I hate going on a diet.
The thing is, I like food. I like to eat. It's not even that I have a sweet tooth and consume too many doughnuts or that I drink soda (haven't had one for decades).
I just like regular food.
And unfortunately, last year I ate a lot more of it than usual. Stress eating. It was a difficult year.
I gained TEN pounds.
That's a lot.
My children tell me I am not allowed to use the word "fat" because of "shaming."
So I suppose plump and chubby are off limits too.
I am supposed to say that I don't like how I look.
OK.
I don't like how I look.
Unfortunately my son-in-law Greg said he read an article that said women who go on diets and lose weight tend to re-gain the weight plus more.
OY!
Just in time -- comes THIS: The JoyofKosher 28 Day Challenge.
This is a four week diet plan of the most scrumptious non-diet sounding, most gorgeous food you ever saw in a weight loss plan.
Check out the photos. The first for Grilled Fennel with toasty, crunchy quinoa seeds. The second for an avocado and egg-filled portobello mushroom cap that is so easy I am going to make it when my cousins come to sleep over in a few weeks.
This is not your ordinary "diet food."
It's good food, coming to you via two good friends of mine: Jamie Geller, cookbook author and founder, JoyofKosher, and Tamar Genger, a registered dietitian and professor of nutrition.
Have a look, even if you aren't on a diet. Even if you aren't kosher.
Here's what it is: When you sign up you get the menu plan for 28 days, plus a shopping list, plus 75 recipes with vegetarian and gluten-free substitutes (in a downloadable pdf file), plus nutritional info, plus tips, plus a Facebook page where you can discuss food stuff with other people on the challenge, plus --- go ahead and click the link and you'll see it all. For $28.
It's not a crazy diet. Just a simple plan, great, healthy, delicious food, easy, doable recipes with lovely photos and so much more.
Inspiring.
Sounds like a plan. I'm determined to like the way I look.
GRILLED FENNEL AND TOASTED QUINOA (from JoyofKosher 28 Day Challenge)
Servings 6
Fennel is high in potassium and loaded with other nutrients that have been found to improve bone health.
Ingredients:
2 fennel bulbs, sliced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1⁄4 cup fresh herbs like basil, parsley, and thyme and some fennel fronds
Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1⁄4 cup raw quinoa
1. Trim fennel bulbs by removing stalks and fronds (set aside fronds to mix with herbs).
2. Cut off any hard inedible outer layers.
3. With your fennel bulb upright, cut 1⁄4-inch slices vertically.
4. Brush each side using 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Place slices on a medium hot grill, turning until you get a nice char on each side and fennel is tender to the touch. Alternatively, place on a baking pan and broil until charred.
6. Whisk together remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, herbs, and lemon juice and zest, adding salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle all over fennel.
7. Meanwhile, toast quinoa: Rinse well, drain, and pour into a medium sauté pan. Stir grains over medium-high heat. Watch as quinoa dries out and begins to brown and even pop—that’s how you know it is ready. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
8. Sprinkle toasted quinoa over fennel and serve warm or at room temperature. Nutritional Information / Per Serving
110 calories, 7g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 67mg sodium, 10g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 3g sugar, 2g protein