Strawberry Shortcake has to be my most favoritest dessert on the planet. Galaxy even. I pretty much don't say no to any dessert really (life is about moderation after all so yeah, I still eat dessert on occasion, just instead of a portion the size of my head, I eat only a couple bites) but shortcake is my absolute favorite. Come on now, drool with me. Doesn't this look so splendiferous? I promise it tastes BETTER than it looks. No really, it does! And even better you can throw any fruit filling that you want if strawberries aren't your thing (if they aren't, I'm totally giving you a "you're so weird" look but pretend you don't see it). Peach, lemon curd, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cinnamon apple, cinnamon pears, only your imagination is the limit.
Growing up, my family ate Strawberry Shortcake with the berries smashed to a bloody pulp and mixed with equal (my Papa was a diabetic) poured onto the store bought shortcake cups, drowned in Half & Half, and topped with whipped cream. I'm pretty sure we drowned the cakes in Half & Half to make them less rubbery and really we put so much berry pulp and whipped cream on them you could have held the cake and we probably wouldn't have noticed. They looked disgusting as it was a melty smooshy hot mess but it was splendiferously wonderful and I was always heartbroken when my bowl was empty -- which was too soon because I horked it down so fast.
However, since my surgery, if I'm eating baked goods it's going to be goods I've baked. That way I can control the amounts of fat, protein, sugar, and healthiness of them. Because while I believe life is moderation and there is room for dessert, why not try and make it somewhat good for you too if you can do so without sacrificing on the flavor? Exactly. There's no reason not too.
I've pretty much given up all-purpose flour when I bake. Not because I'm allergic to gluten or have an intolerance or that I don't like it but because the healthy aspect of almond, coconut, and oat flours is so high and with higher grams of protein why wouldn't I switch? I like to mix them up for different textures, light versus dense, and of course I always add in at least one scoop of protein powder. When you can only have a handful of bites you need all the protein punch you can get.
And do they get the Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval. Yes they do! Two thumbs and a big toe up. Way up. Neither the husband nor 4ft (Grumpers and Bear want nothing to do with this dessert. Strawberries, bleh -- they really are sick and twisted kids) had any idea how healthy these were for them and both of them loved them. They're requested again and again... and that's just fine by me because if I could, I'd eat them all in one sitting. They're that good.
I live near Stockton, and every year they have an asparagus festival (it's a big deal 'round these parts) and every year I go just for their deep-fried asparagus. If you've never had it, you're really missing out. It's seriously nom-a-licious
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Sorry, I was having a moment. Where was I? Oh yeah, asparagus.
Since my surgery, I struggle sometimes with things that are heavy in oil or have too much breading (which is a good thing I guess -- helps me behave) so I thought why not try something along the lines of the zucchini fries since they were such a big hit, but with asparagus instead (as I was feeling nostalgic for deep-fried asparagus).
Asparagus is another veggie that 4ft swears he hates and refuses to eat. I've recently come to the conclusion that if I bread it, call it "fries", and give him ketchup for dipping, he'll eat ANYTHING! He inhaled these, doing a little butt shake (not making this up), and making happy noises. He happily had seconds. It was amazing. And while they're not deep fried asparagus (because, really, what is?), they are really delicious and a lot better for you too.
This is the greatest baked potato EVER! The best part about doing baked potatoes this way is that all the flavor isn't just on the skin -- it's on the inside too. We normally load up a baked potato with butter and sour cream at the very least (sometimes we get fancy and do cheese, bacon, and chives), but these we ate straight from the oven without any additions. They were that good. 4ft especially loved that he could pull them apart and eat them with his fingers (I did too, I love playing with my food and any excuse to do so is awesome).
I don't eat a lot of potatoes because hello starch and carbs and not a lot of protein but if I'm going to eat one, it's this way. Its a definite healthier alternative than loading a baked potato with all the fixings.
4ft hates zucchini (what's wrong with that kid, I mean really? zucchini is delicious) and he refuses to eat it because, "It's the grossest stuff on earth, Mom." Sometimes I wonder how that kid came out of me. Anyways...
Every once in awhile I like to screw with my kid (because I'm an awesome mom) and take something he swears he hates and disguise it. Then I masterfully trick him to eat it. Me: Try this. Him: Okay. Me: Well? Him: It's delicious. See how masterfully done that was?
