Duchess Cauliflowers

Ingredients:

  • 1 cauliflower
  • 1/2–1 teaspoon half  salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • Chopped chives or the greens from 2 green onions
  • 2 tablespoons light margarine
  • 2 extra large eggs
  • 1/3 cup psyllium husk

Directions:

  • Cook the cauliflower until soft and tender. Carefully pour out all the water.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
  • Add the half salt and the margarine to the hot cauliflower and purée until smooth.
  • Add the eggs and again purée until smooth.
  • Add the psyllium husk and whisk until smooth.
  • Let the mass stand for 10 minutes.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with Canola Pam.
  • Take a pastry bag with a large star tip and pipe rosettes or florets on the parchment paper. I didn’t have one so I just spooned them on the paper that was sprayed with Pam.
  • Bake the duchess cauliflowers for 15–40 minutes. The baking time depends on the size.
  • Serve warm.

I did find them a bit on the plain side. I would say needs some garlic powder, paprika or some spice as well to give it a bit of kick.

Credit: Maria Papadopoulos

Zoodle Pastitso

Ingredients:

For the Main dish

  • 1 package of extra lean ground beef
  • 3 zucchinis made into zoodles
  • 4 sprigs of fresh basil
  • Half salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/8 cup of Pizza Nova sauce
  • 2 tsps of nutmeg
  • Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herbs
  • Olive oil

For the Sauce:

  • ¼ cup of Carbquick
  • Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1-2 teaspoons parmasean cheese
  • 2 cups unsweeted almond milk

Directions:

  • Heat oven at 350F.
  • Sautee your ground beef. While its browning add chopped 2 springs of the fresh basil, some half salt, your nutmeg, pepper and Mrs. Dash to taste. When almost cooked, add your Pizza Nova sauce till cooked. Spread ground beef on the bottom of your casserole dish sprayed with Pam.
  • Add olive oil to your frying pan. Sautee your zoodles with some half salt, the rest of the springs of basil (chopped), pepper and Mrs. Dash till its sort of looking “al dente”. Spread that on top of your meat.
  • In a sauce pan on medium heat add around 3 tablespoons of olive oil (maybe 4) and your carbquick. Wisk your roux. Add 2 cups of your almond milk, your cheese and your nutmeg. Wisk till thickened. (It won’t be thick like a true béchamel sauce but it will be close enough). Pour the mixture evenly over your zoodles. Pop into the oven and cooked till brown on top.

Credit: Maria Papadopoulos

Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs pork tenderloin cut in 4 pieces
  • enough turkey bacon to wrap each piece twice. secure with toothpicks
  • 3/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp minced dry onion
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp. wine or white vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp no salt.
  • dash of pepper
  • 1/2 c splenda and mix all ingredients well.

Method:

  • in a dish mix well the soy sauce,  dry onion, garlic powder, wine or white vinegar, no salt, pepper, splenda
  • wrap meat in bacon put in 8×11 pan
  • poke holes in meat,
  • pour mixture over meat and refrigerate overnight.
  • bake in oven 300/ 2-3 hrs
  • if bacon starts to burn place a piece of foil over the dish and continue cooking.
  • remove from oven when done and cut into 2″ pieces and allow sauce to soak thru meat.

This dish is very good and meat tender.

Credit: Shirl Heaps

Poonified Fish Cakes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups shredded fish (any fish should do)
  • 2 cups steamed cauliflower mashed
  • 5 green onions finely chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp summer savory
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp fresh chives
  • pepper

Directions:

  • Mix all together till well combined.
  • Heat olive oil in fry pan. Using a spoon drop portions of fish batter into pan. Fry each side till browned.
  • I served with some sugar reduced ketchup….

Credit: Deb Spence

Getting Older

Soon, I’ll no longer be middle aged. In just a few (probably) short years I’ll have joined the ranks of those who can get senior rates at restaurants, hotels and banks.

I suppose that’s a good thing. After all, who doesn’t want a discount. But then it makes me wonder about the future and are my best years behind me? I don’t think so. In my mind I’m still young. Maybe, not 13 year old young, but surely not someone in their fifties either.

I try to keep up with the latest trends, but now a days, comfort and utility seem more important than style and what’s new. I find myself waiting for version 2 as the newest inevitable requires improvements to make it really worthwhile.

Increasingly, I find the generation before too stuffy and narrow minded and the generation after too timid and reliant. It seems I do better with two generations removed. But, increasingly I notice those generations seem to tolerate and humour me. They call me sir or Mr. Van Dieman. The older ones, I suppose because that’s how they were brought up and the younger ones seem to be saying, “there’s a gap between me and you”.

I have the latest iPad Air 2, but drive a 12 year old car. I find I watch tv less and spend a lot more time on the Internet. I can’t remember the last time I wrote a letter (business letters not withstanding), but send hundreds of emails every week. I communicate more through Facebook than the phone or anything else. It seems my thoughts and comments are restricted to short sentences, comments or likes. For some reason, I like watching cat videos on my feed.

I suppose some smart person out there has figured me out and others like me since I notice increasingly targeted ads appear in my inbox. The system doesn’t seem to be perfected though. I don’t know how they figure it out, but after I buy something I see ads coming my way for the product. These computers need to be smarter. What they need to do is show me ads for stuff that go with my product. I guess that will come with version 2.

When I look at pictures of my friends from high school or college all I see are old people. They talk about cancer, heart attacks and stroke and they have grey hair. I feel sorry for them. What happened? Then I neglect to shave for a few days and find that same grey has found its way into my beard. I’m no better than them. Somehow, when I look at myself I still see someone that could be in their 30s. Others see someone much older.

I must say my life has gotten easier. I used to worry about money and now I just let it worry about itself. I can’t be bothered. When I was younger I think this attitude would have served me better. Age brings perspective, I suppose.

