Carrot Soup For the Sick

I had a bad feeling last week that I was going to be coming down with something.

Mostly because I had a feverish, hacking child in my bed in the middle of the night. There was no escaping the coughing that was going on as he buried his head in my neck. We had two nights of interrupted sleep which is nothing when you are raising a baby....but after years of peaceful sleep that comes with having a ten year old, those two wakeful nights are murder. After a trip to the doctor, a diagnosis of croup and a dose of Prednisone, my boy was on the mend.

Now Mommy and Daddy are feeling it. Post-nasal drip, scratchy throats, ear pain. The beginnings of a cold.

In the past a cold would mean comfort food to me. Junk like hot ramen noodle soup or a bowl of ice cream. You know... to soothe my sore throat. Drs. Ben and Jerry to the rescue.

Three and a half weeks and a nice weight loss into the 17 Day Diet I am not giving in to junk food. I scoured recipe blogs looking for some kind of soup that would appeal to me and fit the diet requirements at the same time.  I found a Carrot Ginger soup that looked relatively easy and palatable.

Now I did tweak it a bit...I added some pepper and some pumpkin pie spice. It would probably be good with a bit of Greek yogurt swirled into it as well. Whatever you add, it is an easy and healthy option for those nights you feel a little under the weather, or just need a hot cup of soup!

Carrot Ginger Soup

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock

1 and 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated (*I mashed mine into a paste)

 For garnish: chives, creme fraiche, orange zest, etc

Instructions

1. In a large Dutch oven or sauce pot over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering.

2. Add the onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the carrots and about 2 cups of the broth (enough to cover the carrots completely.)

5. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a gentle boil.

6. Reduce the heat to low, cover the soup, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots are completely cooked through.

7. Very carefully, using an immersion blender or a blender (in batches), puree the soup until smooth.

8. Add the remaining 4 cups of broth and ginger and cook until the soup is completely heated through, about 10 minutes or so. Garnish as desired.

Source:  Adapted from Williams-Sonoma.

Salad Days

Sometimes I am just too damn tired to cook. I'm not organized enough to prepare meals ahead of time most days. What used to happen on days like this was take-out. Pizza, Chinese, whatever. On the 17 Day Diet there isn't room for quick and easy crapola like that so I have to get resourceful.

My grab and go of choice has become rotisserie turkey breast. I had a love affair with the rotisserie chickens at my local market pre-17DD where I would inhale both drumsticks before that baby even knew what happened to it. That is NOT an option anymore and I hate to waste some good dark meat because no one else in my house eats it. The rotisserie turkey breast solves the issue of being a lean protein without dark meat making an appearance.

The turkey is then shredded and thrown into a big bowl of mixed greens. Yes, I graduated from plain Romaine to the melange of fancy, dark lettuces with funny names. Ones I always avoided because they were bitter, or curly, or just plain good for me. I eat these now, not with much pleasure but I do tolerate them.

Fat free shredded cheese is then added in a small amount. This is a big difference from the big handful of regular cheese that made its way into my previous salads. Gone are the olives, croutons, bacon pieces, nuts and other calorie bombs. If I am feeling crazy I may toss a chopped hard boiled egg in there.

The lettuce, turkey, chopped egg is then topped with a (measured) two tablespoons of Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette.

That's it. No excitement. Just salad. The way salad should be. Without the tasty morsels of evil masquerading as a salad.

And I am ok with this. Really. I am.

Shocking.

Would you believe me if I told you that my dessert consists of a container of plain yogurt? I know! What's become of me? Hopefully less....that's what!

Something's Fishy!

Auntie was able to make an appearance tonight at dinner!

It turns out her Asian Grilled Salmon is compatible with my diet, and it is SUPER easy to make. The marinade is only four ingredients. Olive oil, garlic, Dijon mustard and soy sauce.

The salmon is cut into portions and half of the marinade is drizzled on top. It sits for about ten minutes before cooking. Now Auntie cooks this on a grill, but I had other plans for it.

I got a faaabulous pan a few weeks ago. It is a thirteen inch nonstick skillet that can go into the oven. I didn't want to spend a fortune, so I went to Kohl's with a coupon and a dream. Also a lot of patience, because I really, really hate that store. Here is a link to the pan, because it is THAT good:

Food Network Skillet

Anyway....I used it to cook some salmon for the holidays a few weeks ago and it came out perfect and was ridiculously easy to clean up. Now I use the pan for practically everything. It's getting quite the workout.

I decided to cook the Asian salmon in the magic pan. Seared the salmon skin side up until it got a nice brown crust and then flipped them over. Then I was able to stick it straight into a 350 degree oven to finish it off.

Hello gorgeous!

Honestly, I am not much of a fish eater but I am trying to be healthier and salmon is one of those super foods that is good for everyone. I am finding when it is cooked right, it is pretty damn good. With the right pan and the right attitude...anything is possible!

Asian Grilled Salmon

She Likes It! She Really Likes It!

Let me tell you something about eating whole, unprocessed foods. After the initial withdrawal from sugar, flour, and other crap....and the massive headaches it brings....food starts to taste different. Everything is suddenly DELICIOUS!

Honestly, in all of my years of eating and dieting I think that I have never had this experience. It is almost as if the processed food dulled my senses. Even things that I thought I had previously hated are now favorites of mine. Something as simple as carrots roasted in the oven suddenly tastes like candy! It is blowing my mind.

One of the vegetables that never seemed to make it to my plate was eggplant. The texture and weird little seeds always grossed me out. Of course when it was covered in egg and bread crumbs and fried I managed to choke some down, but otherwise I avoided it like the plague. 

