Spaghetti Dish Leads to Cartimar

This is one dish that really facinates me:  No Pasta Spaghetti!  Huh?  Yup, that was my reaction too when I first saw it in the cookbook.  So here goes:

Minced beef
Tomato, finely chopped
Any other vegetables you may have (zucchini, green bell peppers) --- I actually minimize the veggie allowance for this dish so that I can have more "noodles"
Onion and garlic, finely chopped --- but honestly, if you enjoy Enochi mushrooms, you can use powdered versions of these 2 ingredients so that it doesn't eat up the vegetable allowance
Dried herbs:  basil, oregano, parsley, chili
Salt  & pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Enochi mushrooms

Sautee minced beef with onions and garlic.  Make sure to stir it constantly so that it doesn't turn into a beef pattie :).  Add tomatoes and the rest of the vegetables, except the Enochi mushrooms.  Add some water to turn it into a sauce.  Toss in your dried herbs, salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar.  Let it all simmer.

While simmering, boil a pot of water.  Once boiling, dunk in you mushrooms.  Just blanch.  When the mushrooms are soft, drain and put on a plate.  Spoon over the meat sauce and here it is:

So here I am so proud of this dish.  Even J likes it.  I tell my mom about it and she says, "Spaghetti?  Akala ko ba bawal ang carbs sa dyeta mo."  So I tell her that I use Enochi mushrooms instead of noodles.  My mom of course says, "ang mahal naman niyan!  Where do you buy your mushrooms?"  So I proudly tell her that I get it in Landmark.  So she says, "gumising ka ng maaga bukas.  Dadalhin kita sa Cartimar."

So being the dutiful daughter that I am, I'm ready at 6:30 a.m. and we troop off to Cartimar.  True enough, all the expensive ingredients in the Cohen diet are available for less at Cartimar.

As usual, Mom, tama ka!  Ang swerte ko talaga!  Mommy always knows best :)!

How do you keep deviation-free?

This seems to be the most common question amongst Cohenites.  I must say, I have been deviation-free since Day 1.  Even J is amazed.

First thing that keeps me going is the cost of this diet.  I've tried all diets:  Herbalife, SlimFast, South Beach Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Master Cleanse.  Unlike all these diets, the entry and maintenance cost to this one is steep.  Not only do you pay a huge sum upfront, you have to pay for your monthly blood extractions; and your meal ingredients aren't cheap.  And unlike South Beach, you don't get food delivered to your doorsteps.  You have to cook your meals yourself to ensure that the food allowances are strictly followed. Fortunately, if you have a BPI credit card, you can pay your entry fee in 6 installments (or was it 3?).

But the beauty of this diet is that you see results quickly.  In a week's time, people start noticing your face shrinking (**blush, blush**).  In 3 weeks, you're amazed at how well your clothes fit.  In a month's time, all your pants won't hold up!  On your 5th week, all your belts need an additional hole!!!  Getting results such as these just keeps you on track!

The funniest thing is when people start telling you that you're losing too much weight!  Hahaha.

So what tricks do I have to keep me on track?

1.  I always carry Orbits.  When I feel the urge to munch, I just pop a gum into my mouth; and this is something my dentist, Dr. Bubut Vasquez, recommends for good oral hygiene.  Win-Win!

 2.  Keep your Cohen-approved snacks and soda in stock.  Notice that not too many restaurants stock up on Diet 7-up or Diet Sprite.  They don't think enough people drink the un-Colas!  It would be a good idea to have this as baon when you're out.

3.  Always keep busy.  I noticed that the weekends are the toughest because you're just idle and you just want to munch all day.  To keep busy, I plan the menu for the coming week and then start preparing some dishes that can I can freeze and defrost during the week.  Time saver and stress reducer!!!

Important tip:  When you preparing the your frozen dishes, make sure to label the quantity of protein and vegetables in the dish.  Don't do what I just did below

Notice that I labeled the amount of vegetables that went into my patties but I forgot how much chicken went with it.  Yikes!

4.  And finally, the strongest motivation:  I don't want my tummy sticking out again when we have a photo

Lent, Therefore Abstinence

Some people on Cohen ask if we're exempted from fasting since we are already doing it.  True, but that's not the point.  Anyway, let's not debate on that.  Let's just talk about Abstinence.

