Imitation Crab - don’t do it!

Stolen from “Maria Mind Body and Health” as posted on Facebook today.....

What exactly is imitation crab? First of all per serving, it has 15 to 20 grams of carbs! The last I checked crab didn't have any carbohydrates. So where do they come from? It starts with an overly processed white fish (Cod) and fortified with sugar, sugar, and more sugar. Cod is used primarily because it has a mild flavor that easily takes on the flavor of real crab meat, but also because it is cheap. 

To create the "crab meat", they mince up the flesh of the fish, and suck out the water to make a thick paste known as surimi. Then they add starch (usually wheat or tapioca) to stiffen up the mixture. It wouldn't be our modern food supply without sugar...so they add that for a preservative so it can last forever in our fridge! Then they add egg whites to stabilize the "crab" which adds gloss and shine. Vegetable oil are also usually added to enhance the texture. If that wasn't gross enough... to create the proper color and flavor, manufacturers add a variety of artificial flavorings; such as, carmine, caramel, paprika, and annatto extract – which, also adds the pink color found in real crab meat. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is also found in some brands to help enhance the flavor. Now is that something you really want to eat?

So - there we go - if you have to have crab - splurge and go for the real stuff or better yet - wait for crab season next year and treat yourself to some locally made ‘crab backs’ - that’s something worth splurging on!  But probably best avoided whilst on the serious IP phases because I’m sure it’s cooked with lashings of butter!

As for some interesting IP friendly nibbles - for those of you who have yet to try kale chips - get yourself a head of kale - chop off the stalks - make sure it’s super super dry then pop it on a baking sheet with a spray of olive oil, some sea salt and black pepper and some garlic and/or onion powder (optional) - pop it in the oven at around 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes and enjoy some crispy crunchy ‘chips’ - makes a good pre dinner nibble - you’ll want to eat it straight from the oven though as the kale doesn’t hold its crispiness for long.

Bon apetit!

Weigh-in update

Tony and I had our 3rd weigh in on Wednesday - we've been IP’ing for 3 1/2 weeks and Tony’s slowed down from his usual 3lbs to my 1lb but is still doubling my progress - very annoying!  That said, I’m obviously very slow on the pounds with only 4lbs down in total since the beginning whereas Tony is down 9lbs.

As depressing as that appears on the surface (I know someone who’s lost up to 11lbs in just 1 week!), incredibly, my BMI is down 5% and Tony’s is down 4% - this puts us well in to the “acceptable” category and almost into the “fit” category! :)

In addition, I’ve lost 2” off each of the major areas (hips, waist and of course chest) and Tony’s about the same - so although neither of us have lost major pounds - the overall results are pretty major and I’ve gone down a full dress size.

Lastly, Tony has not been on blood pressure meds for 3 weeks and his blood pressure seems to have stabilized around where it was when he was on the meds pre-IP and has not experienced any digestive discomfort which is something that has plagued him for the better part of this year.

As you can imagine, I’d like to see the pounds go down a bit faster but really am so pleased with the results as they are - my goal is to enjoy our bottle of 1999 Chateau Pontet-Canet for our 13th wedding anniversary at the end of October and so we’re now focused on making that happen!

Despite the above, we’re still enjoying experimenting with recipes and we’ve discovered the eggplant french toast is very versatile - today we put a few leftover slices in the oven topped with a little rhubarb (previously simmered with a splash of water and a little stevia) - baked it for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees and then served it topped with IP vanilla pudding mixed with a little cinnamon - almost like rhubarb bread pudding with vanilla custard!  Don’t knock it until you try it :)

I hope you are enjoying ‘eating your way to your goal’ as much as we are!

Happy week ahead.

