How I lost 100 pounds eating comfort food swaps

Hello my friends in food! Today I planned to share how I lost 100 pounds with diet food swaps and recipes. Then I decided that what I needed, weren't more weight loss tips but comfort food swaps. Maybe you need this too. And the good news is, turns out, that as I was organizing recipes, I realized that eating comfort food, REAL comfort food was part of how I lost 100 pounds, too.  

What comfort food kind of is and isn't

The usual comfort foods we think of are junk food, fast food, sweets or salty snacks. And I do love me some Lindt Lindor chocolate truffles--double chocolate, oh be still my beating heart! Which is probably beating harder from all the sugar and saturated fat! So one or two of those isn't going to derail weight loss, if you figure it into your calorie restricting budget. In fact, permitting myself some select treats occasionally is part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

A Caution about Food Deprivation 

Enjoying favorite treats in moderation is a good way to prevent going into food deprivation mode. That's when you feel deprived and resentful so you cheat on your diet and yourself to make up for what you feel deprived of. That's not a good thing. So eating a few treats is good for weight loss. Food deprivation is also about being too hungry as well. When I overdid the calorie restricting, I'd sometimes get shaky and disoriented. I'd actually start to faint. I would stuff food in as fast as I could to stay conscious. It took a lot more than it normally would for my brain to register satisfaction because I was so food deprived. And my blood sugar had dropped so low. 

Comfort food for your brain 

So the only thing that gets the blood sugar back up, is sugar, or carbs. What has happened is that your brain is starving from eating too little. Because argue any way you want, your brain fuels on sugar. I had to eat four bowls of Frosted Mini Wheats once when I was pregnant and my blood sugar dropped. So that's not good. What is, is to eat enough and the right kinds of sugar that your brain needs to function. And the most brain comforting foods I know of are fruits and good, healthy seed and protein bread. My favorites are Aldi Protein bread, greenish bananas for resistant starch and Medjool dates. These balance fiber with sugar to be calorie forward. I skip juice because it's all the sugar without any of the fiber, vitamins, skin and other good stuff. 

Comfort food comforts like a warm blanket

And getting around finally to my point, what I'm usually needing, in the line of comfort food is something warm. Like a bowl of chili or cheese cauliflower soup. Now I know, diet wisdom says to eat cold foods to lose weight. Your body burns calories warming it up to body temperature. But the downfalls sometimes outweigh the benefits. Warm food warms the heart and soul. So if part of how you gained weight was through trauma, especially childhood trauma, you need that warm blanket. What a lot of us experienced was hunger, cold, neglect, exclusion. So now we need inclusion, satiation and self-care.  

WIC-Friendly Recipes: Healthy, Low-Cost Meals for Families with WIC foods

When our four kids were young, our income qualified me and the children for WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) food coupons. WIC is a USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) program that gives low-income families coupons for free food. Unlike food stamps, WIC can only be used for specific foods and baby formula. 

Breastfeeding moms like me couldn't use formula coupons and so WIC added vegetables, rice, beans and tuna to supplement nursing moms' diets. WIC added Project Fresh aka Double Up Food Bucks coupons (used at farmers markets). Here are recipes using basic WIC foods: eggs, juice, milk, peanut butter, cheese, approved cereal, tuna, carrots, bread, fruit and vegetables. Use these cheap recipes to stretch your grocery budget and maximize food stamps. For transitional housing dwellers, I've kept preparation and ingredients simple. Omit anything you don't have. My ingredients lists are always meant to be adaptable and to prevent food waste with leftover use-up recipes. So feel free to substitute what you have on hand! 

Meal Replacement Protein bars

Swap out the kids' junky, highly sugared over-priced cereal or granola bars with these crazy-nutritious meal replacement bars. Save, don't discard, breakfast cereal leftovers that are about to go stale. Because turns out, this cereal box sediment can be easily repurposed into nutritious granola bars. Cheerios, Life, Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, granola varieties work best, but any WIC approved cereal will do. These make great on-the-go breakfast foods, healthy school snacks, or school lunch nibblers.

• Ingredients: Leftover cereal, peanut butter, powdered milk.

• Optional add-ins: raisins, shredded coconut, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts

• How-to: Mix cereal and peanut butter, form into balls, and roll in powdered milk.

 Toasted cheese and veggies "Artisandwiches"

Here's a great stale bread use-up recipe that's quick, healthy and comforting.  And it uses those wonderful Double Up Food Bucks vegetables. I've included our favorites, but you can use any you like. 

• Ingredients: Bread, butter, cheese, and fresh-sliced WIC vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, peppers, or onions).

• How-to: Butter the outside of the bread and place cheese and veggies on the inside. Grill until the bread is crispy and the cheese is gooey.

Egg Mock-Muffins

Are you fresh out of English muffins or bagels for breakfast sandwiches? Use your WIC bread. Fry or scramble eggs in cooking spray or butter. Add sliced cheese, chopped vegetables, salt and pepper. No bacon, ham or sausage? Add a slice of lunchmeat if desired. To fancy up your Mock-Muffins and make them look more muffin-like, use a glass to cut bread into little rounds. 

• Ingredients: WIC bread, eggs, cooking spray or butter, sliced cheese, and chopped vegetables. Optional: a slice of lunchmeat.

• How-to: Use a glass to cut bread into rounds. Fry or scramble eggs with veggies and seasonings. Assemble your sandwich with cheese.

• Pro-Tip: Save the bread scraps! You’ll need them for the Bread Pudding recipe below.

Soul comfort bread pudding 

The ultimate soul-warming use-up recipe for any leftover bread, rolls, or bagels. 

• Ingredients: Leftover bread/rolls (avoid savory onion flavors), eggs, milk, melted butter, lemon juice, spices (coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon), and sweetener (honey, sugar, or maple syrup).

• Optional add-ins: Raisins, dried cranberries, or peeled sliced apples.

• How-to: Cube bread and place in a greased pan. Blend liquid ingredients and pour over bread to saturate. Top with fruit. Cover and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes until the eggs are set.

• Serving Suggestion: Serve with a lemon hard sauce (melted butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar).

💡 Pro Tip: The Secret to Better Beans that don't "backfire." 

Want to "de-gas" your beans and make them even healthier? Try this simple soaking trick:

The Baking Soda Soak: Before cooking, soak your dried beans in water with a pinch of baking soda.

Why it works:

• Easier Digestion: Soaking helps break down complex sugars that cause gas.

• Better Nutrition: It helps remove phytates (anti-nutrients) so your body can actually absorb all those great minerals in the beans.

• Saves Time: It significantly cuts down your total cooking time!

Bean and Cheese Dip

A quick, easy, and affordable way to use up those nutritious WIC beans.

• Ingredients: Dried beans (soaked and cooked), garlic, salt, cumin, cayenne, and paprika.

• Toppings: Sour cream (or plain yogurt), shredded cheese, lettuce, chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned), onions, and sliced olives.

• How-to: Mash your cooked beans with the garlic and spices. Spread the mixture into a dish and layer with the sour cream/yogurt, cheese, and vegetables.

• Serving Suggestion: Top with crushed tortilla chips for a bit of crunch!

Egg Foo Yung and Yummy

A vegetable-packed meal that is easy to scale up for the whole family.

• Ingredients: Eggs and milk (ratio of 2 eggs to 1/4 cup milk per serving), assorted chopped veggies (onions, carrots, cabbage, etc.), and seasonings (dill, garlic, celery salt).

• How-to: Whisk eggs and milk, add veggies, and fry until set.

• Optional Gravy: Mix soy sauce, corn starch, and water, then cook until thickened (or use a cream soup as a shortcut). Serve over rice or chow mien noodles.

Get creative with the veggie add-ins using peppers, Bok choy, leeks, broccoli, garlic, shallots, jalapenos, mushrooms, pea pods, celery, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, sprouts, coleslaw mix or cabbage (purple or green).You can add canned tuna or chicken as well. 

Amy's PBJ French toast

This nourishing treat comes compliments of my friend Amy Browne, from Associated Content.  Kids love these fun, filling "artisandwiches" as breakfast or even dinner. 

