NulloModo

I disagree. I did go completely cold turkey for a couple of weeks but after that I ate small amounts of low carb sweeteners like splenda, stevia and erythritol without any problem. I can eat things sweetened with this stuff and be satisfied with one serving. No blood sugar spikes, no mood swings, just one serving and on my merry way. This stuff just doesn't mess with me emotionally like sugar/fruit/starch does. Sugar no longer enslaves me. Artificial/alternative sweeteners give me the ability to have something sweet once in a while and not have it spiral out of control. I don't see any harm in adding them back in in moderation after a while, but to truly kick the habit first off, it helps to go a couple weeks without even the artificial sweet. Once you are in control of it adding a taste of stevia or splenda here and there can work out, but if you never take control, you may never lose the cravings.

Not exactly a movie (although there was a movie adaptation, so I suppose it qualifies) Stephen Sondheim from Sweeney Todd

CompassRose is on the money here. If you use sugar substitutes all you are doing is stringing along the addiction, and never being fully satisfied in the process. If you want to kick the sugar-monkey, it has to be done cold turkey. Also beware of items in your diet that contain sugars that you might not expect. Sauces (Soy, BBQ, Teriyaki, most tomato sauces, many 'Asian' sauces) are loaded with sugar, Milk is also loaded with simple sugars (lactose is almost as bad as fructose and sucrose in the body), and many fruits are pretty loaded as well. Nuts should be fine in quantities are closely watched (not honey roasted of course, always check ingredients on packages, even in 'savory' nut blends, sugar is often added), and berries should be fairly safe again in moderation. Sweet citrus fruits are a known sugar trigger for a ton of people, as are grapes (wine on the other hand, has had most of the sugar femented out, and is safe). To keep yourself satisfied and not hungry you will want to up your fat and protein intake. If you are concerned about fats (which there is really no reason to be if you are exercising and cutting out the sugars) go for healthy fats like Olice Oil and Salmon, and you will not even have that to worry about. Spreading out veggie and berry/nut intake throughout the day instead of all at once will help stave off cravings as well. The biggest thing though is to just stick with it, and not give in, no artificially sweetened beverages, no artificial sweetener, no real sugar, not even a taste. If you can go for a week or so like that, you should find the cravings practically dissapear, although they may become quite fierce the first couple days.

Ah, but there is a perfect blend of sweet and savory in cornbread, even as a dessert: Take a slice of the nice dense non-sweet bread, slice it open face style, big pat of butter on each half, let it melt under something hot for a bit, then drizzle it all with maple syrup. Perfect dessert to end any southern cooking meal.

Hmm, I have always thought angel food cake was the perfect match for strawberry shortcake, but I never thought about a nice big fluffy biscuit...

Gah, I wish I led the style of life you do where that becomes lunch money ;).

I agree, I didn't mean to suggest that half a pound a week was a bad thing, but from a dieters standpoint, taking a look at one means which promises half a pound a week, and another which shows people losing 3 to 5 pounds a week, and most will go with the second plan. The muscle loss issue is one of the big reasons I believe it is absolutely neccessary to have an exercise plan in place for anyone who plans on losing weight however, not only to promote muscle growth instead of loss, but also to develop good habits for later in life so that one does not get back into the position which required the diet to begin.

A lot of the low-carb diets are in fact good-carb diets. Atkins and South Beach both allow a healthy amount of good complex carbs, including fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc, but the time you are in the final stages. The only reason for the severe restrictions in the beginning is to kickstart the metabolism and to accelerate the weight-loss. That is great you have been able to take off half a pound a week, but that pace would be seen as intolerably slow by many would-be dieters.

Are you sure there is no chocolate stuck on the inside of your oven? That is odd, I have never smelled that myself, and I am quite familiar with the smell of potatoes baking... My friends would always joke that anytime they came over to my house while I lived with my parents, that there would always be potatoes in the oven after dinner, and at least 6 out of the 7 days a week, that would be true. (of course, sometimes the same potatoes would sit in the oven for a couple days after we would forget to take them out and eat them during the meal for which they were intended).

Oh yes, the wonderful superstitions of the new years day meal... I remember it always had to include black eyed peas, collard greens, green beans, corn bread, and a pork roast with turnips, carrots, and pearl onions. Each item brought something like wealth, vitality, etc, but I don't remember what was tied to what anymore...

Eh, I am new with the wine thing. I never thought I liked wine, because my only previous experience had been at Thanksgiving dinner at my parents where they would ask that I have an olbigatory glass of what was usually white zinfandel, or possibly something out of the bargain bin. I just found it bitter and nowhere near as tasty as beer or bourbon. Then, a couple years ago, I was at a friends house and he opened up a bottle of some Australian (maybe it was from California) white called 'Kali Heart' or something similar sounding, and it was wonderful. I decided the next day to go to the liquor store and buy a wine rack and stock it, so I did. Now, they had no idea what I was talking about when I asked for Kali Heart (that might not even be the name), so I wandered around and picked up bottles that looked interesting, and names I recognized. Thus I was left with a rack including Sutter Home, Luna di Luna, Wild Vines, and other such wines. I was severely unimpressed by the wine again, and most of them just sat there for the next year. I ended up buying another wine rack (what can I say, it was on sale) and thus needed to stock it as well, but this time I went to a bigger liquor store with a wine-guy, and asked him for some recommendations. From this I came home with the Marietta old vine red, a bottle of Dow's Port, a white wine called 'Virtuoso' and several other things. All that I have tried from his recommendations have been excellent. Virtually everything that I picked out myself has been crap. So, I now still have bottles of Sutter Home and Wild Vines that have been aging on the rack for a couple years, and I can't rightly waste them, so I figure that everyday cooking tasks would be a good way to waste them away. Either that or I should put them in a box and leave them in front of one of the dorm buildings once the local University comes back into session...

Well that is certainly nifty. So you are a food-writer of some variety? Are those kinds of perks at all common? Maybe if I dust off the word processor and knock off some reviews for some local papers Rachael Ray will show up on my doorstep...

Although I never liked it as a child, every picnic lunch I encountered somehow involved pimento cheese sandwiches. Now, if I know I am going to be enjoying lunch picnic style, I always end up making a tub of pimento cheese if for nothing else than the nostalgia factor... (although it always does end up being popular).

Forgive the ignorance here, but what is up with the mystique surrounding bagels? Isn't a bagel just a particular type of dough twisted into a doughnut shape? How is a bagel different from a loaf of bread, a doughnut, or a roll? No one flinches about cinnamon toast, raisin bread, or muffins loaded with all manner of things, so why can't bagels be expanded in the same way?

Gin is a spirit that I find I can detect differences in, even in 'heavier' cocktails sometimes. A Gin and tonic is absolute torture without a good gin, and you'd think the quinine would cover a lot of the subtlety. I'm also a fan of gin and orange juice (or was) when no one is looking, and while they are rather blech with Gilby's, with Bombay Sapphire they are divine (although I will admit my glass was usually 70% gin to 30% juice).

Here, here ;). Tommorrow is my weekly expedition to the farmer's market, and I can already here the groans of my roomates as the kitchen is about to be overrun with fresh herbs and veggies...

Ooh, how do you make those turnip chips? I have tried making faux french fries with turnips, and while I like the flavor, the texture is all wrong. If I could get something crispy from a turnip I would be quite happy... (actually, I would love to hear about that chipotle dip as well).

Even on Atkins, which is one of the more restrictive low-carb plans, it says right in black and white in the book that wine is acceptable once on the proper rung of the diet. You can enjoy pretty much anything other than ports or other high-sugar content wines, and in fact, it is even encouraged due to the health benefits associated with the wine. Since wine itself is naturally fairly low-carb, there is no real reason for this stuf other than marketing... Then again, all pure spirits are 0 carbs, and yet there was some bizarre 'soy vodka' I saw advertised as a 0 carb product, and flying off shelves because of it. Perhaps it actually tastes good, I have no clue, I'll stick to my 0 carb Chopin thank you very much.

Last evening a couple friends and I opened a bottle that had been sitting neglected on a wine rack around my apartment for the better part of the past two years. The wine was labled 'Marietta California Old Vine Red, lot No. 30', and had no indication of the type of grapes or style of wine (unless perhaps Old Vine Red is a style). Anyway, this turned out to be a wonderful wine. Very flavorful, and it smelled very grapey when sniffing before drinking. A little bit of a sweet taste when sipped while inhaling, but almost spicey and rather full when sipped without inhaling. In all respects this was far better than the last bottle of red wine I tried, which was a Sutter Home 2000 vintage Cabernet Sauvingon (a wine that managed to be nearly completely flavorless, and was relegated to cooking status).

Ah, but at a wedding reception with an open (free) bar, why not go nuts?

Scotch is not my drink of choice, but I do care for it from time to time. I have a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 year old that I have been enjoying a glass of here and there over the past year and a half, I have to say that I find it enjoyable when I get that rare scotch craving.

Any mixed drink that is designed to mask the taste of the alcohol. If it doesn't at least taste a little bit like the liquor that fuels it, whats the point?

Hmmm... I used to love sundried tomato bagels. Then again, I am hardly a purist when it comes to anything...

Wow, our TJ's has a whole reach-in cooler stocked with fresh fish and meat. I mean, the works. Niman Ranch and a bunch of other stuff. Where are you? This was at the TJs on Concord Pike in Wilmington, DE. They did have some fresh fish near the cheese case, but that was all that I saw. I didn't do an exhaustive search of the store though, so I suppose it is possible they had other fresh meats hiding in a corner somewhere, but if they did there was no signage reflecting where that might be.

While wandering through Ollie's (picture a bizarre blend of flea market, Oddjob, and Wal-Mart) the other day, I stumbled upon their discount cookbook rack, and lo and behold, a copy of Slow Mediterranean Kitchen was sitting on it for only $10. Well, this was a deal I couldn't pass up so I grabbed it, and have spent all day drooling over the recipes. I have to admit that I can't wait to try to cook some of these as written, and I will definately report back after I try a few out, this thread has given me much enthusiasm.