Making Boxed Stuff Better

I admit it: sometimes I use boxed mixes. Some of you may have observed the shitstorm that came down on OH (and here, actually) when I mentioned using canned pumpkin instead of oil and stuff in cake mix (dear God, you'd think I held those people down and forced the evil cake mix down their throats...)

Well, here's something slightly better than that, at least. I love Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mix. Oatmeal muffin mix, to be precise. It's definitely not low-carb, but also not terribly unhealthy - the ingredient list reads like, well, a recipe (rather than a science experiment) and the mix is made with whole-wheat flour. (as an aside, I'm reading this and thinking, goddamn, I should really make these from scratch if this really is all this $4 mix is!)

So, usually I make them as-is. At 150 cal per muffin, it's not bad. But today, I had a flash of inspiration (as well as a ton of extra Fage in the fridge) and I tossed in a cup of that plus three drops of EZ-Sweetz. Yum! Bonus: added protein! Bonus bonus: It made 18 muffins instead of 12, cutting calories to just over 100 (108, to be precise) per muffin. Each muffin also has 3 grams of protein, a little under 1 gram of fat, and about 22 grams of carbs, most of which are whole-grain. Not too shabby!

Fried Rice

I made some fried rice the other day...so good! It's also very inexpensive to make and healthy. It isn't low-carb, but, because it's made with brown rice, it has no processed carbs. It's a great once-a-week-cooking recipe because it's even better as leftovers!

The other day I made it plain (no meat) and served it with teriyaki marinated broiled flank steak on the side. Today I'm going to make it with chicken in it. You could toss in whatever veggies/meat you like, but here's my basic recipe:

cooking spray
1 egg (if I were to double or triple this recipe, I'd use 1 whole egg and the rest would be egg whites)
1 T canola oil
1 t sesame oil
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup frozen peas/carrots mix (defrosted)
soy sauce (to taste)

Spray a medium-size skillet (or wok) with cooking spray and scramble the egg until barely cooked. Set aside. Add the oil to the wok. When the oil is hot, add the rice and vegetables and stir-fry until hot. Add egg back to wok and stir-fry together briefly, then add soy sauce and stir-fry until rice is dry. Serve hot, or warm, or cold, or reheated... :) Makes 4 sleeve friendly servings.

Latest obsessions...

What have I been eating lately, you might ask?

Lox: Portlock has a retail store in Seattle and the owner/operator is SO NICE, it's an absolute pleasure to go in. Not to mention, 1 lb packages of "trim" are, like, $8. If you're in Seattle, I'd highly recommend stopping in! I eat it on either Triscuits or Wasa crackers with a smear of whipped cream cheese.

Yogurt: by now, we all know about Fage Greek yogurt. It's by far the best plain Greek yogurt (but if you like the pre-flavored kind, totally try Chobani - it's great!) I go in and out of yogurt phases and I'm definitely IN one now! Sweeten it with a few drops of ez-sweetz (or sweetzfree, whichever you prefer - sweetzfree is more expensive, but about twice as sweet), put in some frozen cherries/berries (hey, it's January - I refuse to purchase fresh berries in January on principle!) and top with a sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (yummy like granola, but much healthier).

TJ's whole wheat premade pizza dough (it's possible that this isn't on your plan, if so, just skip this part. I've discovered that it's just not realistic for me to try to eat no/low carb. I just try to make as many of my carbs whole grain as possible): this is so good rolled out into a thin-crust pizza, with a smear of pesto, a bunch of part-skim mozzarella and a sprinkle of parm, and a chopped tomato.

TJ's frozen brown rice (see above disclaimer, low-carbers!): I love to cook a chicken dish on the weekend and warm it up all week. This rice is the perfect accompaniment. And the great thing about TJs is that it's so cheap - I normally hate premade stuff like this because the markup is just horrific, but this is totally affordable!

As always: no one ever gives me free shit in exchange for shoutouts, so you know that this is my real unbiased opinion :) I like to share things I've found that work well for me because I found similar posts so helpful when I was a sleeve newbie.

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes

I felt like some comfort food today. Given that my new year's resolution was to build meals around what I have in the fridge/freezer/pantry, I looked in the freezer and found some grass-fed beef and happy Italian sausage (I love Whole Foods - their meat standards program is amazing). So, I decided to make meatloaf and cheesy mashed potatoes. The potato recipe is really nothing special - the only thing that makes it amazing is the Cabot 75% reduced-fat cheddar. God, this post is reading like a freaking ad, but I'm serious - this stuff is amazing. It quite literally melts like full-fat cheese. SO WORTH the extra $$. Every time I buy a different reduced fat cheese I regret it heartily.

