Rutabaga- Cutting it up
 

Originally Posted by LizRR:
I don't think there is an easy way to cut rutabagas. I use my largest chef knife to slice a little off one side to level the rutabaga, peel it with a potato peeler, then I start the cut and push on top of the blade with a flat hand and push on the handle, starting from the outside in. When I get to a thick part, I flip the rutabaga and start from the outside in again.

You can try putting it in a bowl, covered with water and steam for about 5 minutes on medium in the microwave to see if the knife would go through easier.

I learned this trick from an elderly woman I was renting a room from during my college days...
Use a hammer and a large knife (I now use one knife strictly for cutting my rutabagas).
1. Pierce the rutabaga with the point of the knife
2. Now place the blade perpendicular to the surface of the rutabaga in the spot you just pierced.
3. Take your hammer and hit the top of the blade. Keeping hitting along the top blade. For very large rutabagas, you'll need to pull the knife out after going down about half way, and rotate the rutabaga , and repeat process. I will quarter it and then peel it..easier for me to handle.

Liz : calculating veggie portion
 

Originally Posted by LizRR:
By popular demand, a thread on our favorite veggie puree's and different ways we use them for majah' flavah'!!!

Here are some rough estimates I use to measure my veggies:
1 medium cauliflower ~ 4 cups chopped
1 rib celery ~ 1/2 cup chopped
1 medium bell pepper or poblano ~ 1 cup chopped
4 jalapenos ~ 1 cup choppped
1 medium zucchini ~ 2 cups chopped
1lb asparagus ~ 2 cups chopped
1lb mushrooms ~ 2 cups chopped
*Double check with your own measurements as veggie descriptions can be relative!

*Keep in mind your puree will blend down tremendously, so it's a good idea to parse it out after you make it to keep 'track' of just how many cups of veggies you are consuming.

*Note: I tend to add 'extra' celery to my purees, not only does it add structure, but it's a "lighter" veggie that can help balance out some of the carbier ones on the Select list.

*Check your labels and with your coach - the 1 cup of Chicken Broth I use adds 5 calories from 1g protein.

BEWARE!!! CAUTION!!! When blending hot items keep the stopper off the top of your blender or else you will face a steam explosion when you take off your blender top!

...Now on to the puree's!

Forgive me for sounding dumb...but to figure out how much veggie you are getting per blended portion...do you
1. Add up the total cups of raw veggies you're putting into the blender
2. Divide this number by 2 (2c veggie per meal)= number of portions made =[b]
2. Now puree and measure the blended amount = [c]
3. Divide this number [c] by the number of portions [b] = d
4. d is the amount of puree you can have at one meal

Originally Posted by cscape:
Forgive me for sounding dumb...but to figure out how much veggie you are getting per blended portion...do you
1. Add up the total cups of raw veggies you're putting into the blender
2. Divide this number by 2 (2c veggie per meal)= number of portions made =[b]
2. Now puree and measure the blended amount = [c]
3. Divide this number [c] by the number of portions [b] = d
4. d is the amount of puree you can have at one meal

Exactly. I would make my puree and split it immediately into 1 cup portions, because i have 1c spinach in breakfast smoothie, and 1c veggie in my lunch soup. So 5 cup raw chopped veggies, after roasting and pureeing would immediately get parsed into 5 pyrex bowls. It kept the right amount and i had lunch ready to grab and go for the week. All i needed was to remember my packet!

Originally Posted by LizRR:
Exactly. I would make my puree and split it immediately into 1 cup portions, because i have 1c spinach in breakfast smoothie, and 1c veggie in my lunch soup. So 5 cup raw chopped veggies, after roasting and pureeing would immediately get parsed into 5 pyrex bowls. It kept the right amount and i had lunch ready to grab and go for the week. All i needed was to remember my packet!

WOW! You just made the rest of my week so much easier!! I keep doing 2 days at a time...hmmm....I think I'll go with your method for the future!

Thanks

Baked IP Lasagna
 

Zucchini
Mushrooms
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
Ground Turkey or Lean Ground Beef
Fresh Basil
Italian Spices (oregano, thyme, S&P)
Minced Garlic
EVOO

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Brown your meat, drain, and set aside
2. Heat a fry pan and add 1 tsp. EVOO.
3. Lightly sauté the garlic until translucent.
4. Slice the zucchini into long 'pasta strips'.
5. Add the thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.
6. Grill the strips of zucchini and mushroom slices for a few minutes.
7. Arrange on a lightly EVOO sprayed lasagna dish:
1/3 zucchini, 1/3 of ground turkey, 1/3 of mushroom slices, 1/3 basil leaves, 1/3 puree
Repeat layering twice more, topping with the puree
8. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

*Fun with zucchini AND purees!
*IF you have cleared it with your coach - an option is to top with some veggie cheese before placing it in the oven. I know some folks use this sparingly.

bump

Cucumber-Lime Sherbet
 

1 Cucumber
2 Limes - Juice & Zest (Lemons work great too!)
2-4 tbsp Sweetener (to taste)
Fresh Mint (or infusion of choice, if desired)
1/2 cup Water
1/2 packet Knox Unflavored Gelatin (~10 calories, all collagen/protein)
Optional: 1-2 Egg Whites

1. In the blender add Water and optional liquid Egg Whites, sprinkle in Gelatin and allow it to dissolve ~1-2 minutes. You want the collagen to dissolve in liquid so it gets incorporated in your ingredients evenly
2. Meanwhile, slice Cucumber lengthwise, deseed with a spoon, and rough chop the Cucumber.
3. Place Cucumber in the blender with Zest, Juice, Sweetener, and Mint.
4. Purée until smooth.
5. Pour in an ice cream maker or freeze in a tray and puree when solid.

