How to eat healthi(er) at Jose Pepper's

(Oh, and a restaurant review.) 

Yes, it is possible to go to a Mexican restaurant and not blow your healthy eating, balanced-carbs plan. Here's my strategy:

1. Count how many chips you eat. Notice I'm not telling you how many to eat. In the past, I've always either decided ahead of time to eat no chips whatsoever (my rare approach), or decided ahead of time to not eat "too many," but then go ahead and do it anyway (my more common approach). Today, I decided I would just count chips as I ate them. I hadn't made up my mind what number I was going to stop at, but the mere mindfulness of counting slowed me down considerably. You might try this and see if it helps. YMMV.

2. Skip the white flour and white rice. I love their fish taco, but it's so packed with flavor, you really don't need the tortilla. (And picking it up to eat it is REALLY messy!) So I just remove the little taco prop that it comes served in, lay the tortilla out flat, and eat the content off it as if the tortilla were the dish. Neater, cleaner, saved some white carbs and some fat, with no sacrifice in flavor or enjoyment!

3. Get veggies instead of rice and beans. I love this about Jose Pepper's: that you can even get vegetables as a side is great, but these actually taste good! A mix of broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash and (tiny shreds of) carrots, they're generously seasoned and cooked just to crisp-tender.

4. And -- do I really need to say this? Skip the little ball of cornmeal and honey! That's nothing but a sugar bomb, and if you never taste it to begin with, you can do a head-fake on yourself and just imagine that it tastes really awful!

As to a review of the restaurant itself... The one we frequent is on 13th Street near the Warren Theater in east Wichita. We go there almost every Sunday for lunch, and although they're always busy, we rarely have to wait long for a table. The staff is always friendly and on top of things. They also have a gluten-free information sheet available on request.

Jose Pepper's website.

Recipe review: Pork paillards with sour cream sauce

photo from marthastewart.com

So, to use up the other half of the tenderloin I used the other night to make herb roasted pork tenderloin, I was again looking for something quick but tasty. I remembered a Martha Stewart recipe I'd torn from a magazine and tucked away months ago, and tracked it down on the web. Here it is: Pork paillards with sour cream paprika sauce.

A paillard (pronounced "pie-YARD") is simply a cut of boneless meat that that been pounded thin. They're easy to make -- the pounding can be very therapeutic if you've had a stressful day! And because they're thin and of even thickness, they cook quickly and evenly. Here's a step-by-step explanation, also from Martha.

I made this recipe exactly as written, with the exception of swapping out ancho chili powder for the paprika, in about half the quantity. And since we avoid white flour, I served it with brown rice rather than egg noodles, with a side of green beans and pine nuts.

It was a big hit with both the hubs and me. I'll definitely be making this one again!

How many packets of Splenda equal * of sugar?

While granulated Splenda can be measured cup-for-cup in baking, it has a lot of maltodextrin in it, which affects my body about the same as, or maybe even worse than sugar. So I try to stick with the Splenda packets. I know they also contain a little filler, too, but not nearly as much as the granulated version.

One packet equals the sweetness of two teaspoons of sugar, but has nowhere near the same volume. So how do you tell how many packets of Splenda to use to sub for a tablespoon, 1/3 cup, or one whole cup of sugar? Find all those answers here, on this Splenda conversion chart.

(No, I'm not shilling for Splenda, and yes, I know it's got man-made chemicals and probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world. But sometimes, it's just the best substitute, and as long as you're not drinking buckets of it every day in your coffee, pop or tea, I think a little now and then probably won't hurt the average person.)

Recipe review: Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin

(Plus a recipe for Emergency Herbs de Provence)

It was one of those days when 4:30 was here before I knew it, and I didn't have dinner planned. I have no good excuse. Not even a lousy one.

