BF Review: Oscar Meyer Sandwich Combos

You know how some people sleep on flights? Others play on their laptops or read a book. I do magazines. Food magazines. Lots and lots of food magazines.


That’s most often where I get inspiration for the things on this blog. I look at that food and I wonder what I could do to make it healthier/lower cal/more WLS-friendly.

Anyhoo, it was in a food magazine (I think Food Network Magazine) that I read about today’s review subject: Oscar Meyer Sandwich Combos. I was on my way to Michigan to see Pam (yes, I will be referencing that visit for a time to come, thankyouverymuch) and I saw the ad and thought they looked pretty nifty. Got to Michigan and mentioned them to Pam. We tried but could not find them in the local grocery stores there.

When I came home, I was in the store with the kiddos who were begging for Lunchables. When I went to the section where they are stored, I saw them! Of course I wanted to review them, but I know that many of us aren’t inclined toward sandwiches and, even if we are, can scarcely complete everything in this lunch kit. So I wanted to approach this from the standpoint of being a better choice for the whole fam.

So naturally, I had to swindle the divas into trying them with me.

First, let’s go over the basics. There are two types of Sandwich Combos (that I’ve seen): turkey/cheddar and ham/Swiss. Both appear to come with the following: 2 oz. of meat, 1 oz. slice of cheese, a whole-wheat sandwich thin, a packet of mustard (Grey Poupon no less), a 1 oz. bag of Wheat Thins and a 4 oz. chocolate Jell-O Mousse Temptations cup. The front of the box tells me it’s 390 calories (in the “real” world those are damn good stats for lunch) and the back tells me there is 19g of protein (I’ll forgive them that since I’m not officially reviewing it for us).

For me, this is almost the perfect-sized lunch. For you, maybe not so much. So let’s move on to what the divas thought.

First off, they were pretty jazzed about this experiment. Usually their engagement in my blog experiments has them trying veggies they either don’t like or are downright afraid of, so this one was a welcome treat.

Each of the sandwich components are individually wrapped and were easy to open (this is especially important to La Petite Diva, who always has trouble opening packaging for some reason). The amount of meat seemed generous, although I did actually measure it on my handy-dandy portable food scale (doesn’t everyone have one?) and it is, in fact, 2 oz. of meat.

It was all very fresh smelling and tasting. I’d never thought to put Grey Poupon on my sandwich before (I usually don’t buy it because I am the cheapest person alive). It was pretty tasty. (Mental note: pick up some Grey Poupon) I did eat the whole thing. That was a mistake. Although I COULD eat the whole thing, there is a difference between could and should and I KNOW you know what I mean.

S’anyway. The divas also munched theirs down. I was particularly interested in whether this kit satisfied them. They, like me, are hearty eaters. They both reported feeling satisfied by the kit. Their only feedback was that they wished there was something to drink.

“You know what woulda been perfect mom?” La Grande Diva offered up. “If there was a bottled water and a Crystal Light stick in there.” Indeed! For us post-ops, the absence of water actually makes it a perfect little kit, but like I said it’s a bit much for us. It was even a bit much for me. I ate mine at noon and didn’t eat again until 5, even after about 40 oz. of liquid later in the afternoon. The kit also satisfied the divas for quite a good while.

The other addition I’d make, if the world were perfect, would be to have some fresh fruit in there. Some apple slices, a cutie Clementine, something. But to me that’s easy to insert into a child’s lunch if you want it in there. And the price of this thing isn’t outrageously more than the unit price of a lunch I’d pack for them (keeping in mind that I’m sort of a food snob with regards to my children).

School is out for the summer, but I definitely think these are a good thing to check out in general, especially if you ever find yourself on the go and hear the ominous, "Moooooooom (how do kids manage to make that one word seventeen syllables?) I'm hunnnnngry!!!!"

Yeah. For the STFU value alone it's worth every penny. Just sayin'.

Verdict: Diva says Divine!

BF Family Style: Healthy(er) Lasagna

Try though she did, La Grand Diva does not like modified lasagna. I've tried replacing the noodles with zucchini, with eggplant, just leaving them out and doing a lasagna skillet - all to no avail. When it comes to lasagna, the child is a purist.

Recently she went on a four day outdoor adventure trip with her class. Upon her return I told her I'd fix her anything she wanted to eat. She modestly requested lasagna but made a stipulation. "I want regular lasagna." How could I say no? But how could I say yes? Easy! I just did what I always tell you guys to do. I played with my food!

