Dressings - Part 2

This is my favorite dressing, when I am craving something sweeter, and goes great on all sorts of salads. I have also used it for a dipping sauce for chicken. Over the past week I have enjoyed it on a salad with turkey bacon bits, sharp cheddar and spinach. It is great with fruit as well. Get creative!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 4 TBSP cider vinegar
• 1 cup sweetener (Splenda is really good in this dressing)
• 1/2 cup milk (less if you want it thicker)
• 2 TBSP poppy seeds

Procedure:

• Set the cream cheese out beforehand to let it soften, about 30 minutes.
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and combine with a whisk or hand blender.
• Allow it to sit overnight for best flavor.

Dressings - Part 1

Many days I love topping my salads with a simple vinegar blend, but other days I really want something more substantial. These two dressings are very versatile and can add the needed zip to a number of dishes.

Ranch Dressing
This ranch dressing is an updated version of a dressing that has been used in my family for years. My sister Hilarie did great converting it so we can continue to enjoy it while on Dukan.

We have come to love it on roasted meat and veggies. It also works great as a dip for vegetables.

This recipe makes quite a bit, so you may want to cut it in half if you don't plan on using it all right away.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 32 oz Greek yogurt
• Milk
• 1 tsp garlic salt (or you can do 2 tsp Mrs. Dash garlic & herb to replace the garlic & onion salts)
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper

Procedure:

• Remove the cream cheese from the fridge and allow it to soften slightly, this will facilitate blending, about 30 minutes.
• Add your cream cheese and yogurt to a mixing bowl, and use a whisk or hand blender to combine. 
• Slowly add milk until it reaches the desired consistency
• Add the seasonings.

This tastes better if it can sit overnight and meld.

Ricotta Lemon Pancakes

I am in love with these. I think the combination of ricotta and lemon is great, and have loved the finished product each time I have mixed the two. I found the original recipe here, and have tweaked it slightly to make it Dukan approved. Depending on your topping choices you could eat these on every phase. I had some fruit salsa in the fridge and that was great, but cream cheese would also be good. Get creative.



Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oat bran flour (blended oat bran)
• ½ cup milk (add slowly)
• 3 TBSP sweetener of your choice
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• Juice of 1 lemon (Meyer lemons will be slightly sweeter)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

Procedure:

 

1. Mix all wet ingredients, except the milk, and blend until well mixed and fluffy. 
2. Add the oat bran flour, mix until well incorporated.
3. Slowly add the milk until the batter reaches a good consistency for pancakes. 
1. Mine was too thin and made very thin pancakes, which were still very tasty.
4. Preheat your skillet and spray with a light mist of cooking spray.
5. Cook as you would a pancake
1. The original recipe suggest making smaller pancakes, but I found this took too long and opted half way through to make normal sized pancakes.

Roughly 1/3 of the pancakes made would equal the amount of oat bran you should consume each day. If you take that into consideration you can use this as a method of eating your oat bran. I made about 1 dozen larger pancakes (5 inch), the original recipe suggests it makes 2 dozen of the smaller (2 1/2 to 3 inch) pancakes.

Ham

This style of ham is a favorite in our house, specifically a favorite of my husband. I used the spice rub that can be found in this post, and added it to honey instead of broth (as the original recipe suggests). The outside of the ham may darken due to the spices.

 If you are on phases 1 to 3 you can use broth, or use it as a celebration meal in phase 3.

The couscous recipe was from Martha Stewart, and can be found here.

Ingredients:

• Ham - 3 to 5 pounds (watch the sodium and sugar levels) 
• I like to get hams that have been smoked instead of those with a glaze already on them.
• 2 TBSP Spice Rub
• 1/2 cup honey, or broth of your choice

Procedure:

• I use my crock pot to cook the ham. Start by placing the liquid and spices in the pot and make sure they are mixed well. Add the ham.
• Periodically stir the liquids up and then baste the ham using the liquids in the pot.
• Serve when heated through.

Rhubarb Tart

I recently had some family members start Dukan and wanted to come up with a dessert that they could enjoy while on phase 2. While reviewing the book I noticed that rhubarb counts as a vegetable, and my mind started to work. I came up with this dessert that uses items that are perfect for phase 2 and beyond.

