Turkey Low-Carb Meatloaf

Captain Handsome is heading out to watch the hockey tonight (which I don't favour) and I had some extra lean ground turkey thawed in the fridge. Perfect combination for meatloaf (which the Captain doesn't favour). The Captain won't touch the stuff and I needed to use up the meat.

I searched online for low-carb meatloaf recipes, and adapted this one from Keto Krazed. Right now my Meatloaf is in the oven. If it's awesome, I'll be heading back to Keto Krazed for more recipes. Ha

Ingredients:
Meatloaf:
1 1/4 lb extra lean ground turkey (it's embarrassing how long it took me to find out how much turkey I had in my Costco pack, I needed to do a google search, then a conversion, now I've revealed that to you, loyal reader/s. When I discovered that it was just over a pound of meat and I thought of the 42 I've now lost, I felt pretty good, though.)
1 oz Balderson aged cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tbsp Heinz ketchup (I have to pick up some low-carb reduced-sugar ketchup, I used the regular stuff, as that's all we have right now.)
2 eggs

My best kitchen tool - the garlic roller!

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp fresh ground sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
Sauce:
1/3 tomato, chopped into tiny pieces
1 tbsp ketchup
1.5 tsp Splenda

Process:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mixing it up!

-Mix all meatloaf ingredients in one bowl (remove eggshells if you broke some into the bowl, as I did)
-Mix sauce ingredients in another bowl
-Spray a loaf pan with Pam (and try not to drop greased pan into sink full of dirty dishes, as I did)

The raw meatloaf.

-Spread meat mixture in loaf bowl

Sauced up.

Sauced up - from another angle.

-Spread sauce on top of meat mixture
-Place in oven and cook for 42 minutes

(Makes four servings)

Nutritional Information:
(per serving)
Calories: 270
Fat: 14 g
Protein: 34 g
Carbs: 8 g
Fibre: 0 g
Sugar: 4 g (that's the ketchup!)
Net carbs: 8 g

Yum or Not:
I intended to cook the meatloaf for 35 minutes, but when I peeked in, the internal temperature was not yet at 145 degrees and there was a juicy looking layer on top. I gave it another 8 minutes to see if it would cook off. It didn't really.

Fresh out of the oven, complete with meat thermometer and juicy, fatty liquid.

I'm not sure why this fatty/juicy coating emerged. I suppose I usually drain off some fat when I cook turkey, but it's not a lot. I guess with meatloaf, you usually use breadcrumbs, and those would soak up this stuff.

The meatloaf with the juicy, fatty topping removed.

It wasn't a big deal, as I scooped off the juicy looking layer (it was a bit like meat fat/egg yolk) and the meatloaf looked better.

Fortunately, I didn't judge until I tasted and I'm glad I waited. The meatloaf is really tasty. I'd say this is another yum. The meatloaf is flavourful and moist. The topping is especially tangy and nice. The mix of herbs and spices in the meatloaf worked perfectly. I will be making this again. I wonder if I can convince the Captain to eat it? Perhaps if I form it into a patty and tell him it's a burger!

Grandpa's classic asparagus - boiled in a pan of water, drained, and topped with Italian dressing and asiago cheese.

I served my generous slice of meatloaf with asparagus topped with Italian dressing and asiago cheese. It may not look like it in this picture, but the meatloaf slice was awesomely hearty and satisfying.

My leftovers. Three meals worth.

Overall, another yum (and low-carb) dinner.

Next steps: I would like to make a Low-Carb Turkey Shepherd's Pie with a cauliflower topping.

Maple Dijon Chicken

This past week has not been a great one for food. Well, it's been great taste-wise, but health-wise it's been less than awesome. I have returned to work on a volunteer basis and that's been exhausting. I don't even have energy to do the groceries or cook. I need to get myself back on track. I've worked so hard to get to where I am and I still have a long, long way to go.

Tonight's dinner got me right back on track and was fresh and tasty.

Without further ado, Maple Dijon Chicken.

This recipe is based on dinner I had at a friend's house several years ago. She was using the last bits and pieces of what was left in her fridge and came up with this yummy combo. Over the years, I've made versions of this, and tonight I tried to go as low carb as possible (next time, I'd reduce the maple syrup, maybe use a little maple extract).

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, sliced into little pieces with all the nastiness removed
1/2 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
3 tbsp Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese - Garden Vegetable flavour (this was the only flavour I had in the fridge, I would have preferred to have had plain cream cheese)

Process:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Cut chicken into itty bitty pieces and place in cooking dish
-Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle olive oil on top
-Cook chicken for 10 minutes
-In a bowl, combine mustard, syrup and chicken broth
-Flip chicken and cook for another 5 minutes
-Cover chicken with mustard, syrup and chicken broth mixture
-Cook for another five minutes in oven

I love how simple it is to whip up a sauce that complements a meal.

