Nik's "Amp'd" Sweet Potato Pie

Don't mind the browned crust. Me and my oven are going through a divorce.



Sniff…

“Well, it looks like regular sweet potato pie…”

Holds plate closer to nose and sniffs again.

“Smells like it too…”

Pokes with finger then tastes fingertip.

“C’mon, Nikki, what’d you do to it? You wouldn’t be asking me to taste it if you didn’t do something to it.”

This is a variation on the conversation I have with any of my non-op friends and family anytime I ask them to try out a recipe I’ve made for this blog. And in the end they always like what I gave them. And no…I never do tell them that I’ve added protein powder, or replaced some of the cream cheese with cottage cheese or sour cream with Greek yogurt.

So far as they know, it’s just good.

Here’s my recipe for sweet potato pie that passed the bar of even the biggest skeptics in my family.

I like mine warm from the oven with cool whipped cream on top...hence the bubbles!

Nik’s “Amp’d” Sweet Potato Pie
(makes two pies – one for now, one for later!)

4 large sweet potatoes
1 + 1/3 c. no-calorie Splenda (don't use Splenda? Any no-cal sweetener will do but check with the manufacturer to determine how much to use. Splenda measures cup-for-cup like sugar so you can take the amount of Splenda I use here as a guide for your conversions)
3 scoops protein powder (either vanilla or I used this)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 egg (or ¼ c. Egg Beaters)
1 can fat-free evaporated milk

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

I hate peeling potatoes! So I always boil the sweet potatoes with the skins on and then allow hem to cool. The skins fall right off. Once cooked (and you want them "fork soft" like you'd prepare potatoes for mashing) and peeled, mash your sweet potatoes with a potato masher.

Add sweetener, spice and protein powder, along with your egg. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the sides to get it all smooth.

Next, add the evaporated milk and mix again on low speed.

Pour into any pie shell you want (I typically get a storebought one). Then wrap the outer crust in aluminum foil to avoid burning.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until pie is almost completely set. Remove aluminum foil from outer crust and bake another 5-7 minutes or until center of the pie is set.

The will be smooth, shiny and slightly stiff on the surface…no worries! When it cools, it looks, feels and tastes like a traditional pie!

This recipe goes out to all my sweet potato pie eaters! We talk so much about pumpkin this and pumpkin that and from my experience you are either a sweet potato pie lover or a pumpkin pie lover. I’ve met few people who loved both. So while everyone else is killing their pumpkin pie, you can have this!

NEWBIES: If you’d like to enjoy this treat, you can too. I suggest halving the recipe (use 2 scoops of protein powder if you halve and still use one egg, but cut everything else in half) and bake them in ramekins, much the same way I made my protein pumpkin custards a few weeks ago.

Enjoy!

BF Top 5: Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

Yes, it is the butt-crack of dawn. It's early. I know. But I also know you're going out shopping today for Thanksgiving stuff and I want you to have these recipes before you do that!!!

So as your public servant, I offer you the following super-yummy dessert ideas for Thanksgiving. (Click the title of the dish to get the recipe)

"Apple Brown Nik" (Apple Crumble)



As you'll read in the post, this is a dessert I advertised as both healthy AND sugar-free and it still got pilfered! Maybe it's the fresh mix of tangy apples, fall spices and crunchy topping that drew them to my apple crumble. All I know is that this year I am making an extra one for me and hiding it behind a fruit cake!!!

Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake Trifle



This one is a confection of former BF co-author Jen. I like trifles because you get all the good stuff you want but not too much of any of it (provided you only visit the trifle bowl once. This one is a good Thanksgiving, fallsy one.

Mocha Forest Trifle

So good...it doesn't even need a trifle bowl!

Speaking of trifles...I came up with one of my own. Now if you don't feel adept at making protein cake, there is such a thing as sugar-free Devil's Food cake (Pillsbury makes it).

Banana Pudding (Pie)



It's not just for Elvis!!! This pie will take you straight back to the old school banana pudding...without the food baby afterward. (I'm just sayin')

Cheesecake!



I'm always a big fan of cheesecake. This can be made with or without protein - your choice! The protein melds kind of seemlessly for what it's worth. Don't worry about perfection, either. Buy a few cans of no-sugar added cherry pie filling and slap that on top! (NOTE: The attached recipe is for a banana cheesecake. Simply omit the banana part and the base recipe works just fine!)

Now are you convinced that there are good eats for you at Thanksgiving too????

No? Well then stay tuned tomorrow for my sugar-free roasted sweet potato pie recipe (with protein!). It's divine! So while you're out shopping today...pick up 4-5 good sized sweet potatoes and meet me back here tomorrow, k?

