Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Sausage Stuffing for Thanksgiving Turkey

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound mild or sage breakfast sausage
  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) butter
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped celery
  • 10 cups cubed French bread or white bread
  • 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried leaf sage, crumbled
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • dash freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups chicken broth

Preparation:

Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Heat oven to 350°.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage, breaking up and stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink. Remove to paper towels to drain. Wipe out the skillet and melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, toss the bread cubes with the herbs and seasonings. Add the vegetables with the butter and the drained sausage. Stir in chicken broth until well moistened, but not mushy. Pack gently into the prepared baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and broil for about 3 to 4 minutes, or just until browned on top.
Serves 10 to 12.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Mock Lasagna Puree Friendly WLS



Ingredients:

Pinch of minced garlic
1/4 tsp Dried italian spice blend
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 cup Marinara or meat spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese







Mix ricotta, parmesan cheeses, italian spice blend, and minced garlic and spread into the bottom of a small casserole dish.  Spread spaghetti sauce over ricotta cheese, top with mozzarella and bake at 400 degrees until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.   This also works fine in the microwave (heat until mozzarella melts)  but the browned cheese from the oven is sooo yummy. 

This recipe is good for the puree and soft food stages but can be modified for later by adding cooked italian sausage or hamburger to the sauce.  You don't even miss the pasta noodles, really!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Pouch Rules for Dummies

It's here on my blog because I couldn't pin it from the original site.


Pouch Rules for Dummies

borrowed from: http://www.gastricbypassfamily.com/PouchRules.html

INTRODUCTION:

A common misunderstanding of gastric bypass surgery is that the pouch causes weight loss because it is so small, the patient eats less. Although that is true for the first six months, that is not how it works. Some doctors have assumed that poor weight loss in some patients is because they aren’t really trying to lose weight. The truth is it may be because they haven’t learned how to get the satisfied feeling of being full to last long enough. 

HYPOTHESIS OF POUCH FUNCTION:
We have four educated guesses as to how the pouch works:
1. Weight loss occurs by actually slightly stretching the pouch with food at each meal or;
2. Weight loss occurs by keeping the pouch tiny through never ever overstuffing or;
3. Weight loss occurs until the pouch gets worn out and regular eating begins or;
4 Weight loss occurs with education on the use of the pouch.

PUBLISHED DATA:
How does the pouch make you feel full?
The nerves tell the brain the pouch is distended and that cuts off hunger with a feeling of fullness.
What is the fate of the pouch? Does it enlarge? If it does, is it because the operation was bad, or the patient is overstuffing themselves, or does the pouch actually re-grow in a healing attempt to get back to normal?
For ten years, I had patients eat until full with cottage cheese every three months, and report the amount of cottage cheese they were able to eat before feeling full. This gave me an idea of the size of their pouch at three month intervals. I found there was a regular growth in the amount of intake of every single pouch. The average date the pouch stopped growing was two years. After the second year, all pouches stopped growing. Most pouches ended at 6 oz., with some as large at 9-10 ozs. 
We then compared the weight loss of people with the known pouch size of each person, to see if the pouch size made a difference. In comparing the large pouches to the small pouches, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IN PERCENTAGE OF WEIGHT LOSS AMONG THE PATIENTS. This important fact essentially shows that it is NOT the size of the pouch but how it is used that makes weight loss maintenance possible. 

OBSERVATIONAL BASED MEDICINE:
The information here is taken from surgeon’s “observations” as opposed to “blind” or “double blind” studies, but it IS based on 33 years of physician observation.
Due to lack of insurance coverage for WLS, what originally seemed like a serious lack of patients to observe, turned into an advantage as I was able to follow my patients closely. The following are what I found to effect how the pouch works:
1. Getting a sense of fullness is the basis of successful WLS.
2. Success requires that a small pouch is created with a small outlet.
3. Regular meals larger than 1 ½ cups will result in eventual weight gain.
4. Using the thick, hard to stretch part of the stomach in making the pouch is important.
5. By lightly stretching the pouch with each meal, the pouch send signals to the brain that you need no more food.
6. Maintaining that feeling of fullness requires keeping the pouch stretched for awhile.
7. Almost all patients always feel full 24/7 for the first months, then that feeling disappears.
8. Incredible hunger will develop if there is no food or drink for eight hours.
9. After 1 year, heavier food makes the feeling of fullness last longer.
10. By drinking water as much as possible as fast as possible (“water loading”), the patient will get a feeling of fullness that lasts 15-25 minutes.
11. By eating “soft foods” patients will get hungry too soon and be hungry before their next meal, which can cause snacking, thus poor weight loss or weight gain.
12. The patients that follow “the rules of the pouch” lose their extra weight and keep it off.
13. The patients that lose too much weight can maintain their weight by doing the reverse of the “rules of the pouch.”

