Friday Night Victory (ian Epicure)

I told yas that we were NOT ordering pizza last night and I stuck to my guns! I was glad that Hubby was on board with that decision because it's not fun to have it here for "him" and have to restrain myself from digging in. Deprivation WILL lead to falling "off the wagon" every time. The thing with me lately has been that I don't feel like I even "want" it, but once it's here, I'd end up having it, not enjoying it and then wishing I didn't to begin with!

I don't know why I do that, but I know that my "will power" muscle is starting to learn and get stronger. I'm starting to break that "cycle" of giving in to foods that I don't necessarily "want" but "used to want." My tastes have changed, but my memory sometimes gets stuck in that old way of thinking. When you struggle for so long trying to avoid high calorie foods that you love, it becomes a game of mental strength and those constant mental power struggles have staying power. I'm now starting to notice what's "old" stuff and what's "new". It's quite a feat actually! It feels GREAT and almost like a HUGE mountain defeated when I realize that I didn't even actually want that disgusting pizza to begin with! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pizza, but my idea of good pizza is much different now. I enjoy healthier versions. This is proof that eventually the mindset does change. Habits do not happen overnight. They have to be developed to become second nature and I feel incredible that I have gotten to that point where the healthy more vegetable-friendly option is the appealing one for me :-)

Sooooo now to original point of my post! Last night's supper was delicious and due, in part, to two of the fabulous Epicure products that I got to try out.

The first was the Red Garlic Sansel:

I bought these pork loin center chops which apparently were "raised without antibiotics" and were "vegetable grain fed" and I found them at the regular grocery store. The label was "duBreton." Does vegetable grain fed include corn? Is that distinction different from "grass fed" in Canada? I am still researching this stuff guys! Any insight you have is always appreciated). I seasoned the pork loin center chops with salt, pepper and the Red Garlic Sansel on each side:

Then I grilled them on both sides on a stove top grill pan with a little EVOO until browned with grill marks and then I put the entire grill pan into the oven at 390 to finish off (since they were fairly thick and I didn't want to burn the outsides). The results were delicious:

I served it with a side salad (mixed baby greens, julienned carrot, beet & sliced red onion) topped with sun-dried tomato salad dressing, turnips mashed with becel, S&P, and mashed potatoes:

Only the mashed potatoes also had a delicious Epicure addition too:

The result:

The entire meal was delicious and I felt great afterwards, unlike the yucky greasy pizza that could have been!

So these two Epicure products get my thumbs up too! So far so good with these products and especially since the ingredients are recognizable and short-listed - a big kudos to Epicure!