Cheesecake bars

Okay, so I could have just given you this link to the recipe yesterday, but I didn't because I am a mean person! Just kidding. So it's actually a Paula Deen recipe, but I wanted to write out my low-fat, low G.I. version for you, complete with my photographs. So here it is:



Ingredients

Crust:
1 cup white wheat flour
1/4 cup packed Splenda* brown sugar mix
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 stick butter, melted (I use real butter here because light butter isn't always the right consistency for keeping crusts or toppings together, but if you try it, let me know how it works! You could also lower amount to be 3/4 stick and it would probably be fine)

Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages low-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Splenda
1/8 cup sugar (I always supplement the Splenda with a little real sugar when baking; spread throughout the entire recipe, it isn't too bad)
3 Eggland's Best eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, brown sugar, pecans and/or walnuts, and butter in bowl. Press dough into an ungreased 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.



Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

For filling, beat cream cheese and Splenda/sugar together in a bowl until smooth, using a handheld electric mixer; add eggs and extract; beat well. Pour over crust.





Bake for 20 minutes.

Cool completely. Cut into squares before serving.

You can also make low-sugar hot fudge to drizzle over it, or I sometimes actually put the chocolate in the bars. To do this, spread the chocolate over the cooled crust and put it in the freezer until the chocolate is hard. Then pour the cream cheese mixture over it and bake as normal. They can also be made as cupcakes, which can make things a lot easier when it comes to cutting them. Enjoy!

*If you don't want to use Splenda, let me know how other sugar substitutes work out. I still use it because I hardly ever have it and I can't imagine that eating something with it once in a while is going to hurt me. There's always something that's going to kill you. And right now, real sugar is my true enemy!

Muffins!

I'm in the mood to bake, and as much as I love my diet and the size that it has made me, baking is just not as fun as it used to be. Last year I was baking these. Ya, remember those? I hardly can. Ahhh...those were the days. I can almost taste the buttercream right now. (And side note - why did I say my birthday was January 3rd? It's always been the 2nd as far as I know).

So goodbye decadent cupcakes. Hello Splenda aftertaste.

It's not that bad. Tonight I made my favorite muffin - Banana Chocolate Chip. It's actually my husband's speciality and when I say "speciality" I mean the only thing he bakes. But they are to die for!

So I made a low G.I. version (or, should I say, lower G.I.). They came out pretty:



They tasted pretty good, too. Usually, they are decadent. These aren't decadent, but they're not bad. They just needed a little pat of butter on them to take them up a notch.

I altered the original recipe as I went along (Splenda, less butter, etc. [I looked into using canola oil in place of the butter, but apparently purists don't recommend doing that in recipes that originally call for butter. I don't know.. I'm sure it wouldn't ruin them]). Near the end, I realized the batter was looking more like dough, so I added some milk, which the original recipe did not call for. The first batch came out less sweet than I had hoped, so I added a little more Splenda. And that did the trick, because the second batch was good even without a pat of butter! (Although I wouldn't object if you still wanted some.)

Here it is:

AYWH's Nearly Guilt-Free Lower G.I. Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 stick butter/margarine (this is where the "nearly" and "lower" comes in)
3 tbsp. light butter
3/4 cup Splenda
2 tbsp. sugar (because I always like to use a touch of the real stuff)
2 eggs (I use Eggland's Best because they have Omega-3)
2 tbsp. milk
2 cups white wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
chocolate chips (again.. not necessarily low G.I., but everything in moderation)

Beat butter and Splenda/sugar until creamy. Add eggs, flour, milk, baking soda, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth. Mix in mashed bananas and chocolate chips (I ended up using about 4-5 tablespoons of mini chips, but you can play it by ear depending on how good or bad you want to be). 

Bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes (mine always need to go for longer.. maybe like 25?). 

That's it! Now eat one and pretend you are totally splurging. I had two in the span of a half hour (probably not recommended) and I didn't even notice a Splenda aftertaste - that's the sign of a successful low G.I. baked good!

Let me know how yours turn out!

A G.I. Thanksgiving

Due to the wonderful schedule of a t.v. news anchor, we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving. It's not all bad - my husband does get Christmas off (it's always one holiday or the other, and we always pick Christmas) and we'll be visiting my family for five days. But for now, we're at home and it's just the two of us for dinner tomorrow.

Last year we ate Thanksgiving dinner with everyone working at his station that night, but this year he's working a day shift so he doesn't have to eat there. Plus, if we ate at his station, I wouldn't be able to actually eat anything other than dry turkey. So we decided (or I actually insisted) that I make dinner just for us.

So in case you're wondering, no, I will not be going off of my diet tomorrow. I just don't see the need or the value in it. I don't want to negatively affect my hormones after getting them all in line and since I can make everything on the menu low G.I. anyways, I just don't see the point.

I know I am lucky in that it's just the two of us, so there's no one else to complain about my use of Splenda in the sweet potato casserole. So I'm taking advantage of that!

