Eating Cheap while Dieting: A Dieter's Dilemna

So . . . the long New England winter and some company and a couple trips to the Big Apple to say nothing of Mother's Day have all added an unacceptable weight gain to the residents of this house, which includes a hugely plump (fat as mud) diabetic cat.  Only the "new" cat is slim, but he refuses to tell us his secret.  


I am not a low-fat diet person.  I never met a fat gram I didn't like.  Just about gagged yesterday when some diet site recommended spraying your breakfast English muffin with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray.  I sure as hell could believe it's not butter.   So, except for extreme exercise and starvation and lots of rice cakes, the only diet I've ever lost weight on is low carb, i.e. Dr. Atkins.  Now, there's this to say about me and diets:  the moment I see no caffeine and no wine, I am out of there.   When the South Beat diet recommended "Fat Free Half and Half" I just about urped.  See, the other thing is that I am into real food, the unprocessed kind where the the label says, "all natural."  


Now all this quibbling would be fine if there were unlimited food resources, like $600  a month or more.  Hell, we could do Jennie Craig for $700.00 plus extras.   The challenge will be to eat meat, fruits and vegetables  (I do like my fruit) and not break the bank.  Yesterday's grocery bill at $150.00, was not a good start, but I got meat for two weeks and lots of very fine veggies and some (on special) scallops to start off with.  We have been eating all the rest of the "bad" food in the fridge: the sour cream strawberry cake, the spaghetti and meat balls, the bread, the muffins, etc. God, was the spaghetti and meat balls tasty.  I do miss pasta when dieting.     

My idea is to buy all the weekly produce and meat specials and to shop at two stores and plan my meals around these.  The bigger challenge will be to accommodate the summer guests while we continue our diet.  I do not intend to deprive myself of modest amounts of dark chocolate, either.    Due to all these accommodations to dieting  I don't expect to lose particularly quickly, but I will be happy with a pound  a week after the initial week.  The South Beach Diet has some dynamite recipes, and I have a couple of diet desserts that are low enough cal to have once in a while.   Not big on artificial sweeteners, and only low-fat ricotta.  We use 2% milk for the coffee.  So it should be doable and I will share the results.  What works, what doesn't, and how hard it will be.  

This noon I'm having lunch at Boston's infamous 99 Restaurant (the 9's) with a friend.  The 99 has some great luncheon steak tips and you can get double veg instead of veg and a starch.  A goodly enough portion that you won't start snacking at 4:00 pm.  We bought apples to eat with our evening cheese hors d'oeuvres and some colorful peppers to grill and eat with a bit of ricotta salata.  Peppers on sale,  apples on sale.  

Let's see how it goes.    


The Cheeseparer and hoping to be the pound parer

Kielbasa BOGO

Kielbasa BOGO!  Does that sound like the name of a rock band or what?  For readers who never worked in the retail industry, a BOGO is a "Buy One Get One," also known as a "two-fer."  Roche Brothers, the supermarket where I shop, sometimes has a BOGO on Kielbasa.  We like the lighter turkey Kielbasa because it is less greasy and lower in calories.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I love ribs, fried chicken, heavy cream, etc., but when you have a chance to cut some calories and not lose any flavor, go for it! 

I make a middle Europe dish, (so homey, so comforting) with the Kielbasa.  I take 1-2 pounds of sauerkraut and rinse it (get rid of some of the salt).   Saute an onion, diced, a carrot, also diced in oil/fat of your choice until tender.  At a small portion of chopped tomato,  1/2 of  an apple, diced, the sauerkraut, the kielbasa,  (one pound, cut in half), some dry white wine, a little chicken broth, some caraway seeds, paprika (regular or smoked).  Cook as long as you can, adding more liquid if necessary.  If you are feeling carefree, saute a couple slices of chopped bacon to get your fat and cook the bacon with the kraut.   

Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes and a green salad.  This would make an excellent slow cooker dish.  I don't have a slow cooker, but maybe you do.  The sauerkraut becomes mild and savory and the concoction is actually rather mellow.  Add a clove or two of garlic if you like.  Improvisation is good.            

This will serve 4 if you aren't piggy.  Make the salad big.  There should be enough sauce in the kraut to nap the potatoes.  This is tasty and cheap.  My shabby little secret.  I use Hungry Jack mashed potatoes.  I know.  I know.  The more cream you put into them, the better they taste, but I try to stifle this impulse.  

The Cheeseparer