• Ingredients: PB&J sandwiches, eggs, and milk. Optional: vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice.

• How-to: Make PB&J sandwiches, dip them in the egg/milk mixture, and fry like traditional French toast.

• Serving Suggestion: Top with syrup, fresh fruit, granola, or yogurt.

Power parfait smoothies

• Ingredients: Milk, yogurt, juice concentrate, peanut butter, sliced fruit, and crushed cereal.

• How-to: Blend the milk, yogurt, juice, and peanut butter. Layer the blend in tall glasses with the fruit and cereal.

Tuna Power Loaf (or burgers)

A great alternative to beef meatloaf that uses pantry staples.

• Ingredients: Canned tuna (1 can per 3 servings), egg (1 per 3 servings), chopped onions and celery, crushed unsweetened cereal or breadcrumbs.

• Binder: Tuna liquid, oil, mayo, or salad dressing (Ranch or Italian).

• How-to: Mix ingredients with mustard, salt, pepper, and dill. Form into a loaf and bake at 350°F until done, or form into patties and pan-fry in oil.

Cereal straws and Pooh Bear cheese: children's tea party food recipes and ideas

Hello my friends of Great Food 4U! I recently had the  pleasure of hosting my little lady Flora to tea. Flora is my 11th of 13 grandchildren. Now there's not much I enjoy more than children's activities, especially impromptu children's parties! So here are children's tea party food recipes and ideas! 

Tea parties with children's literature connections. On a past visit, I fixed milady "Pooh Bear cheese." The recipe is very complicated (lol) just cut sliced cheese with Pooh Bear cookie cutters. You can use whatever kind of cookie cutters or cheese you have on hand. Or  make your own by tracing children's literature characters on waxed paper and using as a guide to cut cheese or cookie dough, whatever. I  just wrote a blog post  on my Free Printable Lesson Plans blog about making cookies based on Mo Willems characters like Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny. She requested "Pooh Beer cheese" to accompany her cereal straws and milk.

Repurposing found food items for a tea party. So one great thing about children's tea parties is that they are wonderfully adaptable to what you have on hand. Because children's delightful imaginations immediately "get the picture." They are more than willing to play along and so appreciate the smallest gestures. Here's a quick leftover use-up tea party recipe. Mix leftover cold pasta (seashell, alphabet or star-shaped preferred but not necessary), cheese cubes, pepperoni pieces, sliced mini peppers, grape tomatoes and baby cucumbers with a favorite salad dressing. Add olive if desired. Et voila, antipasto luncheon salad, like the grownups but for kids.

Spring or Easter Children's tea party recipes.  I don't know why but I always associate spring, Easter and April with tea parties. And I always feel there should be tiny muffins or cupcakes, called fairy cakes in England, to dine upon. The easiest is to by Entenmann's Little Bites. But a healthier variety is to use Kodiak or other protein pancake mix to make your own mini muffins. Or you can make mini gluten-free quiches mixing eggs with chopped veggies, bacon bits and shredded cheese. I usually skip the muffin cups and just spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Or make mini cheesecake or tarts placing vanilla wafers in the bottom of a muffin cup liner. Then blend two eggs, 8 oz cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla or lemon juice and bake. Top with fruit. 

Dirt cups with science connections for spring tea parties. Dirt cups may have an unpleasant name but children find them irresistibly enchanting. Whenever I need an ego boost, I bring dirt cups to a potluck. And kids never fail to scarf them up. (They're the first dessert to go, if I do say so myself!). If you let kids build their own, mess and all, you will be their hero! So what you need to make dirt cups is: clear plastic cup, crushed chocolate cookies (dirt) chocolate pudding (mud), spray whipped topping (not sure what this represents but it looks pretty and kids don't care as long as they get to spray the topping), gummy worms and one of these: colorful breakfast cereal or candies like Nerds, spring M&Ms or colored marshmallows. These are the rocks. Kids build these dirt cups from the ground up, layering dirt, mud, "rocks" and placing worms in the top. You can add gummy bugs if desired. 

Finger sandwiches and appetizers for children's tea parties. These can be very simple: bread slices with whatever filling you like. I prefer egg, chicken or tuna salad. Add spinach leaves to fancy it up, then slice in four triangles. Finger sandwiches could be lunchmeat and cheese or just cheese for vegetarians. Gluten-free breadless finger sandwiches would be a spinach or baby romaine leaf, spread with filling, rolled up and secured with a toothpick. Kids also love deviled eggs and Polish roses: lunchmeat and cream cheese rolled around a scallion. 

Mini anything for children's tea parties. Kids love crudites, baby vegetables like cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. Mini pepperoni and tacos go over like crazy! So Miss Flora loved the Fruit Loop cereal straws which were completely unhealthy and an Omi-cheat! But wow did she love them. 

And what about the tea for children's tea parties? Can't forget that! And you have a million options, including flavored peach or mint tea, cold tea, fruit juices, seltzer with juice, YooHoo chocolate milk boxes, cocoa in mugs, water with lemon, fruit water with different fruits speared kebab-like on toothpicks, the list is endless. My daughter for her first communion tea party, requested punch with sherbet balls and fruit ice. This is basically a kiddie cocktail (colored juice and soda) with scoops of rainbow sherbet and a molded ice ring with preferred fruits--strawberries, blueberries, pineapple or peach pieces, etc. 

The main thing to remember in these children's tea parties is that they don't need to be fancy or even planned. You can be as spur of the moment as our Pooh Beer Cheese party! Here are some more literature based children's party ideas. 

Note: While the goal of an impromptu tea party is fun, adding a few "fancy" rules makes it feel like a special event rather than just a snack. Plus, safety is key when you're working with "mud" and "rocks!"

• Mind Your Manners: Encourage children to use "please" and "thank you" when passing the Pooh Bear cheese. I like to tell my grandkids that at a tea party, we use our "indoor royalty voices."

• The Pinky Rule: It’s a classic for a reason! Teach them to extend their pinky finger while sipping their milk or juice—it always leads to giggles.

• Safety First (No Real Boiling Water): For toddler tea parties, "tea" should always be lukewarm or cold. Seltzer with a splash of juice or flavored water is perfect. If you’re using real teacups, make sure they are sturdy or plastic if you’re worried about chips and breaks.

• Choking Awareness: When making "dirt cups," ensure the gummy worms or "rock" candies are appropriate for the child's age. For very young guests, you can swap small candies for larger pieces of soft fruit.

How I lost 100 pounds: Summer holiday party recipes for weight loss and summer BBQ survival guide

Hello my friends! So I've written a great deal about how I lost 100 pounds with calorie restricting and without GLP-1 drugs or weight loss surgery. And lemme just say, holidays are hard for me, especially in summer. Graduation open houses, Memorial Day parties, 4th of July BBQs, beach picnics, holiday cookouts. I'm hungry just thinking of them. Here's how I lost 100 pounds using diet grill recipes, low calorie picnic foods and summer weight loss tips. 

* Eat a light, filling snack beforehand. Eat a tomato-turkey or tuna sandwich. .Here's the recipe: two slices light bread-- 70 calories plus 2 ounces of meat--60 calories, lots of fresh vegetables and a smear of spicy mustard--5 calories for the kick! Save enough calories so you can enjoy some of the foods, but don't arrive starved.

* Take two green tea, apple cider and/or garcinia cambogia tablets to curb hunger pangs. Coconut oil works well to curb hunger pangs too. 

* Drink for a diet detox of water with lemon or apple cider vinegar. Or bring your own flavored seltzers. My personal favorites are Ice Mountain mixed berry and raspberry lime. I also like LaCroix cranberry and Target Good and Gather any flavor but the watermelon lime which tastes like watermelon rind, IMO. 

* Avoid soda, punch and alcoholic beverages. Or choose red wine over cocktails or beer. Or make homemade sangria with dry red wine, diet grapefruit soda, sugar-free raspberry lemonade, fresh strawberries, lemons, limes and oranges, 

* The Salad Bar Secret. Fill up on vegetables. Before you go for the entree, make a heaping salad. Serve or bring a salad bar as your dish to pass. Bring an assortment of cut vegetables like colored pepper strips, fresh mushroom, broccoli and cauliflower florets, matchstick radishes and carrots, shredded cabbage, chopped onions, pea pods, diced baby cucumbers and grape tomatoes. I also add chopped hard-boiled eggs, dried cranberries, pepitas and bacon bits. Not a fan of avocados myself, but bring them if you wish. 

