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Monday, June 1, 2009

splurge night: part 1

"to splurge or not to splurge? - that is the question."

answer: "splurge, definitely splurge."

having posted my things never to cook with, i figured i should follow up with a little bit of rationality. a fairly darned disciplined healthy eater, even the skinny bovine splurges pretty regularly. but i think that is the fun of eating healthy (besides feeling way better), you have lots of room to splurge! the key is having guidelines.

since i'm a healthy and budgeted cooker, there are 2 types of splurges at my house. here are my healthy splurge guidelines (stay tuned for my budget splurge guidelines soon!):
  • set boundaries - this means sticking to my list of things to never use for the most part. there are plenty of other things i love to use in cooking that aren't particularly good for you though. ex: coconut milk (curry. mmm.), creamy soups (made with milk of course, and maybe a tablespoon or two of butter). see one of my favs below. we love, love, love this soup at our house.
  • know yourself, know your goals - if you're trying to be disciplined and maintain your weight, go ahead - splurge once a week! if you're trying to loose a little, make it once every other week. if you want to loose a lot, make it once a month. we all deserve a reward for our discipline.
  • only make enough for that meal - it's splurge night. not splurge night + leftovers for the next 2 days. have your splurge and then get back to your best habits in a hurry. :)
here is one of my favorite (fairly un-) healthy splurges. like i said, we just can't get enough of this soup. definitely not one of my worst splurges, but i definitely don't make it once a week! :)

parmesan corn chowder
adapted from allrecipes.com (here)
pic from allrecipes.com
4 servings


2 cups water
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/2 cup sliced carrots (i use 1 cup carrots and no celery - just a preference)
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour (i use whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

  1. in a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender (do not drain).
  2. meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually stir in milk. bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. stir into the vegetable mixture. add corn and parmesan cheese. cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

13 comments:

Sharon said...

hmm, i usually splurge on much worse things! :) Regardless, I can see how this soup would taste indulgent. It looks totally delicious!

BrittWilk said...

i do too! that's why i said it wasn't really a bad splurge. totally indulgent and delicious though! :)

Anonymous said...

Woohoo! This looks awesome! I'm totally going to try it.

BrittWilk said...

thanks mary - i love allrecipe.com finds! :)

Anonymous said...

Brit! You always have the best meal ideas. I always know i can count on you for a fabulous meal! Hope everything is going well in cedar city! Miss you guys! Oh and hope everything is going well with your pregnancy too!

Anonymous said...

So, I made it for dinner tonight. It was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!!! Another favorite.

Kyle and Shallan said...

Hey Brit! It's Shallan Staheli (Jenna's sister). Your blog is so cute and has great ideas! I was just looking at the parmesan pesto stuffed chicken recipe that you posted a while back and you said to cook the chicken until the juices run clear. I am new to cooking and was curious about how long that takes when you make it--is it about 30 min, 1 hr?? It looks so good but I don't want to overcook it on accident! I'm trying the chicken roll-ups tonight, I'm excited!

BrittWilk said...

thanks michelle! we totally miss you guys and the 29th. :( everything is going well besides being homesick for all of the people we love! :)

glad you liked it mary!

and hi shallan!! i can't believe you're married. last time i saw you you must have been 12... okay, older than that but it's still crazy! you look happy and beautiful and you and your hubby are too cute! and the pesto stuffed chicken - it will depend on how big your chicken breasts are. i'd say 20-30 min - start checking them when they look sort of done on the outside. just cut into them and if they look done and you don't see any pink juice then you're good to go! good luck!

Lexie said...

oh wow...this looks so good! I am not one to usually eat soup for dinner, but this one is so tempting!!

BrittWilk said...

hi lexie! it is definitely delicious. makes you want to have soup every night for dinner. hope you like it!

Andrea said...

I might have to splurge on this 'unhealthy soup'. It looks dang good! I did the meal planning and buying groceries for the week thing. Really saved us a buck and I knew I was coming home to good food!

BrittWilk said...

hey andrea! glad your meal planning went well. and i just read your blog that you felt the baby move! yahoo!! so fun, huh??? definitely makes it more "real" like you said.

stacey said...

Oh! I never told you - I made this and it was amazing. Just like you! How is that baby doing?? :)

healthy cooking on a budget

disclaimer: i don't claim to be an expert on cooking, weight loss or even healthy eating, but i do love to cook, find healthy, taste bud-friendly tricks and most of all, i love to eat!

qualifications: what qualifies me to blog on cooking healthy on a small budget? well, as my husband is still a student, my budget is not what you'd call large. and as for the healthy part, when i was 10 i was diagnosed with pancreatitus - a disease that doesn't effect me much anymore unless i eat food that is too greasy or has too much fat (in which case, well, let's just say i get really sick). this had steered my experience and limited cooking expertise in a health-conscious direction.

please feel free to comment, criticise, rate recipes, try ideas and make requests for future posts!