Make it Splurge-Worthy!

Make it Splurge-Worthy!
From Reader's Digest (Canadian edition January 2007): Eat, Shrink& Be Merry! By Janet and Greta Podleski

When you get the urge to splurge (and we all do!) don't waste valuable calories and stomach space on tasteless, mediocre treats. As a rule of tongue, before any high-fat, high-calorie, belt-busting food crosses your lips, make sure it's "splurge-worthy." Rate the indulgent food from 1 to 10. If it isn't a 9 or a 10, don't bother--it's not worthy! Who really wants to gorge on 600 headed-straight-to-your-hips calories in the form of Gram and Gramps' 70th anniversary sheet cake? Be polite, enthusiastically taste a small forkful, then slip the rest to Aunt Gertrude's Pomeranian. Same goes for your mother-in-law's fruitcake, chock full of those scrumptious artificial fruit globules and the ever-so-tasty FD&C red #3. It's not worthy! Repeat: Not worthy! Every single high-calorie indulgence should have a high "worth it" factor and should be a food that you absolutely love, love, love. There's nothing worse than having to loosen your belt after eating a meal or food that you didn't really enjoy. Talk about waisting calories!

If you haven't met the Podleski sisters from Ontario, Canada, and are in the market for new healthy recipe books full of humor and delicious eats, check out:
Looneyspoons (1996)
Crazy Plates (1999)
Eat, Shrink & Be Merry (2006)

I've had the first two cookbooks for years and will soon be picking up number three. Eat, Shrink & Be Merry was written with the glycemic index in mind, so it should be a great blend of guilt-free recipes and whacky jokes. The Canadian Reader's Digest has been featuring recipes out of it in 2007.