Watermelon Pops

Summer is here in Indiana and the watermelons are sweet.  This is the second one we have had and both were as sweet and juicy as they can be!  Somewhere, and I can't remember where, I saw the melon cut in a grid and tried it.  The light bulb came on and "Why didn't I think of that?" flashed across my brain!  You get an "icicle" of a slice of watermelon and a nice little square of rind to hold on to!  Handy to pop into your mouth with little muss or fuss.

Just halve the melon.  Place half cut side down and slice across one way at 1 1/2 (or thereabouts) inch intervals.  Than repeat slicing the opposite direction.  AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!  Simple and ready to serve. 

If I am making it ahead of time I store in an extra large plastic bag with the rind ends all pointing out away from the center of the bag.  Easy as can be.

Switiching My Diet Plan to Alton Brown's Today and Here is Why......Plus I took a Brisk Walk This Morning and Enjoyed the Blooms of Spring!

If you are going to walk this is my ideal time to start with the dogwoods blooming in our neighborhood!

 

Life has it's way with us all and there are some big bumps along the way.  During those stress filled and often scary times I forget about everything including healthy eating and my diet. This past fall and winter has been a dilly for us.  I admit to envy for those who can't look at food under stress but I am not one of them.

I do love the plan I have had success with but I get tired of everything including diet plans.  So, I am switching as of today to Alton Brown's food list.  It is easy, makes sense and is not far off of what I have done in the recent past.  You get a once a week red meat, white starch, desserts, and alcohol day which is comparable to the "free day" in the old plan.

What I am totally drawn to is the fact that it calls for fruit every day and I need that.  My system requires it.  I can do this!

I started this morning with a walk at 7:30 AM.  There are some REALLY big hills here in my neighborhood and I was huffing and puffing but I feel all the better for having done it.  Years ago when I was in my early 40"s I walked up to 7 miles before going to work almost every day.

Then my aches and pains got the best of me and I quit.  Well I am thinking I can do a short walk 3-4 times a week and be none the worse for it.  Worst case it will require knee surgery sooner but what the heck!  This is not called for on this diet plan but I just want to do it!

I do love a good salad.

Here is Alton Brown's plan:

List 1: Foods to Eat Daily

Dark leafy greens
Nuts
Carrots
Green tea
Whole grains
Fruits

List 2 Foods to Eat Three Times a Week

Yogurt
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Sweet Potato
Avocado
Oliy Fish
Tofu

List 3 Foods to Eat Once a Week

Red Meat
White starch
Desserts
Alcohol

List 4 Foods to NEVER Eat and Avoid at all Times

Soda
Processed Meats
Canned Soups
"Diet" anything

There are several sites online if you want more information.  Just Google  Alton Brown's Diet Lists as I did.  I did see him on TV some time back talking about this and giving the food lists so there is plenty of information out there if you are interested.

So after my banana and raisin bran breakfast and a walk I think it is time for a cup of that green tea I normally don't drink but gonna give it a try.  Later!

My Favorite Turkey Sandwich

Ready to serve turkey sandwich.

This turkey sandwich has long been a favorite of mine.  My Grandparents on my Mother's side raised turkeys for market for a number of years and what my Grandma could do with a turkey! But that is another story!  We were making them on white bread back then but today I am using oatmeal bread at 140  calories a slice.  Many calories less is rye at 140 for 2 slices and white wheat at 130 calories for 2 slices.  Significant saving, but I wanted oatmeal bread today!

Meat is always easier to slice cold.

Over the weekend I roasted a turkey breast I picked up on sale last week and also have almost a quart of luscious turkey broth put back in the freezer for another day.  I placed it after salting and peppering generously on a small rack and roasted at 325 degrees F in a covered cast iron dutch oven maybe 2-2 1/2 hours or so.  Next I allowed it to cool and slipped it into a large plastic bag and stored it in the refrigerator.

Lovely slices of turkey.

Today I simply pulled back the plastic and using a fillet knife sliced thin slices and removed the skin.

Ingredients for My Favorite Turkey Sandwich:

2 slices your favorite bread
1 T. mayonnaise or dressing of your liking ( I like Miracle Whip on this.)
lettuce washed and dried ( I washed and removed the stem from 1 large leaf of romaine.)
3-4 slices real turkey (Not processed.)

Slather dressing on slices of bread.  Add lettuce and top with turkey.  Add second slice of bread, serve, and enjoy.

Amazingly Flavorful Bean Soup, Low Calorie & Highly Satisfying Simmered with Parmesan Chunks

It had long been held to save the rinds from hard cheeses to flavor soup.

