A year ago today I had the crazy idea to start this blog.  It seemed like a good way to motivate myself to stay on this diet by forcing myself to write about what I was cooking and share it with the world.  And it worked, Im still sticking mostly to the Montignac Method after all this time, albeit on the maintenance phase these days.  And yes its worked for me, I lost over 35 pounds and most of that was in the first 3 months of eating this way.  So this style of eating will help you lose weight it just takes a lot of self control and motivation to cook for yourself everyday.

Funny thing is along the way in writing about my adventures on this diet I started to enjoy doing the blog.  People started reading and enjoying the recipes which was a shock to me who expected to just be followed by my mom and a couple friends.  Then I blogged about cucumbers and things really got crazy around here.  Now Im addicted to food blogging, entering my second year on this blog with no plans to stop posting.  Except the title of the blog might have to change slightly now to something along the lines of “A Year on the French Diet Part Duex.”

A lot happened this year.  The fella and I moved to a new place with a great kitchen.  We had a lot of parties where we “forced” our friends to eat really great food.  I found out I was allergic to gluten and had to learn how to cook gluten free.  I joined another blog.  I ribboned a lot of vegetables.  A lot of great wine was had. 

I had a blast and Im glad youve all decided to take this journey with me.  Thanks to all my followers.  And an even bigger thanks to all my friends who on a daily basis talk food with me and never get sick of my culinary obsessions, especially those of you who come over to be a guinea pig for my latest creations.  A big thanks to my parents for coming over for holiday dinners at my place so I had something to blog about and especially for the amazing non stick pans.  And to the fella, I couldnt do this without you, thanks for all your support and Im pretty sure youll be sainted for helping with all those dishes.  And I didnt forget my fluffy dog friend, thank you for “vacuuming” the kitchen for me everyday.

There will be even more food, wine, and fun in the year to come so stick around.  In the meantime here is a round up of some of my favorite recipes.  And just so you can keep track of all my cook antics I started a Facebook group and am giving this Twitter thing a shot so follow me there too if you like.  I even included some of my biggest cooking disasters in the list for your amusement.

Now for a glass of wine to celebrate being a year old in blog years.
 
Favorite Main Courses
Almond Flour Pizza Crust   
Portobello “Steaks”
Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup
Red Lentil Soup  
Lamb Korma
Asian Peanut Pork in the Crockpot 
Sushi Bowls
Salmon in Wine and Cream Sauce
Rigatoni With Caper Tomato Sauce 


Favorite Sides
Braised Cucumbers
Flowerless Naan  
Any of Mark Bittmans 101 Simple Salads
Beet Salad
Tapenade Salad
Cauliflower "Potatoes"
Puy Lentil Salad

Favorite Desserts and Breakfasts
Saffron Coconut Milk Ice Cream 
Hazelnut Brownies 
Chocolate Bacon Cake 
Flourless Beet Torte 
Brandied Cranberry Sauce
Quinoa Oatmeal
Cranberry and Flax Breakfast Muffins

Most Interesting Failures
Very Salty Quiche
Eggplant "Pizza"
Oxtail Rioja
The Modern French Culinary Art Cookbook

Blueberry Ice Cream

Best Wine
Cline Moudevre (or basically anything from Cline)
Snoqualme Nearly Naked Gewürztraminer
Aveleda Fonte Verde 
Optimus Chardonnay 
El Coto Rioja

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Just like everyone else who reads the New York Times I felt strangely compelled to make this dish. I had rock hard peaches and a seemingly endless cache of basil from our CSA so I guess it was only natural. And unlike so many over hyped foodie trends this one actually lived up to the build up. The friend I was cooking for took one bite and was speechless, which is always a good sign.

This is another super simple very yummy meal that is like eating summer. Im planning on making it again tonight I loved it so much, this time doing it on the stove top to save us from the dreaded heat leaching from the oven into our already August humid kitchen. Its that good, especially with random CSA veggies as a side. What made it even more enjoyable was not having an open bottle of wine or any cooking sherry, I substituted in a wee bit of brandy which made for extremely decadent slightly boozy peaches. It was dinner and dessert in one bite.

I now know what will be happening to all the fruit in my kitchen that refuses to ripen. It will be meeting the same tasty tasty fate as these peaches. Oh, darn.

Chicken Thighs With Peaches and Basil

1/ 2 pound hard peaches (about 2 or 3 medium)
1 pound chicken thighs, cut in 1 inch thick strips
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch long piece ginger, grated


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Halve peaches, remove pits, slice fruit 1/ 2 inch thick.

