No, Obama did not use an onion to cry fake tears over shooting victims, cut the bullshit already

I missed Obama's press conference on gun control yesterday, so I don't know the details of his executive orders. Still, my news ticker lit up with stories about how Obama had cried angry tears over the Newtown shooting during his speech, saying "it gets me so mad."

This shouldn't be a newsworthy statement, let alone a controversial one. I doubt Obama's strong feelings about this issue stem from his personal hatred of guns, although that's what the NRA hardliners and hysterics raving about "tyrannical government" will believe. Did you ever wonder if it has something to do with the fact that he's a dad? A lot of politicians don't like guns, but they don't get worked up enough to shed tears over school shootings. My guess is that Obama has pictured himself in the shoes of a Newtown parent. The thought of getting that awful phone call telling him there's been a shooting at his childrens' school--or worse, finding out that they're among the victims--is probably what gets him "so mad." 

That's not a radical response, it's normal. If the image of terrified first graders being mowed down with AK-47s doesn’t make you want to cry, what does? Anger and grief are normal responses to the grisly murder of small children. John Walsh titled his book about his murdered 7-year-old son "Tears of Rage" for a reason. 

But that was before American culture took a nosedive toward the futuristic America in Mike Judge's "Idiocracy." (If anyone out there has still not seen it: Great movie. One of my favorites.) So as soon as I saw the headlines, I thought, "Fox News is going to accuse him of faking it." And I knew it wouldn't stop there. Internet hacks and bush-league conservative blogs were bound to go full crackpot, making it a race to the bottom to see who could throw up the stupidest headlines. 

“He was secretly squeezing an eye dropper the whole time!”

“How do we know it wasn’t an Obama body double with Oscar-worthy acting skills?”

I’m not trying to be funny. They would say that. The audience for any conservative media outlet includes a sizeable percentage of birthers, who believe Obama was low-down enough to fake his birth certificate. So why not fake tears? The right-wing media has great trouble admitting that Obama is sincere about anything. Doing that would piss off the audience. I know, because I've worked for them. During the 2008 election cycle, I worked for a big-time conservative news site, and we had to set an official policy of hanging up on birthers. My editor tried to explain that the rumors about Obama's birth certificate had been investigated and debunked; these buffoons would just start screeching. Two days later, they'd call back to harass us again. We refused to give any support to their stupid theories, but we also had to tiptoe around birthers, since our audience had so many of them. 

This is a built-in problem for news sites and cable stations that explicitly market themselves as "conservative" or "liberal." They all face some pressure to preach to the choir; their very existence relies on backing up the audience's beliefs. 

Sometimes, this results in serious journalists engaging in outlandish buffoonery to attack "the enemy." Anyone with half a brain could read this headline and judge it to be a total crock. End of story. Really, there's no other discussion to be had: it's just a huge crock of shit.

First, onions do not make people cry. Chopping onions releases eye irritants that makes them water, similar to an allergic reaction. I’m sorry, did I miss the part about how Obama stealthily diced some red onions under the podium as he spoke? Better question: how do conservative commentators keep a straight face as they spin outlandish tall tales?  Even I tend to laugh a little when I know whatever’s coming out of my mouth is obvious bullshit.

Anyway, "fake crying" is virtually impossible. It's is an involuntary response from your parasympathetic nervous system. It’s the same system that causes you to sweat when you're anxious and blush when you’re embarrassed. Have you ever been so nervous your heart started pounding, or you felt sick to your stomach? That’s your sympathetic-parasympathetic nervous system talking—the same system that causes people to cry.

Apparently, it's caused by a rapid shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic brain activity. Crying is a sign that, emotionally, the person has given up hope or thrown in the towel--they've lost the big game, walked away from a bad relationship, or accepted that their loved one is dying. Humans have various strategies to suppress this reaction, but we're not very good at it. Crying is a primitive act, and not one controlled by the parts of the brain responsible for reason and emotional regulation.

In other words, accusing someone of generating "fake tears" is like accusing someone of producing "fake sweat." Even actors don't fake crying. The good ones are able to imagine themselves as the characters, creating emotional distress real enough to cry. The mediocre ones don’t shed any tears, they just mimic the sounds and gestures. In any case, real tears flow from real emotions.

