Jen's Individual Zucchini Lasagnas – Step By Step!

The original plan was to have these on their own page on the website, but unfortunately that didn't work out as planned (as sometimes that happens!) But I promised step-by-step instructions, and HERE ya go!

Step 1: Slice your zucchini into rounds for individual servings, into strips for a full-family sized pan.

I used a mandolin to do this. If you don't have one, use the slicer attachment on your food processor or a knife to slice it. As long as it's not super thick, the thickness isn't really that big a deal.

Step 2: Brown your sausage

I could eat my weight in this stuff ...

Step 3: Shred your cheese

Whatever your favorite cheese is - here I have mozzarella and Parmesan!

Step 4: Construct your ricotta filling:

1 C ricotta cheese, 1 egg, a few leaves of basil, torn, ¼ C mozerella, ¼ C parmesan, some minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste

   

Then put it into a bowl that actually fits the amount of ingredients you're using ...

Step 5: Find your pasta sauce

We used a good tomato basil sauce. Nom nom nom ...

Step 6: Prepare an individual sized ramekin with cooking spray, butter, or coconut oil

Aren't these the cutest??

Step 7: Put a couple of tablespoons of sauce into bottom of ramekin

Step 8: Lay a few slices of zucchini on top of sauce

Step 9: Spread a tablespoon or two of ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini 

Step 10: Sprinkle with a tablespoon of sausage

Step 11: Sprinkle with some shredded cheese

Then stop and have a snack ...

I just stuck some sauce, sausage and cheese on a round of zucchini. It was delicious!
This would actually make a great bite for an appitizer!

Step 12: Repeat layers (Sauce, zucchini, ricotta, sausage, cheese)

Step 13: Top with more sauce and cheese

Step 14: Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly

Step 15: Let stand for 10 minutes

Step 16: GENTLY pour off any excess liquid that may arise

TA-DAA!!

Step 17: DEVOUR!!!

(Sorry ... Didn't have a picture of me eating it. It went too fast!)

Don't forget that you can make up a batch of several of these and store them in the freezer! Let them cool completely, pour off the liquid, wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight. The next day, put them in plastic storage bags labeled and dated, then stick them in the freezer for up to 6 months! When you're ready to cook them, take them out of the bag and let them sit on the counter (still wrapped in plastic!) for an hour or so. Then unwrap and bake as directed above (add about 10 minutes to the cooking time!)

Holding On To Winter

This will be the last recipe post on our blog! BUT Don't despair! All of our recipes will soon be available on our BRAND NEW WEB SITE!! That's right! We will be launching our new site on Monday - and it will be full of information, recipes, blog posts, videos ... Everything we offer IN ONE PLACE!! How convenient! We hope you'll take the time to check it out - OFFICIAL announcement will come Monday! Have a great weekend!

It's the final throws of winter, and in some parts of the country - it's holding on for dear life!! This week we showed some delicious and healthy recipes that can get you through these last cold dregs until springtime is on the horizon!



Mama's No-Roux Gumbo

This is a GREAT recipe that stays true to the low-carb need of most bariatric patients. The okra acts as the thickener, so there's no roux needed! There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe but chopped onions, bell pepper and celery are available in the fresh food section and in the frozen food section. Using the rotisserie chicken makes this very simple because you just pull the chicken off the bone and dump it in the broth. It's definitely more simple than it looks!

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons butter
2 medium Onions chopped finely (about 2 cups)
1 cup Bell Pepper chopped finely
½ cup celery chopped finely
2 cloves garlic chopped finely
2 cups white wine
2 quarts or more of chicken broth or stock
1 lb good smoked sausages
1 ½ cups of shredded Chicken (rotisserie chicken is great, canned chicken is OK, but it is not as good as fresh. Turkey can be substituted)

1 pound of Shrimp
1 pound of unbreaded frozen okra (canned can be used but it is slimy so be prepared. This is the thickening agent)
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2-3 teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning, we use mild
1 ½ tablespoons of Hot Sauce (to your taste)
1 large can of diced tomatoes

In a large pot, brown the vegetables in the olive oil and butter. Cook till they are translucent. Add the White Wine and the seasonings. Add the okra, sausage and shredded chicken. Bring to a strong boil for about 15-20 minutes check to make sure the okra is beginning to soften. Add the cleaned shrimp just about 5 minutes before serving. 

Jen's Crock-Pot French Onion Soup

This is a favorite between my husband and I. In fact, we keep some stored in the freezer for cold, but busy, nights! We used Jarlsberg here, but any of your favorite cheese will work great! Head's up - phase 1 people strain off the broth! Phase 2 people - run it through your blender or food processor! This is a great recipe ALL phases can enjoy!