What to do? Same as usual, when "the usual" doesn't sound good... Hit a recipe website I trust and search for "quick." After a couple other stand-by's (All Recipes, Simply Recipes), I landed on Pioneer Woman and came up with her Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Preserves. Which sounds and look very elegant, but is super, super simple, and comes together in 30 minutes or less.

photo by Pioneer Woman

Basically, you salt and pepper a pork tenderloin, then coat it generously in Herbs de Provence before roasting. Top it off with a simple fruit-preserves-based sauce.

Not having any Herbs de Provence on hand, I googled for a recipe. I came up with several, but ended up using (as a starting point) this one by Emeril. (Yeah, we're on a first-name basis.)

Herbs de Provence often contains lavender, but I didn't have any on hand.  :/

Why this one? Well, because all the herbs have the same proportion, and I like simple! From what I understand, Herbs de Provence has some standard ingredients that are almost always in the mix, but the mix has evolved over time and also, every cook has his or her own variation. Which is great, because there were several ingredients I didn't have on hand. So here's my variation:

Recipe: (Emergency) Herbs de Provence

for one 1.35 lb. tenderloin; multiply as needed

1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried rosemary
1 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. dried ground sage

PW's original recipe called for 8 tablespoons of H.d.P. That's half a cup - yikes! She was cooking up two whole tenderloins; I was just fixing one tenderloin, slightly over one pound. So I just used all of the above mix, and I still thought it was plenty potently 'picy!

A note on cooking pork... Rather than cooking by time, use a meat thermometer. Pull the roast from the oven when the temp hits 140-145 F. Then tent lightly with foil and let rest at room temp, till the internal temp hits about 160. Slice and serve. Mmm... perfectly tender and juicy!

For the sauce, PW recommends fig, peach, plum, or whatever preserves you wish. I used blackberry. It adds a lovely sweetness that mellows the pungent herb crust. Perfect for a quick dinner for just me and the hubs -- but impressive and foolproof enough to serve special guests!

Where to eat in Wichita: Fizz Burgers

I have to confess, when Fizz opened in my neighborhood and I saw the signs, I was so appalled at the logo that I had no interest in trying the place out! I mean, tell me that this doesn't look like it actually says "Pizz"!

Plus, that pistachio green color -- one of my favorites, but not one I want to associate with burgers!

Luckily, though, my hairdresser Annie (who works a few doors down) told me that they had really good burgers. So my husband and I tried it out, and it was instantly our new favorite casual spot. (The hubs still insists on calling it Pizz, though. Ha. Ha.)

They do have great burgers, but they also have a great chicken sandwich (try it with avocado, bacon, and garlic aioli) and good salads. I love the chicken tortilla salad; in fact, it's the inspiration for my own make-ahead Tex-Mex salad. (Sorry, no pic yet. Another one of those days when I was so hungry, I was halfway through the salad before I realized it!) In addition to the greens and chicken (alternately, you can order it with pulled pork), there's avocado, cheddar cheese, black beans, tortilla strips, red onion, and a very tasty dressing. 

But what Fizz is probably best loved for is their fries. They have some great traditional skin-on fries (my favorite kind!), shown here in a pic from their website with what looks like a mushroom and Swizz burger.

But what really puts them on the map is their sweet potato fries! (Did you know that sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than white potatoes? Crazy, huh?! Plus, they have a ton of Vitamin A.) I've tried s.p. fries at number of restaurants, and I definitely like these the best. They don't have that weird tang that you often get, plus they're not crusted with unnecessary sugar and/or cinnamon. You can also ask to have your order half-and-half: half regular fries and half sweet potato fries.

They have six different dipping sauces you can order with either kind of fries: Garlic Aioli · Roasted Garlic · Smoked Pepper Mayo · Ranch · Pecan · Ketchup · Spicy Ketchup. And they'll gladly bring you a bit of however many you want. But with the sweet potato fries, you gotta try the pecan sauce! It's a little sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Oh, and they also offer dozens of different unique soda pops in bottles. Wine and beer, too. Dessert is available: cute little cake pops. I've never tried one, but I gave my sister one and she said it was "the best!"

Locally owned. Open for lunch and dinner Mon. - Sat. Closed Sunday. :(

Fizz website