Dana's blog

Have you heard? New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed a ban on large-sized sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, delis, sports arenas, and movie theaters. He wants to limit these beverages to no more than 16 fluid ounces, considered a "small" in many establishments. His reasoning is that by doing so, people will drink less soda, and the skyrocketing rate of obesity will be slowed.

Southern Indiana UnPotato Salad

2 rounded tablespoons dill pickle relish
30 drops liquid stevia extract
1/2 large cauliflower, head -- 1/2" cubes
4 bacon slices
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced red onion
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon brown mustard
salt and pepper
3 hard-boiled eggs

In a small dish, mix the dill pickle relish with the liquid stevia. Let this sit while you assemble the rest of your salad.

On the Low Carb Cruise, I had a conversation with a gentleman who is very anti-sweetener of any kind, up to and including stevia. He's a smart guy, and he had some cogent arguments. However, he was dead wrong about one thing: He said that Splenda was no different from sugar, and that people were fooling themselves to think it was low carb.

He based this opinion on the indisputable fact that most of what is in a bag of granular Splenda (and the knockoffs) is maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is a sugar. So how is Splenda different from sugar?

Yes, I've been watching food ads again. This time it's Popeye's Fried Chicken. Honestly, I find the actress on these ads so appealing that it's too bad the content is so... well, stupid.

How stupid? The current ad campaign has the charming, friendly lady urging you to "Proclaim yourself!" -- by choosing either Spicy or Mild fast food fried chicken. I find myself wondering whether anybody is so dim and so desperate for any kind of personal acknowledgement that they fall for this ridiculous suggestion.

Dana catches up on email she should have seen long ago:

Hi Dana,

I just finished your book How I Gave up my Low Fat diet and Lost 40 pounds. I was wondering about your vitamin regimen. I know you aren't a doctor, but I would like to know what brands and amounts that you take.

Now that I'm done with the book and back from the Low Carb Cruise (and over the cold I picked up along the way), I am diving headfirst into the job of Managing Editor of the new, expanded CarbSmart. Or rather, I'm diving headfirst into the job of learning how to be Managing Editor of a larger publication. Please, don't tell anybody I'm making it up as I go along.

During the last couple of weeks before my deadline on 500 Paleo Recipes I not only let my blogging slide, but became uncharacteristically quiet on Facebook. I promised my Facebook fans this recipe in return for their patience -- this is from the upcoming book.

Pot de Chocolat

Very easy. Very, very good.

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (this is roughly what's in 1 can)
6 ounces bitter chocolate
2 tablespoons honey
20 drops chocolate liquid stevia
2 egg yolks

I take a few minutes out from my frenzied race to the deadline for 500 Paleo Recipes to make an excited announcement:

Carbsmart, with which I have had a relationship for well over a decade now, is announcing today a change in mission and business model. CarbSmart will no longer be a retail site. Instead, we will focus on information and lots of it -- everything from the latest research to success stories to product reviews. I will be expanding my role of Managing Editor, including recruiting new writers in our quest to become the largest and most trusted source of low carb information on the internet.

Here's the official press release:

I picked up a "low carb" cookbook at the Goodwill the other day. I'm looking at a recipe for a "low carb" breakfast smoothie made of 1 1/2 tablespoons oatmeal, a cup of raspberries, 1-2 teaspoons honey, and 3 tablespoons yogurt. This "low carb" breakfast has 35.5 grams of carbohydrate, more than I eat most days, at least when I'm not working on a cookbook. (Working on a cookbook requires simply eating more than I usually would. More food, more carbs, I'm afraid.)

The death of Monkee Davy Jones is a melancholy thing for this Baby Boomer. Davy was my first celebrity crush; I was mad for him. I plastered my room with pin-ups from Sixteen and Tiger Beat magazines. My sister and I watched every episode of The Monkees, played their albums endlessly while singing along, pretending to be onstage. For me, before there was Bobby Sherman, there was Davy Jones. (All the dinosaurs are nodding their heads re Bobby. All of the youngsters are thinking "Who?")

I admit this is kinda late; the Girl Scouts have been hanging out in the front of my local grocery stores for the past week or two. Still, it bears repeating, since this happens every year:

I'm a big fan of the Girl Scouts. I was a Scout from Brownies through Cadets. My mom was my leader for the vast majority of that time. Have a thousand good memories from Scouting.

So I've been working since November on a paleo diet cookbook. It's the hardest book I've done so far, because of the additional restrictions on ingredients, especially no dairy, and no artificial sweeteners. Too, it's just a LOT of recipes in a very short time; I confess I'm not at all sure I'll make it by deadline.

Like the dinosaur I am, I have a seven-day subscription to the dead-tree edition of the local paper. Yes, it's available online, but the paper version has stuff the e-version does not, including the funnies. I mean, what's the point of a morning paper without the funnies?

Another thing the dead-tree edition has is inserts. Since Wednesday is the day the food section of the paper comes out, we also get, once a month, a free magazine called "Dash," claiming to give us "Simple, Fast, Delicious" recipes. Whatever, I like recipes, so I flip through it.

Here's the Facebook page for the low carb cooking and health advice show that Dana and Dr. Jim Carlson hope will find a network home. Please, go like it! Share it, too. The more people like it, the better our chances of getting picked up, and there being a low carb show on your television!

Hot Chocolate

This is very rich and thick. You could add another 1/2 cup of water and still have a creamy consistency. We just like it this way. This would make a great fat fast food, by the way.

13 1/2 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
8 drops chocolate liquid stevia
8 drops vanilla liquid stevia
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Simply combine everything in a heavy bottomed saucepan, over low heat, and stir well. Heat through, and serve.

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