My grandmother made Hungarian chicken paprikash that was to die for, but that recipe is gone forever. Aside from that, she used potatoes and there is no way we can include that in my current diet. A few years ago, I found a Weight Watcher recipe and tried it. It certainly wasn't to die for, but it then again, it wouldn't kill you. Today I revised the recipe to fit my 100 g/day low carb diet and it was really delicious.
Some of grandma's recipes were passed on with results almost as good hers, but then were never quite the same, because there are a few things grandma used that just aren't readily available. Even if they were I would probably pass in order to save my arteries. Chicken fat was one of the secret ingredients to her stuffed cabbage recipe. It was also one of the ingredients and her chicken paprikash recipe. She used it in with the potatoes.
In this recipe I stick with cooking spray and my new favorite vegetable, the rudabega. Up until I started this diet, I had never tasted rudabega. What a waste youth!
I'm going to give you two ways to prepare it. The difference is two ingredients and 10 minutes. It not only results in two different tastes, but it also has a significant impact on the carb content.
Chicken Paprikash Ingredients
12 oz Mushrooms coarsely chopped
1 medium onion or 1 tsp onion powder
1 medium clove garlic minced or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 medium sweet red pepper diced
1 tsp paprika (If you like it spicy use hot Hungarian paprika.)
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4 half breasts, each cut into 4 strips)
1 medium rudabega, cut into bite sized pieces
(Optional)
1 Tbsp all purpose flour.
1/2 cup No Fat Greek Yogurt
Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking oil and saute the red peppers and mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika, onion salt, garlic salt, salt, and pepper and saute for about another minute.
In a 4-5 quart crock pot, combine the sauteed ingredients, rudabegas and chicken. Add the chicken broth and cook on low for about 5-6 hours. Stir occasionally, primarily to make sure the rudabegas are getting distributed.
If you aren't going to add the yogurt, you are ready to do. If you are going with the yogurt, mix it in a bowl with the flour and then stir it into the crock pot. Let it cook about 10 minutes more to thicken up. Serve and enjoy!
This yields four servings, but I pigged out and only got three. Here's the four serving nutritional information with and without the yogurt.
Without yogurt - 13g carbs, 4g fiber, 204 calories, 6g fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 23g ptotein
With yogurt - 23g carbs, 8g fiber, 282 calories, 12g fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 35.5g protein
As you can see, the yogurt adds considerable carbs, but it helps with the fiber and protein. My breakfast and lunch today only totaled 49g carbs, so I had plenty to spare and went the yogurt route and had two glasses of wine!.
That should hold me until later this evening when I'll munch on about a 1/4 cup of salted sunflower seeds. At the end of the day, I will have a grand total of only 89 carbs!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Egg Plant Rollatini and a Typical 100 g Carb Day
My morning started out as usual, with a slice of Nature's Own 100% Whole Grain Bread, topped with a generous tablespoon of peanut butter. It was washed down with a cup of coffee and Truvia sweetener, for a total of 18g carbs.
Lunch was one of my chocolate peanut butter shakes, which was the high carb meal of the day, weighing in at 40g carbs.
Dinner was egg plant rollatini, which turned out to be only about 30 carbs. I got the original recipe from Weight Watchers and tweaked it quite a bit, primarily to dramatically shorten prep time. The orginal recipe included two rounds of sauteeing and one of baking. Simply by substituting onion salt and garlic salt, I eliminated all of the sauteeing without sacraficing flavor. Here how I made it.
Ingredients:
2 medium egg plants sliced lengthwise into 1/4" slices
1 small-medium zucchini chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 cups crushed tomatoes with basil
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded skim mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Spray two baking sheets and place the sliced egg plants on them without overlapping. Bake, flipping once when they just begin to brown, about 7 minutes per side. Watch them though. If some are thick they will take longer. If some are thin or unevenly slices they will brown quickly. I try to make about 14 slices, because a few may have to be discarded. Remove them from the oven and put aside.
Drop the oven temperature to 400.
For the filling, in a bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, chopped zucchini, garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper.
In and 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" glass backing sheet, spread about 3 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes on the bottom. Next you are going to fill and roll the egg plants. Place about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of filling on the small end of an egg plant slice and carefully roll it. Place it seam side down in the baking dish. You should be able to get a dozen in the dish.
When done, top with the remaining crushed tomatoes and sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. Depending on your carb count for the day, you may want to add more mozzarella. At only 4 carbs per cup for the skim version, it will only add about 2 carb to your meal for each cup. If I hadn't already been at 58, I would have done just that!
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. 3 rolls are only 30g carbs and 240 calories.
ENJOY!
