Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Romaine Tacos- Phase 2

This just came to me one day. I actually was having it as a cold dish and thought, it would probably be good hot.
3.5oz Salsa: 35 cal, 3oz Beef: 115 cal, 3oz Chicken: 141 cal, 3.5oz Romaine: 17 cal
(Meal does not include guacamole like the picture shows)

Food:
1 Lb Extremely Lean Beef Prepared (See Spaghetti Squash Recipe) or 1 Lb Prepared Chicken (See Chicken Recipe)
3.5 oz Romaine Lettuce (If it is the small heads of lettuce it should be about 5-6 pieces, if it is the large type the 3 outer pieces. Just cut the large ones in half)
1 small tomato or sugar-free salsa (optional, remember it counts as a fruit)

Ingredients for Meat:
3TBSP Tomato Paste (sugar-free)
1TBSP of Chili Powder
2tsp Onion Powder
1tsp Cumin
1tsp powdered Oregano (if you don't have powdered oregano use Ground Sage, works just as good)
1tsp Paprika
1tsp Garlic Powder
1tsp Stevia
3/4tsp salt
1/4tsp Red Pepper
Splash Lemon Juice
Splash of Chicken Broth
3/4 cups of Water

BEEF:
Here is a refresher on how to prepare the beef.
4% Fat Ground Beef Round
In a deep skillet at 1lb of beef. Brown unseasoned. When the meat is thoroughly browned and you don't see anymore grease producing strain and rinse with hot water. Wipe out skillet until all oil is gone. Put meat back into the skillet and follow cooking instructions listed below the chicken prep instructions.

CHICKEN:
A refresher on how to cook the chicken. The one thing that we will be doing differently is we will only be using the chicken broth, no spices or other seasonings.
In a deep skillet fill up to a third with chicken stock. Place chicken in skillet and boil on medium for 20-25 minutes. I like to flip them once within the 20 minutes.
Once you are done cooking the chicken, shred with fork.
Empty skillet of chicken stock (I would save it in another bowl or baggy), and place shredded chicken back in the skillet and follow the cooking instructions below.


Add all spices, mix well
Add Lemon Juice, Chicken Broth, Tomato Pasta, and Water. Mix well.
Let the meat soak in the seasons and sauce for 10-15mins on medium to low heat.

Measure out your allotted portion and evenly distribute between your Romaine pieces.
Optional: Top with a spoonful of salsa and it's ready to go.

This would as be good with Precooked Shrimp that is tailless and shell-free
Just think, in phase 3 you can add some cheese :)
Enjoy!!

Next up, Beef & Broccoli Stir-fry

Frozen Lemonade- Phase 2

This is such an easy, delicious treat to make! I love it!!!

0 Calorie Treat! (Unless you add the Strawberry)

You need to have a blender for this one

1/2 cup of lemon juice (I use lemon juice because it has no calories and is tangier)
12-16oz or 1.5 cups of Ice
1/2 cup of water
1/4 Cup of Stevia ( I know that sounds like a lot but the lemon juice needs a lot of sweetener)

Add all ingredients and blend until the ice is more like and icy texture

To jazz it up, if you are having strawberries that day through in one to the blender and blend with the lemon mixture.

If you want it a little more solid, stick in freezer for an hour or two.

This also makes great and faster Popsicles, just pour mixture into your popsicle holders and stick in the freezer for about 4 hours and your are good to go!

Enjoy!

Next time on the Food Blog: Romaine Tacos

Apple Crisp- Phase 2

Oh this is such a great sweet treat! It will be especially great in the winter with a cup of tea, yum!

It's an updated version of baked apples!

With a medium apple, everything include = 111 Calories


Preheat your oven for 400F
Ingredients
1 Apple-Cubed (This recipe is great for those apples that are on their last leg)
1/2 lemon (if you are using lemon juice, 1/4cup)
1TBSP Water
2tsp  Stevia or Truvia
1tsp Cinnamon

In a oven safe bowl place all ingredients in bowl and evenly coat with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes.

While the apple is baking start making the topping.