HOW DO WE INTERPRET THESE OBSERVATIONS?
POUCH SIZE:
By following the “rules of the pouch”, it doesn’t matter what size the pouch ends up. The feeling of fullness with 1 ½ cups of food can be achieved.

OUTLET SIZE:
Regardless of the outlet size, liquidy foods empty faster than solid foods. High calorie liquids will create weight gain.

EARLY PROFOUND SATIETY:
Before six months, patients much sip water constantly to get in enough water each day, which causes them to always feel full.
After six months, about 2/3 of the pouch has grown larger due to the natural healing process. At this time, the patient can drink 1 cup of water at a time.

OPTIMUM MATURE POUCH:
The pouch works best when the outlet is not too small or too large and the pouch itself holds about 1 ½ cups at a time.

IDEAL MEAL PROCESS (rules of the pouch):
1. The patient must time meals five hours apart or the patient will get too hungry in between.
2. The patient needs to eat finely cut meat and raw or slightly cooked veggies with each meal.
3. The patient must eat the entire meal in 5-15 minutes. A 30-45 minute meal will cause failure.
4. No liquids for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours after each meal.
5. After 1 ½ to 2 hours, begin sipping water and over the next three hours slowly increase water intake.
6. 3 hours after last meal, begin drinking LOTS of water/fluids.
7. 15 minutes before the next meal, drink as much as possible as fast as possible. This is called “water loading.” IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN DRINKING OVER THE LAST FEW HOURS, THIS ‘WATER LOADING’ WILL NOT WORK.
8. You can water load at any time 2-3 hours before your next meal if you get hungry, which will cause a strong feeling of fullness.

THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENT TEACHING AND TRAINING:
You must provide information to the patient pre-operatively regarding the fact that the pouch is only a tool: a tool is something that is used to perform a task but is useless if left on a shelf unused. Practice working with a tool makes the tool more effective.
NECESSITY FOR LONG TERM FOLLOW-UP:
Trying to practice the “rules of the pouch” before six to 12 months is a waste. Learning how to delay hunger if the patient is never hungry just doesn’t work. The real work of learning the “rules of the pouch” begins after healing has caused hunger to return.

PREVENTION OF VOMITING:
Vomiting should be prevented as much as possible. Right after surgery, the patient should sip out of 1 oz cups and only 1/3 of that cup at a time until the patient learns the size of his/her pouch to avoid being sick.
It is extremely difficult to learn to deal with a small pouch. For the first 6 months, the patient’s mouth will literally be bigger than his/her stomach, which does not exist in any living animal on earth.
In the first six weeks the patient should slowly transfer from a liquid diet to a blenderized or soft food diet only, to reduce the chance of vomiting.
Vomiting will occur only after eating of solid foods begins. Rice, pasta, granola, etc. will swell in time and overload the pouch, which will cause vomiting. If the patient is having trouble with vomiting, he/she needs to get 1 oz cups and literally eat 1 oz of food at a time and wait a few minutes before eating another 1 oz of food. Stop when “comfortably satisfied,” until the patient learns the size of his/her pouch.

SIX WEEKS
After six weeks, the patient can move from soft foods to heavy solids. At this time, they should use three or more different types of foods at each sitting. Each bite should be no larger than the size of a pinkie fingernail bed. The patient should choose a different food with each bite to prevent the same solids from lumping together. No liquids 15 minutes before or 1 ½ hours after meals. 

REASSURANCE OF ADEQUATE NUTRITION
By taking vitamins everyday, the patient has no reason to worry about getting enough nutrition. Focus should be on proteins and vegetables at each meal.

MEAL SKIPPING
Regardless of lack of hunger, patient should eat three meals a day. In the beginning, one half or more of each meal should be protein, until the patient can eat at least two oz of protein at each meal.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
In our study, we noticed some patients had intense hunger cravings which stopped when they eliminated artificial sweeteners from their diets.

