By request…

Well, the readers have spoken! It seems that the recipe generating the most interest from Sunday’s BBQ fiesta is Cowboy Caviar. You asked, I deliver. So here’s the recipe. Warning: it makes a pretty big bowl. And it’s kinda addictive. You could make it if you don’t have a big crowd coming, but then you might be forced to eat large amounts of it. Your choice. But you’ve been warned.

Cowboy Caviar from Cooking with Grace – A Cookbook from Point of Grace (one of my all-time favourite singing groups, btw)

• 2 avocados, diced (mine were small so I used 3)
• 1 tomato, diced
• 11 oz can shoe peg corn or petite white corn, drained (or use 2 large cobs worth of fresh corn kernels)
• 15 oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro – leaves only, chopped (or, if you or your friends are cilantro-averse, use flat leaf parsley. I did so and it worked great!)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• splash of lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• hot sauce to taste

Combine avocados, tomato, corn, black-eyed peas, cilantro and onions in a bowl. 

Combine remaining ingredients in a separate container (makes it easier if it’s something you can shake) then add to avocado mixture. Stir and chill for at least 2 hours.

Serve with your favourite tortilla chips (naturally, I used Guiltless Gourmet).

 

Confessions of a food blogger: I don’t always use fresh lemon juice. There was only a splash in my Realemon jar, so I just added the rest of the dressing ingredients in there and shook it up!

 

Caviar close-up. I much prefer this to the real thing – which is fish eggs!

 

 

 

 

Grab the Guiltless Gourmet and we are good to go!

 

 

 

 

So, while we are on a “by request” theme, I thought I’d answer the questions I received on last week’s Q and A post.

Question One: When/where do you find you are most culinarily creative/get your best ideas, and why? Answer: It took me a while to think about this one, but here’s what I came up with: I think I am most creative when I am forced to be, like when I have an abundance of a certain ingredient, or something that needs to be used up before it goes bad. This forces me to be creative/think outside the box, and often, it’s surprising what I can come up with!

Question Two: Do you set a goal each week regarding how many new recipes you are going to try out? Answer: No. I just see what I’m in the mood for/have time for/what inspires me from the blog world/magazines/food tv/what ingredients are available. And speaking of magazines…

Question Three: Do you subscribe to any food magazines? Answer: Yes. I get (and LOVE) Food Network Magazine. It is so fun to read, has great ideas and information, and interviews with my favourite Food Network stars. The one thing I really like about this magazine is it has all different recipes depending on your skill level and the time you have. There’s a “Weeknight Cooking” section of fast and easy meals, and a “Weekend Cooking” section with more elaborate, themed menus. I also enjoy the monthly “Try this at Home” feature, where a celebrity chef takes you through how to make something that seems a little scary, like sausage, tamales, or homemade canned green tomatoes (which I hope to try this summer). I used to get Rachael Ray magazine, and also LOVE that one, but their subscriber services to Canada STINK , so I decided not to renew. I also get Shape, which is not a good magazine, but has a couple recipes each month.

Question Four: Could you do a post of some of your salad dressing greatest hits? I would love to have all your dressings (or at least a few of them) in one place!! Answer: You ask, I deliver! My basic salad dressing formula (for one serving) is as follows:

1. In a small container (I use the 1/2 cup Glad containers), put one teaspoon oil. My typical choice is olive oil. Sometimes I use avocado oil (although I don’t find it has any real flavour at all). I’ve also tried flax oil (because it’s supposed to be good for you). And if I am in an Asian mood, I use sesame oil – major flavour there.

2. Add the following ingredients (I NEVER measure these – play with proportions, use a little more or less, see what you like):

• mustard (usually Dijon)
• fat-free Italian salad dressing
• vinegar

I have a little bit to say on each of the above ingredients.

The Mustard. Dijon is my go-to because it adds a nice tang, and blends easily. However, if I have some flavoured/fancy mustards around, it’s fun to use those to play with the flavour. I also really enjoy the texture of grainy mustard, so I go with that from time to time.

Fat-free Italian salad dressing. Okay, okay, I know it’s “fake food” – hear me out! This started back when I did Weight Watchers. FF Italian is a “0 point food,” so I started adding it to my dressings to make them go further. Here’s how I look at it: I figure that making my own dressing, even if it contains some processed/fake ingredients, is better than just buying a bottle off the shelf, right? And if I use part oil/part dressing, I can have more dressing for less calories. Even though it’s called “Italian” dressing, I find the flavour fairly neutral and that it goes well with multiple ingredients. If using this stuff really bothers you, just leave it out and add more oil or have less dressing.