Topping:
1 Melba Toast (Sea Salt or Whole Grain works best for this)
1tsp Milk
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Stevia
1/4tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

In a food processor crush up your Melba Toast. Now if you don't have a food processor or just don't want to clean another dish, place toast in a small Zip-lock baggy and take a rolling pin to crush it up, works just as good. It should be kind of a dust consistency. Add spices to you crushed Melba Toast and thoroughly mix. Slowly add your Teaspoon of milk. It will start to make little pellets which is what we are looking for.

Once the time goes off on your baked apples, take them out of the oven and change the temperature to low broil.

Add the Crumble Topping on top of your baked apples and sprinkle a little Stevia and just a touch of cracked Sea Salt or Fleur De Sel, which is a flaky french salt that is great for sweets! Place back in oven for about 2-3 minutes or until the topping looks crispy.

Let it cool for about 2 to 3 mins and then enjoy!

Up next Frozen Lemonade!

Lettuce Wrap-Phase 2

So if you are looking for a quick, easy, delicious, and satisfying lunch, look no further. These wraps are a delicious way to fill you up.
I eat these like every other day!
3oz Chicken: 141 cal, 1tsp Dijon: 5 cal, 3.5oz Lettuce: 17 cal

What you need:
1 Head of Boston Lettuce or Butter Lettuce
3 Oz Prepared Chicken (Also works well with the Buffalo Chicken Recipe)
Publix Greenwise Tangy Dijon Mustard

I go for the Boston or Butter Lettuce, they are the same thing just named differently depending on the region you are in, because it is sweet and delicious. It's my favorite lettuce! Also, it makes great wraps!

You usually get about 3 or 4 wraps with this.
For the chicken what I like to do is shred it up with my fork. You just kind of scrap it with your fork. It makes a lot more meat then just cutting it up into pieces. It's takes a little more work but it makes you think you get more, even though 3 ounces is 3 ounces whether or not it is shredded or cut but for some reason it just looks like more.

Evenly distribute between your pieces of lettuce.
Add a teaspoon of the dijon to each wrap. Note that 1tsp is 5 calories, so don't forget to count it.

Now if you are like me and love sandwiches, you know the best part of a sandwich is the pickle. What I do is I get baby organic dill pickles that are nothing but cucumbers, salt, vinegar, garlic, water; and I get 1 small pickle and slices it up to top off my wraps. That decision is up to you.

I hope you enjoy your quick and easy lunch!

I'm thinking it's probably time for a dessert recipe, are you with me on that?
Next is my YUMMY Apple Crisp!!!

Sweet Vidalia Onion-Phase 2

Okay so I have a confession to make... I use to hate onions! I liked how it flavored food but I don't know there was just something about it that just turned me off, probably a texture thing. Now my mom use to make Vidalia Onions with butter and put it in the microwave and basically this is just a healthier version of her recipe.

Oh yeah, that dislike of onions no longer exist. After just making this for my mom and seeing how much she loved it, I thought I would give it a try. It made an onion lover out of me!!!

3.5oz or about 1/2cup Vidalia Onion: 36 cal.

Whatcha need:
1 large Vidalia Onion (some stores just call them sweet onions, same thing.)
1/3 cup chicken broth (this is a good time to use some of the stock we saved from our chicken recipe)
4 TBSP Garlic Red Wine Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar and 1/8tsp of Garlic Powder
Pinch of Stevia
Salt/Pepper
Microwaveable bowl

The How:
Slice the ends off of your onion. Run your knife from top to bottom just piercing the first layer of outer skin to remove the peel. Slice your onion in half, then each half into thirds. You should have 6  nicely sliced pieces. Place all pieces back together in your microwaveable bowl. Now you want a bowl big enough that the pieces don't fully touch each other but aren't too spread out. Add your chicken broth, vinegar, salt/pepper, and pinch of stevia. Now how long you microwave it for depends on the size of your onion. for an onion that is about a pound go for about 8-10mins. For any size microwave for at least 6mins. You want your onion to look semi-transparent and very tender.

