Amazing Lemon Ricotta Cookies

The original recipe can be found here. Here is my Dukanized version. I thought these tasted amazing on their own, but would be so tasty with some sort of cream cheese frosting. I made the first batch with Stevia, and plan to make the next batch with Truvia to improve the flavor. They are such a refreshing treat though!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pureed fruit (I used pears, applesauce would be great too).
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 cup sweetener
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp butter flavoring
• 1 lemon - zest & juice (add both to batter)
• 3/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 2 cups oat bran flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (only 1/8 tsp of regular salt)

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cream the wet ingredients together, blend well.
• Mix the dry ingredients and the lemon zest together. Add them to the wet ingredients.
• Mix until incorporated, but do not over-mix.
• You can either place the dough in the fridge until it is firm enough to roll out and cut with cookie cutters, or you can scoop it now. It depends on how fancy you want your cookies to look.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden around the edges.

Lasagna

I love lasagna, and this hit the spot. It could work for phase two if you omit the shredded Mozzarella, and used thinly sliced zucchini instead of noodles. This is a great throw it together quick meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles - or noodle substitute of your choice such as zucchini or eggplant
• 16 oz marinara (I use my personal stash, use your favorite brand)
• 1 lb ground beef - flavored with Mrs. Dash Tomato, Basil and Garlic or Garlic and Herb and Pepper Blend to taste
• 1 small package of shredded mozzarella
• 16 oz cottage cheese - I add a bit of garlic and herb seasonings.
• 2 oz V8 juice - if you feel that your lasagna is low on moisture.

Procedure:

• Preheat your oven to 350F
• Brown the ground beef until cooked completely, season to taste, drain if needed.
• Layer the ingredients in this order:
• Noodles (I leave mine uncooked)
• Cottage Cheese
• Meat
• Sauce
• Cheese - if you are including it
• Repeat once more
• Finish with a layer of noodles, sauce, and top with cheese
• Bake at 350F for 1 hour covered. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

Marcia's Marshmallow Creme

I have been avoiding the numerous recipes that include Cool Whip, mostly because the chemicals that make up Cool Whip are unappealing to me. Recently, however, I discovered an alternative, thanks Harmon's. Now I can give these recipes a try. Yeah!

This recipe tastes very similar to the marshmallow goop you can get in a jar. It would be tasty on so many things. I froze mine and enjoyed it as an ice cream replacement. The possibilities are endless.




Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz cool whip (I used a small container which was 10 oz)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sweetener of your choice


Procedure:
Mix all ingredients until well incorporated.

Chai Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chai (Indian Tea), brewed strong
• 1 TBSP sweetener
• 1/2 tsp vanilla, powder or liquid
• 8 oz cream cheese

Blend and enjoy!

Goes great on the oatmeal cookies.

Salmon Baked in White Wine

This was suggested by Marcia and turned out fantastic. The flavors worked so well. I used a chardonnay, but mostly because it was what I had on hand. I am sure any white wine would do the trick.

Ingredients:

• 1 large piece of salmon with skin still attached.
• White Wine - enough to fill the cooking dish up at least 1/4 inch up the piece of salmon

Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Place the salmon in you baking dish, mine went in frozen. Make sure to size your dish just slightly bigger than your piece of salmon so you don't have to use as much wine, unless you have no other use for it. 
• Cover dish to ensure that the liquids stay in the dish and flavor the meat instead of cooking away.
• Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until your fish flakes easily with a fork. This will take a different amount of time for each piece of fish due to size and starting temperature.

Oatmeal Cookies

I have finally, somewhat, achieved a cookie that eats like a cookie!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup sweetener of choice
1 cup brown sweetener of choice
3 eggs
3 TBSP water
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups oat bran
3/4 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375F

Combine all dry ingredients, set aside. Combine all wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until combined well.
Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen.

From my calculations 2 of these cookies count as one serving of oat bran per day (OK, just a bit more than the 3 TBSP in later phases). Each cookie is about 1.67 TBSP of oat bran. These taste great with tea in the morning, and would be great with cream cheese.

Quick Soup

Only on phases 3 & 4

 This is something you can make beforehand, like I have, and keep in in your food storage. Or better yet you can play the end of the week What Needs To Be Used From the Fridge game.

This soup starts with a tomato base and can go so many ways it is alarming. Here is the route taken by me, and pictured below.

Ingredients:
2 Quarts (8 cups) stewed tomatoes
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 TBSP parsley
4-5 carrots, chopped
pinch of salt
1 tsp pepper blend
1 tsp dried garlic
2 TBSP dried onions
As much as you want: green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, etc.

Procedure:
Add all ingredients to a crock pot, cook until the carrots achieve your desired doneness. 