Anyway, here's the meatloaf recipe:

Sleevey's Seriously Yummy Meatloaf
1 T olive oil
~ 1 t crushed garlic
a few shakes of dehydrated onion
1 lb 7% fat grass-fed beef
2/3 lb mild Italian sausage
salt and pepper
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/3 + 1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I made them for the first time from some stale bread I'd frozen - so easy!)
2 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 350. Saute the garlic and onion in olive oil and cool until touch-able. Knead together all of the ingredients (except the last 1/4 c ketchup) in a large bowl. Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray. Press meat mixture into dish, spread the last 1/4 c ketchup on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Makes about 12 servings.

Artichokes and Green Beans AuGratin

This is also adapted from a Kalyn's Kitchen recipe. Kalyn is my current fave food blogger - she follows South Beach (which I don't know much about) and her recipes are *fab*! This is great for reluctant veggie eaters (which we all know I am), especially those who need to focus on protein (and we all know that I do).

Artichokes and Green Beans Au Gratin
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (rinsed if not sodium-free)
1 can green beans, drained (rinsed if not sodium-free
3/4 cup mayo (approx)
1 T lemon juice (approx)
generous sprinkle of garlic powder
sprinkle of dried herbs of your choice (I like Italian seasoning, and bet it would also be good with dill)
black pepper (to taste)
a little chicken broth (if needed)
2 cups shredded parm (approx), plus more for topping (optional)

Towel-dry veggies, and make sure there's no water lurking inside your artichoke hearts. Mix mayo, lemon juice, garlic powder, herbs, and black pepper. Gently fold in veggies, then cheese. Add a little chicken broth to stretch the mayo mixture if needed. Sprinkle parm on top if desired. Place in a small casserole dish and bake at 350 for 20 min. Turn up to broil for ~3 minutes to brown the cheese on top.

I've also made this with 1/2 shredded part skim mozzarella and 1/2 parm. I didn't like it as well, but it was acceptable and does save some calories.

In case you're wondering...

...where all of my rambling crap went, here is the explanation: I had decided to delete this blog altogether, but changed my mind. I just deleted all of the super-personal stuff I posted over the past year but left the recipes.

So, I guess by default, I'm changing this to a (mostly) sleeve-friendly recipe blog. Woohoo!

Comfort food: chicken, mushroom, and rice casserole

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on Kalyn's Kitchen. Excellent comfort food - and it's really easy and  relatively healthy due to the brown rice.

a couple tablespoons olive oil
a couple tablespoons dehydrated onions (or you could surely use the real thing, I just don't like them)
16 oz button mushrooms, chopped
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
3-4 cups cooked chicken (I used rotisserie, skin removed)
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used lowfat mexican blend because that's what I had)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Brown dehydrated onions, add mushrooms, and saute until liquid evaporates. Add seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chicken and remove from heat. Mix sour cream, mayo, and chicken broth in a large bowl. Add chicken mixture and rice, stir well. Add cheese and, again, stir well. Bake at 350 for about a half hour.

Next time, I'm going to add more veggies. Maybe green beans.

Just Tomatoes!

In addition to what my sister and I have christened "pumpnies," I discovered Just Tomatoes Just Strawberries 'N Bananas this week. They're a little pricey, but are possibly the best snack I've found yet. It's like eating fruit snacks or gummy bears but without the sugar (or diarrhea-inducing sugar alcohols)! It's freeze dried fruit with literally nothing added. The fruit isn't even treated with sulfur dioxide or the like, like dried fruit. I'm not sure how, but it's also not hypercaloric like dried fruit - a 5 oz tub, which they say is equal to an entire pound of fruit, is only 180 calories. If strawberries and bananas aren't your thing, they have pretty much every other fruit available (think blueberries, peaches, and pomegranate, among others), plus veggies - corn, peas, tomatoes...you get the idea.

I think this is especially good for sleevers - especially early out, when we have such a hard time even squeezing in the protein we need, let alone any extra food that may actually contain micronutrients! I haven't tried the veggies, but I suspect they may also be especially good for reluctant veggie eaters like myself. I bet the mixed veggies would be really good to snack on tossed with some garlic powder or maybe cayenne pepper and salt.

PS: No, nobody paid me or gave me free stuff to do this review. I just found these and think they're great, so I'm sharing them with all two of my faithful readers.

Un-Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe

Mmmmm....fall is here, and to me that means SQUASH! I love winter squash, but for some reason, I hadn't really tried cooking with pumpkin before now (other than, you know, pie).