Once you are done serve, I love it with steak. Don't dump the juice that it makes! It's great as a Sweet Vidalia Vinaigrette Dressing for salads!

Now as promised next up, Chicken Wrap!

Spaghetti Squash with Ancho Pepper Marinara over low fat beef- Phase 2

Now I have to admit, I am a pasta lover to the extreme. I swear there is Italian blood running through my veins somewhere in me! I love everything Italian!!! So you can understand why giving up my carb loaded pasta would be the biggest challenge yet for me. I spent a good part of last Saturday talking with whole food experts and chefs to get some creative solutions around my pasta fix and some other great advice, tips, and recipes. One of the chefs mentioned that a lot of the people that she knew raved about how great Spaghetti Squash was. Me I had my doubts, nothing can replace pasta in my head, I'm not a big fan of Squash either. So I tried it.

Now a couple of things, you have to be willing to sacrifice your fruit but it is totally worth it and your don't really get hungry in between.

This recipe is a little more complicated than all the other recipes that I have been posting, so I am going to break it down into three parts. Part One, Everything you need to know about the squash. Part Two, The Meat. And finally Part Three, The Ancho Pepper Marinara.

3.5oz Spaghetti Squash: 18 cal, 3oz Beef: 115 cal, 1/2c Tomato Sauce:40 cal, Melba Toast: 15 cal


Part 1- The Spaghetti Squash
Now first off I want you to take some deep breaths and relax, preparing this is not as hard as you would think!
When you go to the store to pick out your Spaghetti Squash pick a good one, large lemony yellow in color looking squash. If it is green don't use it! Also, I have found that the larger the Squash the easier it is to work with after you cook it. I go for about 4-5lbs. Now be sure that you are getting Spaghetti Squash, regular Squash will not work for this recipe.

Another thing I just want to forewarn you about is the texture. The Spaghetti Squash doesn't really have a pasta texture, it's a little crispy, similar to Water Chestnuts (that watery crispy taste). Don't be turned off by the texture because it is very good! My family went on and on about how great it was! It also has kind of a sweet flavor to it and it doesn't leave you feeling weighed down and heavy after eating it. Okay enough about that, how do you cook this thing?!?!

It's easier that you would think. You have two options as to how you cook it. The 1st is kind of like cooking a potato. You wash the Squash and stab it a lot all over and put in the oven. Now I put it on a heavy duty baking sheet because I thought it would be juicy but I didn't see any juice once I got done cooking it. The advantages of cooking it this way are, it's easier initially and you can start cooking it and just walk away.
Disadvantages are, man is it hot to deal with once you are done cooking it, the guts are kind of a pain to get out, and it takes longer. That being said, it's the way I do it.

The 2nd way to cook it is by cutting it in half long ways, scooping out all the guts and seeds (looks very similar to a cantaloupe). Advatanges, cooks in less time and not hot to handle. Disadvantages, have you ever tried to slice a large, hard Squash longways in half. That's why I couldn't do it this way.

Now if you are going for the 1st, whole, way Preheat your oven for 375F. Get the Squash, wash and stab like crazy. Ever had a bad day? Wanted to get your frustrations out on something? Here's your chance, just watch your hands. I stab the squash about 100 times, yes 100. The last thing I want to to clean up 4lbs of blown up squash in my oven :) Once you are done stabbing the life out of your squash, place on a heavy duty cooking sheet (turkey pan works great for this) and place in your 375F oven for 1hour to about 1hour 20mins. Now my large spaghetti squash's skin kind of cracked open a little and at about an hour and I took it out. The skin should almost be shell-like, kind of hard but kind of flexible.
Now this is where going for this option is kind of a pain. This baby is hot, so you may want to let it cool for about 10 mins before handling, I unfortunately did not. Talk about a good game of Hot Potato, or should we say Hot Squash. Anyways, once you can easily handle the squash cut in half longways. Now another pain about cooking it this way is removing the guts without removing the meat. The best way that I found to do this was by taking a good sharp knife and running it all the way around the guts and underneath (kind like how you do a cake), then getting a large soup spoon and it pretty much easily comes out. Repeat on the other half. Now you are probably looking at the squash wondering where the pasta stringy part comes from. Clean off your spoon and gently scrap the squash from side to side (not long ways), you should see little stringy pieces starting to gather in the center. I scoop and place in a bowl. Keep doing this until you have gotten all the meat out, then repeat on the other half.