This isn't just about Obama. Accusing someone of faking it is the hallmark of insincere (or as my mom calls them, "phony baloney") people feigning moral outrage to distract from their rancid motivations and lack of arguments. Everyone's favorite word these days is "crazy": it's evidently some men's go-to put-down to dismiss women who complain about sexism and being treated like shit. Is someone out there questioning the status quo or talking about injustice? They're crazy--and also, they're just faking it to get sympathy and attention by acting like big babies. 

The media has been at it for a while now, but this onion thing is really brazen. What happened to the Fox News we all used to know and love? 

I’ve been on Fox News as a commentator twice. I  started watching in the early 2000s, not necessarily because I was conservative, but because I was an aspiring journalist with a strong aversion to bullshit. (Or as some people call it, "spin" and "media bias." Same thing.) Fox News really did tell stories that no other network was covering. If you watched CNN between 2000 and 2004, you were basically having left-wing propaganda piped into your home, 1984-style. You had to go to Fox News to get the full story, because they really did strive to be "fair and balanced." (Now they’re just “the balance," indicating their coverage is openly biased toward the right.)

Liberal hate object Bill O’Reilly was actually my favorite host. Not only did he have a finely tuned bullshit detector common to the cranky Irishmen I grew up around, but he also tried to be fair to his guests. He cut Rosie O’Donnell a break for saying all gun owners should go to jail after the Columbine shooting. Why? Rosie explained that she erupted in outrage after seeing all those kids with “bloody, broken bodies.” Bill saw no reason to doubt her sincerity. There's no question that Rosie O'Donnell loves kids and wants to protect them. Just because you don't like the feelings someone expresses doesn't mean they’re not genuine.

Unfortunately, the fair and balanced network keeps slipping, from exposing bullshit to promoting it. This silly talk about onions suggests Fox News really is turning into the satirical Fox News from the movie "Idiocracy."

Dollar Store Pinterest projects: Cupcakes and Mason Jars. (And no, I'm not a hipster)

If you've been following my Facebook at all these days, you probably know that I've embarked on a home beautification project. But, as always, I love doing it on a serious budget. Therefore, let me introduce you to DIY projects I've done with supplies from one of my favorite stores (besides Target): Dollar Tree.

Yes, it's a good old-fashioned "dollar store" where everything really is a dollar. (Other "dollar stores," like Dollar General, are discount stores, but the products aren't necessarily $1.) It is also beyond fabulous. If you're looking for party supplies, holiday decorations, or creative inspiration, I highly recommend it! You can find all sorts of beads, mason jars, glass vases, floral supplies, and endless other craft items. (It's also a great place to buy cleaning supplies and other basics, like Aspirin and hand soap. Dollar Tree has saved me a fortune in the last few months.)

For my mom's birthday, I also made a pretty tray of cupcakes using Dollar Tree stuff, although I got the cupcake mix and frosting at Giant Eagle.

Boycott "Fifty Shades Of Grey": Christian Grey is No Dreamboat.

American girls love Bad Boys. Or at least, we think we do. And now that Fifty Shades Of Grey has hit theaters, maybe it’s time to analyze the character of Christian Grey and finally put this fantasy to rest.

My first big celebrity crush was Brad Renfro. The Tennessee native became famous for his award-winning role in The Client at the ripe old age of 11. But I first laid eyes on him in the Disney movie Tom and Huck.

Being a huge Mark Twain fan, my dad had already read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn to me at home when I was in first grade. But I became interested in the movie after seeing this poster. I already knew who Jonathan Taylor Thomas was; he was on the cover of Tiger Beat every single month, and every preteen girl in America had professed her undying love for him. Well, except for me. I instead alerted my friends’ attention to the hottie on the left. Who was he and how had we overlooked him?

It was Brad Renfro in the role of Huckleberry Finn.

Huckleberry Finn was already a swoon-worthy Bad Boy in the novel. He flees his abusive home with a runaway slave named Jim, braving the frontier and the Mississippi River to find freedom in Illinois. His dangerous mission leaves little time for romance. But throughout the book, Huck still manages to drop into town secretly, visit his buddies, cause a huge ruckus that gets them all in trouble, and then steal someone’s girlfriend on his way out. Tom Sawyer had to concoct elaborate stunts to impress Becky Thatcher; Huckleberry Finn graciously charmed the ladies with his funny jokes and swashbuckling personality before disappearing again. That was how I’ve always remembered the novel, anyway, and I believe Mark Twain intended it that way. (Whatever “swag” is, Huck clearly had it.)

Brad Renfro made a great Huckleberry Finn. He stole the show. I don’t know why he was so hot--maybe it was the freckles, shaggy hair, or the authentic Southern accent. But it was the first time I gazed at a movie screen and thought, “I want to marry that guy.”