-Pour drippings from chicken into saucepan on stovetop, add cream cheese, heat and reduce (about 5 minutes) (this creates the sauce)

A few minutes of broiling does a lot for the chicken's texture and gets rid of any sliminess.

-Set oven to broil, cook chicken for 3-5 minutes to crisp up a little bit
-Serve chicken with a little bit of sauce

(creates 3 servings)

Nutritional Information:
(per serving, includes sauce)
Calories: 190
Fat: 8 g
Protein: 14 g
Carbs: 15 g
Fibre: 0 g
Sugar: 13 g
Net carbs: 15 g

Yum or Not:
I served this with a great big pile of brocolli. The Captain got butter on his, mine was plain. The chicken was flavourful and the sauce added a nice creaminess. This was extremely yum and very easy. We will definitely be having this meal again.

Like I wrote earlier, I could have cut the maple syrup in 1/3. If the taste wasn't maple-y enough, I would add some maple extract (yes, that's a thing. It's awesome with bacon). This dinner could retain the delicious taste without being so high in carbs (as I'm trying to stay under 20 net carbs a day, 15 in one meal is high!).

I'm such a fan of making sauces from the drippings. This cream sauce added a lot of texture and deliciousness for very few calories. I wish I'd had an open bottle of white wine, because a little splash of that would have been lovely.

Fried Eggs on Cheese Crisps

I've been skipping breakfast lately and really noticing it. I've been waking up and not feeling hungry, so haven't bothered to whip up my regular egg scrambler/messy omelette. That ends up sabotaging me later in the day, though. I end up feeling really hungry and overeating.

I have realized that breakfast is, indeed, the most important meal of the day and that if I have a huge dose of protein first thing, I feel much better all day. 


On the weekend, we planned to pick up amazing breakfast treats for a visiting friend at the Art-is-In Bakery (I was going to have an open-faced breakfast sandwich). We drove up to the loading dock that houses the amazing bakery and found it was closed (oh yeah, Easter is a holiday for bakers too).

Luckily, there were two little shops open in nearby Westboro and Captain Handsome picked up fresh Montreal-style bagels and bacon at The Bagelshop and I got some eggs at Herb and Spice.

When we got home, I got cooking and decided to skip the open-faced part of my breakfast sandwich and stick the eggs and bacon on cheese instead. Yay, fewer carbs!

The Captain and our guest both passed on eggs, so I whipped them up some pancakes (I didn't even have a bite, despite the real maple syrup!)


My mega protein brunch kept me going and helped me to resist having thirds of my brother-in-law's amazing stuffing later in the evening!


Ingredients:
2 fresh eggs
1/2 c Kraft Tex-Mex shredded cheese (light)


Procedure:
Eggs:
-If you're having bacon, cook it first and leave some of the fat in the pan to make ultra yummy fried eggs. Otherwise, melt a little bit of butter into the pan.
-Crack two eggs over the pan, heat on med-high, cover, cook for 2 minutes or until most of runny bits are no longer runny.
-Flip eggs and cook for another 15 seconds or so.
-Serve on top of cheese crisps.
Cheese Crisps:
-Rip a piece of parchement paper so that it fits on top of a microwave safe plate.
-Take a handful of shredded cheese and split into two even piles on top of parchment paper.
-Flatten cheese out evenly.
-Cook in microwave for 1 minute.

(makes one serving)

Nutritional Information:
(per serving of 2 eggs and 2 cheese crisps, bacon would be extra)
Calories: 305
Fat: 23 g
Protein: 25 g
Carbs: 3 g
Fibre: 0 g
Sugar: 1 g
Net Carbs: 3 g

Yum or Not:
This was really tasty. I didn't include the bacon, because the bacon I had wasn't awesome and I didn't include it in the photo. Overall, a simple and yum breakfast. I didn't feel deprived. The cheese underneath the eggs was crispy but a little melty because of the heat of the eggs.

When I was little, one of my favourite breakfasts was fried eggs with toast fingers to dip in the yellows. The crisps under the eggs served as a bit of a toast consistency and soaked up some of the yolks. These were a lovely substitute for bread.

Once again, yay for cheese crisps!

In other related news: My mother-in-law, who is incredible chef and loyal reader, has oven-baked cheese crisps for years, but has always had to move ultra fast to remove them from the cookie sheet so they don't stick. She is now using parchment paper (at my recommendation) and has realized what a wonder it is! 

