Fast Food Diet

I am a big fan of Doctor Oz lately. Here is what I think is one of the most real diets I have ever heard of. It's so doable.

This diet uses the same parameters as Dr. Oz’s Ultimate Diet, including 1500 calories daily, a maximum of 15 grams of saturated fat, and 5-6 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Here are the fast food options.

BREAKFAST

Eighty percent of people who lose weight and keep it off eat breakfast every day.

Starbucks
•Egg white, spinach and feta wrap
•Coffee
•An apple

Dunkin Donuts
•Egg white, turkey sausage or veggie flat bread
•Coffee
•A banana

McDonald’s
•Two Egg McMuffins – Remove the English muffins, and eat with knife and fork.
•Coffee
• A piece of fruit

Subway
•Egg white with veggies on wheat bread

LUNCH/DINNER

Make sure to opt for water instead of soda. Don’t let sugary drinks sabotage your diet.

Subway
•6-inch ham, turkey, chicken, or roast beef sandwich on wheat or 9 grain bread (Add lots of veggie toppings to up your vegetable intake.)

Manchu Wok
•Kung pao chicken and order of mixed veggies (Avoid white rice; ask for brown rice instead.)

McDonald’s
•Premium Grilled Chicken Classic sandwich with extra lettuce and tomato (Remove the bread and eat with knife and fork.)
•Two grilled honey mustard or chipotle chicken snack wraps (Again, ditch the wrap and eat with knife and fork.)
•Add side salad to any meal

Wendy’s
•Ultimate Chicken Grill with extra lettuce and tomato (Eat without the bun.)
•Side order of small chili

Taco Bell
•Two bean burritos, fresco style
•Two fresco chicken or steak hard tacos with a side of fresco pinto beans

Burger King
•Double Whopper Junior with extra lettuce and tomato (Take off bun and eat with knife and fork.)
•Side of apple fries

Papa John’s Pizza
•Two slices of Garden Fresh pizza on whole wheat thin crust
•One slice of garden fresh pizza on whole wheat crust with 1 whole wheat breadstick dipped in pizza sauce

KFC
•Grilled chicken breast with two of the below sides:
•Side salad with no croutons and fat free ranch dressing
•Green beans
•Corn on the cob

Chipotle
•Taco salad with chicken or steak, fresh tomato salsa, hot sauce (optional), guacamole, add black or pinto beans if desired (NOTE: Avoid the salad dressing because it has 260 calories and 700 mg sodium. The guacamole, juices from the meats, and salsa should give the salad enough “sauce.” Ask for extra salsa if you want more flavor.)

SNACKS
Starbucks
•Chicken on flatbread with hummus artisan snack plate
•Handful of roasted almonds
•Deluxe fruit blend salad

Subway
•10 oz cup of soup. Try any of the following: chicken tortilla, chipotle chicken corn chowder, fire roasted tomato orzo, minestrone, roasted chicken noodle, rosemary chicken and dumpling, Spanish style chicken and rice with pork, tomato garden veggie w/ rotini.

McDonald’s
•Fruit and walnut salad
•Apple dippers

KFC
•Sargento light string cheese

The original article is available here.

Swine Flu

"The government does not want us to call it the swine flu. They're calling it the 2009 H1N1 virus. The reason for the change is they want people to know you can still eat all the pork you want without any risk to your health, except diabetes, obesity and heart disease."

--Jimmy Kimmel

Recipe: Coconut Creme Brulee

I saw this recipe with my favourite Malibu Coconut Rum and I think I am going to try it. Let me share the recipe.


INGREDIENTS:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup coconut milk, fresh or canned
8 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Malibu rum
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (for the caramelized tops)(optional)
3 tablespoons toasted, sweetened, flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine thecream, coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and rum.Whisk until smooth. Skim off any foam or bubbles. Dividemixture among 6 ramekins or custard cups. Place in a waterbath and bake until set around the edges, but still loosein the center, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and leavein the water bath until cooled. Remove cups from water bathand chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. When readyto serve, sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of sugar over each custard and caramelize with small butane torch. When the tophas hardened, sprinkle the toasted coconut evenly over thefinished creme brulee.

NOTES: To toast coconut, spread it out in a thin layer on abaking sheet. Place in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes,until lightly browned. Shake the baking sheet a few times whiletoasting, checking often to be sure it doesn't burn. Also, if you do not have the torch you can put under thebroiler one at a time to caramelize the sugar but watch carefullyto prevent burning them.

Yield: Serves 6
Category: Desserts

Always Space for Dessert!

“Just think of all those women on the Titanic who said, "No, thank you," to dessert that night. And for what!”
-- Erma Bombeck (1927-1996), American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life humorously from the mid-1960s until the late '90s.

Frosted Carrot Cake

I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and think, "Well, that's not going to happen."

LOL I like to cook. Recently I decided to try my hand at this new recipe for carrot cake I got on the internet. I love carrot cake. If I had some big occasion where I needed a nice dessert (I refuse to say at my wedding because that is looking next to never gonna happen) that would be one of my top 3 choices.

It had all sorts of delicious things in there like coconut, pineapple and nuts etc. I even decided to go all out and make a cream cheese icing to put on top. It was delicious! Only thing is I think the recipe is a little too oily. So the next time I do that recipe I a going to change it up some.

I'll share the recipe. But please heed to that word of caution about the oil. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

2 cups finely grated carrots

1 (8 1/2 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 (3 1/2 oz.) can flaked coconut (opt.)

***Cream Cheese Icing:***

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla1 (16 oz.) box confectioners' sugar, sifted

DIRECTIONS:

Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda andsalt into large mixing bowl. Add carrots, pineapple, nuts andcoconut. Blend thoroughly until moist. Grease 3 (9") round cakepans; line with waxed paper. Divide batter equally among pans.Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutesin pans. Turn onto wire racks; cool completely. Fill and frostlayers with Cream Cheese Icing. Cake will keep covered inrefrigerator for two weeks. Cream Cheese Icing: Combine butter, cream cheese and vanillain small bowl. Cream well. Add sugar gradually, beating untilsmooth. If mixture is too thick, add small amount of milk to thin.

Yield: Approx 12 Servings

Wine & Cheese

Liking wine is an acquired taste. It's not the most palatable thing especially if you get it wrong with the wrong food pairings. I quite like the taste of wine and cheese. I came across this list of preferred wines for specific cheeses and thought I would share with my readers. I'm just sorry they didn't have a recommendation for goat cheese....

• BLUE: Full-bodied reds, full-bodied whites, light dry whites,sweet whites
  
• BRIE: Medium and full-bodied reds, fruity whites, champagne
  
• CAMEMBERT: Light, medium and full-bodied reds


• MILD CHEDDAR: Light and fruity reds, most whites, champagne


• SHARP CHEDDAR: Full-bodied reds, fruity reds


• EDAM: Medium reds, fruity roses, light dry whites,champagne


• EMMANTAL: Light and medium reds, fruity whites


• FETA: Light reds, fruity whites


• GOUDA: Medium and light reds, roses, light dry whites,champagne


• GRUYERE: Semi-sweet whites, light wines


• HAVARTI: Dry reds, dry whites


• MUENSTER: Fruity and light reds, full-bodied dry whites


• SWISS: Most wines, both red and white