Thanksgiving Plans
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: November 23, 2009
So as many of you may have read over at my moms blog that she is going on a cruise. This means our typical family Thanksgiving at my mom’s house is canceled. She will be a little too busy getting ready for her fun vacation.
Personally I am OK with the change in plans for a few reasons. 1. Mom needs a vacation so I’m happy she’s going on a cruise and having the fun she couldn’t before WLS 2. The idea of holiday dinners and the stress and over-stuffing myself on mom’s good food associated with it was causing me a little anxiety and 3. This gives me the opportunity to do a small, stress free, no pressure dinner for J and I and try out my hand at a few interesting and non traditional recipes.
As luck would have it, J heard that gourmet magazine is no longer doing a print edition right after Thanksgiving. So we bought a copy with the intention of doing all the recipes in the magazine that looked good and we felt we could tackle. I may make some modifications to them later, but for the first shot we are going to stick to the recipes and I’ll just be a good girl with portions. Why mess with perfection?
Here is the planned menu and some of my notes for being a good girl:
Roast Turkey with Cream Gravy (The turkey is really simple and only uses olive oil and basic seasonings as a rub so its basic and healthy for Turkey. Thank goodness I’m not a big fan of gravy cause this heavy cream version would do me in quickly.)
Golden Onion Pie (I may try it with low fat sour cream. Aside from that this is a fairly good for you recipe but requires a bit of work.)
Rye Bread Stuffing (I’ve had cornbread and white bread stuffing… I am looking forward to trying rye bread.)
Cranberry and Celery relish (I haven’t decided whether to use splenda or not. J can tell and I’d hate to ruin it.)
Bacon Mashed Potatoes (Also made with heavy cream, may opt for a lower fat milk and turkey bacon if I try it again.)
Sauerkraut with Apples (Although this is not to bad for WLS patients, it does have a little brown sugar in it, this wont be hard for me to resist. I am not a fan of Sauerkraut.)
Carrots with Shallots
Kale with Walnuts
Pecan Pie (I’m making this because I do not like Pecan Pie. Since this is not a temptation for me, I’m making it the old fashioned way for J)
I’ll post the WLS friendly recipes once we taste test them on Thanksgiving. The modified versions of the bad recipes I’ll post if and when I try them, if they turn out ok.
And now its off to the kitchen for 3 days of prep and cooking.
So what are your favorite WLS friendly holiday recipes?
Splenda Powdered Sugar
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: October 28, 2009
I’ve posted this before in another recipe but since I use it a lot in baking I figured it was time to seperate it out from the other recipe.
Splenda Powdered Sugar
- 3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
- 2 Tbl Cornstarch
Place ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until splenda is a very fine powder.
Sugar-Free Simple Syrup
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: October 28, 2009
Simple syrup can be used to make everything from flavored drinks to cakes.
You can substitute Splenda for regular sugar in a basic simple syrup recipe.
Simple syrup is made in a 1:1 sugar to water ratio.
Rich simple syrup is made with a 2:1 sugar to water ratio. Rich simple syrup also lasts longer.
Sample 1:1 Ratio:
- 1 cup Splenda
- 1 cup water
Sample 2:1 Ratio:
- 2 cups Splenda
- 1 cup water
Combine water and splenda in sauce pan. Boil until reduced by approximately 1/3 and it’s a syrup consistency. Take off heat, let cool and store in a clean bottle in the refrigerator. Simple syrup lasts about a month. Rich simple syrup can last up to 6 months. Toss when syrup gets cloudy which soon leads to moldy.
To make a flavored syrup, take syrup off the heat and add flavoring (extract, SF torani or other flavored liquid) of your choice and stir until combined.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: July 28, 2009
- In: Food| Poultry
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I don’t remember where I got this recipe pre-WLS but it has always been a favorite in my collection. It is simple, quick and good for you post WLS once you can eat the raw lettuce, cabbage and carrots. I tried it recently (I just don’t wrap the mix in a lettuce leaf yet) and I processed it easily. It can be a little spicy so if you have a problem with spice post WLS, like I do, cut way back on the crushed red pepper or remove it altogether. It is just as good without the red pepper.
- 3 Tbl unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
- 2 Tbl Hoisin sauce
- 2 Tbl cider vinegar
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
- 1 tsp dark sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic (such as Spice World)
- 2 cups packaged cabbage and carrot coleslaw
- 1 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained
- 8 ounces grilled chicken breast strips (such as Louis Rich)
- 12 Bibb lettuce leaves
Place peanuts in small nonstick skiller over medium-high heat; cook 3 minuts or until lightly browned, shaking pan frequently. Remove pan from heat; set aside.
Combine hoisin sauce, cider vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, dark sesame oil, red pepper and garlic in small bowl, stirring well with a wisk.
Combine peanuts, coleslaw, water chestnuts and chicken in medium bowl; toss well.
Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken salad in the center of each lettuce leaf; top each with 2 teaspoons of sauce. Roll up; secure with toothpick.
Yeild: 4 Servings … Serving Size: 3 wraps
Calories 197
Fat 7.4g
Iron 1.9mg
Cholesterol 37mg
Calcium 40mg
Carbs 18.2g
Sodium 825mg
Protein 16.5g
Fiber 3.4g
Lemon Raspberry Protein Napoleons
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: July 28, 2009
- In: Desserts| Food
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So I was at the hairdressers skimming through a Good Housekeeping magazine and I stumbled upon their healthier desserts and found these Lemon Blush Napoleons.
They looked so good but I figured there had to be a way to make them better for us (i.e. More Protein, less sugar!!!)
So here is my version and I must say for an altered recipe I didn’t expect this to turn out soooooo good. This is my favorite post WLS dessert.
This serves 4 regular people by the way. I shared one with J. There is no way I could eat one on my own after a meal.
- 12 (3 1/4- by 3-inch) wonton wrappers (about a quarter of a 12-ounce package)
- Butter flavored cooking spray or melted margarine
- Splenda powdered sugar. (See Below)
- 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese (I prefer skim but use whatever variety suits you)
- I package Lemon Fat-Free Sugar-Free Pudding mix
- 3 cup(s) raspberries
- Milk (optional)
- Sugar Free Red Raspberry Preserves (Optional)
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a cookie sheet. Place 12 wonton wrappers in one layer on sheet of waxed paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray (or brush with some melted margarine) and sprinkle with splenda powdered sugar. Turn wontons over and repeat. Place wontons on cookie sheet.
- Bake wontons 12 to 14 minutes or until golden on both sides, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking. With spatula, transfer to wire racks to cool. If not using baked wontons right away, store in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 3 days.
- In medium bowl, stir Ricotta Cheese and lemon pudding mix until blended. If mixture is too thick, blend in milk until desired texture.
- To serve, arrange 4 baked wontons on 4 dessert plates (or place all 4 on large plate); spread ricotta mixture on each. Arrange 9 raspberries per wonton on ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with wontons, ricotta mixture, and raspberries. Place remaining 4 wontons on top.
- Top with Raspberry Preserves if desired. Dust with confectioners’ sugar to serve.
Splenda Powdered Sugar
- 3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
- 2 Tbl Cornstarch
Place ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until splenda is a very fine powder.
I also made a version with Ricotta and sugar free caramel Torani syrup. I personally thought the ricotta mix was a little too runny, and next time I’ll probably use a sugar free caramel ice cream topping instead for a thicker texture, but it was still delicious.
I snapped a few quick photos of the end result.
