Cheat day

As I've discussed before, in my attempt to lose weight I have switched over to the Slow Carb Diet. While this diet is somewhat limiting, one of the best parts about it is that it allows for the dieter to take one day per week where he can eat whatever he wants. The actual health benefits of a "cheat day" are debatable, to say the least. Some, people way smarter that me mind you, claim that the one day spike in caloric intake keeps one's body in "fat burn mode" through the rest of the week, which can help eliminate plateauing  Other people, also much smarter than me, claim that the sharp spike doesn't have any net positive effect on one's metabolism; rather, it is just a glut of calories that can take you a step back from the forward progress you have made during the first part of the week. In any case, both sides agree that binging just one day per week is better for you than eating high octane shit 24/7, which is what I used to do.

While I am not nearly intelligent enough to make an argument for the cheat day's effect on the body, I can tell you for certain that the psychological effects of a cheat day make an incredible difference. Every time I am in the grocery story and pass some candy or bread or beer that look particularly delicious, I just put that on my list of things to eat on Saturday (my chosen cheat day) and I'm able to walk away.

This Saturday, I am attending a holiday potluck with friends and I have been asked to prepare a dish. Being that this will likely be the largest meal of my cheat day, I don't want to waste my opportunity to make something I have been truly craving. So I thought for a while about what would be the thing to give me the most bang for my cheat day buck, while also something I can bring to share with others (assuming they don't want to stuff their face with a bucket of hot fudge or something.)

Two of the things that I love the most in this world, potatoes and cheese, are both prohibited by this diet. With that in mind, I am going to be making spicey potatoes au gratin to share with my friends* I've not made this recipe yet, and we'll see how it turns out, but I'm very excited about it. As with most of my recipes, I am stealing this from AllRecipes.com and making slight variations as I see fit.


*In this case  the term "share with my friends" means hide in a corner while I shovel handfuls of the stuff into my mouth and stare at everyone,  suspicious of their imagined goals of getting a taste.

Nick's Spicy Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:

-3 pounds of frozen shredded potatoes
- a bit of salt
- a small container of heavy cream
- some milk
- some butter
- ungodly amounts of extra sharp cheddar cheese
- enough Parmesan cheese to make you feel classy
- some hot sauce, because fuck yeah.

Directions:

-Grease up a pan and put a bunch of those potatoes in there. Probably about half. Cover that with a bunch of that cheddar and  some hot sauce.
- Throw the rest of those potatoes on that shit
- Put a bunch more cheddar on top of that.
-Also, just for good measure, put some salt, pepper and maybe a little more hot sauce on.
- Pour on the milk, cream and butter... whatever mixture works for you.
-  Put some grated Parmesan cheese on top so it browns and looks classy.


We'll see how this recipe works out. For now, thinking about eating it is allowing me to not eat that croissant I saw in the bakery this morning.