April 1 - Go Green for Peace

If you are participating, right-click on this image and choose "Save As" to save it, then upload to your Facebook profile!

So this is short notice BUT I think it's a good thing.

Bariatric Foodie is committed to upholding a safe environment for ALL post-ops to share their experiences. This includes BF's Facebook and Twitter communities as well as here on the blog. That means I try to be as helpful as I can without judgment to you and I expect the same of anyone who participates in any of BF's forums.

Because honestly, we need one another. We gotta stand together!

Which is why I thought of this "Go Green for Peace" thing. It's a way to show our solidarity toward and support for one another.

So if you'd like to participate (you certainly don't have to!) here's how you can join in. If you use Facebook, tomorrow, April 1st, change your profile picture to the above image. Now...you could pair that with a status update (I'm going to write, "I support my WLS community. That's why I'm going Green!") or you could just do the picture (understandable especially if many of your friends aren't WLS folks).

It's a small way of showing that we support one another through the ups and downs, in the spirit of peace and non-judgment.

So...like I said, take part if you wanna. If you don't that's fine! But I want to give the opportunity for us to show each other that we're all in this together!

#GoGreenforPeace

Edited to add: (I got this question a few times) NO this is not an April Fools joke. I will be changing my picture. I think because I primarily think of April 1 as my oldest daughter's birthday I sometimes forget what it means to the rest of the world! But it's not a joke or a prank! I'm doing this! If you'd like to you are invited. :)

Nik's Stuffed Zucchini

Quinoa & Tilapia Stuffed Zucchini

So I think I should stop calling Meatless Friday, Meatless Friday. It’s sort of misleading. More than once I’ve been told if I eat fish it’s not a true Meatless Friday and, thinking about it, that’s kind of right. I think it’s much more a function of my Catholic grandpa’s conception of “meatless” that I ever came to think of fish as part of Meatless Friday.

All that is to say I’m going to try going forward to only use the term “meatless” for true vegetarian meals and mark my Lent meals as such. Cool? Groovy!

That being said, about 10 p.m. last night I remembered today was a “Lenten Friday” and, as such, I was abstaining from chicken, beef, pork, etc. I eat fish, seafood, veggies, whole grains and dairy on those days.

Now I could have gone out to lunch today. Lord knows there are TONS of meatless (and Lent) options. BUT. I am trying to stick to my budget better so I decided to whip something up. (Yes, at 10 p.m. last night!)

My mind immediately went to this dish I had at a Greek restaurant called Ikaros in North East Baltimore. Baltimore is known for having very rich, cultural neighborhood traditions. This part of Baltimore is informally known as “Greek Town” and there are some great restaurants with excellent food!

The original dish I had was called named (wait for it…) Stuffed Zucchini Squash! (There was a name in Greek which I could probably attempt since Greek is similar to Russian and, fun fact, Nik can READ – not always understand – perfect Russian and the alphabets are similar BUT…I respect my Greek brothers and sisters way too much to try. K? Moving on.) It had ground beef, Greek spices and rice and the zucchini was HUGE. It was a few meals for even me!

In this instance I decided to replicate the spirit of the dish so much as imitate it. Mine isn’t Greek. It doesn’t subscribe to any particular tradition, although if I were pinned down I would probably (and inaccurately) say it’s more French provincial. But enough of my imagination. Let’s get to the dish!

Nik’s Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini (mine was about 7 inches)
• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp. chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tbsp. chopped green pepper
• 2 tbsp. diced onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• Salt, pepper, your favorite spices (I used Herbs de Provence, but you can also use Greek seasoning or any other seasoning you like)
• 2 tbsp. quinoa (I used red quinoa – tastes the same to me)
• 2/3 c. water
• 4 oz. tilapia filet (or other white fish filet of your choice)

Sauce ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. soy flour
• ¾ c. milk (I used skim)
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. goat cheese (or other sharp cheese of your liking)
• Salt and pepper, to taste 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut off stem and base of zucchini, then cut in half length-wise. Use a knife to score a ¼ inch channel down the middle of the zucchini then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Set on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt.

Put a dry skillet over medium heat and let it get hot. Add oil.

Add all vegetables and saute for two minutes or until softened. Add garlic and spices, stir and cook an additional minute.

Add quinoa and stir through the vegetable mixture before adding water. Top with fish and cover the skillet.

Cook about 12-15 minutes or until fish is done and white rings have popped out of the quinoa, signaling it is done. You want to cook your quinoa extra tender since it’s going to go in the oven.

Making sure your fish, veggies and quinoa are all mixed together, spoon the filling into the channel of the zucchini, then bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until zucchini has softened.

Meanwhile, in that same skillet that you made the filling, melt the butter. Add the flour and mix until a dough-like paste forms.