A few years later, girls across America swooned over Jack Dawson in Titanic. (Brief aside: I’m a huge fan of all things Titanic. But at age 12, I took note of Jack Dawson showing Rose his nude drawings of hookers, thought it over, and deemed this move uncool. Girls really aren’t that comfortable with having porn shoved in their faces.) Sure, he likes to spit and gets in the occasional fistfight, but he also inspired Rose to set aside her horribly sexist debutante lifestyle in order to party with him. She reluctantly tags along, only to discover that—gasp!—she likes having fun and being free. Especially with him.

Long story short, I think America will always remember the infamous backseat-of-the-car scene, as well as the line “I’ll never let go, Jack.”

 By junior high, the new man of my dreams was Heath Ledger in Ten Things I Hate About You. I briefly considered marrying this one too, but the competition was pretty fierce. Just ask my best friend from seventh grade.

Why do women love these characters? I can assure you that it’s not all about looks. I wouldn’t even call my Dream Man Heath Ledger “conventionally attractive.” (When he first came on the screen, I briefly thought, "ew, him?" That changed as soon as he started talking.) Brad Renfro was adorable, but he was always more Average Joe than male model material. He’d blend in well on a hunting trip with the guys.

It’s mainly because this type of Bad Boy is morally upright. He doesn’t give two hoots what society thinks, and he’ll disregard the rules in order to do what he wants—and in the process, he still “does the right thing.” Huckleberry Finn took the enormous risk of helping a runaway slave; Heath Ledger’s character skipped school to take care of a sick family member; Jack Dawson bravely faced down his own inevitable death on the Titanic in order to comfort Rose, who refuses to save herself. They’re often victims of oppression or abuse, which makes their actions even more heroic--they could have opted for the easy way out, and they probably deserved it. But they’re too manly for that. Have you ever heard the phrase, “When I’m good I’m good, but when I’m bad I’m even better?” It was made for these guys.

And maybe that’s why America seemed collectively traumatized when Renfro and Ledger both died from drug overdoses in 2008. It seemed like the fantasy of the Bad Boy with a Good Heart died with them—we were all forced to acknowledge that these young men were self-destructive and had been quietly suffering the whole time. At least for me, it was time to stop romanticizing characters who, in real life, probably needed rehab services, not a romantic pedestal. Some of these Bad Boys were good guys in desperate need of help. Others were just plain bad: Russell Crowe briefly caught my eye before that phone-throwing incident. Being a fan of Irish boys, I also eyed up Colin Farrell, but the sleazy sex tape and nasty demeanor ruined it for me. I hoped we would all put this fantasy to bed, and not keep trotting out “Bad Boys” with Bad Attitudes as a substitution.

But who am I kidding? Of course we did that!

Christian Grey is supposedly our new Fantasy man, ladies. He’s our collective heartthrob, and he’s definitely no Jack Dawson or Huck Finn. Jack Dawson wore suspenders and had famously unkempt hair. Brad Renfro’s Huck Finn was dressed like a fisherman with exactly one plaid shirt. (Heath Ledger’s character tried even less: I’m pretty sure he banned conversations about his clothes and hair, probably because it made him feel gay.) Christian Grey, on the other hand, is a pretty boy in a $3,000 suit. He’s perfectly groomed, right down to the eyebrow arch. He could model for Abercrombie, and this supposedly makes him irresistible. (Personally, I beg to differ. Let’s examine this picture. Is he wearing foundation? Yeah, that looks like foundation and possibly some lip gloss.)

He’s also nasty, sullen, and arrogant. The old Bad Boys made girls laugh; Christian Grey apparently likes to inflict physical pain until they cry. The female character describes him as “really intimidating,” and she doesn’t sound too happy when she says it. (I know some guys think it’s good to be “intimidating.” I don’t know about the rest of you ladies, but when I think “intimidating,” I don’t think warm, romantic, happy thoughts.) Christian Grey pursues women far below him in career and social status, apparently because he finds them easier to push around. The female character’s reward is that she gets to work really hard to win him over. If she really puts in the effort, he might even crack a smile!

(Uh oh, this storyline is already starting to suck! Are we sure we need a movie?)

Then the trailer premiered, confirming my suspicions that this was a dreary, depressing abuse story billed as a “romance.” I think the video below was supposed to get us all worked up. As you can probably guess, my engines failed to rev as I watched this. Ugh, just listen to that sad, sad music! And that's before the douchey guy in a suit even enters the scene. 

