breakfast experiment: refrigerator oats

I've been meaning to post this and kept forgetting.  During the Cooking Cure challenge I tried a recipe for refrigerator oats.  Basically you take steel-cut oats and put them in a jar or container with some milk and add your flavorings.  Then you seal the container and put in the fridge overnight.  In the morning you get a consistency of chewy GrapeNuts cereal.  Very, very chewy.

For my recipe I used 1/3 cup of steel-cut oats, 2/3 cup of skim milk, a few dashes of cinnamon, and some raisins.  I let it soak for about 24 hours or so.

I didn't care for this method of making oatmeal.  I found it to be way too chewy and all the chewing just diminished the flavor.  If I were to have oatmeal in the future, I would use the steel-cut oats, but would make them in the crockpot over night.

crockpot southwest chicken

Today I decided to make one of the dinner recipes I found during The Cooking Cure:  Crockpot Southwest Chicken.

One of the assignments of The Cooking Cure was to find five dinner recipes to try.  I had a brick of cream cheese (neufchatel, actually) in the fridge and was looking for a way to use it.  Before surgery I would have made a big three-egg omelet and put a big slab of the cheese in it.  Three or four more breakfasts like that and it would have been gone.  But I can't eat that much anymore and it would take me a long time to use the cheese otherwise.  So I came across this recipe and it seemed super easy; just toss the stuff in a crockpot and forget about it.  I'm all for that.

This recipe made quite a bit, which is good if you have a few people in the house.  But since it's just me and Bob, and I can't eat much at one sitting, guess who's going to be eating this for lunch or dinner all week??

I liked it, but it seemed to be missing something.  At first I thought it's because my taste buds are changing, but Bob said the same thing. We both agreed that next time I should add some taco seasoning and maybe some green onions.

Here's the recipe I used:  Crockpot Southwest Chicken

It looks foggy because of the steam.

I put mine on a small 6" tortilla.  I was only able to eat about 3/4 of it.  Next time I will skip the tortilla, or maybe serve over baked tortilla chips.

the cooking cure: last day! (day 20)

Yesterday's assignment was to think about the last several weeks and figure out which assignments I liked the most and revisit those every few weeks.  I would say the ones I like best were the ones where I had to write down everything I ate the week before.  First of all, it was easy.  And second, it helped me see where I can improve for purposes of my weight loss surgery.  It helped me see which meals I put some thought into and which ones I just ate whatever was around.

I was also supposed to plan some meals for next week, which I did.  I plan to use a few of the recipes I haven't tried yet.

The purpose of my doing this challenge was mainly to do something and follow through on it.  I followed through until the end, but I admit I didn't always give 100%.  I found I fell down when it came to cooking a meal each night.  Some nights when I didn't cook it was just laziness.  Other times it was because I had commitments after work and didn't get home until 6:30 pm or later.  That might not sound late, but Bob gets home about an hour before I do and, because he gets up an hour and a half earlier than me, his meal times tend to be earlier than mine.  He eats lunch around 11:30 am, so he's pretty hungry when he gets home around 4:30 pm.  It's tough for him if he has to wait for me to get home and then wait for dinner to cook.  Maybe a goal should be to make more crock pot meals.  That way it's done when he gets home.

Now that I've completed the challenge and followed through, I have a freezer full of egg bites and egg cups, and some new recipes to try.

the cooking cure: days 18 and 19

The assignments for Wednesday and last night were nice and easy.  Two more days and I'm done!

On Wednesday I had to make a list of all the foods and recipes I love.  Things that are easy to make and they never disappoint.  That was easy.  I tend like casseroles and things I can put together quickly.  So, here's the list.  Although, as you can see, I had some difficulty working around Max.

Last night I had to make a plan for my leftovers.  That was easy, too.  The leftover turkey meatloaf went to Bob for lunch at work.  I froze many of the egg cups I made, plus I'm taking some to work.  I didn't have much in the way of leftovers other than that.  We tend to eat most of what I make now since I'm making smaller amounts.

dinner tonight: mediterranean turkey meatloaf

Tonight I baked the meatloaf I prepped last night, per The Cooking Cure assignments.  It's Mediterranean Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-dried Tomatoes.

I was trying to replicate the meatloaf Bob and I had at Knapp's Landing for our anniversary.  It was delicious and so moist.  So, I launched a search for a recipe that would seem to come close.   I read online that turkey meatloaf usually gets it's moisture from chopped mushrooms.  Since Bob is a hard-core mushroom-hater, that was out of the question.  So, I settled on this recipe.

