PANDEMIC DIARY
How I Spent My Sequester - Pt. 5
Keto - Go Fish!
I don't know about you, but for me, this pandemic is getting old. Very old and gray. I haven't been to the gym in 8 months, tho I do hike three mornings a week (well, "hike" is an exaggeration - "walk" is more like it), but still, 5 pounds (some days 6) seems to have been added to my scale. Not a happy camper. It's back to strict Keto (the trendy new way to describe old NuAtkins).
Being on a Keto/NuAtkins diet is not a hardship for me. I can't eat much fruit, so those sugar carbs are not something I worry about. And, I'm really not a dessert lover... well, except those "homemade" Pillsbury frozen chocolate chip cookies that come in a cookie dough roll you find in the refrigerator section in the supermarket, then slice and bake... or McConnell's peppermint ice cream with those delicious little chunks of pink peppermint candies laced throughout that remind me of Howard Johnson's peppermint stick ice cream I loved as a child. My problem is the starchy carbs. Bread, pasta, mashed potatoes... you get my drift. I love sandwiches and cheeseburgers in buns, and pastas of all shapes and sizes... and nothing is more comforting than a huge helping of mashed potatoes, and don't even get me started on salt-based snacks like Ruffles, pretzels, and Cheez-Its... OK - it IS kind of a hardship.
But, if I keep my "bad" carb intake below 20 grams, the weight comes flying off. Thankfully, white wine has few carbs (and I get a fruit intake) and vodka has none. Martinis for dinner!!! So, yes, I'm back of Keto/NuAtkins.
The reason why I actually like this diet and why I can stay with it pretty much is that I love protein, be it meat, chicken, fish, eggs or cheese... I'm a confessed cheeseaholic you might remember. If I had to give up cheese, life wouldn't be worth living, thank you very much. And, I love salads and veggies - all veggies (well, with the possible exception of okra).
Because Richard's been cooking dinners most nights, I have quite a few favorite Keto/NuAtkins fish dinners:
Always top of my "fish for dinner" list is golden bass sauteed in butter, garlic, capers and fresh lemon juice ...
Or Jamie Oliver's roasted white fish (your choice of white fish) w/ bacon, lemon in a mayo sauce - you can find the recipe online...
There were dinners of salmon roasted w/ peas and radishes...
... or roasted w/ radishes, fennel and thinly sliced orange.
Sauteed salmon w/ a lime, butter sauce... (I know corn has starchy carbs, but I was under my 20 grams for the day.
Shrimp dishes are always a favorite of mine even if they aren't tossed in pasta. I love shrimp scampi and Richard often serves it just w/ spinach - or sometimes adds his cream sauce, peas and parsley...
Then there's his shrimp sauteed w/ garlic and butter and folded w/ spinach into spaghetti squash...
We both love scallops and don't eat them enough, but his scallops in a lemon basil sauce is one of my favorite fish dinners - w/ a side of mashed broccoli...
And a thank you to Julia Child for introducing us to sole almondine (did cheat a little when I had the orzo)...
Two favorite tilapia dishes are sauteed tilapia in butter, fresh lemon juice, capers and garlic (that's mashed cauliflower - not potato) and the fish baked in a raspberry vinegar sauce...
And my favorite fish of all (not counting lobster)... swordfish - like a few other white fish dishes, also sauteed in butter, garlic, lemon juice and capers - here w/ asparagus and mashed cauliflower...
Though I do miss meeting friends at a restaurant for dinner, be it fine dining or a burger... I have to admit that no restaurant compares to Richard's dinners for two, not only in taste but convenience. And, his suppers are something to look forward to every day during this sheltering in place time.
Bon Appetit.
