X Games

I'm back in Aspen this weekend (I lived here for about 7 years before moving to Denver) for X Games...it's such an amazing time to be in town. I'm actually working, cooking breakfast every morning for the Red Bull athletes and crew. It's really great, everyone is so grateful for a hot breakfast...and two of the athletes placed 1st and 2nd in the skier superpipe event last night: Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont...it was an awesome contest. Local boy Peter Olenick came in third, so that was great too. Check out the X Games here: http://www.expn.com and Red Bull here: http://redbullusa.com . Red Bull is doing the greatest gallery of photos on Aspen Mountain, too. It's this amazing display of their sports photography contest with entries from all over the world, all illuminated on light boxes. It looks "otherworldly" at night in the middle of the mountain face, and their opening night party up in the gallery was off the hook...take a peek: http://www.redbullillume.com/?cmd=frontendFrameset&noflash=false&nojavascript=false . So not-so-early to bed, but early to rise for me through Sunday...but managing to have a good time despite the ungodly wake up call! ;-)

Denver Low Carb Lifestyle Meetup

Well I bit the bullet and decided to organize this meetup.com group. Meetup is a website where you can find people in your area who are interested in the same things you are, or start your own special interest group. I think it's great...there are groups of people who meet to do everything from hiking to board games, single moms, winetasting, you name it! It's an easy and fun way to meet new people who share your interests, and I belong to a couple of groups. Don't you think every city should have it's own low carb meetup? The Denver low carb group will be fun, we're currently in the process of planning our next meeting for the second week in February, and we're hopefully going to incorporate a light meal and a cooking/hints and tips demonstration (with samples, of course) so that should make it really fun and interactive. To find out about our group, visit us here: http://atkinsdiet.meetup.com/173/?gj=sj5 and please feel free to join, or comment here to my blog for meeting details if you just want to "check it out"...everyone is welcome!

Low Carb Meetup Group

So the meetup group I just joined for low carbers in the Denver area has lost it's leader. (Check out http://www.meetup.com to see all about this cool way to meet people who have common interests) I think a group like this would be great for support and sharing, and I'm thinking about taking the plunge and heading the group...it's a lot of work, though, and costs some money. I was hoping this would be a great way to rally some low carbers where I live, we'll have to see...maybe with a co-organizer I can swing it.

Cookies

Tonight I made some great cookies, coconut and macadamia nut with chocolate ganache icing. I've been experimenting with recipes, and have found that adding marscapone or cream cheese gives them a lighter and chewier texture. I've tried all sorts of combos of "low carb bake mix", soy protein isolate (vanilla flavor) and almond flour...almost always having to add additional baking powder (for "poof") and a bit of xanthum gum to bind. Tonite's recipe used half bake mix, half spi, chopped macadamias, additional baking powder, splenda and some grated unsweetened coconut for the dry ingredients...and eggs, butter, marscapone, and a little sugar-free davinci's syrup in caramel flavor for liquids. The result was a light and moist cookie with a good level of sweetness and nut flavor that I dipped in melted dove sugar free chocolate and additional chopped nuts. Low carb baking is tricky, but very "do-able"...it just requires experimentation and patience, as well as research into your alternative ingredients and their role in the food chemistry. For some good basic recipes to work with, try starting with an easy one from a good low-carb cookbook, then alter it batch by batch to your taste.

La Vida Debut!

So today, low and behold, Jimmy Moore blogged about me on his (in)famous Livin' La Vida Low Carb! See the link at left...imho, Jimmy's blog is THE most influencial reading in the low carb community. Jimmy's no-nonsense style and straightforward, unwavering belief in this cause makes him our "mouthpiece" and public voice. If you don't read it, you should, if only to keep your motivation and inspiration...he certainly has inspired me. Jimmy's encouragement and upbeat attitude are such a shot in the arm. Whenever I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, I read a little La Vida, and am reminded how many of us there are out there, and how hard we're all struggling, whatever the challenge. Thank you Jimmy, for all you do!

'Caulimash' Cauliflower Puree Recipe

I thought it would be appropriate to make my first entry one of my favorite recipes...cauliflower puree (I call this Caulimash, since it tastes so much like mashed potatoes!). Once you've tried this, you'll forget all about mashed potatoes...I don't even crave them anymore! Vegetable purees are a great way to add variety to your sides, try adding different spices and flavors to some old standards like squash, eggplant, zucchini, etc...try experimenting with different combinations and tastes! Cream cheese, butter, sour cream, or ricotta adds "mouthfeel" that makes the puree taste smoother and "richer". It's up to you to figure out how much, if any, of these you prefer and/or fit into your nutritional plan...enjoy!

Cauliflower Puree - makes approx. 6 half-cup servings

1 head fresh cauliflower or 1 large bag frozen

2 oz butter

2 cloves fresh garlic chopped fine or 1 teaspoon from jar

2 green onions chopped fine, white and light green parts only

2 oz cream cheese, softened

Salt and pepper to taste

Steam cauliflower until very tender (stovetop or microwave). Chop cauliflower into small pieces, using only florets and upper parts of stems, set aside. Melt 1 Tbl butter and saute garlic and onions until browning, but not burnt. Add garlic/onion saute, remaining butter, and cream cheese to warm cauliflower. Whip in blender, standing or hand mixer, or immersion blender (my preference) until smooth. Add additional butter, salt and pepper to taste. Experiment with different flavors, adding some chopped bacon and shredded cheddar at the finish is a great option with barbecue!