Is Whole Foods still a grocery store?

In my previous post Where am I going to shop?, I lamented about the closing of the local Whole Foods that was replaced with a much large Whole Foods that is farther away. But being a good foodie, I was willing to give it a try. Over the last week and half I visited three times: Sunday of Labor Day weekend, a week night after work, and last Saturday as part of my weekly shopping. Before I talk about inside the store, let me first rile about its location. Its about as far away from a freeway as you can get in Orange County. Traffic around the shopping center where its located was bad on Sunday and the weekday (it was impossible right after work). Parking was terrible, and with more stores going in, including a Best Buy next door, will only get worse. So those three things put the store at a huge disadvantage. But lets go inside.

• The produce section was larger and quality appeared the same with some more variety (they had more types of peppers)
• The fish market expanded and now has a selection of whole fish
• Whole Foods meat and poultry always seem good but expensive. This week, they were reasonably priced, so they get a nod as long as prices stay lower.
• Alex, my favorite produce guy is still there, but he leaves for school next week
  
• Didn't see a lot of regular paper goods and cleansers
• They had a whole lot of places to buy prepared foods including Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, Japanese, ice cream, bakery goods, smoked meats, grilled foods, etc.
  

With all the prepared food stations, it feels and acts much more like a lunch time cafeteria that also has a small grocery store inside. So will I go back? Probably. The quality of the produce keeps me coming back and with the expanded fish section and hopefully lower meat prices, that will be enough for me to spend a larger portion of my Saturday shopping. What will keep me from going there is if the new Sprouts or Mothers stores that are proposed to move into Tustin offer what I am looking for in a grocery store and skip the cafeteria look and feel.

Where am I going to shop?

The local Whole Foods store closed this week and opened a new larger store in an outdoor mall in a location that is slightly farther away and much more inconvenient. With this move, and with the kids now gone from the house it has made me evaluate my shopping needs. For the past year or so, I would travel down to Whole Foods and buy produce, fish, some good tortilla chips, cheese, some Kashi cereal I couldn't find elsewhere, and some other odd and ends, then travel across the street to Alberstons to buy meat and chicken, paper goods and cleaning supplies. Our milk is delivered to our house, and I would occasionally shop at Claro's for great deli meats and Italian cooking supplies. With Whole Foods at the center of my Saturday shopping moved farther away what am I going to do?

What I liked about Whole Foods was their consistent high quality of produce, whether it was farmed organically or using standard practices. Other produce markets nearby lacked the consistency of quality. I didn't really care about organic. What I cared about was the freshness of the product (did it last long enough at my house) and does it taste good. Usually a store brand tomato, whether organic or not, has little flavor. Now give me an heirloom or locally grown tomato and yum.

So here is what I want in a grocery store.

• A good selection of fresh, flavorful produce (I will measure variety by how many chile peppers types do they carry)
• A good fish market (regular grocery stores fall flat in this area)
  
• Reasonably priced meat market (Costco would match this criteria, Whole Foods does not)
• It would be nice to have regular old tissue and paper towels in the same market
• I rarely buy prepared foods from any market, so the less of this the better.

I will check out the new Whole Foods this weekend, and report back next week. Who knows, maybe I will be blown away and buy prepared meals for my wife and I for the entire week and give up cooking. After all there are only two of us at home....

On second thought, cooking is my hobby and that would take away the enjoyment of cooking for my wife and friends.

Waiting for that cool autumn air

I hate cooking in summertime. Summertime calls for cool foods like fruit, cucumbers, melons, mayo and grilled proteins like chicken, burgers and salmon. It also means that slow cooking like roasting or braising is out of the question as it heats up the house, when the house is already to warm. Even if you could cook a meal without any restrictions, the heat also changes your diet. Having melt in your mouth braised short ribs just isn't appetizing in August, but it is to die for in November.

My culinary talents lie more in fall and winter cooking. Root vegetables, dark greens, braising, hearty soups, slow cooking sauces, and fresh homemade pasta. Spring and summer force me to experiment with foods to keep the food light and refreshing. For example, I like fruit as a snack, but making a meal out of plums or peaches just doesn't make me reach for a cookbook. Fall and winter foods are rich, multi-layered and filling yet still healthy. The best thing I can think of for summer is spicy foods, mainly tacos and salsa.