I am obviously in soup mode with a high degree of comfort food woven throughout!  The day is cold, clammy, and grey.  But my house smells unbelievable.  I came across a recipe on Food52 that inspired me and I have adapted it a bit to our likes.  The combination of navy beans and great northern beans yields a bean the semi dissolves and thickens and one that does not but holds together more, which my family likes. I have flavored this with a quart of my home canned tomatoes, a couple of rinds from Parmesan cheese I had saved to flavor soups with and aromatics. 

I had enough Parmesan rind for two nice chunks.

Ingredients for Amazing Bean Soup:

1 C. dry northern beans
1 C. dry navy beans
1 large onion diced
6 large cloves of garlic peeled and minced
1-2 stalks celery in bite size chunks
1-2 carrots diced in bite size chunks
1/4 t. dry thyme
1/4 t. crushed rosemary
2-3 T. olive oil
1 T. kosher salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 t. sugar
1 quart home canned tomatoes or a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes + 1/4 C. water
3 1/2 C. good chicken stock
1-2 chunks of Parmesan cheese rinds about 2" x 1" x 1/2"

Soup, beautiful soup!

Place the beans in a large heavy bottomed kettle and cover 1" with water.  Cover and bring to a boil.   Boil exactly 1 minute.  Turn off the heat and leave covered for 1 hour.  Drain the beans and return them to the kettle.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook an hour.  Taste and correct the seasoning. Remove the cheese rinds and discard.  When the beans and vegetables reach the desired tenderness serve steaming with additional Parmesan cheese.

Homemade Tomato Soup from My Fresh Canned Tomatoes or Store Bought Canned Tomatoes, FAST, EASY, DELICIOUS, sand LOW CALORIE TOO.

Ladle up a bowl of delicious tomato soup you made in minutes in one pan.

I just told my sister this soup has it all, flavor, easy, comfort food, and low calorie to boot!  I came upon the recipe this morning on  "The AM Blog" called Barbara Lynch's Spicy Tomato Soup.  It caught my eye because I have 50 quarts of canned tomatoes from this summer,  we love tomato soup, the recipe may be the easiest I have ever seen, and I don't see how it could be anything but good.  I was right!  It is delicious although I have adapted it and will give you my version with notes.

Home canned tomatoes fir the bill if you have them.

Fast and Easy Spicy Tomato Soup:

1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1 diced red onion (or any onion you have)
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 quarts home canned tomatoes with garlic, basil, and onion (or use 2, 28 ounce whole store bought tomatoes or 2 quarts plain canned tomatoes and add 2 cloves fresh garlic, 1/4 C. packed loosely fresh basil leaves)
1 1/2 C. water
kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 T. sugar (optional, I do this because my Mother always added a little sugar in all of her tomato recipes)
Shredded mozzarella cheese, for garnish (optional but yum!)

Heat the oil and butter in the bottom of a large heavy bottomed kettle and add the onions and red pepper flakes.  Saute over medium low heat until tender.

Smells like heaven.

Add in everything else but the cheese and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.  Remove from the heat. 

A stick blender is the perfect tool for pureeing soups.

A stick blender is the perfect tool to use or place into a regular blender in batches.  Blend until smooth.

This is a pan of summer if you ask me!

Reheat the soup until piping hot and serve topped with shredded cheese if desired.  Yield 9 cups of soup.

Note:  If you can bring yourself to skip the cheese or at least go sparingly this dish is very low calorie and just right if you are dieting.

Oatmeal, Flax, and Walnut Cookies and Trail Mix, Change Up Old Recipes and New

Trail Mix.

Oatmeal, Flax, Walnut,  & Raisins make these Oatmeal Cookies!

Munchies that pack a little extra punch are always a good thing!  This crunchy, salty, sweet, tart, chewy, and chocolate trail mix really hits all the notes!  Ground flax seeds push the nutritional score for oatmeal cookies with walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, and the less processed old fashioned oats even higher and also ups the fiber ante.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2012/08/oatmeal-cookies-cinnamon-clove-pecans.html   is the link to my basic recipe which I adapted by using walnuts and adding 2 tablespoons of freshly ground flax seeds.

Yesterday afternoon I got busy and made up the cookies for my husband to take to share with all of the gunsmiths at Paducah Shooters Supply where he is visiting today!  Not only is this his favorite cookie but he loves to share them with his friends.  I had already packed up the majority of them when I thought to take the picture.  My bad.

I admit to having slacked off my ongoing diet after Christmas while I have been fighting this crazy cold and enduring the winter doldrums.  But even then, I drink no calories.  I up the non starchy vegetables and try to stay away from the "white stuff".  My biggest obstacle is no good tomatoes!  Thus my staple and favorite meals of eggs and tomatoes and everything else with tomatoes runs amok!

