Thanksgiving Menu 2009 (A Healthy One)

Since I will be spending Thanksgiving at home this year, I am making my own Thanksgiving Meal that is ON PLAN for those who are using the Six Week Body Makeover or just plan good and good for you even if you aren't trying to lose fat...
Recipes that are noted with an * are at the bottom of this entry! Other recipes are elsewhere on this blog - check the tags in the right hand column)

My meal plan for the day:

Breakfast - 3-EggWhite (and half a yolk) omelette w/ mushrooms, green peppers and onions, and a few red potatoes, and applesauce (my NSA version - recipe is on the blog)

AM snack - 2 egg whites (hardboiled) and veggies

Lunch - Roast Turkey Breast*
Brown Jasmine Rice Stuffing*
Peachy Sweet Potatoes*
Steamed green beans and broccoli

PM Snack - (Pre walk/workout!)
2 HB egg whites
Apple Crumble*

Dinner - Turkey Breast* served over Romaine w/ cucumbers and tomatoes
Veggie Soup (recipe on blog)

Evening Snack - Turkey Breast*
Apple slices

You may ask, 'Where is the Pumpkin Pie?' Well...instead of pie, I will have a Pumpkin Spice Muffin on Friday for Breakfast!!! Recipe for that is on my blog too!!

It IS possible to eat healthy during the holidays!!! Just takes a little planning and some great recipes!!!

Enjoy!!

Peachy Sweet Potatoes
(Based on a recipe from The Spirit of Christmas Recipes)

3 large sweet potatoes
2 T. Splenda (or honey)
½ t. maple extract
½ t. ground cloves
2 t. cinnamon
1 large can No Sugar Added peach halves, drained

Wash and wrap sweet potatoes in foil and bake at 350 F until very soft (about 25 – 30 minutes). Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly. Remove foil and skin. Place sweet potatoes in medium mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Stir in Splenda, maple extract, cloves, and cinnamon. Stir until well combined. Set aside.

Using a nonstick 12 muffin pan, place 1 peach half in each cup, pit side up. (There should be about 12 of these in the can or if not, cut the largest one in half so there is a peach in each cup.) Scoop about ¼ - 1/3 cup of sweet potato mixture into each peach. Sprinkle top of each with a little Cinnamon and/or Splenda (about a dash will do).

Bake at 350 F for 30 – 35 minutes.

Living Lean variation – Add a half of a large marshmallow to each peach before adding the sweet potato mixture.

Each cup makes about ¼ - 1/3 cup carb and a small amount of fruit.

Roast Turkey Breast with Jasmine Rice Stuffing

1 turkey breast, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup Apple Wine
1 cup water
2 T. onion powder
1 T. garlic powder
Black Pepper

Stuffing Ingredients:
2 cups Brown Jasmine Rice, rinsed
2 cups plain water
2 cups hot water with 2 t. no sodium chicken boullion, dissolved OR 2 cups of homemade broth)
2 stalks celery with leaves, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
Parsley flakes to taste
Black pepper to taste
White balsamic vinegar

In large saucepan, sauté onion and celery in white balsamic vinegar until soft. Add water, broth, parsley, and black pepper and stir. Stir in the rice and cook over low to medium heat until done (about 30 minutes for me – check often) All the broth should be absorbed.

Allow to cool while you fix the turkey breast.

In roaster pan, combine wine and water. Set aside.
In small bowl, combine garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Rub this on the breast (under the skin) and in the cavity. Set turkey breast cavity side up in the roaster pan. Fill cavity with rice mixture and secure flap. Any extra rice can be saved in the fridge.

Cover and bake stuffed turkey breast per instructions on the wrapper. [My 6 pound breast took about 2 hrs at 350 F.] Allow to rest for 30 – 45 minutes before slicing. Remove stuffing to separate bowl before slicing. Also remove the skin.

Cooking this meat side down keeps it nice and moist.
You can pour some of the drippings in the pan over the meat to add moisture, too.

This recipe includes carbs and protein. You will need to measure and weigh as required for your bodytype.

Apple Crumble
(a new fan favorite!!)

Topping-
In medium mixing bowl, combine the following:
2 ¼ cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups puffed brown rice
¼ cup Splenda (or use Honey if you don't want to use the artificial sweetener)
¼ cup Diabeti Sweet Brown Sugar* (or Sucanat if you don't want the artificial sweetener)
2 Tablespoons oat bran
¼ cup flaxseed meal
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon clear vanilla (with no sodium or corn syrup)
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon butter extract
Set aside.

