We had a function at work today. It was a cookout. The company provided hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, buns, and chips. We were asked to bring side dishes and desserts. Usually at this type of event there will be a lot of carb loaded side dishes, so I thought I would offer something a little on the healthier side. It comes it a little under 200 calories for a serving of about a half cup. This is a rough estimate, I should use my food scale and actually figure this stuff out, but who has the time for that?
Ingredients:
1 pound raw broccoli (or more, go nuts if you want to)
2 cups uncooked Quinoa
1 can "Cream of XYZ" soup (I used chicken and mushroom, 98% fat free)
1/2 cup of Mayo (I used the olive oil kind)
8 Ounces of Shredded Cheese (Plus more for sprinkling on top)
Pepper, Tony Cachere's (or seasoned salt, or your own spices)
Directions:
Steam Broccolli and set aside
Cook Quinoa according to your packages directions
Add broccoli to your casserole dish and break apart with kitchen shears or a spatule
Mix in quinoa, soup, mayo and cheese.
Add pepper and other seasonings to taste.
Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to get crispy
Sprinkle cheese on top and bake until cheese is nice and melty.
Serve and Enjoy!
Sorry about not having pictures. Again, not the prettiest dish ever, but quite tasty.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Chili - My Post Op Twist
Wow, sorry friends, I have been MIA for a while now. Truthfully I have not done a lot of cooking in the past month or so. I have no excuse for July, but August was full of visits from friends and family and a lot of going to restaurants. All the dining out was not do great for my waistline or my wallet. Thankfully I have not gained weight, I managed to keep it in check. This month of crazy eating habits and locations has shown me that I really have learned to live a healthier lifestyle when it comes to food. I make better choices now, it becomes second nature. I will be posting later about some of the decisions that I encountered during my dining out month, as well as a few pins that I tried out when I did get the chance to cook. If you are not already on it, check out pinterest, there are a lot of great ideas out there for making tasty and healthy food.
Anyway, back to the point at hand, chili. A coworker mentioned that her family had chili and cornbread recently, and the thought of it made my mouth water. (A note on cornbread a little later, but for now let's focus on the chili) So I had to set out to make myself some chili, but chili itself would not cut it...
My love affair with this spicy meaty goodness started when our church in Missouri had a chili cook off. Prior to the cook off chili was just a bowl of tomato based soup with beans and meat, it was alright but nothing special. At this cook off, though, we discovered something strange. Next to all the crockpots were bowls of rice, and at the tables there was sour cream and cheese. Interesting, no? My dad did a little reconnaissance and discovered that you put the rice in the bowl first, top it with the chili, the add a sprinkle of cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Oh My Word. It is good. If you haven't ever had chili like this, and you are allowed to eat rice, please go out and try it. I swear you will never eat the straight stuff again. The rice adds bulk and texture, the sour cream makes it smooth, the cheese coats the spoon... excuse me while I wipe drool off my keyboard. Rice is a no go for me now, sour cream as well, and chili can be pretty fatty.
Nik, over at Bariatric Foodie, always says to play with your food. Thankfully I was pretty good at this before I ever had surgery. I have never met a recipe I stuck to entirely. My calorie saving / carb saving / fat saving tricks for chili the way I wanted it were as follows: Quinoa for Rice, Greek Yogurt for Sour Cream, Ground Turkey for Ground Beef. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.
To make Quinoa:
Rinse quinoa in a mesh strainer until water runs clear. Combine in pot, 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. Bring to a rolling boil, then drop to low and simmer until done. Fluff with a fork. How do you know it is done? Look for the ring. If you need more info than that, check out Nik's post about cooking quinoa.
To make Chili:
1 pound ground turkey (I get the package that is a little more than a pound)
1 onion
1 can Kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel (I used the Hot, but be warned, it really kicks it up a notch)
1 packet McCormick Chili Seasoning (or your own seasoning mix)
1 cup of beef broth
Drain and rinse your beans in a strainer, don't wash it right away you will use it again later for the meat. Add the tomatoes, rotel, beans, broth and seasoning packet to your crockpot and set to high (if you will be gone all day set it to low). Stir to combine. Dice your onion and saute it until translucent, add onions to your soup. I added a little garlic salt to my meat before I started cooking it. (yeah i know this is a salt heavy meal, thats why I drain and rinse the beans, if you are watching your sodium you can use garlic powder, and make your own seasoning mix, add jalepenos and fresh tomatoes instead of canned rotel) Brown your meat, drain the fat and add to your soup. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. I let mine go a couple of hours in the crock pot.
To Serve:
Scoop a half cup of the quinoa into the bowl. Ladle a few scoops of chili on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt. Sit back and look at that beautiful creation you have made. Isn't is pretty? Ok, enough of that. Mix that bad boy together and dig in. Delicious no? I loved it! I got the comfort of home that I was craving, without eating items that are so bad for me. I win!
