FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Grass Roots

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Tampa is what it is, and after returning home from a year in Dallas, I appreciate the “is”.  I’ve never doubted my seemingly lacking city in the food quality department.  And even if you gave me a choice between a Tampa and Dallas restaurant, I’d probably choose Tampa 95% of the time.  Yes, really.  But the other 5%?  My heart aches for Spiral Diner, Cosmic Cafe, and Bliss Raw Cafe.

The only place here that compares in fashion forwardness is Grass Roots.  And it’s not just good because of it’s lone soldierism, it ranks nicely in my theoretical Tampa vs. Dallas game.

I ordered “Sabrina’s Favorite Sandwich” for lunch – raw onion “bread” with raw hummus, avocado, sprouts, lettuce and sheeze.  It seems as though faux cheese and I have a special relationship these days.  Interesting.  But back to the dish, 100% raw and 150% delicious!  The raw onion bread even sparked an interest in adding a food dehydrator to my extensively unnecessary food appliance collection.

Cheese Please?

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Among the many tasks that contributed to my uber productive Sunday?  Preparing Chilaquiles for destination freezer.  The recipe that I used from Eatingwell.com is a far cry from the traditionally unhealthy dish composed of Tostitos and God only knows what else.  And, at some point during my extended stay in the produce section, I decided to jazz it up with faux cheese.  What!
I started regretting my purchase as I was cooking, and even more so after I took it out of the freezer and invited a friend over for dinner last night.  It’s a slim to none chance that an all American boy will tolerate the taste of yellow nothing with a hint of weird.

While I was preheating the oven, I hesitantly sampled a shred.  Much to my surprise it was decent.  Much to my surprise it was good!  At that point, I knew that I would be satisfied with my dinner, but was still fairly nervous about how my guest would react.

It was clear that my nerves were unnecessary as he requested a second helping.  I’m three for three this week as far as meals are concerned and I think that calls for a solid “heck yeah!”.

The Trifecta of Diet Awesome

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After graduation and the few additional LBs that tag along with a newly acquired desk job, I sampled every diet under the sun. There were many that I hated, few that I tolerated, and barely any that I enjoyed. What I’ve come to realize is that most diets are created from a logical, nutrition-based concept, but taken to extremes in order for people to LOSE WEIGHT FAST! (think Billy Mays).

The diets that were my favorite, uncoincidentally, were the same diets that made me feel my best. Unfortunately, my favorites fall into the extreme category and were difficult to stick to as they tended to make me feel isolated and anti-social. So what were they?

– South Beach / Low Carb (most of 2007)
– Vegan (September 2008)
– Gluten-Free (August 2009 – December 2009)

I was recently tested for food allergies to confirm my suspicions that an allergy must be the cause of a lifetime of stomach mishaps. If it looks like an egg, it must be an egg, right? Wrong. A panel consisting of well over 30 food allergens and I tested negative for every last one of them. Really?? No answers! And so, my quest for optimal health continues…

I fell off the gluten-free wagon about two weeks ago upon receiving my test results AND as holiday goodies started pouring in my office doors. Evil monkeys!

I’m diet-less once again and scheming my next fitness plot. Each time I re-start the scheming process, I’m convinced, I “know” I will find the perfect way to be. So what’s my plan today? The Trifecta of Diet Awesome! The Trifecta will be the result of dissecting the above mentioned favorites, cherry picking them if you will, creating a pro/con list and tossing all the cons. If only boys were this simple!

South Beach Pros: Low Gylcemic Index, High Fiber
South Beach Cons: Use of artificial sweeteners, Lots of Meat, Lots of Dairy

Vegan Pros: Alkaline Diet, Sustainable Lifestyle
Vegan Cons: DIFFICULT TO EAT ANYWHERE!

Gluten-Free Pros: No Gluten = Less Sluggish/Difficult to enter food coma
Gluten-Free Cons: Somewhat difficult to eat out, Limited selection at the supermarket

So it is, my newest mission will be to eat foods low on the glycemic index, high on the fiber list, minimal animal, and very minimal gluten (wheat). If I find myself at a steakhouse swimming in a glorious pool of beef and bread, I won’t freak, but I also won’t venture often.

Wish me luck and happy holidays!