I went out to dinner last night and had the best roasted veggies I've ever had - there were pumpkin and kale in them. And THEN, I went to whole foods and they were having a freaking amazing sale on sausage. And thus, this recipe was born. It has pretty much every color of the rainbow in it, so you know it's healthy - although it is definitely NOT high protein.

(You could definitely vary the amounts/quantities of veggies in this recipe if you wanted. The peppers were kind of a whim, because my neighborhood fruit stand was selling them for 59 cents and I couldn't resist. I also think this would be good with butternut squash or even yams instead of pumpkin.)

Un-Stuffed Pumpkin
(about) 1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1 small sugar pie pumpkin
herbs and salt to taste - I used rosemary
1 bunch kale
2 large mild Italian sausages (about 2/3 lb raw)
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded parm (optional)

- Heat oven to 350.
- Brown onions in a couple tbsp. olive oil (you could skip this - I just like my onions REALLY cooked).
- Mix the onions and peppers in a baking dish and put them in the oven.
- Gut the pumpkin (save the seeds and roast them - yum!) and cut it in quarters.
- Place the quarters face-down on a plate, add some water, and microwave for about 10 minutes.
- Allow to cool, remove skin, and cut into 1" cubes.
- Add to the onions and peppers and toss the whole mix with another couple tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and herbs. Return to oven.
- Remove sausage from casings and brown in a skillet. Set aside.
- Remove stems from kale and chop leaves. Wilt in the sausage drippings and add to the veggies in the oven. Turn down the oven to 300 and roast veggies for about 45 minutes.
- Beat eggs and mix with sausage and breadcrumbs. Toss meat mixture with veggies and top with parmesan. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Makes about 12 servings, with about 200 calories and 7 g. protein each.

By the way, a sweet tip I learned about pumpkin seeds: pull them out of the pumpkin guts as best you can, then put them in a bowl of water - guts sink, seeds float - viola!

New info (to me) about B12

I wrote a post a while ago about my vitamin regimen that I realized was wrong. I still learn something every day about life as a sleever, even now, almost a year out! I was talking to my nutritionist about supplementation the other day. I don't take B12, except what's in my multivitamin, because a.) I can't tolerate the sugar alcohols used to sweeten the sublingual tablets and b.) I know I eat at least the RDA (according to mayoclinic.com,"a day's supply of vitamin B12 can be obtained by eating 1 chicken breast plus 1 hard-boiled egg plus 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt") every day. HOWEVER, she informed me that supplementation is still necessary for sleevers because the creation of "intrinsic factor," required to process B12, is one of the few stomach functions that we sleevers lose most of. I always thought that our bodies absorbed everything we eat, but apparently B12 is an exception! Like I say...learn something new every day! So I guess I'm gonna have to either figure out a way to tolerate the sublingual tablets (I wonder if I would be more tolerant of sugar alcohols now than I was early on...although, to be fair, they've always done a number on my stomach!) or get monthly shots :( Bummer dude.

Newest Incarnation of Lasagna

Recipe of my own invention - this is seriously the best lasagna I've ever had. I don't have the health info for this, sorry - but it has no starchy white carbs in it!

~ 1/3 lb. lean organic Italian sausage
~ 1/4 lb. lean grass-fed ground beef
16 oz. marinara sauce (if you get the jarred kind, be sure it is very low in added sugar)
6 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 bunch raw spinach leaves, cleaned, chopped, and dry
8 oz. part skim ricotta (use organic dairy!)
8 oz. part skim cottage cheese
~ 1/2 cup egg whites (choose free-range!)
2 cups + 1 cup part skim mozzarella, grated
1 cup + 1 cup parmesan, shredded
Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper

1. Brown sausage and ground beef together in a large frying pan. Add marinara sauce, season to taste, and simmer on low for as long as possible.
2. Parboil noodles for 5 minutes in heavily salted water. Drain, rinse, and lay out on waxed paper so they don't stick to themselves.
3. Mix ricotta and cottage cheese with egg whites. Add 2 cups mozzarella and 1 cup parmesan, stir well. Fold in spinach gently.
4. (this is probably a good time to preheat the oven to 350). In a 9x13 pan, layer a sauce/noodles/cheese, repeat. End with a layer of sauce and cover with the remaining mozzarella and parm. Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about another 15 minutes to brown the cheese.  Enjoy!