And while I'm keeping the menu G.I.-friendly, I am also going by my motto: cheat with fat not with the bad stuff (i.e. white flour, sugar, corn products, etc.). So my version of "cheating" will be by using lots of real butter in everything! That way, it won't affect my hormones, but will still be really yummy.

Here's my menu, and how I'm altering the recipes:

Stuffing - my favorite! I am using wheat bread, of course, and the "good" eggs (with omega-3). Also, did you know that the Pepperidge Farm bread crumb stuff is actually a mix of white and 100% whole wheat? And that the "white" part of it is actually enriched wheat flour? Enriched wheat isn't ideal, but it's also not "white" and it's a great compromise. I also "splurged" and will be using a loaf of whole grain white bread, which is also not really white and actually enriched wheat flour as well.

Gravy - made with white wheat flour

Mashed potatoes - made with red new potatoes (even though these are allowed on the diet, I haven't had any just because they are pretty high in carbs still, so I'm looking forward to this!)

Sweet potato casserole - made with Splenda brown sugar blend

Broccoli casserole - made with 2% milk Velveeta cheese and much less butter than the orginal recipe calls for. Also, I'll use whole wheat Ritz crackers for the topping.

I'll also make peas, and the turkey, of course! I feel like I'm forgetting something. Hmmm, I think that's it. I don't know if I'll make a dessert yet, which seems kind of sacreligious, doesn't it? I just am not a big splenda-dessert person, so I'd rather go without than make something like that. I might make a low G.I. apple crisp if my husband wants it. I recently found a great no-sugar-added ice cream bar, so I'll be having one of those.

I'm going to take pictures tomorrow, so I'll post them in the coming days. And eventually I'll also post the recipes for all this stuff as well. It's too late for Thanksgiving, but perhaps some of you will be inspired to make some of it for Christmas.

So before when I said it was just the two of us, I wasn't being entirely truthful. We actually have quite a full house. Sophie's cousins are visiting us for Thanksgiving:

Meet Winston...



...and Sammie.

Technically, Sam is Sophie's aunt, but you get the picture. Winston's mommy just started reading this blog, so now she'll get to see her little guy on here. And speaking of Winston's mom and since I just came across some old pictures on my phone while uploading the ones of the doggies...

A couple weeks ago I posted about visiting my in-laws in NC. The reason we were going there that particular time was because we were having a "girls' night in" at her home. We spent the night painting a painting (or, rather, three paintings in one) for her bedroom:




I was supposed to be teaching her and my other sister-in-law to paint, but since I'm not a natural teacher (unlike everyone else in both my and Ryan's families), I kind of took over. Although Winston's mom did contribute a lot, including some of the detail on the petals.

I'm usually a nightmare to be around when I'm painting (the words, "we are to never speak of me painting EVER again," have been known to be spoken at times), so I told my sister-in-laws that I'll need to do all my paintings in front of them, apparently, because I did this one in about three hours with no complaints!

Here it is in her room (we took great care to match it to her bedding!):

Doesn't she arrange her bed beautifully? It looks just like a catalog picture or something!

Anyways - back to Thanksgiving - I hope you all have safe travels, great food, fun times with your families, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Soup!

So some of you have commented and emailed me, asking for the soup recipe, and I'm happy to pass on the yumminess! We just had some leftover soup for lunch and it was GOOD.

I have to give all the credit to my mom, since it's her recipe. I'm so blessed to have grown up with such a great cook/baker and me and my sisters all treasure her recipes. This one is just the perfect pick-me-up on a cold day, or on a day when you're under the weather, or when you're in need of some comfort food after you've had a bad day or gotten some bad news (which we ALL are very familiar with, are we not?). And the best part about this comfort food is that it's healthy!

As with any of my recipes, I will warn you ahead of time I am just writing this from memory, so it will come off pretty informal. If you have any questions, just email me!

Chicken Noodle Soup with Dumplings

Ingredients
One whole chicken (sometimes called a "fryer," not a big roaster chicken)
2 large cans chicken broth (I got low sodium)
One small box chicken broth (this is in case you need a little more than the two cans, or in case you want to add more broth to leftovers. And the box is good because since you won't use it all, it's easier to save leftover in your fridge)
One small onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped
3 or 4 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Dry basil, salt, pepper, thyme (I didn't have thyme, so I used Bell Seasoning), parsley
3 or 4 carrots, chopped (I chop them in circles)
1/2 cup to 1 cup noodles (I used low-carb, high fiber rotini.. and 1/2 cup may not sound like a lot of noodles, but it is when it's done)

Dumpling ingredients
*this is not my mom's recipe. She uses Bisquick, which I cannot due to my diet, so I just found this on the internet. But it worked well! You can use any dumpling recipe you may have.
2 cups flour (I used white wheat, of course)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup milk

Directions
Put uncooked chicken in big pot and cover with both cans of chicken broth (I used about a 1/4 of the box as well, and it came out perfect). Add chopped onion, celery and garlic, as well as basil, thyme, salt and pepper (I didn't measure, just added a few shakes) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover. Let simmer (on low, but make sure it's moving, as my mom says) for one to two hours (the way my mom explained it to me, if you're in a rush, you can remove the chicken after one hour, but it's better to let it go a little longer. Too long, though, isn't good either, so I checked it periodically after an hour. You don't want it to be falling off the bone too much. I think I let it go an hour and a half).

