Chocolate Cannoli Dip - Yum!

I've been craving chocolate lately.  While I have no problem eating ice cream, cake etc... as long as it's in small portions.  I prefer to eat something chocolaty and filling.

Cannoli is one of my favorite desserts!  I used to eat it whenever I could get my hands on it.  However, they are SO high in carb that I only get mini ones when I can find them.

The other day, I was thinking...hey, isn't cannoli filling made from ricotta cheese?  I happened to have some leftover ricotta in the fridge.

So, I did a little research on Pinterest looking for cannoli filling recipes.  Many of them required marscapone as well.  I didn't have any that on hand, but I did have everything else.  So, I threw a little together to see what it would taste like (Thanks to my handy-dandy new Ninja system, this was easy!).  

The picture above shows one serving.  I put it in the little 2 oz. storage containers.  Surprisingly, this little bit is very satisfying.  WAY more satisfying than those little 100 calorie packs of chocolate cookies.  Ok, ok, so it's 188 calories.  Sometimes a girls gotta have her chocolate!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients (3 servings)

1.5 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 packets sugar substitute (I used Splenda)

Directions - Put all ingredients in a food process or blender and blend.  Enjoy!!  Or chill for an hour if you want it a little more firm.  

Carbs = 10 grams/serving

Calories = 188 grams/serving

What's your favorite low carb chocolate snack?

I Love Making Christmas Cookies!

Once Upon A Time there was a woman who loved coloring sugar cookie dough, cutting out 3" Christmas Shapes, sprinkling sugar on top and throwing them in the oven.  She'd bring the baked cookies to Christmas gatherings.  She enjoyed eating them and sharing them. 

Then one day, this woman was diagnosed with Diabetes.  While sugar cookies were still allowed, she could only eat one or two in a sitting before her glucose would go up.  Having sugar cookies around the house became very difficult for her.  So, she tried to find a way around it.  

One year she got a  set of 1" cookie cutters from her husband.  So, she made tiny little, itty, bitty cookies.  After trying to get the dough off and cut out a dozen of these little cookies, the woman decided it just wasn't worth all the tediousness.

The next year, she didn't make cookies at all.  She saw her cookie cutters sitting unused in the cabinet and wondered if she would ever use them again.  She pondered giving them away, but she just wasn't ready. 

Then, the third year, she was bound and determined to use those dang 3" inch cookie cutters to make Christmas shapes.  She started thinking about it and then it hit her.  One sugar cookie can range from 10-18 grams of carbs.  However, one whole piece of bread is around 15 grams of carbs.  She figured she could get about 2 shapes out of one piece of bread and that didn't use the whole 15 grams of carbs.  Hmmmm....What do you do with shapes cut out of bread?  You make French Toast!!  

So, the woman scoured ideas for cutout French Toast, on Pinterest and found a few recipes for hearts etc...  She formulated a new plan for Christmas this year and made Christmas French Toast instead of cookies.  

The moral of this story is that you can still have your cookie cutting fun and eat more....even if you are Diabetic.  

Below is the recipe with absolutely NO sugar added. 

First off, I used white bread because it doesn't really bother my glucose and most of our family would prefer white bread.  I also wasn't sure how the color would come through.  Maybe next year, I'll do a loaf of wheat and a loaf of white.  If you try wheat, let me know how it goes!

Prep Time: 75 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

(I'm always slow the first time I try something, these times are high estimates.  However, this is a project, so it's not a normal, do this every day, kind of thing.)

Materials:

2 mixing bowls

Serving container for finished French Toast (we put them in a pyrex portable dish with a hot pack to keep it hot)

A pair of Surgical gloves (to keep your fingers from turning black). 

Two whisks

Large (12") frying pan

Ingredients:

2 loaves of sturdy white or wheat bread (or one loaf of each)

1 dozen eggs, divided

1 cup milk , divided

1.5 tsp cinnamon, divided

1.5 tsp nutmeg, divided

red food coloring

green food coloring

Instructions:

1) Cut shapes out of bread, 2 shapes per piece (I did this the night before, storing them flat, 1 dozen cutouts per batch, in single layers, in ziploc baggies to keep them fresh and fluffy.  This saved time and tediousness the next day).

2) Crack 6 eggs into one bowl and the other in the remaining bowl. Beat eggs with a whisk in both bowls. Whisk 1/2 the milk, 1/2 the cinnamon and 1/2 the nutmeg into each bowl.  

3) Whisk red food coloring in one bowl and green food coloring into the other bowl until you have the right color. 

