Margaret's Lower Sugar Zuchini Bread (featuring Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb)

his is the last of the Laughing Cow recipes and for this one we didn't put the cheese in it but on it!

Like I said before, the original plan was to have an exotic pork smashed meatball topped with the cheese but alas the recipe went terribly wrong somewhere. It was dry and crumbly and just didn't taste very good (PLEASE NOTE: See? Even I have recipe fails sometimes!).

Thankfully Margaret had two loaves of wonderfully yummy smelling zucchini bread on which we could try our Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb cheese. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Nik, traditional zucchini bread is sweet. You put garlic & herb cheese on it???"

Notice that in the recipes I suggested for the cheese (Savory Cheesecake w/ Sausage & Crab Topping and Grilled Pear with Herb & Cheese topping, respectively) I've played with the notion of how sweet, savory and salty go together. Many folks see "cheesecake" and think dessert, but my savory cheesecake is more like a healthy, comfort food dinner. And many people might scrunch their noses at a pear stuffed with cheese and basil then drizzled with caramel but then you'd be missing out on some intense culinary pleasures.

So bottom line: Play With Your Food, people! It can be very rewarding.

Again, I'm going to send you to Margaret's blog, Feed My Sleeve, for the full recipe BUT I wanted to provide a few swap notes:

• You can use an equivalent amount of Carbquik or Atkins Mix (note this product is being discontinued by Atkins! I'm so sad! But that is to say the price in that link is NOT the normal price. If you come across a bag locally, grab it!) for the flour she suggests, although it's noteworthy that she made hers with wheat flour which would be acceptable if you are making it for the family. Again, your guts, your home, your choice!
• If you use CQ or Atkins alone you do not need to add the baking powder called for in Margaret's recipe. It already contains baking powder.
• However, if you want to replace any part of the CQ/Atkins with protein powder (in this case I think 2 or 3 scoops in place of 1/2 c. of flour would probably work fine) you need to leave that baking powder in!
• For my dumpers: Splenda Brown Sugar Blend does have some real sugar in it. Take heed! If you want to avoid all sugar, get your favorite sugar substitute for baking. Since Splenda measures 1:1 for sugar just measure your sugar substitute against sugar and you should be fine. You don't necessarily need a brown sugar substitute (although you may want one for the sake of color). In traditional recipes, brown sugar is used when a certain texture is desired (the molasses in brown sugar can make things more dense, surfaces more crispy, etc.) or for color. 

Since Margaret endowed me with a HUGE zucchini from her garden that's held up well through my recent travel, I think I actually might try my hand at making mini-zucchini loaves (much like my mini-banana loaves) out of Atkins Mix. If I do, I shall report back!

BF Reader Submission: Susan's No-Sugar Added Barbecue Sauce



The other day on the Pouch Party Facebook page, I asked you guys, my fellow “foodies” what foods you’d like to see get a make-over on the blog.

From this a good discussion sprouted about barbecue sauce.

Yes barbecue sauce…not exactly the meaning of life or world peace but still important in its own right.

There were quite a few people who asked for an alternative recipe for barbecue sauce — one that is not high in sugar.

Even though I am the proverbial RNY sugar dumper, I can actually tolerate barbecue sauce in moderate quantities…so long as it is paired with a protein. For this reason, and the fact that every sugar-free barbecue sauce I’ve ever tried tasted like Pure-D ASS, I usually stick with the real stuff in small amounts. But for those who don’t want to, or can’t do that, there should be a solution!

So I put out the call to my foodies, asking anyone who makes a sugar-free or no-sugar added sauce to submit the recipe so that your fellow foodies can benefit from it.

The lovely, lovely Susan H. took up the call.

Her sauce is no-sugar added (if you don’t know the difference between sugar-free and no-sugar added, might I suggest you familiarize yourself BEFORE proceeding…not knowing the right one for you can have dire consequences) and requires ingredients that are either already in your kitchen or very easy to acquire. So…let’s go to it!

Susan’s Barbecue Sauce
Ingredients

1 ½ c.Low Sugar Ketchup (Susan uses Heinz low-sugar ketchup)

1/4 c.Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 c. tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or Brown Sugar Twin*
1/4 c. chopped onion

½ tsp. each garlic, onion and chili powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

*Splenda Brown Sugar blend contains actual brown sugar, which contains molasses, which would give the sauce added sugar. If you are a sugar-dumper, go with the Brown Sugar Twin or see if you can find something like Diabeti-Sweet brown sugar substitute.
Directions:

In a small sauce pan combine Ketchup with Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 teaspoon at a time until desired thickness, while on low heat, 

Add onion and spices, amounts vary on a persons taste, I would guess about 2 tablespoons each, let simmer for about 2 min.

Add brown sugar, constantly stirring for about a minute. If sauce gets too thick add about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, or water.

Taste, add spices as desired, Sauce taste improves as it sits, so best to make it the night before. Makes about 1.5 cups of sauce.

I don’t know where you live, but in Maryland spring is starting to show her beautiful face (she’s fashionably late but I forgive her). For some of you that means it’s time to fire up the grill! So this sauce recipe is right on time!

Give it a try. Slap it on some chicken, or dip some meatballs in it. And if you like it, leave a shout out to Susan in the comments!