AVOIDING ABSOLUTES
Rules are made to be broken. No biggie if the patient drinks with one meal – as long as the patient knows he/she is breaking a rule and will get hungry early. Also if the patient pigs out at a party – that’s OK because before surgery, the patient would have pigged on 3000 to 5000 calories and with the pouch, the patient can only pig on 600-1000 calories max. The patient needs to just get back to the rules and not beat him/herself up.

THREE MONTHS
At three months, the patient needs to become aware of the calories per gram of different foods to be aware of “the cost” of each gram. (cheddar cheese is 16 cal/gram; peanut butter is 24 cals/gram). As soon as hunger returns between three to six months, begin water loading procedures.
THREE PRINCIPLES FOR GAINING AND MAINTAINING SATIETY
1. Fill pouch full quickly at each meal.
2. Stay full by slowing the emptying of the pouch. (Eat solids. No liquids 15 minutes before and none until 1 ½ hours after the meal). A scientific test showed that a meal of egg/toast/milk had almost all emptied out of the pouch after 45 minutes. Without milk, just egg and toast, more than ½ of the meal still remained in the pouch after 1 ½ hours.
3. Protein, protein, protein. Three meals a day. No high calorie liquids.

FLUID LOADING
Fluid loading is drinking water/liquids as quickly as possible to fill the pouch which provides the feeling of fullness for about 15 to 25 minutes. The patient needs to gulp about 80% of his/her maximum amount of liquid in 15 to 30 SECONDS. Then just take swallows until fullness is reached. The patient will quickly learn his/her maximum tolerance, which is usually between 8-12 oz.
Fluid loading works because the roux limb of the intestine swells up, contracting and backing up any future food to come into the pouch. The pouch is very sensitive to this and the feeling of fullness will last much longer than the reality of how long the pouch was actually full. Fluid load before each meal to prevent thirst after the meal as well as to create that feeling of fullness whenever suddenly hungry before meal time.

POST PRANDIAL THIRST
It is important that the patient be filled with water before his/her next meal as the meal will come with salt and will cause thirst afterwards. Being too thirsty, just like being too hungry will make a patient nauseous. While the pouch is still real small, it won’t make sense to the patient to do this because salt intake will be low, but it is a good habit to get into because it will make all the difference once the pouch begins to regrow.

URGENCY
The first six months is the fastest, easiest time to lose weight. By the end of the six months, 2/3 of the regrowth of the pouch will have been done. That means that each present day, after surgery you will be satisfied with less calories than you will the very next day. Another way to put it is that every day that you are healing, you will be able to eat more. So exercise as much as you can during that first six months as you will never be able to lose weight as fast as you can during this time. 

SIX MONTHS
Around this time, our patients begin to get hungry between meals. THEY NEED TO BATTLE THE EXTRA SALT INTAKE WITH DRINKING LOTS OF FLUIDS IN THE TWO TO THREE HOURS BEFORE THEIR NEXT MEAL. Their pouch needs to be well watered before they do the last gulping of water as fast as possible to fill the pouch 15 minutes before they eat.

INTAKE INFORMATION SHEET AS A TEACHING TOOL
I have found that having the patients fill out a quiz every time they visit reminds them of the rules of the pouch and helps to get them “back on track.” Most patients have no problems with the rules, some patients really struggle to follow them and need a lot of support to “get it”, and a small percentage never quite understand these rules, even though they are quite intelligent people.

HONEYMOON SYNDROME
The lack of hunger and quick weight loss patients have in the first six months sometimes leads them to think they don’t need to exercise as much and can eat treats and extra calories as they still lose weight anyway. We call this the “honeymoon syndrome” and they need to be counseled that this is the only time they will lose this much weight this fast and this easy and not to waste it by losing less than they actually could. If the patient’s weight loss slows in the first six months, remind them of the rules of water intake and encourage them to increase their exercise and drink more water. You can compare their weight loss to a graph showing the average drop of weight if it will help them to get back on track.

EXERCISE
In addition to exercise helping to increase the weight loss, it is important for the patient to understand that exercise is a natural antidepressant and will help them from falling into a depression cycle. In addition, exercise jacks up their metabolic rate during a time when their metabolism after the shock of surgery tends to want to slow down.