Oh yeah, the cornbread. I miss cornbread. It is one of those things that I just don't eat any more. I loved it, but I have not found a way to convert it into something not bad for me. That is not to say I never have cornbread. One thing I have done on this journey is to deny myself nothing. Oh sure I have rules that I follow, but I know myself well enough to know that I like to break rules. Especially rules that I have set for myself. On that note, nothing is completely off limits. I can have a bite of a brownie, or a nibble of cornbread, even a tiny sip of grape soda. I don't keep things like this in my home as I know I will take advantage of that one bite rule and eventually eat the whole thing. But if someone has a dessert that looks yummy, I can have a bite. One good thing is that I know that if I have more than one I will greatly regret it. Dumping is awful people, avoid at all costs. This method works for me, I don't feel like I am always on a diet, I feel like I am making healthy choices. Plus, mentally, the first bite of anything is the best, all other bites are just trying to recreate that sensation that you had on the first one.
Sorry no pictures this time around, my camera phone is bad... plus chili isn't really attractive as a food in general. Stay tuned for my thoughts on summer movies, dining out in the post op world and other things.
Anyway, back to the point at hand, chili. A coworker mentioned that her family had chili and cornbread recently, and the thought of it made my mouth water. (A note on cornbread a little later, but for now let's focus on the chili) So I had to set out to make myself some chili, but chili itself would not cut it...
My love affair with this spicy meaty goodness started when our church in Missouri had a chili cook off. Prior to the cook off chili was just a bowl of tomato based soup with beans and meat, it was alright but nothing special. At this cook off, though, we discovered something strange. Next to all the crockpots were bowls of rice, and at the tables there was sour cream and cheese. Interesting, no? My dad did a little reconnaissance and discovered that you put the rice in the bowl first, top it with the chili, the add a sprinkle of cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Oh My Word. It is good. If you haven't ever had chili like this, and you are allowed to eat rice, please go out and try it. I swear you will never eat the straight stuff again. The rice adds bulk and texture, the sour cream makes it smooth, the cheese coats the spoon... excuse me while I wipe drool off my keyboard. Rice is a no go for me now, sour cream as well, and chili can be pretty fatty.
Nik, over at Bariatric Foodie, always says to play with your food. Thankfully I was pretty good at this before I ever had surgery. I have never met a recipe I stuck to entirely. My calorie saving / carb saving / fat saving tricks for chili the way I wanted it were as follows: Quinoa for Rice, Greek Yogurt for Sour Cream, Ground Turkey for Ground Beef. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.
To make Quinoa:
Rinse quinoa in a mesh strainer until water runs clear. Combine in pot, 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa. Bring to a rolling boil, then drop to low and simmer until done. Fluff with a fork. How do you know it is done? Look for the ring. If you need more info than that, check out Nik's post about cooking quinoa.
To make Chili:
1 pound ground turkey (I get the package that is a little more than a pound)
1 onion
1 can Kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel (I used the Hot, but be warned, it really kicks it up a notch)
1 packet McCormick Chili Seasoning (or your own seasoning mix)
1 cup of beef broth
Drain and rinse your beans in a strainer, don't wash it right away you will use it again later for the meat. Add the tomatoes, rotel, beans, broth and seasoning packet to your crockpot and set to high (if you will be gone all day set it to low). Stir to combine. Dice your onion and saute it until translucent, add onions to your soup. I added a little garlic salt to my meat before I started cooking it. (yeah i know this is a salt heavy meal, thats why I drain and rinse the beans, if you are watching your sodium you can use garlic powder, and make your own seasoning mix, add jalepenos and fresh tomatoes instead of canned rotel) Brown your meat, drain the fat and add to your soup. Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. I let mine go a couple of hours in the crock pot.
To Serve:
Scoop a half cup of the quinoa into the bowl. Ladle a few scoops of chili on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with a dollop of greek yogurt. Sit back and look at that beautiful creation you have made. Isn't is pretty? Ok, enough of that. Mix that bad boy together and dig in. Delicious no? I loved it! I got the comfort of home that I was craving, without eating items that are so bad for me. I win!
Oh yeah, the cornbread. I miss cornbread. It is one of those things that I just don't eat any more. I loved it, but I have not found a way to convert it into something not bad for me. That is not to say I never have cornbread. One thing I have done on this journey is to deny myself nothing. Oh sure I have rules that I follow, but I know myself well enough to know that I like to break rules. Especially rules that I have set for myself. On that note, nothing is completely off limits. I can have a bite of a brownie, or a nibble of cornbread, even a tiny sip of grape soda. I don't keep things like this in my home as I know I will take advantage of that one bite rule and eventually eat the whole thing. But if someone has a dessert that looks yummy, I can have a bite. One good thing is that I know that if I have more than one I will greatly regret it. Dumping is awful people, avoid at all costs. This method works for me, I don't feel like I am always on a diet, I feel like I am making healthy choices. Plus, mentally, the first bite of anything is the best, all other bites are just trying to recreate that sensation that you had on the first one.
Sorry no pictures this time around, my camera phone is bad... plus chili isn't really attractive as a food in general. Stay tuned for my thoughts on summer movies, dining out in the post op world and other things.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Lasagna!
No my friend, you did not find a typo, the topic of the day is lasagna. Each of has to make decisions about our diet in life. No matter if you are reading this because you have had weight loss surgery or because you try to lead a healthy lifestyle, or because you are my friend and wanted to see what I am up to. We all have to decide what our diet will look like. A lot of people cut out all white bread and carb products from their diet. I have not gone that route, I don't want to make hard and fast rules because I know myself well enough to know that I like to break rules. I allow myself bread products and potatoes on occasion. I always try to make sure to incorporate protein into these things though.