Lunch was one of my chocolate peanut butter shakes, which was the high carb meal of the day, weighing in at 40g carbs.
Dinner was egg plant rollatini, which turned out to be only about 30 carbs. I got the original recipe from Weight Watchers and tweaked it quite a bit, primarily to dramatically shorten prep time. The orginal recipe included two rounds of sauteeing and one of baking. Simply by substituting onion salt and garlic salt, I eliminated all of the sauteeing without sacraficing flavor. Here how I made it.
Ingredients:
2 medium egg plants sliced lengthwise into 1/4" slices
1 small-medium zucchini chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 cups crushed tomatoes with basil
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded skim mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Spray two baking sheets and place the sliced egg plants on them without overlapping. Bake, flipping once when they just begin to brown, about 7 minutes per side. Watch them though. If some are thick they will take longer. If some are thin or unevenly slices they will brown quickly. I try to make about 14 slices, because a few may have to be discarded. Remove them from the oven and put aside.
Drop the oven temperature to 400.
For the filling, in a bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley, egg, chopped zucchini, garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper.
In and 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" glass backing sheet, spread about 3 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes on the bottom. Next you are going to fill and roll the egg plants. Place about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of filling on the small end of an egg plant slice and carefully roll it. Place it seam side down in the baking dish. You should be able to get a dozen in the dish.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. 3 rolls are only 30g carbs and 240 calories.
ENJOY!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Diet Milestones and Inches Lost
The goal of my low carb diet is to get rid of inches around my waist. Watching carbs and taking measurements is what I am doing. However, measurements are what motivates me. I have been wearing the same belt on my genes since 1964. That belt contains the 50 year history of my waistline.
I started my low carb diet 16 days ago and am I'm shooting for about 100 carbs a day. I'm not looking at calories or any other factor, though I am tracking most of the nutritional values. By watching the carbs,the others are being held in check
One thing I am not tracking is sodium. I am a saltaholic. I used to salt my food before I even tasted it, but now at least I taste it first. It is my belief that the salt warnings are for people who are sensitive to salt intake. My blood pressure is under control and as long as it is, I will continue on my wicked salt ways.
I have lost about four pounds so far, but pounds are not my goal. Inches off my waste is the way I will measure my success. Here is a picture of a the belt I bought when I was still in college. Marked on it are where I was at my worst, where I was when I started my diet, where I am now, and where I hope to be in a few more weeks.
I started my low carb diet 16 days ago and am I'm shooting for about 100 carbs a day. I'm not looking at calories or any other factor, though I am tracking most of the nutritional values. By watching the carbs,the others are being held in check
One thing I am not tracking is sodium. I am a saltaholic. I used to salt my food before I even tasted it, but now at least I taste it first. It is my belief that the salt warnings are for people who are sensitive to salt intake. My blood pressure is under control and as long as it is, I will continue on my wicked salt ways.
I have lost about four pounds so far, but pounds are not my goal. Inches off my waste is the way I will measure my success. Here is a picture of a the belt I bought when I was still in college. Marked on it are where I was at my worst, where I was when I started my diet, where I am now, and where I hope to be in a few more weeks.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Peanut Butter and Banana, Chocolate Protein Shake
I guess Skinny Elvis would be a good name for this chocolate protein shake made with peanut butter and banana. My daughter sent me the original recipe, but I changed a few ingredients to lower the carbs to fit my 100 gram a day diet, and adjusted most of the proportions to suit my taste.
In this version, I'm using Dole Dippers instead of a frozen banana, but that's because I bought the wrong variety for my wife's diet treat. Waste not. Want not. Besides, while it adds some additional calories, the number of carbs remain almost the same. The ingredients and nutritional information below are based on adding 1/2 of a frozen banana.
At 47 grams of carbs, it's just about 1/2 of my daily allowance, but on this day my breakfast of vegetable omelet and toast was only 13 carbs and my planned dinner will bring me in right around the 100 carb limit.
Ingredients
1 c 1% Milk
1 c FAGA Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Hershey's Cocoa
1 or 2 tbsp Peanut Butter Powder to taste
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 packet Truvia (You may want to add an extra packet or substitute honey)
Nutritional information from the packaging and FatSecrets.com .
In this version, I'm using Dole Dippers instead of a frozen banana, but that's because I bought the wrong variety for my wife's diet treat. Waste not. Want not. Besides, while it adds some additional calories, the number of carbs remain almost the same. The ingredients and nutritional information below are based on adding 1/2 of a frozen banana.
At 47 grams of carbs, it's just about 1/2 of my daily allowance, but on this day my breakfast of vegetable omelet and toast was only 13 carbs and my planned dinner will bring me in right around the 100 carb limit.