Now if you decided to go with the 2nd method of cooking it and where successful in slicing your Spaghetti Squash in half prior to baking then you will want to follow along with these instructions. Again Preheat your oven to 375F. You don't have to stab your squash, just cut it in half longways and remove the guts. Now because the guts are a little more firm it may be a little more difficult to get them out. Best way is the same as we did once the squash was cooked. Take your sharp knife, run all along the edge of the guts and underneath and scoop with a large spoon. You may have to do a little more scraping to get them out. Place the halves on a heavy duty baking sheet in your 375F oven for about 30-40 mins, shorter cooking time is your reward for being able to slice that sucker. Once the squash is done cooking again you may want to let it cool until it isn't too hot to handle. Do the same scooping method listed above. Gently scoop with your spoon from side to side, not long ways. It should gather in the middle and scoop in bowl.

Now for both of these cooking methods you may find that your squash is too cool after handling it. Just pop it in the microwave for about 3 mins to warm it up or place back in the shell and put it in the oven for about 5-10mins depending on the temperature.

And now you're done with the Spaghetti Squash part. Now while all this is cooking you will want to be making your beef and marinara. If you are cooking the longer method wait until you have about 30mins left on your timer before you start the marinara and beef. If you are doing the shorter method, start on the beef and marinara right after placing the squash in the oven.

Part 2- The Beef

Now I used about 2 lbs of 4% fat beef. I know that that sounds like it is still to high but I am going to teach you a method that will help eliminate most of that fat.

Get a large, deep skillet on the burner going on medium high with your 2lbs of beef in it browning. No stock, nothing. I like to start poking it apart right away or you get clumps. Once your beef is done browning and you don't see it producing anymore grease, grab a heavy duty heat resistant strainer and strain your beef over hot water in the sink. This is how you get rid of all that excess fat. Now a key part in this is to wipe out your pan, making sure no grease is left in it.

Once you have thoroughly rinsed your beef and pan, place beef back in the skillet and on the stove. Add a few splashes of chicken stock and a good amount Garlic Red Wine Vinegar, Onion Powder, Pepper, and Sumac Berry Powder.

Now I know that it's is nearly impossibly to find Sumac Berry Powder but man does it do wonders to your meat. I found it at a spice shop on the northside but you can probably find it online. Definitely a great investment spice!

Let the meat soak in the flavors on low heat for about 10-15mins.

Part 3- Ancho Pepper Marinara
Now Don't be afraid of the Ancho Chili Pepper, they are amazing! I found mine at Kroger for 10cents!!!!

Ingredients:
1 Dried Ancho Chili Pepper
2 (12oz) Cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
2 (12oz) Cans Hunts Tomato Puree
1 (12oz) Can Hunts Diced Petite Tomatoes
1 small can or tube of Tomato Paste
(I use Hunt's because I know it doesn't have sugar in the original tomato products, if you look at the flavor varieties it does. Just check before you buy!)
Spices:
2 TBSP Sea Salt
2TBSP Dried Oregano
2TBSP Dried Basil
1tsp Onion Powder
3 Cloves of Minced, finely chopped Garlic or if pre-minced 3 tsp
1TBSP Pepper
2tsp Ground Sage
1tsp Stevia
1TBSP Marjoram (another great investment spice)

With the Ancho Pepper Remove the stem, if you gently pull on it most of the seeds will come along with it. Now the seeds are where the heat is, so for a spicier marinara add more seeds, for a milder marinara add less. Slide your knife down the middle of your pepper to open up. Scrap out all the seeds, keep what you want, toss what you don't. I like to save them even if I am not going to use them for this recipe for future recipes, just stick them in a Zip-lock bag. Now with the flesh of the pepper, roll it up and slice into stripes. Do a rough chop and toss in another pan from the meat.