Now I have to admit, this summer has been pleasant in Southern California. No really hot days so far. But my eye is on the calendar and the 10 day forecast, waiting for that first cool blast of fall to hit hot Southern California. You know that day has arrived when your sitting at home in the evening and while watching tv, you have to get up to close the window because its too cold. That night you will find me reading cook books in search of the next great fall fare.

So So Parks

These are the parks classified as So-So. If you are in town, then I would catch a game at one of these parks, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to make a special trip to the stadium.

The older Stadiums with some history:

• Yankee Stadium, New York - After the remodel of the stadium in the 70's, there is nothing special about the stadium. What is has going for it is history and very knowledgeable and loyal fans.
  
• Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles - A simple stadium that has gotten old. One big reason to go is grilled Dodger Dogs. With so much going on in LA, their fans are bandwagon fans, and even if they are going good, the fans are just not that enthusiastic.
  
• Kaufman Stadium, Kansas City - A Dodger Stadium clone with a nicer outfield with fountains and grass.
  

The following parks are stadiums with retractable roofs. All are nice, but they don't add much to the baseball experience. Of the three, I would give Minute Maid a nod as the best of the three.

• Minute Maid Park, Houston - Has some uniqueness that gives it an edge.
  
• Chase Field, Phoenix - A mall with a baseball stadium. Fits the Phoenix market, but not spectacular.
  
• Miller Park, Milwaukee - You must get the Bratwurst with the works and special sauce
  

The following parks are nice, but have little or no personality

• US Cellular Field, Chicago - A new stadium with one big draw, the fans. The fans make it a fun experience.
  
• Coors Field, Denver - Nice downtown ballpark, just too damn big
  
• Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati - A new ballpark that tried to pay homage to many facets of Cincinnati baseball history and ended up with a stadium without focus. Looks like the stadium was designed was based on a series of compromises.
  
• Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta - Largest video board I have ever seen.
  
• Angel Stadium, Anaheim - A nice stadium that they ruined when the Rams moved in. When the Rams moved out, they tried to fix it. Its better, but without major changes, it will be hard to crack the Go-Go list. Fans have improved after the 2002 World Series, very loud and loyal.
  
• Ball Park at Arlington - It suffers the same problem as the park in Cincinnati, no focus. They tried to be cute by added an office building but it just doesn't work.

Of all the So-So parks, US cellular is probably my favorite. The fans make it worth the experience. Loud, obnoxious and loyal. Those are good fans.

Keep me motivated

As part of my research for work, I was reviewing web sites that utilize Web 2.0 technology to find ways that will allow our sites to sell more tickets. I have been playing with many of these sites for about a month. One site lets me track my ongoing fitness level. If you want to track my progress and be a motivator, go to my training page at My Traineo.

At this site you can see me weight, workouts and other fitness characteristics and you can be a motivator.

Breakfast Five Ways

I accomplished my goal of five different breakfasts; one for each workday this week. Here is the breakdown.

• Monday - Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal, blueberries and non fat milk. A light breakfast because I had a lunch meeting that day. Being cereal, it was quick and easy.
• Tuesday - Whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter and bananas with a glass of non fat milk. Very filling. I didn't eat until after my noon run.
• Wednesday - Steel cut Oatmeal with blueberries and maple syrup. The longest to cook, but sure was tasty. I usually have this on Saturday mornings. I ended up reading the newspaper as I cooked the oatmeal.
• Thursday - Breakfast sandwich with a toasted whole wheat English muffin, Canadian bacon, a fried egg and salsa. Easier than I thought and filling.
• Friday - Two croissants and jelly. Very Italian style breakfast. Very tasty, but I am sure not that healthy, but once a week can't hurt right?

My favorites were probably the oatmeal and the breakfast sandwich. I was going to make pancakes on Friday, but I ran out of eggs. I probably need to find a couple more quick breakfasts so I can rotate more variety. I am looking for more savory options. Any suggestions?