* Don't Fear the Cheese (yes cheese!): Old diet wives' tales shunned cheese. But certain kinds of cheese, like Parmesan, are good fat burners. I also like Laughing Cow Swiss light wedges, Babybel light rounds, and 50-calorie mozzarella cheese sticks. These all make for portable party and picnic snacking. 

* Grill alternatives: Serve diet grill entrees at picnics. Bring your own and ask the host to grill it. Swap red meat for lean pork loin (140 calories) chicken breast, salmon, trout and tuna. Trade sausage or hot dogs for 70-calorie turkey dogs or 100-140 calorie Al Fresco chicken sausage links. Switch out burgers for homemade veggie burgers or large portobello mushrooms. Trim any fat and skip the bun. Eat breadless, gluten-free burgers. 

* Baked over roasted, fried or deep-fried. Grilling is actually a diet-friendly way to cook. Marinate fresh pork or chicken breast in olive oil cooking spray, lemon juice, basil, rosemary, sage, fresh garlic for to-die-for low-cal souvlaki. Spray fish cooking olive oil or high-heat avocado oil and lime juice. Season with curry powder, wasabi, cumin and ginger. 

* Swap baked chips for fried. Got a salty snacks craving? Pack a serving size of baked pita, corn or potato chips. Or make no-oil popcorn. Or munch on veggies and light dip. 

* Desserts: Serve or bring Weight Watchers or Skinny Cow ice cream treats. Opt for fruit. Have a small sundae with a half-cup of vanilla ice cream and berries (about 200 calories). Nibble on dark chocolate (a Dr. Oz suggestion). 

* Keep moving. Host the party so you're too busy to think about food all the time. 

Vegetable recipes and veggies snacks to reform vegetable hating kids

 Got kids who hate veggies? Kids hate (or think they hate) vegetables for many reasons. Color (it's green!), texture (mushy) are taste (yucky) are the biggies. Here are a bunch ideas for enticing kids to not only try but to love vegetables. First, let's look at those complaints more closely.

Color: Tell kids that green is a cool color. Reptiles and dinosaurs are green (ish). Tell your kids that color really is a big deal with vegetables, in a good way. Beta-carotene and vitamin A from pumpkin, squash, beets and carrots helps our eyes and skin. We need the calcium, fiber, vitamin C from dark green vegetables. Anti-oxidants come from veggies and keep us from getting sick. Tell your kids that veggies are Ninja warriors that fight infection and keep us healthy.

Texture: Agreed. Mushy vegetables are not good. It means they've had all the nutrients washed out. Fresh, locally grown, raw, crunchy are best. Frozen is okay. Steamed is the best way to cook if you cook. Canned, except for cooked pumpkin, is not ideal.

Taste: Make a deal with your veggie-hater. Tell him that you are going to have a vegetable tasting party. Make it fun and attractive. Provide lots of choices. Tell him the only way to the cookie jar is through the vegetable platter. Chances are high that he will find at least one or two veggies he likes. Here are some ways to serve vegetables in kid-friendly ways.

Green vegetables: I serve salads with every meal, using the darker lettuces: romaine, green and red leafy, spinach, radicchio, red cabbage, spring mix, spinach. For dressing, serve what kids like, but tell them veggies are living things and don't like to be drowned. Newman's Own is probably the best available in any grocery store. Here's my vinaigrette recipe is: one part olive oil to two parts balsamic vinegar, fresh ground pepper, garlic and rosemary. Here are salad options:

Salad bar night: Set out dishes of grated carrots, sliced hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, peppers, sweet onions, broccoli and cauliflower bits, grated beets, fresh mushrooms, pine nuts, almonds, real bacon bits, celery, sprouts, grated red cabbage, croutons, cheese, grape tomatoes, garbanzo beans.

Veggie blend topping: In your food processor, grind onions, celery, zucchini, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, carrots, cucumbers for a salad topping.

Pita salads: Serve salads in a pita pocket or a wrap.

Steak salad: Grill a lean cut of steak. Cut in bite-sized pieces. Layer lettuce, veggie blend, onions, cheese, meat cubes, croutons and grape tomatoes. Add your favorite dressing.

Grilled chicken Caesar: Grill chicken, top romaine lettuce with Parmesan cheese, red onions, juice of squeezed lemon, sliced egg, croutons and anchovy fillets (omit if desired). Dress with lemon anchovy dressing (lemon juice, mayo, sour cream, black pepper and anchovy paste). 

Lettuce roll-ups: The Greeks wrap food in grape leaves and Polish in cabbage leaves, so try making your sandwiches or wraps with the large sturdy leaves of Romaine or leaf lettuce instead of bread.

Asian salad: Top spinach with pecans, sesame seeds, mandarin oranges and ginger. Dress with a splash of sesame or peanut oil and rice vinegar.

Orange vegetables:

Baked Yams or sweet potatoes: Wash, but don't pierce, a yam or sweet potato. Wrap it in foil and bake until soft. Serve with butter, pecans and honey. In many countries, people subsist on yam dishes.</b>

Baked Squash: Fill a shallow baking pan with an inch of water. Cut and seed acorn, sweet dumpling or butternut squash. Arrange them face down in water to steam. Bake until tender. Serve with butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar or honey.</b>

Pumpkin pudding: Follow the recipe on a 29 oz can of pumpkin to make the pie filling (use milk instead of canned milk) , only skip the crust, use brown sugar and extra spices. Pour into a 9x13 pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until solid.

Rainbow Raw veggie platter: broccoli and cauliflower florets, green, red, orange, yellow pepper strips, carrots strips, celery (
peel away stings with a potato peeler), mushrooms, radishes, cherry or grape tomatoes.

  Very few kids can resist the color, zest and flavor of these delicious vegetables!

A-Z culinary herbs and spices guide

Are you trying to eat less sodium, cholesterol, transfat, MSG, and artificial additives without sacrificing taste? Herbs and spices are the answer. Most restaurant food, I'm sorry to say, is sadly lacking in the herb and spice department. Americans dine out more now than ever before, but we aren't very particular about the food we pay so much to eat. The judicious addition of some basic herbs and spices yields flavor and nutrients and eliminates the need for fats, salts and additives.

Allspice- a nice combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander with an "all it's own" flavor. I love it in holiday baking and Indian dishes. 

Asafetida or hing: This is sooper onion-y, almost like the wild chives that grow in your backyard. It packs a wallop so you just need a little. 

Basil- Peppery and fragrant, this herb that is a must for Italian and pasta dishes. Basil is the main ingredient in this pesto, too.

Bay - Pungent and warm; throw a few leaves into any beef dish, stew, chili or soup.

Cardamom - This Queen of Spices, is peppery and fruity. Cardamom is integral to Indian cuisine, stewed fruits and breads. It tastes like bergamot, the main flavor of Earl Grey tea which is 

Celery seed - Crisp, fruity seed that is essential for coleslaw, lettuce salad, chicken and greens.

Celery salt - Spicy and savory, celery salt is my go to salt for pretty much all cooking besides sweet recipes. 

Cinnamon - Warm and sweet, cinnamon has many traditional uses and some exotic ones, too. Cinnamon is used in Mediterranean, Lebanese, Greek and African dishes.

Coriander is the seed to the cilantro leaf and has a citrus-y flavor that gives Indian cooking it's signature taste. 

Cumin - Warm, nutty, slightly smoky, cumin is a key spice in Middle Eastern, North African, Spanish and Indian cooking. 

Curry - Fruity, piquant and warm; used with all meats, rice, noodles, and some fruits. Also use in Asian and African meals.

Dill weed- A must with all fish and tuna recipes. Great with cheese and eggs too.

Fenugreek - Warm, maple sweet spice, Fenugreek is delicious in breads and cakes.