The Whole Wheat Conspiracy (& Delicious Fish Pie)

Excerpt taken from today’s blog from my new friend Maria of ‘Maria’s Nutrional Blog’…

“We all know that sugar is bad, but we mistakenly believe complex carbohydrates are healthy and we need to eat them in abundance. BUT what if I told you that "Complex carbohydrates" and "Whole Grains" are just glucose molecules hooked together in a long chain; the digestive track breaks it down into glucose...also known as sugar. So a "complex carb" diet and a "sugary" diet are pretty much the same thing.

“Whole wheat bread is high in sugar, higher than some candy bars and sugary sodas, and some scientists have proven that two slices of whole wheat bread will raise your blood sugar levels as high as if you were eating a candy bar.

“Sugars are the simplest form of carbohydrate; which can be natural such as lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar), or can be refined such as sucrose (table sugar). All starchy foods, like potatoes, and sweet foods, like fruits, raise blood sugar quickly. When digested they are immediately absorbed into the bloodstream, causing an increase in the hormone insulin. Insulin clears sugar and fat from the blood and to be stored in the tissues for future use. This causes weight gain. No matter where the carbohydrates come from; 4 grams of carbohydrates equal one teaspoon of sugar in our body. Let me say that again…4 grams of carbohydrates equal 1 teaspoon of sugar in our body. So with that thought, a small Blizzard has 530 calories and 83 grams of carbohydrates; which equals 21 teaspoons of sugar. A nine ounce bag of potato chips equals 32 teaspoons of sugar!”

There’s some serious food for thought.  Although us phase 1 IP’ers can’t do complex carbohydrates just yet – the purpose of IP or any major diet change is presumably to improve your health and so it’s vital not only to watch what you eat during the initial phases of IP but know how you plan to ‘re-integrate’ into ‘normal eating society’ whilst maintaining optimal health where possible – this may not have occurred to many of you but as someone who can lose a weekend in planning menus, reading recipes, shopping for food, preparing food and eating food – this is something I give enormous amounts of thought to and so I found it interesting to read and digest the above and also the example she provided below of 2 different breakfasts – you will not believe the difference..

Option 1: 1 cup SMART START Cereal (with 1 cup of skim milk and a banana)

472 calories, 105 carbs, 4g fiber = 25.25 tsp of sugar in blood (IF you didn't add any sugar!)

Option 2: 2 eggs, with 2 cups of mushrooms, peppers, onions

190 calories, 9 carbs, 3g fiber = 1.5 tsp of sugar in blood

So when transitioning from the various phases and getting onto maintenance (one day – soon come!), I highly recommend you think twice before reaching for the ‘healthy whole grains’ and consider instead the other options available to you.

In the meantime and in order to end this posting on a lighter note, I’ve included below my recipe for a spectacularly tasty and very healthy fish pie for those in need of some comfort food.

Fish Pie (Serves 2 - adjust quantities as needed)

1 x IP Leek Soup

8oz wild salmon fillets, skin removed, chopped into bite size chunks

8oz shrimp, peeled and deveined and chopped into bite size pieces

½ - 1 scotch bonnet pepper or thai chili pepper

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 celery sticks, grated

1 large handful of fresh spinach

Broccoli, broken into small pieces (optional but if using you will need to steam first)

Mushrooms, sliced (optional but if using saute them a little first)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spring onions, chopped (optional, for garnish)

Cauliflower mash (recipe below for your ease of reference)

Make the mash cauliflower and keep warm

Preheat the oven to 400°F

Place all the ingredients (except the mash) in an oven proof bowl – mix well (don’t worry, the fish will cook just fine).

Make the leek soup using 4-5oz of water and pour over the fish mixture – make sure everything is well coated (don't worry if the soup is quite thick - the lemon juice and juices from the fish will lighten it.

Pop the mash on top of the pie and use a fork to make tracks in the mash and place in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Serve with a mixed green salad

NOTE: IP also offer a mashed potato mix and this might be nice to try with that instead of the cauliflower - as this serves 2, I suggest half the first night with half the following night (it reheats well) and then that's 1 full IP food at each serving :)

ENJOY!

