I am sure a lot of you have run into this same question/exclamation: that is what I am supposed to be eating? Serving portions have come and gone, repeatedly, in the Vizuete/Kaffenberger household. Back in the day when the husband and I were doing Insanity we (or rather I, being I cooked) really tried to stay within our designated calorie count, which boiled down to serving portions. But of course we fell off that wagon – hard – and began eyeballing it again.
Well, that philosophy has gotten US in trouble. And it’s rather funny, too, that we both came to this realization on the same day, almost 350 miles apart (as you may recall he’s at FLETC right now). His came from a physical evaluation and measurement of his body fat while at training; mine from my routine appointment at 29 weeks with my ob/gyn (that damn scale!). So it seems we are both on the tad chunky side and it’s now time to get back to that pesky serving portion thing!
While “eating for two” is a great philosophy, in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t a good idea as lugging around a watermelon on the front of my body has proven a bit taxing. But it was oh-so-good indulging in In-N-Out double doubles, 12-inch steak and bacon subs, <gasp> chicken gizzards, and numerous caramel machiattos (did I mention I have been in Phoenix for the last 4 weeks helping my father pack up his house so he could relocate to Dothan then Puerto Rico with us? So it was sorta kinda like a vacation….right???) So we got back on Monday (after a 3 day u-haul drive across the country) and ALAS – I had to see my doc. Bless her heart she was so sweet as she cataloged my weight gain over the last 12-weeks of my pregnancy and gently indicated how quickly I have gained in the last 5 weeks with an little nod and wink, saying, “it’s not so much of a concern but I sure would like you to be aware of where you are on the scale at this point.” In other words– quite stuffing your face!
So here I am. Back to serving portions and being more conscious of what I am putting into my mouth body. To help facilitate this change in eating habits, I am enlisting the help of my good pal Ellie Krieger (we are not really friends; I just LOVE her cookbooks and pretend we are cooking and hanging out together) and her new cookbook Weeknight Wonders. My husband is normally my guinea pig when it comes to [new] recipes but since he’s gone, that honor has now fallen to my father. Let me tell you a bit about my father…he’s one hell of a guy but when it comes to food he’s a meat and potatoes kinda guy who really isn’t interested in the subtle nuisances of flavor profiles, balance of taste and textures, or complexity of a dish. It better be good, hot, and filling. I remember the first time I made Julia’s (yes, Julia Child and I are on a first name basis) Beouff Bourgignone my father took a bite, pondered for a moment, and muttered “yea, that’s good” while spooning a heaping bite into his mouth. Gotta love the man. So the recipes I make from this point out have to be filling (and manly) and will ultimately met with a “yea, that’s good” comment.
The first recipe from Ellie’s book was the Guinness and Beef Skillet Stew (you can find the recipe over at the recipe tab of the blog). Relatively quick and easy to make, this certainly was a manly recipe that went over quite well with my father and me! I am not a huge pearl onion fan so I left them out but did sauté an onion and garlic prior to browning the meat. Other than that I stayed pretty true to the recipe (as to make sure I keep within the dietary info she provides) and it turned out delicious. It was a bit soupy but still thick enough to sop up the sauce with some good, crusty french bread! Even the serving portion (1 1/2 cups) was sufficient…for me. My father had a bit more but he’s a a bit bigger than me!
So far a good start to our (MY) healthy eating habits!
But a double-double sure still sounds yummy!
My kitchen musings! 
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