So, I did that with zucchini. I cut them the size of McDonalds-sized fries (because is there really a more perfect french fry anywhere?) and baked them up til they were golden brown. The kid loves ketchup, so I gave him ketchup for dipping (ranch is also seriously nom-a-licious to dip in as well) and gave him a stack of "fries". He ate one, made yummy face -- shocked big eyes and big smile (why he always does the surprise face, I don't know. I rarely ever feed him something he doesn't like) and then with piggy snorts inhaled the rest of his, Grumpers' (who couldn't be tricked -- the only fries to eat are McDonalds and how dare I suggest otherwise), and Bear's because she couldn't be bothered to come to the table. Then he tried to steal MINE!
I cackled evilly and told him he just horked down zucchini. Again with the surprised look and then he asked me if I was magic because only someone with powerful magic could make zucchini taste good. I told him I was and he better watch out. "For what? You going to turn me into delicious food?" I don't know where he got his smart mouth *cough*his dad*cough* (and for those of you who immediately thought me, watch out! I've got powerful magic!)
Welcome to Day 3 of Use-Up-the-Beer-A-Palooza.
There is a restaurant in the Bay Area that has a "Dirty Shrimp" dish. As near as I can tell its a bunch of seasoning cooked onto the shrimp and then doused in beer. It's really good. However, as anyone who follows this blog regularly knows, my family is picky and they won't eat fish. I tried to convince them shrimp wasn't fish but they didn't buy it. So as with the scampi, I figured if it is good on shrimp it'd have to be good on chicken, right? Right. The chicken turned out delicious. It has a bit of a kick but not too spicy as 4ft and I ate it no problem.
Friday, January 31st, was Chinese New Year. 4ft brought home chopsticks from school and I thought it'd be fun to make an Asian inspired dish so he could use them. Something to know ahead of time. I love, Love, LOVE Chinese food. I would eat it everyday if I could. Every. Single. Day. My family, on the other hand, hates, Hates, HATES Chinese food (so they say) and so I rarely if ever get to have it. Funny thing though, when I make food with Asian flavors my family horks it down, making delicious piggy sounds, and always going back for seconds. How does that work, I ask you? I have no idea but that's how it is.
Since my surgery, I don't like citrus anymore. I used to love oranges, orange juice, orange flavoring -- orange chicken being one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Rooting around in my cupboards, I found a can of pineapple in 100% pineapple juice. Inspiration struck. So I put all the Asian flavors into the pineapple juice that my family hates, stir fried the chicken, cooked down the sauce, served it on a bed of garlic cous cous and my family inhaled it. Inhaled It! And of course, I scored "World's Best" Mom, according to 4ft, for making something especially for his chopsticks so he could use them.
Today was a comfort food sorta day and one of my go to meals for comfort is pork chops and gravy. When I was a kid (one hundred years ago or more -- I'm like Methuselah old) it was said by those who say (whoever they are) that you had to cook the crap out of pork so you had to have the gravy (that came out of a can) to wash it down. Luckily for everyone pork doesn't have to be cooked to cardboard levels anymore and it's even better with a drizzle of Bourbon Mushroom Gravy. The gravy is a total bonus for someone with a bariatric procedure because we can't drink while we eat (tummies are too small -- no liquids for at least 10 minutes before a meal and none for at least 30 minutes after). A lot of my dishes now are saucy because of that reason alone.
This recipe was a win: The whole family liked it (even Grumpers ate some -- and that's saying something).
We eat a lot of chicken. A lot. I'm pretty sure I cluck in my sleep, just sayin'. But it's the easiest meat for my stomach to digest which is why I make it more often than not. So I'm always experimenting with different flavors to keep it interesting because food boredom is a terrible, terrible thing. And so is fresh herbs going bad in your fridge, by the way, which is how we ended up with this yummy chicken dish.
I love pad thai but since I don't have a lot of room in my stomach for the noodles, I thought it'd be cool to make the chicken separate and have a little noodles on the side. Well, I didn't have noodles -- which I'd discovered after having made the chicken. I also found that my basil was going to go bad if I didn't use it. So I chopped it up and threw it on the chicken. Oh. Em. Bee. It turned out so delicious. I served it with a quinoa and kale side dish I picked up from Costco to which I added a little light sour cream and corn too (it was good, but I wouldn't buy it again).
Since having my surgery, I can't eat bread anymore -- for whatever reason this is a common occurrence in bariatric patients. I'm told eventually that will change and I'll be able to eat bread without it killing my stomach but who knows when that will happen. And to make matters worse, toast is supposed to be okay but I can't eat that either. So, I've had to get creative when it comes to lunch when I don't have leftover dinners (which is what I normally do for lunch). This is my favorite go to lunch right now add a vegetable or small salad and you're set!