4) Spray pan with cooking spray and heat to medium. Put on surgical gloves.  Cooking one batch at a time, dip, fry and flip as you would french toast, until done. 

5) After each batch, remove pan from heat, stir egg mixture and spray pan again.  Switch out colors as you see fit.  I did all red batches first, then all green.  Just stick to one color per batch.  

6) Serve with sugar free syrup or a little powdered sugar on top.  Personally, I really enjoyed them as is.  The cinnamon and nutmeg were very tasty. 

As you can see they look like cookies, but they aren't.  Best of all, I estimate that I can eat about 5 of these puppies for the price of 2 cookies.  I call that working the system.  

What ideas have you come up with to work the carbs system?

Healthy freezer food for the diabetic who doesn't cook.

Hubby and I are not big on leftovers.  I can deal with them for a couple days, but I get tired of the same food over and over again.  Last winter I had some pre-made foods in the freezer and pantry that I could easily work with for meals.  I need healthy, ready to eat, foods for those snowy weeks, when driving is a little crazy and we just don't want to go out for food.

This year, I've been eating lower calorie and the pre-made foods seem to be a lot higher on calories.  Also, I'm auditioning to be in a show and rehearsal schedules get crazy.  In the winter, I'd rather eat at home than stop somewhere on the way and eat out. So, I decided I wanted to try freezing foods and stocking the pantry.  Now, I know there are a million posts on the internet about how to freeze meals or ingredient packs for the winter.  Most of them assume at least one of the following;

1. You are willing to cook ahead.
2. You are willing to plan your meals for a month at a time.
3. You are willing to spend time prepping and putting ingredients together for an afternoon (or day!).

NONE of which I am willing to do!!  So, if you're anything like me and really don't enjoy prepping, planning and putting together meals, but do want (or need) to cook at home through the winter, then maybe you can try this idea along with me.  I'd love to hear how it works for you.  

Here are my assumptions:

1. You have 5-6 basic recipes that you know and can easily make.  
2. Some of the recipes share at least a couple ingredients with others.  
3. You are willing to write out a list of all you will need for these recipes.
4. You are willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on a stock up trip to the grocery store.
5. You are cooking for yourself or you and one other person (not a family of 4)

Steps:

1. Find recipes 
2. Write out ingredients
3. Look to see what you don't have on hand
4. Make a shopping list of what you do need
5. Go grocery shopping
6. Store foods
7. Put menu on the fridge with meal options you can pull 

That last one is huge for me.  I can have all the ingredients in the freezer, staring me in the face, but for the life of me...I can never remember what I was going to cook with them.  So, I need a list of options...plus it saves time and I don't let all the cold air out of the fridge while I try to figure it out.  

The longest part was figuring out what I would need to stock.  Once I had a shopping list, it was actually really easy.  It took me less than 15 minutes to put it all away and I was done!  

Now, I will say that I did do one piece of prep ahead of time.  I used part of an onion for a recipe the other day and decided to chop up the rest and stick it in the freezer.  You can buy recipe starter frozen onions, though.  So, this step is unnecessary.  

Below are the recipe options and the shopping list.  Keep in mind that many of the cold foods, I keep on hand and use in recipes or in snacks I make all the time.  I also have on-hand some of the ingredients/spices for making these dishes, like Chicken Broth for the Herbed Chicken. 

Main Dish Options: My list of Main Dishes is more a list of options.  I don't have enough to make all of these recipes, but many of the ingredients are interchangeable, so I can mix & match.  I'd rather have options than HAVE TO make one specific thing.  Thus the reason I didn't do bags of pre-made, crock pot ready, raw food.

Chicken Tacos with Black Beans and Corn cooked with the meat

Diabetic Friendly Sloppy Joe's 

Tostada Pie

Low Carb Tuna Noodle Casserole
Herbed Chicken and Mushrooms
Italian Chicken Breast 

Balsamic-Dijon Chicken 

Chili Mac (Beef Broth Base with no tomatoes)

Side Dish Options:  For the side dishes, I don't have a lot because I usually have fresh veggies in the fridge to make salad or some other kind of fresh vegetable dish (like fresh brussel sprouts).  

