The Let's-Do-Lunch, Best Girlfriend's Guide, To Easy Weight Loss

by Kathleen Daelemans

My Mother taught me, among other things, the proper way to iron dress shirts, to always send hand written thank you notes,and to always, always have the makings for chocolate chip cookies in the pantry at all times.

For the most part, I hardly ever eat chocolate chip cookies. But when I do, I make them from scratch. I don't know if it's because I'm suffering from Post Traumatic Sewing Class Stress Disorder (Sunday was my second sewing class ever) or if it's because it's Monday, but I can't get warm chocolate chip cookies off my mind.

It's likely due to the stress of yesterday's class. The first sewing class was worse than standing in front of a stadium full of people singing The National Anthem. Off key. Naked. With my roots showing.

I woke up "hungry" for chocolate chip cookies and haven't stopped thinking about them since I brushed my teeth. I've heard that men fantasize about you know what all day long. And that women fantasize about dark chocolate 200 times a day.

Okay, so none of that's actually fact checked, but I did read an article in the The New York Times that said,  "Although people think they make 15 food decisions a day on average, research shows the number is well over 200."

Skinny Cow Make-over

I have all the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies right now. In my house. At my disposal. I could be eating warm, gooey, dark-chocolate chip cookies in 14 minutes flat.

Or I could be eating warm, dark-chocolate-chip vanilla ice-cream sandwiches (a family secret recipe).
To prepare: Bake the cookies until they're almost done. In other words, two to three minutes just shy of being thoroughly cooked. Remove to a baking rack and immediately transfer cookies onto individual small round plates.

Place a scoop of the most decadent vanilla bean ice-cream onto the center of each cookie and top with another warm cookie. Serve immediately. If it's a super special occasion or if you've been terribly wronged, drizzle dark chocolate sauce over ice-cream sandwich and top with freshly whipped cream and top with a cherry. Serve.

Cookie Dough. The Other Crack.

The reason I didn't consume 6 heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough, plus 5 warm cookies from the oven, two ice cold glasses of skim milk and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for lunch today is because A) I was too lazy to make them and B) I have standards.

I'm not going down for store bought, mediocre, crappy-tasting cookies made with hydrogenated soybean oil and chocolate flavoring. Therefore, I do not eat crappy-tasting cookies made with hydrogenated soybean oil and chocolate flavoring.

If I'm going to pack on a few pounds, every last bite will be good to the last drop! I refuse to satisfy a craving for chocolate chip cookies with anyth other chocolate chip cookies than my own. Period. Rule # 42 I will not get fat on store bought baked goods.

I'm not breaking my neck on the treadmill for yuk cookies out of a bag, but I'll walk 12 extra miles for my own warm baked cookies. Happily. Well, at least while the house still smells of warm baked cookies. I have lots of these rules and standards and they've helped me take weight off and keep weight off.

Go Organic

Some of the standards I came up with were obvious and came about organically. I cannot get motivated to work off calories consumed in a mindless eating binge. Mostly because I cannot even remember what I've consumed during a mindless eating binge. Particle board? Goose down? I don't know. Rule # 72: Ditch mindless eating binges. No television or computer eating. No eating at the movies. No eating at parties I'm uncomfortable at, no candy jar handfuls, no anything unplanned.

Rule # 81: Accept no substitutes! Only the best will do. When you want great chocolate, eat greatgreat sourdough bread , eat great sourdough bread. The only city I eat sourdough bread in is San Francisco. The only restaurant I'll order a Caesar salad in is the Zuni Cafe. The only scones I eat are made from Judy Rodgers' famous recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones which she graciously shares in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. If you do not yet own her cookbook and you have not yet tasted her scones, it's no wonder your life is a wreck.  chocolate. When you want

The Balthazar Diet

It's easy to have a positive attitude about  exercise when I'm basking in the afterglow of a delightful lunch of Steak Frites and Warm Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Ice-cream shared with a best girl friend at Balthazar. La de da. Balthazar. I ate at Balthazar. I've eaten at Balthazar. 

I've been to the bakery three times. I even got chased out to the sidewalk once for taking pictures of the pastries. Big no-no. Everything was just so beautiful I didn't want to forget a single detail. I "could have been trying to steal trade secrets".

I ate in the Balthazar dining room once with my friend, Maureen. We took pictures just like the rest of the Will and Grace fans (only this time I didn't get caught). For those of you who haven't yet eaten there yet, put it on your life list. If for some reason, you never make it to France to experience the bistros, the people and the food, Balthazar can take you there, if only for an afternoon or an evening.

Rule # 1: When in Balthazar, eat freely and have no shame!  When you're in a wonderful restaurant, around your mother's table or dining with with family and friends; on these special occasions, enjoy the people you are with, the conversations you are having, and the food before you.

Your Just Desserts

Do not obsess over calories and picking apart the cuisine. It is an insult to the chefs. And an insult to your person. You deserve to get lost in the experience and lose all track of time. You are the only one who can grant yourself these gifts.

And The Morning After...

Just thinking about having to think about making 200 decisions about food makes me want to stay in bed an extra hour tomorrow morning.