Dessert isn't the enemy!

Yesterday evening, I was chatting with a dear friend of mine. She'd had a long day, her partner had to work until midnight, and she was starving, so I invited her over for my famous Chicken and dumplings. Of course, I didn't invite her until 530, dinner was set for 630, and I didn't have any leftover chicken in the fridge, so I was in a time crunch! Luckily my recipe is quick and easy even without using leftovers, and it's healthy to boot!

I pulled a ziplock of 2c chicken stock out & defrosted that while popping 3 chicken breasts into the oven to partially bake, coining 2 carrots & dicing half of an onion. A quick sautee of the carrots & onions, and I'm in business! Of course, I find myself with a little free time while waiting for the chicken to finish par cooking, and since the oven is hot anyway, I might as well make use of it, right? Right.

So out comes my trusty mandoline, and easy as 1-2-3, 3 apples are thinly sliced, and sprinkled with cinnamon & a bit of water in an ovensafe dish. A little butter, a smidge of virgin coconut oil, a touch more cinnamon, sugar & flour, and I have a crumble topping to die for. Dessert is handled, and at exactly the right time, as the chicken is ready to be replaced by Apple Crumble in the oven! (This is another simple, favorite standby of mine - I'm still working on making the crumble top healthier, though compared to most desserts, and even the original recipe, it isn't so bad!)

As the Apple Crumble bakes, my friend arrives. We say our hellos, laugh as my dog pounces on her dog, and then I head back into the kitchen to make a quick roux, add my homemade stock & get started on my dumplings while watching the stock thicken. After the stock is nice & thick, I add my diced par cooked chicken, frozen peas, and the carrots & onions I've sauteed. Stir & drop the dumpling mixture into the pot... cover & let cook for 15min.

While we're waiting, we have the salad she brought - if you've never had craisins in your salad, I highly recommend trying it! They add an unexpected & refreshing twist to a boring salad!

At this point, my house smells delicious - it smells like Grandma D's house always smelled when I was a kid & she was cooking for grandpa plus 10 kids, assorted significant others & kids, and she was doing it all from scratch, with no help from anyone - not because no one offered, but because she wanted to do it all herself... I think I get my kitchen possessiveness from her!

We're counting the seconds until the timer finally goes *ding*, and eventually our "patience" pay off!! The chicken & dumplings are done, and the crumble is ready to be pulled from the oven - which is perfect timing, as it means the crumble will be sufficiently cooled when we've finished the Chicken & dumplings! Yay!

Dinner was a success -simple tasty, nutritious, surprisingly healthy (healthy comfort food - I'm just that good! lol), and I ate proper portions while spending the evening laughing with one of my favorite people.

Since this is a blog about making my belly go away, and you're probably wondering what the hell any of the above had to do with anything "diet" related, I could feign guilt over eating dessert, but I realized recently that I think that's crap.

Dessert isn't the enemy, and neither is any other food!

OVER indulgence is enemy of the waist line, and quite frankly, it's wasteful, too! That extra serving you're having for dinner will be even more satisfying and tasty at lunch tomorrow, and you'll save money (and calories!) by not hitting the vending machine or McDonalds....

My new-ish philosophy is to enjoy ALL foods in moderation, be mindful of portions, and to be more active - simple, effective, and a million times more satisfying than depriving myself of the foods I enjoy for months on end until I can't take anymore & wind up binging on junk!

Will it take me a bit longer? Sure, maybe. But it keeps me satisfied & it is sustainable for a lifetime, which is more than I can say for any other "diet" plan I've been on! So I'll keep plugging along, trying not to obsess over the numbers on LeScale (he lies, you know!), eating delicious foods in proper portions, confident in the knowledge that when I hit goal, my reward won't be a binge or an obsession with cookies, cakes or chips (as it has been in the past).

Instead, my reward will be the knowledge that I am capable of sustaining my weight loss for the rest of my very happy, very healthy, and very long life... and I didn't have to diet to get there. :)