Turkey Peri Kebabs

Aw! Look who else thought their dinner was Yum! Introducing Ap and Trixie. Two more taste testers at Yum or Not. They gave two yums up for their Fancy Feast Chicken Liver Pate tonight.

Tonight, I created a super simple dinner. I thought we'd be keeping half of the food for leftovers tomorrow, but the Captain had three servings!

Turkey Peri Kebabs

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Nando's Medium Peri sauce
12 oz boneless skinless turkey breast (leftovers from one of the huge ones I got from Partyville, USA - the Kosher Butcher), sliced into small strips
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped into large pieces
Sea salt and pepper
4 wooden skewers

Procedure:
-I marinated the turkey overnight in 3 tbsp of Nando's Medium Peri marinade (purchased at delicious Nando's. If you haven't been there, go.)
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Slice turkey into small chunks
-Slice onion into small chunks

-Thread alternating chunks of turkey and onion onto each skewer
-Sprinkle remaining marinade onto skewers, season with salt and pepper

The skewers got a little burnt. I'm going to look into how to prevent this in the future. Can you soak them before putting them in the oven?

-Bake in oven for 10 minutes, flip, cook for another 10 minutes
-Broil for 5 minutes (to add a little crispiness and emulate BBQ)

(makes 4 kebabs)

Nutritional Information:
(per one kebab)
Calories: 127
Carbs: 5 g
Fat: 1 g
Protein: 23 g (yay, turkey!)
Fibre: 1 g
Sugar: 2g

Yum or Not:
I served this with green beans and baby carrots. Like I said, it was an ultra simple dinner.

I told the Captain that I wouldn't be offended if he didn't like this dinner, as it was
SO freaking simple. He ended up loving it. He did have a little trouble getting the meat off the skewers, though.

This will be a great one to replicate when I have no time to prepare something, I can just whip this together.

You could easily add different veggies to this or use a different marinade.

Really, it's probably not worth posting this recipe, it's that simple, but today was a big day for me. Dinner was a simple success after a wonderful weigh in. I reached a milestone. I've lost forty pounds since December! It's a pretty exciting milestone for me and I felt like blogging!

So, a yum dinner and a happy night!

Spaghetti Squash Low-Carb(onara)

Tonight, I tried something completely new. I roasted a spaghetti squash and had it sitting in the fridge and wanted to have a decadent, pasta-type meal. I also had a few slices of the yummiest bacon left from my new favourite store, The Produce Depot, just hanging out in the fridge.

One of the message boards I lurk on Reddit is keto (people doing a ketogenic, low carb, high fat/protein diet) and someone posted a photo of their version of low-carb pasta carbonara. I didn't read or save the link or recipe, but I think I had the basic idea. I was inspired as I considered what I had in the kitchen.

I gave 'er a go.

Read on to see how it went.

Spaghetti Squash Low-Carb(onara)

Ingredients:
1 small spaghetti squash (nets about 2 cups of squash "noodles")
5 slices of smoked bacon
1/2 c frozen peas
Thin slice of red onion, diced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light plain cream cheese
2 tbsp 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c part-skim Mozarella cheese
1/4 c Asiago cheese

Procedure:

-Pre-cook the spaghetti squash (slice in half, roast at 350 degrees for 45 min-1 hour, face down in a little bit of low-sodium chicken broth)
-Spoon out the seeds from the squash and use a fork to pull out the strands of deliciousness, put aside (this refrigerates and keeps nicely for a few days)

-Pre-heat oven to broil
-Cook the bacon on the stovetop

Gratuitous bacon shot.

-Remove the bacon and cut into small strips, return to pan
-Add garlic, butter, onions and peas and to pan with bacon, sautee for about 5 minutes (or until peas are thawed and warm)

-Add cream cheese and Greek yogurt and sautee for another few minutes

-Add spaghetti squash, stir

-Add mozzarella cheese, stir until cheese is melted

-Divide mixture into 3 oven-safe dishes (ramekins, if you have them), top with asiago cheese

Pre-cheese.

Cheesed-up.

-Broil in oven for a few minutes (keep an eye on your cheese and watch that it bubbles, but doesn't burn)

Three little soldiers, hard at work, getting yummed up.

I had to top two of the servings with mozzarella, as I only had enough asiago for one. The mozzarella browned/burned really quickly. Next time, I'd put asiago on top for all of them.

-Enjoy!

