Calling All Carb Conscious Fashionistas!

To some, there are no greater loves than shoes and bread. If this is you, look no further. Carb free? YES! Gluten free? YES! How is this so? They are not to be eaten, natch! Comfort Free? I'm going to say YES! But then again, how many people wear breaded shoes for the comfort factor?

The folks at da da da studio will sell these to you for between 22 (kids) and 62 (adults) euros. Better move quickly though--some of them have already been baked for the taking!

Thanks to Al for his sharp eye and keen sense of web surfing for sharing these with me!




** Disclaimer: these shoes are not for consumption!

10 Easy Ways to Save at the Grocery Store with Lauren Marek (and RP's bubbly commentary)

As I write my own grocery list for the week, guest blogger Lauren Marek's comments are speaking loud and clear! Check out my own chatter next to her excellent points!

Way to Save Money at the Grocery Store

We are all trying to cut back on our spending these days. Food is one of our biggest monthly expenditures, so why not find easy ways to save, but still get the high quality foods that you like?

Here are some easy tips to save money on groceries:

1. Watch the scanner at checkout. Did you know that Americans lose 1 to 3 BILLION DOLLARS in pricing discrepancies each year? Make sure that the price on the food matches the price on the scanner.
RP says: Seriously folks-watch this closely. I have found many an error by doing so and thereby saved money!

2. Make your own mixes. Pre-made mixes are expensive, and not as good! Bring out your inner Martha Stewart and mix up your own brownies!
RP says: I love www.epicurious.com and www.thekitchn.com for recipes.

3. Keep track of what you have at home. How many times have you showed up with a just purchased item, only to realize you already had 2 at home?!
RP says: Sadly, I do this all the time-I recently had 5 boxes of Triscuits in my cupboard. Seriously!

4. Eat first. You have heard this over and over: if you shop hungry, you buy more.
RP says: this is true. Especially during Halloween season. Those mini Kit Kat's and Reece's may be calling your name, but remember that just a few of the "minis" become a full blown extra large candy bar faster than you know!

5. Grate and chop your own foods. Pre-grated and chopped cheese, meats, carrots, etc. are expensive, and it's just too easy to do it yourself to justify the cost difference.
RP says: Do this on Sunday. You will thank yourself by Thursday when you are temped to call Pizza Hut for take out.


6. Watch out for aisle manipulation. Grocery stores purposely put the diary and meat products in the back of the store. Why? They want you to walk through all of the aisles and face the temptation of all the fun colored, new products on the way. Keep this in mind next time you're making a quick milk run and avoid the maze.
RP says: Those food marketers are smart cookies. Just take a look at how big the chip and soda aisles are these days.

7. Beware of bulk. Just because it's packaged in bulk does not mean it's necessarily a better deal. Before you buy that year long supply of marshmallows, try bringing your calculator to find out if it's really cheaper.
RP says: if you do buy in bulk, repackage into correct portion sizes when you get home. Just check the label for proper serving sizes.

8. Eat more beans! Beans are not only cheap, but they're a great source of protein and fiber.
RP says: I heart beans. What more needs to be said?

9. Make a coupon file. Instead of cutting them out and throwing them in your purse to forever be forgotten, make a coupon file and look in it for the items you need before you hit up the super market.
RP says: I am not a coupon queen, but I am getting better. It's amazing how much you can save if you are looking for the RIGHT coupons. Don't clip something you don't buy just to get the discount!

10. Cut back on bottled water. According to the New York Times, "Almost all municipal water in America is so good that nobody needs to import a single bottle from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands. Meanwhile, if you choose to get your recommended eight glasses a day from bottled water, you could spend up to $1,400 annually. The same amount of tap water would cost you about 49 cents." This is not to mention all of the plastic Americans are wasting...
RP says: I do drink Dallas water on a daily basis and I feel pretty good.

This last tip from me doesn't save money per se, but it does save the environment. Hoping up right now to put my recycled bags at the back door so I don't forget them!

How do you save at the grocery store? Post a comment and let us know!

Just Another Thing to Clean? Think Again with Clean Food

You are in a constant state of cleaning. You clean your house, your car, your kids, yourself. What about your food? Are you eating clean?

Check out the new book by Terry Walters, Clean Food. Here's the scoop:

• Holistic approach to cooking
• 223 featured recipes
• focus on whole, minimally processed foods
• sustainable, local foods
• organic vs. conventional
• Props from Mario Batali
  

A few of the recipes:

• Shiitake Mushrooms and Bitter Greens in Filo

• Stovetop Barley with Sweet Vegetables

• Sweet Dumpling Squash with Orange-Scented Quinoa Stuffing

• Crispy Rice Squares

Here in Dallas, the book signing is sponsored by edible DFW.

WHAT: Book Signing by Clean Food author Terry Walters
WHERE: Barnes & Noble 7700 Northwest Highway
WHEN: Monday, October 19th at 7:00pm.
WHAT ELSE: Terry Walters will be doing a cooking demonstration

A bit more on the Egg Story.....

Let me clarify a few things in that last post about my love of the hard boiled egg.

