The Best Broccoli Salad - S

  My mom is asked to make this a lot! It gets rave reviews where ever she takes it. She was very quick to THM-ify it after we started this lifestyle. It still gets rave reviews and nobody knows it's 'diet' unless we tell them!

The Best Broccoli Salad - S

Best made one day ahead of time to let the flavors meld.

2 Heads of Broccoli

1 Lb of Bacon

24 oz of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 Medium Onion

Fry Bacon until it's very crisp. Set aside. 

Chop Broccoli head into very small florets and dice onions.

Mix Broccoli, onion, and cheese with crumbled bacon.

DRESSING

1 cup of Mayonnaise

1/4 tsp of Stevia Extract

2 Tbsp of Vinegar

 (I recommend a good brand like Bragg's)

8 oz of Cream Cheese

Mix all ingredients

 (I'm lazy. I just throw everything in my Ninja Blender)

Mix dressing with broccoli mixture and refrigerate (preferably overnight)

Flying (or not) with THM

I met with quite a challenge about two weeks ago. I was going to be flying across country and wanted to stay on plan. The flight was scheduled to be about 8 hours (including a layover).

    I knew if I was going to stay on plan I was going to have to apply brain power. I feel like I did really good. I was quite proud of my menu, actually. I'm sure others could do better ( and I do want to hear your ideas. Leave a comment!) but I was pretty happy.

My THM Flight Menu

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

Bologna and Cream Cheese Roll Ups
(you can use hard salami as well)

Trail Mix

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

These will travel fairly well if they're well chilled when you start your journey. If you think your flight may last longer than the reasonable time for your food to be safe, you can use a lunch bag as one of your carry ons. 

(Please note: My trip was scheduled for March, not the heat of Summer. This made it much safer to take without a lunch cooler.)

Did my menu execute well?

  We may never know. Everything was all packed and we were in the car on our way to the airport when we received a phone call that an ailing Uncle had passed on. Thankfully, we were able to cancel our tickets without getting charged.

   If we reschedule our trip, I'm going to try this menu again. Maybe we can at least make it to the airport ;) 

Pizza Soup - S

   This is a different name for a favorite family meal. This is one of those dishes that the only people I know that make it, is our family (and the people we've shared it with). You don't walk into a restaurant and ask for this dish. They'll look at you as if you have lost your mind. The original name is not appealing and I'm not going to share it. I don't know where the name came from originally, but they needed to get more creative.

    Thanks to Aunt Elle, who shared with me how she made this THM. I had tried a different version with cauliflower, but I think this one is more true to form. Without further adieu...

Pizza Soup - S

1 can (14.5 oz) of Pizza Sauce*

1/2 cup of Water

1 bag of Shirataki Noodles, drained, rinsed, and very finely chopped**

1 cup of frozen, shredded, or crumbled Cheese (colby, longhorn, jack, pepperjack, etc)

diced pepperoni, optional

Put first three ingredients in a large (about 7 cup) microwaveable bowl.

Microwave about 5 minutes or until heated very thoroughly.

Add cheese and stir well. If it didn't melt to you satisfaction, return 

to microwave and heat a few more minutes (about two).

Eat it and Love it!

*I didn't have pizza sauce. Well I did, but I didn't feel like opening a gallon can for this one soup.

I just used a can of diced tomatoes, that I had run through my blender cup to remove the large chunks of tomato and added about 1 1/2 tsp of Italian Seasoning.

**You could also make this with cauliflower instead of  shiratake noodles. 

On stovetop, bring pizza sauce and water to a boil. Add tiny pieces of frozen cauliflower.

Cook until the cauliflower is one step away from completely mushy. 

Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir well to incorporate cheese.

It's best if you serve this with another protein source as a side. Not necessary, but would help the soup 'last longer'. If served with more protein, this soup serves 2.

Let me know what you think of it!!

Pizza in A Bowl - S

  

 My brother (who is sort of a Trim Healthy Man) was going to bro gathering (a party with his brothers), and we knew in advance they were going to be eating pizza. I told him I would make him a pizza he could take with him so he didn't have to sit there all night and drool a big puddle all over the floor  wish he could have some.