Mashed 'Potato'
1 head of cauliflower
splash of olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
garlic powder
Boil the cauliflower for approx 15 minutes, drain well, mash in a food processor adding the remaining ingredients - taste and adjust seasoning as necessary

Healthy Hearty IP Mushroom Soup

We’ve been enjoying the IP mushroom soup this week a variety of ways and with interesting vegetables added accompanied by a side salad of local mixed spicy greens with a little fennel, it really does make for a very substantial meal.

Mushroom soup (use any of the following veg up to your 2 cup maximum)

1 x packet of IP Mushroom soup

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1/2 to 1 cup of mixed mushrooms (I use button and oyster)

a large handful of fresh spinach

1/2 to 1 cup of any or all of the following vegetables,

okra (washed trimmed and steamed in a splash of water)

cauliflower (as above)

broccoli (as above)

green or red peppers (if using, saute these with the mushrooms)

1/4 - 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

1 tsp Mccormick granulated onion

1 tsp Mccormick garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh garlic crushed)

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 spring onion/scallion finely chopped

a few fresh basil leaves roughly chopped or torn (optional)

Add a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan - while the oil is heating, microwave or steam the vegetables of choice - once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms (and peppers if using) and scotch bonnet and let them saute and sweat for a few minutes - add the spinach and stir until wilted.

Mix the IP soup per the directions (add to 8oz water and shake well), then add the remaining vegetables, the granulated onion, the garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Pour in the soup mix and stir until heated through.

Serve with the spring onions and the basil if using.

Bon apetit!

French Toast for Breakfast

DO NOT knock this until you’ve tried it!

Although IP’ers are only allowed aubergine (or eggplant to those on the American side of the pond!) twice a week, I promise it will be worth making this one of those 2 occasions.

I have copied this recipe (with a little adjustment e.g. olive oil instead of butter) from a blog I’ve been following and although there are plenty of recipes on the blog we are as yet unable to try, I recommend you check out this blog - there’s many more recipes to try that are IP friendly and many I’m sure like me you’ll want to try as you graduate onto the maintenance phase of IP - link to the blog below...

http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/

“French Toast”

1 aubergine/eggplant

Sea salt

2 eggs & 1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla (possibly not strictly IP - although the ‘only’ ingredient is vanilla it has been extracted with 41% alcohol - oops!)

Stevia

Olive oil

Cinnamon (optional)

Fresh ground nutmeg (optional)

Walden Farms Pancake syrup (optional but recommended)

Peel the eggplant and cut into slices.  Sprinkle a small amount of salt onto the eggplant.  Turn the eggplant pieces over and sprinkle a small amount on the other side - let it rest for 2-5 minutes to let the bitter juices come out a little.  Pat dry with a paper towel.

Mix the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon (if using) and stevia in a bowl.  

Put the eggplant in the egg mixture and poke holes into it with a fork to allow the mixture to penetrate.

Spray the pan with a little olive oil or if you don’t have a sprayer just drizzle a little oil into a frying pan on medium heat.

Cook the ‘french toast’ until golden brown.  Then flip and do the same on the other side - top with a little more cinnamon and some nutmeg and some Walden Farms pancake syrup 

ENJOY!

I challenge you to make this for your husband or wife or kids - those not on IP and see if they can guess the ‘secret’ ingredient!

Note:  We tried it without the pancake syrup because we don’t have any in stock but I would highly recommend it with the syrup - think that’s about all it was missing to really complete the picture (except perhaps a few blueberries and strawberries - soon come!)

Mmmm Mmmm Meatballs

Last night I think we had one of our best IP meals yet – we enjoyed meatballs in tomato basil sauce with mashed ‘potato’ and roasted asparagus with a side of ‘melanzana’ (aubergine/eggplant salad).  Aubergines as we all know are only allowed twice a week and we thought this was definitely worthy of a once a week treat especially as we do grow our own aubergines so are just grateful they’re not totally banned!

