Chicken Pot Pie

Comfort food cravings are a thing of the past with this delicious dish. Creamy chicken soup makes a warm and tasty base while a few healthy vegetables and flavorful chicken round out this classic. This will definitely be a repeat on my table.

Ingredients:
6 oz. chicken breast
1/4 cauliflower head, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 package of frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup cream of chicken soup (I used the cream of chicken protein packet)
1 slice of light bread
Seasonings to taste (I used garlic powder and red pepper flake)
Butter cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Lightly coat a non-stick pan with butter cooking spray. Place over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the chicken with preferred seasonings. Sear in pan for 3 minutes. Flip chicken and place in oven. Roast chicken for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam vegetables until tender. Measure out 4 oz. of cooked vegetables for the pie. Take one slice of bread and remove crusts, if desired. Using a rolling pin, flatten the bread.

Once chicken has finished roasting, remove from pan and cut into bite-size pieces. Place pan used for roasting over medium-high heat. Add soup, and mix with water until desired consistency is reached. Be sure to get all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Add vegetables and chicken to soup. Mix until well combined.

Pour chicken-vegetable mixture into oven-safe bowl. Top with flattened bread and spray bread with butter spray. Place in oven until bread is toasty and brown.

Serves 1
Dinner for Meta Slim Plus Level 2

Creamy Stir-Fry

This dish was born from a need to use leftovers and a desire to have something creamy. I haven't really had a lot of creamy dishes as dairy is rather limited on my plan. But this is very reminiscent of a hamburger helper type of dish, but without all the sodium and preservatives. Very yummy indeed.

Ingredients:
8 oz. of ground meat (I used a combination of ground buffalo and ground chicken breast)
10 oz. of green vegetables (I used green peppers and broccoli)
4 oz. of cream of chicken soup (I used the MRC soup supplement)
2 tsp. of garlic powder
2 tsp. of red pepper flake
Cooking spray


Directions:
Lightly coat a pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add ground meat to pan, and season with 1 tsp. of garlic powder and 1 tsp. of red pepper flake. Brown until cooked through. Remove meat from pan.

Lightly coat pan with more spray. Return to medium-high heat. Add green vegetables to pan, and season with remaining teaspoon of garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Saute vegetables until lightly browned. Add a splash of water to the pan and steam vegetables until tender and all water has evaporated. Remove vegetables from pan.

Add cream of chicken soup to pan. Thin with water until desired consistency is reached. Stir until hot. Add meat and vegetables back to pan and combine with soup.

Serve with melba toast.

Serves 2
Dinner for Meta Slim Plus - Level 2

Fruit Sashimi

I created this dish for a brunch I had. I wanted something pretty and sweet. And I like making dishes that look like something else. What's better than making something that looks like sashimi, one of my favorite dishes.

Ingredients:
3 apple (I used honey crisp)
1 container of cantaloupe chunks
1 container of watermelon chunks
lemon juice
2 tbsp. honey (optional - do not use if following MRC)


Directions:
Peel the apples. Using a box grater, shred the apples on all sides, avoiding the core. Put apple shreds in a bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice to keep apple shred from turning brown. Add honey if using, and stir to combine.

Slice thin, wide strips of cantaloupe and watermelon, avoiding any seeds. Pile a small mound of apple shreds on a plastic spoon and top with melon slice.

1 Serving = 3 spoons
Lunch for Meta Slim Plus - Level 2

Seasoned Tilapia with Cauliflower-Bean Mash

Seasoned Tilapia

Ingredients:
12 oz. tilapia filets
Seasoning to taste (I used garlic powder and red pepper flake)
Cooking spray
Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F.

Season both sides of the tilapia with preferred seasonings. Lightly coat a pan with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Cook one side of the tilapia for 2 minutes until browned. Flip the tilapia and put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serves 2
Lunch or Dinner for Meta Slim Plus - Level 2


Cauliflower-Bean Mash

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1/2 cup of dry navy beans
Seasoning to taste (I used garlic powder, red pepper flake, black pepper, and a dash of sea salt)
Butter spray

Directions:
Rinse beans thoroughly. Place in a crock pot and cover with 2 cups of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Chop cauliflower into chunks. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring water to a boil and boil for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Drain water and mash cauliflower with a potato masher. Add beans with cooking liquid to cauliflower. Mash mixture together until smooth. Add seasonings and butter spray. Stir until well blended.

Serves 2
Dinner for Meta Slim Plus - Level 2

Small Victories

So, this isn't a recipe, but I just wanted to give a short report on how things are going on the MRC plan.

Things are going great. I actually feel like the amount of food I have to consume is a little too much, but the program is working. I'm sticking with what they tell me. Today, I'm celebrating one of the small victories. I reached the first milestone: 10 lbs. I've dropped 11 lbs. since I began on January 7, and I'm feeling great.