BF Top 5: Thanksgiving Side Dishes

For all my U.S. readers, Turkey Day come-eth!!!

This day can be a bit nerve-wracking. After all, it's a whole day dedicated to eating!

And as much as they tell us the holiday is about thankfulness, for many of us it just doesn't play out that way. Because let's be real: in many families it's about the two f's - food and football.

So what to do? Well, I have some suggestions for coping with the mental aspects of Thanksgiving, but so far as the food...you need a plan.

Here are five of my favorite side dish recipes from right here on the blog to help you out!!! (Click the dish title to go to the full post.)

Corn Pudding

("What?!?!?! I thought corn was EVIIIIIIIIILLLLLL????")

In and of itself...no. BUT I would encourage you to defer to your surgical plan on when to eat corn. If you aren't allowed corn, skip this recipe!!! I believe corn pudding is a Southern specialty and it was contributed by BF's former resident Southern Belle, Jen. We served it at last year's holiday event and it was one of the very few recipes from that event that we shared on the blog. Any way you slice it, this stuff is GOOD!

Corn, Tomato and Okra



I always thought this recipe was unique to my mother. Turns out it was unique to a lot of people's mothers AND my heritage is a bit more southern than I realized. For those who don't like okra (even though I assure you that if you cook this by the directions given it will NOT be slimy!) you can sub in some zucchini. As a matter of fact, if you don't want to do the corn, you can also do yellow squash. This is a really good veggie side dish that's festive to boot!

Green Bean Casserole

Attendees of the 2011 Bariatric Foodie Holiday Food Tasting got to experience not one...but TWO remixes of this Thanksgiving classic. That was interesting for me because my family has never made green bean casserole on Thanksgiving (but if you forget the collard greens you are in BIG trouble!) so I really enjoyed getting to know this dish. Here's a version of the classic that you can feel good about serving on your table.

Four Cheese Mashed Cauliflower



Aside from taco casserole, this is the most visited post on this blog! I love this stuff and my kids do too. One note: this dish doesn't tend to replace homemade mac 'n cheese per se...but it is a reasonable alternative to most, especially if you add your favorite seasonings and let the dish get nice and brown on top. I mean, who can resist CHEESE???

Cranberry Sauce
(Jellied and Whole Berry)

True story: for YEARS my family had this one particular can of cranberry sauce in the fridge. We did not open it or move it. We simply paid homage to it every Thanksgiving (and had another can we'd actually crack open). Well, one year someone (I think it was my brother) threw away the can of cranberry sauce. There was a pox on our house!!! Let's just say we have a replacement can...along with a note attached strongly suggesting nobody moves it.

For those of you who'd actually like to EAT some cranberry sauce, here's a sugar-free recipe that's a winner. I made this last year and it was well received. I added just a bit of ground ginger to the party and wow! Flavor out the wazoo!

Tomorrow, I'll share my top five favorite dessert offerings. These are so good you don't even have to tell the fam they are healthy! Stay tuned.

"Mommy and Me" Protein Shakes



Raise your hand if you have a kid that just can't get into breakfast.

You beg, you plead, you guilt trip and still nothing. They are perfectly content to go through the whole morning without eating.

Thanks to our "revised" gastrointestinal systems we know that the body can go long periods of time without food, but for kids especially breakfast is important. It helps them have the energy they need to power arguably the most important organ in the human body: the brain!

My youngest daughter was that kind of kid. She would often skip breakfast, mostly because she isn't a big meat eater and cereal got boring after a while. But she does like protein shakes. In fact, she went with me to the gym this weekend and, as we were leaving, asked for a shake. I grudgingly forked over about $6 for the very same shake recipe I share below. But I would say it was still worth it because I have finally, FINALLY found something the child will consume for breakfast that is not a doughnut!

WARNING: This shake is not for you, post-ops! Especially if you have reactive hypoglycemia or, like me, are simply prone to "very special moments" when too many carbs are playing in the playground. Kids, though? They need carbs. Good carbs. And good fat. And a good bit of protein, making this a great shake for your kid. You? You may have a sip. Maybe two. But then proceed DIRECTLY to the 2nd shake recipe!!!

Nik's Trail Mix Protein Shake (for non-op shake lovers)
(Depending on the age of your kid, this would make more than one shake. Feel free to cut the recipe in half to get less!)

8 oz. milk of some sort (your choice)
1/2 ripened banana
1 heaping tablespoon almond butter
1/8 c. lower-sugar granola of your choice (I used all natural pumpkin spice granola I got from the farmer's market)
1 tbsp raisins
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
A few ice cubes
OPTIONAL: Sweetener to taste (I didn't have to use sweetener but it depends on the kid)

Directions:

Combine everything EXCEPT protein and ice in your blender until well mixed.