Recipes…

Meatballs (serves 2 – feel free to adjust quantities as needed)

10oz lean ground sirloin (I buy a 1lb 4oz pack and split in 2 and freeze the rest for another time)

½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, crushed

½ yellow onion, finely chopped (or a healthy sprinkling of onion powder)

1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional), deseeded and finely chopped

1 large aubergine (preferably cooked per the below but can be pierced and microwaved for 6 minutes, turning once)

Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands – DO NOT overmix – just until all ingredients are incorporated.  Form into little meatballs – you should get about 14 of them – chill until ready to use.

To cook, either bake them on a lightly oiled tray turning frequently to brown on all sidesor sauté them in a non stick frying pan with a very light drizzle of olive oil – brown on all sides until done.

When ready to eat – sauté some mushrooms (regular or mixed, i.e. oyster, portabella etc.) – add the meatballs until warmed through and then add 1 x IP tomato basil soup mix mixed well with only 5oz water – heat through and serve on top of the mashed ‘potato’ (read cauliflower!) with lashings of fresh chopped basil and roasted asparagus and a side of the melanzana.

Melanzana (Aubergine/Eggplant Salad)

1 large aubergine, either cooked per the above or preferably per the below.

2-3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

To cook the aubergines, place directly onto coals after you have used the bbq and leave until they have collapsed entirely – you will want to turn them once but they can be left overnight  - the coals will of course eventually die out – if nervous you can leave them on the bbq grill but better to place them on the coals.

Once collapsed and blackened on the outside, leave to cool and once cool, scoop out all the flesh and add the remaining ingredients – mix well and chill.

Serve as an accompaniment to the meatballs.

A trio of dry spice rubs

We’re experimenting with marinades and spice rubs and have just made 3 different spice rubs for some pork loin that Tony is smoking as I type.

We soaked the pork loins in some chicken stock, a splash of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, a few garlic cloves and a pinch of stevia.

This morning I removed them from the soak and dried them and then coated them with various dry rubs before leaving them on the smoker for a few hours (they went on around noon and we took them off around 3pm).  Having tried them, and as delicious as they are, I think I would possibly sear them first preferably on the bbq but even without doing that, they still look,  smell and taste pretty good (if I do say so myself!).  I made quite big batches of the rubs so have them on hand and just thought it was nice to do it that way especially if you have the storage capacity.

I think any of these rubs should work well with most meats although so far we’ve only tried them on the pork loins.

Recipes as follows (I recommend buying the big McCormick jars from Cost-U-Less where possible) - I’ve simply given the ingredients and for all of them you simply need to mix well and leave in a sealed container until ready to use.  They will last for some time.

Coffee Rub

1/2 cup ground coffee

3 tablespoons chili powder

3 tablespoons sea salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon stevia (once/if back on sugar, I would substitute this for 3 tablespoons brown sugar)

Very tasty - would probably work very well on steak - possibly too much for chicken.

Smoked Paprika Rub

3/4 cup smoked paprika

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup sea salt

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder or ground onions

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon stevia (as above but double it)

Porobably mine and Tony's favourite - a very nice blend of flavours.

Paprika Pepper Rub

1/2 cup black pepper

1/2 cup paprika

1/4 cup sea salt

4 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon stevia (as above)
Really good but with a serious kick - be warned!

Our IP Friendly Dinner Party...

Two fellow IP’ers came for dinner last night and I have to admit it’s the first time I’ve had a dinner party without some welcoming ‘amuse-bouche’ and especially without any wine to wash the whole thing down with - so this is what we had....(recipes below)

Welcome ‘cocktail’ of ginger lemonade

Main course consisting of surf and turf (6oz filet mignon accompanied by 3 shrimp weighing in at an additional 2oz), roast asparagus, mashed ‘potato’ and grilled portabello mushroom.