    It was a busy day and I was running out of time. I decided instead of doing a crust, I would just do a mushroom crust, then I thought about the chicken crust, and then I realized the only cooked chicken we had, I had already cubed. Then I thought why not mix the chicken with sliced mushrooms. Then I thought why not just mix all the ingredients in a bowl he could microwave when he got there? (Weird how my brain works, I know. I just thought I'd give you a small scary glimpse)

This recipe is very hard to nail down to hard numbers. It depends on what you like on your pizza and how many people you're making it for. Below is just a general guideline. We each know how much sauce and cheese we like, make it to your taste! I will say however, you should include something such as chicken to make it a little more filling without having to eat a pound of cheese.

Pizza in a Bowl - S

Something for a 'crust' if possible 

( I used chicken and mushrooms to mock

both kinds of crusts from the THM book)

Pizza Sauce

Cheese

Any Other Topping You Like

(Pepperoni, Veggies, Etc)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

If you're making a lot for a whole family type snack you 

put it in a glass baking pan and bake until cheese is melted.

If you're making a single serving to hide in a closet and eat,

use a small microwavable bowl. Microwave until cheese is 

melted. Remember your fork before heading to the closet.

A Very THM Thanksgiving

Edited to change stuffing recipe - reduced amount of sage

Let's Talk Turkey!

 Wait turkey is about the only thing we don't have to talk about. A juicy, roasted turkey is perfectly on plan! What about Stuffing? or Cranberry Sauce? or Pumpkin Pie? And how on earth do you THMify (new word!) Sweet Potatoes??? Stick around and I'll teach you!!


   Let's Tackle the Stuffing, First!

   Stuffing?!  Yep. We used cauliflower as the base. The seasonings make it taste a lot like Stove Top Stuffing. I asked Mr. Traditional how he liked it (btw, he doesn't do 'diet' food) he said it was pretty good, but you could taste the cauliflower a little. I don't mind tasting it a little. This recipe is very customizable. I understand some folks like sausage in theirs, brown some and throw it in. Big cranberry fan? Throw some in. Not a fan of thyme? Throw it out.  Customize it to your tastes. ( I would not, however recommend throwing out the cauliflower, just sayin' ;)

STUFFING - S

32 oz of  frozen Cauliflower

1/2 cup of Chicken (or turkey) stock

1 Tbsp of Butter

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

1/2 tsp of sage

3/4 tsp of rosemary, finely chopped

1/2 tsp of thyme

2 tsp of parsley

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup of Almond Flour

3 eggs

1/2 cup of Chicken Stock

Steam cauliflower to a medium consistency. 

In a saute pan add the chicken stock and the next 8 ingredients.

Simmer until vegetables are cooked and about half of the liquid is reduced.

When cauliflower is cooked, drain well.

Add the contents of the saute pan.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir in well, chopping up any large pieces

to a more bread cube like consistency.

Put into a baking dish about the size of an 8x8 pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.

You want the extra liquid to have been absorbed by the cauliflower.

How About A Lovely Sweet Potato Casserole! It's An S Recipe!

   Next we're going to talk Sweet Potato Casserole. I must say this was the one I thought was impossible. I was going to go off plan have to figure something out because I couldn't figure out how to make change the molecular structure of a sweet potato to make it a THM S.

AND THEN..... (drum roll... chorus of angel...etc,)  I found this next recipe on the THM Facebook  page. I asked Mr. Traditional to taste test it. He said... (another drum roll... another chorus of angels... another etc) 

"I would prefer to have this on Thanksgiving instead of the usual recipe"

Yes, he said that. No, I'm not pulling your leg. This recipe is fantastic! You cannot tell it is "diet". I give this recipe 5 stars. I would give it 6 but the scale only goes up to five ;)

I don't know who came up with this recipe, but it must be said that they are, in fact, a genius. 