Add protein and ice and blend again until smooth.

Serve in a glass and try not to sip!!! It's not for you!!!

The picture at the top is this protein shake in my daughters re-usable travel cup. I made it in the morning, she sipped while she dressed and took it straight out the door with her. Lovely!

Now for you...it's been a LONG time since I've done a new protein shake recipe. There are so many on this blog already (and even MORE than in that link, which I'm working on updating) that I have an extensive list from which to choose. This shake was, as so many are, a result of having to use what I had on hand at the moment. The results were very yummy.

Nik's "Peanutella" Protein Shake

8 oz. milk
1 scoop chocolate peanut butter protein powder

-OR-

1 scoop chocolate protein powder + 1 tbsp PB2
(I would not recommend using peanut butter. Too high in calories and fat for this!)

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp good decaf instant coffee
2 pumps (tablespoons) sugar-free hazelnut syrup
OPTIONAL:2 tbsp fat-free or sugar-free whipped cream (your choice)

Directions:

Blend according to the Triple X Method. Or not. Your choice. This is definitely a blender recipe though. A shaker cup would not work well!

Enjoy!

The Quest of the Bariatric Foodie (Part Three)

This could be YOURS! Read on to find out how.



Man...this has been the most fun product review EVER! I'm sort of tentative about reviews. I know what I like and what I don't like (most of the time) so trying something new can be a bit stressful. But this one has been an absolute pleasure!

For my last two reviews I have the Peanut Butter Supreme bar and the Mixed Berry. Remember to read until the end to find out how you can win some of your own!

Peanut Butter Supreme

Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah! This is what I wanted out of the PB&J. Peanut Butter. Straight, no chaser.

This one I went straight to nuking. The only thing better than peanut butter is warm peanut butter. I only nuked it 15 seconds this time, though. I wanted the bar to still be in tact. And it was. Ohhhhh...yes it was!

I've been tasting the bars at work. That is a good and a bad thing. Good in that I have ten times more self control at work than at home. Bad because I can't yell out things like "HOLY PROTEIN BAR BATMAN!!!" Yeah. That might be awkward.

The peanut flavor is genuine. And complete. And everything I wanted it to be. It's as if someone made a candy bar just for me. Except it has protein in it. Lots of protein. This may require therapy. I don't know whether to feel guilty or good or both or neither and right now I'm feeling just a little bit vulnerable ok????

Let's move on...

Mixed Berry

I saved this one for last because...well...I'm not a big berry person. I have to get in the mood for them. In a choice between Team Fruity and Team Creamy, I am creamy all the way!

I nuked this one too (it's becoming standard operating procedure) and it was quite nice. Like a warm fruity cookie. It was very, very sweet. To me. I am one who likes sweet things to be offset with something savory or salty, so that is probably just a personal preference.

Lastly, this bar was so colorful! Good job Quest! There is REAL berries (just like real apples in the apple one) and I like that a lot. This bar is the most un-processed processed food I've ever eaten ;)

So there you have it. All six reviews. So now to the good stuff. You wanna win some for yourself?

Here's what you have to do:

Step One:

Pick the bar you think would best help YOU on your "Quest for Success!" Here is the first and second review, this is the third, just to refresh your memory.

Step Two:

Go to the Bariatric Foodie review post of the bar you liked best and copy the link from your address bar. Then post that link on the Bariatric Foodie Wall or Tweet it AND complete the following sentence as your status: “The ______ flavored Quest bar will help me stay on track because ______. Check it out!” (NOTE: You must have both the link to the Bariatric Foodie review AND that statement to enter.) For Twitter users, tag @BariatricFoodie so I know you did it!

Step Three:

For everyone who does this, I will enter names into a handy-dandy random  name generator and draw the prize - a free box of Quest bars - on MONDAY!

(Please remember to post both the link to the review and the statement. Thank you!)

WARNING: Choose wisely folks. The bar you "pimp" is the bar you win! So if you've never tried a Quest bar before, you might want to re-read (or for some of you, just plain read) the first, second and third set of reviews to make your choice.

As always, extra chances at the prize:

1. For Facebook users, after you post this message to the Bariatric Foodie Wall, click "share" to post it to YOUR feed! (one extra chance)
2. Begin following Bariatric Foodie on Twitter or like the Bariatric Foodie Facebook page. (one extra chance for each)
3. Add Bariatric Foodie to your blog's blogroll by grabbing my button! (button and HTML coding in the right menu bar - look to your right and up...just a liiiittle bit...there it is!). Post the link to your blog in the comments so I can credit you your one extra chance.

Any questions, leave them in the comments! I'm happy to answer.