Ingredients for Trail Mix:

1 C. cashews
1/2 C. walnuts
1 C. mixed nuts
1  1/2 C. combined of your favorite dried fruits like bananas, blue berries, apricots, cranberries, cherries, raisins etc.
1 C. chocolate chips or mixture of M & M's, dark chocolate chunks etc.

Stir altogether and enjoy! I like to have things like this around when I feel weak willed and need just a little something special.   A tablespoon or two of this and I am good to go.   Way better than a binge on something unexpected!

Four more pounds gone for a total of 51 in the past 2 years or so. Gee, I can live like this!

Love vegetables.

Eat lots of eggs.

I was literally shocked upon going to Dr. Stoltz for an appointment last week and finding I weighted several pounds less than I had thought fully clothed!  So I continue on the 4 Hour Body!  Staying away from eating things that are white and drinking no calories!  Except of course once a week when I have anything I want. 

Love apple pie!

Usually I make a dessert that day and have potatoes or mac and cheese.  It has become second nature to me now.  Not a struggle at all.  I continue on happily!

2 more pounds are GONE! Talk about cheering me up!

Gosh it has been a hard few months.  And, You can see from my posting that we do quite often eat REAL food.  So I can tell you with great certainty I am thrilled to see I have lost 2 more pounds during very trying sad times.  But I attribute this to the "good" habits I have formed that save me in times when I veer off the track a bit.

One is to drink no calories.  I find this quite easy now although it was not in the beginning as I was raised on and love "sweet tea".  I do not use any artificial sweetener at all ever because I do not believe in artificial, or chemical stuff.  Seems like there is too often a back story to them somewhere down the road.

I really have greatly reduced my habit of consumption of white stuff.  But I do not totally deny myself.

I have made progress in consuming more fresh and raw fruits and vegetables as well as cooked.

We eat more varieties of protein weekly.  More fish especially.

I do eat everything I want on my "free" day but find it is less a big deal as time goes by.  Fewer cravings and so forth.

It is OK with me to do this, what may appear to others as too slow but really steady program.

Now total 47 ponds gone gone gone.

BEEF JERKY at Home Recipe, Big Protein and Low Calorie Treat, Helpful Hints

Make in your oven or in a dehydrator at home.

We have made jerky in the past.  Several years ago Brian got me a dehydrator and I have made it with that.  It was good but messy and I am not a big devotee of dry, tough, raw meat!  On the other hand Brian loves it and in trying to keep on this semi-diet it might be wise to invest in exploring jerky further!

I remember Alton Brown rigging a dryer out of a box fan and furnace filters.  I don't think I want to do that but with an oven and a home dehydrator there is potential for coming up with a decent jerky I hope.

This morning I have been on a quest for potential recipes.  Many are similar to Alton's.  I found a top ten list in Men's Journal and between them and Alton I hope to be inspired!

 

2 1/2 pounds sirloin.

Sooo....I made my bi-weekly trip to Sam's Club and found a great piece of beef to make the jerky from!  I am going to place it in the freezer for between 1-2 hours to firm it up for easier slicing then mix up the marinade!  Most of the recipes are similar and I will just go with Alton Brown's.

Ingredients for Alton Brown's JERKY:

2 pounds red meat (beef, elk, bear, venison, wild boar, or any critter you can hunt)
2/3 C. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 C. Soy sauce
2 t. ground black pepper
2 t. onion powder
1 t. liquid smoke
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. honey

Semi-frozen meat slices much easier.

Place the meat in the freezer for 1 or so hours, so that it will be easier to slice.  Slice the meat with the grain as thin as possible.  Mine is about 1/8-3/16" thick.

Remove and fat or gristle.

Mix the brine ingredients right in a resealable plastic bag. (Place the bag inside a flat container to make this easier.)

Mix the brine in the bag.

Place the meat strips in the brine.  Move it around so the marinade is evenly distributed around it.  Seal the bag, working out as much air as possible.

Push out excess air, flatten into a flat container, and refrigerate.

Lay the bag flat in the container and refrigerate 3-6 hours turning every once in a while.

Remove the meat from the brine and  drain well, pat it dry and discard the brine.

This recipe smells wonderful as it drys!

It is helpful to spray the dehydrator or oven racks with non stick cooking spray before placing the meat on the racks.   Next place it so it does not touch.  I scattered the meat laden sprayed racks across my double sink and turned on the ceiling fan and left them a short time just to dry a little more before loading them into the dehydrator. 

