Taste of Italy Soup

Ahhhh, soup, how my soul loves thee.  Seriously, what is better that the little wafts of steam that come off of a hot bowl of soup?  Or the soothing warmth soaking into your fingers when you wrap your hands around a mug of savory goodness?  I don't know about you guys, but for me, soup/stew is the ultimate cuddley feel-happy-to-be-alive comfort food.

And thankfully, even when you're eating in the box, you can have this supremely blissful feeling.  And it's so darn easy!  (And I'm easing back into this blog thing with a simple recipe...but hey, I don't know if you guys have tried this yet, and you really need to!)

So this is your assignment, should you choose to accept it:  take a break from the holiday bustle, sit down in a comfortable chair in a warm and quiet living room, and let the lights of your Christmas trees twinkle your worries away as you enjoy your meal.

Update!

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

Where have I been?

Well, I've been transitioning, ya'll.  I am officially out of the box.  I'm maintaining, losing, gaining, but so far, maintaining.  And until I get more skilled at this eating in the GAP thing, I'm satisfied with that for a couple of months.  So, to make a long story short, I've had a really hard time coming up with new in the box meals lately because oh-my-gosh-I-can-eat-other-stuff-and-that's-what-I-want-right-now!

However, I'm past that initial food freedom euphoria, and I have been doing an occasional Decision Free day here and there to help with maintenance, and boy oh boy, does it do the trick.  I figure committing to posting a new recipe a week will help me keep up these Decision Free days.  So I will.  Post a Decision Free recipe every week or so, that is, probably on the weekends.  I'm not going to employ my creative genius to make Healthy Solutions stuff, because, frankly, I feel those people have PLENTY of options.  Decision Free is the more constrictive diet, and the one that needs the most help, more ideas, more variety. 

By the way, I recently had a weight loss triumph.  I bought, and fit into, a pair of knee high black leather boots.  I could have never ever ever done this before.  Have you had any weight loss triumphs lately?  Let's focus on those, and on making this food taste great.

I'm glad to be back.  Thanks for waiting on me. Hugs.

Halloween Pumpkin Spook Treats

Happy Halloween!  I'd say a holiday is a fine excuse to whip up another batch of rare and treatie-type goodies.  As always, these kind of baked goods are low volume foods, so bake with care and make sure they truly are just an occasional treat.

So, aren't they just hecka cute?  Kinda granola bar-like, but I spiced them up to taste like pumpkin pie.

If you don't like pumpkin pie, then I think you're crazy, but you COULD omit the flavorings I added and still have a very passable granola treat.

The pictures speak for themselves.  And they're saying "YUM."

Mediterranean Patties

I've been trying to get this recipe on here for days, literally.  One thing leads to another, and, well, you know how it goes.  Anyway!  Here we go.

This time I tried to replicate falafel.  For those of you who aren't familiar, falafel is a Mediterranean fried patty made primarily out of chickpeas and parsley and a horde of wonderful fragrant stuff.  It's one of my favorite foods.  So I took a five-bean entree, mixed it with some multi-grain cereal, spiced it up, fried some patties in a pan with a touch of non-stick cooking spray, and enjoyed.

In my opinion, the flavor wasn't that of falafel, although it was close.  Lots of cumin, lots of garlic.  This dish is PERFECT with a dab of fat free sour cream on each patty, although I was out at the time I made these and took pictures.

But the true magic of this dish is its texture and visual appeal.  It is like nothing else I've made.  It's a plate full of patties that look fried, and the outside gets slightly crispy.

And in case you wonder what I'm doing when I'm not cooking for you and me, here's an idea.

How about trying my hand at elderberry wine for the first time?  Amazing how much juice came out of these little berries.  And how big a mess I made getting at that juice.  The wine is happily fermenting in my basement as we speak.  I'll let you know if it's drinkable in about 8 to 12 months.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand I entered a pumpkin carving contest at the local movie theater.  Hey, free tickets for a year is well worth the effort.  I'll let you know if I win!