Recipe Update

I am going to move my recipes to my new website My Cookbook. That way I won't clog the blog with long recipes, and all the recipes will be found in a single location. It will also get me more space to let me comment on food in general. I will first be adding the recipes that are already on the blog. As I add new recipes, I will let you know here first.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper

A while back I lamented about my too sweet American breakfast and I was going to search for a less sweet alternative. Ultimately, I switched my bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch to a bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal with non fat milk and some blueberries for my fruit. The new cereal is less sweet, full of fiber and whole grains, so I was content. But something happened over the last several weeks when I started to increase my weekly running miles. During my lunch time workout, I was starving, even though I ate my new whole grain cereal and having a mid morning snack (a banana). I realized I probably needed more protein in my morning meal.

The other thing that hit me was we generally desire meal variety at lunch and dinner, but for breakfast many of us are creatures of habit and eat the same thing most mornings. We even get upset when the box of cereal that we each morning is empty forcing us to find something else or just skip breakfast. To get more morning protein, I needed to break my breakfast habits, so that means variety.

I remembered an old German proverb;

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

This eating pattern makes a lot of sense. The problem is who has the time to cook for a king in the morning. I need to have a variety of healthy protein filled breakfasts that can be made in minutes. Leftover homemade pizza, seems like a natural, as do some sort of breakfast egg sandwich and something with peanut butter, along with my standard cereal and my favorite oatmeal. I will try 5 different breakfasts next week and report if my breakfasts are fit for a king.

Crab Chowder

This is a recipe I got from Eating Well Magazine. Its a great way to add some fish to your diet. The original recipe called for prepared potatoes, but its too easy to roast your own. I also added my own touches by adding some pepper flakes to give the broth just a touch of heat and adding some wine to help release the flavor of the tomatoes. If you make the Chipotle shrimp, save the shells and make a shrimp stock and use that stock in this recipe.

• 3 Tbs Extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 1 cup finely diced cored fennel bulb, plus 2 tablespoons chopped fronds, divided
• 2 Tbs minced garlic
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning blend
• ¼ tsp Red Pepper flakes
• 1 Tbs Tomato paste
• ¼ cup White wine
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen)
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, divided
• 2 cups chicken, vegetable or shrimp broth (use 2 cups homemade)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 potatoe, diced medium
• 1 lb pasteurized crabmeat, drained if necessary

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Toss diced potatoes with 1 Tbl of olive oil, ½ tsp of salt and ½ tsp of pepper. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer and roast in the oven until golden brown. Shake the sheet pan occasionally to ensure even browning. When done remove from oven and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, fennel bulb, stirring often, until the vegetables are just starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Toss in the garlic, italian seasonings, red pepper flakes. Stir into the onion and fennel. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Clear a space on the bottom of the pan and toast the tomato paste for a minute and then stir into other vegetables.
5. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, until wine is reduced to a glaze.
6. Add tomatoes and stir into the vegetables. Cook until bubbly.
7. Add broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, crab and fennel fronds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil, stirring often; immediately remove from heat.

The Well-Stocked Pantry from Eating Well Magazine

I found this article about a well stocked pantry in Eating Well Magazine. It is, in my opinion, the closest list to the perfect pantry to be able to cook almost anything. My edited version is below. Anything in your pantry should last at least for 3 to six months (some will last even longer). Try to buy smaller sizes so you run out before six months. Your freezer is an important extension to your pantry. Not only should it contain frozen meal size portions of your home cooked foods, but many pantry items below can be portioned and frozen to extend their shelf life (bread is a great example.) I have omitted produce like garlic, onions, ginger, fresh chiles and potatoes. Just know that you need those and they should be replenished regularly. Check out your pantry and see how well you match.

Oils, & Vinegars

• Extra-virgin olive oil for cooking and salad dressings
• Canola oil for cooking and baking
• Peanut oil for frying
  
• Toasted sesame oil, walnut oil
• Vinegars: balsamic, red-wine, white-wine, rice-wine, apple cider

Flavorings

• Kosher salt and coarse sea salt
• Black peppercorns
• Anchovies
  
• Dried herbs: bay leaves, dill, crumbled dried sage, dried thyme leaves, oregano, tarragon, Italian seasoning blend
• Spices: whole allspice berries, caraway seeds, chili powder, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ground cumin, curry powder, ground ginger, dry mustard, whole nutmeg, paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, turmeric, saffron
  
• Lemons, limes, oranges.
  