3-4 Onions (whichever kind you like best)

2 cloves minced garlic

3-4 sprigs thyme

1 box beef stock or 4 cups homemade

1 cup red wine 

salt and pepper to taste

2 T butter

2 T olive oil or coconut oil

Saute onions in butter over medium-low heat until caramelized (will take about 20 minutes - be sure to stir them often!). This can be done in advance and the onions stored in a container in the fridge for up to two days. Toss them into the crock pot with the thyme, stock, and salt and pepper. Turn crock pot on low heat and cook for up to 8 hours. Ladle into soup bowls and top with shredded cheese of choice (we used Jarlsberg Swiss). Stick under the broiler for a few minutes until cheese is melted and browned. 

Individual Zucchini Lasagna

Ever since I was a little girl, I was a lasagna hound. I could eat almost an entire pan of that frozen kind in one sitting! Now, of course, I can't have the noodles, but with this recipe you don't even MISS the noodles! You can substitute any spring or summer squash in this recipe beautifully. Yellow squash works well - and eggplant is great too!

This is a great way to use up leftover zucchini, sauce, cheese, and/or sausage! In fact, it can be mixed up in so many ways there's no limit to what you can add or omit!

Slice a zucchini into rounds. I used a mandolin, but if you don't have one use a very sharp knife. Try to get the slices as even as possible.

Cook up a lb of Italian sausage and put into bags for storage. Reserve about 1/4-/1/2 cup per lasagna.

                                                                                   

Grab a jar of your favorite pasta sauce ...

Ricotta Filling
(for 2-3 servings)

1/2 C ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 T Parmesan

1/4 c mozzarella or other cheese

a few leaves of basil, torn

salt and pepper to taste

Get a small (1/2 C size) ramekin (we found ours at a mega mart for around a dollar!) and grease it in whatever manner you choose (butter, cooking spray, coconut oil ...). Put a tablespoon of sauce on the bottom. Place a few rounds of zucchini on top of the sauce (it's okay to overlap a little), put a spoonful of ricotta mix on top of the zucchini, then a spoonful of sausage. Add a bit of sauce and a tiny sprinkle of cheese, then top with more zucchini. Repeat with more ricotta, sausage, sauce, and cheese. Top with another zucchini round and more sauce and cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

This is a great recipe to make up several of and store them in the freezer. Alternatively, you can slice the zucchini lengthwise and do this as a full-batch in a big ol' pan! If you do the bigger pan, however, you will need to lengthen the cooking time to about 30-45 minutes.

*Step-by-step instructions will be found on our web site!*

Baby Steps

I tend to forget that there are novice cooks or non cooks that watch our show wanting ideas for quick easy to prepare recipes. Don’t despair, I am working on some quick recipes that put together low carb/high protein ideas with ya’ll in mind.

As I sit here thinking about what we used to eat and what we now eat, I remember when our foster daughters Angel and Aimee came to live with us. They had a diet of McDonalds chicken nuggets and mac and cheese from a box. Trying to get them to eat a balanced diet was very hard. They could each eat a half of box of cereal at one meal, my kids never ate as much as these tiny girls could put away. Time caught up with both of them quickly with Aimee developing food allergies that were diet related and a few years later Angel developed fibro.

Aimee was a willing student and learned one dish at a time how to cook. Angel moved away and learned on her own. Both have become amazing cooks contending with their dietary issues.

I remember explaining to them NEVER try to cook the whole meal the first time. Make a dish and learn to make it well. If it is mashed potatoes remember not to boil the pot dry.. Really simple things but in the kitchen attention is crucial.

For you bariatric patients to learn to make a batch, freeze it and have portions on hand for a second, third or fourth meal you need to consider what will be needed to succeed.

Food freezes well in plastic airtight containers for 6 months. Vacuum packaging with lengthen the time to 1 year. So if you make a big recipe you don’t have to eat it all in a week.

First pick a recipe that you like. Make it on a day when you have at least 1 hour. May be give up and hour of TV one night! Portion it up, then pick a second dish and do it again till you have your stash of yummy low carb high protein goodies.

Most chopped ingredients like onions, bell pepper and celery can be bought either in the veg section or frozen section, it is already chopped and ready to go. Along with lots of fresh veg that can be steamed in just a few minutes.

I’ve heard folks complain that they can’t cook so they turn back to fast food! NO,NO, NO!!!

There are whole food grocery stores that have prepared entrees, salad bars and carry out meals that are healthy and don’t cost any more than eating out.