I didn't really deviate from the recipe other than I used Italian bread crumbs instead of plain; that's what I had on-hand.  I also used dried parsley instead of fresh.

I really liked it, although it didn't have as much moisture as the one I was trying to replicate.  Definitely not dry, though.  I think next time I will make my own bread crumbs rather than using the dry store-bought ones. And then I'll soak the bread crumbs in some milk.  I'm thinking it might benefit from some caramelized onions, also.  And maybe I'll make the effort to buy fresh parsley.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Here's the recipe I used: Mediterranean Turkey Meatloaf with Feta & Sun-dried Tomatoes

This is about 4.25 oz.  I couldn't eat it all.  I ate about 2.75 oz.

the cooking cure: days 15 through 17

The assignment for last Friday was to make dinner and then plan all three meals for this week.  For whatever reason, I didn't make dinner that night.  To be honest, I can't even remember what the heck I ate.  Normally I log all of my food, religiously, but didn't for some reason.  I think I may have had a chicken Caesar salad from Duchess.  Oh, yes!  I did.  And didn't eat much of it because they way overdid the dressing and the lettuce was soggy.  Quite disappointing.  I ate the croutons and the chicken, though.

I planned my dinners to some extent for this week:  egg cups using the blue cheese and herbed goat cheese I had bought for half price (!); Mediterranean turkey meatloaf; and homemade chicken fingers.  Breakfast I didn't plan, mainly because I can eat the egg cups I planned on making.  Also because I realized that I have a lot of Greek yogurt in the fridge that I need to use up.  A lot.  Lunches will be leftovers from the meatloaf and chicken tenders, as well as some tuna salad on Melba toast.

The assignment for yesterday was to treat myself for all the hard work I did planning and prepping the meals I will make this week.  What I actually did on the weekend, not last week like I was supposed to, was do the shopping the ingredients, do the prep (did some), and then baked a ton of egg cups, which I posted the other day.  I didn't actually treat myself to anything, but I guess I could consider watching a few episodes of The Amazing Race a treat; it's one of my favorite shows.

Today's assignment was to think about the meals for the rest of the week and lay out a plan to get them done.  So, I put the turkey meatloaf together, which I'll bake tomorrow night.  Tomorrow night I'll make up the tuna salad.  Breakfast and lunch are covered for tomorrow:  I'm having a couple egg cups for breakfast and for lunch it's turkey and pepper jack roll-ups, which I'll dip in some light mayo.

more egg cups with spinach and cheese

Last night I made some spinach and cheese egg cups.  Twenty-four to be exact.  I made half with garlic and herb goat cheese and the other half with blue cheese.  I followed this recipe.  I think I put in a little too much blue cheese, because the muffin tin was covered with melted cheese when I took it out of the oven.  I plan to keep some in the fridge for meals this week and freeze the rest.

Just a word of caution:  blue cheese and spinach cooking together in the oven is a stinky combination.  But if you love the combo, you won't mind it.

P.S. - Another word of caution...don't eat the browned cheese on the muffin tin unless you can handle the extreme taste of browned blue cheese.  Seriously.

Here are finished products:

Spinach with Maytag blue cheese.

Spinach with garlic and herb goat cheese.

the cooking cure: days 13 and 14

Yesterday's assignment was to find five recipes I want to make for dinner.  It was tough to find things I want to try, because many dishes that look so good contain pasta, which is something I'm supposed to severely limit.  That's OK by me, though, because I was never much of a pasta eater.  This was also a tough assignment, because I wanted to find meals that appeal to Bob, too.

So, here's the list:

• Mediterranean turkey meatloaf with feta and sun-dried tomatoes
• Bariatric-friendly taco casserole
• Southwest chicken
• Homemade chicken fingers (no recipe; I'll just wing it)
• Smoked turkey sausage with beans

Today's assignment was to stock the kitchen for one recipe.  Since I have no desire to grocery shop after work, I'll save this until the weekend.  Although, I do have the ingredients for at least one recipe already.  So let's say today's assignment is done. ;)

the cooking cure: days 11 and 12

The assignments for the last two days are the same as last Monday and Tuesday, except it was centered around dinner.

I'm almost embarrassed to show my list of dinners for last week; on two days I ate whatever I could grab and put no effort into it.  Some of you might see "pork rinds" and think either, "ewwww!" or, "what nutritional value could those possibly have?"  They have a lot of protein so they're good for snacking occasionally.

There isn't much I would want to subtract from this list, except maybe the pork rinds because it's just not "dinner."  I would leave everything else.  I would like to eat more egg cups, though.  They're so easy, delicious, and filling.  And the combinations are endless.  I just need to be more creative.