If using your oven spray the racks.  Next you can place a drip pan on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips then turn the oven's heat to the lowest setting.  Place the strips across the racks and prop the door open with a wad of foil.  Leave until dry and leather like.  I would check every hour or so to start.

Or dry per mfg. instructions in a food dehydrator.

Store in air tight bags at cool temperature. 

I am very pleased with the way these turned out.  They are very flavorful.  I like to send to work with my husband in the event he does not have time for lunch.  It is a much better snack than chips or candy! 

This was a much less messy endeavor than my past attempts due to the use of the non stick cooking spray and the semi-freezing of the meat before slicing.  Both made this a snap.  I load the dryer shelves in the dishwasher and am done. 

15 More Pounds Down in the Slow Carb or 4-Hour Body Diet, Now a Total Loss of a Glorious 45 lbs.

Eggs and Tomatoes

It has been tough going lately but I was very happy this morning when I weighed and say more pounds gone without my even thinking about it or making any special efforts.  Perhaps I have just made piece with what has come to work for me?  I am happy if that is the case!  The tough going has nothing to do with eating but with the happenings in life to those we love.  But that being said it has kept me from the normal flow of things.  Here is the link explaining the program as it started.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/09/slow-carb-diet-how-to-lose-20-pounds-in.html

Starting and stopping when I had lost interest I lost 30 pounds and never gained it back.  Recently I started up again and as of today have lost an additional 15 pounds so that is a total loss of 45 glorious pounds!  You may recall the essence of losing the weight is that I have eminent knee surgery in the future and I am trying to make this easier on ME.

Tomatoes and Eggs

The photo above is a tribute to my standby breakfast lately,  Eggs and tomatoes, tomatoes and eggs.  A lot of protein and a few calories.  Lest I be less than candid let me add that I do NOT spare the butter.  Yes, I do cook with pure and natural butter, especially when making eggs!

Scrambled eggs with asparagus and zucchini.

I find that eating 3-4 eggs depending on their size is a great filler and the protein carries me well into the day.  The tomatoes are because I love them!  I also rotate with adding sauteed shitake mushrooms and green onions to scrambled eggs.     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/09/day-9-food-and-thoughts-on-diet-or-how.html

I very very rarely drink any calories sticking to plain (reverse osmosis) filtered ice water for the past three years,  The exception to this is if we happen to eat out I will often order a plain with sugar Coke rather than drink the chemicals in the water I feel exist here.  I do NOT consume any artificial sweeteners or chemicals EVER if I can help it. 

Some of the easy changes I attribute the weight loss are I cook chili with no pasta but make it on the side with the shredded cheese for those who prefer it that way.  I never have to any big extent. 

I use a lot of onions and turnips and cut down on potatoes in soups and stews, which is delicious!  When I just have to have a piece of toast with butter I make rye bread toast which I love instead of white or wheat.

When you have the FREE day to enjoy anything you have a craving for or just want it makes life good.  For me, it is to the point now I don't even change much on the free day with the exception of adding dessert and potatoes to Sunday Dinner.  I also fudge a little buy running my FREE time from Saturday night to Sunday night.  This way if we happen to go out on Saturday night I can do what I want.  Often I stay on the program but I like to think I have the option.

Oven zucchini fries with horseradish sour cream sauce.

Truthfully we have discovered some new and delicious foods we truly love and I am excited to hand in there!  Here are the links to outstanding zucchini  recipes.     thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2014/08/zucchini-recipies-i-adore-oven-zucchini.html

Zucchini spaghetti can either be microwaved with a little olive oil or dropped into salted boiling water 2-3 minutes depending on what you prefer.

You do need a mandolin to shred the zucchini into spaghetti like strands but it is well worth it!  The tender crisp and slightly sweet zucchini with the shiricha seasoned sauteed shrimp is killer good.

Topping zucchini shreds with sauteed shrimp in hot sauce is our favorite!

Many nights we have a green salad or Cole slaw with meat or fish which is an easy supper.  This has worked well and not caused any issues with the blood thinning medication Brian is on.  I just limit the greens to one cup and load in the other vegetables!

We also enjoy a lot of soups for suppers loaded up with vegetables, barley, mushrooms, and more so the longer I concentrate on this life style as they say the easier it gets.  Just saying......

Recently I went to the doctor with my husband and a new person introduced herself as the patient advocate.  Being a devotee of cynicism I jumped to the conclusion it was another step of the governments sticking it's nose in our business.  This still may be a correct case but she had screened Brian and found him to be  "pre" diabetic.  In the spiel that commenced and in her questioning it sounded like we have in the adjusting of our diet already done for the most part what she was recommending to avoid it's occurrence. 

