Welcome the New Year

Well here it is again, a new year chock full of promise and those pesky resolutions. This year I’ve decided to center my good intentions on enjoying life, and that includes food. I’ve made my peace with the idea of cutting out whole categories of food in order to slim down and instead am onto the concept of slowing down, enjoying each mouthful of whatever I’m eating and stopping when I’ve reached satiety.


This is not a new plan for me—I wrote about a diet book, The Slow Down Diet by Marc David last year at this time and since then I have lost some weight. I also have improved my health and my enjoyment of food, which I consider even more important.

A quick review of the main points of this “diet” follows: The book is divided into an eight-week program to change your food habits for life. It is a week-by-week program to change your thinking about food rather than your actual food intake, and is about relaxation, enjoyment, awareness, rhythm, quality, thought, story and spirit.

I must admit, however, that even this non-restrictive “diet” requires frequent review and effort to become second nature. Our world is fast, stressful and runs counter to most of the tenets of this program, and so vigilance is necessary.

A good start is to cut portions. Tell yourself that you can eat whatever you want whenever you want and then take a small piece or serving, knowing you can have more if you want it. It really works.

Eat often. Take food with you when you are on your way to somewhere; keep food at your workplace; fix favorites and put them in the refrigerator to snack on whenever you feel the need. Make a list of your favorite healthy foods and make a point of having them at the ready.

Try to eat with someone whose company you really enjoy. Smile and laugh at mealtime and ban subjects which cause angst (politics, discipline, etc.).

One of the greatest discoveries I’ve made this year is that eating four meals every day is much better for me than three. That isn’t necessarily true for everyone, but it really works for me. I eat at 6:30 am, 11:30am, 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm. I’m not an evening eater (for one thing, I go to bed too early), but I always seem to be ravenous about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Another discovery is that chocolate is one of the great foods for health (really)! So the 3:30 meal is usually chocolate. That way I have no need to eat desserts at other times; but on the occasion that I do indulge, I can change the afternoon meal to something else. Never allow yourself to feel deprived.

Have you noticed the trend of restaurants to offer half portions? (Thank you, Sarah’s Restaurant.) I love it. Now, when I go somewhere where everything on the menu appeals to me, I can order a half entrée and then an appetizer or dessert as well and not go home with lots of Styrofoam boxes which usually end up in the garbage. Splitting is not as satisfactory since you and your companions may not agree on what to have and one is always a bit hesitant to ask the server to split entrées.

In keeping with the idea of eating quality and chocolate—best together—here is a really wonderful, healthy, relaxing recipe from Bon Appetit for February 2009.

Soft Chocolate Cookies with Grapefruit and Star Anise
Makes 40

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 tsp. plus ¼ cup sugar
3 whole star anise
¼ cup flour
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. coarse kosher salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. finely grated grapefruit peel

Combine chocolate and butter in medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 10-second intervals until chocolate is almost melted; remove and stir until melted and smooth. Finely grind 1 teaspoon sugar and 3 star anise in spice mill or small coffee grinder. Transfer to small bowl; whisk in flour, cocoa, coarse salt, and baking powder. Beat remaining ¼ cup sugar, eggs, honey and grapefruit peel in large bowl until thick and smooth. Fold in chocolate, then dry ingredients. Cover bowl; chill batter until cold and firm, at least 45 minutes and up to 1 day. Preheat oven to 375. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until dry-looking and tester comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheet 3 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely.