been a long time since I felt the need to post because I have been so busy I have been living on no fat cottage cheese and toast with no fat cream cheese and blackberry jam.

Salads and fruits are rounding out the menu -lol

My daughter has also turned me onto the little 100 calorie - not fat - meringue bites from Costco - when I crave something sweet I munch on a bag of those!

I FINALLY HAVE A SURGERY DATE!!!  Dec 17th!!  I am looking forward to having my gallbladder out because I then - hopefully - will be able to ease back into the spicy foods I love - I so miss Mexican!

Tonight for Halloween, I am going to my daughter's to help with the baby so she can hand out the Halloween candy - My grandaughter is going to be a cupcake! Pictures to follow. for sure.

So tonight for dinner, I am making Butternut Squash with a Low Fat Ricotta Sherry Sauce.

Go to the following website for the recipe - want to give credit where credit is due!

I will be using chicken broth instead of the vege -

http://christinecooks.blogspot.ca/2008/02/butternut-squash-ravioli-with-ricotta.html

Thanks Christine!

A fresh green salad along with some good crusty bread will round out the meal -

Happy Halloween everyone!

AND IM BACK ....... Been a crazy couple of months. Changed jobs - had a beautiful baby girl grandaughter come into our lives on Aug 12th and spent LOTS of time on the boat this summer.

Gallbladder Update - I have had my surgical consult and have been told that if I have not heard from the surgeon with a date by mid October to call the office. I am expecting it to be late November or December.

So until then - My Fat free Adventure continues.

The upside is I have lost 35 lbs - the downside - I miss Thai, mexican, jerk, and pretty much anything spicy.
I am starting a list of food I want when I get this darn thing out.

#1 - Fish and Chips
#2 - Fajitas
#3 - Thai Green curry

So tonight's dinner is Low fat chicken strips with Oven fries.  - Do fries first and get into the oven - the chicken strips can follow in 10 minutes -

Chicken Strips. - serves 4

In 3 separate bowls -
#1 - 1 C flour - season with salt and pepper
#2 - 1 egg plus 2T cold water - beat till well blended 
#3 - breadcrumbs mixed with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper

Cut 4 chicken breasts into 4 strips each. Dip in flour, then egg then breadcrumbs. Place on a parchment paper lined pan and bake at 450F for 20-30 min or until done. 

Oven Fries - serves 4

Peel and cut 4 russet potatoes into 4 lengthwise slices and then cut each slice into 4 - place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle 2 TBSP of olive oil over the top and toss well. 
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 30-40 min or until done. 

My family likes to eat these with honey mustard or ketchup. 

have fun and enjoy!  

Well, It's been interesting this last few weeks. I have lost 13 lbs since I started on this low fat adventure.
I have found out a few things along the way.

Veges taste great without sauces or butter.

I miss butter

I miss cheese - real cheese -

The grill is my friend - BBQ chicken, fish and pork tenderloin

Things with too much acid (like margarittas) really bother me....to hard on the stomach I guess

Tinned baked beans have hardly any fat and are a darn good lunch

0% cottage cheese is my friend for breakfast
Lactaid skim milk and raisen bran is pretty darn good too!

Now the good weather is here, I am looking forward to clams and prawns on the boat.

I just have to find a low fat cinnamon bun recipe.............

Talk soon! Cheers!

June 20/2012

Low Fat Fried Rice on tonights menu  - love asian food!

Cook 4 C Instant brown Minute rice according to instructions, but use fat free chicken broth instead of the water - I use brown cause it has a lower glycemic index

In wok scramble 2 eggs and remove to plate

Chop
6 green onions
1 orange or red pepper
2 cloves garlic

Chop
1/2 C fat free ham
1 C cooked turkey or chicken breast

stir fry veges and meat in 1/4 C chicken broth - add 2 Tbsp Epicure Stir Fry mix

Add Rice and egg - throw in 1/2 C frozen peas -

Saute for 5 min until combined - great leftovers for lunch

I freeze some in 1 C portions for a quick meal -

Hi Everyone and I trust your Father's Day was spent with the people you love. I know I had a lovely dinner with my son, daughter, son-in-law, Dad and husband.

The menu was typical "Man Food" - Meat and potatoes, salad and green beans - we actually had New York Strips and Lobster tails - (On sale at Thrifty's) Whole grain crusty bread - An angel food cake with berries and 0 Fat Vanilla Greek yogurt rounded out the meal.

Here is what I did to keep my plate low fat.

Just lemon juice on the lobster tail - no butter..

Only had 1/2 a steak - no oil or butter on top

Baked potato - used 0 fat sour cream - daiya cheese and green onions - it was yummy!

green beans - no butter on the veges

Salad - I actually did not eat my salad, but I had 0 fat dressing on the table for me. (too full)

No Butter on the bread

I actually had real butter, full fat sour cream and all the trimmings for the others at the table - they shouldn't have to suffer because of me!!!