Spritzer

I realize that I didn't invent this combination, but I am SO happy that I found it! A little background: I was a HUGE diet coke drinker pre-op. I mean, like 8-10 cans a day huge. HUGE. I kinda did everything huge pre-op. Anyway, I still really love pop, but don't want to drink that much of it for obvious reasons - #1 being that it's not that comfortable in the sleeve unless I sip it and #2 being that it's really not very good for you! And I've really tried to cut waaaay down on the aspartame. But god I love that fizzy pop feeling! SO, I created this spritzer:

Sleevey's Spritzer
1 part 100%, no sugar added juice (any kind, I love the Old Orchard apple-combinations and Mott's Medleys)
2 parts water
1 part club soda (or diet ginger ale if you don't mind a little aspartame)

I like to think that it's relatively healthy because of the small amount of juice (low calorie, but does provide some vitamins etc) and the water diluting the whole thing. The juice and the water really tone down the bubbliness of the soda. What I generally do is buy the frozen Old Orchard juice concentrates and then make them up super diluted (1/2 can to about 2 liters of water). Then everything's waiting in the fridge for me to make a cool and refreshing beverage.

Artichoke Chicken Salad

It's been a long time since I posted a recipe! This is my latest obsession...

Artichoke Chicken Salad
25 oz (2 large cans) canned chicken breast, drained well and shredded
1 cup mayo
2 tsp lemon juice

garlic powder to taste

2 stalks celery, very finely chopped 

45 oz canned artichoke hearts, drained well and chopped
1 - 3.8 oz can sliced olives
1 cup shredded parmesan

Mix chicken breast, mayo, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Gently fold in celery, artichoke hearts and parmesan.

Makes 12 - 1/2 cup servings. This is great on crackers, in sandwiches, or all by itself! I like to make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for snacks, lunches, etc.

Nutrition stats: 275 cals, 17 g fat, 6 carbs, 19 protein.

Barley risotto

Last night I made barley risotto (aka "orzotto"). SO YUMMY!!  Why would anyone use plain old rice for risotto when you can use delicious, nutritious barley? I followed this recipe and while it was insanely, addictively delicious I think it's too fatty. Four tablespoons of butter is NOT necessary. I bet I can take out the butter entirely and just add more cheese (which is high in calories but at least also packs a protein punch). I'm gonna tweak it and figure out the proper proportions, and then I'll post it for y'all. Just fyi, if you're going to try it, that recipe's proportions are WAY off - I only had about 2/3 cup of barley and it took 3 - 14 oz cans of chicken stock.

The Vindication of Fat

I've been following with interest lately the plethora of articles about how American's war on fat (since the 1980s) has actually made us fatter and sicker. It seems like every day a new study is published on how fat isn't as bad as we (simplistically) assumed, and how carby crap (although, don't rush to overly simplify carbs either!) is the devil incarnate. Today, I read an article on slate.com called "End the War on Fat: It could be making us sicker," which I thought nicely brought together so much recent research. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who has had a sneaking suspicion for awhile that the food pyramid might be a little, well, back-assward (and just maybe influenced just a little by Big Food...)

Although I could go on and on about food politics here (I'm still on a anti-Republican tear after an extremely unpleasant exchange on the OH message boards about healthcare reform), I'll spare you. Instead, I'd just like to point out how positive it is that we are actually starting to recognize this and call out big food on their crap.  I sincerely hope that the Obama administration can truly be an agent of change in DC, and continue making laws that are truly in the best interest of the American people rather than corporate lobbies. I mean, sure, allow the companies to keep selling junk food all they want, just like they still sell cigarettes (I'm far from a prohibitionist!) - just make sure that it's actually marketed as such, rather than as health food. I mean, junk food's yummy, right?  And I'd like to be able to make the decision to have a Hostess fruit pie if I damn well want to - but quit saying crap like "a trip to the snack cake aisle can be like visiting a country fruit stand" cuz it isn't. It's more like swimming in the Ganges, minus the potential mystical healing powers.

I predict that we will feel about food in 20 years the way we feel about tobacco today - and the fortunes of big food will have gone the same way as those of big tobacco. Our grandkids are going to shake their heads in pity at us the way we do at our poor cig-addicted grandparents.

Related good reads: Is Big Food as Evil as Big Tobacco?  -  Monsanto's Harvest of Fear  -  Michelle Obama calls out Big Food (I have the world's biggest girl crush on Mrs. O!)

Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken

I made some really tasty oven-fried chicken today. It was inspired by several recipes that I found, but is my own creation. Sorry for the extra-crappy (even for me) picture - I was so hungry that I forgot to take a pic until after I'd chomped it!