The Vinegar. This is where you can really give your dressing some personality. The type of vinegar is what drives the flavour of the dressing. My most commonly used vinegars are balsamic, red wine and white wine. I also like to use my fancy flavoured wine vinegars from time-to time.

Variations: The above formula is my go-to basic. But, I like to play from time to time!

• Asian: skip the mustard, use balsamic or rice vinegar, sesame oil, and add some soya sauce
• Southwest: red wine vinegar, and add some salsa and cumin to the mix. I also like this when you add a touch of BBQ sauce
• Citrus: swap out some (or all) of the vinegar for lemon or lime juice

A secret weapon that I have recently discovered kicks butt in salad dressings?! Pickle juice! Swap out the vinegar for that potent potion and your tastebuds will sing!

Answering your questions was really fun, so thank you for your submissions. Feel free to ask more anytime and I will be happy to answer (as long as you don’t stump me).

And before I leave, let me tell you that my blog buddy Donna nominated me for “7 links” (which I had never heard of), but apparently the goal is to: “unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavour to share lessons learned and create a bank of old, but not forgotten, blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.” I was going to find my 7 posts in this post, but I think it’s long enough already, so I will have to get to that later this week.

We’ve already made it to Wednesday friends! Question: Salad dressings – homemade, store-bought, or a combination of the two?

Footloose and finger-free

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is off to a great start! In honour of the weekend, I’m going to share with you a meal that I made last weekend. You wouldn’t believe how many food photos I have on “reserve” on my computer. I photograph almost everything that I eat, but since I don’t blog about every meal, the photos can add up quickly. But it’s nice because I always have something on hand to share with you.

I don’t know about you, but my eating habits often change on the weekend (not always for the better). I like to take things slower, especially at breakfast. Sometimes I have a bigger lunch. And often on Sunday nights, I just want a sort of “munchie” supper (maybe that comes from the faspa tradition growing up). To that end, here is a delicious finger-food supper I prepared last Sunday night….perfectly fresh, light and summery – I hope there are more meals like this in the months to come!

I had an avocado in the fridge that I wanted to use, so I made a quick “guacamole for one” using 1/4 avocado (tip: I think I’ve heard that they stay fresh longer if you leave the pit in the rest of the avocado, I also put lime juice on it, then cover with saran). To the avocado, I added a bit of chopped fresh cilantro, Epicure guacamole seasoning, chopped grape tomatoes, chopped green onion, salsa, lime juice, salt and pepper. The chips that you see are Special K Sour Cream and Onion Cracker Chips (only available in US…sorry!) and they are not only delicious, but the serving size is HUGE….27 of these babies for only 110 calories! But you could substitute any light chip/cracker (Popchips, Guiltless Gourmet….). I also had a few veggies for dipping on the side.

My other veggie side was an old classic: roasted cauliflower.By now, you know the drill – salt, pepper, olive oil, cumin, roast at 450 until browned. I was in a bit of a rush, so I didn’t let it reach optimal brownness (note: you want it to look almost burnt, that’s when it has the most flavour). As I was heading out the door (to dine al fresco on the patio, naturally), I had the brilliant idea of mixing a bit of ketchup and yellow mustard together as a dipping sauce. Genius! This took slightly under-roasted cauliflower from good to extraordinary.

You can’t really see it in the photo, but the protein component of this plate were two PC Blue Menu Garlic and Herb Chicken Skewers (can’t get enough of those guys). It all came together as the perfect flavour combo that did not require a fork(I do often eat roasted cauliflower with a fork, but you can also eat it as a finger food…at least I do)…ideal for a lazy summer Sunday night. And to drink (in addition to the good ol’ H20), I had PC Diet Sparkling Mango Soda…fancy, no? I wouldn’t say this is my new favourite soft drink or anything (I’d still prefer a diet Coke), but it’s pretty good stuff. Nice for summer anyway…I’m not sure I’d be craving a sparkling mango in the depths of winter.

