Jared vs. Johan

Many of you know the Jared as the guy who lost a whole bunch of weight by everyday eating a subway sandwiches. I bet you have never heard of Johan Groundstroem. but you should, he's pretty impresive. If only Jared lived in Sweden like Johan then he too, could have lost all that weight by eating at Max’s every day. The local version of a McDonalds/Burger King.



When beginning the subway challenge Jared lost 100 pounds in three months leaving him at over 300 pounds. I bet you didn’t know that if you ate a hamburger everyday could have similar results. Sure is new news to me. But sure enough Johan took on the 90 day challenge to eat 180 hamburgers and lost a total of 30 kg- that’s 66 pounds in three months! I don’t know about you, but if I ate hamburgers for 90 days straight, I would find not lose 66 pounds.

I wonder what the Swedes’ are putting into their fast food, maybe it’s a build it yourself module like their other great success, Ikea? Whatever it is, I am sure the rest of the world would love to know what the real secret is behind fast food equals fast weight loss.

Yummy delights from Israel

I am continually amazed that each place in the world has come up with new and creative ways to combine spices and ingredients that make the most wonderful meals. The Middle East is no different and their food there was surprisingly irresistible. Other than Pita and Hummus I was not sure what I would be served, but if I was only going to eat Pita and Hummus for almost three weeks I was perfectly happy. So for your enjoyment I have some delicious new finds for you.



For breakfast in the morning they tend to like a more salty breakfast than generally found in the states and would eat cheeses, veggies, and this thick spread called labneh. I was told that you cannot have breakfast in a home in Israel without having labneh. One thing I learned is they love their yougurt here. There was yougurt served at breakfast, lunch and dinner and labneh is essentially a thicker version of yougurt, almost like Greek yougurt.



Sadly in our hotels the coffee was VERY hit or miss. I can honestly say I had some of the worst cup of coffee ever made while in Israel- but other times it was quite nice. I even came to enjoy a few cups of Arabic coffee which is the first time I have ever finished a cup of plain espresso. My favorite though was at this placed called Aroma. Aroma is like an Arabic starbucks but… Better (gasp*) I cannot explain why – other than you would have to experience it all on your own.



Lunch was the biggest meal of the day- though to me it seemed very similar to dinner. Once the outreach started we had schwarma everyday with either falafel or carved meat.



One day we had grape leaves and stuffed zucchini and squash called Kousa. Both were stuffed with a rice and hamburger meat mixture.



This was a very beautiful and tasty appetizer plate. I am sorry I cannot remember the names of all the little appetizers- but I assure you they were all quite good.



My favorite meal though by far was this. Sadly I do not know the name of it but it was wonderful. It was a mixture of Chicken, onions, and mushrooms stir fried together and served on this baked bread. I was sad I only found this one time- but that one time was worth every bite.



Desserts! The most common dessert was baklava. In Turkey the baklava was usually fully saturated in honey. I really liked the baklava in Israel because it wasn't quite as sweet and was stuffed with pistachios.



However- the baklava was nothing compared to this amazing new find. This dessert was like nothing I have ever tasted before. The dessert is called Knafa and if you are ever in a Middle Eastern restaurant this is a must have. Served warm the outside shell is a crispy crunchy perfection and the inside in filled with a delicious mild cheese and somewhere in between the shell and filling is this amazing sweetness. It’s actually oozing out of the crispy shell so a fork is recommended, cause the stickier the better. My oh My this was my favorite. I wish I could have you taste through my blog- but all I can leave you with is this picture and an assurance that it is fabulous!

Delicious Paris

Last week when my friend Alyssa arrived she came with three intentions- First to eat good food. Second to relax, and third to eat good food. So I snapped a few pictures of the good food we ate last week for all those out there who love food as much as Alyssa and I do.

Warning: Images below may not be suitable for the diabetic or lactose intolerant, please use discretion.

My favorite meal that we partook in was the cheese fondu. I seriously think it is the best thing I have ever had in my life. Hot, gooey, melted cheese with fresh herbs and spices, ooooh I am just salivating thinking about how delicious this meal was.



A few evenings I attempted the French cusine and made food for us at home. I officially made my first quiche and it was… AMAZING! I think I will be making another one quite shortly. I was very unsure of how my quiche would turn out, but I don’t think it could have tasted any better than it did. Suffice to say, I was quite pleased with my experiment. For dessert this night, we had a strawberry and chocolate tarts from a local Patiserie.





Time for a cheese and dessert party! I invited a few people to come over and help Alyssa and I eat the seven cheeses we had for our cheese party- I thought I had a picture of them all, but turns out I only got a picture of one of the cheeses. But, it’s the prettiest cheese, so in my book it’s okay. The cheeses we had to sample at our cheese party were: Tome, Camembert, Brie, warm goat cheese, Coeur de Bray (pictured below) and a few others. From this night I discovered that my favorite combination is bread with warm goat cheese and a bit of honey on top. C’est magnifique!









And the last shot I have of some delicious discoveries with Alyysa, is my new favorite salad. The salad was topped with pieces of toast that which were covered in fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and Basil. It smelled sumptuously and tasted magnificent! It was at this little cafe I discovered two months ago and even better than their food is their service. The people here take time to speak with you, joke around and are very down to earth. I love them and want to stop by regularly to get to know them more. And having good food to eat isn't a bad incentive either.



Other than everything pictured above, there were lots of fresh sandwiches and Paninis consumed, a few crapes, some cafes along and of course French wine. I think Alyssa must have accomplished her goals of eating good food while she was in Paris. While Alyssa was eating one of her last meals, she turned to me and said, “I think I may have eaten too much cheese.” The French would reply, "Impossible!"

Picnic

Today is another holiday in France. Third one of the month and one more to go. I like this work schedual. But even better than having the day off- was my friend Alyssa arriving in town. She will be here for 10 days and we will have a blast gallivanting through Paris together.

Today’s weather was perfect for the occasion of her arrival and what I had planned for the afternoon. After picking Alyssa up we headed into the city and enjoyed a relaxing picnic by the Eiffel Tower. Croissants, grapes, cheese, a good friend from home and the Eiffel Tower, What more could a girl ask for?