(makes 3 servings)

Nutritional Information:
(per serving)
Calories: 245
Carbs: 8 g
Fat: 17 g
Protein: 12 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugar: 4 g

Yum or Not:
This was really, really delicious, and because Captain Handsome's wary of both peas and spaghetti squash, I have two leftover ramekins of Spaghetti Squash Low-Carb(onara) leftover for myself. The taste of spaghetti squash is nice. It's a little nutty and inoffensive, but the consistency isn't quite pasta-esque. The taste of this dish was terrific, but still doesn't replace a pasta craving entirely. I wonder how this recipe would be with a larger veggie base, something like roasted cauliflower.

Overall, the taste was super-yum and the consistency was good, but a little like baby food. I'm sure you can see that in the pictures. Don't let that turn you off the recipe, it was really great!

Big Bowl Turbo Salad

Have you seen Being Sarah Marshall? In it, Jason Segal is depressed and eats a bowl of cereal, but no ordinary bowl will do. He grabs a giant salad bowl (like one you'd serve salad to a whole family in) and fills it with a sugary cereal and plops down on the couch to dig in.

The other night, I was super hungry and I knew our shallow little individual salad bowls would not satisfy my ravenous appetite. I grabbed a big serving bowl for my giant salad.

When I arrived to the living room with my dinner, Captain Handsome called me Jason Segal.

Ingredients:
3 cups herb mix baby lettuce (this is so awesome - it has a whole mix of baby lettuces, plus fresh cilantro, dill and parsley)
1/4 c bean sprouts
1/4 c pea pod sprouts (I am in love with micro-greens)
1/2 chopped tomato
1 slice of red onion
1/4 chopped fiji apple
2 chopped strawberries
1/4 avocado
1 oz low fat feta, crumbled
2 tbsp homemade vinaigrette 

Procedure:
-Combine all ingredients
-Toss
-Enjoy!

(Makes one hearty serving)

Nutritional Information:
Calories:300
Carbs: 25 g
Fat: 11 g
Protein: 10 g
Fibre: 8 g
Sugar: 17 g

Yum or Not:
I added a bit of leftover Prosciutto Basil Turkey to this salad for some extra protein. It was super tasty. Although it was relatively high in both carbs and sugar, it was worth it because of the the added tastes that the fruit contributed. You could easily leave out some of the fruit, but I had it in the kitchen and wanted to use it up!

I wish I'd had a hard boiled egg ready to go to toss in to up my protein, as I know how much that fills me up, but I was overall, very satisfied with my Turbo Salad.

I loved this salad, and I felt great after eating it. Sometimes, I find I need a real bulk of food and this certainly hit the spot. I was eating for a LOOONG time!

Filet Mignon and Caramelized Onions

Tonight I made my first ever steak!

I don't generally prepare red meat. Actually, I pretty well NEVER prepare red meat. I sometimes cook pork tenderloin, but I think of it as "the other white meat". I have a bit of a complex about this. I call it my "Vegetarian Hangover". I was a vegetarian for years as a teenager and have gone back to veggie ways in little fits and starts in adulthood. I hate preparing or eating any meat that looks anything like an animal - thus, no seafood, nothing bloody, nothing fatty, nothing touching or near a bone. I realize this may sound neurotic to some, but if you get it, you get it.

However, two weeks ago, while cleaning and organizing our hoarding-disaster of a basement, we discovered an obscene and wonderful hoard of change. We decided to reward our sweaty selves with (first a shower, then) a romantic date to a steakhouse that we'd heard great things about. We'd tried to get in before for an anniversary and Valentines, but had been denied reservations.

Our basement money treated us to an incredible 3 hour long meal that was a feast for the senses, but as I told my physiotherapist about it (I have an active social life), he told me he never goes out to restaurants where he can replicate the food at home. My co-blogger and sister-in-law, TJ, often says the same thing.

Because of my Vegetarian Hangover, I thought I was incapable of preparing steak. Something miraculous happened today, though. I was at my favourite store, The produce Depot, loading up on veggies and some fruits and realized I needed some protein. I headed into the deli and picked out some sliced meats and sauntered into the refrigerated meats section, usually a scary area for me.

I have been pretty diligent about researching and recording everything that I'm eating, so even before we went to the steakhouse, I checked out the menu online (I'm so determined, I even had to download the PDF) and then read about cuts of meat. I learned that the filet mignon (French for cute, by the way) is the leanest cut. I was pretty happy with that choice at the restaurant, and Matt was envious, even with his New York Striploin that was much larger.

When I spotted three adorable (I can't believe I'm saying that about chunks of dead cow) chunks of filet mignon sitting in the refigerator at Produce Depot, I knew I was into a new territory of cooking and my house would become a steakhouse tonight.

One problem. I have had no idea how to cook red meat.

Thank goodness for the Internet.