Thai Peanut Chicken

It's no secret.  I love pad thai.  I like my pad thai with a little bit of chili paste on the side, which I delicately dip the tines of my fork into before each and every bite.  Love.  It.  So I attempted to recreate the taste of it here.  As you may or may not know, the best part of pad thai is the crunchy peanuts that you can mix into it, and the fresh lime you can squeeze into it.  So this is what we get in our version.  Kinda!  And close enough to please my taste buds.

So with this one, you warm your entree, mix in all the spices, yes, including PB2 (TRUST ME), and then you squeeze lime juice onto it.  You have to, HAVE TO, use the lime juice.  It makes it zing.

And it will remind us of what fresh tastes like.  It's amazing what a little squeeze of liquid from a fruit can do to an entire meal.  Just awesome.

Tortilla(less) Soup

So, nothing fancy this time, and this meal will not take long to prepare.  Tortilla(less) soup is one of my quick and easy go-tos when I'm in need of a little comfort food, especially in cold weather.  It may not photograph particularly prettily, but let me assure you that this soup is thick, creamy, warm, and filling.  I cannot even guess how many times I've eaten this meal...but it's lots and lots.  And lots.  There was about three weeks in a row when I had this for supper six nights out of seven.  Not joking, truth.

This has a serious tortilla soup feel to it.  The flavors are familiar and I tend to use these spices a lot, but sometimes, familiar is nice, too.  I got this recipe from a couple of folks in my class.  They swore by it, talking to each other with pure enthusiasm when bringing this recipe up.  I'm not sure which one of them came up with it first, but I'm so glad they mentioned it to me.  When I make it, I appreciate the fact that there are so few ingredients on this list.  I added the garlic though.  Everything is better with garlic.

So yeah, the spoon is out of focus, but the soup in the bowl is clear!  Don't judge.  See how thick and creamy?  Soooo glad I just got to eat this, otherwise I would have to go make it right now.

Also, thanks to my mom for donating some cool bowls and plates to the blog cause.  You rock!

Toasted Ravioli

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this long, long before now.  I mean, it's a no brainer.

I had to let these cool off, but they were totally dippable.  I miss finger food...don't you?

The only think I would've changed about this recipe is I would have doubled it.  And I will next time, when I'm having a hungry day.  Eight ravioli instead of four.  That sounds just about perfect.  But believe it or not, I made these four last.  Little nibbles, little dips, little "mmmm" sounds.  I normally like the ravioli okay, but these were good.  Something about baking entrees changes the flavor just enough to be more satisfying.

By the way!  I started week four of Couch to 5k this week, and I thought I was going to die.  But you know what?  I did it.  That's right.  I ran 5 minutes in a row without stopping, not once, but twice.  So incredibly stoked.  I think I could learn to love to run.

Leaning Tower of Pancakes

This is, I believe, one of HMRs classic recipes, so don't think I came up with this one, because I didn't.  I just thought that maybe, if you're crazy and haven't tried this recipe yet, you'd like to see some pictures of the pancakes before you give it a shot.  So.  Here's some pictures.  Go give it a shot.

As far as how I use the pancake recipe, I respect it.  I mean, I know it's another one of those dreaded low volume recipes, but on Sunday morning, when my family is having pancakes (that I cooked and couldn't eat), well, now I can join them.  And that is very very important to me.

Also!  Tuesday is weigh in day for me, and I lost 1.5 pounds.  68 more to go!  I refuse to say that I only lost 1.5 pounds, because any loss is precious and to be celebrated.  You hear that, folks?  As long as that scale went negative, you smile and pat yourself on the back, because you deserve it. 

Smoky Enchilada Bake



I was assigned a blast day this week.  So, I had to eat more than my minimum, which meant I had to fit an extra entree in somewhere.  Now, don't get me wrong, I sometimes do this voluntarily when I am ravenous, but this time it was an assignment, and I do my best to fulfill all of them.  So I needed a new double entree for supper, something different, something that I could make with what I had at home with me.  Something like this.

Looks huge, doesn't it?!

 This requires a little decontruction of an entree, but it really wasn't that difficult.  It's an enchilada entree and a BBQ chicken entree (BBQ chicken is my favorite entree...can you tell?)  You have to unroll the enchiladas to use for a top and bottom, spoon out the stuffing, mix it with the BBQ chicken, and spread the left over enchilada sauce across the top, with some hot sauce if you'd like.


