Well, sometimes making a clean start of things can be beneficial. If you are a regular reader (and I don’t quite know how many of you there are out there, yet…as The Wannabe Gourmet is still quite young), you’ll have noticed that last night, there was no “Personal with Jonathan”. That’s because I had a hard drive crash and while a lot of my stuff was backed up, I know I lost some things. In the process of reconstructing everything (and sending the bloody hard drive off to see if a data recovery service can retreive any of my data), I simply ran out of time and fatigue called me to bed before I could post. The two recipes I posted today, the Escalloped Potatoes, and the Healthy Frittata are both dishes that I enjoy — easy, quick cooking that doesn’t require hours in the kitchen (honestly, I do a good 90% of my cooking on the weekends, and I have a freezer stashed with ‘go-to’ meals that I can mix, match, and modify over the course of the week).

Why do I do this? Well, it’s a matter of my liking my own cooking, and that I’ve come to realize that it’s a lot cheaper for me to do this way. I grew tired of spending $$ at the local chinese take-away, or down at the burger hut. Besides, all that fat going in me ended up being fat going ON me. Most of the recipes I post here (and yes, I do take all the photos of the food — so what you see is what I ate!) have been altered, if at all possible, to make them healither, to lighten up on fat or calories. The thing to remember, however, is that just because there’s less calories in them does not give you Carte Blanche to go and consume 2 or 3 servings. What’s a serving? The easist thing I’ve learned over the years is this: each meal should consist of a protien and a carbohydrate. The protein should be no larger than the size of your open palm (no counting fingers here!); the carbohydrate should be no larger than the size of your clinched fist. Add veggies, and you’ve a well rounded meal. Just don’t drown it in butter, cheese sauce, or deep fry it.

Oh, and eating every 2-3 hours (about 6 times a day) is advisable. It prevents your blood sugar from spiking or bottoming out. You’ll find that the protein/carb (veggies at 2-3 of the meals is suggested), that number of times a day never ever leaves you feeling hungry. You’ll also find out that by eating like that, you’ll still only be consuming 1800-2000 calories a day. Add in some moderate exercise (even if it’s just power walking), and watch the pounds start to come off.

The plan I talk about is a modified version of Body For Life by Bill Phillips. Pick up a copy of the book, read it, see if it might work for you. After all, it’s a promise that you can make to yourself, and if you cheat, you know what? You’re only cheating yourself!

So, like my hard drive, which I am starting over, making a clean start, how about making that clean start yourself? How about making a change in your own life?

It might just be the hardest, but most rewarding challenge you’ve ever undertaken.