Duck Fat

The name of this restaurant both scares me and intrigues me. Duck fat aka confit is a precious gem of the cooking world, mainly French, that offers a wonderful and deep flavor to many dishes. With that said, no, it is not good for you. I want to try this restaurant, whose specialty is the gravy covered fries cooked in you guessed it, 25% Duck Fat. I know when a menu or dish is that intense a little will go a long way, so I am not worried that I will overindulge too much. What I do worry about is how I will feel afterwards. Will I feel bloated, nauseous? Who knows. The caterer in me wants to try it and so I will. All the menu items are inventive and made from scratch from 2 very well known restaurateurs and chefs, so I am looking forward to it. A light dinner is all I will need to get me back on track.

TIP: When we don't have the luxury of going to a wonderful new restaurant for lunch, we have to manage on our own. It is amazing how I panic if I am hungry and don't have anything prepared or planned for lunch. I panic because I know I will grab anything I see to satiate myself. Probably too much of it too. I have a couple of good ideas about this, considering this is the position I found myself in today. Luckily, I kind of did plan ahead. I bought that little snack/lunch portion of pre-marinated or flavored tuna that comes with crackers. Bumble bee makes this one it is a spicy thai flavor (yes it was spicy, and this is coming from Mrs. Del Fuego herself). I didn't even have to add cayenne pepper to it ( a natural metabolism booster, so I read). Anyway, it was perfect. I replaced the crackers with some whole grain bread and added lettuce and onion. It was just right and got me past the "I need food now" stage. Then I had a very small oatmeal raisin cookie and some tea and I could not be happier. Also, Campbell's Selects (the lite variety) makes some good soups like Veg beef Barley and Southwestern which are so low in calories you can eat the whole can and other things too. Good news is the soup is rather filling so you probably won't need much more than maybe some grainy bread.

If I haven't written about Zumba before, I just have one thing to say about it: Do it! It is fun and great exercise. Will get you off the couch and in a good mood.

Good luck and remember: Respect yourself before you wreck yourself...This is from an old school rap song, but I play this phrase often in my head. You will "wreck" yourself emotionally and physically with the wrong habits! Take care!