4kDP: Coffee Snob

Ok, I'm seriously loving this diet plan this morning.  The biggest thing I've complained about in the past is the lack of having my coffee in the morning.  I'm one of *those* people, yes.  But I'm maybe a little worse because I hand grind my own coffee, have my own espresso maker and purchase organic beans!  You could definitely say I'm a "Coffee Snob."

I usually have a Breve in the morning, which is apparently an American variation of the standard Latte.  They're so wonderfully creamy and it's my one weakness.  Ok, I have more than one weakness, but it's my One Morning Weakness.  Hehehe.

With the 4kDP, I get half a cup of skim milk!  Where I'm supposed to marry it with half a cup of cereal, I'm not a cereal eater, so I married it to my espresso instead.  :)  Wheeeee!  It's not nearly so creamy as a Breve, but it does make me feel spoiled still, which is what the morning espresso is all about anyway.  You know, fulfilling that "one weakness" thing.  ::grins::

Anyway, I'm way under the calorie count for the breakfast *and* I get something similar to my typical breakfast.

Turns out, Mom's loving this concept, too.  She normally has a cup of chai for breakfast.  It's a complicated recipe for her: 1 double spice chai tea bag, one single spice chai tea bag, one earl grey tea bag, one envelope of stevia, and four ounces of water.  Put that into the micro 1.5 minutes, then let steep 20 minutes or until cold.  Add half cup milk and one cup water, put back into the micro for 3 minutes.  Pull it out and squeeze the juices out of the tea bags into the cup she's going to drink out of.  Then pour the milk mixture in the cup and drink.  This, currently, is Mom's "One Morning Weakness."  :)

So, we both get to start the day off with our "spoil me!"

Coffee Roast Beef

Tonight, for dinner, I had an exceptional meal. No one else uses coffee this way, that I can tell, while on the VLCD. This particular recipe calls for using coffee as a marinade. Coffee lends a deep, strong base to the beef and LOTS of flavor as well as beautiful color. If you have a really good cut of meat, this would be the one recipe I'd recommend for it...

Coffee Roast Beef (150 calories)

1/2t onion powder

1/4t chili powder

1/4t liquid smoke

1/4t salt

Shake of pepper

2 garlic cloves, sliced

100g roast beef (150 calories)

1 pot of coffee (espresso is best)

In bowl, add onion powder, chili powder, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, cloves. Press meat into spice mixture so it's completely covered (like a rub). Let it sit there while you make a really good strong pot of coffee.

Put everything into a bowl, add meat and cover

meat with coffee, then cover all of it with foil. (I used a small cereal bowl that was ok to bake in.) Bake at 300* for 3-4 hours.

Chef's Notes:

• If you have a really good cut of roast beef, you don't need to pound it. If you have a cheap cut, definitely pound it thin first.
• This could be a good crock pot recipe, too!
• You can save the broth for another recipe or use it on your veggies.
• Horse radish added to this recipe would be exceptional! Make sure to read your labels though, to make sure there's no sugar added.
• If you saved your broth for a few days, you could add some hamburger, some onion or celery, and make a reallllllly good soup.
• In Phase 3, the big difference would be to brown the roast in some olive oil, add carrots, onions, and celery to it. THEN slow cook it.