(If this is your recipe, let me know. I've always wanted to meet a real food genius. I consider you smarter than Betty Crocker :)

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE - S

1 Head of Cauliflower - steamed

1 c. Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp. Stevia Glycerite

2/3 c. Just Like Brown Sugar or sweetener of choice*

1/3 c. Butter - melted

2 eggs plus 1 egg white

1 c. Coconut Milk (the canned kind)

1 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 tsp. Maple extract

1/2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

Topping:

1/2 c. Xylitol

1/2 c. Almond meal (or flour)

1/3 c. cold Butter

1 c. chopped Pecans

1/2 tsp. Caramel Extract**

1/3 c. Unsweetened, Coconut flakes (optional)***

Process Cauliflower in food processor (or blender) until smoother. Add pumpkin and sweeteners and process another min. Add remaining casserole ingredients and process until very smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

While that is baking, make the topping. Mix xylitol and almond meal and caramel extract together. Cut cold butter into that. Stir in pecans and coconut (if using).

(At this point you can freeze it, if you want to make it up ahead. Putting the topping ingredients in a separate container. Then thaw and heat the casserole, covered, until it's hot, to continue recipe.)

Sprinkle topping over top of baked casserole. Increase temp in oven to 400. Bake 10-12 min. watching closely, just until browned.

* I used 2/3 cup of xylitol and 1/2 tsp of blackstrap molasses mixed together with a fork

** I didn't have caramel extract so I used English Toffee Better Stevia (liquid, from Now Brand)

*** My mom doesn't like coconut, so I decided to forgo that option.

On to the Cranberry Sauce...

    I was not really a big fan of cranberry sauce, but I thought this was pretty good. As a matter of fact there was some leftover, I think I'll take a quick break and go eat some ;) ( No seriously, I'll be right back)

INTERMISSION

Ahem... I'm back. Where was I? Oh, Yeah! Cranberries!

As I was saying, this is pretty good. I also found a cranberry sauce recipe from Serene and Pearl.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but as soon as I get some more cranberries, rest assured, I will.

Until then, here is the link to their recipe. You decide which one. If I try the recipe before Thanksgiving, I'll update this post and let you know which one I like better.

Serene and Pearl's Red Sauce

And the recipe for the one that I actually made.

CRANBERRY SAUCE - FP

1 cup of Xylitol

1 cup of Water

12 ounces of Fresh or Frozen Cranberries

8 drops of Orange Essential Oil

Combine xylitol and water in sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add cranberries and bring back to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While simmering, I use a potato masher to smoosh the berries a little.

Remove from heat. Cool and add orange essential oil.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Some Veggie Ideas 

    

    Let's see... we've addressed the turkey, the stuffing, sweet potatoes, and the cranberries.

What are we missing??.... The vegetables! Yeah, not really everybody's most sought after Thanksgiving dish. But we do have a few ideas for you to help round out your meal.

Stuffed Broccoli and Cauliflower

and

Green Bean Casserole.

It's titled something like Spinach Casserole but they mention you can use green beans. 

We did that for Easter and it was really good.

These recipes are in the Trim Healthy Mama book.

If you don't have the book, you can make cooked broccoli with browned butter.

If you don't know how to brown butter, check out this You Tube Video.

How About Something to Drink?

   Serene and Pearl have created a great new all day sipper that would be perfect for Thanksgiving! I have not actually tried this yet. I'm going to gather the ingredients and try it as soon as I get a chance. However, if you want a special drink for the holiday, this sounds like a very nourishing way to do it!

Apple Pie Sip

    

    Or you could try some THM EggNog! I made this and the family loved it! It's from a blog called New Every Morning. I haven't had a chance to stalk her blog, but after this recipe, I'm going to as soon as I get a chance!

Holiday Egg Nog

Photo used with permission

That's All, Folks, Oh! Wait!

THE DESSERT! You can't have a feast without the dessert! What kind of dessert could we possibly have for Thanksgiving? (I'm thinking, I'm thinking...) Oh! I know! How about Pumpkin Pie?