Ingredients
1 c 1% Milk
1 c FAGA Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Hershey's Cocoa
1 or 2 tbsp Peanut Butter Powder to taste
1 tbsp Chia Seeds
1 packet Truvia (You may want to add an extra packet or substitute honey)
Nutritional information from the packaging and FatSecrets.com .
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Start Your Engine with a Low Carb Diet
A little more than a week ago, my wife and I decided to begin dieting
again. It was supposed to start last month, but she was part of a taste
test at Lindt Chocolate, and was given a five pound thank-you bag of
chocolates. That both delayed the diets and made them all the more
important.
She has a class reunion in August and I could stand to lose a few inches around the middle. By starting now, we can do it the right way. However, we have chosen slightly different paths. She is focusing on watching calories and I am focusing on watching carbohydrates.
Normally, I would have chosen the same path as Jill, but just by chance, almost on the same day we started our diets, my friend Claire started a blog called The Carbometer, which talks of her success with a low carb diet.
After reading it, it made perfect sense to me, but it's not my intention to duplicate Claire's efforts, either in dieting or in blogging, because not only am I taking a different path than Jill, I'm taking a different path than Claire.
Claire is really counting carbs and is dead serious about losing weight while eating healthy. She is limiting herself to 30-50 grams of carbs a day with amazing results. My needs are different. You see, I'm a junk food junkie. I know my diet is literally killing me. I know if I do nothing by cut out junk food like McDonald's, Tastykakes and Coke, I will lose weight, but more importantly, I'll feel better and live longer. Of course an early death is both a reason and motivation, but that's too distant and abstract. It has never been enough for me to change my ways, but watching and listening to Jill, Claire, and to some extent, my conscience and common sense offer more immediate and tangible motivation. Being accountable and tracking what goes into my body is the important. Jill's determination and Claire's blog are catalyst for my efforts.
I plan on eating healthier by cutting the junk and tracking what I eat. I've set a goal of keeping carbs at 100 grams a day, something I find surprisingly easy to do. I track most of the nutritional value of the foods I eat with an eye on the carbs. By doing so, without even looking, I've reduced my caloric intake by 50-60% and am averaging about 1250 calories a day.
If you are serious about losing weight, you'll definitely want to follow Claire's blog. If you are like me, and primarily interested in eating healthier, without depriving yourself while shedding a few pounds, you'll want to check us both out.
I'll be talking more about how I'm changing my habits and supplying some recipes that are healthy, but like the chocolate shake, stuffed cabbage in my next two blogs, probably a little to high in carbs to make it onto Claire's radar. If healthier eating through reduced carbohydrate intake and portion control is your goal, I hope check back soon.
She has a class reunion in August and I could stand to lose a few inches around the middle. By starting now, we can do it the right way. However, we have chosen slightly different paths. She is focusing on watching calories and I am focusing on watching carbohydrates.
Normally, I would have chosen the same path as Jill, but just by chance, almost on the same day we started our diets, my friend Claire started a blog called The Carbometer, which talks of her success with a low carb diet.
After reading it, it made perfect sense to me, but it's not my intention to duplicate Claire's efforts, either in dieting or in blogging, because not only am I taking a different path than Jill, I'm taking a different path than Claire.
Claire is really counting carbs and is dead serious about losing weight while eating healthy. She is limiting herself to 30-50 grams of carbs a day with amazing results. My needs are different. You see, I'm a junk food junkie. I know my diet is literally killing me. I know if I do nothing by cut out junk food like McDonald's, Tastykakes and Coke, I will lose weight, but more importantly, I'll feel better and live longer. Of course an early death is both a reason and motivation, but that's too distant and abstract. It has never been enough for me to change my ways, but watching and listening to Jill, Claire, and to some extent, my conscience and common sense offer more immediate and tangible motivation. Being accountable and tracking what goes into my body is the important. Jill's determination and Claire's blog are catalyst for my efforts.
I plan on eating healthier by cutting the junk and tracking what I eat. I've set a goal of keeping carbs at 100 grams a day, something I find surprisingly easy to do. I track most of the nutritional value of the foods I eat with an eye on the carbs. By doing so, without even looking, I've reduced my caloric intake by 50-60% and am averaging about 1250 calories a day.
If you are serious about losing weight, you'll definitely want to follow Claire's blog. If you are like me, and primarily interested in eating healthier, without depriving yourself while shedding a few pounds, you'll want to check us both out.
I'll be talking more about how I'm changing my habits and supplying some recipes that are healthy, but like the chocolate shake, stuffed cabbage in my next two blogs, probably a little to high in carbs to make it onto Claire's radar. If healthier eating through reduced carbohydrate intake and portion control is your goal, I hope check back soon.
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