My goals are to eliminate snack-type food for dinner, cook more (always an issue with me; I get lazy and have a husband who lets me off easy), and start using the grill again.  The only reason I'm not grilling now is that we need to refill the propane.  Laziness, again.  Actually, my goal should be not to be so lazy.

Foods I'd like to eat more often are real, homemade hamburgers, real meat, like steak and chicken (not the vegetarian stuff), and more vegetables.  This surgery allows me to pretty much skip veggies in the early stages, but as I get further out I will need to add those back in.  I've realized one thing I will not be eating more of is salad.  Now that I have to chew so well, I find that it just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

So, tonight's assignment is to find five dinner recipes.  I plan to work on that and I'll post the recipes I want to try.

See?  Proof that I did the assignment.  Felix witnessed it.

the cooking cure: days 7, 8 and 9

The assignments for the last few days were to find five recipes I want to try for lunch, stock my kitchen in preparation, and to make lunch and then plan next week's breakfasts and lunches.

As I said in my last post, my goals for lunch aren't to actually make any new recipes, but, rather, to always bring my lunch, be prepared, and add some salad.  I had planned on visiting Whole Foods or Trader Joe's to pick up some prepared salads and side dishes (there's just something about those stores that greatly appeals to the food porn addict in me); however, I spent Wednesday night talking to my mortgage company and a realtor in preparation for buying a house.  Then I wasted the rest of the night looking at houses online (BIG time suck!).  The mortgage guy was supposed to call last night so I came right home from work.  Of course he didn't, so there went last night.  Tonight I have somewhere to be after work so that's out.  I'll have to do it this weekend.

Today's assignment is to plan next week's breakfasts and lunches so that will be a breeze.  I want to make some protein mini muffins and maybe some oatmeal to freeze into individual servings; I'll accomplish that this weekend.  I'll be sure to post pictures and maybe a recipe or two.

the cooking cure: days 5 and 6

Yesterday's Cooking Cure assignment was to write down what I ate for lunch all week.  Since I log my food everyday, that was easy.  I've started to notice that when it comes to lunch, I have a pretty good variety, unlike breakfast (by the way, I'm happily eating my made-ahead breakfasts this week!).

Today's assignment was to go through and cross off anything I'm tired off, don't like, or just want to eliminate.  Vegetarian Sloppy Joe was the first to go.  I bought a box of this from a website I use to order my high protein hot chocolate and bariatric vitamins.  I used to eat it when I was on Medifast, but post-surgery it's just...BLECH.  I think what made it OK before surgery is that I could drink something while I ate it. Not so anymore.  It just seemed so thick and tomato-y.  I was longing for a drink of water.  I did cave and take a sip, but just a sip to wash it down.  I may try one more and add more water to the mix.  Next to go was the cashews.  Cashews are good and have some healthy fats, but they're just too high in calories.  I have a bag in my desk at work and find myself reaching for it in between meals.  Since I don't have a scale there I have no idea how much I'm eating.  I measure out one ounce over the weekend and I now know I was eating at least three ounces at work.  Doesn't sound like much, but that amounts to 510 calories!

I then had to go through and decide which foods I'd like to keep.  It's probably surprising to see a frozen dinner circled, but I have to say this was very good.  The chicken was actual chicken breast.  Not at all processed or mushy.  It was whole.  And there was a decent size piece of it.  Not just three bites' worth like other diet frozen dinners.  That's why I chose to keep it.

I also had to write down some foods I want to have more often and three goals for lunch in general.  Now that I can eat salad, I would like to take some for lunch once in awhile.  I'm a "garbage" salad person, though.  Meaning I like to add lots of toppings and drown it in dressing, which makes it more calories than a cheeseburger.  My plan is to go to Whole Foods (a.k.a.Whole Paycheck) and buy a few of their smallest salads, like goat cheese and walnut.  I also would like to grab a couple of their side dishes.  This should help me to avoid eating out by always being prepared.  I almost never brought lunch to work pre-surgery, but I'm faithful about it now.  I don't want to fall back into a pattern of ordering lunch out.  I plan to make tuna salad more often.   I like to top a couple of crackers.  And finally I want to start adding whole meats, like chicken and turkey breast, rather than buying lunch meat.

Tomorrow's assignment is to find five recipes I want to make.  I don't know if I will find five since my goals are more about being prepared and always bringing my lunch, but I'll see what I come up with.