Add the milk and garlic and whisk it into the butter/flour mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil. It will froth and begin to thicken.

Add the lemon juice and goat cheese and any spices and stir until it bubbles, then reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer until the zucchini is done.

VERDICT: I loved it! Somehow the dish tasted like there was bacon in it but there was not! It was savory and fragrant and...not a bowl of tuna! (Which is what I was going for. I wanted a lunch that felt like lunch.) I love the stuffed zucchini concept so I'm going to play around with it some more.

If you've made one, share how you stuffed yours!

Nik's Chicken Chorizo Skillet

This, along with many other nummy recipes, will be included in The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book, coming in April!

(But before we get to that, have you read about the opportunity you have to get YOUR favorite recipe into the forthcoming Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book? If not, go read about it!)

I go to Denny’s. Quite a bit. That may be a bad thing for a post-op to admit but what the heck. If nothing else, you know I keep it real!

S’anyway. I go to Denny’s. Quite a bit. This is mostly because I know what to order there. I know my options and I exercise them!

But every now and again they get something new. Such is the case on the day that I tasted the dish that became this knock-off.

They have these sizzling skillet deals. Now if you ever go to Denny’s let me give you some advice on the sizzling skillets, if you ever want to try them.

Firstly, don’t feel limited to the ones marked healthy. With a few simple modifications you can make nearly any skillet work for you. This dish is a knock-off of the Chicken Chorizo Skillet. The first time I got it I simple asked for them to omit the red skinned potatoes. That taught me how the dish is generally, which is wonderfully yummy…but full of oil!

So the next time, and every time thereafter, I’ve asked for my food to be cooked with non-stick cooking spray, not oil (I don’t say it explicitly but I hint at a food allergy), nix the red skinned potatoes, use half the usual amount of cheese and sub in scrambled egg whites instead of the potatoes. This usually yields two lighter, but still deliciously yummy meals.

But this weekend I didn’t want to go out and I didn’t want to spend money on breakfast! It occurred to me I have all the ingredients needed to make this, so why not?

Thus…

Nik’s Chicken Chorizo Skillet

(Family size OR good for several day’s lunches. This reheats pretty well!)

Ingredients:

• 3 links of chorizo sausage, casings removed, chopped into small pieces (NOTE: Chorizo comes in lower-fat chicken and turkey varieties if you don’t want to use pork)
• 4-6 oz. chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 small onion, cut into strips
• 2-3 different colored bell peppers, cut into strips
• 4 eggs, beaten (or egg whites, or liquid egg substitute)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 – 1 ½ c. Mexican blend shredded cheese

Optional: (Used here because my kids are potato fanatics) 3 red-skinned potatoes, diced and dry roasted.

You’ll need a large, oven-safe skillet for this.

Directions:

Set your oven to the broil setting.

Spray a large, oven-safe skillet with non-stick cooking spray, set it over a medium flame and allow it to get hot.

Add chorizo and cook, stirring about 2 minutes before adding chicken (the chorizo needs time to omit some oil). Stir chicken and sausage until both are cooked through.

Add onions, bell pepper, garlic and spices and sauté until softened. If you are using roasted potatoes, add those here as well.

Clear a well (hole) in the middle of your skillet, re-spray if needed, and pour in your eggs. Use a wooden spoon to scramble them completely before mixing into the meat/veggie mixture.

Top with cheese and place under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes to allow the cheese to melt and brown as much as you like.

This was Sunday brunch. For the kids/significant other, I also fixed a batch of my killer homemade buttermilk biscuits (no I’m not putting that recipe on BF…my blog software might blow up!). I usually eat a tester sized biscuit and call it a day. Nummy!

Play with your food!

Wanna submit a recipe to be published in Bariatric Foodie's Next Book?

One of the many yummy and SIMPLE recipe ideas included in The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book.

I can make you a super-STAH!

Well…not really. But I could include YOUR recipe in the next BF offering, The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book. The book is in the final stages of drafting (meaning the recipes are almost all written and being tested out) and I figured it’d be fun to include some of YOUR recipes!

So here’s how this is going to work.

The book covers four main kinds of breakfast recipes:

• Egg recipes (scrambles, mini-quiches, etc.)
• Smart Carbs (traditional breakfast starches made with better ingredients and added protein)
• Yogurt/Cottage Cheese recipes
• Un-breakfast (Stuff that may or may not include breakfast food but either way doesn’t feel breakfasty)

If you have a recipe that fits into one of those categories, submit it for consideration! You can submit your recipe by sending it via email to bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com (please put the word "recipe" in the subject line somewhere). You are not required to submit a picture of your recipe, however, if you happen to have one, I always love to see them!

A panel of esteemed judges will pick one recipe for each category to be included as a Foodie Submission recipe.

The deadline for recipe submission is Sunday, April 6.