Plain Brown Rice

Mexican Rice with beans and corn (mexican spiced tomato sauce)

Italian style Green beans (Italian spiced tomato sauce)

Green Beans with Bacon

Corn

Parmesan Broccoli (steam and add butter/parmesan)

Grocery Pantry Items

Tuna 

Mushroom Soup (Low Sodium)

Canned Mushrooms

Corn (Low Sodium)

Peas (Low Sodium)
Green Beans (Low Sodium)

Black Beans (Low Sodium)

Red Kidney Beans (Low Sodium)
Light Kidney Beans (No Low Sodium available)
Beef Broth (Low Sodium)

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Paste

Dijon Mustard

Salsa

Taco Seasoning (Low Sodium)

Spices (I went through and tossed what had expired and replaced only what I need for these recipes.)
Tapioca Pudding mix

Whole Grain & Regular Macaroni Noodles (Hubby doesn't like the whole grain stuff, so I make both)

Whole Grain & Regular Egg Noodles

Individual Microwave Brown Rice Cups (Brown Rice, Hubby eats)

Oyster Crackers

Tortillas - 16 grams of carbs each (I got a bag of 20 and froze them in bags of four...1 meal per bag, for me and Hubby)

Grocery Meats

Cubed Chicken 2.5 lbs divided (the meat counter will cube it up and package in two pieces for you)

Ground Chicken 2 lbs

Ground Sirloin 5 lbs in 1 lb tubes 

Italian Marinated and individually wrapped chicken breasts (5 per bag) 

Grocery Dairy/Fresh/Frozen Foods

Mexican Cheese (Low Fat)

Shredded Carrots

Lettuce

Tomato

Frozen Green Peppers

Frozen Broccoli

Prep when I got home (less than 15 minutes)

Our butcher put the chicken cubes on a Styrofoam tray and wrapped it in saran wrap.  I put that in a zip-lock bag.

Tortillas - I put 4 in a bag at a time, let them cool in the fridge with the bag open for an hour, then sealed the bags and moved them to the freezer. 

Put everything away

Plans as I go through the winter

I do plan to replace some things as I use them.  Broccoli, canned goods and maybe some meat if we feel we'll eat that recipe again.  It depends on how fast we go through the food.  While we'll still go out and eat when we can, I suspect having food in the house will be very convenient when we just don't want to go out in the cold.  If we have a winter anything like last year, that will happen often!  

Let me know if you plan to try the ingredient method of freezing.  If so, leave a comment and share your thoughts.  

Tuna and Noodle Casserole Diabetic Makeover.

Hubby and I really enjoy tuna & noodle casserole.  It's been one of our staple dishes since we started living together way back in 1996.  In fact, we love it so much, we usually would polish off a whole casserole in one sitting.  Just the two of us!

Since I was diagnosed with Diabetes, we've stayed away from tuna & noodle casserole.  I mean, the name of it just screams glucose high.  This week, I was feeling a bit creative.  I wanted to reinvent the dish to be a lot less carb, but keep it just as yummy and filling as it always was.  Yes, me, the non-cook is coming up with new ideas on her own.  It's scary and someone should write this down on the calendar.

I knew I'd need to cut down on the noodle part, but what do I replace it with?  Veggies!!  This has been my answer to a lot of things lately.  I happen to know that the more veggies I eat, the better my numbers are.  This is likely because I eat less carbs if I eat more veggies.  Lately, I've been throwing broccoli and mushrooms into one-dish meals to make the carbs stretch farther.

Most recipes for diabetics that are low-carb and one-dish use a lot of pepper and onion or zucchini.  Um, well, Hubby doesn't like squash and I have acid reflux flare ups with onions and peppers.  I also notice with a lot of the low-carb tuna & noodle casseroles, they were still so high on the noodle carbs that there was no way I could eat half a casserole.  So, I got thinking.  What if I throw in my new carb stretching, veggie amplifying solution to one-dish meals; broccoli and mushrooms?  

Not only did I add broccoli and fresh mushrooms, but I also added some shredded carrots to the dish.  The best part is, I could still eat half the casserole and only eat 42 grams of carbs (my allowance is 45!).  Oh joy!!  Just like old times.  Hubby and I made short work of it tonight, although, I pretty sure he ate more than half.  We both loved this dish!  We will certainly make it again.

Below, I share the ingredients for my old way of doing tuna & noodle casserole along with the full recipe and directions for the new way.  Here's a picture of the finished product.  It looked so much more tasty than the usual stuff I used to make.  I couldn't wait to dig in.

 OLD INGREDIENTS:
1 can of mushroom soup
1 can of peas
1 jar of mushrooms
2 cans of tuna
2-3 cups of uncooked pasta
Grated Parmesan cheese to taste.
(I don't even want to think about how many carbs there were!)