THE IDEAL MEAL FOR WEIGHT LOSS
 The ideal meal is one that is made up of the following: ½ of your meal to be low fat protein, ¼ of your meal low starch vegetables and ¼ of your meal solid fruits. This type of meal will stay in your pouch a long time and is good for your health.

 VOLUME VS. CALORIES
 The gastric bypass patient needs to be aware of the length of time it takes to digest different foods and to focus on those that take up the most space and take time to digest so as to stay in the pouch the longest, don’t worry about calories. This is the easiest way to “count your calories.” For example, a regular stomach person could gag down two whole sticks of butter at one sitting and be starved all day long, although they more than have enough calories for the day. But you take the same amount of calories in vegetables, and that same person simply would not be able to eat that much food at three sittings – it would stuff them way too much.

 ISSUES FOR LONG TERM WEIGHT MAINTENANCE
 Although everything stated in this report deals with the first year after surgery, it should be a lifestyle that will benefit the gastric bypass patient for years to come, and help keep the extra weight off.

 COUNTER-INTUITIVENESS OF FLUID MANAGEMENT
 I admit that avoiding fluids at meal time and then pushing hard to drink fluids between meals is against everything normal in nature and not a natural thing to be doing. Regardless of that fact, it is the best way to stay full the longest between meals and not accidentally create a “soup” in the stomach that is easily digested.
 SUPPORT GROUPS
 It is natural for quite a few people to use the rules of the pouch and then to tire of it and stop going by the rules. Others “get it” and adhere to the rules as a way of life to avoid ever regaining extra weight. Having a support group makes all the difference to help those that go astray to be reminded of the importance of the rules of the pouch and to get back on track and keep that extra weight off. Support groups create a “peer pressure” to stick to the rules that the staff at the physician’s office simply can’t create.

 TEETER TOTTER EFFECT
 Think of a teeter totter suspended in mid air in front of you. Now on the left end is exercise that you do and the right end is the foods that you eat. The more exercise you do on the left, the less you need to worry about the amount of foods you eat on the right. In exact reverse, the more you worry about the foods you eat and keep it healthy on the right, the less exercise you need on the left. 
Now if you don’t concern yourself with either side, the higher the teeter totter goes, which is your weight. The more you focus on one side or the other, or even both sides of the teeter totter, the lower it goes, and the less you weigh.

 TOO MUCH WEIGHT LOSS
 I have found that about 15% of the patients which exercise well and had between 100 to 150 lbs to lose, begin to lose way too much weight. I encourage them to keep up the exercise (which is great for their health) and to essentially “break the rules” of the pouch. Drink with meals so they can eat snacks between without feeling full and increase their fat content as well take a longer time to eat at meals, thus taking in more calories.
 A small but significant amount of gastric bypass patients actually go underweight because they have experienced (as all of our patients have experienced) the ravenous hunger after being on a diet with an out of control appetite once the diet is broken. They are afraid of eating again. They don’t “get” that this situation is literally, physically different and that they can control their appetite this time by using the rules of the pouch to eliminate hunger.

 BARIATRIC MEDICINE
 A much more common problem is patients who after a year or two plateau at a level above their goal weight and don’t lose as much weight as they want. Be careful that they are not given the “regular” advice given to any average overweight individual. Several small meals or skipping a meal with a liquid protein substitute is not the way to go for gastric bypass patients. They must follow the rules, fill themselves quickly with hard to digest foods, water load between, increase their exercise and the weight should come off much easier than with regular people diets.