The American Heart Association revised their dietary guidelines in 2000 to emphasize an overall dietary pattern for good health. There is no longer a specific recommendation on the number of egg yolks a person may consume per week. However, the recommendation for healthy American adults does limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day. One large egg=220 mg cholesterol per day. You do the math.

Remember that eggs are one of the most perfect foods found in nature. Not only are their rich in protein, B vitamins, iron and other minerals, they have no carbohydrates, and no trans fats. And, they are inexpensive and are widely available to boot.

The take home message here? It's not your eggs that are causing your increased cholesterol levels. Take a look at the rest of your diet before you say no to the egg!

Eat Your Eggs!

I've Eaten More Hard Boiled Eggs in the Last Three Months....

than I can even keep track of these days.

My increased consumption stemmed from the need to eat more protein on a daily basis. In looking at my options, I decided that in addition to my daily almond consumption, my protein bites needed to be quick, portable and require little to no preparation. The weekly hard boiled egg party began.

Every Sunday afternoon, I take out one of the best gifts I've ever received-an egg cooker. This one appliance makes perfect hard boiled eggs-every single time. No wrestling with the peel, no disappointment with a half cooked yolk, no ripped or torn whites... just pure perfection.

I know, I know--you don't eat eggs because of the cholesterol, right? See the American Heart Association recommendations for eggs below.

One egg contains about 213 milligrams of dietary cholesterol. The daily recommended cholesterol limit is less than 300 milligrams for people with normal LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. An egg can fit within heart-healthy guidelines for those people only if cholesterol from other sources — such as meats, poultry and dairy products — is limited. For example, eating one egg for breakfast, drinking two cups of coffee with one tablespoon of half-and-half each, lunching on four ounces of lean turkey breast without skin and one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and having a 6-ounce serving of broiled, short loin porterhouse steak for dinner would account for about 510 mg of dietary cholesterol that day — nearly twice the recommended limit. If you’re going to eat an egg every morning, substitute vegetables for some of the meat, or drink your coffee without half-and-half in the example above. And remember that many other foods, especially baked goods, are prepared with eggs — and those eggs count toward your daily cholesterol limit. People with high LDL blood cholesterol levels or who are taking a blood cholesterol-lowering medication should eat less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day.

If your cholesterol is something you are concerned about (which, let's face it, we all need to be concerned about our cholesterol), please take a look at everything else in your diet-eggs are most likely not the culprit for an increased cholesterol level.


For more egg nutrition, egg safety, egg research, recipes and egg trivia, go to the Egg Nutrition Center or the American Egg Board.

Why Food Tastes Better When Someone Else Make It: A Case Study with Flank Steak

For some reason, food usually tastes better when someone else makes it for you. I'm not saying always-it certainly depends on the cook-but usually a fair assessment, I think. Recent events have spurred an outpouring of food and goodies here at our house and we are welcoming all of it with open arms. Case in point: My sister Amy's marinated flank steak recipe.


She'll tell you she inherited the recipe from her mother in law Sharon ( a great cook and baker in her own right, I might add). But in my mind, it's all Amy's recipe.

She'll tell you to get the flank steak at Costco (its the best for meat) and she'll tell you make the marinade a day in advance for maximum flavor, but that you can do it the day of if you are running low on time. She'll tell you to use an electric knife if you have it for the most thin of slices. She'll also tell you to make rice pilaf, fruit, salad and rolls to round out the meal. She'll tell you that this is one of the best things in her repertoire. I believe her!

Marinade for the flank steak:

1 cup of oil
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped onions, diced very small
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced very small

Mix all ingredients and pour over steak or use gallon zip-loc bags and put steak in with marinade. When marinating 2 flank steaks, double the marinade. Best to marinate the steak for 24 hours or more. You can marinade the steak and freeze it.


Sauce for flank steak:
1/2 to 3/4 stick of margarine or butter
2-3 large onions, sliced
4-6 T your favorite BBQ sauce

Melt butter or margarine in a sauce pan. Slice a few large onions and break up the slices and put them on the sauce pan in the butter. Cover and slowly let them soften. Pour 4 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce in and mix. Cover and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Pour over meat.

Cook flank steak for about 8 minutes on each side depending upon your grill and your meat well-doneness! Slice thinly against the grain. Also great for steak fajitas or entree dinner salads.

Giada. No Last Name Necessary.

Typically, I'm not a fan of Giada. I can't exactly pinpoint the reason per se, it's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. Know what I mean?

Flipping through my TiVo today, I saw that I had taped her show "Everyday Italian" by accident. I decided to watch it to see if I could decipher the "bug" factor.

After listening to her pronounce her Italian pasta shapes with such exaggeration, I have to say I was ready to turn off the show. The smile. The teeth. Until she started on her Pasta Ponza recipe. I turned up the TV and leaned in to listen. She was speaking my language. Fresh, simple, pure ingredients. Easy directions. Quick and easy recipe. I quickly took a mental inventory of my fridge and pantry. Did I have the ingredients needed to make this delicious dish? The short answer? No. Will I have them soon enough? Yes. This dish will be made before the week is out.

Giada, you've changed me. Thank you!


Photo courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine
Recipe below courtesy of Food Network

Ingredients

• Butter for greasing
• 2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.