For anyone who wants to check out The Cooking Cure, here's the link.

the cooking cure: days 4 and 5

Day 4 involved putting together a shopping list for one breakfast recipe I picked on day 3 and then going shopping for the items.  Lucky for me I already had the necessary items so I didn't have to go shopping. (That's kinda why I picked the recipes I picked; I already had the ingredients.)

On day 5 I was supposed to make my breakfast; however, I decided to wait until this weekend.  It's hard enough having to get up earlier than I did for my last job.  There's no way I have time to cook in the morning. Yes, I could go to bed earlier and get up a half hour earlier, but I just don't want to.  Besides, the theme of my breakfast recipes is "make ahead", which I will do this weekend.

The weekend assignment says to think about next week and plan the rest of my recipes, do the shopping, and prep the ingredients.  I have mostly everything I need so I shouldn't have shop much tomorrow.  And all my recipes are pretty quick to make; mix everything in one bowl and then bake.

I will note that I've decided to swap a recipe for a different one.  I have some herbed goat cheese and some frozen spinach I need to use up so I am going to make fritatta cups (a bigger version of the little egg bites I make a couple weeks ago).   I'm thinking I probably won't need any additional seasonings, because the herbed goat cheese is pretty strong.  I'll just add a little salt and pepper and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes.

the cooking cure: days 2 and 3

You thought I quit already, didn't you?  Nope.  Just didn't get around to posting last night.

Yesterday's assignment for The Cooking Cure was to look at my breakfast list I made on Monday and think about which foods I'd like to eliminate from the breakfast routine, which ones I love and want to keep in the rotation, a few things I'd like to eat more often, and three goals for breakfast going forward.

As you can see, I did the work.  I decided that the honey roasted sesame sticks should go, since I've discovered they're a huge red-light food (remember Weight Watchers??) for me right now.  And the only reason I grabbed them on that day is because I was in a rush for work and didn't get a chance to pack something better.  I want to keep my Greek yogurt and protein hot chocolate, both for the protein I get from them and for the great flavor, and keep the eggs and veggie sausage.  I also want to keep the egg bites, which leads me to my goals.  I want to do more make-ahead breakfasts, like baked goods with protein powder and the egg bites, and that will accomplish my goal of more variety.  Eventually I'll get tired of Greek yogurt.

So today's assignment was to find 5 recipes I want to try.  This was easy, because I'm always reading food blogs and magazines.  The 5 recipes I plan to try are:

• Sausage and cheese egg bites
• Bruschetta egg bites
• Protein mini muffins
• Frozen oatmeal discs
• Ricotta pancakes

Notice these are all make-aheads.  Most of these recipes are found on one of my favorite blogs, The World According to Eggface (link is under my list of blogs on the home page).

Here's proof that I did the Day 2 assignment:

the cooking cure, day one...

I'm going to do something that will test my ability to follow through.  Following through on things has always been an issue for me.  So many times I would have a brainstorm or think of a project, start to work on it, and then promptly get bored and move onto something else.  It's strange - I always follow through on the really big things (buying a house, going to college later in life, weight loss surgery), the things that take the most effort. Weight loss itself is not included in this list, hence the weight loss surgery.  But the little things, the things that could be done in a short amount of time and with minimal effort, tend to escape me.  I don't know if I decide it's not worth the time or effort, or if I just get bored and want to do something more exciting.

So, I'm going to test myself.  I read a blog called theKitchn.  It's devoted to home cooking and kitchen design.  They've just started The Cooking Cure.  It's a project that runs for four weeks.  (They also run The Kitchen Cure, which focuses on getting your kitchen in order.) Each day I will receive an email with a homework assignment that I will need to complete.   The purpose of this particular Cure is to get people to cook at home more often.  A good thing since many of us eat out quite often.  I'm guilty of this.  Prior to my surgery I barely cooked at all, and if I did it was something quick and easy, a.k.a. frozen and processed.   I figure at the very least I will have followed through on something.  At most, maybe it will give me ideas for my new post-surgery diet and help me to want to cook more.

Today's assignment is to write down what I ate for breakfast for the last week.  That's it.  Don't do anything but write down what I ate.  But wouldn't you know? I want to take a shortcut already.  I have no patience. It says to write it down with pen and paper. Pen and paper.  I don't use pen and paper anymore, not really.  I want so bad to just type it in here.  But I won't.  Be right back...

OK, here it is.  Longhand!!  It just about killed me, but I did it.

If anyone cares to do their own Cooking Cure, here's the link.  You need to sign up to get the emails.

The Cooking Cure: Day One

The Cooking Cure: Signup