Up and Running...

I'm smart enough to know that this new lifestyle of mine isn't going to work without a real commitment to exercise. I'm not an exercise girl...never have been. As a kid I much preferred to fret away my time with movie-watching, listening to music and trolling the mall rather than engaging in sports. Oh yes, I was on a basketball team once. But it was my church team and they pretty much had to take me. I even got to play once-in-a-while, if we were leading by like 20 or more points. Truth is I was terrible...but I digress. I like's Oprah's approach to exercise - she freely admits that she hates it, but it's a necessary evil. I can deal with that. I can exercise knowing that it's helping me lose weight, helping me lower my cholesterol, and helping me live a longer, more vital life. Just don't ask me to like it folks, that's all I'm saying. So my goal from this point forward is to commit to doing some sort of physical activity a minimum of 5 days per week. I don't think that's asking too much of myself, although I have a feeling my muscles are going to protest vehemently. But they'll get with the program soon enough. That being said, I'll start tonight by taking Baxter (my dog), and my daughter, on a walk. They'll both appreciate it and when I look at the scale at the end of the week I think I will too. I keep thinking about all those Biggest Loser contestants, who exercise for something like 4-6 hours a day. Can you imagine? That's how they lose so much each week though. For now, I'm happy just to move each day. But I know I'm going to have to keep increasing the intensity as I go along.

Party Pooper

What was I thinking? I have a dinner party I'm hosting tonight and here I am starting a new diet! But this is just the kind of obstacle I need to learn how to deal with. I have no intention of giving up dinner parties, so I'm going to have to figure out how to host a fabulous party and not go overboard eating-wise. Hmmmm...I hear that word "moderation" again in the back of my mind. I tweaked my menu yesterday and scratched off a calorie-laden appetizer of mushroom bruchetta (a variety of mushrooms sauteed in in butter and vermouth then mounded on crostini and topped with shaved fontinella before being put under the broiler to brown) and removed the scalloped potatoes with bacon that I was going to make in individual ramekins. Instead I opted to serve a pork roast with a warm, Greek-style couscous (adding feta, artichokes, a splash of sherry vinegar, caramelized onions, and some roasted red peppers) that I think will be just as a delicious. But my conundrum doesn't end there! I have an invitation to a friend's for dinner tomorrow night and she's one of the most amazing cooks I know! I'm quite certain she's planning to start off with bellini's too - my new most favortie drink. So what to do? For starters, I think I'll do a light breakfast of non-fat Greek yogurt with fruit, hot tea, and a drizzle of honey. Then I'll skip lunch in order to be able to enjoy a bellini, and then I'll fill up on the healthiest parts of the meal. I can easily skip dessert since sugar isn't my drug of choice usually anyway (oh yes, I love my chocolate...but my real high comes when I mainline carbs).

Homemade oven-roasted tomatoes that I will pair with fresh-baked croutons for a salad of mixed lettuces and herbs, walnuts, and shaved parmesan.

Cheese platter - perfect to serve with wine when guests arrive and something I can easily pass up without being obvious about my dieting.

Getting Started

Food is who I am, and cooking is what I do. It's the thing I think about first thing in the morning and when I go to sleep at night I'm planning future meals in my mind. Food has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can remember sitting at the kitchen table with my Greek mom and grandmother filling and folding tiropites (yummy, buttery cheese pies). Pan after pan would be made and then frozen, to be pulled out and used during the coming months for company. I've worked in restaurants and catering for many of my adult years, and have done it all from washing dishes, to being a line cook, to training and management - and everything in between. But now I'm a stay-at-home mom who turned 40 last year, and pretty much my life is perfect. Oh yeah, except for the fact that I'm overweight, which is really strange for me still. In other words, this is a relatively new phenomena for me. I started getting fat 3 years ago when my husband and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon, and I have been gaining weight ever since. I catch glimpses of myself and I am shocked every time. I think of myself as I looked 10 years ago, which of course is a brutal joke my mind plays on me every time I walk past a mirror. So I've come to this realization that even though I'm a foodie and I love all things delicious, it's time to use my kitchen skills to save my health and my figure. It's time to use food to lose, hence the title of my blog, Cooking for Losers. So come along for the ride with me - I promise adventure, great recipes and weighing-in on a variety of health-related topics. What I promise NOT to include is anything radical. You'll find no meat-laden Atkins meals here, and I'm done with eating cabbage soup morning, noon and night. Yes, there will be pasta dishes sprinkled throughout, but precious little refined sugar. That's right...shock of shocks...I'm going to try out that whole "moderation" thing I keep hearing about. Crazy, I know, but it's worth a shot.