Immediately after my surgery in October 2010, my grandson was in the hospital in Florida. I flew down 10 days after surgery, I was still on the soft food portion of my recovery. I made a trip to, of all places, Boston Market and got meatloaf and mashed potatoes - enough on the child’s plate for 2 meals! The hotel offered breakfast so if they didn't have scrambled eggs they had yogurt that I could eat for breakfast and steal for a snack. My daughter-in-law kept applesauce and sugar free pudding so those were available during the day. Canned soups and canned meats such as deviled ham and tuna gave me some variety. After the first week I was able to begin solid foods so I kept is simple with cheese, sliced turkey or ham, deli style, scrambled or hard boiled eggs, of course I kept eating yogurt and the sugar free pudding for my snacks.

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!!! The simpler the better - in the first 10 days in Florida I lost a pound a day...by the time I came home I had lost 27 pounds. I don’t recommend stress as a way to lose during the first few weeks. It was hard on me and stripped a lot of the nutrients from my body way too fast. But if I had not planned ahead it would have been much worse.

I don’t recommend going into this surgery thinking that a patient can survive without handling food at some point. Changing your basic habits of eating are important and the only way you can survive and keep your weight off long term. So, planning, simple recipes and support groups are crucial from the time you start the process of deciding on which ever surgery you choose.

Don’t get overwhelmed. Take it one step at at time. Below, I list the steps to success in making your weekly meal plan. And setting yourself up for success in trying any recipe you choose.

#1 Remove all chips, cookies, crackers, and high carbohydrate foods like Rice, Potatoes, and Bread. ( you may be able to add some back later just don’t plan on it. Then you won’t live in anticipation)

#2 Pick a recipe you a like. Buy just the items you need, don’t go crazy by saying “that looks good!” you can overload yourself and lose control fast.

#3 Buy freezer bags or containers for your portions. Don’t buy gallon size, small is best at this time of your life!

#4 Make your favorite recipe

#5 Pack in 1/2 c portions

#6 Start over with the next recipe!

Hint: even cheese and lunch meats can be packaged into individual bags or containers for the week. They don’t have to be frozen and can be on hand for a quick snack.

When you are confident with each recipe, mix and match your portions. Grilled meat with fresh veg. Do your meat in bulk, even if you are doing it on the stovetop or under the broiler. Chicken cooked will keep in a closed container for a week in the refrigerator, but frozen it becomes a swap out for later. Meatballs or burger patties in slider sizes are another idea that freeze well, and also will hold a week in the refrigerator. Just don’t make quarter pounders! A pound of ground meat should made 10-12 mini burgers. These are just a few ideas to cook ahead and have in the freezer and refrigerator.

Good Luck and have fun trying out new recipes.

If you have any questions on what products are easiest to use please leave me a comment, or if you have done some of these things and have ideas that I did not mention please feel free to share with all of us.

Suzette

Happy Valentine's Day From 7 Bites

Valentine’s Day is upon us! This is MY favorite holiday because of all the hearts, the flowers, the CHOCOLATE, the ROMANCE ... And speaking of romance, we featured an amazing special romantic dinner for two this week on the show! Surf ‘n Turf, Stuffed Mushrooms, and CHOCOLATE for dessert - all with our dietary needs in mind! Check out what we made this week on the show!

Sue’s Flourless Chocolate Cake

Sounds a lot more complicated than it really is! It’s a little time consuming, but it is a labor of love! Like it more sweet? Feel free to add more sweetener!

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces ( boxes of baking chocolate are 4 oz each so you will need 4 boxes)

1 Stick unsalted butter

9 large eggs separated

¾ cup stevia

1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

dash salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease cupcake pan or mini cupcake pan with butter or cooking spray

Make a double boiler by placing a bowl with the chopped chocolate and butter over a pan with gently simmering water. Mix with a spatula until completely melted and smooth.

Beat the 9 egg yolks with the ¾ cup of stevia until the mixture is a light yellow.

Beat the 9 egg whites in a separate bowl until strong peaks are formed

Temper the eggs by adding small amounts of the warm chocolate butter mixture  into the egg yolk mixture until the two mixtures are combined.

The chocolate and eggs will become stiff so don’t be concerned.

Start adding ⅓ of the Egg White mixture into the chocolate mixture and FOLD GENTLY - try not to flatten the egg white mixture!!

When completely mixed, divide into the prepared baking cups

(A 9 inch spring form pan may be substituted for the baking cups but to maintain portion control we strongly suggest the baking cups )

Set the oven timer for 8 minutes, then half way through check the cakes with a toothpick the pick should come out with some of the batter in flakes on it. If you cook the full eight minutes and it is still runny, check every 2-3 minutes.  These cook fast in the baking cups.