My daughter made the angel food cake and berries and even brought a low fat frozen yogurt, but I was a little worries about the fat in the steak so I choose to have the ) fat Greek yogurt instead.

I guess I am getting my head wrapped around this - just have to look for the lower fat dairy options and trim all meats. I love fruit and veges - (good thing) and the fruit does satisfy my sweet tooth.

Happy Fathers Day to everyone!

Friday June 15th -  Went to the Dr's today and he stocked me up with perscriptions to take on holidays in case of another attack, but as long as I stay relatively low to no fat with my meals - I think I will be OK.

Today was a office day and my friend Tracy from Ont.  who is visiting - was craving Thai Red curry - So I dug out a recipe and converted it. It turned out well and there is enough for tomorrow night too.

I also got a super deal on a turkey breast and roasted that - stripped off the fat and skin and sliced it for sandwiches and turkey salad throughout the week.

It was super yummy and was served over brown rice with chopped cilantro.

Thai Red Curry - Revised  - prep time about 15 min - cook time 30 min -

Serves 4

2 chicken breasts
1 C frozen cooked shrimp - defrosted and drained
1 red and 1 yellow pepper - seeded and chopped
6 stalks asparagus - broken into small bits
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion chopped fine
3 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp dried corriander
3/4 C light coconut milk
1/4 C chicken stock
1 tbsp Red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lime

Place oil in hot saute pan and cook chicken. Remove to plate. Add onions and cook till clear - add gingerroot, curry powder corriander - stir to combine - add chicken stock and coconut milk - stir in brown sugar and lime juice - add chicken back in - add shrimp - add veges - bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for about 20 min -

Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro before serving over hot cooked brown rice.

Something that tastes good and is very pretty! So colourful

The day was spent working at home with a quick trip out to get my nails done.

Dinner - what should we have for dinner? When all else fails and I can't come up with a solution from my head, - I pull one of my favourite cookbooks from the shelf -

I love The Looneyspoons series. My daughter and son-in-law gave me the Lonneyspoons collection for Mother's Day - It includes the recipes from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry - Crazy Plates - and Looneyspoons - plus more new recipes. It is filled with jokes and crazy facts - great drawings and is easy to read.

All the recipes are stripped down of calories and fat, but have a TON of flavour. If you need insperation on your weightloss or lowfat journey, pick up the collection.

I have not made a recipe that didn't turn out.

Have a look at the website - there are some recipes there to try and see if you like what they have to offer.

http://www.janetandgreta.com/    Their motto is good food - good health - good fun!

I have to agree!

Wed June 13 -

Todays discovery is Daiya (shredded cheese like substance)  It is dairy, lactose and casein free - and is also soy and Gluten free

So all my lactose intollerant - gluten intollerant friends are gonna love this!

I HATE soya cheeses - any I have tasted - are awful - A friend suggested I try Daiya, so being the adventurous type, I found it at my Thrifty's and bought two packages - one is "Mozzerella" and one is "cheddar"  - Tried the mozzerella on toast tonight and it is pretty darn good!

It melts - gets stretchy and is the best low fat sub for grated cheese I have found.

1/4 C or Daiya cheese is only 6 grams of fat! and only 90 calories.

Here is a link to the website    http://www.daiyafoods.com/             - They have recipes for sure that I will be checking out!

So glad to have daiya in my fridge! It's going to open up new recipes adventures!

Hope today was great - may you always have enough.

Low Fat Chicken Ceasar salad

Tonights Dinner needs to be quick and fast cause I work tonight - I am a lia sophia jewellery advisor and a PartyLite consultant (blatant plug) lol

Here's what I came up with

Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad with Low Fat dressing and Fat free croutons

Grilled the skinless chicken breast on the BBQ

Dressing

1/2 C not fat mayo
4 TBSP grated parmesan
1 clove garlic pressed ( Scope to the rescue!)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
Juice of 1 whole lemon

combine

Toss bagged romaine with dressing nd add croutons. Lay chicken over top

Croutons - take 3 slices whole wheat bread and cut into cubes
Lay on baking pan and bake at 350F for 15 min - stirring every 5 or until crisp.

Yummy - easy - and my fat eaters are getting crumbled bacon to add a little depth to their salad.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Bev's Bites has launched.

Well - here goes - Bev's Best Bites is launched - somedays you might get a fantastic recipe, others days it will be leftovers.

I love to cook - for others and for myself - recipes are not a challenge to me and I usually can tell what will work, just by reading the list of ingredients.

Not many failures in my 35 years of marriage, but the ones that flopped - REALLY flopped! Ask my husband and kids.

Recently been diagnosed with gallbladder disease - so it's low fat all the way - I will be trying to take recipes and convert them. - Hoping to retain flavour.

Here is todays -

Low Fat Hummus

2 cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves off garlic -peeled
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 Cup fat free mayo
2 Tbsp cumin

Throw all listed into food processor and blend away till smooth. If too thick - add more lemon juice. Great with raw veges and melba toast - or homemade whole wheat pita chips.