We enjoy this with grilled cheese sandwiches. Or if you are in a bind do open face cheese sandwiches as shown above.

Tangy Zip

Not sure what to make with your extra Jen's Whip?

I combined it with some hard boiled egg and loved it. What an amazing sandwich. The whip is even better the next day. I may never go back.

The recipe for Jen's Whip can be found here.

BLT's

BLT's are so tasty, and quick to fix. I have updated this classic by using turkey bacon, whole grain bread and homemade Miracle Whip. If you are a mayo fan there is a great recipe in the Dukan Diet book.

Ingredients:

• 1 package turkey bacon
• Lettuce or the greens of your choice
• Tomato (Not pictured)
• Bread - I used Dave's Killer Bread (found at Costco)

Jen's Whip (as close as you can get to Miracle Whip without weird ingredients):
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp garlic powder
2 TBSP Stevia
2 TBSP Vinegar
2 shakes smoked paprika (go very minimal on this)

Procedure:
If you haven't cooked your bacon in the oven before, this is a great time to start. The oven is fantastic for bacon because it doesn't pop grease on you, and you can do other things while it cooks to perfection.
To cook your bacon in the oven preheat the oven to 350F. Lay the bacon on a cookie sheet that has an edge, slightly overlapping, until the pan is completely covered. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Once the edges begin to curl up you are getting close. Check back until the bacon reaches your desired crispness.
Toast the bread, layer on the other ingredients, enjoy!

Yogurt Cake

I have recently been reading Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman. In this book she mentions, and provides a recipe for, a recipe that a number of French families teach to their children to get them started in baking. I was intrigued by the recipe, but also to see if I could Dukanize it and come up with something decent. Here is what I tried, and I think it turned out great. My suggestions for next time are in parenthesis, use whichever you want. The neat thing about this cake is that you use the yogurt container to measure the other ingredients which makes it very child friendly.



Ingredients:

• 2 6oz yogurts - plain Greek yogurt is what I used, but flavored could be good as well
• 4 eggs (3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites may help it turn out fluffier)
• 1 container Stevia, other sweeteners may require more or less (add 2 containers for a sweeter cake)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil - don't freak out, the original recipe called for a container of it
• 4 containers flour - we blended up oat bran to make oat flour and used that, which may explain the extra density of the cake
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup skim milk (1 1/2 cups milk next time)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Mix all wet ingredients
3. Mix all dry ingredients
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stir until well incorporated
5. Grease pan with a light coat of PAM
6. Move cake batter into the pan and spread evenly throughout
7. Bake for 35 minutes, check with a toothpick to ensure it is done.

Frosting:
I kept it really simple and altered the recipe for my Lemon Cream Cheese. I doubled the recipe, used orange extract instead, and added 2 TBSP of milk to make it creamy and easy to spread.

Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner)

I love breakfast for dinner, and have since I was a child. We rarely eat this stuff for breakfast, so I am not sure why it is such a treat. I wanted to mention this option because it is a quick fix, and many nights that is exactly what I need.

Ingredients:

Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Pancake & Waffle Mix

• 2 Eggs
• 1 TBSP Oil (half of recommended 2)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup mix

Turkey Sausage
Eggs - cooked how you like them.

Procedure:

Stir, mix, cook, enjoy!

For the waffles:
I am sure there are a number of sugar free syrups out there, but I really enjoyed a mix of cinnamon and Truvia. It was just sweet enough that I didn't miss the syrup, things are a bit drier though. Get creative, all sorts of things would be good as well.

Beef Tenderloin

I know it has been a while, and I apologize for that.We did a lot of leftovers this week. But tonight we splurged and went for the tenderloin. If you haven't had tenderloin before it is worth the money. It is a fantastic cut of meat that is very tender, and easy to cook.

Ingredients:
Beef Tenderloin - any size you can afford, I used a 2 lb cut for this meal
1/2 TBSP green peppercorns - Black peppercorns can be substituted, but will have a stronger flavor
2 sprigs thyme (fresh)
2 sprigs rosemary (fresh)
1 clove garlic (fresh)


Procedure:

1. This may be a tough one for a lot of you, but, pull the cut of meat out of your fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. This will facilitate consistent cooking by allowing the meat to be the same temperature throughout. You wont have to cook it as long, and the juices tend to stick around better.
2. Bring your oven up to 475F - if your oven will not go this high, just take it as high as you can.
3. Prepare the rub - crush the peppercorns, finely chop the rosemary, thyme and garlic. Combine and set aside.
4. Dry off the cut of meat. This will allow the searing to be less smoky and give you a better sear.
5. Place a heavy pan, I used cast-iron, on your stove. Spray with PAM or other cooking spray and allow the pan to heat up. DO NOT PUT THE MEAT ON UNTIL YOUR PAN IS HOT. Once the pan is HOT place your meat inside. Leave it alone for 3 minutes to get a good sear. Flip the meat, without poking it, and repeat this on the other side. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a moment so you can handle the meat enough to rub the spices on it. 
6. Thoroughly rub the spices on the meat and place on your roasting pan (or a baking sheet with a wire cooling rack). Insert your baking thermometer into the thickest part of the cut. Do this at an angle and try to get the end of the probe into the middle the best you can.
7. Place in the oven and allow it to cook for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 125F. This gives you a slightly pink center. If you prefer it to be pinker, cut your time down slightly. Do not overcook the meat, this can make a fantastic cut of meat and ruin it faster than you realize. A pink center is done enough to kill and baddies in the beef. 
8. Enjoy!

I love the spices, and the tenderness of the beef. It would be fantastic with horseradish as well, but that could compete with the flavors that are already there.

Crustless Veggie Quiche

I had no idea what to fix tonight, and a quiche was the first thing that came to mind when I saw what I had in my fridge. I have never made one before, but have enjoyed them in restaurants. I loved the flavors in this, and plan to fix it again soon.

The nice thing about a quiche is you can add just about anything you want. It would be great with turkey sausage, or ham, even chicken.

Ingredients:

6 eggs
8 oz fromage blanc, or cream cheese
1/2 cup skim milk
1 TBSP pepper blend
1 TBSP mustard, spicy such as beer and brat
1/2 TBSP garlic (dried)
2 TBSP onions (dried)
8 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
4 cups fresh spinach, ready to eat
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Crack eggs and add to a bowl. Whisk in fromage blanc/cream cheese and milk.
3. Once these ingredients are well blended add the mustard, cheese, garlic and onions. Set aside.
4. Spray a large baking pan, and add the spinach and mushrooms. Spread evenly across the bottom of the pan.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the top evenly. You may need to spread the cheese afterwards since this will stay on top.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and the middle does not shake.
7. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
8. Serves 4-6

Taco Soup/Chili

I started with a plan to make taco soup, but we ended up with Chili. It was still tasty, just not what I had planned. They taste very similar, so I figured we could lump them together and then tweak it a bit for each. So here you go, two for one.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup onions (dried)
1/2 TBSP garlic (dried)
1 TBSP pepper blend
1 TBSP Chili powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp paprika (smoked)
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Stewed tomatoes - 8 Cups for the soup, 4 cups for the chili
Beans - low sodium - black and red kidney for the chili, either one for the soup

 
Procedure:

1. Brown the ground beef, I will do this in the pot that I plan to cook the rest of the items in. 
2. Once the beef is in decent sized pieces and fully cooked add the pepper, onions and garlic. Allow to cook for a moment. 
3. Add the stewed tomatoes. While they begin to heat up measure your remaining ingredients and add to pot.
4. As it begins to boil stir frequently to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom. 
5. Simmer all ingredients for 10 to 15 minutes
6. Serve

Gyros and Tzatziki Sauce

I have been a fan of gyros for a while now, and was very excited to come across a seasoning that was salt free. This is a great way to use left over meats from previous meals, and tastes great hot or cold. I will work on getting a picture for this as soon as I can.


Tzatziki
1 TBSP Cream Cheese - Fat Free or Neufchatel
1/3 cup Greek Yogurt
1 clove of garlic, or 1/2 tsp dried garlic
1/2 tsp dried onion (if desired)
1 TBSP dill

Gyros
Meat - Chicken, Turkey or Beef (shredded works best)

• If you can manage, the crock pot is a great way to get this started. I will usually cook a roast for one meal, an follow it up with these a few days later. Do what works best for you.

Seasoning - to taste

Procedure:
I have served this a few ways; one was using the gallete as the bread, another was layering the meat on top of a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers, or layered over a large plate of salad greens. All were good, but I think I prefer the cucumbers the best.

*I have left cucumbers out of the tzatziki sauce so it can be used on non protein/veggie days.
**You can add some milk to the tzatziki to create more of a ranch style dressing as well.

A few of my favorite things...

Listed below are many of the ingredients that I am using on a daily basis, sometimes more than once a day. I am sure there are more that I just can think of now. These are the keys to my success, I hope they help you too.


I will admit now that I have broken one of the main Dukan rules...EEEP! I HATE fat free stuff, the flavor is unappealing to me, so I made a personal decision to use low fat on most items, and Neufchatel instead of fat free cream cheese. I was still able to remove weight at a great pace, and do not feel that this decision hindered me in any way. It is your body and your choice, I chose flavor.

 

 This is tasty in cottage cheese, cream cheese, and I am sure so many other things. I bet it would even be tasty in a galette if I made those.