 SUMMARY
1. The patient needs to understand how the new pouch physically works.
2. The patient needs to be able to evaluate their use of the tool, compare it to the ideal and see where they need to make changes.
3. Instruct your patient in all ways (through their eyes with visual aids, ears with lectures and emotions with stories and feelings) not only on how but why they need to learn to use their pouch.
 The goal is for the patient to become an expert on how to use the pouch.
EVALUATION FOR WEIGHT LOSS FAILURE
 The first thing that needs to be ruled out in patients who regain their weight is how the pouch is set up. 
1. the staple line needs to be intact; 
2. same with the outlet and; 
3. the pouch is reasonably small.
 1) Use thick barium to confirm the staple line is intact. If it isn’t, then the food will go into the large stomach, from there into the intestines and the patient will be hungry all the time. Check for a little ulcer at the staple line. A tiny ulcer may occur with no real opening at the line, which can be dealt with as you would any ulcer. Sometimes, though, the ulcer is there because of a break in the staple line. This will cause pain for the patient after the patient has eaten because the food rubs the little opening of the ulcer. If there is a tiny opening at the staple line, then a reoperation must be done to actually separate the pouch and the stomach completely and seal each shut.
2) If the outlet is smaller than 7-8 mill, the patient will have problems eating solid foods and will little by little begin eating only easy-to-digest foods, which we call “soft calorie syndrome.” This
causes frequent hunger and grazing, which leads to weight regain. 
3) To assess pouch volume, an upper GI doesn’t work as it is a liquid. The cottage cheese test is useful – eating as much cottage cheese as possible in five to 15 minutes to find out how much food the pouch will hold. It shouldn’t be able to hold more than 1 ½ cups in 5 – 15 minutes of quick eating.
 If everything is intact then there are four problems that it may be: 
1) The patient has never been taught the rules;
2) The patient is depressed; 
3) The patient has a loss of peer support and eventual forgetting of rules, or 
4) The patient simply refuses to follow the rules.

  LACK OF TEACHING
 An excellent example is a female patient who is 62 years old. She had the operation when she was 47 years old. She had a total regain of her weight. She stated that she had not seen her surgeon after the six week follow up 15 years ago. She never knew of the rules of the pouch. She had initially lost 50 lbs and then with a commercial weight program lost another 40 lbs. After that, she yo-yoed up and down, each time gaining a little more back. She then developed a disease (with no connection to bariatric surgery) which weakened her muscles, at which time she gained all of her weight back. At the time she came to me, she was treated for her disease, which helped her to begin walking one mile per day. I checked her pouch with barium and the cottage cheese test which showed the pouch to be a small size and that there was no leakage. She was then given the rules of the pouch. She has begun an impressive and continuing weight loss, and is not focused on food as she was, and feeling the best she has felt since the first months after her operation 15 years ago.
DEPRESSION
 Depression is a strong force for stopping weight loss or causing weight gain. A small number of patients, who do well at the beginning, disappear for awhile only to return having gained a lot of
weight. It seems that they almost on purpose do exactly opposite of everything they have learned about their pouch: they graze during the day, drink high calorie beverages, drink with meals and stop exercising, even though they know exercise helps stop depression.
 A 46 year-old woman, one year out of her surgery had been doing fine when her life was turned upside down with divorce and severe teenager behavior problems. Her weight skyrocketed. Once she got her depression under control and began refocusing on the rules of the pouch, added a little exercise, the weight came off quickly.
 If your patient begins weight gain due to depression, get him/her into counseling quickly. Encourage your patient to refocus on the pouch rules and try to add a little exercise every day. Reassure your patient that he/she did not ruin the pouch, that it is still there, waiting to be used to help with weight control. When they are ready the pouch can be used once again to lose weight without being hungry.

 EROSION OF THE USE OF PRINCIPLES:
 Some patients who are compliant, who are not depressed and have intact pouches, will begin to gain weight. These patients are struggling with their weight, have usually stopped connecting with their support groups, and have begun living their “new” life surrounded by those who have not had bariatric surgery. Everything around them encourages them to live life “normal” like their new peers: they begin taking little sips with their meals, and eating quick and easy-to-eat foods. The patient will not usually call their physician’s office because they KNOW what they are doing is wrong and KNOW that they just need to get back on track. Even if you offer “refresher courses” for your patients on a yearly basis, they may not attend because they KNOW what the course is going to say, they know the rules and how they are breaking them. You need to identify these patients and somehow get them back into your office or back to interacting with their support group again. Once these patients return to their support group, and keep in contact with their WLS peers, it makes it much easier to return to the rules of the pouch and get their weight under control once again.