Hope this encourages folks to make their diet work for them.  It seems to be working for us.

Yellow Squash, Zucchini, and Yellow Pepper Spaghetti Cut on Mandoline Julienne DELICIOUS Spaghetti Alternative

Vegetables cut on the Julienne blade with my mandolin equals delicious vegetable "spaghetti".

This is such an exciting alternative to pasta that I am beside myself!  Plus my non diet food husband thinks it is just delicious!  Very healthy alternative for dieters as well as gluten free folks. 

This is the third time I have prepared some variation of the recipe in the past few weeks and all have been met with RAVE REVIEWS.

NOTE:  This is great using zucchini alone or combined with other vegetables, use what you have or what sounds good!

Harry Brown my Egg man gave me several yellow summer squash, something I am normally not fond of, and asked me to try the zucchini fries using them.  And I will.  But first I used them along with zucchini and a yellow pepper in this dish.  At this point I am sold on this!

Mandolin

 

 

 The vegetables:

I have two mandolins but this Asian one Juliennes very finely the end result much like angel hair pasta in size.  Previously I boiled  the shreds for 3 minutes.  Last night I covered and cooked on high a big dish, maybe 4-5 shredded squash, for 9 minutes.  It was tender crisp, faintly sweet, and delicious.  I did butter the casserole and drizzle the squash and peppers with a little olive oil, kosher salt , and black pepper.  It was so good with the spicy shrimp!  The recipe bears repeating.  I would use these vegetable shreds in any recipe calling for spaghetti!

Any seafood can be used in this dish.  I had shrimp in the freezer.

The Shrimp:

1 pound raw, shelled, and deveined shrimp
2 T. each butter and olive oil
2 t. Sriracha hot sauce or to taste
2 T. water, white wine, or stock
salt and pepper to taste

This is the other star of this dish!

Saute shrimp in oil and butter until opaque. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Serve over hot vegetable spaghetti.

Spicy Shrimp on Zucchini.

Yield 2-3 servings. 

Slow Carb Diet Update Down 12 pounds plus the 30 Lost a Year Ago, I'm Smiling. This is a diet I can live with!

I eat a lot of eggs and a lot of salads. But I make them the way I like them!

I am indeed smiling.  I have lost another 12 pounds total since resuming Tim Farris' the "SLOW CARB DIET" a few weeks ago.  Last year I lost a little over 30 pounds and gained only a pound or so back.  That is a 42 pound current total.  Indeed I am smiling.  Ultimately knee surgery is my motivation.  It stands to reason the less I weigh the easier it will be in the long run.

I love fresh tomatoes!

I credit not gaining back even when I went off the diet with NEVER DRINKING ANY CALORIES.  This is not all that hard for me.  I just drink and enjoy filtered ice water.  The only time I drink any calories is if we are out and I am more afraid of drinking the water than I am of drinking the calories.  Then I order a plain old coke or Pepsi, NOT DIET.  I am WAY more afraid of the chemicals than I am of the sugar! I stay away from all of the chemicals and prepares process foods.  I pretty much fix everything from scratch myself.

Lots and lots of different soups.  This is a steaming hot cup of Asian Wellness Soup.

The rest of the time my regime is simple:

Drink no calories
                                                                
No fruit.
                                                                
Nothing white except cauliflower.
                                                                
Go off the diet from Sat. night to Sun. night and eat as much of anything as I want. (Including fruit and everything else I want or am craving.)

The official diet has one more rule which I do not follow and that is to eat the same thing repeatedly which I cannot do.

My standard breakfast is eggs and tomatoes in the summer.  I really like to make up a batch of egg salad (Yes, I put in a little mayonnaise.) so I don't have to cook every morning and I like egg salad!

Omelet of eggs, zucchini, asparagus, and spring onions.

When I don't have nice tomatoes I make an omelet with veggies like shitike mushrooms, green onions, asparagus or other fresh vegetables.
                                             

I fix things the way I like them, like fried cod in cornmeal.

Usually lunch is meat or soup left from the prior evenings supper.  Supper is a big salad or a couple of cooked vegetables with meat, fish, or poultry.

Fresh spinach is good!

If I get a craving for salty I have a handful of salted nuts.  If I get to craving something sweet I have a little dark chocolate and that is it.  I have no problem sticking with it because of the weekend breaks when I can fix what I have a yin for.  Last week it was pineapple upside down cake which Brian is finishing off and I don't mind a bit!

So that is my story and I am so happy to have found this.  My thanks to Tim Ferris and the SLOW CARB DIET.  It works for me even though I have modified it and made it my own.  The trade off is I loose slower than he ascribes to but I can stay with it indefinitely.