(I couldn't post the trailer to this blog, so you'll have to follow the link. I mean, if you insist.)

Sorry, Fifty Shades of Grey fans. I've judged this movie without even seeing it, and my verdict is: Not Hot. I think I’ll skip the movie theater and go rent Tom and Huck. 

Drug Overdoses! Full-Frontal Nudity! Why I hate the Kardashian family--and why you should too

 Note: As promised, this blog will no longer be only about food. While I do have a day job as a magazine writer and blogger, some of the writing I consider my best goes unpublished or unnoticed. From now on, "The View From 206" will be home to some of these musings, which cover everything from entertainment to health trends.

Drug overdoses! Full-frontal nudity! I will grant the Kardashian clan one thing: they never run out of zany new ways to get America talking. About them. All the time. It’s as if the entire family gathers around the breakfast table in the morning and kicks around ideas about how they can become the top story of the day. (Including, but not limited to: short-lived “marriages” to NBA players, births broadcast live from the delivery room, and underage girls partying hard and working the stripper pole.)

At the end of the day, the Queen of All Publicity Stunts, Kris Jenner, browses Twitter and gossip rags to see if that day’s antics attracted sufficient attention. And that’s by her standards, not ours—most people don’t expect to be followed by crowds of eager photographers each time they hit the gym for yoga class. (Luckily, the Kardashian sisters only attend “hot” yoga, “naked” yoga, or “tantric” yoga, and they conveniently discuss it in earshot of the paparazzi, just in case they’d like to follow them there.) They also plaster themselves on highway billboards, advertisements, and magazine covers—apparently to cover their bases and make sure everyone in America is looking at them, willingly or not.

Is anyone else sick of these people?

Over the last few weeks, it looks like the answer is finally “yes.” A large segment of the population feels it has seen plenty of the Kardashians, and, in fact, they would like to see less of them. When Kim Kardashian flashed America with her nude photos, the response was more “ew” than “ooh,” as if the audience felt somewhat violated. That’s right: the Kardashians have long been stalking America, glaring back at them from every TV set and magazine stand. Now they’ve crossed the line into sexually harassing us. It was as if Americans collectively said, “Kardashians, you have gone too far. We liked your show at first, but now everyone feels uncomfortable and wants you to stop.”

But they’ve already demonstrated that they won't. In fact, they’ll just sink lower: days after Kim’s photos were released, Scott Disick was hospitalized after overdosing on drugs. With all of the 24/7 security guards, TV cameras, and assistants around them, you’d think the Kardashians would notice if someone was harboring a secret addiction. That’s why we should assume that this was no “secret,” and also no accident. It's another carefully staged subplot directed by Kris. We already know Kris Jenner will sell her daughter’s sex tapes and enter them into arranged marriages for attention. There’s no reason to believe she wouldn’t happily kill off an expendable member of the clan with a drug addiction if it meant more headlines. (By the way, Lamar Odom, Khloe’s ex-husband, also developed a “drug addiction” right before the couple split and he left the show.)

The Kardashians aren’t just an attention-seeking, fun-loving reality show family. They’re fame-obsessed and actually sort of evil. Now that they’ve gotten their 15 minutes, America needs to say “time’s up!” and drive them off the air.

Pretzel-crusted pork chops with cheddar mustard sauce

 

File this one under "easier than it sounds."

Pork is one of my favorite foods to work with these days. Not only is it a "lean red meat" (better than ground beef!), it's dirt cheap compared to chicken or beef. I actually adapted this from a Rachael Ray chicken recipe.

For the meat:

4 pork chops

1 5-ounce bag of salted pretzels, any shape

Dried parsley (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs

Vegetable oil, for frying 

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups, sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

2  tablespoons spicy brown mustard

Instructions:

1. Chop up pretzels in a food processor, or place in a Ziplock bag and crush.

2. Pound the pork thin, if desired. (You don't have to; however, it will change the cooking time.)

3. Beat the eggs in a shallow dish, and place pretzel crumbs, salt, pepper, and parsley in another dish. Coat the pork chops in egg, then in the pretzel.

4. Fry with vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cooking time will vary--for regular pork chops, it's usually 5 minutes on each side. I've found that the pretzel crust burns easily, so be careful.

5. To make the sauce, melt butter, then add in flour. Stir in milk, cheese, and mustard and stir continuously until it's a good consistency.