Remove chicken and let cool. Add chopped carrots and noodles and bring to a boil again, letting it boil for about ten minutes (the noodles will cook again when the dumplings are added, so you don't have to let it go too long - my noodles basically disintegrated by the end, which is still yummy!). In the meantime, cut up the chicken (you won't need it all - you can use remaining chicken in another recipe!). After the noodles and carrots have cooked, take the soup off of the burner and add chicken back in. Try the broth and add more seasoning to taste. At this point, if you're not eating it right away, you can cover it and let it sit until you're ready to make the dumplings, or you can move right on to them...

Dumpling Directions
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter (that's been kept at room temperature or use soft margarine). Stir milk lightly into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon and adjust amounts to make sure that you have a moist dumpling dough.

Now, my mom suggests adding a little dry parsley right before the dumplings, so that they take on the little green specks and look super good.

You can make big dumplings, like the size of biscuits, or you can make smaller ones, using about a tablespoon of dough at a time. I made the smaller ones so there'd be more of them. Drop them into the soup, as many as will fit (don't worry about them keeping their shape, they will somehow form into individual dumplings while they're cooking).

Bring soup to a boil once again, and reduce to a simmer (make sure it's still lighly boiling though, I screwed this up and had to cook the dumplings twice because I turned the heat too low!). Once simmering, cook for ten minutes uncovered and then ten minutes covered (like I said, I messed this up so you might have to play with the time. It will be obvious if they're still doughy), but be careful not to burn the soup on the bottom (also - the online recipe called for cooking just ten minutes covered, so you could try that method too). Test the dumplings by cutting into one and checking if it is raw in the middle. Once done, remove from heat and serve!

The dumplings kind of spread all throughout the soup and make it seem creamy. It's so yummy! And the best part is it is low G.I. (as long as the dumplings are whole wheat) and it's good for you. I hope you like it as much as we do!

What my pain could be, and a recipe

So it's safe to say that I've spent a lot of time thinking about what my recent pain could be (I had more pain when I woke up today, but it's gotten better since then). After much googling, I've come up with a few possibilities. Don't you love self-diagnosis?

Let's start with what we really, really hope it is (this is very unlike me, so brace yourself). It could be implantation pain, since it is in the window for that to be happening and there are many sensations women describe during the time when implantation was occuring - from shooting pain, to dull cramping, to a gurgling feeling (I'd cite my sources, but they were mainly those questions posted on yahoo answers or in forums that came up when I searched "implantation pain." I know, real accurate). It also could be general pain often experienced in very early pregnancy. I've heard/read where many women say they had cramping and even felt like they were getting their period for many days leading up to their positive pregnancy test. Keep in mind, I'm not saying I'm pregnant! I'm just listing the possibilities. And trying to be hopeful.

On the negative side, the pain could be many things, including gas (a possibility), a cyst (also a possibility, but I've had cysts in the past and never had any pain), endometriosis (let's hope not), or pain due to follicles filling with water or something like that (not sure about this, just read it online).

And, probably the most likely option - unexplained cramping. After I get my period in a little more than a week, I'll probably just look back and wonder what the heck it was. Perhaps I'll ask my doctor about it in the future, and perhaps he will say it was just my body getting used to being healthy. Who knows.

Enough about that. Our second home study meeting is tomorrow. This could be the meeting in which we talk about discipline, so I am probably going to call my mom and ask for advice tonight! I'm sure I'll be good at disciplining my kids, but it's just not something you think about before you even have them! I even considered watching Super Nanny the other night just to get some pointers, but it was ending when I caught it. Darn! Anyone have any suggestions of what would be good to say?

Tonight we are going to work on paperwork, like printing out our credit reports, finding old addresses, that sort of thing. Everything isn't due tomorrow, but we want to bring with us the background check paperwork since that needs to be mailed by our agency to two different states.

In other news, I am super excited that tomorrow I'll be able to go grocery shopping! I've been looking forward to Tuesday for more than a week now, since we sort of ran out of grocery money way ahead of time. My husband gets paid tomorrow, so I'm heading straight to the grocery store. I have to say I've done a pretty good job of getting by with the few things we had in the fridge and cupboards, but the down side is that I've been eating a lot of carbs, since that's usually what is laying around or can be made from ingredients we have. I need fresh fruit and vegetables! I'm going to plan out our menu tonight and make up a list. I've never been so excited to get groceries before, that's for sure.

