One Week to Vineman!

Today was a day of rest...if you can call a five hour drive home from Garden City restful. But at least it was a day of rest for my legs. And it was great to get back to Castle Rock for a beautiful Sunday evening. The trip to Western Kansas served as a great reminder of why I love living in Colorado -- low humidity, cool evenings, and no bugs (well, OK, we have a few, but nothing like Western Kansas!).

As we left Garden City we drove past the Brookover Feed Yards and I noticed something I hadn't seen in the darkness on the way into town (particularly since I was asleep and Leslie was driving!). Anyway, a huge sign atop the grain elevators at Brookover Feed Yards reads "Eat Beef -- Keep Slim." I love it. And I am living proof that it works.

I've had a lot of comments on the "DDubs Before and After" picture on my blog. "Say it isn't so," wrote my friend Kerry. "Is that really you?" asked a colleague. Yes, that is really me back in 1995 when I weighed 270 lbs. And guess what protein I ate most often at the time...chicken! Seriously. I thought eating chicken would be healthier for me and help me lose weight. As you can see, it wasn't working.

What did work was getting physically active. Getting physically active requires fuel for your body. And the best way to fuel the body and lose weight is to make the calories count. Calorie for calorie, beef provides more vitamins and minerals than chicken. Beef is one of nature's best tasting multivitamins. In the American diet, beef is the number one contributor of protein, zinc and vitamin B12, number two of vitamin B6, and number three of iron and niacin.

So when we got home tonight I grilled up a great tasting multivitamin called a Flat Iron Steak and served it up with multigrain bread, caesar salad and roasted balsamic sweet potatoes (see recipe below).

So, if you are eating chicken because you think it's good for you, try grilling up a great tasting Flat Iron (see my post from last week -- "Beef. It's What's for Lunch!" -- for my grilling tips). It's packed with nine essential nutrients and I guarantee it won't taste like chicken!

Roasted Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 large sweet potatoes (red-skinned); peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar. Reduce and simmer about 3 mins. (until thickened). Add butter and salt, stir to dissolve butter. Add potatoes and stir to coat. Season with fresh ground pepper. Spread potatoes evenly on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until tender and golden (about 40 mins.).
Bon Appetit!

Daren