Please bear in mind that rhubarb is not a sweet item on its own, so this is not a sweet dessert, but it was tasty. It was incredibly hard to get a decent picture. I think they taste a lot better than the picture makes them out to.

Ingredients:
Crust-

• 2 1/2 Cups oat bran flour
• 1 TBSP Truvia, or desired sweetener
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1/8 tsp butter flavoring

Cream Filling-

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 1 TBSP vanilla
• 1/8 tsp almond extract
• 3 TBSP Truvia, or desired sweetener

Rhubarb Filling-

• 6 cups chopped rhubarb (I used frozen)
• 2 cups sweetener of choice (Stevia makes it more bitter, use something else)
• 1/4 cup corn starch

Procedure:

1. Gather your muffin tins and papers, preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix all ingredients for the cream filling and set aside in the fridge
3. Mix all ingredients for the crust in a food processor, blending until well mixed.
4. Mix all ingredients for rhubarb filling and set aside.
5. Place papers in each spot of your muffin pan
6. Fill the bottom of each cup with a small amount of the crust, pressing it down firmly so it creates a firm bottom layer.
7. Spoon equal amounts of the cream filling on top of each crust, cover with the rhubarb filling.
8. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the fillings are bubbly.
9. Allow to cool and remove from the pan.
10. Enjoy hot or cold.
11. Store in the fridge.

Crepes

This was so tasty. The possibilities for toppings are numerous, but I am partial to cream cheese, a bit of cinnamon sugar, and some fruit salsa. Give these a try next time you are stumped for dinner, or if you feel energetic for breakfast.

Crepes
Servings - 6
Ingredients:

• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup oat bran flour (oat bran blended to flour consistency)

Procedure:

• Blend all of the wet ingredients. 
• Mix in the flour and stir until well blended, but not too long.
• Place in the fridge for 1 hour, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 200F, place a cookie sheet on the top rack in your oven. This will allow you to keep the crepes hot until you are ready to eat them.
• When you are ready to cook your crepes heat your pan until it is hot, but not overly hot. I spray a bit of Pam between each, each pan is different.
• Use a small amount of batter and spread it evenly around your pan.
• Cook until the edges start to curl in, then flip over. Cook for a moment and then gently place the finished crepe in the oven, or wherever you elected to store them until consumption.

Around 2 crepes would equal the correct daily amount of oat bran.

Possible toppings:

• Fruit Salsa (shown in picture, recipe below)
• Whipped topping
• Fruit Dip 
• Flavored cream cheese
• Plain cream cheese
• Cinnamon Truvia/Stevia/Sweetener of some sort
• Sliced fruit (depending on your phase)
• Asparagus/spinach/or any tasty veggies
• Ricotta cheese
• Just about anything that sounds good

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 large flat of strawberries, washed and stems trimmed off
• 4 large green apples, washed and cored
• 4 ripe kiwis, washed and skinned

Procedure:

• Place each type of fruit in a food processor, or blender, and chop until it reaches the desired consistency. I prefer mine to be fairly small so each flavor can be included in every bite.
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well.

This freezes very well. 

Also, prior to being on this diet I would consume this will cinnamon chips. To make cinnamon chips you brush a flour tortilla lightly with water and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, slice into eighths, and then bake for 10 minutes at 350F. I would generally use 2 to 3 packages of tortillas if I wasn't freezing any of the batch.

Fruit Dip

This is a light fruit dip that can be adapted to just about any taste. It would also be good as a snack all on its own.

Ingredients:
1 10oz  tub light whipped topping
2 6oz containers flavored yogurt (I used lemon, many flavors would be good)

Procedure:
Thaw whipped topping if needed. Combine all ingredients, stirring until they are combined well and smooth.

Chicken/Turkey Salad

This is a great way to use up any leftover poultry. I loved the fact I could eat it on a protein only day. I am sure the flavors will get even better as it has a chance to sit in the fridge and meld. Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups diced chicken/turkey
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 TBSP dried onions
• 1 clove garlic, or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 1/2 tsp dill
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup milk (added slowly)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard, or whole see mustard
• 1/2 tsp pepper blend

Procedure:

• Mix all ingredients, except the chicken/turkey and the milk, in a large bowl until well incorporated. Add the poultry and stir well, adding milk to achieve your desired consistency. 
• Use for a sandwich, topping on salad greens or on its own.