Not going to lie. It's been a really weird week. Honestly, I should save this post for tomorrow, but no one knows what tomorrow holds, so what the hell.

When last I posted, I had officially hit "the stall". I'll address that more tomorrow. Suffices to say, I went off the rails for the entire week instead of just two days and honestly, that's OK. It's about the journey, really. More tomorrow.

Speaking of, the food is getting dull and I was thinking about the ubiquitous utility chicken based lifestyle I'm currently embracing and how I could make that suck less. Then I remembered how much I learned the first time I did this and how many new flavors I not only tolerated, but began to enjoy.

The thing is, when you're doing a low calorie diet, you don't have to give up on flavor as much as you'd think. There are plenty of things you can have on hand that lend a fair amount of flavor without going over the top on calories. And honestly, you'll probably burn more calories in the prep of these time saving flavor enhancers than you will consuming them.

First up are mushrooms. I like to keep fresh mushrooms on hand, strictly for sauteing until dry, to bring our their earthy goodness. Because they are almost dry when I'm done, they stand on their own in most dishes where they appear as a nice bass note to reset the palate and help you face that next bite.

I also like to keep pre-caramelized onions on hand for a last minute bounce to a dish. If you do it right, it's almost like an onion-jam and can be spread on low carb bread or tortillas or mixed in with soups.

I only use a little bit of spray lube at the beginning. Then, over about an hour, I let them cook down, adding a little water when they start to dry to prevent burning, deglaze the pan, and re-dissolve the sugar. When the water evaporates, I do it again and again until my onions take on that milk-chocolate color I want and are basically sugar and cellulose. They really are quite good.

I like to pre-roast some red bell peppers and keep them in the fridge. It's a very simple process. You just scorch them over high heat. You can do it in your oven or your barbecue grill for more smokey peppers, but I do them on an open burner on my stove. The goal is to turn the skin black all over which will loosen and peel right off IF you wrap them tightly with plastic wrap or place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. The point is to let the residual heat and trapped moisture further loosen the charred skin. They may then be rinsed, cored and sliced into strips or chopped or whized into a coulis if you so desire. The point is, they add a sweet fruity note to whatever you add them to which breaks the monotony of diet food.

The last thing I like to keep on hand is roasted garlic. Unless you use the little clay garlic roasters, you're probably steaming it in foil like I do, but the results are the same. Garlic that is sweet, nutty, dissolves easily in liquid or spreads easily on roasted veg. Also, you get the the satisfaction of squeezing the garlic from the skins in a game I like to call "Doctor Garlic Popper."

Anyway, enjoy the video. I'm so incompetent.