“If I cooked something like that, you would have NEVER eaten it” – Truer words have never been spoken by my wife. I don’t consider myself a picky eater, but I have been accused of being one in the past.  I think it had more to do with the look of what I ate; if it looked strange, I would most likely not try it. With as much credit possible to my wife for her “gentle encouragements” (not so gentle at times), I have gotten much better at trying new things.

Vegetables – everyone knows we need to eat them. I have eaten countless meals consisting of meat, bread, and other stuff that is not so good for me. There has to be a better way of eating vegetables. At the local library, I checked out The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lapine in an effort to learn how to add vegetables to normal dishes so you won’t even know they are there (great if you have kids).  The problem with most of the dishes in those type (or many other type) cookbooks is ingredients; you rarely have everything you need for the meal you want.  I like simple and typically cook simple meals.  I have cooked elaborate dishes, but tend to focus on the simple.  Apart from pizza (the perfect food, at least in my opinion), hamburgers are simple.

I like hamburgers.  Not to the point of mania, but I like them.  Just before I read The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Tim Ferriss, I was researching making bean-based veggie burgers.   My first attempt turned out pretty good (even my wife ate some) and included black beans, brown rice, onions, and a few other ingredients. This accomplished several things; reduced the amount of beef I ate, reduced cost (total ingredients cost about $2 for 6 burgers), and increased my intake of vegetables and other good stuff.  Then…..The 4-Hour Body Slow Carb diet happened; no bread or grains, so no bun and no rice. Oh well, adapt and overcome. [Read more…]