I know you have questions! I thought of a few you might ask.

Who are the esteemed judges?

I’m not telling you yet. Mostly because I just asked them and haven't gotten all my "yes's" back yet! 

How are these judges going to judge the recipes?

The recipes will be judged on the following factors:

• Overall nutrition of the recipe. You don't have to submit nutrition information for your recipe (I won't publish it anyway) BUT it should be a recipe appropriate for WLS-folks (high protein, reasonable carbs, yadda, yadda...)
• Understand-ability of the recipe directions. You don't have to be Hemingway but I should be able to follow your recipe!
• Ease of use (The goal here is simple recipes that anyone can make)
• Creativity (Simple recipes do NOT mean boring recipes)
• Originality (IMPORTANT: Don’t copy a recipe from some other blogger’s blog and send it to me! That’s recipe thieving and we don’t like that around here. It’s ok if your recipe is similar to other recipes out there but it should be one of your own imagining, not a cut/paste of someone else’s recipe)

Remember, you can submit a recipe for consideration to bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com (put "recipe" somewhere in the subject line).

What’s in it for me?

Well, besides, super-STAHdom…people whose recipes are selected will receive:

1. A free copy of The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book
2. A $25 Amazon gift certificate

Hey, Nik, what's in that yummy looking pic?

Glad you asked! It's a knock-off of Denny's Chicken Chorizo Skillet. The recipe will be in The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book but I'm also going to post it here, tomorrow!

Fine print(y) stuff (and I respect you far too much to actually make it small print):

By submitting a recipe you are agreeing to comply with the BariatricFoodie Contest & Promotions rules. The winning recipe will be named for the winner (i.e. “Mary’s Slammin’ Egg Dish…) and will become the property of Bariatric Foodie. By submitting your recipe you agree that, if selected, Bariatric Foodie may publish the recipe as a part of The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book with the understanding that there you will be entitled to no compensation or royalties earned from the publication of your recipe. 

BF Review (and Recipe): Quest Cookies & Cream Protein Bar and Shannon's Quest Canoli

While we were all embroiled in The Bariatric Foodie Pledge, Quest went and released a new bar – Cookies and Cream! I did a quick and dirty review of it on social media, but I also asked my pal Shannon (of TacoCasserole picture fame) to give the bars a try. And I gave her a challenge. The Quest blog challenges Quest lovers to come up with creative ways to use the bars, so that’s the challenge I put to Shannon. So she played with her food to make a Quest cannoli! The recipe follows the review.

Enjoy and thanks to Shannon for the review!

Shannon’s Quest Bar Review

*The products used for this review were given by Quest Nutrition, however, neither the reviewer nor Bariatric Foodie was paid to perform this product review.

Product: Quest Cookies & Cream protein Bar

Stats: 180 calories, 7g fat, 22g carbs, 17g fiber, 1g sugar, 2g erythritol, 21g protein.

Cost: Varies, on Quest website it is $2.39 for a single bar, $24.99 (or $2.08/bar) for a box of 12.

*If you purchase Quest Bars using the ad on the right menu bar, Bariatric Foodie receives a small commission. 

Packaging:

The wrapper itself was very pleasing to me, the picture was crisp and I think the large cookie photographed on the package really makes it known what flavor you are getting.  Another thing about the packaging I like is that I can quickly see the amount of sugar and protein in the product. Just from a general standpoint, this makes things so much easier for me when I am looking to purchase a product, having that info right on the front, and somewhat highlighted makes my life easier.

Nutrition:

This product provides 21g of protein in one serving, and is 180 calories. I like that it packs such a punch because, if I am going to eat a protein bar as my meal (I very rarely do), I want to be able to get as much out of it as possible. Quest bars are regularly reviewed on Bariatric foodie, and I believe this bar is about on par with the others in their product line. As an aside, erythritol, the type of sugar alcohol used in this bar has very little effect on our bodies, unlike some others.

Aesthetics:

Upon opening the packaging I smelled the protein bar, and as with most of them I got a very, almost overly sweet smell, not really distinguished as to cookies and cream but definitely sweet.

The bar I had left over after playing with my food and making a cannoli had some very large chunks of cookie in it, which I very much enjoyed while eating the protein bar in the traditional way. It broke up the texture of the bar nicely. The bar itself was quite soft and easy to eat.

It did remind me a bit of cookies and cream, though not exactly and I don’t think my taste buds will ever be fully confused when it comes to a protein bar, the protein flavor is always there.  More than a cookies and cream flavor it reminded me of cookie dough. Never having tried their actual cookie dough flavor, I will say I think this would be an awesome addition chunked up into some protein ice cream. I also thoroughly enjoyed this as a cannoli, it really had a crunch and flavor that paired well with the cannoli filling.

