Holidays & Seasons

I'm going to share a well-kept secret with you: the real truth about why the Cecil Hotel in San Francisco closed down. It's been many years now, and a very popular restaurant currently occupies those premises, so it's safe to tell the true story without fear that the Men in Black will show up at our door in the dead of night.

No one ever makes a new year's resolution like this: "This year I resolve to find a product which will magically turn me thin, and I resolve to buy it." No one ever makes a new year's resolution like this, either: "This year I will find a magic expert to take over my life and by following them exactly I will lose weight."

New Year's Resolutions are promises that we make to ourselves. Some of us believe in making New Year's resolutions; some don't. I happen to believe in them. I believe that it is our obligation to strive to better ourselves, and that making promises to ourselves to do certain things (or not do certain things, as the case may be) will help us to accomplish our goals is one tool we can use to improve ourselves. The trouble is that most of us don't know squat about making effective promises - to ourselves or to anybody else.

I thought at great length about my new year's resolutions for 2002. All the old goals are in full swing and working, so repeating them was redundant. But my personality demands a new year's resolution, and so I thought and thought.

The best tip I can give you for make-ahead main dishes is to buy ahead. My stepmother routinely serves beef tenderloins and veggies at Christmas. Turkey and sometimes ham are on sale around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Beef isn't. Every year she finds beef tenderloins on sale during the summer. She buys them, wraps them well, freezes them until the day before Christmas, and saves a bundle. It's too late for this year, I suppose, but don't forget this tip next summer.

The worst thing about preparing holiday meals is... preparing the holiday meals. It really is difficult timing everything to be ready to serve at the same time, especially when you want to socialize with your family and friends and not be isolated in the kitchen silently (or not so silently) tearing your hair out by the roots. Included are 10 Low-Carb Appetizers, Salads & Beverages recipes for a successful holiday meal.

In "Low Carb Cooking 101" CarbSmart presents meal plans complete with a menu, a shopping list, a game plan, and recipes. The meals will not be too time-consuming or complicated, and the recipes will be ones that inexperienced cooks can make successfully.