quick and easy burgers

I made this tonight. Quick and tasty. Takes me a total of 15 minutes if I have to cut up the onions and peppers. Also, low fat, low carb, very good for you. Editorial: I love the Boca Burgers, all flavors are great and inexpensive. At Costco, I get 16 for about $9.50 and they tend to last forever in the freezer.

In a pan add a little olive oil to keep the burgers from sticking. Heat on medium high heat.

Add cut up onions and red, orange and green peppers to saute.

Cook burgers and lightly top with mesquite seasoning.

When burgers are about done, slightly melt a slice of swiss cheese.

Put on plate when done, top with sauted veggies. It is also great if you add lettuce or spinach leaves.

Enjoy.