When I was searching for 17 Day Diet-friendly recipes I came across one that had people raving...and it was eggplant based. I figured since I had already been able to change my mind about cooked carrots (love those roasted suckers) and cauliflower (wait until I tell you about this miraculous vegetable!) I could try eggplant again.

The first thing I did was peel that sucker, even though the recipe did not suggest it. I may be able to change my mind about eggplant...but I won't change it about the skin. Yuck. Not a fan.

All I had to do was cut it into rounds and bake it on a sheet pan sprayed with PAM. That was it. Oy. Where's the egg?  The breadcrumbs? The hot oil that always splattered all over me? How was I going to manage this?? Plain eggplant sprayed with PAM? Eww.

So, I baked up the eggplant rounds and then browned the ground turkey. I added the tomato sauce, and then got ready to layer them with some fat free mozzarella....another food I thought I would never be caught eating. Alternated the eggplant with the turkey sauce and cheese, then baked for about thirty minutes.

And wouldn't you know it? It was FAAABULOUS!

Try it! Who knows? You may learn to like something new!

Healthy Eggplant Turkey Parmesan (17 DD Cycle 1 Friendly)

It Dropped Below 50 Degrees....I'm Making Soup!

I love soup, but won't touch it in the summer. It's just too hot. As soon as we got our first crisp night in New England, I decided I wanted to make some 17 Day Diet Friendly Soup. I had been compiling different recipes from websites and marking the ones that I wanted to try and figured I would start with something simple, Roasted Tomato Soup.

Oddly enough, I despise tomatoes. I will eat sauce, soup, ketchup, etc...but never ever a raw tomato. I don't even like handling them but sucked it up in order to try out this recipe. It was quick and easy, and I am glad I pushed myself to try it out.

You may want to season it a bit more, I was trying to keep the salt at a minimum. I added a pinch of parmesan to my cup and it was fantastic. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

20 plum tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise

1 onion, sliced thickly

6 cloves of garlic

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Parmesan to garnish (2 teaspoons is a 20 calorie serving)

Preheat oven to 350

Line 2 cookie sheets with foil, and put tomatoes skin side up with garlic, onion, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes.

Take the skin off the tomatoes...it peels very easily. Throw them away! Then put all of the ingredients into the blender, including the juices from the pan. You'll have to do this in two batches. Blend until smooth.

This was so good, and lasted for days. I put a sprinkle of fresh parmesan on top. The last day I had it I even crumbled up some turkey meatloaf and veggies into it and made a "stoup" out of it. Now that cooler weather is ahead, it is perfect to have on hand.

It's All Greek to Me!

On Day 5 of Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet I decided to make Chicken Souvlaki.

I love Greek food. I grew up on Long Island where we had an abundance of Greek restaurants. Here in Connecticut they are few and far between, and I miss being able to easily grab a salad with chicken gyro or some souvlaki.

Knowing that on the first 17 days of this diet I can only have chicken breast, turkey breast, eggs and some fish for protein has me searching my brain for all of the ways I can cook these things without getting utterly sick of them. Tonight I hit a home run with this recipe for Chicken Souvlaki that I adapted from online.

Chicken Souvlaki

6 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced (I use the DOROT frozen cubes...so easy)
1.5 pounds chicken cutlets, cut into 1 inch pieces

wooden skewers, grill pan

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large Ziplock bag. Add cubed chicken and shake. Put in refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes. Shake bag around or turn over about 15 minutes through to make sure chicken is marinating evenly.

Remove chicken from bag and thread on skewers. Cook on grill pan coated with cooking spray on medium-high heat until cooked through.

Serve with Tzatziki....also Cycle 1 friendly with greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber and dill. Here is a link to the recipe:

Tzatziki


This was SO good, and I did not feel like I was eating "diet" food at all. My son loved the chicken, my vegetarian husband loved the Tzatziki. Winner all around, and going into my rotation for sure! There is plenty of Tzatiki left, and it will be used for veggie dip tomorrow.

Losing It With Auntie

It seems that my adoration for (almost) all things Auntie Ina has gotten me into some trouble.

It turns out that "How baaaad can thaaat be?" can be quite bad.

So, I need to adjust my relationship with Auntie and break up with the butter, sugar, cheese, good mayo, white flour, chocolate, etc, etc.

The struggle with my weight has been an issue for years.  I was hot and thin for about 5 minutes back in the 1990's but it didn't last too long.  I have a terrible addiction, and food is my drug of choice. It turns out that Auntie is one of my pushers.

I've tried lots of ways to lose weight, all of them at least twice. If surgery was covered under my health insurance I would try that too. After a few months of letting it all go to Hell, I decided to try again. This time with something new. A friend of mine mentioned something called The 17 Day Diet and suggested I take a look.

Perfect timing, as I was looking for anything to come along and kick my ass. The fact that my best friend was along for the ride made it even better. Then roping in another friend just sealed the deal. Because if you are going to be a cranky, detoxing witch....it helps to have your friends in the same boat.

Now here is the question....

What do I do with this blog? I don't want to abandon it, but I can't continue to ply myself with Auntie's delicious but not so healthy goodies. I am actually cooking more than ever, and would love to share it with you....so I think I may make more than just a lifestyle change and go ahead and make a blog change.

But what to do about the title? I am going to have to do some thinking. I do plan on adapting some of Auntie's healthier recipes. As a matter of fact, I have already made one that did not even need any changes....and it was AMAZING!

Here is the link:
Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

I hope you stick with me. Heck, I hope I stick with me! It is quite the challenge so far, but I'm up for it!