Speaking of food, Becky asked me to post my recipe for Chicken Lo Mein I came up with the other day. In my opinion, it's really good, even if you're not on a diet, although I highly recommend making it in the morning to eat that night, or making it the night before and eating it the next day. It's much better after it sits a while!

And that's a picture of it from when I made it the other day, although I can't figure out if it looks appetizing here or not. It looks good to me, but that is because I know how yummy it is!

I just pretty much made it up as I went along, so it's not exact, and it very well may be the most informal recipe you've ever read. Here it is:

Chicken Lo Mein

Ingredients: Box of mushrooms, garlic cloves (3-4, or to taste), 1 cup broccoli slaw (if you can't find this at the store, you could thinly slice cabbage, celery and carrots), store-bought roaster chicken, soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, cooking wine, oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper

Directions: In oil (I used canola, but next time will get sesame), saute mushrooms, garlic and something called broccoli slaw (I found it in the grocery store and got it because it looked like the stuff in take-out lo mein. It's basically like the raw stuff you use to make cole slaw [obviously minus the mayo at this point] but rather than being mainly cabbage, it was broccoli. It looked like cabbage though). Add some salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Cut up/pull apart chicken from a roaster chicken and add it in to the veggies (I like the roaster chicken better than cooking my own chicken breasts, because, if this makes sense, it is softer that way and absorbs the sauces better).

After vegetables have sauteed a few minutes, add a little bit of soy sauce and stir-fry sauce (it's a sauce called "Stir-fry Sauce" and adds a bit of sweetness to it). I also added a teeny tiny bit of Marsala wine to one side of the pan (mainly because many online recipes call for wine and it was the only kind I had) and let the wine cook off before mixing it in. Next time I might add a little bit more. Any sort of wine could probably be used.

Meanwhile, cook whole wheat spaghetti and after the veggies cooked down, I mixed the spaghetti (probably half to 3/4 of the box) in to the veggie mixture and saute it all together for a little while, while also adding a tiny bit more soy and stir-fry sauce, to taste. Add more salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste.

I was worried I didn't have enough soy sauce, but the little bit I did have ended up being more than enough (I would say maybe a quarter cup. The stir-fry sauce I just drizzled over everything a couple times). I even added extra spaghetti because it was a little too strong for me. You can play around with the amounts in this recipe.

You can eat immediately, but it is much better the next day after the flavors have been allowed to seep into the vegetables, spaghetti and the chicken.

The G.I. Diet and My Favorite Recipes

If you are interested in starting the Low G.I. (Glycemic Index) Diet, or are considering it, you've come to the right place. I'm no expert, but as someone who was told she had to lose weight to help normalize her hormones, I am full of what I hope is practical advice on this topic.

Five months ago my doctor, after diagnosing me with PCOS, told me very matter-of-factly to start the Low G.I. Diet upon leaving his office. Since I wanted to be pregnant more than anything in the world, I followed his advice and over the next 23 weeks lost 35 pounds. Thank God for my doctor.

Just like my doctor told me, the first thing I tell others to do is buy the book, The Low G.I. Diet, by Rick Gallop. I actually got the 'express' version, since it's cheaper and more to the point.

I am a real person who likes to eat real food, so I wasn't going to suddenly eat meals with strange ingredients and things I've never heard of. Instead, I took my favorite recipes and figured out to make them low G.I.

This isn't a diet, it's more of a lifestyle change. I will probably have to eat this way for the rest of my life, since PCOS can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Low G.I. isn't a fad, it's a common-sense healthy way of eating - low carb, low fat and low calorie.

Some things to keep in mind:

1) You may not lose any weight in the first two weeks - I barely did - so don't get discouraged. You may, though, so don't rule it out either!

2) Don't worry if you think you hate Splenda, fruit or vegetables. Your tastebuds and your brain will change in just a couple weeks. I didn't think it could happen to me, but it did.

3) This diet doesn't mean saying good-bye to your favorite comfort foods. I have found a way to make pasta, chocolate cake, pancakes, paninis, chocolate-covered strawberries, you name it. I've found places to eat out where I can have fried fish and chicken tenders (two of my favorites). And if you can't figure out how to change a recipe, just email me and I'll see if I can help!

4) White wheat flour will become one of your best friends. (Or wheat flour, but white wheat makes me think I'm still having regular flour)

Okay, here are all the recipes I have collected, changed from regular recipes, made up or got from my favorite chef, my mom. Keep in mind that when things call for eggs, you should use eggs with Omega-3. Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share any of your ideas with me as well!