I do not allow myself to have pasta or rice of any kind though. I miss pasta on occasion, I miss rice all the time. Replacing pasta with zucchini though has changed my life. I had heard of this before, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I follow the blogs of two fellow gastric bypass recipients and one of them posted about making spaghetti out of zucchini. I tried it on a whim. I fell in love. I started toying with the idea of replacing the noodles in lasagna with zucchini and it worked really well. You don't miss the noodles, no seriously, you don't miss the noodles. Here is a picture of my first attempt (my second one was smaller).
Everything in this recipe stays the same as a normal lasagna, just replace the noodles with zucchini. By an interesting twist of events I was making this dish outside of my own home. My plan had been to use the awesome mandolin that my mom got me for Christmas to make really long thin slices of the zucchini. I left the mandolin in the drawer at home though. So I got the bright idea to use a vegetable peeler, as I did not trust myself with a knife, to get the thin slices that I wanted. It worked beautifully. My trick was to leave a chunk of green at the end of the zucchini to hold on to and then slowly pull the peeler down the length of the squash to get a slice that was just the right thickness. It will have a big scoop in it but thats ok. I probably would have set the mandolin too thick had I remembered my magical tool. As it was the zucchini was just right to stand in texturally for the noodles. In fact it worked so well that an unsuspecting diner (my brother) stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and exclaimed "Wait, so there are no noodles in here?"
I have made this dish twice now. If you want a pretty lasagna, you probably want to look elsewhere. If you want a low carb Italian treat, this is definitely for you. It does not serve up in a tidy little stack like at a restaurant. It is best served in a bowl. But it is damn tasty.
Ingredients:
1 Pound Italian Sausage
2 Cans Tomatoes
1 Can Tomato Paste
2 Eggs
1 Small Tub Ricotta
Italian Seasoning or Basil
Mozzarella Cheese (2 - 3 Cups)
Zucchini (3 Small or 2 Large)
How To:
Brown sausage in a skillet, drain and return to pan. Drain the canned tomatoes and add to the skillet with the sausage. Add in about half of the can of tomato paste and stir together. Let the sauce simmer while you prep all the other ingredients.
In a food processor, blend together the eggs and ricotta. Blend in a cup to a cup and a half of the mozzarella and a big dash of the Italian seasoning. Allow to sit while you work on the zucchini.
Using the vegetable peeler, peel long strips of zucchini and place aside in a bowl or or on a plate.
Assemble your lasagna in layers. Sauce goes down first, them zucchini followed my cheese mix and repeat. To make sure that I don't run out, I mentally divide my ingredients into fourths and only take a portion for each layer. I was only able to do three layers in my second attempt, but it still tastes great. You need one less layer of cheese mix than of sauce, so plan ahead. The last set of layers should skip the ricotta and just have a heap of mozzarella on top.
Bake at 375 for half an hour to an hour. You want it to get bubbly on the edges and have nicely golden brown cheese on top.
Modifications:
Try spicy sausage, swap in fresh tomatoes (squeeze the seeds and juice out first), try eggplant or squash, try an Alfredo sauce instead of red on a few layers, try chicken sausage, add mushrooms, blend in spinach to the cheese mixture. Make it yours!
Happy Dining!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
100 Calorie Blueberry Muffins!
Blueberry Muffins! Only one hundred calories a piece. And these are not mini-muffins either. I a not ashamed to say that as a kid my family dug on the muffins from the packet. You know the kind with the dried blueberries, you add milk and oil to it throw it in the oven and voila! Loved em. I looked up the fancy kind of muffin mix (the kind with the blueberries in the little tin). 220 calories in a muffin, and only one gram of protein. I started playing with the idea of adding ricotta to my muffins like I do my pancakes... the result was pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
The ricotta adds a good deal of moisture to the muffins and the blueberries add volume without adding lots of calories. I tried two different versions, one version had ricotta and eggs on top and added a cheesecake like topping, but the inside was a bit dry. Mixing the ricotta into the batter made the muffins much more moist.
Recipe:
3 Cups Heart Smart Bisquick
1 Cup Skim Milk
2 Eggs
1 Cup 0% Greek Yogurt
15 oz. Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1 Pint of Blueberries
Splenda to Taste
In a large bowl, combine the bisquick, milk and eggs. Stir until everything is nicely blended. Whisk in the yogurt and the ricotta cheese. Really whisk it to get those lumps to dissolve into the batter. Give it a taste at this point and add splenda to sweeten it to your liking. I think I used 3 Tablespoons or so. Rinse the blueberries and pat dry with a paper towel. Fold in the blueberries to the batter. I used a a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter into muffin tins. I used muffin wrappers, but I would spray the pan and skip that step as they really stuck to the wrapper. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a fork comes out clean and you are starting to see the beautiful golden brown color on top.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Grillin and Chillin
Summer is upon us, and with that comes the time to fire up the old grill. My tried and true items on the gill are chicken and corn. For post-ops, the summer season is a great time. Grilling was made for high protein low carb meals, plus being outside is a great way to get exercise. Go for a walk or a run, play tennis or hit the pool.
How to Grill Chicken:
I admit, I stole this from Bariatric Foodie, but I will repeat it for you here. Marinate your chicken in greek yogurt. I like to mix different marinades with the yogurt. That's it. That's the trick to perfectly tender chicken on the grill.
How to Grill Corn:
Step one, get some butter. Step two get some spices, I like simple salt and pepper. Seasoned salt works well too. Mix spices into butter. Peel back the husks of the corn and remove the stringy bits. Rub the corn with your compound butter (fancy name for butter with stuff in it). Pull the husks back up over the buttered corn and warp in aluminum foil. Cook the mess out of it. The butter essentially steams the corn and leave the spices on the surface. So tasty!
Happy Dining!
Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes
I had been craving really good pancakes for a while. One morning I found a stash of my pumpkin ricotta pancakes in the freezer, so I defrosted them and served them up with some scrambled eggs. Yuck. The freezer had killed them... or else I had frozen my worst ones and that's what we were eating. Craving definitely not satisfied. I had some blueberries on hand at school one morning and tossed a few into my oatmeal. Delish. The decision was made, blueberry pancakes would be had... and soon.
I was really pleased with the end result. Since a lot of carbs are not a post-op's friend I went super heavy with the blueberries to add bulk. I used Heart Smart Bisquick, but I doubled the number of eggs and added ricotta to the mix to up the protein levels. I use a sugar free syrup, but if sugar is not your enemy then definitely go for the real deal, but sparingly please. If you make your pancakes my way the syrup should only be there to moisten them a bit and add a punch of sweetness, you have to get the sweetness into the pancake itself to really have an amazing breakfast.
As with everything I cook, I have to give a lot of credit to the internet. I never take a whole recipe from anyone, but I read lots and lots of people's versions and take my favorite bits. Heavy kudos go out to Michelle over at eggface though, most of my ideas come from tweaking something I read on her blog.
Ingredients:
2 cups Heart Smart Bisquick (reserve a half cup, you can use regular as well)
2 Eggs
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese (I use part skim, you can use whatever kind you like)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (I use this cause it is easier than owning cinnamon and nutmeg)
1 Cup Milk (I use skim, again your preference)
3 Tablespoons of Splenda (you can use sugar if you like)
Blueberries Galore!
Directions:
In a bowl combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, Splenda and 1.5 cups of the Bisquick. Add the ricotta and break it apart with a fork or a spoon. Whisk the ricotta into the batter and make sure to get all the lumps. Give the batter a taste and make sure it is sweet with a bit of a tang. At this point you can make these your own. I love a thick pancake, I like it to be so dense that you get a little layer of uncooked batter in the middle, so I would add in the remaining Bisquick until I had a mixture that was almost a solid. If you like thinner pancakes you can add less of your reserve Bisquick.
Heat a skillet and add a pat of butter, add in about a fourth cup of your batter, then top with blueberries. I like about 8 blueberries per pancake. When you start to see the edges of the pancake form up then you flip it. You don't get bubbles on top with the ricotta in there like you normally would, so take care not to burn your breakfast. You don't need much time at all on the second side to get perfectly brown and delicious pancakes!
Happy Dining!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Beer and Food Weekend
This past weekend I took a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. It was a wonderful weekend full of fantastic food. I am always looking for new and interesting places to eat, but I have to make it work with my extreme dietary restrictions. I thought I would share with you the things that we enjoyed, both those I was proud for choosing and those that I was not so proud of. If you are ever in western North Carolina you must must go to Asheville. It, and the surrounding towns, are so friendly and fun. There is great dining and lots to see and do.
The whole trip started with my amazing boyfriend cooking dinner for me. He bought some oatmeal stout from Highland Brewing Company to go with the dinner. It was delicious and brewed mere hours from Atlanta. He has a coworker who telecommutes from Asheville who had offered us a place to stay and we decided to take him up on the offer. It was great staying with people who live in the area, they showed us all the great spots.
Here are the places we went as well as some recommendations on some better food choices than I made.
Haus Heidelberg - Hendersonville, NC: Jager Schnitzel with Spatzle and Salad
Just half an hour outside of Asheville. The place is decked out with German trinkets and pictures. They serve very authentic German dishes. On thing I highly recommend to post ops who like to dine out is to find someone with whom you can share dishes. This way you don't feel wasteful and you end up saving money in the end. For post ops looking for some German deliciousness, I recommend eating the salad first. The vegetables are marinated in yogurt dressing and are super tender. There are probably much better options than schnitzel here, like a roasted pork dish, but the schnitzel is not very greasy so I didn't feel too bad about it. Go light on the spatzle, skip all together if you are carb sensitive.
Highland Brewing Company - Asheville, NC: Beer and lots of it
We got to try to the Thunderstruck Coffee Porter and it was awesome and highly caffeneited. The tour includes samples of each of the 5 beers that Highland is known for. If you are sensitive to alcohol just have a few sips of each and don;t down the whole sample. Be warned, the beers are a little higher gravity than some may be used to. You can get pints for $3.50 before the tour if you like. Pack a high protein snack so you don't get too intoxicated, I recommend peanuts.