On Cohen, many are stuck with the idea that our proteins are limited to chicken, fish and beef.  Actually, there are still other proteins available for us which are Abstinence-compliant:  tofu, eggs, cheese.

So for Ash Wednesday, these were my dishes:

Breakfast:  Yogurt with Cinnamon Apples

Lunch:  Balsamic Mushrooms with Feta

Dinner: Faux Tokwa't Baboy

This should guide you for next Friday :)  Remember:  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust 

Breakfast Quickies

For breakfast, Non-fat Greek Yogurt with Fresh Mango

or if you have 5 minutes to cook, try Cinnamon Apples with Yogurt

Ingredients:

an apple
Diet 7-UP or Diet Sprite
A dash of Cinnamon

Procedure:

Skin and slice the apple
Put in a saucepan
Cover with Diet 7-UP with a dash of Cinnamon
Boil until the apples are soft
Mash the apples and put on top of yogurt

If you find yourself always rushing to work, I suggest you stew a bunch of apples and store them in the refrigerator.  When you get up in the morning, just scoop the apples and mix with your yogurt.  Healthy and quick!


Good morning, World!!!

Happy Birthday, Babe! Let's eat out!

Yesterday was J's birthday and we thought it was time to explore a new restaurant.  My brother, Tonyboy, has been raving about this new French restaurant at the Fort.  Since J loves European cuisine, I decided we'd check out La Girolle.

I called to make a reservation but more importantly, I had to make sure I could order something for myself.  I googled the restaurant and found their contact information.  Thankfully, nobody was answering the landline numbers of the restaurant so I decided to call the mobile number.  Lo and behold, it was the personal mobile number of the chef!  So I immediately asked if he was familiar with the Cohen diet.  He said he had a vague idea.  So I explained to him the basics and he said that I would have no problem at all choosing from his menu.

When we got to the restaurant, I explained to the food server that I had a special diet and that I had already talked to Chef Ian about it over the phone earlier.  She seemed to expect me because she was totally not surprised when I rattled off my meal requirements:

"Miss, I will order your Sous Vide Sirloin BUT I only want 120 grams of it.  Please just cook it with salt and pepper.  No sauces.  And then I'll have a side salad, no carrots, dressing on the side.  And please just give me a vinagrette.  For my drink, do you have Diet 7-Up or Sprite?"  The food server said they only carried Coke Zero and Coke Light.  This is quite common.  Not many restaurants carry Diet Uncolas.  So I decided, since it was a special occasion..."Miss, do you carry sparkling water?  I'll have a San Pellegrino."

Meanwhile, J was scanning the menu for something nice to order.  A few minutes later, she says she wants the same thing I ordered but not the Cohen version.  Since it was suggested in a blog to try the 4-course or 3-course meal, I told J to take the set meal.  So she ordered the Foie Gras, Sous Vide Sirloin, and Cheesecake with a glass of red.

So here is what we got:

Ok, you guess who got what but this I have to say:  MY SOUS VIDE SIRLOIN was the best tasting piece of meat!!!  J says the cheesecake made her want to marry the chef.

You gotta try this place.  For reservations, call (02)478-4119.  If no one picks up the phone, just google for the chef's mobile number.  He's actually a very nice guy.

La Girolle
2nd Floor Blue Sapphire Building
30th Street, 2nd Avenue
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Chef Amando Ian Padilla

Oh no, I gotta eat out!

On the Cohen, one of  the biggest challenges is dining out.  Yup, this one activity I used to do ALL THE TIME in now a challenge. Fortunately, there are a few restaurants in Manila that do serve Cohen-approved meals.  One such is Myron's in Greenbelt 5.  They are so familiar with Cohen meals that all you have to do is tell the waiter that you are on Cohen and give them your food allowance.  This is what they served me

Slice, Dice & Store

To save time, I've decided to weigh all my meats and put then in individual containers with thier labels.  This way, all I do is check my meal plan the night before and defrost the meat/chicken/protein for the next day.

In the Beginning

Let's start with the BEFORE picture. I'm the one in the white popping and tummy sticking out.