A few of the things I'm trying to do outside of the plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle are:

1. drinking dandelion tea as it promotes healthy liver function
2. of course, keeping this blog to help me have a place to come back for some foods I really enjoyed
3. getting my home in order - I don't want to be lazy about my home anymore
4. taking the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood in the morning - they so enjoy it, and it's good for them to get some new smells
5. biking and strength training - while the plan calls for walking as the recommended exercise, a foot injury isn't allowing me to do that, so non-impact biking and some strength training will be the key to my toning needs

I'm really excited about my progress thus far. This time, it feels a lot different then all the many other times I've tried to do it on my own. This time, I have a support team. I'm not just winging calorie counting, Atkins, or any of the other "do it yourself" diets. I'm doing it myself, but I've got backup helping me get through it and walking with me down the path to help me not go astray. It will be a long journey, but the small victories are going to get me to the end.

Hopefully, I'll have another recipe soon. I'm doing tilapia with a cauliflower-bean mash tonight, so I'm hoping that will make an appearance tomorrow. Fingers crossed that it will be delicious.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Warm and satisfying, this soup really takes care of a cheese craving while not completely wrecking my meal plan. I didn't even miss the milk and flour usually found in traditional cheese soups.

Ingredients:
8 oz. broccoli, chopped
3 oz. shard cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup of chicken broth (I used the chicken bouillon supplement pack for this recipe)
Seasoning to taste (I used garlic powder, red pepper flake and black pepper)

Directions:
Place broccoli in a shallow pan. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Simmer broccoli until tender.

Meanwhile, place a pot, lightly coated with butter cooking spray, over medium low heat. Place shredded cheese in pot. Stir frequently as it begins to melt. When mostly melted, slowly stir chicken broth into cheese. Stir soup until smooth. Add broccoli and seasonings and heat through.

If eating for lunch, add your favorite fruit to the side. If eating for dinner, add a slice of toast or melba toast to the side.

Serves 1
Lunch or Dinner for Meta-Slim Plus - Level 2

Eggplant Pizza with Roasted Pepper Sauce

I'm so pleased with how well this little dish turned out. I was having a mad pizza craving, and this really hit the spot. The eggplant is such a meaty vegetable that I didn't even miss not having meat on my pizza. And the ooey-gooey cheese is really fulfilling.

Ingredients:
1 green pepper
2 oz. eggplant, diced
3 oz. hard cheese, grated (I used a mix of swiss and sharp cheddar)
1 low calorie tortilla
Seasonings to taste (I used garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper flake, Italian seasoning, a touch of sea salt)
Tabasco sauce
Cooking spray

Directions:
Coat a sheet pan with cooking spray. Lightly spray pepper with cooking spray. Put under the broiler and broil until skin is blackened, turning to blacken all sides. Remove from oven and place in a sealed container for 20 minutes. Peel the blackened skin from the pepper. Remove seed core. Place pepper in food processor. Add Tabasco sauce to taste and preferred seasoning to taste. Pulse grind until smooth.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Chop eggplant and place pieces in a bowl. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Add seasonings and mix well.

Add cooking spray to a non-stick pan and heat over medium heat. Heat tortilla on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Place tortilla on a sheet pan. Spread a layer of pepper paste over the tortilla. Top with eggplant chunks. Add more pepper paste on top of eggplant. Top with grated cheese (3 oz. may be too much for the size of this pizza, so if there is some left over, eat it as a snack).

Place pan in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.

Enjoy!

Serves 1
Dinner for Meta-Slim Plus - Level 2

Meatballs with Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Sauce

I created this dish in the hopes that it would satisfy my pasta craving. While the asparagus isn't really a substitute for noodles, it was a delicious side dish I would have again and again.

Meatballs

Ingredients:
6 oz. ground chicken breast
1 slice of 40 calorie (or less) bread
Seasoning to taste (I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and a pinch of sea salt)
Dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a food processor, pulse grind the slice of bread into fine breadcrumbs. Add to a mixing bowl. Place meat, seasoning, and Tabasco sauce in bowl with breadcrumbs. Combine all ingredients well.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Taking small handfuls of the meat mixture, roll between your hands to the size of a ping pong ball. Will make about 12 meatballs.

Bake at 400 F for approximately 20 minutes. Top with tomato sauce (recipe to follow).

Serves 1
Recipe for Meta-Slim Plus - Level 2


Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed
Olive oil cooking spray
Dash of sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F. (I used a toaster oven for this.)

After trimming the asparagus of the woody ends, place on cookie sheet (a pizza pan will also work). Spray lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Add a touch of sea salt.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Stir the asparagus around the pan midway through baking. Top with tomato sauce (recipe to follow).

