Mental Musings & a Nice Pork Chop recipe!

I am finally walking without assistance and feeling more stable. I am looking to get some good shoes to start doing a light amount of Zumba to continue losing weight and strengthen my whole body, not just my right leg. My brother gave me the training DVD's for a birthday present, but of course I couldn't do anything then because I was still in the cast and wheel chair. I have started using the starter disk just helping my brain to remember the dance steps. This is why I chose the Zumba for working out since I loved dancing when I was younger. So we will see how it goes.

So today it rain, not a little sprinkle but a big old, late winter soaker. Thankfully, it stopped around 2 in the afternoon. Some days, I love rain, but this has been such a wet winter I am really over it. Needless to say, I slept in. And when it came time to fix our dinner, I was having trouble getting inspired. Then I had a little nudge that pushed me to try something different and yet, not too much of a change.

Richard had picked up a Family Pack of Pork Chops the other night at the store. I divided the pack and put 4 of the chops in 2 vacuum seal storage bags in the freezer. The last two I put in the fridge. Richard said he would love chops today. So I stood and stared dumbly in the fridge for a few. I pulled out a zucchini and then said "nope" and put it back. I looked at the eggplant and decided I didn't have the time. I thought about spinach and saw we only had a small amount left. But we had a ton of cabbage. Richard really loves cabbage. 

Suddenly I thought about giving it a bit of a German Country flavor and I had Granny Smith Apples. And inspiration struck. I don't know if you have ever tried Apples with Cabbage, but it's a wonderful combination. Gives that slight tart flavor without being salty or too strong. Add some Rice and the pork chops cooked on the George Foreman Grill and voila, a simple and delicious meal that really took just 25 minutes between prep and cook time.

Grilled Pork Chops with Cabbage & Apples over Rice

2 Pork Chops (Season with Garlic Powder, Black Pepper & Meat Tenderizer)

1/2 head of Cabbage chopped up into medium sized pieces.

1 Granny Smith Apple, cored & sliced

1 Tblsp Anise Seeds, crush lightly with your fingers as you add to the cabbage.

1 Tblsp Oregano

1 Tblsp Oil (I used a nice Wok oil made with Safflower Oil infused with Lemon Grass and Thai Basil)

1 cup Brown Rice

2 cups Water

Salt to taste

First I seasoned the Pork Chops and set them aside.

Then I cut up the apple and put it in the Fry Pan with the Oil and let it start to cook on Med Heat. While this is starting to cook I cut up the Cabbage adding it right away. I added the Oregano and Anise Seed. And sprinkled just a bit of Lime Salt. Stirring a bit to get the apples turned so they don't burn. I covered with a lid and turned the heat down to Medium Low.

I put the water on to boil adding a small amount of Sea Salt to taste and added the rice. Since it takes brown rice longer to cook I add it before the water gets to a boil which helps to soften the hulls quicker.

At five minutes before time to serve I put the Pork Chops on the George Foreman Grill. They were nice and thin so they cook fast.

The Cabbage with Apples so complimented the Chops, I plan to do this again.
(Made this again, but forgot the Anise Seeds, added garlic and Green onion instead. Good, but missed the seeds.)

Okay, I am sorry to say I didn't last on that diet program. Not for a lack of effort. But I am already so limited with food allergies. This just limited me beyond my ability to feel satisfied.

So, even though I am not sticking to the letter of the diet, I am still losing. Mostly due to the fact I am watching the carbs and fats. But occasionally, I take a break and make something a bit fattier because it just tastes so good. And it isn't fair to stick Richard to such a strict diet when he doesn't need to lose like I do.

Today was a looser interpretation of the diet day. True I made fish, a very low fat white fish called Swai. Similar in flavor to Catfish, but very lean. Here is the recipe I created and Richard raved over. In fact his words were, "You need to make this often. And you should publish the recipe too!" So here it is.