I have generally been very impressed with Quest bars, and this one did not disappoint. As an emergency meal, or a snack, or even cooked into a yummy dessert they are, in my opinion, a decent choice.  In my area Quest bars are not so readily available, and the ones I have purchased locally have usually been very hard, nothing like this one. Because of this I limit myself to purchasing online only, and don’t often get the opportunity to do so, as my budget doesn’t always allow for it. That being said, if I were able to purchase Quest bars in the future this would be one on my list to buy.

Shannon’s Quest Cannoli

Ingredients:

• 1 Quest Cookies & Cream protein bar
• 4 oz. ricotta cheese (part-skim or regular, your choice)
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1.5 tbsp. no-calorie sweetener
• Macadamia or pistachio nuts, whipped cream, and Strawberry as garnish if desired

For this recipe you will also need: A cannoli-form or a ¼-inch metal dowel, a large, sturdy glass (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) and some parchment paper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F
2. Unwrap Quest bar and place between two pieces of sprayed wax paper. Put in microwave for about 8 seconds, test pliability with finger and put back in if you cannot easily smoosh the bar, this will make it easier to roll flat with a rolling pin.
3. Using your sprayed glass as a rolling pin, roll the bar down into a slight circular shape in between the wax paper and allow to cool slightly before peeling off one layer of wax paper.
4. Using a cannoli form, roll quest bar on the form and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
5. Place in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until golden.
6. In a small bowl place ricotta, cocoa powder, and Splenda mix thoroughly until combined.  Transfer to a piping bag or small sandwich bag to fill the cannoli.  Refrigerate until ready to use
7. Remove cannoli from oven allow to cool well.
8. Remove cannoli form and fill with ricotta mixture.
9. Once filled, you can garnish as you like with nuts, or fruit and whipped cream or light cool whip.

Nik's Vegetarian "Meat" Sauce

Sorry about the stove...if I'd know you were coming over... ;)

So I thought it’d be nice, after all the flurry of the Pledge, to post about…food. Remember when we used to talk about food? Me too! Let’s start doing that again!

This is a quick one but, as always, there’s a story.

My youngest child has decided to become vegetarian. This is not the first time she’s done this. She’s never much cared for meat, especially meat that looks like meat. It bothers her deeply to think that she’s consuming an animal.

While I’m not vegetarian I respect the fact that she (at 12 years old) came to that decision for herself. But life is not easy for a vegetarian kid living in a meat consuming household. Very often it was hard to find that wonderful place in the middle of the Venn diagram that is my oldest child, a self-proclaimed “meatitarian” and my youngest.

But recently – EUREKA! – I found a ray of hope. Quite to my surprise my oldest likes Boca Burgers. That brings us to last night, when I wanted to make ONE dinner that feels like dinner. The eldest had been wanting spaghetti. While I could have made a veggie spaghetti (and grumbled while the oldest picked out most of the veggies and fed them to our beloved Basset Hound when she thought I wasn’t looking), I decided to try to build upon her like of Boca meat by using Boca crumbles instead of meat.

(NOTE: This isn’t a review for Boca products, but you can look them up for yourself here.)

Here’s the recipe. After I’ll tell you how it was received.

Nik’s Vegetarian Spaghetti & “Meat” Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic minced (or one heaping tsp of jarred minced garlic)
• 12 oz. Boca crumbles (they come in a 12 oz. bag)
• 1 jar low-sugar spaghetti sauce (I usually get the most basic kind and doctor it up myself, as you’ll see below)
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or, if you don’t have that but have dried basil, the same amount)
• ½ tsp. red pepper flakes (less or none if you don’t like spicy stuff)

Optional (and had it just been me and The Younger, I would have used), a variety of colorful diced veggies like zucchini, yellow squash, red peppers, eggplant, really anything!

Directions:

Spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray, set it over medium heat and allow it to get hot.

Add onions and peppers (and any other veggies you’re using) and saute about 2-3 minutes, until they begin to soften.

Add the Boca crumbles and stir into the veggie mixture. Allow it to cook about 3-4 minutes.

Add spaghetti sauce and seasonings and stir. Bring it to a boil, then drop the heat down to medium-low, allowing it to simmer about 10-15 minutes more. The sauce should be a deeper shade of red when finished.

NOTE: This can be made with whatever ground meat substitute you like. I am trying to watch my younger daughter’s soy intake to make sure she doesn’t just eat soy as a meat replacement. I know that’s a concern for some of you as well.

NOW…I served this to them atop whole-wheat thin spaghetti. I always eat just the sauce, chili-style, with tons of grated Parmesan on top.

The Elder? She loved it! Interestingly, I didn’t tell her it was vegetarian. The fact that her sister was eating it should have clued her in but…14 year-olds are sometimes self-absorbed, so what can we do? I’m just glad I have a good fall-back dinner everyone can eat!