Fennel Seed - What leaps to mind is pizza, but don't forget to add this warm, bite-y, herbal seasoning to in all Italian, sausage and beef stew dishes.

Garlic - Garlic has healing properties, and is a staple for almost any meat, cheese or Italian dish.

Ginger - Hot and fruity, it pairs with curry and in African, Thai and Asian food. Wasabi and ginger are delicious on sushi, too.

Black, Red, White Pepper - Use a pepper grinder with a peppercorn blend (red, pink, white and black corns). A must for salads, soups, eggs, meats.

Herbes de Provence - Blend of savory, basil, thyme and fennel (some varieties add onion, lavender and sage); use this blend in poultry, beef, pork, lamb, rice and just about anywhere.

Lemon Pepper- Lemon is a perfect replacement to salt. Fabu on fish.

Marjoram - Piquant and savory; similar to sage, a multi-use herb for meat, salad, potatoes, rice.

Nutmeg - Sweet and nutty, it is the spice we associate with doughnut and alfredo spice.

Oregano-this savory, kind of woodsy herb gives Italian cuisine it's signature taste. We love oregano on pizza. 

Paprika - "little pepper" in Slavic languages; gentle yet warm and satisfying, a must on eggs, chicken, potatoes, beef and goulash. Use smokey paprika when you want that extra charred flavor. 

Rosemary - fresh with a hint of pine; great in vegetable salads, vinaigrette dressings, pork, chicken and lamb.

Sage - Warm and buttery; the chicken, rice and poultry spice

Turmeric- very peppery to the point of almost bitter, this is a great add-in for color and bite. 

White Pepper - hot and bitter spice that makes Alfredo sauce perfect

Za'ater is not a spice itself but a blend of oregano, cumin and sesame. I love it all all Middle eastern dishes, especially falafel and hummus. 

There are more I might have added, but these are my favorites. Try a variety of spices and develop your own 'gotta-have' list. For more food and recipes, visit my linked blogs.

Quick, easy cheap, nutritious kid-friendly recipes for hot supper meals in minutes

 Hello my friends of Great Food 4U! So if you're parents, you know that 6 pm dilemma when everyone is home from work and school and starved. And well, darn, you forgot to thaw anything and are now at a loss for what to feed everyone. And you don't want to go out to eat or grab fast food because it's expensive. How about some quick, easy, cheap nutritious kid-friendly recipes for meals in minutes? 

Diana's PBJ French Toast. This kid-friendly recipe goes back to the dark ages when I was 6, living over a diner in Alaska. My friend Diana and I would eat pancakes and she's always have them with peanut butter. I morphed them into French toast to add high protein power. Spread bread (any kind, use up leftover bread) with peanut butter and jam. Or almond, cashew or sunflower butter if your family eats peanut-free. Use low sugar jam like Aldi fruit preserves. Dip sandwiches in beaten eggs with a little vanilla and cinnamon added. Fry in ghee, butter or margarine. Add a drizzle of maple syrup or powdered sugar if desired. 

Rainbow Chicken Supper salad. Mix one can chicken, shredded coleslaw (with carrots, green and purple cabbage) mix, dried cranberries, mayo, mustard, celery seed. . If you  have time, chop a yellow bell pepper, red onion and cucumber. If you don't have cranberries, use red grapes or raisins. Add cilantro leaves or fresh chopped dill. Serve with croissants, bagels or English muffins. Or just toast. You can get all the ingredients at Aldi for about $15 and it will make enough to feed six people. You can mix and match with colored fruits and vegetables, whatever you have on hand and need to use up.

Mucho nachos grande. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, here's a quick, easy cheap recipe to fill up kids and use up leftovers. Melt cheese on tortilla chips and add Herdez salsa cremosa or avocado salsa. Use any cheese you have on hand: shredded, brick or sliced. Or make a quick guacamole from chopped onions, garlic and tomatoes, mashed avocado, lime juice, cumin powder and cilantro. 

Sieta Layer bean dip. This leftover useup recipe is cheap because it uses up all the bits and pieces floating around in the fridge and cupboard. If you're like me, you have, at any given time,, a lot of partially used containers and bags of these on hand. Collect up onions, tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, shredded cheese, taco meat, crushed tortilla chips, broken taco shells or tostadas, lime juice, salsa verde, taco sauce, salsa, refried beans or just beans, sour cream, ranch dip or salad dressing, in any combination you wish. Chop up the vegetables and layer with chips on the bottom and sauces in between layers. This is great meatless or if you like meat, season some canned chicken with cumin, garlic, onion powder and smokey paprika. Make this with any combination you wish. If you don't have an ingredient on hand, skip, it's fine. 

Ten Minute Taco Salad. So in this version, you mix any combination or all the above ingredients with a base sauce or salsa. 

Speedy Veggie Schpaghet, Schpaget: That's what my MIL (God rest her soul) called spaghetti. Cook any kind of pasta you have on hand. Right now, I'm making mine with Barilla Protein Plus elbow noodles. Make a smaller batch to cook pasta faster. Next, add that half jar of pasta sauce and partially used bag of shredded cheese we ALL have lurking in the fridge. You can jazz it up with fresh sliced mushrooms, pepperoni, chopped onions and or green peppers if you like. Or if you don't have pasta sauce, used diced canned tomatoes. Or even salsa. Add green, black olives, canned mushrooms or capers, if you wish. This is perfect for meatless Lenten fast days. And this leftover useup recipe actually saved money as it used up the spaghetti sauce and cheese that were threatening to grow fur. 

Free up time Frittata. Here's the recipe from another post. Frittatas can be made meatless or with breakfast sausage, bacon or as a leftover use up recipe to use leftover ham, chopped onions and peppers, cheese. Serve with a microwave baked potato or toasted stale bread. Or bake the bread right in for a "toad in the hole" type meal. You can have it ready in 20 minutes. 

Soupcon supper: This is from my Grandma Langerak and is a wash day meal you made when you had no time to cook. Press going-stale pieces of bread into muffin tin cups and toast till they turn to bread cups. Heat one can broth soup (chicken noodle), one can of cream soup and one can vegetables. Any kind. Add canned meat like tuna or chicken if available. This is a war time rationing recipe so you used what was on hand. Pour heated soup into bread bowls. Serve with shredded cheese or grated parmesan cheese if you wish. My favorite version is French onion broth, cream of chicken with canned mushrooms and green beans topped with Greek yogurt. Soupcon is French for "just a little" and it fits. Though it's only a few cheap canned goods bread, it feels like a feast. 

My speedy salsa schpaget was done in 8 minutes. One serving is only about 250 calories, has 15 grams of protein, and cost me about $.40. Not bad. As I had to work late tonight, it was nice to have a hot meatless meal in minutes. 

Yummy kid-friendly recipes and food prep tips to unpick the picky eater

 Mom and dad, have you got picky eaters in your family? Parents are always hearing how important it

is to feed children healthy, but if said children won't cooperate, it can be a real headache. Here are

parenting tips from a teacher, preschool director and mom of four on how to unpick picky eaters plus

healthy kids recipes to fix eating habits and have those fussy eaters eating out your hand!

* Numero uno parenting tips to unpick picky eaters--examine your own eating habits. The majority of

kids who are picky eaters, are raised by adults who are picky eaters. Though he may not show it,

your child trusts your judgement. If you won't try new foods and have a list of dislikes a mile long, you

communicate food phobia to your kids. If you turn your nose up at many foods, your kids figure that

you must have a good reason and they do likewise.

* Take baby steps. To learn to run, you first learn to crawl and then to walk. It's the same with

unlearning picky eating habits. If you've discovered that you are among the many fussy eaters in this

indulged first world, start slowly and add new foods to your diet. Give your children the same growing

space. Check out new healthy kids recipes to find things she'll like. The goal isn't to get picky eaters

to eat everything (this author will never, ever eat liver ever). The goal is to expand both your food

horizons.

* Appeal to the innate good judgement of your picky eaters. Tell your children why it's so important

that to develop healthy eating habits. Show them how unhealthy eating habits can affect her (obesity,

tooth decay, liver damage, diabetes heart disease). You're not trying to scare, just to inform.