Swai Florentine

Half a bag of Fresh Spinach
1 tsp- Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute
Garlic Powder to taste (I used approx 1 tsp)
2 Swai fillets
1 can - Cream of Shrimp Soup (Campbell's)
1/3 cup Mayo (Or yogurt to lessen the fat content)
1/4 cup chopped Green Onion
1 tsp Dill
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tblsp - oregano
1 tblsp - cilantro
1/3 cup prepared roasted peppers (see earlier recipe)
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

I used herb scissors to cut up the spinach and covered the bottom of the 9x13 baking pan that I had lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

I sprinkled the Trader Joe's and Garlic Powder over the spinach.

I washed and dried the fish and put the two fillets side by side over the top of the spinach.

In a mixing cup I mixed the can of soup with the mayo and remaining spices. I spooned and spread this mix over the top of the fish.  Over this I sprinkled the roasted peppers and topped all of it with the bread crumbs. I lightly sprayed the crumbs with oil to brown them.

I put the pan into a preheated 375 degree oven and baked for 15 minutes then lowered to 350 degrees for another 5 minutes.

I served over white rice.
The next time I make this I will take pictures and or video tape the process.
Video is now published on YouTube.com. You can find it at:
http://youtu.be/AX-pZ8yKLeA
I made a slight variation to the recipe, added Broccoli Florets, I didn't have the Green Onion or the Roasted Pepper in the dish this time. And I home made my bread crumbs as I was out of the Panko. I hope you enjoy the video!

2 Dressings for Salads and More!

So, this week I started a "6 Week Body Makeover" plan. The program is found at http://www.provida.com. This program is really a way of changing the way you eat for your body type. For me, Body type A, I have to cut out all Salt, Oils, Fats, Refined or pre-processed products and no Dairy, no Red Meat. With my already limited diet due to food allergies, this is really limiting me on protiens I can have. Egg Whites, Chicken Breasts, and fish like Halibut are my choices for protiens. And since no Salt or Oil, that means no mayo or salad dressings. So I got online and looked for recipes. I found two that sounded interesting but they were not truly complete. They left out measurements. So I did some playing with the ingredients and this is what I came up with.

To replace Salsa, Ketchup, etc I now make:

Roasted Pepper Dressing:

Ingredients:

1 Roasted Red Pepper (skinned)
1/2 Roasted Yellow Pepper (skinned)
5 cloves of Roasted Garlic (Instead of using oil I put a bit of Basalmic Vinegar on the garlic before roasting it. Flavor is great.)
3 - Plum Tomatoes - diced
tsp - Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
1/2 tsp - Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 Cup - Basalmic Vinegar

Was Peppers and place on baking sheet.
Clean the Garlic Bulb of outer paper skin and cut the top just a bit to reveal the cloves. Drizzle with a small amount of the Basalmic Vinegar. Wrap in aluminum foil making a pouch.

Roast the peppers and garlic in a 350 degree oven. You will need to turn the peppers at least once.
Remove Peppers after 20 minutes. Let Garlic Roast for another 20 minutes until it's soft.

Put the Peppers right from the oven into a container and cover to sweat them. After about 10 minutes you can take them out and the skin peels off very easily. Once peeled cut up removing the seeds and put into a food processor. Add the cloves of roasted garlic, the tomatoes and all spices and blend until almost smooth. Add the Vinegar and put in a container. This is a wonderful sauce for topping chicken or fish. I love it for a bit of a kick in my salads too.

You can refrigerate for about a week.

I made extra peppers when I did this and the other peppers and the rest of the garlic I cut into smallish slices and put into a container with a bit more vinagar. I use this in my egg white omlets.

The other sauce is more a salad dressing and also a great fish marinade.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:

1 cup Fresh Cilantro roughly chopped
2 Limes Juiced & Zested
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Cumin
2 Tblsp Fine Herbs (I get this herb blend at Fresh Market)
3 Cloves Roasted Garlic (see above recipe)
2 pkgs Stevia (I use one I get at Whole Foods, but Truvia works)
I added about 2 oz water to make it a better salad dressing.

Mix all ingredients in the food processor. Store in a well sealed container.

This is a nice topping for chicken dishes too. But fabulous on fish.

As I get further into this diet I will add more recipes. And I will update pictures as I lose weight.
Here is my "BEFORE" Picture: