Thursday, December 11, 2014

Exercises and Dieting.

I went wEIGHT cARTOONto my exercise class on Wednesday afternoon and our instructor told us there was an enteric bug going around here, lots of vomiting and diarrhea just to warn us. Nice gift for Christmas time. Another woman had made some Christmas cookies including some made with walnut flour. I queried that but she said quite firmly and with certainty, that people were only allergic to peanuts. I don’t think she is right. I know Tim Horton’s has withdrawn their Walnut Crunch because of nut allergies. It was my favourite too. Prior to that my favourite was Orange Twist and they withdrew that too. Guess I am not too lucky with them. Because I don’t bake cookies, and on the assumption there will be more cookies showing up at class, I have ordered a bunch of small hand creams for everyone. One woman was talking about having diabetes and she ate at least twoWeigh In cookies. I told her how my sugar readings had gone down a bundle since I’d lost weight (she needs to) but she said she found it difficult to lose weight, guess what, everybody does. There is another woman in our class who is absolutely huge and really, really needs to lose weight. She puffs and pants through many of the exercises and isn’t able to do them all properly. I have had weight problems all my life, but I fail to understand how people allow themselves to get so huge. She could do with a stint on The Biggest Loser although I wonder how many of them keep the weight off once they leave the school.

I wasn’t feeling too good this afternoon, after class. Then I saw Ivy at Happy Whisk wasn’t feeling to hot either today. I went to lie down for a while as, being a very sunny day, the sun was pouring in our window making where I sit like an oven. We only get the winter sun which is nice, but sometimes….. I seem to be OK now. Maybe it was that cookie I ate! I did count it on my food sheet by the way. I still do that constantly on FitDay. It is helping me keep off the weight I’ve lost although it doesn’t seem to be helping me to lose any more.

Any recipe by Jacques Pépin is a winner in my book and this one from Food & Wine is no exception. I have never seen vacuum packed chestnuts, I would have to buy cook and peel my own.

Wine-Braised Pork with Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes

Contributed by Jacques Pépin
  • ACTIVE: 30 MIN Wine Braised Pork Chestnuts Sweet Potatoes
  • TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS 40 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 8

Legendary chef Jacques Pépin sears pork shoulder to make a terrific crust, then braises it slowly with stock, wine, chestnuts and sweet potatoes until it’s meltingly tender.
  1. One 4-pound boneless pork shoulder
  2. 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
  3. Pepper
  4. 1 onion, finely chopped
  5. 5 garlic cloves, crushed
  6. 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
  7. 1/2 cup dry white wine
  8. 5 parsley sprigs, plus chopped parsley for garnish
  9. 3 thyme sprigs
  10. 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  11. 1 pound vacuum-packed roasted peeled chestnuts (3 cups)
  1. Season the pork with the 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Heat a large cast-iron casserole over moderately high heat. Add the pork, fat side down, and add 1/2 cup of water. Cook until all of the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook over moderate heat until the pork is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 minutes longer.
  2. Add the onion and garlic to the casserole and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, wine and parsley and thyme sprigs and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat, turning once, until the pork is just tender, 2 1/2 hours. Add the sweet potatoes and chestnuts, cover and cook until the pork and sweet potatoes are very tender, 30 minutes.
  3. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sweet potatoes and chestnuts to a platter. Strain the jus into a bowl and degrease with a spoon; season with salt and pepper.
  4. Slice the pork and arrange it on top of the vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve with the jus.
  5. Make Ahead The braised pork can be refrigerated overnight and reheated before serving.
Have a great day

22 comments:

  1. Ooh that sound good - but I've never of vacuum-packed chestnuts either.

    Glad you're feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Sounds as though Costco might have them. In the US anyway.

      Delete
  2. Williams-Sonoma has been selling vacuum-packed chesnuts for many years. Last year I found some at Costco. Saves me lots of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Williams-Sonoma is not in Canada Denise, or at least not round here, however, Costco is so I will check with them. It would save lots of time as you say.

      Delete
  3. Glad you're feeling better. The woman's comment about nuts is interesting. My daughter was diagnosed with multiple allergies including peanuts and I asked the allergist about other nuts because she loved them. He said peanuts were the most common and, although some people are allergic to other nuts, it's extremely rare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Helen. This information makes me wonder why on earth my favourite donut was withdrawn. I must ask them for an explanation. Can't have that after all!!!