Dessert broke the “no cutlery rule,” but it was so delicious, it was worth it. This was the strawberry banana mango soft serve I told you about, the one that inspired the base of Wednesday’s soft serve sundae. I said it before, and I’ll say it again…these 3 fruits ROCK together! I’m not sure why, but there’s just something magical about the combination of the the three, in perfect soft serve harmony (see…it even makes me rhyme!). Same procedure as typical banana soft serve, I just nuked the berries for a few seconds to make them a touch easier to blend. On the side, you see a piece of my Ethel M peanut butter chocolate bar (with tea in my Ethel M mug to match, naturally). I’m not gonna lie, as good as the other Ethel M stuff I’ve had was, Ethel let me down a bit on this PB bar. It wasn’t quite as peanut-buttery as I had hoped. Not bad, just not exceptional. I still ate it, obviously (it’s chocolate, can’t let it go to waste!).

I hope you enjoy this (or any other) delicious meals this weekend. How do your eating habits change on the weekends?

As usual, I don’t have too many grand plans this weekend. Probably more outdoor hooping, hopefully Military Tone, and Sunday is my Grandma’s birthday, so baking for that. I hope we all have nice weather to enjoy!

Bits, Bites and BAM!

I don’t have an exact method of determining what/how to post here on HHH. I knew when I started this blog that I didn’t want to be one of those healthy living blogs where I posted about every meal I ate (don’t get me wrong, I read and love those blogs, but I just knew it wasn’t for me). Usually I try to base my posts around either a meal or a specific theme. But this post is a little theme-less. It’s just composed of bits and bites of things I’ve eaten/made/done of the last few days. Okay with you? Good. Let’s get going.

First, observe the photo to the right. This is something that I mean to tell you guys about almost every time I make something with a portabello mushroom. I like to remove the black “gills” before I use the mushroom (particularly important when cooking the sliced mushrooms with something else, as they can make the whole dish look sort of grey-ish). My favourite tool for this? A grapefruit spoon (small spoon with a serrated edge)! The spoon makes it SO easy remove the gills in one fell swoop. Just remove the stem, insert the spoon under the gills and run all around the underside of the mushroom. There! SO glad I got that off my chest!

Second, another low carb dessert (but I am “back” on carbs, as of Sunday night). Again, this one was so good, I’d eat it any time, not just when i was cutting carbs. It’s a twist on my tea-poached pears with brie and chocolate. I poached a halved, cored pear in water with a Maple tea bag, Epicure poudre douce and some sweetener until tender. I topped the pear with 3 tbsp of light ricotta mixed with vanilla and Splenda, and cacao nibs for the chocolate-y crunch. YUM! Like the mug? I got it in Vegas. In case you can’t read it, underneath the “eat chocolate” it says “not preservatives.” It’s from Ethel M, a chocolate company that makes delicious chocolates with no preservatives (I tried some, and brought a few home for special treats. )

…speaking of which, one of Ethel’s sea salted caramels was one of the first “carbs” I ate on Sunday night for dessert…that a rather ice crystal-y Skinny Cow bar that I think had been in the freezer since last summer. Trust me, the caramel was better.

This is my twist on Hungry Girl’s egg mugs (basically a microwave omelette). It was part of one of my low-carb breakfasts. I microwaved a couple of spears of chopped asparagus in the bowl in a bit of water for a minute. I drained the asparagus, wiped out the bowl, and sprayed it with non-stick spray. I put the asparagus back in, poured in 1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute, and mixed in salt, pepper, and dried dill. I microwaved for 2 minutes and voila: breakfast is served (plus a couple other things)! Easier to clean up from than a stovetop omelette, that’s for sure!

Last but not least, onto the BAM! No, I haven’t gone all Emeril on you. BAM stands for brie, avocado and mushroom – the type of panini I had for supper on Sunday night to welcome myself back to the wonderful word of carbohydrates. And it was so wonderfully delicious I wanted to share it with you. In the photo, you’ll see what I used to make it: PAM; 2 slices light bread; 1 portobello mushroom cap, de-gilled as above, then grilled with PAM and seasoning of your choice (I went for the grill pan since I was panini-ing anyway and the weather was iffy); light brie, a few slices red onion, 1/4 avocado (it needed to be used up, and so was the inspiration for the sandwich), salt and pepper, fresh basil and parsley; and my mustard crush: balsamic cracked pepper (almost out…BOO!).

