A Guilt-Free Feast

And it's shaping up to be yet another busy weekend. I've got dinner plans tonight, a volunteer assignment bright and early tomorrow followed by shopping in the afternoon with some gal pals, then a friend's Bon Voyage party tomorrow night and a dinner/housewarming party to attend on Sunday. Phew. It's definitely been hard to keep my girlish figure what with all the activity. Fortunately, though, I just talked to the friend who is hosting the Sunday dinner party and she told me to rest assured that the meal won't be too high in fat. For starters, they're grilling up a low-calorie barbecued steak made with Diet Coke and sugar substitutes.
Check it out!

BARBECUED STEAK
2 (7 oz.) beef steaks (any cut)
6 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. catsup
2 tbsp. Diet Coke
1 tbsp. brown sugar replacement
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 clove garlic, minced
Dash ground red pepper

Directions: In saucepan, combine all ingredients except steak. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Trim any fat from steaks. Pierce meat on both sides with fork. Place steaks in shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over steaks, turning to coat well. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Heat broiler, remove steaks from sauce and place on rack of broiler pan. Cook 4 inches from heat source 4 minutes on each side for rare, 6 minutes for medium and 8 minutes for well done, brushing with any remaining sauce in pan. Note: If there is not time to marinate steaks, brush the sauce over the steaks while grilling. This recipe serves two with 5-ounce beef each.

I've also been asked to provide a low-calorie dessert. Fortunately, I just found this yummy looking tiramisu recipe on Weight Watchers. Can.Not.Wait.

I also offered to contribute some liquor to the festivities, so I'll be bringing my oft-requested, famous (or should I say, Hungry Girl's famous) sangria.

Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine
1 can Sprite Zero (or 1 1/2 cups of any diet lemon-lime soda)
1 cup Diet Ocean Spray Cranberry Pomegranate (or another flavor of Diet Ocean Spray)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 small orange, peeled and chopped
Half a Fuji apple, chopped
Half a slightly under-ripe banana, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks (if canned, packed in juice)

Directions:
Place fruit in a large container that will not stain easily (like a glass pitcher or a high-quality plastic one). Cover fruit with wine and cranberry drink, and give mixture a good stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 hours. Once ready to serve, add soda and give it a good stir. Pour and be sure to get a nice amount of fruit in each glass.

See? Sometimes you CAN dine and drink without immediately running to the gym afterward. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to my guilt-free party.

For a little sunshine on a gray Friday afternoon, check out this cool Coke campaign. Anyone else really, really wish they were in the cafeteria when all that fun stuff went down?