Real Food, Real Weightloss, Still Delicious

[Smye 694]

@@SuzeMuze, challenge accepted. Let me know if you like it.

Tofu Madras - Makes 8 servings Prep time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes

For those of you who don't like tofu, think it flavorless or without any real worth - you've never had good tofu! This recipe is more work than most I'll be posting, but is perfect for the vegan in your home and still absolutely delightful. The final step may sound vile, but trust me, this is the best use of unflavored Protein powder I've ever found - who knew there was a way to sub Protein Powder for coconut milk flawlessly? Although this recipe takes a little longer, it's well worth every moment! I'll also post a 'shortcut' version in a little later this afternoon for those of you who aren't keen on spending this much time in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

SILKEN Tofu (not firm!) - 2 package2

Rice Flour - 2 Tbsp

Crushed Garlic - 4 cloves

Crushed Ginger (fresh matters) - 2.5 tsp

Diced White Onion - 2 large

Red Chili powder - 1 tsp

Ground Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Ground Tumeric - 1 tsp

Ground Cinnamon - 1 tsp

Raw Green Chili Peppers, NOT deseeded - 3 (optional)

Whole cloves - 3

Whole Green Cardamom - 2 pods

Tomato Puree - 200 grams

Chopped Tomatoes - 1/4 c

Vegetable Oil (not olive, sorry folks, flavor is too strong) - 2 Tbsp

powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Unflavored Protein Powder - 2 Scoops

1/4 C Water

Preparation:

Open and train the tofu blocks. Carefully slice into 1-inch cubes and pat dry with a paper towel. Dust each side lightly with rice flour. Using a nonstick pan (I use a well-seasoned cast iron), lightly fry the tofu cubes in 1 tsp of your vegetable oil until browned and crispy. Set aside and try not to eat them as is.

Add the remainder of your oil to the pan along with the garlic and cardamom, heating on medium low heat until they sizzle. Add the onions and cook until dark brown but not burnt - for this to work the medium low heat is essential. Once the onions are dark brown, add the chilis, ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Next add the chili powder, cumin, coriander and tumeric, along with a dash of salt and stir frequently.

After 5 minutes, add the tofu back in along with 1/8 cup of Water and mix well for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add the nutmeg and tomatoes and cook covered for another 15 minutes.

10 minutes before ready to serve, mix Protein powder into a 1/4 cup of water, allowing to mix completely.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool until you can keep your finger in the sauce for >15 seconds without significant pain (a good way to make sure you're below 120F by the way) and stir in the protein slurry.

Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with garam masala and chopped cilantro - you've earned this bowl of goodness

Nutrition per serving (recipe makes 8 servings)

Calories - 153

Fat - 6 g

Carbs - 10 g

Protein - 12 g

Sodium - 64 g

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

@@hillgirly, Yes, the BariBread is quite different from the Oopsie Rolls without the egg yolks or the full fat cream cheese. I LOVE oopsie rolls, but have actually found the BariBread version to be more widely adaptable to many different sandwiches and/or crusts.

[Smye 694]

Shortcut Tofu Curry - Prep Time 10 Minutes, Cook Time 3 Minutes

Not anywhere near as good as Madras Tofu, but in a pinch it works. I prefer the Classic Korma or Tikka Masala sauces, but for those who need dairy-free, this is the way to go.

Ingredients:

Maya Kaimal Coconut Curry - 15 oz tub

Silken Tofu - 1 container

Rice Flour - 1 Tbsp

Preparation:

Drain & dry the tofu. Cut into 1 inch cubes & dust with rice flour. Lightly fry in a nonstick pan until golden brown and crispy. Pour in curry sauce and warm through. Serve.

Nutrition per serving (recipe makes 4 servings):

Calories: 161

Fat: 6 g

Carbs: 11 g

Protein: 17 g

Sodium: 453 mg

[VSGmary 418]

Oh my !! I have to try the Sushi! Thank you @@Smye

Edited April 24, 2015 by VSGmary

[Smye 694]

@@VSGmary, just let me know what you think, and tell all your friends

[Justajenn 65]

Oh my gosh! These recipes sound so good I might have to dust my kitchen off and try some this weekend

[Jewelgirl04 106]

Oooh! Can't wait for more recipes!