Parmesan Oven-Fried Chicken
2 large chicken breasts (about 12 oz each)
3/4 cup mayo
about 3 T skim milk
about 1 cup panko bread crumbs
cayenne (to taste)
poultry seasoning (to taste)
salt (to taste)
1/4 c. grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or in a large ziploc and pound thin. Mix mayo with milk in a bowl and mix dry ingredients, except parm, on a plate. Dip chicken in mayo mixture, then in the bread crumbs. Ensure each piece is thoroughly coated - press bread crumbs on if necessary. Place in a baking dish lined with parchment paper (or sprayed with Pam). Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165.

Makes 8 servings, about 2 oz (cooked) each. 205 calories, 6 g fat, 10.5 carbs, 23 protein. I served it with a few oz of shirataki noodles for a truly excellent meal.

More Mac and Cheese

I'm always tinkering with my mac and cheese recipe. Mac and cheese is probably my favorite food in the whole world, so this makes sense (I hope).

Anyway, I recently discovered Trader Joe's new smoked cheese blend. I LOVE smokey cheese. So it seemed natural to use it in the next incarnation of Sleevey's Mac.

Other changes...I found a technique in Cooking Light for eliminating butter entirely by using a flour-water slurry instead. I think it's an acceptable change - let me know what you think!  The trick is to make sure your slurry is very, very smooth before you add the rest of the milk, and that the mixture stays smooth.

I also ran out of Tabasco, so I used a tablespoon or so of dijon mustard to add a kick. Pretty good!

Oh, and a tip for the cauliflower: I pretty much always use frozen. It's just easier. I had always boiled it before grating it, but this time I steamed it. MUCH nicer. The firmer texture is definitely better, plus it's less wet.

Sleevey's Mac and Cheese - Version 3
1 cup (dry) macaroni noodles
2 cups cauliflower - steamed, grated and dried
2 T flour (I use whole wheat)
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 - 12 oz bags of TJ's smoked cheese blend
Dijon mustard (or Tabasco, or whatever) to taste
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray

Boil macaroni in well-salted water until al dente. Drain and mix with the grated cauliflower, set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup of milk until very smooth. Add remaining milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Mix in all except 1 1/2 cups of cheese (a little bit at a time - keep it smooth!). Mix in mustard/Tabasco/whatever, plus salt and pepper, to taste. Press into a baking dish prepped with cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Makes 18 servings. The serving size is based on what my sleeve holds comfortably, so ymmv.

3/8 cup (1/18 recipe) = 175 cals, 11 g fat, 9 carbs, 10 protein.

Why does a salad cost more than a Big Mac?

Interesting graphic from Consumerist. Of course, those of us on the low-carb bandwagon do benefit more from the 73.8% of subsidies going to meat and dairy than the average American. Unfortunately, those subsidies are going to feedlots and the like, rather than small, humane farms selling to their local communities.
A more interesting graphic to me would emphasize not only how bad government food subsidies are for our health, but also for the planet. Not to mention inhumane. Any graphic designers around?

More on aspartame

Check out the link below: Cleochatra over at The Lighter Side of Low-Carb's great post about her experience eating, then giving up aspartame. This is really amazing stuff. I know that the research isn't 100% negative about aspartame, but to me, this kind of anecdotal evidence is really convincing. I mean, it's not like there's a super-positive side, like the whole vaccine-autism thing. I think I can give up the benefit of aspartame based on anecdotal evidence.

The Lighter Side of Low-Carb: Diet disaster: Aspartame 

Mah-velously Moist Mini Meatloaves

This is a recipe that I distilled from about 10 different recipes, picking and choosing the parts I liked best from each. I was really worried about keeping it moist because Sleevey does not do well with dry meat, yet I wanted to use lean ground beef.

Sleevey's Mini Meatloaves
1 cup quick oats
A splash of milk
1 T olive oil
Minced garlic (to taste, I used about a teaspoon)
About 2 cups sliced mushrooms
About 1 cup chopped frozen spinach, defrosted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
About 1/2 cup V-8 juice
Liberal amount of Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (choose grass-fed!)

Prepare a 12-muffin tin with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 325. Set the oats to soak in just enough milk to soak them. Saute the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, set aside to cool. Combine eggs, V-8, and worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. When the mushrooms are cool, mix oats, mushrooms, spinach, and meat; add egg mixture. Combine just until mixed - don't overmix! The mixture will be runnier than normal meatloaf at this stage. Divide meat mixture evenly into 12 "muffins". Bake, checking temp. frequently, until each of the meatloaves reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees (this took about 35 minutes in my oven).

Makes 12 (large, for WLS-ers) servings with 138 calories, 6 g fat, 6 g carbs, and 13 g protein each.