Serve with whipped cream or use a sugar free sauce like chocolate or caramel sauce to drizzle the top of the cake.  These taste better if warmed in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

Jen’s Stuffed Portobello For Two

This is the perfect side dish to share! It’s so rich, you might only need 1/4 rather than a full 1/2!!
Vegetarians! This is a great main course because of the protein count!

Serves 2:

1 Portobello cap, stem removed and wiped clean with a moist towel
1/2 block cream cheese
1/4 C parmesan cheese
1/4 C mozerella cheese
1 clove garlic
2 T chopped fresh herbs (I used basil)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425.

In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, cheeses, herbs, garlic, and salt and pepper until well combined. Mound into the mushroom cap. Place in baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melty and slightly browned on top. Allow to come to room temperature before eating to allow center to “settle” and firm up!

Sue’s Venison in Blackberry Sauce

Marinade

½ Cup Wine of your choice

½ Cup of Vegetable Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

½ small onion chopped

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Add venison to Marinade leave at least 2 hours, overnight is even better!

Grill for 2 - 3 minutes on each side.  Serve rare for best flavor

BlackBerry Sauce

1 cup Blackberries

2 -3 tablespoons butter

1 C blackberry wine (or red or white wine)

½ squeezed lemon

pepper / salt to taste

Jen’s Shrimp Hearts with Lemon Garlic marinade

Serves 2

Marinade:
Juice of 1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

1-2 T fresh chopped tarragon

1/4 C olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat an indoor grill over high heat (or use an outdoor grill if you prefer, just be sure to use metal skewers or to soak your wooden ones for 
20-30 minutes first).

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Pour about half into a shallow dish.
Dip shrimp into the marinade and place on skewers in alternating directions so they form a heart shape. Put onto grill pan and cook 2-3 minutes per side or until opaque and cooked through (close the lid on an indoor grill for even faster cooking!) Brush some of the reserved marinade over the cooked shrimp for a flavor boost!

Addiction In America: Not Just For Drug Addicts Anymore

There are a lot of things in the news in the last few days that have caused me to set down to write today. First, the biggest loser...Jennifer is addressing that and I concur with her assessment completely. Then the subject of addiction was brought to the news by the death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Addiction of an illegal drug or prescription drugs are usually big news because they are both controlled substances - something most of the population recognizes as a bad problem. In fact, I propose that ADDICTION is the most serious problem in America today.

ADDICTION not only to controlled substances, alcohol, and cigarettes - but also FOOD!

Yes I said the F word!

I am a carb-alcoholic...that is my substance of abuse!

Many of you say, “ I have never used a drug illegally in my life.” So say I. BUT truth be told, though I never used controlled substances as a drug, I have used FOOD as that substitute.

We eat for all the same reasons a drug or alcohol addicted person does what he does. Emotional, physical and psychological issues.

But there’s a difference between the two: eaters are okay in our society!

Should sugar be made a controlled substance? Maybe for some of us it should be. We as a nation are realizing that we start the addiction early in life: ie. breakfast cereals for kids, snack products for kids, soda pop and flavored drinks for kids...yep, I’m sure we all have given our kids Kool-aid and Jello….(well, I didn't but for other reasons) and they loved it and asked for more.

There is sugar added to canned vegetables for goodness sake! Why, taste? No I believe that it is like adding garlic to a dish...we just can’t resist the smell and taste of garlic...

Our vet once told us when our dog would not eat the cheap dog food to just put garlic on it!!!!!

Well, someone out there figured out that if you put sugar in it we would eat more of whatever gross product they were selling. Stands to reason, doesn't it!

Addiction is in all of us. I used to tell my kids that we each either have or don’t have the gene that causes alcoholism. Because we are human beings, it stands to reason that we all have inherited weaknesses. You see alcoholism pass through generations and it is one of the most difficult addictions to control. So with that reasoning, if a person turns to food he is not an alcoholic? NO but he still has the addiction with in him...he just chooses a different method of being addicted.

We food addicts have lots of choices, sugar, salt, everything from cookies to pickles...what ever our addiction we have to struggle for one serious reason...food is required to live!!!

Other addictions can eliminate the product just not the attachment. We food addicts cannot eliminate the products...we have to eat to live...so therefore our addiction is probably the worst of all. Yes, we do die from our addiction - heart attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes are the most prevalent ways to kill ourselves.

The sad thing is, we won’t make the nightly news when we die from one of these diseases and our supplier. The grocery store people will not be charged with murder...maybe they should be!