 TRUE NON-COMPLIANCE:
 The most difficult problem is a patient who is truly non-compliant. This patient usually leaves your care, complains that there is no ‘connection’ between your staff and themselves and that they were not given the time and attention they needed. Most of the time, it is depression underlying the non-compliance that causes this attitude.
 A truly non-compliant patient will usually end up with revisions and/or reversal of the surgery due to weight gain or complications. This patient is usually quite resistant to counseling. There is not a whole lot that can be done for these patients as they will find a reason to be unhappy with their situation. It is easier to identify these patients BEFORE surgery than to help them afterwards, although I really haven’t figured out how to do that yet… Besides having a psychological exam done before surgery, there is no real way to find them before surgery and I usually tend toward the side of offering patients the surgery with education in hopes they can live a good and healthy life.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Hungarian Goulash


Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. Remove onions and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Coat beef cubes in spice mixture, and cook in onion pot until brown on all sides. Return the onions to the pot, and pour in tomato paste, water, garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Brown Sugar Chicken


Brown Sugar Chicken - prep/no cooking, freeze in bag
The Ingredients.
--12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves
--1 cup brown sugar (it's okay. you can brush your teeth after.)
--1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (stay with me...)
--2/3 cup vinegar (I used white wine, but think regular white would be fine)
--3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
--2 T soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat free are GF)
--1 tsp ground black pepper
The Directions.
Use a 4 quart crockpot for this recipe. 
Plop the chicken into your crockpot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!
Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.
Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.

Breakfast Taco


WW Breakfast Taco - quadruple recipe, prep/cook, wrap in foil, freeze
Ingredients
Non stick cooking spray
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
6 slices "Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Shaved 
Smoked Ham", chopped
2 (8 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas
1/4 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
1. Beat whole egg, egg whites and ham until well blended. Heat a nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium high heat. Add egg mixture; cook 3 minutes or until set, stirring occasionally.
2. Spoon egg mixture down centers of tortillas; top with cheese. Fold in opposite sides of each tortilla, then roll up burrito style.
Yield: 2 Burritos
Serving Size = 1 Per Serving.
Weight Watchers PointsPlus+ = 6 Per Serving
Nutrition Information:
Calories 230, Carbs 19g, Fat 8 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 19g

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Muffins


Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes
Rating: 5
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 24-30 rolls
Ingredients
  • 1 recipe Pizza Dough
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup favorite Buffalo Sauce (I used Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce
  • 2 cups fresh mozzarella
Instructions
  1. Saute chopped onions in butter over medium heat. Once transparent, add chopped chicken. When chicken is done, add Buffalo Sauce and heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 400. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick spray, or, opt to use a prepared muffin tin. (I used muffin tins)
  3. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a large rectangle roughly 1/4 inch in thickness.
  4. Spread chicken and cheese evenly across each piece of rolled out dough. Starting from long side of dough, begin rolling the dough up like a cinnamon roll. Pinch ends when done. Slice into 1 1/2 to 2 inch rolls. Place on the baking sheet or in muffin tins. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and dough is lightly browned. Serve and enjoy!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Chicken & Rice Casserole


Ingredients

  • 4 skinless, bone-in chicken breast halves
  • 2 stalks celery, cut into thirds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 6 ounces sour cream
  • 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups crushed buttery round crackers
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Bring to a boil the chicken breasts, celery, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and enough water to cover. Cover, reduce heat to medium low; simmer for 35 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup liquid. Cool chicken, remove meat from bones, and cut into bite-size pieces.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together sour cream, soup, broth, celery salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in cooked rice and chicken. Spoon mixture into a 9x13 inch casserole dish. In a resealable bag, shake together crushed crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle crackers over the top.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Monday, May 28, 2012

BBQ Sauce


All of the bottled stuff at the grocery store has high fructose corn syrup as their first ingredient.


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add garlic and sauté until brown. Add remaining ingredients and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes until thickened.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Baked Spiced Butternut Squash with Apples and Maple Syrup




Serves 8-10
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 small butternut squash, peeled and cut in half lengthwise, seeded and
cut crosswise into 1/3 inch thick slices
4 6-ounce Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch
thick slices


Directions
Preheat oven to 400º. Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Stir butter, maple syrup and apple juice
in a small saucepan over medium low heat until butter melts. Increase heat and boil until mixture is
slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in cinnamon, allspice and salt.
Arrange 1/3 of the squash slices in prepared dish. Top with half the apple slices, then 1/3 of squash
slices. Arrange remaining slices of squash and apple on top, alternating and slightly overlapping
slices. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Pour maple syrup mixture over squash and apples.
Cover dish tightly with foil.
Bake until squash is almost tender, about 50 minutes. Uncover and bake until squash is tender,
basting occasionally with syrup, about 20 minutes longer