[Smye 694]

chicken Tenders Prep Time - 10-15 min Cook Time - 10-12 min

For those of you without any love for coconut, put your prejudice aside and give these a try - the roasting essentially eliminates the coconutty flavor and lends these tenders a spendidly breaded texture & flavor. Don't use coconut flakes or chop them to powder, but a shredded coconut with grain sizes similar to dry rice are about perfect here. Give them a try with your favorite low sugar sauce (I'll be posting a few shortly) and see if you can't stop making these.

Ingredients:

chicken Breast, skinless & boneless - 1 large

Coconut Flour - 1/4 cup

Egg - 1

Coconut Milk - 1 Tbsp

Dried Shredded Coconut - 1/3 cup

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Place the chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to roughly 3/4 inch - 1 inch flat. Keep it as even as possible

In one bowl wisk the coconut milk & egg together. In another bowl, place the coconut flour, and in a third place the shredded coconut.

Slice the chicken strips into roughly 8 equally-sized strips. Dip each strip first in the flour, then the egg/milk mixture, and lastly in the shredded coconut before placing on a large baking sheet.

Bake chicken strips for 10-15 minutes or until chicken has cooked through and coconut has browned but not burnt. Salt & pepper to taste.

Dip, bite, enjoy.

Nutrition (makes 4 servings of 2 strips each)

Calories: 182

Fat: 10 g

Carbs: 5 g

Protein: 17 g

Sodium: 104 mg

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce Prep Time - 2-3 minutes

Although I prefer this with 1/4 c of honey rather than the stevia when using on the grill, this certainly gets the job done as a dipping sauce. Turns out we use a LOT less when we brush it on before grilling, and eat a lot more of the stuff when dipping. Thus, I give you, the dipping "go wild" version of this tasty barbecue sauce.

Ingredients:

Blackberries - 1 cup

Tomato Paste - 1/4 cup

Stevia Powder - 1 tsp

Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp

Ginger Root, Raw - 1 Tbsp

Onion Powder - 1 tsp

Cinnamon, Ground - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Pepper - 1/8 tsp

Preparation

Place all ingredients in a blender of food processor and blend until smooth.

Nutrition (per 1 Tbsp)

Calories - 14

Fat - 0 g

Carbs - 3 g

Protein - 0 g

Sodium - 49 mg

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

chicken.html" rel="external nofollow">Smye's Favorite Smoked Chicken, Prep time - 20 minutes, Cook time -2 hrs

This recipe is adapted from the Neely's on food Network (by the way, I do NOT recommend food network for bariatric patients, food porn is never a good idea when we're trying to be so careful with everything we put into our bodies). I received a smoker for my birthday the year before my surgery and I was eager to still enjoy the fruits of my smoker. This recipe is absolutely delicious - the chicken is tender, juicy, and slightly reminiscent of Tim's brand barbeque potato chips.

Ingredients

Salt - 1 tsp

Paprika - 1 tsp

Garlic Powder - 1 tsp

Garlic salt - 1 tsp

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Crushed Red Chili Flakes - 1 tsp

Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Dried Thyme - 1/2 tsp

Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Brown Sugar - 1 Tbsp

Raw Chicken - 1

Preparation:

Preheat your smoker with either applewood, alderwood, cherry, or blackberry chips. If you don't have a smoker, set up your grill, charcoal or gas, so there's only (medium to medium-low) heat on 1 side of the grill, wrap your soaked wood chips tightly in foil and puncture with a fork 4 or 5 times so there's minimal airflow but it's not entirely sealed. Then set the foil packet full of 2 cups of chips directly above the heat source.