NEW RECIPE:
Servings: 4 (for Hubby and I it's 2)
Total Starch Carbs for the entire recipe: 65.5 grams (27g noodles, 22.5 grams mushroom soup, 13 grams peas, 3 grams milk)
Starch Carbs: 16 grams (for me, 42 grams)


Ingredients:
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 of a lb. frozen broccoli florets
8 oz. fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 cup uncooked egg noodles (whole grain, if possible)
1/3 can of peas
2 cans water packed tuna
1 can of low fat mushroom soup
1/4 cup 2% lowfat milk
Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
(Note: I might add a little bit of onion to the veggie mix next time.  Just enough for flavor.  Not enough to upset my tummy.)

Directions:
Cook noodles as directed on package.

While noodles are cooking, heat oil in large skillet.  Add broccoli, mushrooms and carrots to the skillet.  Saute until broccoli is tender and mushroom juices are mostly gone.

Combine veggie mixture, noodles, tuna, soup, milk and peas in a casserole dish.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes (more if you like the top brown and crunchy).  Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes.  CAUTION: Broccoli will be extra hot.

We had salad along side the dish.  Next time, I might add a fruit for dessert.  

Post Prandial Glucose (2 hrs after): 97. Woohoo!

Diabetic Friendly Sloppy Joe's

Hubby and I are big fans of Sloppy Joe Sandwiches.  I used to get the kind with brown sugar in it.  I don't even know if they sell it in the stores anymore, but it was tasty.  Nowadays, brown sugar is something I have to watch.  Too much and my glucose goes up.

My stomach can't hack peppers and onions much either.  Unless I want to be up all night with a stomach ache, I kinda can't eat those store bought cans of Sloppy Joe sauce anyway.  So, I started looking around for alternatives.  Through a combination of a few places online, I compiled a recipe that Hubby and I both enjoy.  Yes, this one gets the Hubby star of approval.  Woo hoo!

While this recipe isn't nearly as sweet as the old brown sugar style, it does have some very tasty spices.  Of course, I don't like a ton of spices, so you may want to up them for yourself to add flavor.

I leave out a few things others typically use. 

To keep the recipe low carb, there's no ketchup, tomato paste or brown sugar.  I use just a tiny bit of regular sugar to add some sweetness.  The sugar can be left out and it's still really tasty!  During weeks when my sugar is higher than I like, I'll leave out the sugar.

How it's served matters.

Most people eat Sloppy Joe's on a big 30-45g carb bun.  To keep it extra low carb, I serve mine open face on a slider bun, piled with meat.  Yummy!

Variations you may want to try.

The veggie approach - In some of the recipes I pulled from, they include bell peppers and celery.  To lower carb count and bring up the veggie factor, add these in when you add the onion.

Worcestershire - 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire adds a different twist on this recipe.  Hubby's not a fan, so when I'm cooking for him, I leave it out.  When it's just me, I sometimes throw it in.

Pizza snack - When I was in Elementary and High School they used to serve these "pizzas" that were basically Sloppy Joe's on a bun with cheese thrown on top and broiled.  We'll sometimes do this with leftovers.  It's a tasty snack.

Crock Pot Style - Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover; cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Stats
Servings: 4
Starchy Carbs: 3.85 grams/serving

My Recipe
1 pound Lean Ground Beef or Turkey
1⁄4 teaspoon Minced Garlic
1⁄4 cup Onion, diced (I use just enough to add flavor, not enough to upset my tummy)
8 ounces Tomato Sauce, can - 14 grams of carb
1⁄8 teaspoon Black Pepper
1⁄8 teaspoon Chili Powder
1⁄3 teaspoon Sugar - 0.35 grams of carb

Brown ground meat and thoroughly drain.
Add garlic, onions, celery, and green pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes
Add tomato sauce, sugar, chili powder and pepper. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Pizza is one of my favorite foods.

One of the things that's been a challenge to give up is making a meal out of pizza.  I used to eat 4 regular slices of pizza (or 2-3 thick crust pieces), plus garlic/cheese bread and a salad for dinner.

