Mrs. Jim
 

I have a question for you. I make a salad dressing and use about 2 T. when I use it. I would like to know if you think it is authorized???? You use 2 c. of 2% cottage cheese, or FF, 3/4 c. 1% buttermilk, and 1 pkg. of Hidden Valley Salad dressing mix. It is very good, and tastes just like the real stuff. I think 2 T. has about 50 calories in it. What do you think????? Thanks.
Lori S.

Hmmm...

Personally I'd stay away from it strictly because of the sodium in the dressing mix (don't know what else is in the mix - the Hidden Valley website's nutritional/ingredient info must also be 'hidden' somewhere :lol:

Anyway - let's look at it this way - just did a search on the net and found the following recipe for ranch dressing from scratch - you'd probably be better off modifying this one - I'll put my suggested modifications in italics:

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk I'd substitute the first three ingredients with 1 cup cottage cheese, 2 Tbs fat-free mayo, 2 Tbs fat-free sour cream and 1/4 c buttermilk creamed together with a blender
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese Since the 2 tablespoons of cheese is being divvied out into 12 servings, I don't see a problem keeping it in the recipe
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground white pepper


Directions
Combine the mayonnaise, sourcream, buttermilk, garlic powder, oregano, dill weed, chives, parsley, parmesan cheese, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and refrigerate for at least 1/2 an hour. If the dressing is too thick, add a little extra buttermilk to thin.

Now remember, I haven't actually tried this yet...but it certainly looks doable to me!

You could also use fat-free plain yogurt in place of the ff sour cream...

BFL Recipes
 

Hey y'all! Thought it would be a good idea to turn this MrsJim thread into a BFL recipe thread...feel free to add stuff. What's your favorite recipe? (BTW, tossing a frozen chicken breast on a George Foreman grill doesn't count here!) :lol:

Also if you have any recipes that you want to modify, post 'em and we can all try and clean them up a bit, like the ranch dressing recipe (let us know how that worked out, as well!)

I was inspired to do this after Friday night. Jim is getting tired of the old chicken breast and veggies for dinner, and he's getting chubbly-wubbly lately, so I went to the L&S cooking library and pulled up a recipe for turkey jambalaya. Looked at it and thought...hmmm...I can improve this...here's my version!

Originally Posted by :
BFL Jambalaya

Cook some brown rice and set aside (about 4-6 serving's worth).

In a non-stick skillet sprayed with Pam, saute:

1 medium onion, diced (or 1 cup frozen chopped onions)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 tsp minced garlic

When they are limp, remove veggies from skillet, spray Skillet with Pam again and brown:

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast (99% fat free)

When meat is brown, add veggies back to the pan along with the following:

1 can Ready-Cut tomatoes (salt-free version) or Ro-Tel
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
12 oz peeled shrimp (I used the 70/90 count per pound frozen kind and nuked them for about 2 minutes before adding)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or a dash of Tabasco sauce
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning to taste
Black pepper to taste

Let simmer about 15 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce cook a bit longer - a thinner sauce, cook a bit less.

Now, add a portion of the veggie/meat sauce to a portion of rice and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

I thought I was going to have leftovers...no way...Jim gobbled it up! The shrimp and tomatoes weren't in the original recipe - he said the shrimp added a kind of 'buttery' taste. It was a tad spicy, but not too spicy.

YUM!

When mixing yogurt and cottage cheese together...do you add anything?
I bought the 4oz cups of yougurt and a big thing of cot cheese..i put the 4 oz of yogurt in the blender, then put the cot. cheese in the same container to measure 4 oz and blend it.
The flavor from the yogurt was gone...it was kind of bland and really thick...
can I add anything to improve the flavor?
Thanks
trish

Hi girls,

Hi Trish, Hi Mel, we're on line at the same time, if you read this go to chat...I've logged in there it would be fun to chat...

I think Trish you added too much CC to the yogurt... and IMO, if find yogurt isn't much of a good filling carb. Here is my fav recipe for a meal 2, 4, or 6 as snack in the middle of the morning, afternoon, or evening:

- 1C cottage cheese
- 1C of your favorite fruit (I use frozen berries sometimes, but when the strawberries were in season, I used a cup of fresh strawberries...)
- 1/4 tsp or more to taste of Jello light I use strawberry ... (I've discovered Jello light, since being on BFL it will add great flavour to just about anything, I put it in my oatmeal in the morning too, delish....)
- Put everything in the blender till smooth, or use a hand blender.....