 I use this in a number of things as well. Cottage cheese, cream cheese, my morning dose of warm oat bran cereal. It makes things seem sweeter and richer than they really are, which is a huge plus when you are dieting.

The flavor benefit of vanilla, but in a powder. I think the flavor is more intense as well. I have added this to the same things mentioned with vanilla.

Meat tasting a little bland? Not excited about salad? These helped me kick the blahs numerous times. The fig is by far my favorite and tastes great on all meats. I highly recommend getting any balsamic vinegars you can find.

Oh wow, this is so good on hard boiled eggs. A huge thanks to Marcia for introducing this wonder to me. The best part was that it was in my spice collection un-opened the whole time. Such a great way to make anything bland pop.

I love dried garlic and onions because they are so easy to use, require no prep work on my behalf, and taste great. Not all are created equal, so find your favorite.







This pepper blend goes in just about everything I make. It has a bit of a kick from the various types of pepper and adds amazing flavor. I know fresh ground is best, but I really like the flavor this packs.





Roasted cinnamon, and regular cinnamon, are a quick way to make something feel all warm and fuzzy. I add this to my warm oat bran cereal in the morning, in cottage cheese or cream cheese. I have made frozen yogurt as well. Very versatile and tasty.








This is a great way to turn left over meats into something completely new. Nice strong flavors that go great with tzatziki and salad greens. Make sure to get the salt free.

 If you are really stuck in a rut the Mrs. Dash salt free line of spices will cure you in no time. I frequently use the lemon pepper on all sorts of fish and have not been disappointed by any of the others. Get creative.

My favorite ingredient of all, milk. But it is not just any skim milk, it's Winder skim milk. Their milk has the best flavor and is by far the best. Not all milk is created equal, and we are very picky about our milk in this house.
Milk is a great tool in your weight loss because it can help you go from snacky to full in no time. Fill up the space with liquid and you wont feel the need to binge on your tub of snack goo you just whipped up. I am getting thirsty just looking at the picture.

Pork Roast with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This was a fly by the seat of my pants type of meal, that worked out great. So great my super picky husband even ate the brussels sprouts.
The spice mix used on the roast is easy if you have it on hand, but can take some time if you don't. If you want to use the same rub you may want to make it the day before.
There are a number of elements within the meal that worked well together, but I think the brussels sprouts would be great with any other meat as well. Now for the good stuff.

Pork Roast
Ingredients:
Pork Roast large enough to accommodate your needs.
4 Cups Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
2-3 TBSP Toasted Spice Rub (At Home with Michael Chiarello: Easy Entertaining)
    *Spice Rub recipe is at the bottom of the post*
Procedure:
Place prepared roast in your crock pot, add broth and spices. Stir to incorporate the spices as much as possible. Cook on low for at least a few hours, mine cooked for 6 and was perfect.


Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dijon Sauce 
(Adapted from this recipe)
Ingredients:
2 lbs brussels sprouts - stems cut off, and halved
1 TBSP Pepper
1 TBSP Olive oil to coat pan, or cooking spray


Sauce:
1/2 Cup White Wine
1 Cup Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
1 Shallot, or 1 TBSP dried onions (optional)
3 TBSP Cream Cheese - Fat Free or Neufchtel
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard


Procedure:

1. Turn oven to 400F. 
2. Prepare brussels sprouts by removing the stems and cutting in half. Place on prepared baking sheet.
3. Once oven is heated completely add the sprouts, cooking for 35-40 minutes.
4. When the sprouts have roughly ten minutes remaining add the sauce ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Stir frequently until the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat as soon as the sprouts are ready.

To Serve:
Plate the sprouts and pork on a plate, adding the dijon sauce to both if desired. Enjoy!

Toasted Spice Rub

1/4 Cup fennel seeds

1 TBSP coriander seeds

1 TBSP black peppercorns

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup California chili powder

2 TBSP finely ground sea salt

2 TBSP ground cinnamon

1. Have all ingredients measured and available prior to starting the next step.
2. In a skillet heat the fennel, coriander and peppercorns over medium/low heat. Stir the seeds frequently to ensure they are toasted on all sides evenly. 
3. As soon as the fennel seeds start to turn a light brown TURN ON YOUR EXHAUST FAN, remove your pan from the heat and add the red pepper flakes. Stir to combine with the other spices ALWAYS UNDER YOUR EXHAUST FAN.
4. Remove the spices from the pan and place on a plate to cool.
5. Once your spices have completely cooled use a spice mill or coffee grinder to combine the toasted and non-toasted ingredients. If you use your coffee grinder for spices it may not be great for coffee anymore, so it may be best to have a cheap one just for spices. 
6. Store for up to 4 months in a well sealed container that is out of the light, or in the freezer for up to 1 year.