* Bargain with fussy eaters. Allow her to say "no, thank you" to one menu item per meal. If she

declines a vegetable, she must eat another one in its place. Healthy meals include at least two

vegetables. Lettuce salads are great healthy kids recipes to make at home. Have picky eaters help

make a salad bar for dinner with lots of veggies added in--scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, green

peppers, radishes, sprouts, broccoli, eggs, mushrooms, etc. Let her make her own salads, encourage

her to add new vegetables each time. You can also make trades. For every new food she tries, she

gets something she likes.

* Avoid the clean plate club mentality. Here's one of the best parenting tips ever. Don't make your

child eat every bite of a portion size you determined. What seemed like an appropriate portion to you

is likely way to much for children. Children should generally eat all they take. But children should

learn to recognize if food is spoiled or improperly cooked. They will not always be able to judge how

much they can eat.

* Don't overlook illness. Here's another of the essential parenting tips. Just because a child is picky

doesn't mean there may not be a good reason why she is refusing this meal. Check for fever, teeth

coming in, sinus or allergies or flu bug.

* No dessert without dinner. A child should eat a good portion of nutritious food, particularly protein

and vegetables, before eating sweets (even fruit). Sugary foods literally do "kill" the appetite without

adding nutritional value. This isn't bribery as you are encouraging good eating habits by offering

sweets after the healthy food is eating. And psst, here's one of the best kept secret parenting tips.

You can make desserts nutritious. Swap blue agave syrup, honey, fruit and molasses and raw sugar

for refined sugar. Include whole grains, fiber and Greek yogurt for super healthy kids recipes for

dessert.

* Serve water with meals instead of other beverages. Milk is nutritious, but it can also fill kids up

before they have eaten much dinner. Never serve soda, chocolate milk or even fruit juice as a

beverage. Those are desserts.

* Make a collection of your family's favorite healthy kids recipes. Let children help in the kitchen,

preparing meals. A picky eater's biggest fear is that you will slip something she doesn't like in her

food. So she avoid casseroles, soups and foods with many ingredients. When they help cook, fussy

eaters know what's going in their meals.

* It's all in the presentation. Fragrant food, served with an eye to color and arrangement will tempt the

fussiest, pickiest eater. Serve a small portion of turmeric and herb-roasted chicken breast. Add a side

of jasmine rice, Portobello mushrooms, broccoli and carrots. Add fresh tomato and cucumber slices

and a mixed berry parfait. This meal looks beautiful and tastes delicious. Your fussy eaters will be

eating out of your hand

Curried Pumpkin Squash Fish Chowder recipe for Lenten weight loss, gluten-free, keto diet food swaps

 Hello my friends of Great Food 4U! We are this blog are in the midst of Lent. As Catholics we abstain from meat on Fridays and part of our Lenten fast includes abstaining throughout Lent. I'm also on a mission to lose weight through keto diet, calorie restricting and intermittent fasting. Part of how I lost weight 12 years ago was with diet food swaps and eating more gluten-free foods. Here's a weight loss fish recipe that addresses all of those, perfect for Lenten Fish Fridays. It also works great for leftover use-up recipes and meals in minutes! 

Currying Flavor Curried Fish Chowder

So I did that thing I do too often where I thaw fish, planning to make my Cajun fried fish, and then I get busy and tired and don't feel like it. So I came up with this quick recipe that I could throw in the oven. And we ended up loving it. I was able to do a fresh vegetable leftovers use-up too. 

Start with some not too dense fish like tilapia, whiting, blue whiting, catfish, pollock or cod. Rinse and  place pieces in baking pan. Season with celery salt, pepper and dill. 

Prepare sauce. I took a short cut and used Aldi Pumpkin Squash pasta sauce. It did have more cream and sugar than I'd have liked. But it was quick and delicious. For a low carbohydrate, vegan fish sauce, blend canned pumpkin or squash or leftover cooked squash, carrots or pumpkin. You can mash canned carrots if easier.  For a creamier taste, add whole plain Greek yogurt. Add sugar-free salsa or chopped mire poix vegetables: garlic, red or yellow onions, colored peppers and celery. 

Blend curry spices or use prepared curry. My curried fish blend includes: red pepper, white pepper, turmeric, ginger, curry powder, cardamom, coriander, celery salt, celery seed, cloves, cumin, fenugreek (just a little).  Season sauce to taste. Pour sauce over fish and add two or three bay leaves. Bake till bubbly and done. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves. 

Serve as whole fish with sauce or break into pieces and serve as curried fish chowder. We had fish pieces the first night and ate the leftovers as curried fish chowder. 

Gluten free weight loss food swaps: keto, crustless quiche and frittata recipes for leftover use-ups

Hello my friends! Today we take on gluten-free weight loss with breadless food swaps for popular foods. These are high protein, low carbohydrate keto diet friendly and vegetarian food swaps designed for Lenten fasts and calorie restricting weight loss. Today's are Quintessential Crustless Quiche and Free-up Frittata recipes. 

So first let me say, frittatas have revolutionized my omelets. I call them Free-Up Frittatas because they free up time, labor and ingredients and save money. One pan does it all. And these gluten-free goodies are crammed with low to no carbohydrate vegetarian protein. I list the crustless quiche and frittata recipes separately but basically they're the same thing. My frittata is just quiche without the crust, give or take. 

First, and this is an absolute must, no exceptions, ya gotta use a cast iron skillet. I was never a fan, being the one who had to wash my dad's anvil-heavy skillet. But once dear daughter Molly Cate got me one of my own, well, now it's all I use for most pan fried cooking, especially frittatas. 

You can add pretty much any ingredients you want as long as you have eggs. I'm sure there's a vegan food swap for eggs in quiche but I've not explored that. So my preference is to do a weekly fridge leftovers clear out, dice 'em up and fritatta-ize them. You know, that thing of chopped onions, the half used carton of mushrooms, the six open bags of shredded cheese. (yes, six, why would we bother to see if one is already open before tearing into another?) Don't forget the sprouting garlic bulb or clove, never can remember which is the whole and which is the part. And the three cut into colored peppers. Use up leftover  milk about to expire. And that half package of bacon or bacon bits or cooked sausage, you get the idea. 

First, dice vegetables and sauté in cooking olive oil, ghee leftover bacon grease (favorite). Arrange in pan so there's an even amount spread around the bottom. Season with cracked pepper and celery salt. Lower heat. Beat about 6-8 eggs with a little milk till smooth. Pour into pan so cooked stuff is covered. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  DO NOT TOUCH IT. Just let it cook till eggs have begun to set. Add top with shredded cheese. I actually add my cheese into egg mixture but you can do it either way. Top with fresh herbs like basil, dill, rosemary or oregano. Bake till cheese is melted, eggs are bubbly and edges are browning. 

Top with fresh chopped tomatoes. Cut into pie slices and enjoy this gluten-free quiche-frittata.  If you're eating vegetarian weight loss food swaps, omit meat and top with a little Parmesan cheese. Load up on the vegetables. This frittata recipe is so versatile! We make it for our meatless Lenten entree at least once a week. You will notice ours is not neatly cut, LOL we keep doing that "oh just a smidge more." 

Cheap diet food swaps: meatless, high protein recipes for weight loss

 Hello my friends! We here at GreatFoods4U are all about healthy eating on shoestring, or as economical as possible. Currently, it's Lent in the Catholic church and we are focusing on budget-friendly meatless, vegetarian high protein food swaps to follow our Lenten fast. And value added, these cheap diet foods are great for weight loss. Eating them was part of how I lost 100 pounds without weight loss drugs or gastric bypass surgery. And one of the complaints I hear, ironically, is how expensive weight loss is. Well, the good news is that weight loss doesn't have to break the bank if you use these cheap diet food swaps. 

Split peas or canned peas. You don't have to buy the costly pea protein powder. Just use these cheap diet food swaps. Just blend a cheap bag of split peas in a food processor and swap these for pea protein powder. Or make meatless, vegetarian split pea soup with carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Or, drain, rinse and eat canned peas. You get up to 15 grams per serving in split pea soup. 