I served mine with lima beans and a brown rice-quinoa blend, which are both healthy sides.

And one more extreme close-up, brought to you by my husband:

 

The world's best homemade, whole wheat lasagna recipe

Previously on this blog, I promoted recipes with low-fat or reduced-calorie ingredients. Why? I'd never really researched it. I just assumed that less fat=healthier.

It might seem like common sense that fat is bad, but it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

I'm better-educated on nutrition now than when I started this blog. I read The Happiness Diet, which stresses over and over again that "fat is not the enemy." Sugar--including the kind in refined carbohydrates like white bread--is the enemy. If anything, most Americans eat too little fat and way, way too much sugar. Fat is critical for healthy brain functioning, and it keeps you full and satisfied. (Sugar does pretty much the opposite to your brain and body.) Full-fat dairy is a source of Conjugated Linoleic Acid, a fat so important it's sold in pill form as a supplement. (The book's advice: skip the supplements and eat real food.) CLA is critical for brain development and function, and it's a "body fat modulator"--meaning it prevents your body from forming weird fat rolls, especially on your stomach.

With that said, I made one of my favorite fat-laden recipes tonight: lasagna.I actually adapted this from a recipe titled "The world's best lasagna recipe."

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage (I used Bob Evans brand, which comes in a one-pound package)
3/4 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon of minced, bottled garlic (is there a bigger pain in life than mincing garlic by hand? Get the bottled stuff)
28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
2 6-ounce cans of tomato paste
1 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup of water
1 tablespoon white sugar (optional. I avoid adding sugar whenever possible, but 1 tablespoon in the entire batch will equal a minute amount per serving)
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons dried parsley
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
32 ounces of whole milk Ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 slices of Mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Sautee the garlic and onion in a Dutch oven or other large skillet. Add ground beef and sausage and cook until brown.
2. After the meat cooks, stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the parsley.
3. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. (I choose not to boil my noodles; they get too mushy. I just soften them in hot water. You can Google other methods of dealing with lasagna noodles without boiling them.)
4. In a bowl, combine Ricotta cheese, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons parsley.
5. After all of that's done, it's time to layer. First, coat the bottom of a baking dish with the meat sauce. Then form a layer of 6 lasagna noodles. Spread half the Ricotta over the noodles, then 6 slices of Mozzarella. Top with a layer of meat sauce and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers again.
6. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

I usually save this recipe for special occasions--the photo below is from my 2-year wedding anniversary. But it's Sunday and lasagna is fun to make, so why not?

More Crockpot fun! Creamy Italian chicken.

So good, it required an extreme close-up.

I'm all for setting aside time to enjoy cooking, but let's face it: some nights, it feels like more trouble than it's worth. If you're trying to resist the call of the drive-thru, you've come to the right place: this recipe is cheap and requires basically no work.

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup of Italian dressing (your choice on brand and flavor; I think the bold or "robusto" flavors work best)

1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise

1/3 cup cream cheese

Some people will recoil from this recipe because the mayo and cream cheese are heavy on fat. There's a myth that eating fat makes you fat. It seems like common sense, but it's not true: a calorie from fat is a calorie. And as nutritionists will tell you, eating fat doesn't make you fat--eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates makes you fat. (I'm not a fan of no-carb diets. Carbs are necessary for basic functioning, but most people eat way too many of them.) This is a healthy recipe, I promise.

Directions:

1. Place chicken breasts in Crockpot. (You can even use frozen breasts, making it even easier.)

2. Stir mayonnaise and Italian dressing together in a bowl and pour into the Crockpot.

3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Then add cream cheese and cook another hour.

4. Serve with healthy sides. My pick was Brussels sprouts.

The finished product:

Cilantro lime chicken with black beans and rice

Cilantro lime chicken

I used to be anti-Crockpot, but after seeing this slow cooker chicken recipe in my Mom's Club cookbook, I had to try it. (I modified the recipe a bit to make it my own version.) I invented the black beans and rice recipe on my own.

This was very, very good. Even my husband--who's usually anti-chicken--loved it. My daughter loved the rice and beans, which was great, because she's in that 2-year-old phase where it's hard to get her to eat anything but macaroni and cheese with a side of applesauce. 

You can also make it in the oven, following basically the same instructions in a baking pan and baking for 1 hour.

Ingredients for the chicken:

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup of sour cream

16 ounce bottle of salsa--your choice of flavor and heat

1 packet of taco seasoning

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons cilantro (to taste. I don't like Mexican food when it's overpowered by cilantro.)