Trish - I agree with Lanaii - yogurt isn't the most filling carb in the world - in addition, 4 oz is about 1/2 of what you should have if you're going to have it (same with the cottage cheese). You should really use the 8 oz containers. Tall Jen recommends a brand called "Blue Bunny Light" but they don't have it here. I buy yogurt only occasionally - usually I get Yoplait Light or Safeway's Light brand.

This is now one of my favorites:

Originally Posted by :
Key Lime Cheesecake
¾ - 1 cup nonfat cottage cheese
1 packet Sugar Free Fat Free Lime Jell-o
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. Refrigerate until firm. You can add a serving of fruit to this or you can use different flavors of jell-o.

If you don't want to use Jello, you can simply blend the cottage cheese with some vanilla extract and Splenda. VERY GOOD!

For a FILLING PROTEIN AND CARB that's sweet, try the following:

Originally Posted by :
Blend a portion of cottage cheese with a splash of vanilla and equal/splenda to taste (2-3 for me).
Sprinkle on some cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny bit of ginger.
Add a portion of hot brown rice to CC in blender.
Whir it a couple times so the rice breaks up a bit and is blended in.
Yummy warm rice pudding! (from Suzie at L&S)

Originally Posted by :
Yogurt Cheesecake/ Frozen Treat
1 small container of fat free, low sugar yogurt (I like Dannon’s Light and Fit)
1 small container (same size as yogurt) nonfat cottage cheese

Put all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth. You can either eat it this way or put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours for a fun frozen treat. Don’t leave in the freezer too long or it will be too solid to be able to eat.

Ok...can this be modified to taste better?

Actually it doesn't taste bad, just bland.
I got the recipe off lean and strong.
Oatmeal/egg white muffins.

I modified it for the portions I need:

4 egg whites
1/2 c oatmeal
1 T low fat jam ( I tried applesauce in the second batch)

bake 20-25 min at 350 degrees.

taste like what's in them...except no flavor? does that make sense?
Plus it makes more than what I can eat. I am sitting here trying to get the last 5 down..I made them in a mini muffin pan.

any suggestions?
Thanks
trish:dizzy:

Have you tried Robb's Pumpkin Muffins recipe?

Actually four eggwhites doesn't sound like enough for you. That's only 14 grams of protein total. Remember for protein grams on stuff that's too 'fluffy' to measure palm/fist (i.e. eggwhites and cottage cheese) go by 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, then divide that number by 6 for the amount of protein per meal. For example: if you weigh 150 pounds, that's 150 grams of protein per day - 25 grams of protein per meal. So you should be having at least six-seven eggwhites as a serving (I do five eggwhites and one whole egg) in that instance.

Here's Robb's recipe:

Originally Posted by :
pre-heat oven to 350
I use about:
10 egg whites
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup pumpkin
5-6 packets splenda/sweet and low and then cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract to your taste. I use ALOT, but thats just me.
cook for 15-20 minutes.

I try to make the ratios a little higher than a normal meal for me, since I eat them in 2 or 3 meals.

Regarding Portions:

Do what I do: I just add up the protein and carb totals of the whole batch. And then divide it up into the "sizes" you need. So if you have 48g pro and 52g carb, then divide it in 2, and eat half the amount of muffins you make. And for me, I don't eat them as a whole meal, I eat them as "mini meals". And for me a whole batch would probaly be a whole "real meal".

Pumpkin is GREAT in recipes, even when it's not Thanksgiving - just make sure that when you buy the can, you buy PUMPKIN, not "Pumpkin Pie Filling" which has sugar in it.

Mrs. Jim..
could you email me please?
thanks
trish

[email protected]

I'm at work - so I'll PM you...