Dried beans. Soybeans or edamame are the highest protein beans with 30 grams per serving. Other beans for high protein diet food swaps are lentils, cannellini, black beans, garbanzo or chickpeas. You can grind these and use for gluten-free breadless flour food swaps. You can mash and fry canned beans as pancakes. Or  make homemade gluten-free falafel with besan (chickpea flour). All of these diet food swaps are super cheap. Eating this way is how I lost 100 pounds. 

Pumpkin seeds or pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds). 1/4 cup serving give 7-9 grams of protein. You can find cheap pepitas for under $2 at Aldi. So that's about $.30 a serving for these cheap meatless, high protein food swaps. You can make these into any of your favorite vegetarian dishes such. 

Nut Roast. (or Nut Loaf). Mill gluten-free dried beans or peas. Grind up leftover nuts, any kind. Then sauté leftover bits of onions, celery, garlic, peppers and mushrooms, seasoned with sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Blend in nuts and milled beans. Add eggs if desired, oil loaf pan and bake as you would meatloaf. These vegetarian food swaps substitute for pot roast or meatloaf and can have up to 30 grams of protein for 500 calories. The beauty of this economical diet food swap is that it's also a leftover use-up recipe. 

Parmesan Reggiano cheese. This superfood is lactose free, high protein, filling, curbs cravings and good for weight loss if eaten in moderation. One ounce gives 10 grams of protein. This isn't as cheap a diet food swap but if you buy on sale, a one ounce serving is about $.75. I eat parmesan cheese wedges as a snack and it fills me up. Swapping Parmesan Reggiano cheese for other cheeses is part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Barilla Protein+ Pasta. So you pay a little more than regular pasta but if you buy on sale, it's under $.30 a serving. You get 10 grams of protein for 190 which is fewer calories and more protein than regular pasta. Plus this cheap meatless diet food swap fills me up and curbs cravings. 

Mushrooms. Believe it or not, these meatless food swaps can have as much protein as meat per calorie. Mushrooms make great vegetarian high protein food swaps in all recipes. I love veggie mushroom burgers with white or baby bella mushrooms, garlic, onions, oatmeal, eggs and Parmesan Reggiano cheese. 

How I lost 100 pounds eating high protein vegetarian keto sandwich recipes, perfect for Lent

 Hello my dear friends! We're into Lent now and are featuring more of our Lenten Kitchen meatless recipes. Eating vegetarian plus keto (yes you can do both) is part of how I lost 100 pounds. Here are high protein, vegetarian Keto sandwich recipes with vegan and vegetarian food swaps. 

Spicy pickle Salmon sammy on keto bread. I got home from work starved and whipped up this high protein sandwich recipe on the spot. It was so good I might have another! How I lost 100 pounds was by eating filling high protein foods to curb hunger and keep cravings at bay. And this one of them. 

Start with high protein keto bread like Aldi's. This seed-dense bread gives you calorie forward (sugar and starch balanced with fiber and protein) 14 grams of protein per 150 calorie 2-slice serving. It you're calorie restricting to lose weight or for a religious fast like Lent, keto bread should be your go-to. Seeds are the shiznit for packing in protein. Although I lost 40 pounds just by doing intermittent fasting twice a week on plain old Admiral bread and water. If you're gluten-intolerant, try a gluten-free veggie tortilla. Aldi also makes a lentil red pepper tortilla that is 2 Diet 4! 

Spread with salmon cream cheese and a drizzle Herdez guacamole salsa. If you're vegan try my homemade cumin hummus recipe featured here. Hummus makes great food swaps for weight loss, vegan diets and Lenten fasts. Mustard is another great low-calorie spread. I choose stone ground mustard with the seeds. 

Add any kinds of veggies you want to your vegetarian high protein sandwich recipes. My concoction featured home 

sprouted spicy sprouts. You can buy cheap sprouting seeds and lids from Amazon, then just reuse canning jars. 

dill pickle relish (cause I didn't have dill pickles but oh my, once you go dill relish, you'll never go sweet again). 

sliced tomatoes

sliced Havarti cheese

smoked salmon (canned in oil, not the slimy gelatinous stuff in paper envelopes) or smoked tuna. The envelopes of salmon are okay but not nearly as tasty and you really don't save that many calories. 

artisan lettuce leaves or romaine (use romaine leaves as breadless food swaps to wrap your sandwich, if you're eating gluten-free)

Enjoy with a handful of berries for extra high protein fruit goodness. Or try a few dates, to beat sugar cravings and boost metabolism, energy, antioxidants and electrolytes. Plus dates just taste so ambrosial! Stay tuned for more on how I lost 100 pounds with keto diet food swap recipes.

Vegetarian high-protein tuna tetrazzini recipes for Lenten fasting and weight loss

Hello my friends! And a blessed Ash Wednesday to you. Here at Great Food 4U, we observe a meatless, vegetarian Lenten fast throughout the 40-day period leading up to Holy Week and Easter. One of the trickier parts is to eat enough protein to feel satisfied and not too hungry. Here are vegetarian high protein tuna recipes from the Lenten Kitchen. Following a Lenten diet with intermittent fasting is part of how I lost 100 pounds. Plus, value added these "waste not want not" recipes feature leftover use-up ingredients as well. And we've included food swaps for a quick or longer from-scratch version. 

Now I know, the point of a Lenten fast is to feel hunger, but too much calorie restricting in a starvation diet is not the way to do. Let me just say from experience that feeling too hungry actually defeats the purpose of the fast, plus it derails weight loss, if that's your goal. Over calorie restricting, makes me shaky and irritable as blood sugar drops. I am more likely are more likely to break my fast and overindulge. I have fainted several times, due to calorie restricting.  That's why eating enough protein with fewer cards, and warding off blood sugar spikes is crucial, both to religious and intermittent fasting for weight loss. Keeping blood sugar in balance and curbing hunger played an integral role in how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass surgery or weight loss drugs. 

So here's my quick version tuna and strict vegetarian tetrazzini recipes for Lenten fasting and weight loss

8 ounces Barilla Protein+ Pasta, cooked in brine from canned tuna, mushrooms and black olives and rinsed soup cans ( "waste not want not" tips like this fit right in with Lent ). This vegan pasta gives 10 grams of plant-based protein for 190 calories per serving, using chickpea and lentil flour plus pea protein. It's not gluten-free so if you need that, substitute a chickpea, red lentil, black bean or edamame pasta. Aldi makes less expensive versions of these. 

one can each low sodium cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups. Rinse the cans and use the water to cook the pasta in. (that's for the quick version, you can make your own soups too. I recommend swapping blended cottage cheese for milk and butter. It will be a little tangier but you get so much more protein with less fat. 

two small or one large can tuna in water (drain brine into pasta water, again, waste not want not.) You can skip the tuna if you're doing a completely meatless fast. 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (this low moisture cheese gives a high protein low carb kick)

sliced black olives (drain the brine and add to pasta cooking water) 

sliced mushrooms (drain the brine and add to pasta cooking water)

Mix well and season with dill, black pepper, onion and garlic.

For homemade from-scratch tuna tetrazzini, sauté fresh sliced celery, onions and mushrooms in high heat oil. Add wheat flour or gluten-free chickpea flour to thicken into roux. Then add milk or water till roux forms a soup consistency. Swap blended cottage cheese for a creamier, high protein alternative to milk. Blend in Parmesan cheese and mix with cooked pasta, canned tuna (or not), sliced olives and seasonings. 

Vegan gluten-free falafel with homemade hummus and other Mediterranean diet recipes for Lent

Hello my friends! We at GreatFood4U are preparing to observe a Lenten fast and part of that involves stocking our pantries and shelves with vegan and vegetarian ingredients so we can make Lenten Kitchen dishes. Check out this article for vegan "mock" food swap recipes for Lent. 

Our Lenten Meal of the Day focuses on gluten-free vegan falafel with homemade hummus. Eating Mediterranean Diet foods like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds. And living a little more minimally, eating a little simpler more sustainable so others might simply live--wins for all of us. And with that in mind, remember, our recipes are endlessly adaptable to what you have on hand, personal preferences, etc. We are all about leftover use-up recipes too, That's part of living sustainably which is part of the Catholic Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. 