*This is simply delicious - reminds me of a margarita!
*Something light and refreshing in these hot summer months - frozen puree!
*The gelatin and optional egg white turn it from a 'sorbet' into a creamier 'sherbet', for more on ice cream: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/4450130-post94.html

Cucumber Dill Sauce
 

Cucumber
1-2 stalks Celery
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chopped fresh dill

1. Bring the Chicken Stock, Salt, & Pepper to a boil in a small saucepan and reduce the heat slightly; boil until reduced to 1/2 cup.
2. Split the Cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds with a spoon.
3. Puree Cucumbers and Celery stalks in a food processor along with 2 teaspoons fresh dill until smooth, allow to settle ~1 minute and drain excess liquid.
4. Add the puree to the chicken stock, whisk well.

*This would work GREAT over a nice 8oz piece of salmon!
*I tried this recipe and after pureeing the cucumbers had a good deal of liquid - it turned out more like 'soup' than 'sauce'. I will try this again, draining some of the water and adding some celery stalks for structure and update the recipe appropriately.

Originally Posted by LizRR:
1 Cucumber
3 tbsp Vinegar
3 tbsp Sweetener (Splenda, Stevia, etc)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh dill (1/2 tsp. dried)

1. Peel & deseed Cucumber
1. On the stovetop, cook together vinegar and sweetener until dissolved.
2. Put everything into a blender or food processor and puree.
3. Freeze in an ice cream freezer or freeze in a tray and puree when solid.

*Something light and refreshing in these hot summer months - frozen puree!

Oh my gosh this sounds SO GOOD. Do you think it would work with lime juice and cilantro in place of vinegar and dill? Wasn't sure if the vinegar was just for acid levels or another reason...

Originally Posted by scorbett1103:
Oh my gosh this sounds SO GOOD. Do you think it would work with lime juice and cilantro in place of vinegar and dill? Wasn't sure if the vinegar was just for acid levels or another reason...

Lime or lemon juice would probably work even better - I am editing it now! Oops - and I think the dill was a C&P from the dill sauce puree I brought over - editing that now too!

Originally Posted by Im escaping:
WOW! You just made the rest of my week so much easier!! I keep doing 2 days at a time...hmmm....I think I'll go with your method for the future!

Thanks

Sundays are my 'puree days' for my weekday lunches. It just makes the hectic Mon-Fri routine go so much smoother to have things 'grab & go' ready. I think that's one of the keys to this, you can just make a gigantic batch and not have to worry about it the rest of the week. I'm pretty lazy, or as I like to think of it "efficient", with my cooking methods so I want to get the biggest bang out of my time in the kitchen. That's one of the reasons my menus usually look exactly the same during the week. But at first it's probably a good idea to make small batches and figure out what you like and what works - don't want to be stuck with a gigantic bowl of something you don't like (although you could always puree it with something else you do like).

I made a batch of the cauliflower/celery/garlic puree this morning and added some to my IP broccoli and cheese soup packet at lunch today, along with another cup of broccoli and cauliflower. OMG, it was sooo good! It really thickened up the soup and the garlic gave it an awesome flavor! I felt like I was eating a super fattening broccoli and cheese soup from a restaurant. LizRR, thanks so much for posting these recipes. I'll definitely be trying many more of these!

Originally Posted by LizRR:
1 head Cauliflower
4 ribs Celery
4-6 cloves Garlic
EVOO
Spices (sea salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, etc)
1c Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 350degrees
1. Rough chop the Cauliflower florets, chop the stems more fine, and chop the Celery in ~2" pieces, leave the garlic in the shell (they will roast inside themselves)
2. Place veggies on cookie sheet, spray with EVOO, sprinkle with spices
3. Roast for ~30minutes until the cauliflower florets start to brown
4. Blend veggies with ~1 cup Chicken Broth and additional spices to taste

*Otherwise known as Mashed 'Fauxtatoes'
*I add this as a soup thickener A LOT - makes it a very hearty, thick bowl!
*Also, I've added this to the IP Potato Puree with some chopped veggies for 'Baked Croquettes'
*The celery adds a light/no flavor to this puree, you can omit if desired - I add it for a lighter touch of veggies to the 'carbier' cauliflower

HOLY COW this was amazing!! I was getting sick of the same old way I've been eating my veggies, but broccoli and cauliflower are always on sale. Tried this one for tonight's dinner, and it was amazing!! The key is definitely the roasted garlic - I used 5 cloves. And the celery - it adds a lightness, like Liz said. The depth of flavor in this was incredible, and something I've been looking for with IP veggies. I will definitely be trying the other recipes. Thanks Liz!!!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Originally Posted by LizRR:
1 lb mushrooms
4 ribs celery
4-6 cloves garlic
EVOO
Spices - sea salt, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, sage, etc.
Chicken Broth

1. Lightly spray a sautee pan with EVOO
1. Chop celery in thin slices, place in sautee pan, cooking at medium heat ~5-8 minutes until they start turning transclucent
2. While the celery is sauteeing, wash & thinly slice the mushrooms, add to the sautee pan
3. Dice the garlic, add to the pan, and allow to brown slightly while adding your spices to taste
4. Add Chicken Broth to just barely cover vegetables and allow to simmer over low heat ~10 minutes
5. Pour into a blender and puree until smooth, add spices to taste

*I use this as 'gravy' over my meat as well as a soup thickener.
*Recently I roasted a turkey and after chilling and skimming the fat from the pan drippings I added this puree and everyone loved the "gravy" on the turkey - no butter, no flour - just yummy flavor (I added S&P, rosemary, sage, & lavender)!

Oh my, i've got to make this, THANK YOU SO MUCH LIZRR!!!