Fresh guacamole (optional)

Directions:

1. Stir together salsa, taco seasoning, lime juice, and cilantro in a bowl. Pour some of it into the Crockpot or baking dish--just enough to coat the bottom.

2. Coat chicken with sour cream on both sides and place in the Crockpot.

3. Pour the rest of the salsa mixture over the chicken.

4. For the Crockpot, cook on low for about 5 hours. (Crockpots vary in temperature, so I would start checking it at 4 1/2 hours.) Or bake in the oven at 350 for about an hour. Garnish with extra cilantro and guacamole.

Ingredients for the beans and rice:

1 can of seasoned black beans

1 cup of instant brown rice

1 teaspoon of bottled minced garlic

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1/3 cup of diced green bell peppers

1/2 cup of tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice according to package directions, set aside.

2. Sautee the garlic in a pan until golden. Add black beans and chili powder and cook a few minutes. Add green peppers.

3. When the beans are cooked and the peppers are tender, stir in the rice and tomato sauce. Add salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste. 

That's it. The entire plate will give you a big dose of protein, healthy fat from the avocados, fiber from the beans and rice, and antioxidants from all the spices.

 Guacamole is proof that God exists.

 As my daughter likes to say: "Ooooh!"

Spicy Mongolian beef over brown rice

As I've said on this blog before, I love Chinese food. The only drawback is that it's the most complicated and most expensive ethnic food to make at home. Anyone who's been looking at a 95% full bottle of Sweet Chili Sauce in the refrigerator for the last year knows what I mean. (FYI: Italian food is the cheapest and easiest to make yourself. For this reason alone, I tend to skip Italian restaurants these days.) But this Mongolian beef dish was an exception--it was fast and easy. The meat dish itself has only 240 calories per half cup--but 25 grams of protein. I added brown rice and Asian stir-fry vegetables as healthy sides.

Ingredients:
3/4 to 1 pound of steak, cut into strips (most grocery stores sell pre-cut steak for stir-fry)
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (optional)
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
crushed red pepper (to taste; I would start with 1/2 teaspoon)
sliced green onions
1 can of sliced water chestnuts (optional)

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine hoisin sauce, water, garlic, crushed red pepper, sesame oil, and water chestnuts. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, coat steak with sesame seeds.
3. Coat a skillet with cooking spray and cook steak over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch it closely, because it's easy to overcook the meat.
4. Pour sauce over the steak and cook another 2 minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced. Toward the end, add the green onion. Serve over brown rice!

This is not a "diet" blog

It's been almost 2 years since I wrote my last post here in April 2012. The blog was going great, I was getting tons of positive feedback, and then...I stopped.

Why? One obvious reason is that I had an ever-more-active baby to tend to. (She's now 2 years old!) But the other reason is that, six months after having her, I had lost all the baby weight and then some. I didn't have the motivation to cook "diet" meals anymore.

But then I remembered that this was never meant to be a diet blog. It's a healthy-eating blog--and there's a difference. Last week, Amanda Marcotte wrote an amusing post about US News and World Report's rankings of 32 popular diet fads. Most of these--including supplements, juice cleanses, and the trendy "Paleo" diet--got crap ratings. The only ones that work aren't "diets" at all:

The best-ranked diets sound suspiciously like something your doctor would tell you to embrace, not as a diet, but as general rules for eating to prevent heart disease and diabetes. Indeed, some of the best diets, such as the DASH diet, the TLC diet, or the Mayo Clinic diet weren't developed for weight loss at all. Two were created to help heart patients get healthier, and the Mayo Clinic diet is just general good sense for eating. It seems that US News is trying to trick its readers into giving up fad diets and instead, like a bunch of boring, untrendy, healthy people, just eat right.

Ah, yes--eating right. As Marcotte humorously explains, that's the last thing most people want to try.

 Luckily, Americans will not be fooled. We have an endless appetite for trend diets that promise rapid weight loss through unsustainable and often expensive methods. We will buy up any crap supplement, food additive, or even skin cream that promises that we can lose weight rapidly. This is why, as the New York Times reports Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission has charged four more companies with deceptive advertising of useless weight loss products—and why 13 percent of fraud claims to the FTC involve weight-loss products, "more than twice the number in any other category."

Once again, this is a healthy eating blog. Although I'm no longer trying to lose weight, I will continue to post healthy dinner recipes that are also fun to make and eat. Welcome back!