Spices, meat, tomato sauce, little crunchy bits on the edges...  Heaven in a casserole dish.

 You'll need a little time for this one, because you simply must bake it. 


Looking at it again now is making my mouth water.



Chai Tea Latte

Before I began the HMR diet, I bought some lovely, beautiful, gorgeous tea from a foo-foo place in a big city mall.  I went way overboard on the purchase, but now I do have some pretty tea that smells and tastes incredible.  I haven't prepared any of it in the last six months, because I was disgusted that I couldn't put real sugar or real honey in it to sweeten it.  Zero-calorie sweeteners were absolutely not an option for me.  I didn't like the way they tasted and thought they cheapened and drowned out the taste of the tea.  Okay, so I have to admit that with this single purchase of tea, I may have turned into a tea snob.

But I miss this tea.  And the weather has turned chilly just for a few days, and I am absolutely craving it at night, which is when I used to drink it before.  So I had to figure out how to get it back into my life.  And out of this figuring came this simple recipe, and an odd revelation which I'll get to later.

So, my favorite tea is a chai/oolong mix.  But it's the chai flavor that I love, and that's the one that comes through the strongest.

Like I said, pretty.

So I steeped a batch of tea.  I have a small pot.  It makes 22 ounces of tea.

Then I put the tea into my blender, closed my eyes, threw in a shake, and prayed that I hadn't just ruined it.  I didn't ruin it.  It was frothy and lovely and tasted like it had milk and sugar in it.  And I was full afterwards. 

See the line between the tea and the foam?  That, my friends, is beautiful.

For those of you that don't have a chai tea mix, I've included an alternate recipe using regular tea and spices to give you a similar effect.  Simple.  Filling.  Warm.  It feels like fall.

Gourmand tip:  Then there was the revelation.  I tried the tea straight before mixing in the shake.  And it was truly good.  The lack of sweeteners didn't affect my enjoyment of the hot tea at all.  Conclusion?  My taste buds have well and truly changed.  Now that I am no longer consuming mountains of sugar, my palette is finding joy and interest in tastes I would have missed before.  I plan on drinking tea regularly, with or without a shake.  On those days when you don't want to eat anymore meal replacements but find yourself hungry, or bored, or wanting something in your hands, try a pot of hot tea.  It just may get you through.

Dream Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Gourmand wisdom:  When you have the time, and as often as you can, eat slooooooowly.  Chew your food mindfully and think about the taste, the texture, the spices and flavor.  Don't eat in front of the tv.  Sit down at your table, put your food on a plate instead of eating it out of the plastic tray, and enjoy it with deliberately small bites.  Make it last.  I cannot stress how much more enjoyment you will get out of the same food if you actually pay attention and give time to what you're eating.  Plus, you're giving your stomach more time to realize that there's food in there.  Give that food a little respect!

________________
There is nothing better than the smell of baking in a house.  There is something about the molecules that are released during cooking that just feed the soul when they fly up your nose (now that's a romantic image, yeah?)

So these are vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  I'll tell you right now that I cooked them too long.  I've put a reduced time in the recipe to reflect that.  In spite of their dark color, they weren't burnt, just not as moist and soft as I would have liked.

See?  They still look yummy, no?

I feel compelled to let you know that this is a low volume recipe, and intended as a once-in-a-while treat.  I got a cool dozen out of this batch, and that means you can eat four of these at a time, and it will count as one meal replacement.  I know what I'm having for breakfast the next three days.  Mmmm.

Chicken Curry

One thing I have really missed is the flavor of exotic food.  I'm not so much a meat and potatoes type of girl.  I like unfamiliar spices and crazy flavor combinations.  I'll try anything once, just out of sheer joy of finding a flavor that I've never experienced before.

I was not really a fan of the Savory Chicken entree as it came out of the package.  I mean, it had potential.  I liked the mushroomy flavor, and the occasionally crunchiness of the brown rice pieces.  But the more bites of it I took, the less of the delicate flavor I seemed to taste, until it was just like chewing ricey paste.