I keep everything separate so that I can measure it all out individually and them mix it all on my plate.

After adding the pepper to your pot add your garlic. Place pot on medium heat and add all other ingredients.

Cook on medium to low heat for 20-30 mins to let all the flavors come out and then you are done!

Final Step-
Like I said I cook everything individually so that I know exactly how much of each portion I am getting. I kind of do a stacked method. Place the squash on my plate, weigh, then the beef, weigh, then the marinara, weigh. I like to go ahead and eat my Melba toast at the time like it's my bread stick. I found a roasted garlic one that just made the dish.

Enjoy, I know I did!

Next up, Sweet Vidalia Onion!!!

Dijon Herb Sauce-Phase 2

This is such a great sauce. It is perfect for putting over a mild fish or chicken and baking it in the oven. Or you can use it as a dipping sauce for your chicken. I also love to make lettuce wraps, next up, and spreading some on it. You could also add more broth to make a Dijon Dressing for you salads. The uses for this sauces a limitless!

.5Cup Chicken Stock: 10cal, 1TSP Dijon Mustard: 5cal.

What you need:

1/2 cup* of Chicken Stock (if you have been reading all the recipes you will know that I am very particular about the Stock that I use.)
1/2 cup of Publix Greenwise Tangy Dijon Mustard (LOVE THIS STUFF)
2TBSP Minced, Fresh Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, or Oregano are some great options. I Like the Basil and Chives)
1TSP of Minced Garlic

*If you want it for a Salad Dressing, add 1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and 1TSP of Lemon Juice, and additional Chicken Stock until you reach the consistency you like.

Now you have two options on how to do this, you can stick all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times or if you don't want another dish to clean just stir it all up in a bowl.

Presto, your done. Spread over your favorite meat, dip your chicken in it, put on a wrap, whatever your heart desires. Its a great sauce to jazz up any dish!

Coming Soon... Lettuce Wraps. Yum, great Lunchtime meal that will fill you up guilt-free!
But first my all time favorite, Spaghetti Squash With Ancho Pepper Marinara and low fat Beef

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Tenderloins- Phase 2

This is the family's favorite lunch, Spicy buffalo chicken with some celery. The best part about this is it's not too spicy that you feel the need to have ranch or blue cheese dipping sauce. Paring it with the celery is a great way to relieve your mouth from some of that spice. This is also great over a salad and when you get into Phase 3 you can add some milk dressing and cheese, yum!!!

3oz Chicken: 141 Cal, 3.5oz Celery: 4 cal

Materials:
1 Gallon Size Zip-lock bag (option b)
or
1 Pint Size Zip-lock bag (option A)

Now there are 2 ways to make this dish. The first, a smaller portion; and second, if you are like me and cooking a whole bag for the week. Lets start with Option A first.
 Option A Recipe:
5 Cooked Tenderloins
2TBSP Hot Sauce (Now be aware that when picking out a hot sauce that you look at the ingredients, most don't have sugar or oil but a select few do. I prefer Texas Pete, no sugar, no oil, and milder in heat.)
2TSP Chicken Stock (Yes that says TEASPOON, not tablespoon.) (In the previous blog I mentioned the type that I use that is low sodium, low fat, no MSG, Free Range, Organic. I get it from Kroger and it taste amazing.)
1TSP of Lemon Juice

Now if you are preparing a whole bag I just Multiply all the ingredients by 4. So you would have 8TBSP Hot Sauce, 8TSP of Chicken Stock, and 4TSP of Lemon Juice.
Even if you are going for Option B, listed just above, I still don't like to put more that 5-7 Tenderloins in the bag at a time. This will help them to be evenly coated by the sauce.

HOW:
In your Zip-lock bag add your measured Hot Sauce, Chicken Stock, and Lemon Juice. Then add 5-7 Chicken Tenderloins, let it set in the marinade for about 20 mins for maximum flavor. What I like to do is while I am cooking my chicken in the chicken stock recipe that I mentioned before, every time I am done with a batch of chicken I put it in the buffalo marinade and when another batch is done, I take out my buffalo chicken and place in a pan waiting to be cooked, then repeat.