I still eat pizza and I do it frequently, because it's one of my favorite foods.  However, most of the time, my numbers tell me one regular slice is enough.  Can't really make a full meal out of one slice of pizza and be full.  Plus, I need more carbs than just 15 grams or I'm asking for a low.  While I don't make a whole meal out of pizza, I have found ways to make those carbs stretch.  Here are some basic tricks I use:

• I always order thin crust.  Sometimes thin crust just means no thick crust on the edge.  Sometimes think crust actually means a cracker thin crust.  If I can find a good thin crust, I can eat quite a bit of pizza.  Almost a whole dinner, but I still need salad and some starchy vegetables.  
• I double up on toppings (not by ordering extra, though).  Hubby and I go to a local pizza buffet every now and then.  This makes it easy for me to double up on toppings.  I do this by taking two pieces of pizza from the buffet.  Then I take my knife, scrape the cheese plus toppings off of one piece and pile it on the other.  Double the toppings, but not double the crust.  It's tasty!
• I've been known to order crustless pizza.  There's a chain, here in the midwest, that has a soy crumble "crustless" pizza.  It's a 10" pizza and the whole thing is only 15 grams of carb.  Regular pizza toppings don't taste all that good, so I usually order it with chicken, spinach, mushrooms cheese and spices.  Plus there are enough carbs left over that I can have a little garlic bread with it.  Add salad and it's a very filling pizza meal.
• Pizza makes a great snack!  When I'm really hankering for some good old fashioned pepperoni pizza, I sometimes make it at home as a snack.  I get pre-made whole wheat dough, use a 15 carb gram portion, roll it extra thin, add toppings and bake it.  I've also been known to use Naan bread.  1 quarter of the store bought whole grain Naan bread is 15 grams of carbs.  Top, bake and you have pizza.  

Thanks to Pinterest, I discovered the most tasty, pizza craving killer snack ever; Zucchini Pizza Bites (My picture below). 

Oh, these are so tasty and yummy!!  I had some zucchini left over from a failed recipe and all the toppings, except the mini pepperoni's, in the house.  So, I substituted bacon pieces (which I almost always have around) and made some for a snack.  My compliments to The Comfort of Cooking blog for posting this.  

I'm not the biggest fan of zucchini, but I do like it in tomato sauce and I almost always have some sort of organic marinara on hand (I use organic because the carb count is usually a lot lower than the brand names).  I think I'll have to make these at Christmas time this year.  

Nutrition-wise, it's loaded with protein and vegetables.  How can you go wrong?!  Healthy AND tasty...um, and I don't usually like these sort of "substitute out the bread for something else" things.  The zucchini adds the crunch and the toppings are delicious.  Try it and let me know what you think.  

What are your tricks for curing a pizza craving? 

Beef with Portabella Garlic Sauce and Garlic Parmesan Broccoli

This week's cook at home dinner included one of my favorite main dishes.  Garlic Beef & Portabella Mushrooms served over a tiny bit of whole wheat egg noodles. I really enjoy using pre-made sauces, because it saves me a bunch of time that I don't have.  So, I used Progresso's Portabella Mushroom Recipe Starter pouch.  They have the recipe right on their website.

My favorite part of this dish is that the meat and mushrooms are very filling.  Plus, without the noodles, it's really low in carb, so I can have two servings of steak and sauce if I'm extra hungry.  Of course, I was starving tonight!  So, I totally had that second serving.

I also tried a new a new side dish recipe: Garlic Broccoli Parmesan.  This is my new favorite way to make broccoli (Thank you, Pinterest!).  I will definitely be making it again.  It went perfect with my garlicy beef dish too.

All Yummy!  Plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.  Is it tomorrow yet?

Stats:
Hubby Approved?  Yes on the beef and noodles, no on the broccoli (he isn't a cheese fan, so that says nothing about whether it's really good or not.).
Pots/Pans: 2 Pots, 1 Skillet
Starch carbs for the meal: 48 grams (2 servings of steak, 1/2 serving of noodles).
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
NOTE: I usually take longer than most recipes say they are supposed to take.  So, you may be able to do it faster.  :)

To make it easy, I used frozen broccoli and pre-sliced mushrooms.  I put the Broccoli in a pot steaming on low and had a pot of water ready to boil for the noodles before I started on the steak part.  After the steak was done, I started the noodles.  Towards the end of simmering the steak dish, I drained the noodles and mixed up the broccoli.  Voila!  Dinner.

Recipes

Beef with Mushroom Garlic Sauce
Servings: 4
Carbs per serving: 9 grams (starch carbs)
Recipe: http://www.progresso.com/recipes/beef-tenderloins-with-mushroom-garlic-sauce/320d89b8-65fa-44b6-bd0f-6a9be47bbd58
Recipe alteration: I used flank steak and cut it into smaller pieces, instead of medallions.  I have tried to make this without removing the meat, but it always comes out a lot more soupy.  I don't mind it that way, though.

Garlic Broccoli with Parmesan
Servings: 4
Carbs per serving: 6 grams (non-starch green veggie carbs, so I can eat as much as I want...woo hoo!)
Recipe: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-buttery-garlic-broccoli-with-parmesan/