Serves 2, Serving Size = 2 oz.
Recipe for Meta-Slim Plus - Level 2


Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
5 Roma tomatoes
Seasoning to taste (I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, black pepper, and a pinch of sea salt)

Directions:
Make an X shaped slit on one end of each tomato. Place tomatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and boil for approximately 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, drain, and rinse with cold water. Once cool enough to handle, peel skin from each tomato and remove the stem core from the end of each. Place each peeled tomato in a food processor with seasonings. Pulse grind to smooth consistency.

Add to a pan and heat through.

Serves 3, Serving Size = 2 oz.
Recipe for Meta-Slim Plus - Level 2

** Update: If anyone happens to be on the MRC plan, I just learned that you can't cook the tomatoes as it increases the sugar content. As a substitute, you could dice the tomatoes to eat with the meatballs and asparagus (about 4 oz.). **

Sunshine Slush

Mmm, mmm, good. This makes a great drink or dessert. I drink it nonalcoholic, but I believe it would be splendid with some Vodka. There's a surprise jolt that happens when sipped. Fruity and light, it's a delicious treat.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1 orange, peeled and segmented
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Splenda
Ice
Cold Water

Directions:
Place orange segments and pineapple in blender. Add cayenne pepper and Splenda. Top with a couple handfuls of ice. Puree mixture until smooth. Stream in cold water to preferred consistency.

Serves 2
Recipe for Preconditioning

Vegetarian Chili

So far, this dish has been my pride and joy on this plan. After eating it, I felt so satisfied that I briefly thought I would eat this for every meal. But then I realized how ludicrous that sounded and decided that it would be great for dinner once a week. With so many types of beans out there, new flavors are waiting just around the corner for this chili.

Ingredients:
1 cup of dry beans (I used navy beans)
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
Seasoning: I used chopped fresh parsley, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, black pepper
Hot sauce to taste

Directions:
Rinse dry beans and soak in water for 6-8 hours.

Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water. Boil beans in the pot for 45 minutes. If beans are not tender enough after 45 minutes, continue cooking until desired tenderness is reached.

Put chopped tomatoes in a food processor, and grind until smooth. Put tomato sauce in a pan with the seasonings and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Once the beans have cooked, drain the water, reserving about 2 ladles of water. Add the beans to the tomato sauce. Stir and add the reserved starchy bean water to the pot until desired consistency is met. Heat mixture through.

Serve topped with cheese and hot sauce.

Serves 4
Recipe for Preconditioning

The New Journey

I recently started a new program with the Metabolic Research Center that is teaching me tricks on how to eat healthier. It's a lifestyle change for me, one that takes some getting used to, but I'm already seeing some great benefits from it after only being on it for 6 days. I started last Sunday with the "Preconditioning" phase, which pretty much means learning how to discipline myself around food and most likely to help get all the nasty toxins out of my body that years of fast food, junk food, and otherwise unhealthy fare has deposited there. After only 6 days, I have more energy, I've lost almost 6 pounds, and I've got motivation to keep moving forward.

I can't say this new direction hasn't been without a few bumps. I could definitely feel my body resisting when I first began the program. After all, I had been used to stuffing myself silly, and now, I usually feel empty between meals. I'm not necessarily hungry, but the habit of overeating all these years has left me feeling like if I don't feel full then I must be hungry. Also, the amount of water I have to drink is quite daunting. I have to put back 96 ounces a day. That's 3 quarts! At first, it was definitely challenging, but now I've got it down to a science: 1 quart in the morning, 1 quart in the afternoon, and 1 quart in the evening. This has been easy at work. I just hope I can keep up over the weekend as my first one is looming ahead. That impulse purchase of those quart-sized pitchers from ABC Distributing is definitely coming in handy now.

But all the little setbacks are going to be worth it in the end. I'll have a new me with a better ability to cook nutritious meals for my family.

That's what this blog is about: my new cooking style. On this program, I have a list of foods I can have, and I'm told how much from each food group to consume at meals. So, since I already love to cook, this is a new, exciting challenge for me. It's like my own version of "Chopped", except I get to choose the 4 ingredients instead of pulling them willy-nilly from a basket.

Recipe Random will be just that: random recipes that I create while staying in the confines of my new meal plan. I've already had some interesting dishes come about from this initial phase. I've learned that melba toast doesn't really make a good breading without some sort of binder like eggs. I've learned that ground up oranges aren't really a substitute for the sticky sweet sauce I love on Chinese dishes. I've learned that cabbage cut into ribbons tastes fine but doesn't really kill a pasta craving. But even with those drawbacks, I've had some pretty good successes, and this will be my archive of those successes. If anyone is out there reading this, I hope you enjoy these recipes. And if not, I'll enjoy having a way to come back and find them as I continue onward.