I sprayed one side each of the bread with PAM, spread with mustard, then mashed the avocado on, then the mushroom (I actually had to trim it to fit, it was so big), salt and pepper, brie, onion, herbs and more salt and pepper. I grilled it in my grill pan over medium heat with the panini press on top, turning once. Mmmmm….up close and personal with the BAM! You want this sandwich, oh yes you do. Just look at those layers of flavour. I can’t think of a better way to re-introduce myself to my favourite macro-nutrient: the carbohydrate!

I hope you enjoyed the randomness of this post. What is the most random thing you’ve said or done lately?

Salad Days

Eating lots of salads to get back on track and help shed a few pounds sounds kind of brutal, doesn’t it? Visions of scarfing down endless bowls of greens sounds sort of like punishment. I ate a nice, big healthy salad for both lunch and dinner yesterday, and it was anything but boring. And although it was healthy, it didn’t seem like “diet food” to me.

Just look at that big, beautiful salad (last night’s supper) – doesn’t it look yummy? I’m not sure if I will remember all the veggies in it, but I will try. I started out with some mixed greens, then added:

• multi-colour grape tomatoes
• cucumber
• cauliflower
• snow peas
• orange bell pepper
• asparagus (just slightly cooked, so it was still tender-crisp)
• fresh parsley and chives (thank you, perennial herbs in my garden )
• red onion
• frozen corn kernels, thawed
• jarred roasted red peppers
• broccoli slaw mix
• sliced sundried tomatoes

My protein was this PC Blue Menu Mediterranean Herb Turkey Filet (I split the whole thing between 2 salads for my mom and I). This was my first time eating this turkey and it DEFINATELY won’t be my last! I cooked it on the grill, and it was soooo tender and tasty!

This is what the whole thing looked like after I grilled it. I let it rest for a good 15 or 20 minutes. I didn’t want it steaming hot on the salad, and also, if you cut meat right after you take it off the grill, all the juices run out and it’s not as tender and juicy (it’s true, not just something they say on tv).

I layered the chopped turkey on top of all the other veggies, seasoned with freshly cracked garlic sea salt (Epicure, of course ) and black pepper, and topped the whole thing off with sliced avocado. My dressing was a mix of 1 tsp olive oil, Dijon mustard, fat-free Italian dressing and some simply delicious Raspberry Baco Noir wine vinegar I bought in a fancy wine vinegar mini six-pack back in March when my sister and I had dinner in wine country). These vinegars ROCK! As I said to my mom, often on fancy-sounding vinegars like that, the names are just for show, but you really CAN taste the unique flavour in each one.

Everything came together fantastically for an absolutely amazing salad. Seriously, sooo good (and huge too, I like that in my food). But even better still? I concurrently made a salad for today’s lunch! Everything was the same, minus the corn, turkey and avocado, and plus some chopped deli ham. I love making supper and lunch at the same time – saves on all the chopping and prep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did the same thing on Wednesday night when I made a fantastically tasty pork tenderloin for supper (made a quick rub of garlic salt, fajita seasoning, cumin, chili powder and Epicure salsa seasoning) and then threw it on top of an Asian-style broccoli slaw for yesterday’s lunch….don’t you just love cooking ahead?

So you may be wondering, how’s the low carb thing going after 2 days (even if you’re not, I’m gonna share)? As you can see, it’s involved a lot of salads and lean proteins. But I’ve also come up with some tasty sweet options (which I will share on the weekend). I will never say that I like not eating carbs (you know how much I LOVE my desserts, and my beloved vitatops, and bread…), but honestly, it hasn’t been that bad. I think my body was just craving lean options (mostly veggies and fruit) so much that it’s been happy with the change. But mind you, this is me after only 2 days….we’ll see how long it lasts!

I’m hoping to get my veggies and herbs in the ground this weekend (maybe even tonight), so expect an update on that to come too. Happy Friday everyone!

Abort Mission

So yesterday, I did something I’ve never done before….I shortened a training run. I’ve run through incredible blister pain, gone barefoot on the the sand, run in the dark, run in the snow. So why did I bail yesterday? It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t snowing, it wasn’t even that cold. In fact, the weather was gorgeous! I felt fine, no blister or muscle pain in sight. So why the shorter route? Well, in short, I just wasn’t feeling it.

For one thing, I went out much later than usual…I started out for what I planned to be an eight mile run around 12:15….every time I exercise at a time other than the morning, I am reminded how much I like running/exercising in the morning…I like to get up and go and just have my workout out of the way for the day. So I was already dreading the run before I started out, since it was later in the day.