Ingredients:
3 filet mignon steaks (about 5 oz each)
1 tbsp finely minced garlic
1 tbsp evoo
4 tbsp butter
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper
1/4 c red wine
1 thinly sliced Vidalia onion

Process: (thank you Yahoo! Answers)

-put two pans on stovetop, one for onions, one for steaks

Steaks:
-season steaks on both sides with salt and pepper
-heat 2 tbsp of butter in steak pan at med-high heat
-when butter starts to bubble, add garlic and stir
-place steaks in garlic butter and sear on each site for 2 minutes
-reduce to medium heat
-baste filet with butter, cooking for four minutes on each side for medium rare (add 2-3 minutes for medium, well done, etc.)
-remove from heat

Sauce:
-using drippings (butter, garlic, oh my!) from steak, add oil, remaining butter and wine to saucepan
-increase heat, reduce, stirring frequently

Onions:
-heat 1 tbsp of butter in on med heat
-add onions and stir frequently (for about 15 minutes or until golden brown and soft)

-Serve one filet next to onions with sauce on top

(makes 3 servings, although I only ate about half of mine)

No, that is NOT blood. I have a Vegetarian Hangover, remember? That is the tasty sauce I made! Red wine, baby!

Nutritional Information:
(per serving)
Calories: 490
Carbohydrates: 6 g (onions are sugary!)
Fat: 30 g
Protein: 41 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugar: 3 g


Yum or Not:
Oh gracious. This was the definion of a moist, flavourful cut of meat. We ate this with our grown up (me) and little kid (Captain Handsome) salads. Captain Handsome's was gone in moments and he's taking the third serving for lunch tomorrow.

You can't tell, but this is my grown up salad. There is a bunch of baby lettuce and various sprouts hiding beneath the cukes, tomatoes and feta. This actually looks a lot like the Captain's little kid salad!

From what I read, it was a good thing we still don't have our BBQ out, as this lean cut of meat gets dried out in the fire.

This was my dinner - I didn't even need the steak knife. The meat was THAT tender.

You may have noticed that this was a HIGH fat recipe. I am currently trying out a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet (based on Ketogenic diets). So far, it's going great for me. The key is to eat a tiny amount of carbs each day, so that your body learns to burn fat. It's amazing, but I'm eating butter and bacon and losing weight at the tune of about 2 lbs a week. It's kind of awesome, but it does mean no bread and no sugar, so there's that.

Pork Tenderloin with Apples and White Wine

I wanted to create a fancy-pants version of pork chops and applesauce and had a pork tenderloin in the fridge. Parts of this worked really well, and I learned some lessons from this attempt.

I made this recipe up after googling how to cook a tenderloin and deciding to try searing for the first time!

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin - trimmed of that shiny grey fat that is on the outside
1 c reduced sodium chicken broth
1 c white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1/2 coarsely chopped Vidalia onion
1 coarsely chopped apple

sauce:
drippings from roast
1 tbsp butter
1/2 c white wine
2 tbsp light cream cheese, plain

Process:
-preheat oven to 350 degrees
-salt and pepper, sear pork tenderloin on stove top
-combine all ingredients in casserole dish
-cook for 20 minutes at a time, checking temperature of tenderloin and covering mean in sauce periodically
-sauce: take 1/2 of drippings from casserole dish after pork is done cooking and place in saucepan on stovetop at med-high temperature with wine, butter and cream cheese, mix until bubbling
-slice pork, serve with sauce, onions and apples

-Makes four servings

Nutritional Information:
 (including sauce, per serving)
Calories: 290
Carbs: 10 g
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 25 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugar: 8 g

Yum or Not?
 I served this with a big salad (including the delicious vine ripened tomatoes that I found at the fruit and veg store this week) and broccoli and green beans.

The pork was a little tough when we ate it. I used a meat thermometer and cooked the pork in 20 minute increments until it reached the recommended temperature next to the outline of the pig on the meat thermometer (170 degrees). This took nearly an hour at 350 degrees.

I did some more reading after dinner and I think this was at least double the amount of cooking time that I needed.

Next time, I will sear the pork for longer on the stove top. I let it get barely white on each side (about 1 1/2 minute per side), next time I'll let it actually brown before putting it in the oven. I may also turn the temp in the oven up to 375. Apparently, to kill any dangerous suckers in pork, you only have to get the internal temp up to 145 degrees. Also, I know that if I tent the meat for a good 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven, it will continue to cook and all the juices will soak in nicely. I didn't do that this time.

Overall, the food was super, duper tasty and even though the meat was a little tough, the tastes were fantastic and just sweet enough.

I will definitely replicate this recipe, it was totally yum. Captain Handsome liked this, but prefers red/brown sauces to fruity/white sauces, so he stuck with one serving.