All finished off with our favourite dessert of rhubarb and vanilla pudding with a touch of cinnamon.

It was all surprisingly ok - a glass of wine would of course have been lovely (a nice meaty red to go with the steak!) but it was all very do-able and certainly a meal worthy of our pre (and hopefully one day post!) IP days and one we’ll certainly do again.  So the recipes for the lemonade, the shrimp and the mash are given below.

Ginger lemonade

Take about 2-3 inches of ginger and peel then grate (I use the large grater not the zester for this).  Place in a cafetiere if you have one and if not any glass jug or bowl will do.  Boil the kettle and once boiled, pour about 1 litre of water on top of the ginger and leave to steep for 1/2 hour to an hour.  Meanwhile, juice 2-3 lemons.  If using a cafetiere simply pour the ginger juice into a jug, if using a bowl, sieve the ginger juice into a jug to get rid of the bits - add the lemon juice and about 1/2 tsp stevia - mix well and serve chilled with ice, a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint.   CHEERS!

Chili Ginger Mint Shrimp (given on an earlier blog but repeated for your ease of reference)

2-3 (uncooked) shrimp per person (if accompanying the steak as above)

1/2 inch of ginger, peeled and finely grated (I like to use the zester so you get lots of the juice)

zest and juice of 1 lime

splash of olive oil

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint

1 thai red chili pepper or 1/2 scotch bonnet or a shake of some crushed red pepper

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped

Mix the ingredients together - let the shrimp marinade (in the super duper marinator (see earlier posting on the subject) or even overnight) - pop the shrimp on skewers and bbq as normal.

Mashed ‘Potato’ (also given on an earlier blog but improved here!)

1 head of cauliflower

splash of olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

garlic powder

dijon mustard

Wash and break up the head of cauliflower.  Bring a large pot of water to the boil - pop in the cauliflower and simmer for 10-15 mins.  Drain well (BUT reserve about 1/2 cup of the water) - leave to drain until the cauliflower has somewhat dried out.

Place in a food processor with a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of the cauliflower water, add a teaspoon of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper, a teaspoon of garlic powder and a generous teaspoon of dijon mustard.

Process until you have the smooth consistency of mash potatoes.

Serve with some chopped parsley, chives or spring onions.

For an interesting variation you can also add steamed leeks to the mash - just add after the processor stage and mix well.

Rhubard and vanilla ‘custard’

1 pack of vanilla pudding mix

1/2 rhubarb stalk

sprinkle of stevia

cinnamon

Roughly chop the rhubarb (this is for an individual portion - when I make it I usually make a bigger batch and either keep in the fridge or freeze until I need it), place it in a pan with a splash of water - you do not need to cover the rhubarb just wet the pan - the rhubarb will also release some juice when cooking.  Bring to a boil then simmer gently until the rhubarb has broken down - leave aside to cool then chill in the fridge until ready to use (best to make this the day before).

Make the IP vanilla pudding mix per the instructions, add a sprinkling of cinnamon and mix well.

Pour the vanilla pudding into your ramekin for serving and top with a dollop of rhubarb.

BON APETIT!

IP Friendly Escovitch

Another IP’er tried this out the other day - called it “lazy mans escovitch” but she says it was super tasty so I certainly look forward to trying it - perhaps this weekend.

If you want to give it a go you will need the following,

8oz filet of fish of your choice

Lemon juice

Garlic powder

white vinegar

seasoning pepper, scotch bonnet pepper or chili pepper of your choice

1 tsp of olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Green onion, chopped

Wash and dry the fish and douse in lemon juice and then season with sea salt, pepper and  garlic powder

Put 1 tsp of olive oil in the pan and let it get really hot then add the fish - let it get nice and brown then splash the top of the fish with a bit of white vinegar - throw in the seasoning or other pepper(s), flip the fish until it’s done.

Serve topped with green onion and accompanied by some roasted cauliflower and an arugula salad.

Enjoy.