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Honey
• Pure maple syrup, grade B
• Worcestershire sauce
• Asian flavorings: soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, chile-garlic sauce, curry paste
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, natural and/or Dutch-processed
• Bittersweet chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips

Canned Goods & Bottled Items

• Canned tomatoes (lots of these, I like Muir Glen and I get diced, whole, crushed some that are fire roasted and some that are not.)
• Tomato paste, in a tube
• Chipotles in Adobo
  
• Clam juice
• Canned beans: cannellini beans, garbonzo beans, black beans, red kidney beans
• Chunk light tuna and salmon

Grains & Legumes

• Whole-wheat flour and whole-wheat pastry flour
  
• All-purpose flour
• Assorted dried pastas, some whole wheat (in shapes you can't easily make at home)
  
• Long grain (for simple rice) and short grain rice (for risottos)
  
• Steel cut oats (I like the quick cooking version)
  
• Dried lentils
• Dried cannellini beans
• Yellow cornmeal
• Plain dry breadcrumbs
• Corn Starch
• Baking soda
• Baking powder

Nuts, Seeds & Fruits

• Walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
• Sesame seeds
• Coffee beans
  
• Natural peanut butter
• Tahini
• Assorted dried fruits, such as apricots, prunes, cherries, cranberries, dates, figs, raisins
  

Refrigerator Basics

• Good-quality Parmesan cheese and/or Romano cheese
• Sharp Cheddar cheese
• Cotija cheese, or queso anejo
  
• Kalamata olives, green olives
• Dijon mustard, big jar
• Butter, unsalted. Store unopened sticks in the freezer.
  
• Mayonnaise
• Capers
• Ketchup - Try Muir Glen Organic
  
• Barbecue sauce - Try to find one without too much sugar
• Dry white wine.
  

Freezer Basics

• Frozen homemade chicken or fish/shrimp stock
  
• Fruit-juice concentrates (orange, apple, pineapple)
• Frozen vegetables: edamame soy beans, peas, spinach, corn
• Italian sausage, pancetta and sliced prosciutto
• Good quality breads (e.g. La Brea Bakery) cut into smaller portions
• Whole boneless chicken breasts, frozen into family size portions
• Frozen raw shrimp, shell on, 16-20 size

Perishables you should have

• Non-fat milk
• Whole milk for some sauces
• Cream
  
• plain yogurt and/or vanilla yogurt.
  
• sour cream
• Eggs
• Onions
• Garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Potatoes
  
• Eggs, any size, just by the freshest
• Blue cheese
• goat cheese
• carrots
• celery

Back to the Basics

As my cooking skills have improved, my desire to have quality ingredients has increased and I find myself on the weekend not cooking gourmet items, but making the basics that make cooking easier and tastier for the rest of the week. I decided to share some of my favored recipes and the first one is about as basic as you can get, chicken stock. As I said before, the better the ingredients the better the final dish. Since most recipes require chicken stock, I thought I should tackle this one first. This version of chicken stock comes from Cook's Illustrated and their public TV show America's Test Kitchen. This makes a full flavor gelatinous stock that improves the flavor of every dish where it is used.

Chicken Stock


Ingredients:

4 lbs Chicken legs each hacked into two pieces
1 onion roughly chopped into big pieces (so they don't fall through a strainer)
2 bay leaves
2 quarts of boiling water

Process:

Put a large stock pot over medium heat with one to two tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and cook for about five minutes until soft and beginning to brown and remove onions to a bowl.

Add 1/2 of the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Keep the heat high and turn after five minutes. The pieces will smoke and stick, just pry up and rotate or stir. Remove batch to the bowl with the onion and brown the second batch of legs. Once browned, add onion and first batch back to the pot, turn the flame to low, cover and sweat for 20 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, add boiling water, bay leaves and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot for all those chicken pieces that stuck to the pot during the browning. Bring to boil, then cover, lower the heat back to low and simmer for twenty more minutes. After 20 minutes, turn flame off, and let cool. Discard the big pieces and strain ( I use a mesh strainer then a finer mesh strainer) and then pour into plastic containers. I use some 2 cup and 1 cup sizes and freeze. The two cup is about the size of the can of stock, and the one cup is the size of those juice box stock boxes.