Garlic Rosemary Potatoes



Serves 8-10
Ingredients
4 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed, halved
2 heads garlic, cloves separated
4 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, toss potatoes and garlic cloves with rosemary. Add olive and
toss to coat lightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place potatoes in a single layer on a sheet pan, cut side down. Roast 30 to 45 minutes or until golden
brown and tender

Scallion & Ginger Spiced Chicken



Serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced scallion whites
3 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sugar or Stevia
Salt and pepper
Soy sauce to taste
1/2 cup sliced scallion greens


Directions
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large, heavy skillet heat olive oil over
medium high heat. Add chicken and sear until well-browned on each side, about 3 minutes per side.
Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil.
Reduce heat to medium and add scallion whites, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
Add chicken broth, rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly
thickened, about 3 minutes.
Return chicken and juices to skillet, reduce heat to low. Simmer until chicken is cooked through,
about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken to a warmed platter. Season sauce with soy sauce to taste and
spoon over chicken. Garnish with scallion greens

BREAST CANCER PREVENTION MEAL PLAN


Your meal plan for a typical week
 Day 1
Breakfast:
Combine a small banana, a big handful of strawberries, a pot of low-fat natural yoghurt and the same volume of skimmed milk in a blender. Whizz until smooth and frothy.

One slice of mixed-grain seedy bread (toasted if you prefer) with reduced-fat olive oil spread and a teaspoon or two of high-fruit jam.

Lunch:
Mix half a tin of tuna (in brine, drained) with chopped celery, peppers, spring onions and one tablespoon low-fat mayo. Use to fill a wholemeal pitta and top with lots of mixed salad leaves.

Snack: Pear

Dinner:
ChilliBoil four level tablespoons of brown rice - this will take about 40 minutes while you get on with the chilli.
Heat a teaspoon olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add a small chopped onion and two cloves of garlic, allow to soften. Add a sliced courgette, a handful of mushrooms and a small pepper, cut into chunks. Drain a tin of chickpeas, rinse well and add to the pan, along with a stock cube, a small tin of tomatoes and spices - a good pinch each of chilli powder, cumin, coriander and turmeric, more if you fancy. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Serve half of the chilli with half of the rice. Save the rest for tomorrow's dinner or pop it in the freezer for a busy day.

Snack: Bowl of cherries


Day 2
Breakfast:
Wholemeal muffin spread with a little reduced-fat olive oil spread and two teaspoons of high fruit jam. Serve with a small bowl of strawberries.

Lunch:
Spread a flour tortilla (wholegrain if possible) with a tablespoon tomato salsa, and fill with 60g (2 1/2oz) cooked chicken, three tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese and plenty of crisp salad.

Dinner:
Mix together a heaped teaspoon each of honey, wholegrain mustard and soy sauce. Use this to marinade a pork chop (around 150g (5oz) in weight) for 20 minutes to half an hour. Grill the chop for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until thoroughly cooked. Meantime, cut a medium-large sweet potato into 1cm (1/2 in) thick slices, brush with a little olive oil and grill for five to seven minutes, turning once. Mix a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard into two tablespoons of natural yoghurt and serve the pork and grilled sweet potato slices with lots of crisp salad or green veg.

Snack: Pear or two plums


Day 3
Breakfast:
Chop an apple, a pear, a kiwi fruit and four dried apricots. Mix fruit together and top with a pot of low-fat natural yoghurt.

Lunch:
Have the rest of tuna from Day 1 in two slices of seeded bread with salad. Small tin of peaches or apricots in juice, not syrup (such as Frutini).

Dinner:
Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan or wok. Cut a chicken fillet into strips and cook quickly in the oil, keeping the heat high. Add half a sliced onion, a crushed clove of garlic and 1cm (1/2in) of grated fresh ginger if you have it, half a sliced pepper, some mushrooms and a handful of mangetout or sugar snap peas. Turn the heat down slightly and cook for a few minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons of teriyaki sauce (or other stir-fry sauce) and then tip in an individual pack of straight-to-wok noodles. Combine to heat through and then sprinkle with half a teaspoon of sesame seeds.

