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.

Turkey Breast

This is a great option if you need something that you can toss in the crock pot in the morning and come home to a tasty meal at the end of the day. The best part about doing it in the crock pot is that it falls off the bone, and has so much flavor. You could also use the oven.

Ingredients:

• turkey breast, skin removed and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup onion (dried)
• 2 TBSP garlic (dried)
• 1/4 cup celery (dried)
• 2-4 TBSP Herbs de Provence

Procedure:

• Add all ingredients to the crock pot. 
• Place on a low setting if you plan to leave it all day so it will not come to a boil.
• Once turkey is cooked through, slice and serve.

Turkey Meatloaf

Let me start off by saying that these smelled so good while they were cooking. I was eager to eat, and was not disappointed. I found the original recipe here. Below are my changes.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper (pepper blend)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)or 1/2 cup dried onions 
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)
  Procedure:
  

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Spray cooking vessel with oil, I used a muffin pan
3. Mix all ingredients well
4. Place mixture in your desired cooking vessel
5. Bake for 40 minutes

Mueller Family Mouse

First, please let me apologize for the lack of posts this week. It has been a busy week helping family and we have been eating out A LOT. Luckily I have managed to stay on track.

I guess you could count this as a guest post since this isn't my recipe. This was provided by a colleague, and is loved and eaten quite a bit by his family. They like to freeze it and use it as an ice cream substitute. If you are wanting something chocolate but not something as thick as my fudge recipe you may want to give this a try.

Ingredients:
1 small tub fat free whipped topping
8 oz cream cheese
2 TBSP fat free milk
2 TBSP cocoa powder (or more to taste)
sweetener to taste (6 packages of Truvia was suggested)

Procedure:
Mix until well blended, enjoy!

Chicken/Turkey Piccata Pasta

I originally had this at a Pampered Chef party and fell in love with it. This recipe has been adapted from their seasonal booklet, but I am not sure which one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken or turkey, ground or cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 1/2 TBSP lemon pepper
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 of a medium sized onion or a palm full of dehydrated onions
• 16 oz package of orzo pasta, or pasta of your choice
• 1 lemon
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 12 oz jar/can of artichoke hearts in water (DO NOT DRAIN)
• 3.5 oz jar capers, drained
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1. Place the chicken or turkey in a pot, large enough to cook the meal in, and heat until cooked through. Season with the lemon pepper and onions.
2. While waiting for the meat to cook drain the capers and chop the artichoke hearts (not required, but I think they are easier to eat when in smaller bits). Zest and juice your lemon.
3. Once the meat is done add all the remaining ingredients to the pot. Simmer until pasta is cooked completely.

Makes approximately 8 servings.

Beef Stew

This was a hearty meal that hit the spot. I made a big batch, and will enjoy the leftovers this week for lunch. If you don't want to make as much feel free to cut the ingredients needed by half. 

I know the peas are a no no, but I can't eat stew without them. If you want to be really good omit them. And don't worry, those aren't potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs beef, cut into pieces
• 4-5 turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 5-6 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 cups beef or vegetable broth
• 2 TBSP corn starch
• 1/2 - 1 TBSP pepper blend
• 1 TBSP dried onions
• 2 TBSP BBQ sauce
• 1 cup peas (I use frozen)

Procedure:

1. Cook the beef in a large pot, I use the pot I intend to cook the rest of the stew in, until it is nearly cooked through.
2. Add the broth, reserving 1/2 cup in a separate container to use in a moment.
3. Add the chopped vegetables, dried onions and BBQ sauce.
4. Allow ingredients to simmer until the vegetables are cooked to your preferences.
5. Add the cornstarch to the 1/2 cup of broth and stir until the mixture is smooth and well combined. Add to the pot and mix in well.
6. Simmer for a bit longer to allow the cornstarch to cook and thicken the sauce.
7. Add peas if you want them.

Pizza Night

We love pizza around our house, and I was happy when I discovered something that was incredibly good and didn't stray from the approved list. I am sure there are many different types of crust that you could use. I have heard of using a galette, or a crust made from cauliflower. Neither appealed to me, so I tried my pizza on a large portobello mushroom. This works well for me since I love combination pizza, and it is one less thing that I have to chop or slice to put on my pizza. Give this variation a try next time it is pizza night at your house.

Ingredients:

• 1 large portobello mushroom, wiped with stem popped off
• pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Your desired toppings
• Consider:
• Green Peppers
• Onions
• Turkey Sausage
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Fresh Basil
• Chicken, seasoned all sorts of ways

Procedure:

• Preheat your oven to 350F
• Carefully wipe your mushroom inside and out with a slightly damp paper towel
• Place your mushroom on an oven safe pan, with the outside down
• Top your mushroom with your desired toppings
• Bake until the cheese has become melted and starts to brown.

NOTE: The mushrooms will let go of their moisture as the cook, so you will want to use a pan with an edge to contain the moisture.

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.