I tried that recipe w/ cottage cheese and fruit and jello powder...
tasted like cottage cheese ALOT....
I may just have to ditch the cottage cheese...LOL

Trish

No problem Trish...even though you might want to try other brands - I've found that different brands taste different...

but there are a LOT of other protein choices out there - don't stress about it - you'll do fine :)

Jello/Cottagecheese Recipe
 

I know the BFL'ers do a cottage cheese thing(sf jello with a container of cc in the blender,mmmm....the key lime was awesome!!!)

But here's a tip-

It takes a minute longer, but you'll get a better consistency if you activate the gelatin in 1 cup hot water first, then mix in the blender with the cottage cheese and instant pudding mix. Gelatin needs to dissolve-

If you don't, it taste fine, too. But you get a really creamy, not grainy cheesecake consistency if you put the jello into hot water.

So:

1 package jello dissolved in 1 cup hot water
1 lb cottage cheese
2 T. vanilla sf instant pudding
Blend away, and chill.

Every Sunday I cook up "take along" meals for the week. I cook 3 large boneless chicken breasts (and cut in half). I either marinate with no sugar/no fat marinade and do in the Forman or bake in a pan sprinkled with salt, garlic and pepper. While that is cooking, I throw rice (brown or basmati) in the cooker. Some weeks I cook up small potatoes instead of the rice.

Then I start my "spaghetti sauce". I brown ground turkey, onion, and garlic together. Then I add a low sugar/low fat spaghetti sauce (Classico Tomato and Basil is good...read those labels!!!) but keep it chunky to keep the protein content high. I add some more basil, oregano and italian spices. while that is simmering, I cook up a pot of whole wheat pasta (get at Trader Joes).

Then I start my cup of steel cut oats. While the steel cut oats are cooking, I pour a tall container of Egg Beaters into a pyrex baking dish with 2 whole eggs and beat. I add splenda (I like lots of splenda and cinnamon) and put in the oven to start a custard (keep stirring it, don't let it get solid). When the steel oats are done, I add some more splenda and cinnamon to them and fold into the half-baked egg custard and bake for another 45 minutes.

the oatmeal can be stored in the pyrex dish (which is why I cook it in that). For the other meals, I line up gladware. I measure the rice (or potato) and chicken, add vegetables and sometimes a hint of Boston Chicken gravy (it is the only gravy with low fat and balanced protein/carbs...and I only use a smidgen (1/2 teaspoon in each container) sometimes if it's in the house...hubby loves it). I put 3 in the refrigerator and 3 in the freezer. Same with the pasta. I usually have left over pasta and I just store that in a big tupperware bowl.

Those are my 3 takealong meals each week. I do others, but these 3 are my staples. I usually spend about 2 hours cooking this all up on Sunday and I have food for the week. In fact, I made all of this just today and am looking forward to eating it all week!!!

-Susan

Soup recipes...
 

Liz had a question on the main thread regarding soups...of course canned soups such as Campbell's are unauthorized (if anyone knows of a suitable canned soup - let's see the stats!).

I did a bit of a search on the L&S cooking library and found this VERY SIMPLE recipe for "Instant" chicken soup...

Originally Posted by :
Open a can of low sodium chicken broth and skim the fat off the top. Place in saucepan and add a portion of chopped cooked chicken or turkey, a portion of cooked brown rice and a handful of chopped raw baby spinach leaves. Add garlic powder and a shake of curry powder. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.
(I have even taken frozen raw chicken tenderloins, chopped them and used them in this soup. They cook through in a few minutes in the simmering soup.)

Here's a recipe for Hot & Sour Soup that I tried awhile back and enjoyed (I'm not really a soup person though):

Originally Posted by :
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3(141/2-ounce) can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
hot pepper to taste(use dry peppers)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into thin 1-inch strips (add extra for more protein...or add some shrimp or tofu)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 egg, well beaten
1 (8-ounce) can of bamboo shoots, drained
1 bunch of Chinese cabbage, chopped

In large saucepan (spray with Pam) heat over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook and stir until tender. Stir in chicken broth, 1 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, garlic powder, and hot pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add chicken; stir to seperate strips. Simmer 2 minutes. Combine cornstarch and remaining tablespoon of water; mix well. Stir into soup; bring to a boil. Stir in egg with fork to separate into strands. Add bamboo shoots and cabbage; heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
Play with the spices to make as hot or sour as you want!!