VeganMoFo Day 23 - Spanish Rice

Well, the kid thinks he flubbed his interview yesterday. He felt like George Costanza on Seinfeld, knowing he gave the wrong answer to questions, getting vague responses to questions asked by the interviewer (Who happened to be the co-owner of the company), and walked away not really knowing if he was being offered a job or not and was told to call back in 2 weeks when the partner is back from China. He said it would be too good to be true if he did get the job - it's work he enjoys in an area very easy to get to by light rail train. He sent her a follow-up email thanking her for her time, so keep those fingers crossed.

Today's dinner will be Joan Mershon's Spanish Rice, one of our favorite Crockpot meals. I always make a double batch because we're big eaters, and besides, the leftovers make great lunches. As-is, it's really not that spicy, so if you like things hot, use a hotter version of the salsa and add more chili powder.

To accompany it, I'm debating between the cornbread and corn pudding, both from Isa and Terry, or the cornbread by Jan Tz, which is more McDougall-acceptable and makes a smaller dish. Better yet, her Sweet Corn Cake, that uses creamed corn for the liquid. Yeah, that's it!

I miss Jan. She was one of the first Star McDougallers and she always had the best recipes over on the McDougall board when it was on VegSource. Luckily the McDougall recipe board is still there - it would be a shame to lose all those great recipes, like Jan's quickbread recipes file. Oh, how my family loves those little cakes! Many times I've topped one of those with an icing of soy cream-cheese thinned with a bit of rice or soy milk and presented as a birthday cake, never letting on that it's whole grain, fat-free or even vegan, and everyone loved them. Jan had posted a bit over on the new forums, but soon after she moved cross-country left the boards. I last saw her posting this spring, when she posted her return to McDougalling for Lent, but I don't remember any follow-up posts after Easter. I hope she sees this and comes on back. I know I'm not the only one who misses her and her loves for all things connected with spuds and Weird Al.

Hmm, I tried to link to Jan's Star McDougaller page and see her bio has been pulled. I just wrote a message on the forums asking why. I know of another bio that was removed about a year ago, Barbra LaPointe. In that one Dr. McDougall mentioned the National Weight Control Registry in his comments are and how the McDougall program is much like what the participants in the NWCR :

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/star08_barbra_lapointe.html (This link no longer works)

The proof of this low-fat/exercise approach is demonstrated by the record of the National Weight Control Registry. This registry is simply a database of people successful at maintaining a weight loss of at least 30 lbs. (13.6 kg) for at least one year. The average registrant has lost about 60 pounds and kept it off for more than five years. To date, there are over 2,000 people, from all over the United States, enrolled in the National Weight Control Registry.

On average, registrants report consuming about 1400 kcal/day (24 percent calories from fat) and expending about 400 kcal/day in physical exercise. Approximately 80% of the registrants eat less than 30% fat, and 35% eat less than 20% fat. The McDougall Program diet is about 7% fat when followed strictly. Although they may have lost their initial weight by a variety of methods, including liquid protein diets, on their own, or through an organized program, all are currently maintaining their weight losses by eating low-fat diets and engaging in regular physical activity. You can learn more here: http://www.lifespan.org/services/bmed/wt_loss/nwcr/

I wish I had saved the entire Star McDougaller biography. In fact, I should probably go to the Star McDougaller page now and start copying them all in case any more that I want to refer to in the future disappear.