I was also kind of hungry. Since I’m not used to running in the middle of the day, I’m not used to eating/fuelling my body at that time of day…does that make any sense? Although I did eat a good breakfast (more on that below), my tummy was rumbling during my run.

Now…before I conclude this post-run analysis, this run wasn’t an epic failure or anything. I had planned to run 8 miles, and I ended up doing about 6. I was still out there for over an hour. Plus, I completely made up my half training plan. I used 8 miles as the distance for the “shorter long runs” because that’s what I did for my full marathon. But I feel like if 8 is good for a full, 6 is more than enough for a half, right? Plus, it’s not like I totally skipped a workout or anything. I’m trying to get better at the whole “listen to your body” thing….so I feel like it’s all part of the journey…and I’m feeling no guilt at all!

Onto the eats… my mom requested a breakfast from my new Hungry Girl Cookbook, and I delivered with 2 Crunchy Beefy Taco Egg Mugs (actually made in bowls). Here’s how to make ‘em.

Crunchy Beefy Taco Egg Mug – from Hungry Girl: 300 under 300

1/4 cup frozen ground beef-style soy crumbles

1/4 teaspoon taco seasoning mix (which I did not have on hand, so I substituted some Epicure seasonings and cumin)

3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute

1 tbsp low fat or fat-free cheddar cheese (I used Tex-Mex blend…it’s what I had)

4 low-fat baked tortilla chips, roughly crushed (mine were blue, hence the colour in the photo)

1 tbsp salsa

1 tbsp fat-free sour cream (I substituted Greek yogurt)

….after typing out this recipe, I realize how much I substitute in recipes and don’t even realize it!

Spray a large microwave-safe mug (or a bowl) with non-stick spray. Add frozen crumbles and microwave for 45 seconds, or until thawed.

Add taco seasoning and mix well. Add egg substitute, stir, and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.

Gently stir and then sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for 1 minute, or until scramble is just set. Top with tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream.

We enjoyed these with sliced pears on the side, and I also made an almond milk “latte” (not pictured).

The post-run lunch was also quite a treat. I had part of an avocado leftover in the fridge from my BLTA Club so I put it to good use: a Southwestern Avocado cheeseburger (my own delicious creation). I simply smeared 1/4 of an avocado over one half of a thin bun. I melted one Velveeta slice over a veggie burger (one of my Buffalo Bocas), put it on top of the Avocado-topped bun, and topped with salsa and sliced onion). OH YUM! I heart avocado. Would certainly make this one again. The veggies you see on the side are an eclectic mix of what I had in my fridge/needed to use up, sautéed in one tsp olive oil, and the seasonings are salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. I finished up the meal with an HG Raspberry Mocha. More  HG: 300 under 300 recipes will be coming up this week…so I hope you don’t get sick of them!

Have you ever bailed/shortened a planned workout or training run and why? And…do you make a lot of substitutions when you cook/bake? Any favourites?

Hungry for More

Hungry Girl has a new cookbook: 300 under 300! That’s right…it has 300 recipes! It came out on March 29, so I ordered it immediately online, and it was here the next day. Thursday night, I tried my first recipe: the BLTA Club on page 53. The sandwich in this picture may look average, but the picture doesn’t do it justice…it is WAY beyond average….because BLTA stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado….AWESOME!

On the side of this splendid sandwich, I enjoyed an HG classic…an oldie but a goodie, butternut squash fries. I seasoned mine with sort of a quirky (but delicious) combo of flavours: garlic salt, cumin and Epicure’s salsa seasoning….enjoyed with one of my “secret sauce” originals – a mix of light ketchup, light BBQ sauce, salsa, yellow mustard, cumin, liquid smoke and sweetener. The veggies you see are cauliflower and green/yellow beans, roasted with olive oil and the same seasonings as the fries.

Don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging on the sandwich, here is the recipe! See this picture? It is a photo of the recipe page with my comment…AWESOME! I always write the date I make a recipe and a review….does anyone else do this?