PUMPKIN PIE - S

CRUST

1 cup of pecans, ground in blender

1 Tbsp of Melted Butter

2 Tbsp of Xylitol

Mix all together in the bottom of a pie pan and press onto the bottom.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

FILLING

2 Eggs

15 oz can of Packed Pumpkin

3 Tbsp of Xylitol

1/4 tsp of Salt

2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup of Heavy Cream

Put all ingredients in a blender or mixer. Blend/mix until smooth. 

Pour into the pie plate.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

When it is cool, top with Whipped Cream

If you're not interested in Pumpkin Pie, maybe

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

is more to you're liking!

We really hope this post helps you with Thanksgiving. If you have any questions or comments, 

feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to monitor them.

However you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving, we hope you have a wonderful one.

Bacon Cheese Quesadilla - S

    I made these  quesadillas the other day and they were great (If I do say so myself, and I do)! They were so quick and easy, I'm going to put this in my lunch/snack arsenal. 

    I used precooked bacon, but you can use whatever kind you'd like. You can also use whatever low carb fillings you'd like. You could also simply use cheese and have a cheese quesadilla. Options are great!

   The Joseph's Pitas work well for this because you can stuff them better. Our local store was out of the normal sized Joseph's pitas, so we had to get the smaller ones. Perfect size for a snack quesadilla. If you want this as a meal use the normal sized pitas.

    I love onions and mushrooms. I sauteed them in a pan first and scooped them into the pita. So Good! But you might not like them. If that is the sad case, don't add them.

Bacon Cheese Quesadilla - S

1 Joseph's Pita

2-3 slices of Cheese of choice

2 slices of Bacon

Optional fillings such as onions, mushrooms,etc, sauteed

Butter for frying

Trim off about 1/4 of the top of a pita to create an opening to stuff.

Carefully hold the pita open and stuff it with the cheese, bacon, and optional fillings.

In a pan of hot butter, fry until golden brown, about one minute,

 then flip and fry until golden on other side.

Flip onto a plate and enjoy while it's still hot!

Salmon Breakfast Casserole - S

This recipe is a fantastic whole foods breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack! Best of all worlds.
I love salmon, and spinach, and cream cheese, and eggs. There is no way for me to lose with this recipe (except weight)!

    It is a great way to get your Omega 3's and is a cinch to whip up. It only takes 35 minutes to bake as opposed to the hour some breakfast bakes take. I don't know about you but when the natives get restless around here, an hour is too long. Somebody ( most likely the cook ) could die in that time.

  The first time I made this recipe I just cut in in half and baked it in an 8x8 pan. I will never make that mistake again.

    Just to clarify, it turned out really well but when we were done eating it, there were only two pieces left for me to hide save for later. I put one in a container in the fridge and the other I hid  saved in the freezer. From now on I will just make the whole recipe and have more to... ahem, save.

    If you are someone who cannot fathom eating fish for breakfast, fear not. This would be perfect for a quick lunch/supper also.

    This recipe was posted on Trim Healthy Tuesday by the  Beatitudes, Blessings, and Broadcasts blog. The original recipe calls for fried radishes. I have not tried them yet but feel free to add them if you'd like.

Salmon Breakfast Casserole - S

2 (14.75 oz) cans of Salmon

1 box of frozen Spinach, thawed*

8 oz Cream Cheese**

16 Eggs

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Grease a 9x13 pan. Layer salmon on the bottom ( I remove the bones first).

Drain spinach, layer over salmon. Cut cream cheese into cubes, dot over the top of the spinach.

Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper, pour evenly over the pan.

Bake at 370 F for 35 minutes

You could sautee mushrooms and/or onions and add if you'd like. You could also add tomatoes, etc. Make it how you like it!

This would make a nice Fuel Cycle meal for an S day, just don't add the cheese. 

* I used a can of spinach when I made half of the recipe, you could use 1 or 2 cans (drained) instead of the frozen.

** I would imagine you could basically use whatever cheese you wanted.