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.
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