RECIPES

Pasta Primavera

One box low-carb, high fiber pasta (I buy Ronzoni Smart Taste), any type of noodle
Chicken breast
One small can petite diced tomatoes
Various vegetables of your choosing – mushrooms, onions, peppers, asparagus, broccoli, squash, zucchini, etc.
Garlic
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, oregano and/or other spices to taste

Boil pasta and set aside. Heat oil in a large frying pan and add chopped onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, squash. Cook until tender (although if you like vegetables al dente, they are healthier that way). Add broccoli and asparagus (I steam the broccoli and boil the asparagus ahead of time) and diced garlic (I use about four or five cloves). Heat vegetables on low, making sure garlic doesn’t get too done. Coat chicken with salt, pepper and any other spices (I’m anal and cook my chicken in a separate pan, buy I know some people just cook it in with the vegetables) and add to vegetables when done. Drain can of tomatoes and add just the tomatoes into the vegetables and chicken. Lastly, add pasta, more olive oil (not too much, but use your judgment), salt, pepper and any spices, and let simmer so the flavors all mix together.

*this recipe can also be done without tomatoes for a different feel. It can also be done with a white becamel sauce:


Becamel Sauce (white sauce, alfredo-type sauce)

Two tablespoons butter (it should probably be low-fat, but I use a little reg. butter too)
Two tablespoons flour (whole wheat or white-wheat flour)
Two cups skim milk (I use 1%)
Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan. Once melted, whisk in flour (if too thick and clumpy, you can add more butter). Let this mixture bubble for 30 sec. to a minute (making sure it doesn’t burn). Whisk in milk slowly. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and let boil for one minute (while still stirring). Turn heat to low and let simmer for a few minutes. Add cheese (I usually add ¼ cup), salt and pepper.

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Chicken and Steak Stir-fry

Chicken breast
Sirloin steak (or filet, which is really healthy, just expensive)
Assorted vegetables (I use broccoli, mushroom, onions, peppers, squash, zucchini)
Soy sauce or other stir-fry sauce
Brown rice

Cook chicken breast and steak and cut in pieces. Cook vegetables in olive oil (or pam spray) (if using broccoli I lightly steam it and add it later). Combine vegetables and meat and add soy sauce. Cook brown rice and put stir-fry over rice (brown rice is allowed [white rice is off limits] but they still say you shouldn’t have too much of it, so I go heavy on the veggies and light on the rice, maybe ½ cup to one cup)

You can also do a “fried” rice by putting cooked brown rice in a skillet, adding some soy sauce, a chopped-up scrambled egg, and if you really want it to feel like the real thing, some peas (not the best low g.i. vegetable, but a few aren’t gonna kill you). Let the rice get brown on the bottom and then mix. Repeat this until is appears like “fried rice.”


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Chicken Enchiladas

(these are awesome, by the way!)

1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (sometimes I just buy a cooked roaster chicken and pull the chicken off in small pieces)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup bottled picante sauce (look for one that has the lowest sugar)
3 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 tsp. ground cumin or chili powder (or you can use a tsp. of a package of taco seasoning)
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, low-carb/wholewheat (look for lowest carbs because they can vary greatly from brand to brand)
1 1/2 cups bottled green taco sauce (again, lowest sugar. If the amounts look high, you can just use your low-sugar picante/salsa)

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat until hot. Add onion, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, picante sauce, cream cheese, and cumin. Cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up*. Place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish which has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the taco sauce evenly over top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Cover and bake at 350*F for 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

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Roasted turkey breast with red potatoes

(I got a pre-seasoned turkey tenderloin thing from the store, but you can also get an actual little turkey and roast it. Just make sure to not have too much of the dark meat)

Turkey
Small red potatoes (the diet allows “new” potatoes, and from what I’ve been able to figure out, that means they are baby potatoes, I think)
Garlic
Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper

This is pretty self-explanatory (I say that because if I was roasting a turkey, I’d still have to call my mom and ask her for directions!) and if you get the pre-seasoned turkey tenderloin thing, you can just follow directions on the package. For the potatoes, though, cut them in thirds and place in a pan. Mix in chopped garlic, salt and pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour or more (I just keep testing them until they are done, sometimes they take much longer). Do not mash the potatoes, because that’s not as good on the diet (apparently, your body doesn’t have to work as much to digest them when mashed).

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Chicken Cordon Bleu

chicken breasts, pounded out and filleted
deli ham (make sure it is just ham and no sugary flavoring)
reduced-fat swiss cheese
one onion
white wine (I use sherry)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. On each uncooked chicken breast, place a slice of cheese and some ham. Roll it up and keep in place with a toothpick. Salt and pepper the chicken and place in skillet/frying pan that’s been coated with olive oil or pam . Brown the chicken on all sides (doesn’t have to be cooked thoroughly) and remove it. Chop onion into long slices and place in skillet. Cook for a few minutes, then add wine (I just pour some in, but you can do however much you think. It cooks off, so if you want a sauce for the chicken, use a cup or more). Bring the wine to a boil while stirring. Turn to low to simmer and place chicken back in with wine and onions. Place skillet (if oven-safe) into oven and cook for 5-10 minutes (the time really depends on the thickness of the chicken, just check to see when it is cooked thoroughly). If you do not have an oven-safe skillet or pan, just continue to cook the chicken in the onion/wine mixture until done.