You can de-fat before you freeze or after you thaw, or just use the fat, its up to you. You can also add some salt when you add the water, but I would rather salt my final dish rather than the stock.

I will add some recipes later that I love that use this stock as an ingredient.

How Sweet it Is!

Over the summer we hosted several European water polo players who generally ate everything in sight, but I did notice that their tastes ran toward the savory side and they generally stayed away from sweet items, especially at breakfast. I didn't think much of it until this last weekend when I went to the local grocery store for our weekly provisions rather than Whole Foods, as I didn't need a lot of produce or pantry items. Not only was the produce bad, but everything seemed to have added sugar. I couldn't find a staples like a loaf of bread that didn't have high fructose corn syrup (this includes items from their bakery). I even found canned tomatoes with sugar.

So it got me thinking. Am I eating too much sugar? I don't use many (if any) process foods as ingredients in my cooking. I don't add sugar to my coffee or tea. I gave up sodas a year ago. But I do eat Kashi Go Lean Crunch for breakfast most every morning. This cereal is a high fiber, high protein mixture but does have some added cane sugar (but no where near Captain Crunch). But during their summer long stay, none of the water polo players ever touched any of the breakfast cereals in our pantry. The problem is I didn't notice what they had for breakfast. While we were in Italy, the hotel breakfast, although americanized, offered cheese, salami, and other savory items. So I am on a quest to find a natural savory or balanced breakfast that I will eat and like. My hope is to wean myself off the general American desire to eat a sugary breakfast and in turn tune my taste buds to taste the natural sweetness of most produce. Stay Tuned....

The Results are in.....

A year after being told to lose weight, I went for my annual physical and blood test to see how I am doing. Lets just say I passed with ease. Cholesterol was 116,the lowest its ever been. Triglycerides are at 53 HDLs at 42 which puts LDLs at 63. Weight was down 25 lbs to 172. Glucose was within normal levels. All these numbers mean things are good. So then what is next?

My goal weight is between 165 and 169, so I have another 5 pounds to lose, but I will try to maintain my current weight through the holidays and go after those next five pounds after the first of the year. I have almost completely eliminated processed foods. I have drastically changed and improved my eating habits, and I am working out 4 to five days a week, so its down to refining the process.

So my goals are more aerobic workouts (we bought a treadmill and elliptical equipment), more vegetables, more reading, more travel, more variety in wine, more muscle tone, more entertaining, more fish, more live sporting events, and less Haagen Dazs caramel cone ice cream, less TV, less processed sugar and less bread.

Back to the Weight

I made an appointment for my annual physical for later this month, so by December 1, I should know if all the work to shed 30lbs has paid off. I have been hovering around 172/173 for several months now, so either I have hit a wall or that is a good weight for my body. Based on the body mass index, at 172bs, I am susceptible to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and all those other things that kill you prematurely. If weighed 171lbs, it says I am in perfect health. Hopefully, there is some leeway in the calculation.

Follow Up

Stepped on the scale today and was 171.5. Not bad. My goal for the last couple of weeks is to see the 160s on the scale (ok 169.5 counts as in the 160s). If i see that i will consider my eating lifestyle complete and i can worry about something else. Portion control is working. Eating a little bit every few hours also helps. Whole grain cereal and blueberries with non fat milk at breakfast. A piece of fruit during the morning. Home made lunch (salad or sandwich) at lunch and some trail mix in the afternoon. For dinners, I have simplified the menus. Instead of chicken with rice and a veggie, i have switch to chicken with veggie. A little sweet later finishes my day.

Salt is now my concern, although i am not sure it should be. RDA for salt is about 2500 mg which is about 1 teaspoon a day. Even if I dont use any processed foods, that seems like a very low number. Panera Bread's Fuji apple salad has over 1000mg of salt. Seems like a lot, but is it really? Its the same amount as a Big Mac or slightly less than a MacDonalds California Cob salad with grilled chicken.

