snack:urday - two recipes, one book

i can't believe i just referenced one of the world's worst online videos in my post title. what am i thinking?

last saturday, given the extreme amounts of anxiousness pouring from my body and wanting the time to pass quickly before seeing silversun pickups, i decided to make a couple recipes from my new cookbook: "now eat this" by rocco dispirito, a cookbook that takes 150 comfort foods and makes the result under 350 calories! 

the entree i decided to make was paella (pronounced pah-eh-ya because the ll is always pronounces as a y no matter how toby young thinks it should be said). i chose that because it is simple and includes two of my favorite proteins: chorizo and shrimp! it's so simple, in fact, that you can make it in one dish which leaves less clean up afterwards. score! the one downfall? a main ingredient is saffron and if you know anything about spices, this is the most expensive. you get about two teaspoons of threads for around $15. but well worth it, i believe. this paella was quite delicious. the flavors were good, the rice was tender and delicious and, c'mon, it's got chorizo people! how can you go wrong? plus, it looks almost exaclty the same as it does in the photo. that never happens.

the second dish i chose to make was brownies. i am a huge brownie fan. give me these over cookies any day. however, i felt these would be a little strange considering they were to be made out of black beans. no you did not read that wrong. black beans is one of the main ingredients because they're sweet and lower the calorie count considerably. these ones, however, did not turn out just like the picture, but they were still good! the texture turned out to be more along the lines of fudge rather than a brownie and the taste startles you at first, but then you kinda think to yourself "oh, this is alright!" i didn't make them exactly like the recipe (i used real sugar instead of truvia), but i enjoyed the overall flavor. do i prefer them to real brownies? no. but do i prefer a few less calories every now and then? yes.

this book is awesome. i'm going to have to pick my next attempt soon.