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Spaghetti with Meat Sauce/Chili (in crockpot)

One package of ground lean turkey (you can also use lean ground beef)
Two large cans of petite diced tomatoes
Tablespoon tomato paste
One onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, diced
spices
low-carb/high fiber spaghetti

Fully cook the ground turkey on the stove, using olive oil. Drain the turkey and add to crock pot. Put the tomato paste in the same pan the turkey was in and brown it. I then mix in a little water in to it (not sure if that matters, but that way it is easier to mix into all the meat) and pour into crock pot. Add diced tomatoes (undrained), chopped onion and garlic into crockpot. Add any other spices you wish (oregano, basil, etc. I use fresh basil as well). Set the crock pot to low. I usually cook it for around seven hours, it doesn’t seem to get that good, blended taste until then.

This recipe can also be used for chili. Just add “Chili-“o mix (or any chili mix) and one can of deep red kidney beans (I guess the darker they are, the healthier they are).

You can also still do this if you don’t have a crock-pot. Just put it in a big pot on the stove; start cooking on medium heat and then when it appears hot all the way through, reduce to low heat for several hours. Just test it to see when it is done (I look for the onions to appear kind of red like the sauce).

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Pasta with fresh tomatoes and garlic

One box pasta (I use spaghetti or vermicelli for this)
Roma tomatoes (I would use eight to ten)
Chopped garlic (however many you’d like, I use about five)
Olive oil
Salt, pepper, oregano, basil (I often use fresh basil in this)

Boil pasta and set aside. Chop Roma tomatoes and garlic and sauté in olive oil in pan until warm, making sure not to cook the garlic too much (you can also add an onion as well). Add garlic and tomatoes to the pasta. Add olive oil (I just do however much I feel like, without going overboard) and salt, pepper and any other spices such as oregano and/or basil.

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Chicken/Steak Fajitas

Chicken breast and steak (sirloin or whatever is leanest) (I also sometimes use the Tyson chicken and steak for fajitas. They are pre-seasoned and I think they’re pre-cooked, all you have to do is add them to your vegetables to cook for a few minutes)
One package taco or fajita seasoning
Two onions
Two peppers
Low-carb/wholewheat tortilla wraps
Low-fat sour cream
Low-fat cheddar cheese

Cook chicken and steak with fajita seasoning (unless using the Tyson pre-seasoned meat). Cook onion and peppers. Make fajitas using the tortillas and add l.f. sour cream and cheese to them. You can also add low-sugar salsa. (As with the enchiladas, I try to stuff each one fuller and that way I use less tortillas. I try not to eat more than two)

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Steak Wraps

Top-round london broil (lean roast beef) from the deli (shaved)
Low-fat cheddar cheese
One chopped onion (and pepper if you like)
Low-carb/whole wheat tortilla wraps

Heat olive oil or pam in a skillet and cook onion. When tender, add roast beef and cook on high temperature until meat is cooked. Put a small amount of cheese in each wrap, add meat and then wrap it up.

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Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenderloins
2 egg whites
Whole wheat or white wheat flour
Whole wheat bread crumbs (I recently found these in the store, but if you can't find them, I also make my own by putting a couple pieces of wheat bread in the food processor)
Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
Olive oil
Salt, pepper

Mix parmesan cheese with whole wheat bread crumbs (I always eye-ball the amounts because it depends on how much chicken you are making). Add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Pound each tenderloin flat, then coat each (or you can do chicken nuggets, just cut chicken breasts into small pieces) in wheat flour, then egg white, then parmesan cheese/bread crumb mixture. You can sprinkle each with salt and pepper if you like. Fry in just enough olive oil so that they don’t stick until brown on each side (you might need to add more olive oil if it requires making a couple batches). If it’s an oven-safe pan, place it into the oven with all the chicken tenders in it, for about ten minutes at 350 degrees. If you don’t want to brown them in oil first, you can just spray a baking sheet with Pam and bake on high - 450 degrees for 10 minutes. You can also dip these in low-carb/low-fat salad dressings, or eat them on salads.

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Buttermilk pancakes

(These are AMAZING! I took a “regular” recipe and altered it to make it G.I. friendly. We add fresh blueberries and diced walnuts to the pancakes as well, which not only make them delicious, but fruit and nuts are always good on this diet. You could add any kind of fruit and/or nuts.)

1 egg, 2 egg whites
1 cup milk
3 tbsp. light butter (I add a tsp. real butter just for fun)
2 ½ cups buttermilk
2 ½ cups white wheat flour or whole wheat flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
2 ½ tsp. baking sodapinch salt
2 ½ tbsp. Splenda
Fresh blueberries
Diced walnuts

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, light butter and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar; stir into the wet ingredients just until blended. Adjust the thickness of the batter to your liking by adding more flour or buttermilk if necessary. Add blueberries and walnuts at this point (or if you don’t want to add them to the entire batter, sprinkle them over individual pancakes immediately after pouring the batter in the skillet).
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Continue with remaining batter.