      Delete
  4. Losing weight isn't easy, but it's not impossible either. And so many diseases can be controlled through a healthy weight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right on both counts Alex. Actually, from experience, losing weight isn't the worst part, it's keeping it off is the problem. It certainly helped my diabetes losing weight.

      Delete
  5. That lady is wrong b/c i can eat peanuts but almonds and other nuts will send me to the ER. I can't lose weight either. It's been a struggle my whole life and despite months of walking almost 100 miles in the spring, summer and fall, with dieting and cutting way back on sugar, I didn't lose a pound. So now they are trying to see if it's a hormonal problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's odd about nuts, I suspect the general is peanuts and just some people have allergies to other nuts. I found writing down everything I ate on FitDay helped. But it does sound as though you have some other problem. I also eat a very balanced diet.

      Delete
  6. It's hard to get and keep weight off, and dieting - well, suffice to say, I won't do anything with the word "die" in it. It's better to eat healthy, not over indulge, allow ourselves a treat now and then and stay active. I've never liked being a slave to calories anyway. Speaking of which, today's recipe looks and sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. I agree with the eating healthy bit, but if you have let your body gain you have to do more than just eat healthy, you also have to eat less but, as you say, allow yourself a treat now and then.

      Delete
  7. I like to eat and I hate to exercise, I've found the best thing for me is to shoot for healthy eating and keep myself busy, and sigh- force myself to exercise.

    I think there are emotional issues behind over eating. When I feel bad about myself and think badly of myself, I can mindlessly eat...usually crappy foods. Then I feel tired and more down on myself. Bottom line- shoot for good health. Pick good foods to fuel your body and start giving yourself more credit- you're more than a number on a scale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You and me both Elizabeth but this is when the word moderation comes into play. Sorry, but I think emotional eating is merely an excuse for indulgence. The trouble with all this is unlike smoking or something, we have to eat so we just have to discipline ourselves to eat properly. My three friends who have tried the fast route (and expensive in two instances) and of course learned nothing from doing it and so are back to their original weight or on the way there. Such a pity. Mind you thanks to them, they motivated me to start again a couple of years ago.

      Delete
  8. Thanks for the mention, Jo. I'm feeling whack-a-do today. Though I am enjoying the Christmas Room, and cheesy holiday movies. The movies are so bad, but by gosh, I can't help but watch them.

    Hoping you feel all the way better SOON.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been feeling pretty good today. Even bowled fairly well which made me feel even better. I started watching one of the Santa Clause movies on TV. Too many ads in the end, switched off.

      Not sure what you mean by Whack-a-do, is that better or the same? I hope it means better.

      Delete
    2. Adverts drive me batty. That's why we dropped TV long ago and just do streaming ad-free TV and movies.

      Whack-a-do is not so good. I'm having allergic reactions to eggs and dairy and it's got my system in a funk. Better tonight, as I write this though, than I was earlier.

      Good to hear you bowled fairly well. Good on ya'.

      Delete
    3. Lucky you

      Oh dear, and dairy is in so many good things. I hope they can sort it out for you.

      Delete
  9. Aren't you lovely and thoughtful ordering hand creams for everyone. I'm not a cookie eater so I'd appreciate it. It's an endemic problem keeping weight off. At least those ladies are doing something about it. Hope you feel much better very soon Jo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pinky. They are only little hand creams. Tell me about it, if I had kept off all the weight I'd lost over the years, I would weigh less than my baby weight I think. It didn't last very long I'm pleased to say.

      Delete
  10. I feel sorry for people that are very over weight, so many problems with it, but they keep on eating too much. Food is a drug but it can be so comforting. My oldest grand son is too heavy, He is such a sweet, kind person, but I know he misses out on so much in high school because he is heavy. His dad, my son was never heavy, but then in those days, kids were outside playing and TV was minimal. I like your idea about not bringing more cookies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true. But some of them just won't make the effort. It really isn't that hard to lose although I agree it's very hard to keep off. It is necessary to learn good eating habits. Writing down every mouthful helps too, I have been doing it for 2 years now.

      Delete