Pizza Bites (Stuffed Mushrooms)

Let me start off with I am not a mushroom fan.  But If they get masked by what ever they are with I can handle them.  These pizza bites use a baby portabella mushrooms as the base for a sausage meatball, pizza sauce and cheese.  They are in a word - phenomenal

Here is a link to the super simple recipe:  Baby Pizza Bites

The only change I made was the cooking method.  I am not much of a griller and the hubs was otherwise occupied (setting up the RPG game area for the company we were having that evening).  So I decided to bake them.

I cooked them at 400 for about 20 minutes.  Sacrifice one and cut it in half to make sure the sausage is cooked all the way through before you top it with the sauce (OH and I found a no sugar added pizza sauce too - Great Value brand at Wal-Mart - it was great on these and I used the left over sauce in a pasta bake the next night).

I topped with mozzarella (since they were for company and I was out of the soy cheese) and then returned them to the oven to broil for about a minute - just to get the cheese melty and gooey.

They are also super cute on a plate and look all fancy for the little bit of work they take.

Here is the recipe for reference:

Baby Pizza Bites (great for all phases)

Ingredients

12 button mushrooms, wiped of any dirt and stems removed

½ lb Italian chicken sausage

1 egg ehite

¼ to ½ c no sugar added marinara sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Wipe down your mushrooms and remove stems. Then place them stem side up on a plate.

Throw your Italian chicken sausage in a bowl along with your egg white. Use your hands to combine it all together.

Then make tablespoon size balls of the meat mixture and plop them into the cap of the mushrooms.

Place on a sheet pan (with sides) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until sausage is cooked through.

Remove pan from oven and turn on the broiler.  Top each mushroom and sausage cap with either pizza/marinara sauce and a little mozz. Pop back in the oven for a minute or so until cheese is melted and bubbly!

Stick a toothpick in it and EAT IT.

Baked Rutabaga Slices

So while we were in Italy, we had some of the most amazing food I've ever eaten.  A lot of it was basic, comfort food, like the potatoes Stephania made.  They were little potato slabs, cross cut, and baked.  Amazingly simple.  Amazingly tasty.

I knew I wanted to try them when we got home, but I'm back in Phase 1 since the vacation until I lose the rest of what I gained.  So, back to the trusty rutabaga.

Don't those look amazing!   They were too, trust me. And super simple.

Enjoy!!

Baked Rutabagas
1 small rutabaga, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
EVOO
Sea Salt,  garlic powder to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Cross cut the rutabaga slices on each side.  Just make a little tic tac toe board on each side but be careful not to slice all the way through.
3. Place rutabaga slices on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt.
4. Flip the slices over, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.v(you can use what ever spices you think sound interesting.  For the first time out I stuck with simple)
5. Bake at 400 for 25 min
6. Remove from oven, flip over and put back in oven for 10 minutes.

Serves 1

Enjoy

Oh Mamma Mia!

That's how you say omg in Italy - mamma mia.  OMG would be Oh Madonna.

That's how I would describe vacation. 10 days in Italy ... mamma mia.   It was our honeymoon (we delayed it so we had vacation stored up).  Oh Madonna!

Seven of the 10 days was a wine tour.  We got to pick grapes and watch them go through the "turning into wine" process (well up to the point where the fermentation has to work).  We had 2 or  more wine tastings per day (PER DAY!!) which included appetizers at a minimum or a meal depending on the time of day.  We had 4 course dinners most nights.  We had pasta and pizza and dessert! Oh the desserts (mamma mia) !

Definitely not IP protocol on any phase :)  But I knew that going in.  That's one reason I wanted to be on Phase 4 before we went so it wouldn't be such a shock to my system.

I gained 10 pounds...in 10 days ... Oh Madonna!

But there is good news in all of this.

First - it was expected :)  I was going to enjoy myself and I did, immensely!  I was hoping all the walking we did would offset some of the weight gain ( and maybe it did :))  but I wasn't going to restrict myself on my honeymoon.  It was like a cheat week and a half instead of a cheat day or cheat meal :)

Second - I went back on Phase 1 the day after we got back (we got in at midnight on Monday so it was Tuesday morning).  I had my weigh in and Lindsay and I talked about getting the weight off.  So far (its now Thursday) I'm down 4 pounds by my scale at home.  This is SO encouraging to me because it tells me this program really works!!  When I have been on other programs and gained some weight (which really is inevitable), I couldn't get it off following the program.  It just didn't work a second time for me.  Not sure what I was doing differently but whatever the reason I still failed consistently to maintain a weight loss.  And now the first time out, when I knew I would gain weight, its coming off the second time as easily as it did the first time.

That makes me happy!

I figured it would take about 3-4 weeks to lose what I gained in Italy.  It may be faster than that at this rate.  But whatever the time frame, I am confident it will be gone in the near term.  I have never in my life felt more confident that I could lose weight.

Thanks Ideal Protein (and Lindsay) for this success!

Now that I'm back to reality I'll be posting recipes and thoughts on a more regular basis again.  I've got a few recipes I really want to try (Spaghetti Squash mac-n-cheese among them).  And I've got 2 new cook books that I need to work my way through :)  They will mostly be Phase 4 recipes, but some will be Phase 1 friendly as well with little to no adjustments.  I also really want to look into soups and crock pot meals to make things a lot easier in the evenings.

Carrot Ginger Soup

Fall is the perfect time for soup.  Its also a Phase 4 suggested dinner.  Its warm and satisfying on a cold fall evening and many soups are jam packed with vegetables and low in fat and carbs.  One of my favorite soups is a Carrot Ginger soup I learned in the second week of my first cooking class ever.   Its amazing!

