A Change of Plan

There's nothing in the world worse than listening to someone babble on about their diet, so I'll be brief. Much the same as it did last time I tried WW, tracking points began to frustrate me. A lot. I've decided to follow a friend's lead and trying out the slow carb diet. It's like no carb, except for two crucial differences: beans are a staple, and you get 1 cheat day per week. I'm telling you this mostly so that you're  not like, "Why the hell is she eating so many beans?" or "I don't think ground lamb is WW friendly." It's only been a few days, but I'm already feeling better than I was on WW (or before starting any diet at all), and it hasn't been difficult yet. I think that this diet is much more realistic for someone who wants to cook real food. My books are full of meat and bean recipes that look good, just as they are. It's much harder to try and cram a non-diet recipe into a points system. So. That will be the last I mention of it.

I'm moving on from the WW book. I was starting to get bored. There are still a good bunch of recipes that I'd make and happily eat, regardless of diet status. I re-made their chili 2 days ago, and upped the beans and meat in it. It's good to have someplace to go for healthy recipes that are decent, so I'm keeping this one. For the most part, the recipes turned out a lot better than I expected.

Fortunately, this change in diet opens up a whole world of Jerusalem that would have been pretty difficult to fit into WW's parameters.

Last night, to accompany a roast chicken, I made Spiced Chickpeas & Fresh Vegetable Salad (pg 56). I wasn't impressed with the salad portion. It was similar to any other Middle Eastern salad I've ever had. Cukes, tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, radishes, and parsley are mixed up with a vinaigrette. Pleasant enough, but very familiar. I liked the crunchy addition of the radishes.

However, the spiced chickpeas were veeery tasty. And easy! I used canned chickpeas and had to alter the spices, but they came out great. All you do is roll the chickpeas around in a mix of cardamom, allspice, and cumin, then cook them in a tablespoon of oil for a few minutes. I used up what little allspice I had, then added nutmeg and garam masala to make up the difference. This one will be a regular.

Conclusion: Loved it. They were even good in my scrambled eggs this morning. Charlie ate 2 plates of chickpeas!