Vegan falafel platter with homemade hummus

I'm going make this Lenten Meal of the Day into a platter with all kinds of yummy, high protein, Mediterranean diet favorites. You can choose whichever of these you like or have on hand. 

Gluten-free vegan falafel ingredients

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups mashed chickpeas (I'll be honest, I use canned and drained garbanzo beans because I usually have those on hand but dried chickpeas are better. Just soak them first overnight, rinse, drain and blend in food processor or blender. I'm using my blender more lately. 

fresh cilantro, parsley and/or oregano one cup each minced very fine or shredded. I use the same scallion shredder I use for my homemade sushi. Or one of those herb wheels would work too. But to save time, just pop it in blender with a few drop of water. Some recipes say to remove stems but I just mince it all up. Stems are soft enough and contain a lot of the flavor. 

1 garlic bulb (or minced equivalent. If you're like me, and don't have time or patience to hand mince, jarred is just fine.) Use the whole bulb, btw, not just one clove. 

1/2 cup minced onion, preferably red (I'm test-driving that onion holder thingy I just bought. I'll let you know if it was worth it. Though preferred way is for my husband and partner on this blog, to dice. The most important thing is to HAVE A GOOD SHARP KNIFE and sharpen it between uses. Religiously, no pun intended).

1 T besam (gram or chickpea flour) this is a gluten-free binder.

1 T. sesame seeds (toasted preferred by me but your choice)

2 tsp. ground cumin (this is one ingredient you cannot omit. If you don't have any, let me know and I'll send you some!)

1 tsp. smoked paprika (I go back and forth on the smoked or not. There's just something so addictive about that rich campfire-y aroma I can't resist. But be careful if you use it or it will overpower every other flavor. )

Za'atar--buy premade or just mix sesame seeds, thyme, SUMAC (another of my Mediterranean diet heartthrobs) and salt. I add marjoram oregano and cumin. 

1 tsp. baking soda (for poofiness, lol)

1 tsp. celery salt (or regular salt with dried minced celery leaves)

multicolored pepper to taste (this is another one that can hijack the entire dish). 

cayenne pepper if desired

water and lemon juice mixed equal parts to make 5 tsp. Add slowly till ingredients are firm but not too sticky. If sticky, roll in sauteing olive oil (not extra virgin as that has too low a smoke point). 

Sauteing olive oil (aka light for grilling) or avocado oil. If too expensive, vegetable or peanut oil is fine. 

Roll into small balls, one inch in diameter and than flatten slightly. Drop into heated oil (about half  inch in cast iron pan) Use a falafel scoop if you have one. Fry till fluffy and crispy. Serve immediately. 

Homemade gluten-free vegan cumin hummus. Please, don't use store bought hummus unless you've bought it from a shop in the Middle East. Grocery store hummus is the reason people hate hummus. It is seriously so easy and cheap to make. Filling up on good fat, calorie forward foods like this is how I lost 100 pounds. 

Drain one can chickpeas into blender or food processor (yeah, I know, dried and soaked are better but everyone loves my hummus with canned beans, so I'll take that shortcut.) Reserve juice and add a little back into blender. Add in about 1/4 cup lemon juice and blend till down to small chunks. Add in tahini about half cup. If you like that nutty taste and we do, you can add more but it's pretty rich and  oily so don't let it take over the hummus. Next add 1 T minced garlic, 1 tsp cumin and celery salt and blend till creamy. Some recipes call for olive oil but we find it tastes greasy. And it's not necessary with the tahini which is already quite oily. Add in more reserved chickpea juice if dry. Taste occasionally and add more salt or cumin till you hit the taste you like.

Honestly,  I've never seen too many hummus recipes with cumin. But mine never quite hit it for me, till I, on a whim, tossed in some cumin and BOOM! Houston, we have liftoff! 

Serve with toum garlic dip. Sooooooo delicious. I tried making my own but was pretty annoyed with the poor result. Now I just let Mama Toom make it for me. 

Pickled turnips And you'll need to cut the salty richness with some rainbow veggie goodness. So I recommend slice baby cucumbers, red, yellow and orange pepper strips, fresh cilantro leaves and pickled turnips. Peel and matchstick turnips and beets. Brine in fine Himalayan pink salt and set aside to dehydrate. Add celery sticks and sliced jalapeno. Cover with vinegar and soak till veggies turn pinkish purple. Some recipes call for draining out salt water. I don't. They need salt anyway and waste not want not. 

Palestinian tomato cucumber or Jerusalem salad. I've seen this called harath salad too. Dice Persian (baby) cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions and or/red onions and red bell pepper. Chop Italian or flat leaf parsley. Add EVOO (extra virgin olive oil--the kind for salads and marinades) and fresh squeezed lemon. Season with sumac and mint if desired (not a fan, me). I'd substitute dill. 

Salatet Malfouf This simple dish elevates purple cabbage into ambrosia. It's just shredded purple cabbage dressed in EVOO, lemon juice and dried mint. I'd add celery seed to mine cuz, that's me. You can literally binge on foods like this without guilt. 

Serve with feta cheese if not eating vegan. Oh, bonus added all these recipes are kosher. Eating vegan foods like these was part of how I lost 100 pounds. Here are some more diet food swap recipes that feel decadent but aren't. 

(photo courtesy of yummyporky - https://www.flickr.com/photos/yummy-porky/3835239904/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9840096) Forgot to take picture of mine. 

 

Lenten Kitchen recipes: "mock" food swaps for sugar-less, vegetarian, vegan and meatless dishes

Hello my friends. Lent is right around the corner and for Catholic Christians, this means increased fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It's a time for lightening up our diets with vegetarian and meatless options. For seven weeks, the church calls us to eat vegetarian and vegan meals. Veganism is a lifestyle choice to eat no meat, dairy, nor animal products. A vegan diet has other benefits in weight loss and improved health. It also ties in well for Catholic observing a Lenten fast. But before people were choosing this diet, and around the world now, many are forced to follow it, by poverty, famine and war. They don't eat this way to lose weight, but to live.  Having said that, eating this way was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

In the US and UK, depression and war time rationing meant going without or eating very little meat, eggs, cheese, milk, sugar and other foods. They got creative, making up "mock" recipes for favorite meat and dairy dishes.  Now they're called vegan haute cuisine and served in posh gastro-pubs.  Sadly the things that were abundant and not rationed are now so expensive THEY are the posh people foods. Turnips that you couldn't give away are now $2.79 a pound. So some of the vegan food swaps might actually be more expensive than the foods they replace. Just like fish that Catholic eat for Lent is now more expensive, thanks to over-fishing, than the chicken, pork and even beef, it subs for. But  I'll share cheaper food swaps for the food swaps, lol!

One popular dish in wartime rationing Britain was Murkey or mock turkey. Another was mock goose. Served at Christmas, this dish reimagined a game bird made from lentils and vegetables. Another mock turkey recipe shaped the bird from the stuffing normally used to fill the turkey. Here's the complete recipe for Thanksgiving Murkey (mock turkey). (I love the little parsnip drumsticks!) Her recipe calls for sausage which of course would not be used during Lent or by vegetarians. I'd mold the game bird from cooked chilled lentils or other mashed beans. You can even use refried beans with dried bread added. Or sub bread for nuts for a gluten-free version. Cook beans with diced onion, celery and bell pepper Season with sage, rosemary, bay leaf, pepper and celery salt. Mash and add any nuts you like. Mine is made from mixed nuts I let go stale accidentally. If you're feeling adventurous, add cranberries and apples. Substitute carrots for parsnips as parsnips which were considered desperation food are now over two bucks a pound. 

Vegan war cake. See my blog post here for my grandmother's dairy-free, milk-less, eggless, sugar-less, war cake recipe. This is perfect for Lent. I've updated it with oil food swaps. 

Veggie burgers. Check out my recipes for vegan, gluten-free, diet food swap veggie burgers. 