Curate: Tapas
Tapas restaurants are great for post ops. They are meant for sharing so you can have a bite or two of a couple of different dishes and not feel like you are missing out. Go easy on the breads that they serve, you don't want to fill up on that and make sure to order at least one high protein dish that you can feel good about. Here is what we had:
Pan con Tomate (ciabatta bread with tomato bruschetta, warm and crisp bread literally melted in my mouth)
Tabla de Quesos (cheese plate, skip the bread with this just sample the delightful cheeses)
Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with romesco sauce, go light but a few won't kill you)
Espinicas a la Catalana (sauteed spincah with apples, raisins and pines nuts - post op perfect)
Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp sauteed with garlic - more post op perfection)
Ensalta de Tomate a Ytun (tuna on a tomato salad, skip this it is canned tuna and not that great)
12 Bones : Ribs, Beef Brisket, Corn Pudding, Jalapeno Cheese Grits, Coleslaw, and Cornbread
First let me say that I did not eat all of that, I shared it. The corn pudding was amazing, crispy in spots creamy all over and quite sweet. Post ops you can try it, it didn't hurt me, but don't go crazy or you will regret it. The grits are amazing and quite spicy, again go easy. The coleslaw was my post op approved side, it didn't have mayo but was rather marinated in vinegar. So good! It was almost like eating pickled cabbage but much milder than kim chee would be traditionally. The brisket was very lean so I focused on that. Go light on the sauce as they do have a good bit of sugar, but the pineapple habanero ribs were to die for and the blueberry chipotle sauce was surprisingly spicy and blue.
Wedge Brewing Company: Beer, Peanuts and Fried Cauliflower (Gypsy Queen Food Truck)
We tried the Golem, the Russian Imperial Stout and the Iron Rail IPA. The cauliflower was tender but not greasy. This is a great place for a very chill drink, we played corn hole and chatted. Dog friendly as well!
White Duck Tacos: Spicy Buffalo Chicken, Bangkok Shrimp, BBQ Carnitas and Lamb Gyro
Again, sharing is key. Here is where I went wrong. We had some chips and queso, and I just ate without thinking. Then the tacos showed up and I had ordered too much. I felt terrible about it and I didn't want to waste all those tacos. So I ate a few bites of each taco and I got really sick. For post ops, skip the chips. Then order one taco with grilled meat, not fried, then eat the filling and not the corn tortilla shell.
Sunny Point Cafe: Esquites Scramble with Chipotle Grits and a Biscuit
Scrambled eggs, ricotta cheese, corn and jalapenos. Delish! Give away most of your biscuit, especially the sugary top part. But do try a bite cause it was awesome!!!! It was like a yeast roll meats a biscuit. The grits were good, quite spicy. Again go easy cause they are a carb. Go nuts on the eggs though. So yummy and packed with protein. If you don't like spicy food I would recommend trying something different. There are lots of high protein alternatives. If you want to be really good you can get a side salad instead of grits with no extra charge. This is a true farm to table restaurant. They literally have a little farm behind the premises. Everything was fresh and awesome. Bacon is normally a no-no due to fat content, but here it is also a no-no cause it is maple glazed. I won't lie, I tried a bite, but I don't recommend that cause handing away the rest of that strip of bacon took a lot of will power.
Anyway, it was a great foodie weekend. We walked miles around the downtown area. I especially enjoyed the local bookstores. Asheville has a lot of local stores and there is a big push to buy local. The downtown area has a very small town feel, but with lots of big city conveniences. If you have not been, then you should definitely make a trip.
The whole trip started with my amazing boyfriend cooking dinner for me. He bought some oatmeal stout from Highland Brewing Company to go with the dinner. It was delicious and brewed mere hours from Atlanta. He has a coworker who telecommutes from Asheville who had offered us a place to stay and we decided to take him up on the offer. It was great staying with people who live in the area, they showed us all the great spots.
Here are the places we went as well as some recommendations on some better food choices than I made.
Haus Heidelberg - Hendersonville, NC: Jager Schnitzel with Spatzle and Salad
Just half an hour outside of Asheville. The place is decked out with German trinkets and pictures. They serve very authentic German dishes. On thing I highly recommend to post ops who like to dine out is to find someone with whom you can share dishes. This way you don't feel wasteful and you end up saving money in the end. For post ops looking for some German deliciousness, I recommend eating the salad first. The vegetables are marinated in yogurt dressing and are super tender. There are probably much better options than schnitzel here, like a roasted pork dish, but the schnitzel is not very greasy so I didn't feel too bad about it. Go light on the spatzle, skip all together if you are carb sensitive.
Highland Brewing Company - Asheville, NC: Beer and lots of it
We got to try to the Thunderstruck Coffee Porter and it was awesome and highly caffeneited. The tour includes samples of each of the 5 beers that Highland is known for. If you are sensitive to alcohol just have a few sips of each and don;t down the whole sample. Be warned, the beers are a little higher gravity than some may be used to. You can get pints for $3.50 before the tour if you like. Pack a high protein snack so you don't get too intoxicated, I recommend peanuts.
