Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

In true game-day fashion, I made a batch of Chili for me and my boyfriend--divide in two, add beef to his, and simmer for a while until game time! 'Twas delicious (and I think the leftovers will be even better).

Okay, so this isn't the wildest food, per se, but in my opinion the fact that it can even be called food is questionable. There will be some of you who hate me for saying this, but here goes--

SPAM!! My mom used to pan-fry it when I was a child, and I dreaded it every time. Eventually I was smart enough to hide it in the bottom of our pantry where she couldn't find it, and eventually she just gave up trying to serve it to me.

If 'wild' can mean crazy,unique, and slightly unpalatable compared to any other real food I would ever allow to touch my lips, than this is definitely a wild food. Bleh!

I know you said chocolate CAKE, but perhaps some type of chocolate mousse or pudding could work, too? Or, better yet, how bout a Chocolate Ice Cream Cake? Then, you could still put candles in it and present it in the same way as a regular cake.

For a summer birthday, it might just hit the spot. I don't have any recipes to recommend, but I'm sure there are a bounty of recipes and variations out there!

I absolutely love making ad-lib veggie sautes, where I take onions and caramelize them on the stove, throw in some herbs, and then add whatever fresh veggies I have on hand. Let it all simmer together for a few minutes. Sometimes I add balsamic vinegar to make a quick and flavorful sauce, and sometimes I add some tomato sauce for extra zing. Sprinkle some fresh Parmesan over the top, spoon into a large bowl, and serve with a slice of grainy bread and a dollop of cottage cheese for added protein. DElicious!!

That low-fat stuff is not just loaded with sugars, but it's also full of chemical additives that our bodies really can't handle. Go for the natural, full fat stuff-it's GOOD for you and your body can recognize and digest the fat. In my opinion, eating good fats will only better your health, whereas consuming all those added sugars (from the reduced-fat PB and elsewhere) is the main dietary culprit.

Use sliced as a topping for french toast or pancakes on Saturday morning!

(Or, like suggested above, make a fresh smoothie to serve along side of those pancakes!)

Banana/Peanut Butter Sandwich (or, make banana bread, then smother a couple slices with peanut butter and grill it up. Maybe even add a few chocolate chips for an extra sweet treat.)

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:
http://bakingbites.com/2009/04/whole-grain-banana-cake/
(I've been wanting to try this recipe out!)

This recipe looks amazing too! White Chocolate Chunk Banana Toffee Chip Pound Cake:
http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/?s=banana

Banana Fosters Crumb Cake:
http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2008/07/12/put-some-real-into-reality/

Hope something looks good to you!

Dee! Hopefully this can be a recipe for you to try:

I like using yogurt in baked goods, particularly muffins and quick breads. Stonyfield Farm Organics has a great recipe for Pumpkin bread that is fairly low in fat (1/3 cup of oil and the batch is HUUUGE!) but uses mainly yogurt for moisture. You can also substitute it in brownies for oil (it's worked for me!). I would definitely check out the recipe on Stonyfield's Website!

http://recipes.stonyfield.com/recipes.cfm?action=details:recipeID=54

And, to add my own bit of unofficial medical advice....Is this a recent problem? I know that I had a period of time where I consumed a very low fat diet (for better or for worse...) and every time I ate something with a high fat content, I would get the worst stomach pains, particularly with butter products. Slowly, I re-introduced fat back into my diet, mainly in the form of peanut butter, or using oil in baked goods versus always substituting it with applesauce. Though I won't go on a "fat binge" now, I have found that those awful stomach pains went away as I gradually adjusted my fat intake. I'm not sure if this relates to your problem, but perhaps if the fat is lower in content your problem could be solved! (If not, I would talk to a doctor for sure).