So when you get to the last batch marinating in the buffalo mixture, Preheat your oven for 400F. Place all the buffalo chicken tenderloins on a baking sheet and cover with the remaining buffalo mixture that's left in your Zip-lock bag.

Now if you are following along and cooking this at the same time you might be freaking out saying, "This is going to be too hot to eat!!" If you are using the Texas Pete, it won't be. If you are really concerned about the heat don't add the remaining mixture over the chicken.

Cook for 10 mins, weigh, bag, and you are ready to go!


Next up Dijon Herb Sauce, yum!!!

Herby Chicken cooked in broth-Phase 2

Good morning,

This recipe is my basic base chicken recipe. I use this for EVERYTHING chicken. It makes it so tender and juicy, it will change your mind about fried chicken. This makes great chicken to top off salads, to make your buffalo chicken (recipe next on the docket), anything. I start out each week with a large bag of tenderloins and cook up the whole bag. Onto the recipe.

3oz Chicken: 141 cal.

Spices to gather:
Sea Salt
Lemon Zest or Lemon Peel
Garlic Powder
Dried or Fresh Rosemary
Dried or Fresh Parsley
Dried or Fresh Marjoram
Dried or Fresh Basil (I love fresh basil on just about everything)
Red Chili Pepper Flakes
Pepper

Other Ingredients:
Organic, Low Sodium, MSG-Free, Low Fat Chicken Broth
Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Red Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice

How to:
Take a large, deep skillet and fill up about a 3rd of the pan with your Chicken Broth
(Now sometimes I like to add the spices and other ingredients to the stock before putting in the Chicken and sometimes after I put in the Chicken, it really just depends on how much Chicken I am cooking.So this part is up to you.)
Lightly sprinkle each spice over your chicken or into the broth. I don't use a lot of each spice but use as much as you would like. And don't use a lot of salt, the broth has it's own salt in it, so use sparingly.
After you have added your spices and add about 1TBSP of Lemon Juice, 2TBSP of Red Wine Vinegar, and 1-2 TBSP of the Liquid Aminos (it has a salty flavor too, another reason why we use the salt sparingly).

Add you chicken if you haven't already done so and cook on medium heat for about 20-25mins.

After you are done cooking, grab a large Zip-lock bag and save your chicken stock.

After my chicken has cooled, I like to go ahead measure out all my portions and bag it up for the week.

Coming up next I will share with you a great way to take this dish and transform it into Buffalo Chicken Snackers!

Photos of some of the products:





Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Kanikama Shrimp- Phase 2

Last time I talked about my family's love for chinese/Japanese food and my lack of fondness for it. So to create a happy family, and a happy me, we needed to find some common ground. Since rice is out of the picture and we are limited with our choice of veggies, I quickly narrowed in on the broccoli. So now that I decided my vegetable I needed to figure out my meat. The Kanikama sauce, in it's original form, really came from a sushi place in their crab and cucumber salad. So I knew it worked well with shellfish. I tried it with the shrimp and it was love at first taste.
So as promised I present to you my Kanikama Shrimp recipe...
5oz Shrimp: 137 Cal, 3.5oz Broccoli: 33 Cal.

Preheat your oven to 400
On a baking sheet spread out semi-thawed medium (or large) shrimp
(now I say semi-thawed because we want it thawed out enough that the shrimp are separated from each other but frozen enough because it's going to make a great broth, that I like to bag & freeze for later.)
Use a few large spoonfuls of chicken broth and drizzle over the shrimp.
Then spoon some of the prepared Kanikama Sauce, not a lot just a little over all the shrimp.
Now onto the spices for this dish:
-Rosemary
-Basil
-Sage (a good coating of Sage. The shrimp should look completely covered in spices by this point)
-Oregano
-Leafy Marjoram ( most people don't have this spice but it's a great one, good for all meats)
-Salt
-Pepper
For the spices I really don't measure it out, I just get what looks like 2tbsps of each in the palm of my hand and give a good dusting over all the shrimp.
At this point you should be looking at this shrimp and saying to yourself, "that's way too much spice!"
But I promise it's not!!
This is how it should look Before cooking

After your shrimp is seasoned, throw those babies in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. (I use the already cooked, deveined, no shell shrimp because it's faster.)
Once the shrimp is done I like to pair it with broccoli on my plate, spoon some more Kanikama sauce over both the broccoli and shrimp and you're done.