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Brownies

(I suggest not baking these until your tastebuds have completely changed over to liking Splenda, and when you're at the point where you'll kill for chocolate. Then these will be delicious. Feed them to a non-dieter, though, and they might think you're crazy!)

8 oz light butter
2 cups Splenda
4 eggs (you can do two with yolk and two without)
1 1/3 cups flour (I use white wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 Tablespoon mini choc chips

Blend butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, beat well. Mix in vanilla. Combine flour, salt and cocoa, gradually add to egg mixture and mix just until blended. Stir in chips and nuts. Spread in greased 11 x 7 pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes (depending on your oven, it could go much longer. Test with a toothpick). You could use 1 3/4 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup regular sugar if you want.

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Fruit Crumble

Crust:1/2 cup white wheat flour
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup light butter
1/4 cup splenda

Mix these all together and press into 8 in pan.

Fruit Mixture:
4 peaches, chopped
½ cup blueberries (don't cut)
Splenda to taste (if fruit is sweet you can skip splenda)

Topping:1 cup old fashioned oats (not the instant ones)
3/4 cup Splenda
2 Tb brown sugar splenda blend
1/2 cup ground walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 cup light butter (till mixture is crumbly and forms together)

Put fruit on top of crust, sprinkle on topping. Bake at 350 degrees until brown. (You can also skip the bottom crust, and you can use other fruits as well, like apples)

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Hot Fudge

Baking chocolate/chocolate bar that is 70% cocoa or higher
Light butter
Splenda
Skim milk
Vanilla
Salt

I usually eye-ball the amounts for this and it never comes out wrong, so I don’t think the amounts matter that much. I usually use half a bar of chocolate and melt it in a saucepan with two tablespoons butter (sometimes I use real butter for half of it). Once melted (making sure not to burn), stir in ¼ cup Splenda (again, I sometimes use a tbsp. of real sugar with the Splenda). Stir in ¼ to ½ milk (not sure how much I use, but it shouldn’t get too thin). Keep stirring this on medium high for two minutes, then reduce heat. Add ½ tsp. vanilla and a pinch of salt.

*This isn’t the healthiest thing and I wouldn’t have it every night, but it definitely satisfies cravings once in a while!

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Yield: One (10-cup) Bundt cake or 9x13 inch cake, 16 servings

Cake Ingredients:
2 ½ cups traditional whole wheat flour (or white wheat flour)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) [*I used dark choc. Cocoa, which is part Dutch process and it worked fine]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar Splenda blend
½ Splenda
½ cup vegetable oil (or ½ light butter – if you use the light butter, omit the ½ tsp. salt)
½ cup reduced-fat buttermilk
3 large eggs (can omit one or two of the yolks)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded or chopped zucchini (2 small zucchinis)
¾ chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together the Splenda, brown sugar Splenda blend and light butter (or oil) in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add half the dry ingredients, stirring until evenly moistened. Stir in the zucchini, then the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 deg. until the top springs back when lightly touched, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. If you have used a Bundt pan, lightly loosen the cake around the edges and center by pulling it gently away from the pan with your fingers or running a thin, flexible spatula down the sides, then put the rack on top of the pan and flip everything over. Remove the pan and cool the cake completely. If you’ve used a 9x13-inch pan, you can either serve it from the pan or invert the cake onto a serving platter and drizzle with chocolate glaze, if desired.

You could make a low-fat, low G.I. hot fudge (perhaps using more milk than usual to make it thinner) for the glaze, or just eat it plain.

For a glaze:
Melt half of a 70% cocoa chocolate bar with 2 tsbp. light butter. Once melted, add ½ cup Splenda, and 1 cup milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down heat to low and stir in a pinch of salt and a ½ tsp. of vanilla. Drizzle over the cake.
(You can play with the amounts in this glaze recipe to reach your desired consistency and taste – more or less Splenda, or milk)


Other ideas for lunch/snacks:

- deli turkey, roast beef (as long as it is top-round) or ham (as long as it isn’t baked with sugar) sandwiches on 100% stoneground whole wheat bread with low-fat mayo and/or low-fat salad dressing.

- slow-cook oats (NOT instant) mixed with splenda and cinnamon (i'm serious, it's really good! we also add blueberries sometimes and I add milk)

- pizza (can also be for dinner) – We use low-carb flat bread (the brand “Flat Out” has really good oregano ones) or low-carb/wholewheat wraps. Add a couple spoonfuls of any low-fat canned spaghetti sauce and sprinkle on some low-fat cheese. We also add some turkey pepperoni. Bake under broiler for a few minutes.

- low-fat no-sugar-added Breyer's ice cream (I get vanilla, which is AMAZING, but there are also other kinds that are probably really good)

- broccoli casserole – This is a good side dish. Steam or boil a couple heads of broccoli until tender and cut up into small pieces. Add two tablespoons of low-fat mayo, two tablespoons of low-fat sour cream and a ¼ cup low-fat cheddar cheese (you can play with these amounts based on how much broccoli you have). Add some salt and pepper. Mix and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake at 350 until bubbly (or you can just cook it on the stove in a pan until it is all mixed in and melted).