The police won’t investigate when our diabetes is out of control and the producers of High Sugar Products will not have to go before Congress to explain their out of control use of Sugar in food.

Nope, just ain't gonna happen!

So we have to do the education and foot work to help ourselves and others.

WE - the obese and sugar addicted world - have to take care of ourselves. Admit our weakness and declare that we will not stop trying to inform the masses that we as American consumers are killing ourselves.

Those out there that read this and say that they are not addicted need to track what they eat for a week. It is an eye opening experience. I learned very quickly what I have to avoid and what works for me. My experience might not be yours, but it will reflect that addiction is the root of my obesity. And thank GOD that by having been able to have Bariatric Surgery, I have been able to control my intake, and eliminate some of the addictive things from my life.

I admit I still crave sweet crunchy food but I have been able to control and replace the sugar heavy products that caused my addiction. I am a work in progress, as I see most of my companion weight loss surgery friends.

I feel sorry for those that have the addiction of drugs and alcohol and pray that ALL addicts become proactive in helping ALL addicts of ALL kinds of products. I pray that each of you that read this blog understands that I am not playing down those addictions but am recognizing the problem as ADDICTION in general, not just one or the other.

The Biggest Loser Finale 2014 - Some Thoughts ...

When I saw who the winner of The Biggest Loser was this year, I was stunned.
Not because she lost 60% of her body weight - which is an unprecedented amount and the highest anyone has ever lost in the show's history ...
Rather, I was stunned because Rachel Frederickson was so TINY.
Not healthy tiny either ...
She looked sickly, skeletal, and as one doctor put it, "malnourished".
And I wonder ...
How did it get that far? How was she ALLOWED to get that far??

The whole proponent of The Biggest Loser is the idea that the contestants are losing weight through healthy methods - diet and exercise. They are taught nutrition and exercise techniques such as cardio and weight training. The idea is to gain muscle and lose fat to reach and maintain a healthy weight goal.

Read that last part again:
A HEALTHY WEIGHT GOAL.

Is Rachel's current weight a healthy one?

But then, I have to stop and think about something ...
She WORKED for that.
She dieted and exercised her way to 105 lbs. (we assume ...).
Her trainer ALLOWED her to go that far.
Assuming this is what the case was, where do we draw the line?
And how does that apply to us that have had bariatric surgery?

Those of us that have had weight loss surgery know all to well the ideas behind losing too much. It certainly becomes a fear that many of us have, and it has happened to several people that have had everything from the gastric bypass to the vertical sleeve. Every year we read stories or see news reports on that very issue, and it has caused thousands to either turn away from surgery as an option or to look down on surgery for being an "unhealthy method" to weight loss. In a society so surrounded by obesity, bariatric surgery has become the "black sheep" of weight loss methods. We are told that we are using it as a crutch, as a "magic pill for weight loss." When anyone that's had it knows that's not the case. But it brings up a good point ...

We can sometimes get so lost in the aspect of losing that we forget the reason behind the surgery and the change in the first place:

HEALTH.

I didn't get surgery so I could weight 110 lbs and look like a stick insect that's had elephant skin implants. Rather, I got the surgery so I could get out of my morbidly obese 300-lb RUT and be healthy. So I could live longer and spend more time with my kids. So I could walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded or so I could cross my legs like a normal woman.

I think so often we get caught up in the mentality of "how much CAN I lose" and forget all about "how much SHOULD I lose" ...

This is a wonderful reminder of that - in some ways, even though Rachel is not (to the best of my knowledge) a bariatric surgery patient, I'm sure that many of us can relate to what she is going through. That innate desire to be the "biggest loser" and to win - to lose as much as you possibly can and see just how far you can go.

I think when we get to this point, it's a good idea to step back and re-evaluate our goals. How much did we want to lose from the beginning? Why did we want to lose weight? What is our ULTIMATE goal?

Remember, we did this for our HEALTH - NOT to be the thinnest person out there! And honestly, if you DID do it to be the thinnest person out there, then you REALLY need to re-evaluate your goals!

Now, back to Rachel for a minute.
You have to stop and wonder what made her go as far as she did.
Obviously her trainer didn't have issue with it.
Obviously the producers didn't have issue with it.
I wonder about her doctors?
It's true - we DON'T know the whole story - and I think we need to remember that in this case.
But we do know that societies views on health and beauty are skewed. And sometimes, that comes out in places that we'd least expect it.

What are your thoughts on the Biggest Loser finale this year and Rachel Frederickson's dramatic and seemingly drastic weight loss?

--Jen--