Lately, I’ve been making improvements. The new me. I got laser surgery and now I can see quite well without glasses. I still need reading glasses though. They say, they don’t have anything of laser correction for that. It’s ok. I’m easy like that now. I lost 125 pounds (Andrea, my wife lost 100) and now I work out at a gym. Not because I want to be like Arnold, but more because I just want to be healthier. I eat better and drink more water. I used to hate salad, now I look forward to a good head of lettuce.

Clearly, something has happened to me over the years.

I used to argue with my wife, now I rarely do. I suppose I’ve figured out (or perhaps she’s finally made me realize) that I’m not always right. It amuses me to see those who have such fixed opinions – as if they’re the only ones with a monopoly of the truth. I’m also amazed at those those that haven’t figured out yet they’re not.

MLB Big Mac Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 head Iceberg or romaine lettuce chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 lb extra lean ground beef
  • 1 tbsp dehydrated onion
  • 1tsp garlic powder (this is my addition)
  • 3 tbsp Mona’s 1000 Island Dressing (see below)
  • Shredded Allegro cheese

Directions:

  • Fry beef with onion and garlic then drain. Mix lettuce and meat together in large bowl. Add dressing and mix well.
  • Top with cheese and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  • Mona’s 1000 Island Dressing: (All products from the clinic store)
  • 1 tbsp mayo (Hellmann’s olive oil 1/2 fat)
  • 1 tbsp reduced sugar ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Mt Olive relish
  • Mix all together, adjust to your liking. Enjoy

Version #2 (per McD’s of Canada YouTube demo of how to make a Big Mac with regular store ingredients at home). 

  •  Replaced ketchup in above recipe with prepared mustard and added paprika, garlic powder and onion powder to the dressing mix. ** note – start with the tbsp of mayo and add the mustard and relish to taste **
  • Formed beef into thin (restaurant sized) patties and fried in a non stick pan.  Once one side was cooked, flipped and sprinked cooked side with half salt and freshly ground pepper.
  • Prepared bed of shredded iceberg lettuce, finely minced sweet onion (phase 2 addition).  Cut up burgers into pieces and topped with shredded cheese and dressing

Credit:  Deb Spence

Leanne’s Sausage, Cheese and Spinach Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup Carbquick
  • 1/2 cup golden flax meal
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 Babybel Light shredded
  • ½ pound extra lean ground chicken
  • ½ tsp sage
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp splenda
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • Dash of cloves
  • Spinach (probably good with grated zucchini as well)
  • 3 Wedges laughing cow

Directions:

  • Combine carbquick, flax meal, and baking powder. Add the eggs and olive oil and stir well. Stir in the shredded cheese. Spoon half the mixture into 12 sprayed muffin cups. Use the back of a spoon to press the batter flat. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes (no more!) and remove from oven.
  • Meanwhile, brown the ground meat with seasonings (I am heavy handed with the spices and it had a nice kick… remember its flavouring the whole muffin) and then add spinach to wilt. Stir in the laughing cow until melted. Spoon the sausage mixture over the top of the partially baked muffins. Top with the remaining batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Bake an additional 15 minutes until muffins are golden and set. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.
  • This is phase 1 for 1 muffin, and just edges into phase 2 for two muffins. I found two muffins to be a deliciously satisfying breakfast. I may use two Babybel and four laughing cow next time… but they were delicious and very satisfying

Credit: Leanne Brannigan

Spicy Ground Turkey and Kale Soup

Ingredients:

  • 4 green onions, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 5-5 cauliflower stalks cubed
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 container No-Salt added chicken broth
  • 2 cups of chopped kale
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

  • Sauté cauliflower stalks in olive oil until slightly brown.
  • Add green onion and sauté until slightly wilted. Remove and set aside.
  • Sauté ground meat until light brown.
  • Add mushrooms and cauliflower & onion mixture.
  • Add chicken stock, minced garlic, ginger, onion powder, black pepper, and red pepper flakes bring to a simmer.
  • Add kale, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until kale is tender.
  • Serve hot.

Credit: Deb Spence

Farah’s Mom’s Egg Korma

Ingredients:

  • 10 eggs – hard boiled
  • Garlic paste – 2 cloves
  • Ginger paste – 1/4 tsp
  • Olive oil – 1 tbsp
  • Ketchup – 1tsp
  • Chilli powder – 1 pinch / to taste
  • Sriracha hot sauce – 1/2 tsp or per taste
  • Half salt – 1 pinch / to taste
  • Either olive oil mayo or PC garlic Greek yogurt dip – 1tbsp
  • Cinnamon powder – 1 pinch (optional)

Directions:

  • Peel the hard-boiled eggs and score them lightly with a knife. This should help the sauce to go through while cooking.
  • Heat sauté pan with olive oil and lightly fry the hard boiled eggs.
  • Set them aside and then in the same pan add garlic, ginger, salt and chili powder. Cook for few minutes and then add ketchup and hot sauce and the yogurt dip – stir in 2-3 tbsp of water until sauce is runny enough to coat the eggs.
  • Add the eggs back in and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is reduced and you get the korma consistency.
  • This is likely good for phase 2 because of the yogurt however this PC Greek yogurt only has 1g of carbs par tablespoon

Credit: Farah Rashid

Carbquick Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 2 c. carbquick
  • 1/4 c almond milk
  • 1 can pumpkin
  • 2 tsp allspice
  • 1/3 c powdered Splenda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 beaten whole egg

Directions:

  • place paper cups in muffin tins, ( this made 18 small) if you wanted larger then count as ph.2
  • stir all ingredients together and put in cups and bake till golden brown
  • 400/ 18-20 minutes

Credit: Shirl Heaps