If you like Carrot Cake, Good Housekeeping has a great recipe for a reduced fat cake that is still very moist (doesn't need that 1.5 cups of oil like other recipes suggest :) )

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/carrot-cake-ghk0907?click=recipe_sr

Here are some other recipes to try:

Banana Bread, from one of my favorite food blogs:
http://eatliverun.com/a-day-without-baking-is-a-day-unlived/

(Banana Bread and Pumpkin are definitley two types of baked goods that can afford to have less oil, as the banana/pumpkin often provide plenty of moisture and flavor).

Carrot Banana Bread (Could omit the nuts, and exchange them for raisins or choco chips, if those sit well with your stomach):
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

Oatmeal Bran Muffins:
http://bakingbites.com/2005/11/cooking-school-oatmeal-bran-muffins/

These recipes do have some oil, but per serving the fat content would be very low.

I would also check out Fatfreevegan.com--she has a ton of nonfat recipes. I don't think I've made anything from her yet, but some of them do look good!

Hope this helps!

Fries and a frosty! Also, ice cream with pretzels.

Peanut butter and carrots, and--not so much for a snack--Peanut butter and Egg sandwiches (best when the egg, basically made as a flat omelet, is still warm and heats the peanut butter to get it melt-y). Really though, could you go wrong with peanut butter in any combination?

MY favorite part of the entire episode was the lack of enthusiasm that Padma had when she announced who won. Like, it killed her to say, but she had no choice--even the reaction afterward with the chefs and judges just seemed blah. MAybe that is just my perspective since I was incredibly frustrated by the outcome, or maybe everyone else on screen was too!

I guess it is good to know that even though she didn't win, Carla will continue to do great things with her cooking and in her life. She honestly had the best personality I have ever seen on Top Chef, and even without the title, she will do great things (either with her business, or something new). It's just too bad that she didn't trust herself!!!!!!

This past Christmas, I made a chocolate cake, with chocolate chips, and a chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate mousse between the layers. It was absolutely divine. The best part is that it was low fat (even my family, the most critical people in the world, could not tell!)!!

That is so awesome that everyone knows about good old PSU Creamery ice cream (and PSU itself!). I grew up here and now attend the university. I actually read about the ice cream today in The Collegian (our university paper) and from my understanding, it seems like the Creamery is making special ice cream flavors to be served at the PA Inauguration Ball, which will occur in DC on the same night as Obama's Inauguration. When Obama visited PSU last Spring, I think he did stop at the Creamery, but I don't think they are actually serving up Creamery Ice Cream at the White House. Too bad though, because it is divine!!

Bidenberry is a vanilla ice cream mixed with a raspberry swirl, and the White House flavor has marachino cherries in it.

Admittedly, I've lived here for 19 years now, but I bet I've only been to the Creamery a dozen times over the years. I do love their Coffee Frozen Yogurt though, and it's worth a stop if any of you are ever driving through central PA!!

Okay, so perhaps Ariane did not perform her best tonight and clearly did not "honor the protein", but I still was disappointed to see her go. While she actually has won challenges (and proved herself able to cook meat...yeah, yeah, cooking it is not necessarily the same as the butchering and tying beforehand) Leah is sitting back out of notice of doing ANYTHING. Not just in this episode, but really, overall. I would have LOVED to seem her go last night, with reasons that 1)she helped tie that meat, and the judges were not impressed with it, 2) what else did she truly add to that meal, and 3)I think her litttle relationship with Hosea is BLAH!!!!!! I love that in the preview for next week, they are like, "Oh, you know, we definitely have some chemistry, but we're not going to pursue it or anything." Hell-OO--are they not doing just that by being will to project such things on television?! I get that they may be told to act a certain way, etc, but never before has the development of a relationship gotten in the way performance or really even played a part in the show. Not even last season with the one couple (I forget their names) that came on the show together.

Arg. I don't necessarily think that Ariane was "Top Chef" caliber, but I still think that she had far more to show--and has--than little miss Leah.

I second the greek yogurt! It's thick and rich and creamy (and not to mention absolutely divine!).