Ok so here are the high points:

• Fruit intake is up
• Portions are smaller
• Dont really like fast food anymore

And the counterpoints

• Still not eating tons of veggies, although leaf lettace count is up
• Still like my sweets, cookies or gelato

One thing I have noticed is now that I am eating less calories, it is real important to me that each calorie be flavorful. I dont like filling up with blah food, and now i consider fast food blah.

My exercise routine is changing as i am running on the treadmill 3 days a week and lifting on two or three other days. They say some impact exercise is good for your bones. It will probably take me 30 years to verify that.

Losing weight sucks

Well its been another month. I am down to 181 pounds, so 15 pounds in two months. Not bad, but i want to see those 170 numbers, and it seems so much harder to lose pound number 180 than pound number 195. I hope i can be at 175 by the end of March.

I have done pretty well on my plan. My workouts have been a fairly consistent 5-6 days a week. Lots of aerobic stuff augmented with some weights. I have generally eliminated fast foods from my diet, and to tell you the truth, i dont miss it. I have been packing salads for lunch and that works out well if i make my own dressings sometime during the week. For some reason i cant stand bottled dressings.

the biggest issue i have is bread. I love bread, but i am trying to convert to wholesome, whole wheats and breads with no preservatives. The problem is I dont eat the bread fast enough as it goes bad, so i end up spending more money on a good loaf and end up throwing half of it out. I guess i should buy a good loaf, divide it in three and freeze two thirds of the bread.

He are the highlights so far:

• Cascade Fresh yogurt from Whole Foods. Best yogurt i have tasted
• Cook alot on Sunday, so meals can be heated up during the week
• I usually take the weekend off and dont worry about calorie intake. Seems to be working
• A banana at 10 am is wonderful
• I find the South Beach diet oatmeal cookies very satisfying. 100 calories and have whole grains.
• Not a big frozen yogurt fan, but Hagen Daz chocolate sorbet is tasty.
  

Ahh middle age

I went to the doctor the first of January for my annual checkup. In previous checkups i was treated for high cholesterol and higher the average blood pressure but everything else checked up fine. This time a blood test showed elevated blood sugar levels. To treat this my doctor said lose 20 pounds and 30 minutes of aerobic exercise everyday. Now lets start with i am already in decent shape. I have been going to the gym 3 times a week and lifting weights. I had a small ponch, but I consider it much smaller than the average middle age man. My diet was good. I stopped drinking sodas last year. I stopped putting sugar in iced tea and my morning coffee. I was eating a bowl of whole wheat cereal each morning. The milk I used was non fat. But I took my doctor's advice and decided to change my eating habits and change my workouts to lose the weight. But I needed a plan.

To lose 20 pounds ( I was 196 lbs naked on the scale at the gym), i decided my bad habits had to go. Fast food at lunch was a big issue, so i had to find substitutes. I love to cook and my wife, kids and friends say I am a very good cook, but I looked at the dinners I usually prepare and found many of the portions were too big, not enough veges and never any fruit (not a big fruit fan, but thats a future post).

So here is my plan:
30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily, mostly at the gym
Take my lunch to work
Avoid the "food cube" of snacks that most softare companies have (I design software)
Find foods with no high Fructose Corn syrup.
Smaller portions
More veges
More fruit
Avoid fast food when ever possible.


Here is what i wont do:

No fad diets: Diets are isolating. the last thing I want to do is decline dining out with friends because it doesnt fit my diet, or making food that meets my diet restrictions, but turns my family off.

I am not giving up good ingredients like butter, cream or breads. To prepare good food you need good ingredients. Margerine is not an ingredient. I will continue to cook with good ingredients, but i need to alter their proportion.

We enjoy go out to nice restaurants. If the special has an alfredo sauce, then damn it, i will get the alfredo sauce.

I enjoy wine and occasional beer. These will continue.

I am 1 month into my change of life plan and I have lost 8-10 pounds, depending on which scale you use at the gym. I will detail each part of my plan in future posts, but generally all things are working fine.

For inspiration, read the beginning of Rick Bayless's "Everyday Mexican" cookbook. He had a similar realization that he was losing the middle age battle and changed his lifestyle as well.