BLTA Club

From Hungry Girl: 300 under 300

2 slices light bread

3 slices turkey bacon

1/4 avocado

1 tbsp fat-free mayonnaise (or in my case, Miracle Whip)

1 slice tomato

1 piece lettuce

1 slice onion

Salt and pepper, to taste (not in the original recipe…but my additions)

Cook the bacon as desired (recipe says on the stove in a non-stick pan, but I went for my classic, the quick and easy route, on paper towels for 3 minutes in the microwave). Toast the bread. Mash the avocado on one slice of bread, season with salt and pepper. Spread the mayo on the other slice of bread. Layer the bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion and then sandwich the bread together. Eat and enjoy, with a huge smile on your face (unless you don’t like avocado, then you’d be frowning…but if you don’t like avocado, you probably wouldn’t have bothered to make this sandwich in the first place). Don’t be surprised to see more recipes from this cookbook appearing in the future….after all, I’ve got 299 to go!

You know what’s the only thing that made this dinner better? The fact that it was followed by some of this deliciousness at the Cold Stone Creamery – more specifically, a “Like-it” sized cup of Peanut Butter Cup Perfection – chocolate ice cream, peanut butter, fudge and peanut butter cups….it was EVERY bit as delicious as it sounds! There has been a Cold Stone in a Tim Horton’s 15 minutes away from our house for several months, but we still hadn’t been. When coupons came with the paper this week, I suggested a field trip with my mom….and she agreed! It’s a good thing we left when we did….I said that it was so good that I could eat another one….and my mom suggested we order another to share…yikes!

Although this ice cream was a splurge (hello 80/20!), it was a well-deserved treat. A couple of weeks back, I wrote about my Thursday night “splurge” mentality. I like to think of this ice cream as “Thursday night – done right!” This ice cream was something decadent that I certainly wouldn’t have on an every day basis, but I enjoyed every bite of it. I will confess, I still had a slight case of the “Thursday night munchies” when I got home and found some chocolate and dried fruit…but I didn’t do too badly (could have been better, could have been worse). And Friday was right back on the healthy track.

Do you have any new cookbooks/recipes you’re excited to try? And what flavour is your pleasure when it comes to ice cream splurges?

Eat fat to lose fat

There are some foods that I like, I know are healthy, but I don’t eat that often because they tend to be higher in fat/calories – foods such as nuts or avocados. While I love both of them, and they are chock full of flavour and heart-healthy fats, the higher calorie price tag keeps me from eating them on a regular basis, which is a shame really, as they’re delicious. A couple of weeks ago, I bought an avocado to use in a recipe to make for dinner guests. The dinner was cancelled, so the avocado sat in my fridge.

As you know, I’m not one to waste food if I can help it, so last weekend I resolved to use the avocado in my fridge. I used 3/4 of it to make a nourishing hair masque from a spa book I had (I believe the recipe was for a whole avocado (I didn’t use it all because I wanted to eat some!), 1 teaspoon or two of oil, and some grated ginger). It was the perfect thing for dry, frizzy winter hair and made my hair feel wonderful (not so fun to clean out of the bathtub though) :P!

For supper last Sunday, I used the remaining 1/4 avocado in one of the most flavourful wraps I’ve made in a long time. I still had some leftover ham to use up too, so I diced up 2 ounces and threw that in. For the same recipe that I had bought the avocado for, I had also purchased a jalapeno pepper. I charred it under the broiler, diced it up and threw half in the wrap (the other half went in the spicy/sweet slaw you see on the side). I diced up a bit of diced pineapple and that went in the wrap too (and a bit in the slaw), as well as some sliced red onion. I seasoned with salt and pepper and added some BBQ sauce. Let me tell you – that combination of flavours – sweet, hot, smoky, spicy and textures – creamy and crisp was phenomenal! And the slaw I made on the side (dressing was light Miracle whip, salsa, vinegar, lime juice, cumin and splenda) with broccoli slaw mix, diced fresh peppers as well as the charred jalapeno, pineapple and onions – was a great complement. I also had some mashed, cooked squash on the side.

As for the title of the post, you may have heard this before, but it is important not to eliminate fat from your diet when you want to lose weight. It is an important nutrient for your body, and if you don’t get enough of it, your body can over-compensate and hold onto whatever fat you do get, preventing weight loss. So healthy fats are key to a healthy diet! I learned that on WW – I can testify that having 2 tsp of olive oil a day helped me achieve my goal weight. I had reached a weight loss plateau and adding the oils really did boost my weight loss.

So, in conclusion – don’t be scared of fatty foods (as long as they’re the good fats). Maybe I will try to use avocado more in the future. Do you have any healthy, but fatty foods you avoid? Any tips on incorporating these kinds of food in your diet?