Snack: Small bag of Peanut M&Ms


Day 4
Breakfast:
Cook 50g (2oz) porridge oats with water as directed on the packet. This only takes a couple of minutes in a microwave. Top with a small drizzle of honey and a chopped apple.

Lunch:
Mix a hard boiled egg with half a tablespoon of reduced-fat mayonnaise and a sliced spring onion. Make a sandwich with two slices of wholemeal or seeded bread or a granary roll.

Snack: Orange

Dinner:
Boil 40g (1 1/2oz) dried pasta (preferably wholegrain spaghetti or linguini) as directed, don't add oil or salt. While this is cooking, boil or steam some broccoli and spinach, and grill two turkey fillets, cutting into bite-sized pieces once cooked. Mix together a teaspoon of pesto and a tablespoon of natural yoghurt or fat-free fromage frais. Stir the pesto, broccoli and spinach, and turkey pieces through the cooked pasta. Top with a tablespoon of grated Parmesan.

Snack: Two rye crackers with a portion of low-fat cream cheese and a sliced tomato.


Day 5
Breakfast:
Four tablespoons of Bran Flakes, five chopped dried apricots and skimmed milk.

Lunch:
Fill a large wholemeal pitta pocket with a heaped tablespoon of reduced-fat hummus, five olives and salad - try a crisp mix of white cabbage, peppers, celery and carrot. Add a dash of hot chilli sauce to a tablespoon of fromage frais and use to dress the salad. Follow with a handful of grapes.

Dinner:
Low-fat lasagne with lots of green salad.Glass of red wine.

Snack: Slice of fruit loaf with reduced-fat olive oil spread.


Day 6
Breakfast:
Mix together one tablespoon of porridge oats, three tablespoons of raisins and a grated apple, keeping the skin on. Pour over 100ml (3 fl oz) skimmed milk and keep in the fridge overnight (this step isn't essential if you don't have time). Serve with a pot of low-fat yoghurt.

Lunch:
Soak two tablespoons of bulgar wheat in boiling water for 10 minutes. When it has swollen and softened, drain off excess water and refrigerate (do this the night before if it's easier). Slice three small vine-ripened tomatoes, two spring onions and a handful of fresh herbs of your choice. Mix into the wheat, along with the juice of half a lemon and a dessertspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Dinner:
Boil four new potatoes for 20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, brush a small salmon steak with a little olive oil and grill for around 10 minutes, turning once. Boil or steam a mix of green vegetables for five minutes - try a combination of green beans, broccoli and mangetout. Mix a heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, pesto or even horseradish sauce into a tablespoon of natural yoghurt and add chopped fresh herbs of your choice. Serve as a sauce for the salmon, with boiled new potatoes and crunchy vegetables.

Snack: Actimel fat-free drink or other probiotic drink.

Day 7
Breakfast:
Small bowl of Special K with a heaped tablespoon of All-Bran and skimmed milk. Small banana.

Lunch:
Bowl of lentil soup, granary roll with a light spread of low-fat cream cheese.

Dinner:
Put one-and-a-half tablespoons of brown rice on to boil for 35-40 minutes. Mix together three tablespoons of natural yoghurt, three-quarters of a teaspoon of cinnamon, two cardamom pods, half a teaspoon of ground cumin, half a teaspoon of coriander seeds, one-quarter teaspoon of ground ginger and a pinch of cloves. Use this to marinade a lean lamb loin chop for 30 minutes. When the rice has been cooking for about 25 minutes, cook the lamb either on a griddle pan or under the grill - this will take around 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, boil or steam green vegetables and serve with the rice and lamb.

Snack: Apple

Cream of Broccoli Soup


In summer add a tablespoon of flax oil and serve this soup cold.  
1 1/4 cup (300 g) broccoli, stems and all, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups (500 ml) water
2 cups (500 ml) milk
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 medium-sized raw potato, peeled and finely grated
1 medium-sized onion, diced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter
1 Tbsp (15 ml) pumpkin seeds
dash of pepper


Steam broccoli until tender but not overdone.
Dissolve stock cubes in heated water-milk mixture.
Sauté onion in butter until translucent.
Add potato and half a cup of liquid.
Simmer for five minutes.
Transfer to a soup pot and combine remaining liquid and broccoli and simmer for five minutes. Blend mixture until creamy.
Add a dash of pepper. Season to taste.
Garnish with pumpkin seeds if desired and serve