Curate: Tapas
Tapas restaurants are great for post ops. They are meant for sharing so you can have a bite or two of a couple of different dishes and not feel like you are missing out. Go easy on the breads that they serve, you don't want to fill up on that and make sure to order at least one high protein dish that you can feel good about. Here is what we had:
Pan con Tomate (ciabatta bread with tomato bruschetta, warm and crisp bread literally melted in my mouth)
Tabla de Quesos (cheese plate, skip the bread with this just sample the delightful cheeses)
Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes with romesco sauce, go light but a few won't kill you)
Espinicas a la Catalana (sauteed spincah with apples, raisins and pines nuts - post op perfect)
Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp sauteed with garlic - more post op perfection)
Ensalta de Tomate a Ytun (tuna on a tomato salad, skip this it is canned tuna and not that great)
12 Bones : Ribs, Beef Brisket, Corn Pudding, Jalapeno Cheese Grits, Coleslaw, and Cornbread
First let me say that I did not eat all of that, I shared it. The corn pudding was amazing, crispy in spots creamy all over and quite sweet. Post ops you can try it, it didn't hurt me, but don't go crazy or you will regret it. The grits are amazing and quite spicy, again go easy. The coleslaw was my post op approved side, it didn't have mayo but was rather marinated in vinegar. So good! It was almost like eating pickled cabbage but much milder than kim chee would be traditionally. The brisket was very lean so I focused on that. Go light on the sauce as they do have a good bit of sugar, but the pineapple habanero ribs were to die for and the blueberry chipotle sauce was surprisingly spicy and blue.
Wedge Brewing Company: Beer, Peanuts and Fried Cauliflower (Gypsy Queen Food Truck)
We tried the Golem, the Russian Imperial Stout and the Iron Rail IPA. The cauliflower was tender but not greasy. This is a great place for a very chill drink, we played corn hole and chatted. Dog friendly as well!
White Duck Tacos: Spicy Buffalo Chicken, Bangkok Shrimp, BBQ Carnitas and Lamb Gyro
Again, sharing is key. Here is where I went wrong. We had some chips and queso, and I just ate without thinking. Then the tacos showed up and I had ordered too much. I felt terrible about it and I didn't want to waste all those tacos. So I ate a few bites of each taco and I got really sick. For post ops, skip the chips. Then order one taco with grilled meat, not fried, then eat the filling and not the corn tortilla shell.
Sunny Point Cafe: Esquites Scramble with Chipotle Grits and a Biscuit
Scrambled eggs, ricotta cheese, corn and jalapenos. Delish! Give away most of your biscuit, especially the sugary top part. But do try a bite cause it was awesome!!!! It was like a yeast roll meats a biscuit. The grits were good, quite spicy. Again go easy cause they are a carb. Go nuts on the eggs though. So yummy and packed with protein. If you don't like spicy food I would recommend trying something different. There are lots of high protein alternatives. If you want to be really good you can get a side salad instead of grits with no extra charge. This is a true farm to table restaurant. They literally have a little farm behind the premises. Everything was fresh and awesome. Bacon is normally a no-no due to fat content, but here it is also a no-no cause it is maple glazed. I won't lie, I tried a bite, but I don't recommend that cause handing away the rest of that strip of bacon took a lot of will power.
Anyway, it was a great foodie weekend. We walked miles around the downtown area. I especially enjoyed the local bookstores. Asheville has a lot of local stores and there is a big push to buy local. The downtown area has a very small town feel, but with lots of big city conveniences. If you have not been, then you should definitely make a trip.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Lemon Chive Trout and Bok Choy
Challenge Accepted! Make a trip to the farmer's market without looking up recipes ahead of time. Purchase meat that still has it's face in addition to a vegetable and a fruit that you have never eaten before. Prepare a meal from said purchases. This challenge was not extended to me, however I was invited along for the journey. The resulting meal was quite tasty, although I am not sure I will ever cook it the same way again.
Yet again I am lacking pictures of my culinary adventures. I sincerely apologize for that, but I should be able to make it up to you when my co-chef posts about his challenge.
We were smart enough to have the farmer's market friendly employees clean our fish and remove the head for us. Technically when we bought it the head was still on, just not when we took it out of the market. This left the very interesting task of filleting the fish to us. Dear reader, please hear me when I tell you that there is a reason the world has butchers. That reason is so that someone can do this task for you. I am glad that we undertook this assignment purely for the fact that I learned the lesson that just because you can do something does not mean that it is worth it. We found some youtube videos and other internet instructions for filleting a fish and tried to follow them. It is difficult work, especially if you do not have a boning knife. Once you get the fillets cut off of the fish, then you have the super fun task of pulling out all of the tiny little bones. I recommend needle nose pliers or tweezers for this task. Getting the fish ready is definitely labor intensive, get someone else to do it unless you plan on roasting the fish whole.
Once you do remove your fish meat from the bones, the fun can begin. We saute'd the fillets in a lemon chive butter. It cooks very quickly, but the resulting dish is tender and delicious. In addition to the trout we made ginger garlic bok choy. If you have never had bok choy then please please try this. It is like a cross between spinach and cabbage and the texture is wonderful. I got thess recipes from the food network, but I modified it slightly so that the flavor profile would meld together.