I served this with some toasted grain free bread from AgainstAllGrain.com.  I am really liking this site.  While not all gluten free recipes are low carb, I've been able to find several between the website and Danielle's cook books (which I purchased for my kindle) that are great tasting and fairly healthy (non-processed ingredients, healthy fats, etc). I am finding the gluten free sweet treats made with almond and coconut flour are just as satisfying to my sweet tooth and these are lower in carbs mainly due to the flour used.  I don't know if I can repost the recipes or if I will just provide links, but I will ask that question.  Either way, expect to see some banana bread and "granola" bar recipes in the near future. The granola is made from crushed nuts and is so satisfying I can barely finish one!  But that's a post for another day.  You came here today for a soup recipe and soup recipe you shall have

Here you go ...

Carrot Ginger Soup (From The Culinary Experience Class at Kirkwood)

Ingredients:

1 T butter (or ghee)

½ Onion, chopped

½ celery stalk, chopped

½ sweet potato, chopped

½ parsnip, chopped

3 c. carrots, chopped

1 ½ tsp minced fresh ginger root (equivalent to ½ tsp ground ginger)

3 c. chicken stock

¼ c. heavy cream (or coconut creamer or Greek yogurt)

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in large pot.  Add onion and celery and cook until soft

Stir in sweet potato, parsnip, carrots, ginger and stock.   Bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover and simmer about 20 minutes.

Pour soup into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Return soup to pot.  Stir in cream and nutmeg.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Reheat slowly to serve.

Enjoy!

Nutrition facts: Using ghee and coconut creamer (from MyFitnessPal.com)

Calories: 212

Fat: 4 g

Total Carbs:  37 g (Net Carbs: 31g)

Fiber: 6 g

Protein: 7 g

Hot Cereal for Breakfast

Its turned chilly in my neck of the woods.  Unseasonably chilly!  High in the 50s today and its still early September!  Luckily I have a great hot breakfast idea.  Its from many years ago and to be honest its the only way I can eat Grape-Nuts.

That's right you heard me ... Grape Nuts.  Those hard little nuggets that will break your teeth if you're not careful.  BUT .... add some milk, heat them in the microwave for a minute and a half and then add maple syrup and fruit (I had fresh blueberries this morning) and its turns into something warm and filling and really, really tasty.

Here's how I make it:

1/2 c Grape Nuts cereal
1/2 c skim milk
1 Tbsp maple syrup

Mix cereal and milk in a bowl large enough to allow the heating mixture to expand without overflowing. Heat on high for 1.5 minutes

Stir in the syrup.

You can add fruit if you like.  The nutrition facts are just for the cereal though

That's it!

Simple, Delicious.  Enjoy.

Nutrition Facts from MyFitnessPal.com
Calories: 295
Fat: 1 g
Total Carb: 67 (Net Carb: 60)
Fiber: 7 g
Protein: 10 g

Before and After

There it is ... me on my wedding day last October and me just last week - 65 pounds lighter and feeling fabulous

Phase 3 went really well.  I was preparing myself to gain weight because that's what is typical - just a few pounds but still.  Instead I lost.  Not sure how because I felt like I was eating so much, but it wasn't just like before.  It wasn't carb heavy - in fact I rarely hit my carb limit!

I'm using MyFitnessPal android app to track everything.  I'm really going to have to watch the fats and proteins but carbs don't seem to be a worry as of yet :)

I'm looking into paleo and grain free, gluten free cooking.  Some sweet treats that are grain free are also much lower in carb (due in large part to the type of flour used)  I like that I can have chocolate chip cookies or brownies every once in a awhile and not fear a weight gain.

The website I'm using most heavily is www.againstallgrain.com  I am fortunate in that I don't have food sensitivities or medical conditions that force a particular type of diet.  I also recognize that not all grain free/ gluten free is going to be "healthy" or low carb.  But these are more whole food type recipes and use little to no overly processed or refined products so that's healthier and a move in the right direction in my book.

I started making my own cheese and yogurt - that way I know just whats in it  I make my own granola bars and they are protein packed and delicious.  As soon as I get the ingredients I am going to try a go at bread low carb and grain free.  Higher in good fat but its worth a try for something different.

And now I start the trek over the other side of the weight loss hill in the fields of maintenance.  Here's hoping for a long and joyous stay there :)

Catch you later, I think I see some daisies to skip through.

Whole Grain Pancakes

I've been waiting for this post for a while ... Phase 3/4 breakfast!!!!

I made pancakes for the first time in a long time where I could eat them too :)

I got this recipe a few years ago from a good friend who is also a nutritionist/dietitian.  They are packed with whole grain.  I used applesauce to minimize the fat and it was homemade applesauce to boot !  - no I didnt make it but someone I know did :))

Whole Grain Pancakes

1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup regular rolled oats

¼ cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup toasted wheat germ

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or sour milk*

1/4 cup applesauce

2 tablespoon honey

* To sour milk put 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2 c.  Let it sit, stir and use in the recipe.  I have done this with skim milk to reduce the fat and it works pretty well.

Stir first 7 ingredients in large mixing bowl.  Mix the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir just until moistened.  Pour ¼ cup batter onto heated, lightly greased griddle.  Cook  about 2 minutes on each side.  Makes approximately 14 pancakes. 

I made the serving size 3 pancakes (and the dog got the odd 2 out)  so this recipe will make 4 servings.  After they cool off they freeze really well.  Just thaw on the counter overnight and then pop in the toaster for fresh made taste!

I mashed up some cherries and mixed that with WF syrup the first time I had these and it was absolutely divine!  The second time I just had maple syrup.  Even better!!!

Here is the nutrition facts as calculated by MyFitnessPal.com.  This is for using skim milk for the sour milk:

Per serving:

Calories: 356

Fat: 7g

Total Carbs: 60 g (Net Carbs: 53 g )

Fiber: 7 g

Protein: 16 g