I should say before I get into the recipe, the child, I think, was totally expecting a microwave sized Stouffer's lasagna and probably would have been thankful for it. Luckily for her, I can't let myself do that. This is probably a weekend dish or a prep ahead and cook during the week dish. At any rate, here we go!

Nik's Healthy(er) Lasagna

(the size I made serves...a million...but it's good if you want to make two or three small casseroles and freeze a few)

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef

4 links of turkey Italian Sausage

1 economy sized jar spaghetti sauce of your choosing (yes, I cheated on this part - shoot me!)

3/4 c. water

32 oz. container ricotta cheese (I used part skim)

2 + 1 c. mozzarella cheese

1 + 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. liquid egg substitute (or 2 eggs, or 3 egg whites)

1 box whole wheat, high fiber lasagna noodles (whatever you buy, look for the kind that doesn't require you to cook the noodles first)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a pan sprayed with non-stick (fat saving tip #1 - when using fatty meats, you don't really need olive oil unless you like the taste of it), sautee onions and peppers with garlic until tender. Set aside in a bowl.

Add in ground meat and sausages (cut from their casings of course) and brown. After browning, drain meat of excess fat in collander, rinse pan and re-spray it. Add veggie mixture back in and about 1/2 your jar of spaghetti sauce. Add water and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until sauce turns dark red and water is reduced a bit.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheeses with egg and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

In baking pan, spread a layer of the meat sauce mixture around the bottom of the pan. Then lay 3-4 lasagna noodles UNCOOKED across the sauce (how many depends on the size pan you use).

Next spread a layer of your cheese mixture. Repeat until layers twice more. Cover the whole thing with the remaining sauce from your jar and the remainder of your cheese. It should look like this in the end:



Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow lasagna to cool as the oven cools. It should look like THIS when it's done:


Cut and serve!

La Grande Diva was happy. She didn't mind the whole wheat noodles (although, to be fair, I've always given them whole wheat starch products so she's more likely to notice regular noodles) and has been happily plowing her way through this bad boy ever since. Even gave me the stink eye for inviting others over to share it!

This is a great "bridge" recipe in my opinion. Sometimes you have to ease your family into the concept of healthier eating. This dish is a good example because it has enough splurges to feel like comfort food but with healthy swaps!

BF Family Style: Nik's "Winner, Winner" Pork Chop Dinner

The dark complexion is no accident. I actually like my food darn near burned, but that's my issue...



Oven fried porkchops. Nothing new, right? Shake 'n Bake has had this on lock a looooong time, right?

Believe it or not, there's still room to make this just a bit more WLS-friendly.

How?

1. That trick I taught you guys about marinating your chicken in Greek yogurt? That works on pork as well.
2. With a few simple ingredients you can make your own, whole wheat oven coating for meat thats darn tasty with better carbs and less sodium.
3. The side dish is great both with traditional brown rice or cauliflower rice. You pick which one you use!

So here's how you achieve this dinner:

Nik's "Winner, winner" Pork Chop Dinner

Ingredients for pork chops:

4 boneless pork chops, visible fat trimmed

1 cup unflavored 0% Greek yogurt
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (I make my own…look for that tip in a future post!)
½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
¾ c. liquid egg substitute (or 3 eggs, beaten)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder to taste

Optional: dried parsely flakes.

Ingredients for “Fake Me Out” Spanish Rice

1 bag cauliflower florets, boiled, drained and finely mashed
(if you using rice, use a prepared brown rice boil-in-bag)
1 can tomatoes/chiles (whatever heat you can handle), half the juice discarded
½ c. milk
½ c. grated Mexican blend cheese

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

The morning of the day you plan to make this for dinner, seal the pork chops in a zip-top bag with the Greek yogurt and leave in the refrigerator all day.

When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and seasonings in a bowl. Set beside your bowl of egg to make a dredging station.

Shake excess yogurt off pork chops (no need to towel dry) and dip first in egg, then bread crumbs, then repeat until a good coating is formed.

Place coated chops on a cookie sheet and bake about 35 minutes or until clear juices bubble up from the coating.

To make the “rice,” simply combine cooked and mashed cauliflower with milk, cheese and tomatoes/chiles. Simmer over medium flame about 7 minutes or until cheese is no longer stringy and has melted into the milk. Turn heat off. “Sauce” will thicken upon standing.

Now, I have to out my children because they actually chose to make this an international meal: we went Americana for the chops, Mexican for the “rice” and…they requested sauerkraut of all things to go with it! Go figure.

At any rate, this was a real treat for me as I can’t tolerate fried foods even when I am feeling rebellious enough to eat them! But I can’t eat but so much of this either. As tender as the meat turns out, solid meat like that has a limit in my pouch, so usually I dice some up in a bowl (yes…like you’d do for a four year old), douse it with hot sauce and go to town!