- Omelets – the diet allows egg beaters or eggs with omega-3, so I make omelets with either using low-fat cheddar cheese

- almonds or other nuts - they advise not having too many, but a few are actually really good for you, and supposedly they're good to eat before meals, so I will eat just a few now and then throughout the day.

Miscellaneous ramblings

Since my last two posts were related to politics, I'm sticking with it for tonight. I have something on my mind and what better place to vent than on my blog? So... can I just say that I am so glad that this vice-presidential speculation is all but over? It has greatly affected my personal plans (my husband's days off) and I am glad to see it come to an end! And I'm also thankful the Virginia governor is out of the running because that would have really affected my life (no offense to Ry.an who would have welcomed possible travel. Sorry, honey. You would have been gone during my fertile week.)

On a serious note (although I wasn't not serious in the previous paragraph), I am very glad that Tim Ka.ine, a known Catholic, will not be the vice presidential nominee. It wouldn't have been great for the Catholic Church to have one of its members in such a visable position while also solidly pro-choice. Not that there aren't many others like this - we all know who they are - but a presidential race is different. Kai.ne would have been the "Catholic" guy on the ticket. And he would have been the poster-boy for the segment of the Catholic Church who believes it is okay to knowingly go against one of the central-most teachings of the faith. Not that Joe Bid.en isn't Catholic; he is. But "Catholic" doesn't come up in the first few statements about him like it seems to with Ka.ine. Kai.ne touted his "Catholic values" when he ran for governor and would likely have done it again.

The reason I got fired up about this tonight is because I'm watching Gre.ta VanSus.teren and she's talking about how mad "women" would have been if Kaine had been selected. And, why, you ask? Well because they don't think he's pro-choice enough. What? I understand that NA.RAL doesn't think he's pro-choice enough and didn't endorse him for governor. But, come on! If you want to kill babies, how many varying degrees of this can there be? But that's not even what got me fired up. What makes me so sad is to think of all these women that Gre.ta speaks of, who are inundating her with emails because they are so afraid that Ob.ama might pick a candidate who is pro-choice but not pro-choice enough. Probably 99% of these women are mothers. Mothers who want to protect the right to kill their unborn. Mothers. It just seems like it goes against nature. That has always bothered me.

Okay, sorry to rant about this.

On another topic.. I bought a pair of size 6 jeans yesterday! Woo hoo! They are the second pair of pants/capris I've bought in that size recently, but my first pair of jeans. And as we all know, jeans are the real test. I'm also closing in on 30 pounds lost. I'm at 27.2 right now. I truly can't believe it. I'm so thankful that my weight is no longer an issue I stress over. And it's a great feeling knowing that you'll always weigh less next week. Next month I'll be five to ten pounds less, and the month after that even less. I know I might hit a plateau some day soon, but it hasn't happened yet. And if it happens at this point, I can't complain.

I also can't complain about the food I can eat. I can basically take any food I crave and make it low G.I. For instance, tonight I'm having chicken tenders and stuffing. Seriously! My chicken tender recipe is amazing, I must say. And I'm taking my grandma's Thanksgiving stuffing recipe and making it low G.I., substituting light butter for butter, wheat bread for white bread, etc. I haven't done it this way before, so I'm excited to try it. And my chicken tenders? I put them in white wheat flour, then egg, then into a mixture of whole wheat bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. I then put them in a pan with a little olive oil and brown them on both sides. I then put them, still in the oven-proof pan, into the oven to finish cooking. So good! I then usually allow myself some honey mustard for dipping, even though it's not truly low G.I., because then I really feel like I'm eating fried food!

Since I'm on recipes, I have to post the most amazing low G.I. zucchini bread recipe ever. I made it two days ago and we can't get enough of it!

Zucchini Bread

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
l1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup splenda
1/4 cup brown sugar splenda blend
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat wet together, fold in dry slowly and stir just until blended. Pour into greased or sprayed 9x5 inch loaf pans (this makes 2 loaves. If you want to cut it in half and do one loaf use 2 eggs. The other ingredients halve very easily.) Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Make sure middle is done - springs back when lightly touched or clean toothpick extracted from middle.

If you make it, let me know how it turns out! By the way, my husband's workplace has caught the low G.I. fever. Just from seeing him and I, they want to know our secret. So several have bought the book and started it. The weird thing is I don't walk around promoting it and I don't want to be known as the "diet girl" who people have to hide their yummy food from. I've always hated those people! (not really hated, but you know what I mean...) But I guess it's a compliment if they want to do what we're doing just from looking at us.

Alright, that's it for now. Oh - one more thing - I'll be waking up bright and early for an infertility support group meeting tomorrow morning! If you can, join us!