In a 9 by 13 inch pan toss all ingredients except 1 tablespoon of the basil. Roast until the meat is cooked through and peaches soft, about 20 minutes.

Garnish with remaining basil.

Original recipe from Melissa Clark in the New York Times.

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Today Dan and I are celebrating one of the greatest blessings that has ever entered into our lives. You probably wont have too much trouble guessing what that is... of course... our sweet as sugar Remi Bear! Oh how I love love love that doodle!

Celebrating Remingtons 6th Birthday is very special, but also a little shocking. I have found myself spending moments recently just soaking in what an incredible dog he has become and how blessed Dan and myself are to call him our own. But also this birthday with him makes me realize that half of his life is gone and at best we probably only have six more years left to enjoy him. That is a hard pill to swallow and honestly hurts my heart... but lets not think about that.

Instead, lets celebrate what a wonderful life Remington has lived so far and also the wonderful life he has left to live. He has not only changed Dan and I lives and given us so much joy, but every week during his therapy dog visits he brings joy to those who meet him. He has being a big brother to look forward to, as well as teaching this new baby what dogs are all about. I just cant wait to see what legacy he leaves because he is just that special :)

I wish more than anything that Remington could understand how proud we are of him and the amount of love we hold in our hearts for him. And even though things may change a little along the way as the years go by, what will never change is how much he means to us.

Happy Birthday Big Boy! 

We love you to the moon and back a million times over!

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Finding high protein meals for this diet has been simple. Those meals allow fat and any fruits and vegetables with a GI of 35 or lower. The only big restriction is keeping the meal carb and root vegetable free. We have fun cooking these nights and they usually allow us to dabble in the Indian food and spice we miss so much.

The high fiber/low fat meal however have started to get tedious. These meals are heavily restrictive as to what is allowed and have to be eaten for dinner 3 to 4 times a week. They require a whole wheat pasta, brown rice or low GI bean as a base and are complimented with low GI veggies and can only have enough fat added as is required for cooking. Its getting old finding new and interesting things. We can only have lentil stew, stir fry or pasta with tomato paste and grilled vegetables so many times before going nutty.

Thankfully the fella stumbled on a new source of low fat whole food cooking. Meals Matter is like the healthy cooking version of Epicurious from what I can tell in that it has user submitted recipes that are reviewed and easily searchable. It has nutritional information for the recipes too so that helped us make up a more exciting menu this week full of high fiber food without repeating our three go to dishes once again.

This combo of crispy broccoli and tangy roasted red pepper was delicious. I am confused about the amount of pasta the original recipe calls for however as the sauce was just barely enough to make two servings and now we have a ton of extra pasta awaiting usage in the fridge. So if youre a sauce whore like I am you might want to double the delicious pureed red pepper sauce. Next time I would also up the spices especially the red pepper flakes to give it more of a kick. Even on the bland side I loved it. Not to mention it practically cooks itself.

Broccoli and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

2 roasted red peppers (you can make them yourself, I use canned)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups broccoli florets
8 oz whole wheat penne (original recipe called for 16 oz but there isnt enough sauce to cover all that pasta)
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 teaspoon dried basil
4 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Slice open peppers and wash out seeds. Place the peppers in a food processor with balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Puree until smooth.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli florets and cook for 1 minute. Scoop out the broccoli with a slotted spoon and set aside. Bring the water back to a boil.

Cook pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile place a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the oil. Cook garlic, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and increase the heat to medium. When the tomatoes begin to simmer, stir in pepper puree and broccoli; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in basil and remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and add to the skillet, stirring to coat. Spoon into shallow bowls and garnish each with grated Parmesan.

Original recipe from Meals Matter site.

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Lets talk carbs. Specifically pasta.

Yes the whole point of this diet is to cut out a lot of carbs and all sugar but you can still have carbs there are just a lot of rules. First you can only have carbs one meal out of the day, preferably for lunch when your metabolism is working harder. That means one carb/low fat meal and one protein meal a day. Secondly only whole grain carbs are allowed, brown rice and whole wheat pasta for example. Lastly the carbs have to be eaten with as little fat as possible so that your body doesnt absorb a load of fat along with the carbs.

So what does this leave for you to eat for low fat/carb meals? Plenty you just have to get creative, give up the idea of ever having cheese on your pasta, and look really hard for the couple grocery story products that you can eat. Lucky for you Ive already done the last step, the intensely annoying and soul draining part for you. Seriously I was torn between breaking into tears or throwing sauces on the floor the first couple times I tried to shop and found how little there was to eat that was sugar free and diet friendly.