Let me assure you, this does not taste like ricey paste.  To the contrary, what I thought was a weakness of the Savory Chicken is a strength.  You can, quite literally, completely change the flavor of this entree dish with spices.  I have so many ideas for how to do this, and I'm excited to see which ones work.  This, I think, is one of them.  Curry chicken has some heat to it, so if you don't like a little spice, skip this dish.  If you do though, try it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

BBQ Chicken Stack

For those of you interested in my personal weight loss stats, I've recorded my week by week weight loss for you to peruse, along with a terrifying/interesting before and current picture of yours truly.  It is available after the recipe. 

So...enough about me!  On with the important stuff:  the food!

I know you won't believe it, but I occasionally screw up.  Like when I was trying to microwave chips for the recipe yesterday.  I initially added too much water to the chip batter, and it wouldn't firm all the way up and dry out, like a chip should.  So I ended up with a plate-sized crust of chicken soup, and I refused to throw it out.  This stuff is expensive, you know!  So I gave my favorite standby recipe, BBQ Chicken Pizza, a visual makeover.

Geez, I have missed cooking for myself.  I mean, I still have to cook for my husband and daughter.  (Yes, I'm a masochist.)  But it's nowhere near as fun cooking what you can't eat.  In fact, it stinks.

But this doesn't.  It's visually different, a feast for the eyes, and not too bad for the tongue, either.  Sweet and smoky.  Go eat a stack.

Spicy Chips and Bean Dip

This one takes some time, so don't make it when you're starving and ravenous and in oh-my-Lord-I would-eat-my-shoe-right-now-if-it-tasted-like-chocolate mode.  Also, supposedly it's a low volume recipe, so don't eat it often.  But man oh man, did I almost feel normal eating this.

The chips were crispy, the dip creamy.  The spices were familiar and comforting.

I totally plan to use this recipe on Christmas Eve, when my family has an all-you-can-stuff-yourself-with  hors d'oeuvres.  I'll have my own, and if I take some brownies or cupcakes with me, I'll be golden.  Those recipes coming soon!

Greetings, from a drought-stricken region on the US, dusty Missouri!  I thought I'd use this first post to let you know just a tad about me, why I'm doing this, and what you can expect from me.

My name is Becky (Hi, Becky) and my passion, and I'm sure a lot of you can empathize with this, is food.  I like the way it tastes, I like the way it looks, I like the way it smells.  Food is necessary and lovely.  However, I like it a little too much, and I have a hard time stopping putting it in my mouth once I start.

I joined the HMR program at my local hospital on March 15, 2012, the ides of March (et tu, food?)  I decided to jump right in and go with the uber-restrictive Decision Free option.  My immediate reason for this is because my husband, daughter, and I are going to Disneyworld in January of 2013.  I will be darned if I spend my week at Disneyworld depressed because I can't fit on the rides, so I am going to make well sure and good that I am going to fit.  And I'm going to feel better and look better while getting there.

I started the program at 301 pounds.  Yikes.  Highest I've ever been.  Now, six months later, I'm down to 214.5 pounds and very thankful for that.  Only 69.5 pounds more to go!

So, what is this blog for?  After six months of pretty much eating the food as is and not adding anything or trying anything different, I'm BORED.  I need something different.  I need to feel excited about meal time again.  I started looking up HMR recipes online, and was incredibly frustrated by the ones that I found.  Yes, they work.  Yes, some of them are really good.  But no one treats this food with respect.  (Where are the pictures?)  It seems that it is just a transitory thing, just something to lose weight, not really a pretty food, and I realize that.  But this is my life right now, and as such, I think this food is rather important.  Maybe I've watched Julie and Julia one too many times, but let's give this a try and see if we can't enjoy this food while we're eating it.

This blog is for recipes.  It's also going to have lots of pictures of what the cooking of these recipes looks like, and the finished product.  And I'm rather opinionated, so I'm sure you'll get to hear what I think of these recipes also.  I'm looking forward to this, and I hope that even if it's a recipe you've already heard of, you will get to see it in a new way.  Let's do this.