Quick Tip - Flexible Cutting Boards

I've found when I freeze Skinny Chocolate and other THM desserts it works best if you use a pan lined with parchment paper. But *sigh* parchment paper is expensive. I've found an effective and cheap way to get around that! I use flexible cutting boards! This does not work for baking! If you're just freezing something (like skinny chocolate or Fudgy No Bake Cookies) this works great!

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)

Special Occasion Strawberry Lemonade Cake - S

    I made this wonderful cake for my Mom for her birthday. It was a hit! We ate way too much of it. Even the non-THMers were caught snitching pieces.

    Don't be intimidated by this picture. You don't have to be a cake decorator to make it. It just might not look as nice ;) My instructions won't include any cake decorating equipment.

Special Occasion Strawberry Lemonade Cake

1 Recipe of Special Occasion Chocolate Cake from the Trim Healthy Mama Book

(Page 384 - omit cocoa powder)

1/2 Recipe of Singing Canary Pudding

(made very thick and refrigerated overnight)

1 1/2 Recipes of Whipped Cream

1 Lb of Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Sliced.


Bake cake according to directions (remember to omit cocoa powder ) in
two 8'' round cake pans. Allow to cool completely.

Place first layer on a cake plate. Spread a good amount of the Singing Canary Pudding
on top (no more than 1/2 of the amount but that might be a little much). Add a single
layer of sliced strawberries. Place second cake layer on top. Ice sides with the Whipped
Cream. You 'll want it to be fairly thick as this is the only 'icing' the cake will receive.
On top add more Singing Canary Pudding ( try to keep it from getting too close to the
 sides or it will 'bleed' down the cake) and the rest of the sliced strawberries.

If you're going for a good presentation, you might want to just hold the last layer
 of pudding and strawberries for right before you serve. If you do that you
can also add whipped cream to the top when you ice the cake.

If you want to make this patriotic, use blueberries with the strawberries!

Grab a grandson whose birthday is two days after your's, make a wish and blow out the candles!
(Last step is optional)

Happy weekend, everybody!

Zucchini Tomato Stir Fry - FP

    I don't know if you can actually call this a stir fry. I've never seen  'The Official Rules of Stir Fry'.

It just seemed like a good name.

    This tastes like fuel pull comfort food. I wanted something warm and satisfying, that wasn't actually Satisfying (you Trim Healthy Mamas know what I mean). This fit the bill perfectly.

    I offered the other serving to my Mom. She said it didn't really look like something she would like,but in the spirit of all good mothers, she tried it. And ate the rest of it. We didn't have a sniff left.

    When I made this, I used tuna fish. I would have preferred to use chicken but we didn't have any readily available. I was actually surprised it tasted as good as it did. I will definitely be making this again!

    

Zucchini Tomato Stir Fry

Serves 2

1 Zucchini

1 small can of Diced Tomatoes

6 oz Lean Meat

Sprinkle of Garlic Powder

Sprinkle of Onion Powder

A Little Pepper

A few slices of Jalapenos, optional

Drizzle of Liquid Aminos

Small Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese, optional

Slice zucchini very thin and put in a skillet on medium heat.

Drain most of the juice from diced tomatoes and add to skillet.

Add lean meat of your choice (diced or shredded or whatever)

Add spices and optional jalapenos. Cook until zucchini is tender.

Remove from heat and add Liquid Aminos and Parmesan Cheese.

Enjoy!

Jalapeno Popper Dip - S

    I love Jalapeno Poppers. Those really good Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers ones are on plan. BUT..

I had a bad experience de-seeding jalapenos once. Correction, I did not have the bad experience, my aunt and small cousins did.

    My (very pregnant) aunt was visiting our house with her small children and I set about to make these. Her twin 7 year old girls wanted to help. I let them. This was in my less brilliant days (I was 18).One of the girls actually squirted jalapeno juice into her eye. The other one rubbed her eye with the juice on her hands. They screamed bloody murder for about an hour straight. No kidding. It wasn't pretty. I still feel very, very bad about this. At least we laugh about it now (very softly and nervously. kidding)    

Therefore, to this day I try not to de-seed jalapenos too often. I will brave it occasionally, but only when there's no little kids with in 50 miles of our house. 

Now, I just make a dip and use the sliced jalapenos from a jar. Much safer, although it could still be dangerous to small children.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

4 oz of Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp of Sour Cream (or Greek Yogurt)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp of Jalapenos, chopped (from jar)
6 strips Cooked Bacon, or to taste
Small Splash of Liquid Aminos
Sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast
Sprinkle of Garlic Powder

Quick Tip - Fast and Easy Whipped Cream

    I hate strongly dislike having to use our Kitchen Aid Mixer every time I want just a tiny bit of whipped cream.
 
    I know... I could just buy an aerosol can of it from the grocery store, but that doesn't really appeal to me for multiple reasons. One being, I live with 4 brothers.
   
    Some of you don't understand what that has to do with anything. Others are nodding theirs heads in sympathy. It makes perfect sense to you.
 
    I cannot tell you how many cans of whipped cream I have brought home and used once or twice and then the rest of the can disappears. Everybody denies even knowing it existed, much less actually touching the can. It's a mystery..... So it's not very cost effective.

    Now, after figuring out my nifty new trick, I can have a tiny bit of whipped cream whenever I want.

How do you perform this modern marvel, you ask? Very simple. 

Pour however much cream your little heart desires into a blender cup.

Add a quick dash of Vanilla and sweetener.

Twist lid on cup. Blend until you see the consistency change.

This will be about 5-10 seconds (I think, I've never actually timed it).

I don't know how this will do with bigger amounts (like a full cup) but I'll try it someday when I want that much. Until next time, Happy cooking!

Singing Canary Pudding!! - FP

    This is very cool! I love the Singing Canary but I don't always drink it in a timely fashion. I also didn't particularly care for the Lemon Mousse recipe in the Trim Healthy Mama Book. My mom loves it, but I always thought something was missing. 

    Well Mom and I agree. This is great!!! It should have all the same health properties of the drink version (except maybe the hydrating one because your not drinking water with it). This is BURSTING with flavor. And what a pretty color! I might make this for the nephews and niece when they visit next. I would love to get their feedback.

Singing Canary Pudding - FP

1 Batch of the Original Singing Canary Recipe

1 1/2 - 2 tsp of Glucomannan

Make the Singing Canary Recipe as per instructions.

Do not pour over ice and do not add more water.

Leave concentrate in Blender.

Slowly add the glucomannan and blend, blend, blend.

A good method is to add about 1/2 tsp, blend for 2-3 minutes, let it rest for about 1 minute.

Add 1/2 tsp, blend for 2-3 minutes, let it rest for about 1 minute, etc.

 until you have reached desired consistency.

Remember, it WILL thicken as it sits in the refrigerator.

note: If you don't like the white pith in your Singing Canary drink, don't put it in here.

I left the turmeric in mine for the added health benefits. You could omit it if you'd just like

a nice lemon pudding (but it wouldn't be the eye-opening canary yellow).

Enjoy!! Let me know what you think.