The other rule with pasta is that it has to be very thin angel hair pasta made with hard wheat. Montignac claims the pasta dough being forced through the thin metal pasta extruder during production causes a reaction in the wheat that makes it harder to break down into bad carbs while being digested. A lot of his quasi science leaves me scratching my head so I just take his word for it and any of my scientist readers can let me know if this is total crap.

There are three pasta brands Ive found in stores in Madison that fit all these quantifiers. Bella Terra Organic Capellini Angel Hair, Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Angel Hair, and Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Grain Angel Hair. In regular grocery stores these brands hide in the organic section rather than in with the regular pasta.

Pasta sauces get a little more complicated depending on how strict you want to take the low fat rule. Ive found some good sauces with less than 2 grams of fat per serving from Barilla and Classico. The roasted red pepper and tomato basil in both brands were especially tasty. I was very surprised that the least expensive brands more consistently were sugar free.

In the past Ive been posting pasta recipes with penne and lasagna noodles going off the French version of the diet that didnt specify the angel hair only rule. Apparently the American diet needed more rules to keep us fat lazy poor eaters under control. Substituting angel hair in for my earlier recipes will make them perfectly legal for the diet however.

For now Ill post a very tasty and very easy recipe that will work for the weight maintenance stage of the diet when you can add a little more fat into carb meals without any dire consequence. This is when you arent losing weight but are following most of the same rules to keep your weight steady. It works, I havent lost or gained a single pound while eating this way. Next week the fella and I are going hard core on the weight loss phase again to see how much more weight we can get rid of, though the vacation from counting GI levels has been nice. I highly recommend taking a month off from the strict eating after a couple months just so the low GI doesnt break your will to live too much.

This recipe just involves tossing some marinated veggies into store bought pasta sauce to make it a little more special and give it a home made feel. It was delicious. We had pan roasted cauliflower with thyme and lemon juice as a side and El Coto Rioja which I believe I may have already raved about once before. It really is a wonderful spicy Spanish wine in the under $10 price range. With wine this good for that price I see no reason to spend more. Plus Im a sucker for quirky labels.

Antipasto Pasta

1 16-ounce package whole wheat angel hair pasta
1 28-ounce jar sugar free pasta sauce
1 4-ounce jar marinated artichokes, drained, halved
1 10 to 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, cut into strips
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves, sliced or chopped

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, following package directions, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, place the marinara sauce, artichokes, peppers, and olives in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Add sauce to pasta. Stir to combine. If desired, add some of the cooking water if too thick. Top with basil. Serve.

Original recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs Enlightened Cooking.

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The fella and I were both extremely wary of this meal as we were cooking it.  Fish plus pasta seemed curious and had a likelihood to not be as tasty together as the two delicious bits are separate.  In this case the genius of the recipe won out over our doubts.  Not only is it a very yummy recipe it is also very easy.  The meaty texture of the broiled fish contrasted nicely with the pasta which then covered with the salty bits of caper and olive made a nicely balanced meal.  This recipe is going into our rotation of quick filling things to make when I dont feel like cooking.

Swordfish and Olive Pasta

6 ounces of swordfish
2/3 cup black olives, finely chopped
salt and pepper
6 ounces curly pasta (gluten free rice rice pasta works well)
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
4 tablespoons capers
1/ 2 starchy water reserved from boiling pasta
fresh parsley

Line broiler rack with aluminum wrap, rub on a little oil, set fish on top and broil 4 minutes on one side.  Turn the fish, top with olives and broil 2 or 3 minutes longer.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the pasta.  While it cooked, saute shallot and garlic in the olive oil over low heat until they are soft, dont let them brown.  Add the herb de Provence and capers.  Slice the swordfish in thin strips and spoon the olives into the shallot mixture.

When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving 1/ 2 cup of the cooking water and mix the pasta in with the swordfish,adding pasta water a little bit at a time as needed to moisten the pasta in order to make a few tablespoons of sauce to cover the pasta.

Salt and pepper the dish.  Toss one last time and top with parsley to serve.

From Judith Jones The Tenth Muse.

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Any dinner that pasta is the main dish is a winner for me, so when I found this recipe I was in heaven. I just needed to make sure it included some kind of meat ;) SCORE!

Creamy Spinach and Sausage Pasta (www.budgetbytes.com) $5.91

Ingredients

• 6 oz. smoked sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz. pasta
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
• 1 whole green onion 

Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.

 

Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). 

Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.

Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.

Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

 

Dan rated this meal a 4.5 out of 5 stars. He was pleasantly surprised that he liked this so much! He was even excited to eat it as leftovers the next day. I too thought it was pretty dang good! YUM! I would definitely make it again, plus the clean up was super easy since you basically just use one pan.

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