Lemon Chive Trout with Ginger Garlic Bok Choy
Ingredients
2 lemons
5 Cloves of Garlic
1.5 Inch of Ginger
Bunch of Chives
1 Scallion
1 Head of Bok Choy
4 Trout Fillets
4 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
Grate the ginger
Grate the garlic
Chop the chives
Dice the scallions
Zest the Lemons
Mix all of these togther and separate into two prep bowls. Into one prep bowl juice one of the lemons and then mix in 3 tablespoons of the butter, place this one in the fridge. Set the other one aside.
Roughly chop the bok choy, stopping about 2 inches from the core. Season the fish with salt and pepper. In a large skillet (we used a wok), heat a little bit of olive oil and then saute your ingredients in the set aside prep bowl. After 2 minutes add the bok choy and toss. Then add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and let it cook while you prepare the fish. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. In another skillet place your remaining butter and a scoop of your combined butter (save some to top the cooked fish with). Cook the fish for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Flip with two spatulas, not tongs. When done transfer to aplate, top with dots of your combined butter and a squeeze of lemon from your extra lemon.
Happy Dining!
Yet again I am lacking pictures of my culinary adventures. I sincerely apologize for that, but I should be able to make it up to you when my co-chef posts about his challenge.
We were smart enough to have the farmer's market friendly employees clean our fish and remove the head for us. Technically when we bought it the head was still on, just not when we took it out of the market. This left the very interesting task of filleting the fish to us. Dear reader, please hear me when I tell you that there is a reason the world has butchers. That reason is so that someone can do this task for you. I am glad that we undertook this assignment purely for the fact that I learned the lesson that just because you can do something does not mean that it is worth it. We found some youtube videos and other internet instructions for filleting a fish and tried to follow them. It is difficult work, especially if you do not have a boning knife. Once you get the fillets cut off of the fish, then you have the super fun task of pulling out all of the tiny little bones. I recommend needle nose pliers or tweezers for this task. Getting the fish ready is definitely labor intensive, get someone else to do it unless you plan on roasting the fish whole.
Once you do remove your fish meat from the bones, the fun can begin. We saute'd the fillets in a lemon chive butter. It cooks very quickly, but the resulting dish is tender and delicious. In addition to the trout we made ginger garlic bok choy. If you have never had bok choy then please please try this. It is like a cross between spinach and cabbage and the texture is wonderful. I got thess recipes from the food network, but I modified it slightly so that the flavor profile would meld together.
Lemon Chive Trout with Ginger Garlic Bok Choy
Ingredients
2 lemons
5 Cloves of Garlic
1.5 Inch of Ginger
Bunch of Chives
1 Scallion
1 Head of Bok Choy
4 Trout Fillets
4 Tablespoons of Butter
2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
Grate the ginger
Grate the garlic
Chop the chives
Dice the scallions
Zest the Lemons
Mix all of these togther and separate into two prep bowls. Into one prep bowl juice one of the lemons and then mix in 3 tablespoons of the butter, place this one in the fridge. Set the other one aside.
Roughly chop the bok choy, stopping about 2 inches from the core. Season the fish with salt and pepper. In a large skillet (we used a wok), heat a little bit of olive oil and then saute your ingredients in the set aside prep bowl. After 2 minutes add the bok choy and toss. Then add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and let it cook while you prepare the fish. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. In another skillet place your remaining butter and a scoop of your combined butter (save some to top the cooked fish with). Cook the fish for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Flip with two spatulas, not tongs. When done transfer to aplate, top with dots of your combined butter and a squeeze of lemon from your extra lemon.
Happy Dining!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Stuffed Turkey Burgers
The idea to make burgers was put into my head by the show How I Met Your Mother. In one episode Marshall searches for the best burger in New York, and so I consequently wanted burgers. I am trying to be more mindful of my spending and I wanted to make the burgers instead of going to find a pricet burger. I have always been a fan of cheeseburgers, and I particularly love to up the cheese level of dishes. A while back I stumbled upon a stuffed cheeseburger where you put cheese inside the burger and on top. This definitely met my qualifications for upping the cheese level of a burger. I decided to take it a step further this time and went searching for stuffed burger recipes. I stumbled upon an awesome one by Sonny Anderson and after some modifications I achieved a delicious success. So delicious in fact that I only remembered to take a picture of these delightful things after I had consumed them all. To be fair to myself though, they weren't exactly pretty, just very very tasty.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
Pepper
Tony Cacheres (or salt, garlic powder and onion powder)
Hot Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Onion (Diced Finely)
1/2 Pint of Mushrooms (Diced Finely)
4 Strips of Bacon
Blue Cheese Crumbles
This will make 4 very larger burgers. Add the pepper, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce to the ground turkey and use your hands to mix it together. Don't work it too much, just enough to incorporate the ingredients. I didn't measure when I did this, I just eyeballed a good coating of seasoning and a few big splashes of the sauces. Let this mixture sit in the fridge for a while to let the flavors combine.