This is how Nik rolls with the oven fried pork chop!



Enjoy!

BF Family Style: Easy Cheesy Chicken & Brocolli Penne

Pssst...pledgers? Have you submitted your week 2 pledge yet? If not, go do it now! I'll wait...



Remember the other day when I posted Creamy Brocolli &Cheese soup and how I told you that it also makes a great pasta sauce for the family?

Well, I made this the other night for the divas and they absolutely LOVED it. Pasta and I are not friends, so I just put some chicken (a la Aldi "Grilled Chicken Bites") in mine. For some post-ops, whole wheat pasta sits fine and fits into their approved post-op plan. if so, go for it!

For the girls I used 100% whole wheat penne pasta. Since they rarely eat pasta, I don't get many arguments on feeding them the whole wheat variety!

Here's how you make it:

Nik's Easy Cheesy Chicken & Brocolli Penne
(Serves four)

2-3 cups Nik's Creamy Chicken & Brocolli Soup
2 additional cups of brocolli florets (can still be frozen)
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
2 large chicken breasts, cubed
Parmesan cheese

Optional: Onions and Peppers

Directions

Boil the pasta and brocolli in salted water until al dente then drain into a collander.

Cook chicken breasts, along with onions and peppers, in a heavily sprayed pan (I don't use oil to cook my chicken but you do it how YOU do it).

Return pasta to a pot and add the cooked chicken breasts, onions and peppers and add sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer.

Toss together to get a good mix of everything on every plate and top with grated Parmesan cheese!

This dinner takes minutes to come together and will get you a standing ovation at the dinner table. I promise!

BF Family Style: Nik's Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap



We've begun to post kid-friendly recipes, but not very many things geared toward the whole family.

My family is my kids and I, but I realize some of you have hungry spouses who want to eat well too. My kids and I used to be McDonald’s fanatics before surgery (I stopped being one when I read “Fast Food Nation,” the divas stopped by force…i.e. me). Nowadays, both budget and health concerns keep us from eating out much anymore.

I already posted my answer to the limited edition McDonald’s “Mac Wrap” and that’s a favorite in our family. Here’s another.

Nik’s Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap

(this yields enough for at least two “you-sized” + three non-op sized individual portions)

Ingredients:

2-3 oz. grilled chicken bites (I use the Fit & Active brand from Aldi, Costco also has a brand called “Naked Nuggets” or you could just use 1 pound of chicken breast tenderloins cut into one-inch pieces)

8 slices of turkey bacon

1 c. Shredded cheddar cheese (1/4 c. for each wrap)

Four whole wheat wraps (I also use the Fit & Active which have the same stats as the more pricey Flatout wraps)

8 tbsp Light Ranch dressing (I used Fit & Active also but prefer Hidden Valley, 2 tbsp for each wrap)

Optional:

Shredded Lettuce
Tomato slices
Red onion slivers

Directions:

If you are making these from the pre-cooked grilled chicken nuggets, all you need to do is throw them in a sprayed pan to warm them through. If making from raw chicken, cook thoroughly and sprinkle both sides lightly with salt and pepper. If you have a grill pan, that works well.

While doing this, cook up your turkey bacon to your desired level of crispness.

Nuke the wrap for about 10 seconds just to make it more pliable then sprinkle the cheese over the entire wrap.

I got all wrapped up in this yummy dish! (/end corniness)

Add chicken, bacon and any garnishes you like and top with the ranch dressing.

Fold the top and bottom of your wrap then fold the sides over and slice in half.

Yummmmmmmm...

I served this to my youngest daughter with apple slices and peanut butter dip.

Nik’s Ridiculously Simple Peanut Butter Dip
2 heaping tbsp unflavored 0% Greek yogurt
2 tsp peanut flour (PB2 or Trader Joe’s brand)
2 packets of Splenda (or 1 tsp out of the bag)

Mix in a container and serve!

You could also serve this with a side of my zucchini fries. Just sayin...
This is a lunch I feel good about serving to my kids and you can feel good serving it to your family. Some notes: yes, you can use regular bacon if that is what your heart desires. For some freakish reason, both me and the divas like turkey bacon better. If you use pork bacon, I’d suggest, for convenience, using the pre-made kind and just nuking it to get it crispy.

Also, in these kinds of posts I often get questions about how much of this I can actually eat. I can eat about half a wrap with no garnishes on it. I usually opt to just make it for the divas and have a bite of theirs. I’m weird like that :)