After it is cooked

Quick, easy, delicious, and most importantly healthy.

Enjoy and stay tuned for my Herby Chicken Tenderlions cooked in Broth recipe. It's really good!

Photos:

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Kanikama Sauce- Phase 2

Good evening,

So I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food but my family is but I decided to come up with some Chinese/Japanese inspired dishes. To do this you need to have some good sauces. Now you might be saying to yourself, "How? Most sauces, like Soy, are not on the list!" Well, there are some great alternatives for Soy Sauce, in particular Liquid Aminos, taste just like Soy Sauce. Now I know what you're thinking, "that has to be expensive". It's not. For about $5-6 a half a liter size bottle. Now you're thinking that it's probably hard to kind. No again. I found it at two different places, my local Herb Shop and Publix (near the marinades). You can also find it on Amazon.com.

This sauce was inspired by my favorite Japanese salad, Cucumber Kanikama Salad. I looked up the ingredients and thought about how I could make it more HCG friendly.

Recipe:
1/4 cup Liquid Aminos
1/8 cup red wine vinegar (also good with garlic red wine vinegar)
1/8 cup chicken stock (be sure to make sure it's sugar-free & falls within the guidelines)
3 tsps of stevia or truvia

Some people prefer to stove top cook it but because I use it while cooking I don't. Make sure you refrigerate. Good for up to two weeks.

Stay tuned to my Shrimp Kanikama! This happens to be my family's favorite dish!

Photos:


Saturday, August 6, 2011

Oven baked Cod-Phase 2

The best way of preventing getting bored with eating fish everyday is simply by switching up the type of fish your eating and how it's seasoned.

This particular recipe can really go with any type of white fish. I just found it to taste best with Cod, :)

One piece of advice, the recipe calls for baking the fish in foil. Most people would put butter or oil down to prevent the fish from sticking. Since that's not really an option with HCG I came up with another solution. Because you are already having a lemon a day, what I do is, cut off the ends of the lemon and cut a few slices until I get the meat of the lemon. Take the ends that you just cut and squeeze out some of the juice and rub the lemon over the entire piece of foil. This really helps prevent sticking and give the fish a little citrus kick.

3oz Cod: 70 Cal.

Onto the Recipe:

Set your oven to 375F

Take a frozen piece of cod and place in the center of your lemon rubbed foil sitting on top of one of the lemon ends
Sprinkle garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Celery salt
Squeeze a small piece of lemon & leave the used lemon on top.
Wrap in foil and bake for a good 20-30 mins or until done.
A good way to tell if fish is done to see if it is no longer semi-transparent and if the top kind of flakes when you rub a fork against it.


I hope you enjoy this simple yet delicious fish recipe. If you try this dish, leave a comment letting me and everyone know what you think.

Tune in next time for my amazing Kanikama Sauce recipe!!!

Welcome

Welcome everyone,
I know that finding HCG phase 2 recipes is nearly impossible to find online. After starting the diet, I worked hard to create delicious meals that everyone could enjoy and that most people would never believe is a low calorie meal!

A few notes...
I have a tendency not to measure out my spices, so my measurements are pretty much estimates.

When planning out your meals I recommend having some sort of fish everyday. If you switch up the type of fish it makes it easier. Two reasons why fish is great. First, it is full of Omega-3 which has many great health benefits (helps the heart, natural anti-inflammatory, helps with diabetes, etc...). Second, it's a low calorie meat. You will lose more weight by introducing more fish!

Another recommendation is limit your beef intake to once maybe twice a week. Beef takes longer for your body to breakdown and can stunt your weight loss.

That's all I have for now. Keep your eye on the blog to see more recipes & advice with your phase 2 on the HCG diet!