Food Therapy

Much to my delight, I have had some great success putting together healthy meals over the past couple of weeks.  I have lost nearly 5 lbs while still enjoying my daily wine consumption.  It's been a really great trade-off and has encouraged me to try some new food combinations in the meantime. 

Since we all know that I don't really "follow" any recipe, I just use them as guidelines, the following recipe is a Greek pork chop and salad, adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

Greek-Style Pork Chops
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, divided
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, mined
4 (4-oz) boneless pork chops (I used bone in, some you can use either)
3/4 c. plain fat-free Greek-style yogurt
1/4 c. reduced fat sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh dill - chopped

1. Combine 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, oregano, 1 tsp. olive oil, and garlic in a zip-top plastic bag.  Add pork to bag, and seal.  Marinate for 20-minutes at room temperature, turner after 10 minutes.  Combine remaining 1 Tbsp. vinegar, remaining tsp. of olive oil, yogurt, sour cream, dill and 1/8 tsp. of salt in a small bowl.  Stir together with a whisk, cover and chill.
2. Heat a grill pan (or non-stick skillet) over med-high heat.  Coat pan with non-stick cooking spray, remove pork from the bag.  Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.  Add pork to pan, and cook for 3-4 mins./side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove pork from the pan and let stand for 2 minutes.  Serve with Cucumber Greek Salad (recipe below) and top with dill yogurt mixture.

Cucumber Greek Salad
1 1/2  c. diced tomatoes
1 c. diced seeded cucumber
1/2 c. finely diced red onion
1/2 c. feta cheese
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt
pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Toss and chill until ready to eat.

This meal has less than 300 calories per serving and tastes amazing!  It is a great summer meal and definitely satisfying.  The yogurt-dill mixture is so versatile.  It would be amazing on chicken, fish, a salad, maybe even chocolate!  Okay....probably not chocolate, but you get the point.  It is a great stand-by condiment that you can use on anything.  Opa!

Ahhh...food therapy complete....

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One of the best things about my healthier eating plan, is that I am able to take traditional recipes and make them a little better for me.  It has made my creative juices flow and I am really enjoying the challenge.

Tonight I started with a recipe from Rachael Ray.  In general I find her recipes to be under-seasoned so I always have to adapt them, but this one I took a little bit more creative freedom with. 

Chicken and Roasted Veggie Napoleons
2 large or 3 small portobello mushroom caps (remove the stems and wash) Slice into 1/4-1/2 in. slices
3/4 of a 2.2 lb. tube of prepared polenta sliced into 1/4-1/2 in. slices
1 eggplant, peeled and sliced lengthwise into 1/4-1/2 in. pieces (should have 6)
1 zucchini, sliced on the diagonal into 12-18 pieces
1 squash, sliced on the diagonal into 12-18 pieces
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into 2 pieces (should yield 6 pieces total)
3/4 c. non fat ricotta cheese
1/2 c. reduced fat Italian Cheese Blend
1 Tbsp. Sundried tomato paste (available in the Italian section of the store)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Spray a large cooking sheet with Olive Oil Non-stick spray.  Layer zucchini, squash & mushrooms on the tray.  Spray veggies with olive oil spray and top with salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste. Place in oven for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from oven and set aside.  Repeat process with eggplant and set cooked eggplant aside.

2. Meanwhile heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Spray with non-stick spray and add polenta.  Cook until heated through and crisp on the outside - about 2-3 mins per side. Set aside.

3. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.  Using the same pan, add more non-stick spray (if necessary) and cook chicken.  About 3-4 mins. per side.

4. In a small bowl combine ricotta, Italian cheese & sundried tomato paste.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning to taste. 

5.  The eggplant will be the base for the napoleons.  Top each piece of eggplant with 1 piece of chicken, 2-3 pieces of zucchini, 2-3 pieces of squash.  Place 1 large tablespoon of the cheese mixture on top of the veggies and spread out.  Top with 2-3 polenta rounds and one more scoop of cheese mixture.  Top with mushrooms and return the napoleons to the oven for about 5 minutes until heated through.

This meal was incredibly satisfying.  The sundried tomato paste is a perfect way to add a ton of flavor without a lot of calories...not to mention, this is an entire meal in one!  Christopher (my bro) also suggested topping it off with a tomato sauce, which would be delish. 

Ahhh...food therapy complete!

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For those of you that don't know, I am on a mission to lose some ell-bees (lbs.).  I quit smoking over a year ago and as a result of have added about 15 pounds of love. While my husband loves me unconditionally, I am not the long, lean woman that I once was and it kills me.  I have started a much stricter eating program and have finally incorporated some working out into the program.

Despite the need to be more conscience, I feel that I need to maintain some sense of 'normalcy' in order to succeed.  Potatoes and cheese are my weaknesses and but I am still able to eat them all, to a different degree and in moderation.  Tonight I made a "traditional" meat and potatoes meal...with a spin.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

8 oz uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)

12 oz lean ground turkey

1 medium onion(s), chopped

1/2 cup(s) uncooked old fashioned oats

8 oz canned tomato sauce

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 large egg white(s), beaten slightly    1/4 tsp table salt    1/4 tsp black pepper    1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 c. low-fat cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.  Place mix into loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour.

Mashed Potatoes

	4 large potato(es)
	1/4 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	1/4 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
	1/4 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
	1 Tbsp chives, minced
	1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
	1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1 Tbsp. reduced fat butter or butter substitute
1 Tbsp. reduced fat cream cheese

Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks. Cover with salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender when pierced by a knife. Remove from heat and drain.

Mash potatoes. Combine with milk, yogurt, sour cream and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Do not overbeat or potatoes will become gummy.
I have to say, I found this meal extremely satisfying.  I was definitely nervous about the oats in the meatloaf, but you don't even taste them!  And the mashed potatoes were pretty darn close to the family stand-by.  I mean, you definitely notice the reduction of fat, but isn't that the point?!  I will definitely make this again and might get a little bit more creative with the meatloaf next time (add some peppers, Parmesan cheese, etc.).  I hope you enjoy!

Ahhhh...food therapy complete!
 

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It's been an incredibly long time since my last post and I have to apologize...there have been many changes on the Clem/Hendricks homefront in the past month which has resulted in my inconsistent postings.  We have decided to make the big move back to Dallas, but unfortunately, it means another long-distance relationship for the time being.  But enough about that, let's get back to the food...

I have decided to make a concerted effort to eat better which has encouraged me to make new recipes and in some cases use ingredients that I don't typically use.  Tonight I was craving some good, old-fashioned comfort food.  With the new eating regimine, that meant a turkey burger as opposed to my normal beef burger.  But word on the street is that I make a pretty mean turkey burger, so this one definitely hit the spot!

Turkey Burgers
1 package lean ground turkey (about 1 - 1 1/4 lbs)
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c. finely diced onion (red or white)
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce 
1-2 tsp. montreal seasoning
salt
pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and divide into 5-6 equal patties.  Make a divot in the center of one side of the patty (this stops them from "puffing up").  Cook on med-high grill or cast iron skillet for 5-6 minutes per side.  Add cheese during final 1 minute. Serve on a roll or english muffin.

I served the burgers with a side of green beans and an arugala salad (arugala, fresh parmesan cut with a potato peeler, topped with fresh lemon juice and olive oil).

I think that this healthy eating is a really nice trend that I am going to keep up with.  Expect more recipes with a healthy twist  :)

Ahhh...food therapy complete!

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