In a large skillet brown the bacon until it is crispy then remove it from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels to cool. Add the onions to the bacon grease and saute until the soften then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Remove from the hear and crumble in the bacon. Allow the mixture to cool.
Take your turkey mixture from the fridge and cook a small piece to test your seasoning, add more salt (cajun seasoning) if needed. Divide the turkey into 4 equal portions and then divide each portion in half. On a large plate flatten one of your halves into a very thin pancake. Add a palm full of your bacon mix to the center of your pancake and then sprinkle on some blue cheese crumbles. Top with the other half of your turkey portion, I flattened them in my hand before topping them. Push the edges together to seal up the burger and then set aside. Repeat for the other three burgers. Grill the burgers for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
We ate these without buns because I don't eat buns, but I think that if you can handle the carbs then a bun definitely will help this feel more like a burger. I topped mine with a slice of cheddar cause I am weird like that, and I loved it. The blue cheese really pops out of every bite and the bacon is subtle but present in the background. I served these with oven baked zucchini chips (coat zucchini slices in egg wash and then Parmesan bread crumb mix and bake at 350 for 30 minutes).
Happy Dining!
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
Pepper
Tony Cacheres (or salt, garlic powder and onion powder)
Hot Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Onion (Diced Finely)
1/2 Pint of Mushrooms (Diced Finely)
4 Strips of Bacon
Blue Cheese Crumbles
This will make 4 very larger burgers. Add the pepper, hot sauce, Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce to the ground turkey and use your hands to mix it together. Don't work it too much, just enough to incorporate the ingredients. I didn't measure when I did this, I just eyeballed a good coating of seasoning and a few big splashes of the sauces. Let this mixture sit in the fridge for a while to let the flavors combine.
In a large skillet brown the bacon until it is crispy then remove it from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels to cool. Add the onions to the bacon grease and saute until the soften then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Remove from the hear and crumble in the bacon. Allow the mixture to cool.
Take your turkey mixture from the fridge and cook a small piece to test your seasoning, add more salt (cajun seasoning) if needed. Divide the turkey into 4 equal portions and then divide each portion in half. On a large plate flatten one of your halves into a very thin pancake. Add a palm full of your bacon mix to the center of your pancake and then sprinkle on some blue cheese crumbles. Top with the other half of your turkey portion, I flattened them in my hand before topping them. Push the edges together to seal up the burger and then set aside. Repeat for the other three burgers. Grill the burgers for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
We ate these without buns because I don't eat buns, but I think that if you can handle the carbs then a bun definitely will help this feel more like a burger. I topped mine with a slice of cheddar cause I am weird like that, and I loved it. The blue cheese really pops out of every bite and the bacon is subtle but present in the background. I served these with oven baked zucchini chips (coat zucchini slices in egg wash and then Parmesan bread crumb mix and bake at 350 for 30 minutes).
Happy Dining!
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
I was skeptical about this latest installment of the Mission Impossible tome. The second and third movies were what I would call good not great. They highly overused the masks that can make someone look identically to other people, when you have no way of knowing if the person on the screen is actually who they are pretending to be you definitely lose something in the film.
The premise of the Ghost Protocol follows the formula that Mission Impossible movies know and love. A mission goes terribly awry and everyone is disavowed, then the real mission begins. In this case the gang has to break in to the Kremlin in order to extract information about a terrorist. While there the mission is sabatoged and they are blamed for an explosion and labeled as terrorists. This is not new territory for the MI crew but it always makes for an interesting story.
All in all I would definitely recommend this movie as a weekend distraction. The action is exciting, the movie is pretty fast paced. Cruise does a pretty good job once again reprising his roll as Ethan Hunt, but Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg steal the show. Pegg's computer man turned field agent is remarkably funny as he strikes an almost Mr. Bean-esque quality without taking it so far that you can't believe he was ever allowed to be a spy. Renner plays an analyst who gets swept up into the mission, and he does so very well. It is an MI film so you can expect Tom Cruise to dangle precariously from a high building, someone to hang from a wire dangerously close to the ground and someone to have a secret that the team does not know about.
If you are looking for an escape movie where things blow up and there are lots of hot people, then this film is for you.
Happy Viewing!
The premise of the Ghost Protocol follows the formula that Mission Impossible movies know and love. A mission goes terribly awry and everyone is disavowed, then the real mission begins. In this case the gang has to break in to the Kremlin in order to extract information about a terrorist. While there the mission is sabatoged and they are blamed for an explosion and labeled as terrorists. This is not new territory for the MI crew but it always makes for an interesting story.
All in all I would definitely recommend this movie as a weekend distraction. The action is exciting, the movie is pretty fast paced. Cruise does a pretty good job once again reprising his roll as Ethan Hunt, but Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg steal the show. Pegg's computer man turned field agent is remarkably funny as he strikes an almost Mr. Bean-esque quality without taking it so far that you can't believe he was ever allowed to be a spy. Renner plays an analyst who gets swept up into the mission, and he does so very well. It is an MI film so you can expect Tom Cruise to dangle precariously from a high building, someone to hang from a wire dangerously close to the ground and someone to have a secret that the team does not know about.
If you are looking for an escape movie where things blow up and there are lots of hot people, then this film is for you.
Happy Viewing!
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