Thoroughly rince the chicken and pat entirely dry with a paper towel. Spatchcock the chicken (cut along the spine on both sides, remove the spine, 'unfold' the bird until flat and tuck the wing tips behind the 'collar bone' until the bird is roughly uniform in thickness and forms a 'sheet' shape). Set aside meat side up and allow to come to room temperature.

Mix all the spices thoroughly and rub all over the meat side of the chicken, make sure to get in all the nooks and crannies.

Place the chicken, meat side up, in your smoker. If using a grill, set the chicken over the portion of the grill without a heat source - this is called indirect heat. Cover and allow to smoke for 1-2 hours until the internal temperature of the meatiest part of the thigh reaches 165 F. The whole 'until juices run clear' thing is inconsistent and often leads to dry, overdone chicken that's near impossible to digest with our modified GI tracts without extraordinary discomfort.

Once the internal temprature of your bird reaches 165 F, remove from the smoker, cover in foil, and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before digging in. You'll love this chicken, and so will all of your 'unmodified' friends

Note: with this recipe, you CAN eat the skin, you should eat the skin, it's crispy and delicious. Just limit yourself to the portion of the skin on your individual serving of chicken. And if your smoker temperature was too low to get the skin crispy, or if you just get sick of waiting, it's perfectly okay after at least 1 full hour of smoking to move the bird to a full grill on medium head to finish cooking mead-side up and then flip for 10-60 seconds to crisp up the skin. Just be careful not to burn it. Leftovers are 97% as good as the fresh thing and make EXCELLENT chicken sandwichse on BariBread.

Nutrition (makes 8 servings:

Calories: 163

Fat: 11 g

Carbs: 2 g

Protein: 13 g

Sodium: 591 mg

Make this one, impress your friends, and love feeling satisfied with a 'comfort' meal that's entirely comfortable on your conscience.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

Naming Contest:

Thanks to all who've been reading & liking these recipes - more are coming. However, I've received a number of PM's (and one reply) asking me to duplicate this on a blog. Rather than being one of the 95% of blogs that start, fizzle and die with readership below 100, I'd like to actually make a go of this as part of my own bariatric journey, to help keep me accountable to an audience to keep up with my own goals & to keep exploring new and exciting food along the way.

Step 1 of any successful blog is a good name and here's where I need your help! If you have any suggestions of something clever & catchy but descriptive send them my way. If someone else posts something you like, say so. Or if you like one of the names below, then please let me know. You all are my target audience, so your input is invaluable. I'm undecided whether I want the title to clearly to communicate that this is written for a bariatric audience - though open to all.

Names proposed so far:

Real food, Real Weight Loss, Real Delicious

'Smye Body 'Smye Life

That's all I've got

Edited April 25, 2015 by Smye

[Sunshine_Gal 68]

@@Smye

Love the 'Smye Body 'Smye Life but it won't reflect what your blog is about, if that matters. Hopefully our 'word of mouth' will have it growing by leaps and bounds.

I want to thank you for sharing all your tried and true recipes. I can't wait to try the bread and several of the others out. Making it as soon as I post this! I scour the Internet and Pinterest all the time for recipes that will taste good and not upset my altered stomach! This was a great thread, thanks for starting it.

I hope even when you get the blog up and running you'll post the new recipe names here with a link to your blog, is that acceptable here? Hope so. Here are some name ideas ----

Bari-Good food -

Bari-Delicious Recipes

Food to Live By

[Smye 694]

@@Sunshine_Gal, thanks for your input, let me know what you think of the BariBread and anything else you try. I know my chef friend and I love all of these recipes, but I want to make them as widely enjoyable as possible.

And yes, I'll absolutely keep posting here - they may only be links though unless I hear otherwise from Alex.

[wannaBthinsoon 1,634]

@@Stevehud Have you tried the sprouted breads? they are pretty good, but go bad rather quickly.Whole foods carries them

[Sunshine_Gal 68]

@@Smye Just took the Bari-Bread out of the oven, I only had Fat Free Cream cheese but can't see that it would make much of a difference. Not too keen on meringue but trying to keep an open mind until I try them. Can you use them with something hot for the filling?