No one says "Easy as Brownies"

How is it that most things are better home-made from scratch, except brownies? I've had a hard time ever finding a recipe that really beats a good box mix; equal, yes, but not really better. Maybe I'm alone in this, I don't know. Well, sometimes you just need a brownie, so I've been trying to make a Dex+ version. I think this is about try #7. While these have not met my standards of brownie perfection, they definitely satisfy that "I really need a brownie" feeling.

Mousse au Chocolat Dex+, in progress

This is my third attempt at a Dex+ version of my mom's Mousse au Chocolat recipe. It came out very rich, thick, and tasty. The chocolate and egg yolk mixture was a bit too thick though; I had to stopped folding to prevent deflating the egg whites before the mixture was smooth. That left soft chocolate pockets that were actually enjoyable, if not true to the recipe standard.

I topped it with whipped cream, flavored with a little dextrose, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. They looked elegant in the Margarita glasses. After a steak dinner, the portion size was actually a bit large. Next time I'll reduce the size, and adjust the thickness to get a smoother mousse. But, we sure did enjoy it.

Trifecta: Fiber is a beautiful thing!

What is beautiful about fiber? With Benefiber or similar, I can add a spoonful of powder to anything liquid. It becomes invisible, doesn't thicken, and has only the barest hint of taste in straight water. It disappears in my food.

Fiber in a blue glass jar.

Lemon Lime Soda Dex+

Sweetened drinks. They are everywhere. We all love them. When I talk about Dex+, I see the pained look on faces after I mention not drinking sweet drinks, whether sugared, natural juices, or artificially sweetened. The kids struggle with it too. 

We have a Soda Stream, and Simple Syrup Dex+. I've tried to re-create Dr Pepper, and so far failed. Colas are mysterious. Then it struck me: lemon lime soda. We usually have both. How hard can it be? Turns out, not very!

Thermogenex: it's bonafide!

I love this photo! I feel this way for a moment every shower, when the first cold cycle hits. Ray, your Thermogenex / Hypothermics is indeed the perfect complement for my Dex+ food hack!

I've said it before; I love steamy showers. I don't like being cold. But I lost over twice as much weight last month because I tried Ray's crazy cyclic showers. Seriously. 

Of cabbages and kings... Cashews, BP, maple syrup, et all

I've been pretty busy lately, dabbling with multiple things. I've made a Dex+ ketchup, which my daughter says tastes too much like tomatoes (?!); it does need a bit more zing. Not ready for prime-time yet, but it's promising. It tasted better warm than it did after chilling down. I'm close on some other new recipes too; wish there was more time in the day!

A montage of thoughts...

Thermogenex: another thing to try

A friend recently started trying Dex+, and also mentioned adding exercise. Next thing I know, I'm telling her cold showers are probably better. That sounded kind of crazy, even to me. My husband had been telling me about this crazy self-experimentation guy has been loosing weight by taking cold showers. A crazy guy that worked for NASA, seems to have a spread-sheet and data collecting fetish, and worked on ECLSS for Space Station. Then I thought, wait, do I know him? Why have I been ignoring that guy? Just because I like hot showers? Ummm, yes, I think that's it.

Now I've been reading his Hypothermics blog, trying to catch up. It makes a lot of sense to me. Wouldn't sacrificing steamy showers be worth loosing weight a lot faster? Today the answer is yes, it's certainly worth a try! So, I've downloaded the spread sheet. I've taken measurements, and recorded all my starting data. And, I took my first Thermogenex contrast shower. Not so terribly bad... if the payoff is high, it just might be worth it. It should complement Dex+ nicely. It's free, and if it works, I'll give him a donation. And maybe once the weight is gone, I can have my hot showers back...

Trust but verify. We'll see how it goes.

Controlling Fructose: Yep, I got it! Dex+

Took me a while to notice there was a second "Bitter Truth" video: 

Fat Chance: Fructose 2.0

I watched it to see if I'd missed anything, or gotten anything wrong. There is new info, and it tracks with what I've been experiencing (happy!). TL;DR: Here's my take on it:

European-Style Hot Chocolate Dex+

I'm so pleased! My daughter went to Hamacon last night, and got hot chocolate. Now, here's the awesome part: she said it tasted so weak and sickly sweet that she had to give it away! She also couldn't drink the Dr Pepper! My scheme is working; my children don't like fructose-laden foods any more. Of course this also means that her friends think our "sweets" aren't sweet enough... I may need to add extra sweeteners when they visit.

In her honor, I wanted to make some real hot chocolate. I've had Jacques Torres' hot chocolate on Valantine's before (hugs to my DH); it's delicious, rich and thick. If I could Dex+ that, wow! But he doesn't share his recipe; hmmm.

Tasty Salad with Basil Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is one of my son's favorite things. In fact, he claimed the over-filled bowl in the photo here, because it was the largest. :)  I've been making vinaigrette and tossing it into salad before serving ever since I saw it done on America's Test Kitchen, although I skip the shallots and mustard. Then my sister-in-law gave us a bottle of basil olive oil, and a bottle of fig balsamic vinegar; that added a new lovely dimension I would not have thought of! Now that we've run out, I add those flavors back in myself.

Lessons Learned: Dex+

Look at my beautiful weight chart!

My weight chart, starting from the beginning of Dex+; each line is a pound.

Last August, I discovered "The bitter truth" about fructose. That day, I started my mission to control fructose.  I also started telling my kids all about what I had learned. They clearly found my enthusiasm humorous, but they also appreciate my quirks and determination. And they like my cooking; if reducing fructose means more tasty food experiments, where's the down side?

Berries and Vanilla Yogurt Dex+

We wanted some dessert, so I added a little Simple Syrup Dex+ and vanilla to some yogurt, and poured it over some fresh blueberries. Perfect! I love it when berries are in season.