For vegan and diet hot dog recipes, see my post on Phoney Coney Island hot dogs 

Eating vegan and diet food swap recipes like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds without diet drugs or weight loss surgery. 

National Pizza Day: Lenten Kitchen diet food swap recipes for weight loss

Hello my friends! Happy National Pizza Day! I'll admit, I love pizza but the way it's made traditionally, at least in the US, it's calorie dense and not diet friendly. So here are some diet food swap pizza recipes and pizza-making tips for weight loss. I'll include some gluten-free pizza recipes too. Eating lighter and with healthier diet food swaps was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Homemade pizza tops restaurant or store-bought pizza food swaps. You'll cut calories in pizza just by making your own pizza at home. Restaurant foods are always more calorie dense because they use more salt, fats (including less optimal transfats and saturated fats) flavor additives and other hidden calorie boosts. Using homemade pizza food swaps you'll get a heartier more filling pizza with a fraction of the calories. 

Diet food swap pizza crust recipes. Pizza crust is the single biggest calorie booster in the dish. We don't even like the thick breadier Detroit style pizza crusts anyway, so that a good thing. We buy thin or cracker style pizza crusts from Dollar Tree and cut calories and cost. I could also make my own but in the interest of a quick, nutritious meal, I'll opt for pre-made thin pizza crusts. And I'm saving money over pizza take-out or store bought. And we're talking serious calorie cutting here. And entire thin crust pizza crust is only 320 calories compared to 960 per refrigerated pizza crust and a whopping 1,080 for regular Boboli. 

Breadless gluten-free pizza crust recipes. Cauliflower pizza crusts are a popular gluten-free food swap to wheat flour crusts. You can make your own using riced cauliflower (just make sure to extract as much liquid as possible to avoid soggy crusts). 

Besam or gram flour pizza crust. My preferred diet pizza option is to use besam or gram flour (ckickpea flour) as a protein rich gluten-free pizza crust option. This flatbread style is made similar to naan pizza using a greased skillet. Besam pizza crust recipe is simple, using 1 cup ground chickpea flour, one T. avocado or olive oil, tapioca flour or milled flaxseed, garlic, fennel and celery salt to taste--celery salt is my go-to for all savory recipes. For a more Indian flavor, add cumin and for Italian, add rosemary and thyme. 

Carb free Keto diet Spinach pizza crust. The breadless pizza crust alternative is amazingly delicious. Oil a pan with high heat oil like avocado or light olive oil. Arrange a mat of spinach leaves about 3-5 thick. Alternate layers of spinach leaves with shredded parmesan which when baked, acts as a binder. Next, top your spinach crust with favorite toppings, omitting cheese as it's in the crust. 

Diet pizza food swaps for cheese.  Cheese is another big calorie add. Parmesan cheese is keto-friendly as it is a low lactose (milk sugar) and high protein cheese with CLA (fat burning conjugated linolenic acid) Eating keto was part of how I lost 100 pounds. Goat cheese, brie and feta cheese is lower in calories than most hard cheeses so it makes a good diet food swap. Just plan on it not melting well. For a good low calorie cheese to melt, try lowfat mozzarella.  Although for me, the jury's still out on full fat vs. lowfat cheese. Full fat curbs hunger better and sometimes has less junk in it than "light" options. 

Diet meat pizza toppings food swaps.  Diet food swaps for meat toppings include pre-cooked crumbled bacon. One T. has only 25 calories. Turkey pepperoni or sausage is lower fat and calories.  Both are low fat but also suuuper salty. So I just use less or omit. My diet food swap preference is shrimp pizza. Cooked shrimp has a protein punch with almost no fat. My husband loves anchovies too. 

Diet food swaps for pizza topping. Here's where the creativity comes in because there are so many vegetable combinations to enjoy on your pizza. Our must-haves are baby bella mushrooms, onions, multi-colored peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, fennel seed and just a few black olives. 

Lenten kitchen pizza recipes. Our rainbow vegetarian pizza for lent (when we Catholics don't eat meat) features a thin pizza crust (or spinach pizza crust) with a light spread of marinara sauce. We top with fresh mushrooms, diced red (purple) onion, colored peppers (green, red, yellow and orange), garlic, sliced grape tomatoes, fresh basil and spicy sprouts andshrimp for me and anchovies for him. We add generous portions of oregano and fennel seed and drizzle with truffle oil. 

Fun food swap pizza recipes. Our son introduced us to bacon, fig and goat cheese pizza and I loved it. Figs add a high protein kick and that little bit of sweet counteracts the saltiness of pizza. I'd also use dates or reduced sugar dried cranberries. I add fresh mushrooms, just because, well, mushrooms. You could add Greek olives too. 

Stay tuned for more upcoming Lenten Kitchen vegetarian food swap recipes as Ash Wednesday approaches! Making food swaps like these was part of how I lost 100 pounds without drugs or weight loss surgery. 

Lenten Kitchen leftover use-up potato salad recipe for weight loss: how I lost 100 pounds

 So now the holidays are over and it's only winter but no Christmas, to quote Narnia, are you as sick of cold and snow as I am? I seriously need some summer right about now. Well you can create that summer vibe and use up all your leftover veggies to boot. AND create a great die recipe for New Year's weight loss. Just in time for Lent (a period of fasting from meat and sweets in the Catholic Church),  here's my leftover use-up recipe for a fat-busting New Year potato salad recipe. Lighten the calorie load and your mood with this veg out recipe that will bring the summer sun to a winter blah. 

My recipes are purposely adaptable to all tastes, budgets, special diets, etc. I focus on "green" recipes that don't call for certain ingredients besides what you probably have on hand. And if you don't, I'll share improvising tips for workarounds. The goal is to create a delicious dish that uses up all those assorted leftovers, not to create more leftovers or waste. 

Leftovers Use-Up Potato Salad: The possibilities are endless with this popular vegetable salad. And after the holidays, you'll have lots of itsy bitsy bits to use up. We're gonna chop 'em all up and blend with some simple condiments. First, gather all the miscellaneous potatoes from the larder. Doesn't matter what color. Mine featured has a few red, a Yukon gold and some russet potatoes. Wash, cube and toss in a pan to boil. Don't peel them. That's where all the vitamins are. 

Boil some about to expire eggs in with them. Or don't if you're a vegan. 

 Next start scrounging in your fridge for all those stray Zip-loc bags and dishes of half used and withering herbs and vegetables. You can include as many or as few as you like or have on hand. 

celery (include leaves, so much flavor)

onions (red preferred)

colored bell peppers or mini peppers left from the relish tray, the more colorful the better

scallions 

cilantro 

fresh dill

radishes

dill pickles ( or dill pickle relish)

chopped jalapeno if brave

avocado (not a fan, myself)

shredded carrots if desired

leftover ham cubes if you wish ( I don't. I'll use that for other recipes) 

You can even use up capers or olives if you wish. Now, mix with the partially used mayonnaise and any mustard you like. I'm a Dijon or stone ground girl, myself. And I'm not a stickler on much but I do beg you not to use light mayo. I always have and finally treated myself to full strength and oh, Mama, it was like coming home! 

We believe I must have Russian in my heritage because both they and I adore mayonnaise. Not Miracle Whip (ick). Now of course if you're vegan use the avocado kind. Or make your own. I think you just sub avocado for egg. Mix till coated.  

Season with multi-colored pepper, a dash of celery salt, dill weed if you had none in fridge, paprika (smoked if you prefer. I don't in this recipe.)  Taste test and add more of whatever you think it's missing.

And for the piece de resistance, add a little Herdez creamy salsa verde (the roasted poblano cremosa, oh so mosa good!) and cayenne pepper to taste. I'm trying to work myself up to using more hot pepper in my dishes as it's sooo good for natural treatment of arthritis and inflammation. 

Now, a note on garlic. I use it on pretty much everything except my potato salad. But you can if you like. 

You can garnish with sliced eggs, cilantro or dill fronds.
The garnish on mine is pickled turnips and beets.  I'll share that recipe later. Eating veggie forward like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

Now to keep these two little thieves out. Yes, Mordecai and Moishe, I'm telling your secrets!