Bottom layer:
6 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced
¼ - 1/3 cup water

Slice apples into 10 x 10 silicon baking dish and sprinkle with water.
Spread topping evenly over apples.
Bake at 360 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Allow to cool.
Keep refrigerated.

*If you don't have this ingredient, you can substitute with 1/4 cup Splenda and 1/2 teaspoon maple extract for a similar flavor or use Sucanant)

Jeff's Zucchini Spice Muffins

This is the recipe that my brother had me develop for him...What he will have for breakfast instead of Pop Tarts!!!

Jeff's Zucchini Spice Muffins

Serving Size : 6 large muffins

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/3 cup Turbinado Sugar or Sucanat

1 Tbsp Spice Mix (see recipe)

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 cup zucchini, unpeeled and grated (measure after grating)

2 tsp clear vanilla

1 tsp coconut extract

9 egg whites

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Chocolate Chips (optional)

1. In large mixing bowl, stir together all dry ingredients, walnuts and

zucchini. In small mixing bowl (or oversize measuring cup), combine all wet

ingredients except egg whites. Stir into dry ingredients and mix until

thoroughly combined and all oats are covered. Will be moist, but not sopping

wet. Set aside.

2. In separate bowl, beat eggs for about 15- 30 secs with hand mixer. Stir

into oat mixture and combine well with mixer or by hand.

3. Allow to sit for 20 minutes while oven heats and you prepare the baking

pan.

4. Spray and wipe out a large capacity 6 muffin pan. Divide batter into each

section. It is OK if it fills above the rim.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Remove from oven

and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Place into Ziploc bags and refrigerate or

freeze while still lightly warm to keep them moist.

Nutritional data includes chocolate chips. Each muffin without chocolate

chips is 255 calories.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)

Calories: 295

Calories From Fat: 116

Total Fat: 13.1g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 84.9mg

Potassium: 103.5mg Carbohydrates: 37.5g

Fiber: 6.1g

Sugar: 15.3g

Protein: 12g

Spice Mix for Muffins

4 Tbsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Nutmeg

3 Tbsp Coriander

3 Tbsp Ginger

3 Tbsp Allspice

1. Combine all ingredients in an old large cinnamon container and shake

well.

2. Shake before measuring.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) per Tablespoon

Calories: 17

Calories From Fat: 5

Total Fat: <1g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 1.8mg

Potassium: 42.4mg

Carbohydrates: 3.8g

Fiber: 2g

Sugar: <1g

Protein: <1g

Turkey Corn and Rice Soup

The long awaited recipe for my Turkey Corn and Rice Soup...hope you like it! I leave the protein out of it so I can eat it with Turkey or Chicken or even as a snack with some egg whites...
Enjoy!

Turkey Corn and Rice Soup

Add grilled Balsamic Chicken Breast or roasted turkey and a tossed salad for a complete meal!
Freezes well too. Better the next day...
You could also substitute barley for the rice!!

Servings per recipe: 10
Yield: 10 -12 cups (approximately)

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 small onion chopped
4 stalks celery finely chopped
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
3 cups turkey or chicken broth - no salt added (I use my homemade recipe)
5-6 cups water (I fill my broth container 2 times)
1 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 medium carrots, diced
1/2 tsp California Garlic Powder
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup brown Jasmine rice, uncooked

In large stock pot, sauté onions and celery in about ¼ cup White Balsamic vinegar for about 5-10 minutes.

Stir in broth and water. Turn heat to medium, add flavorings and bring to small boil.

Add carrots and corn and bring to boil again. Add rice, cover and reduce heat to very low and simmer for 60 - 90 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Nutrition Facts (approximate)
Nutrition (per serving): 116 calories, 7 calories from fat, <1g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 46.3mg sodium, 237.3mg potassium, 26.3g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 4.1g sugar, 2.8g protein.

Homemade Broth Recipe

Here is my homemade broth recipe..I use this now for in my soups instead of using bouillon or canned broth....

Homemade Broth

Round One Ingredients

1 turkey breast or whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

1 cup apple wine or other fruit flavored wine

1 cup water

2 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

Round Two Ingredients

Dark meat, skin and bones from cooked turkey or chicken

All drippings/liquids from Round One

6 cups plain water

2 stalks celery with leaves, chopped

2 onions,quartered

parsley flakes to taste

black pepper to taste

Round One:

In roaster pan, combine wine and water. Set aside.

In small bowl, combine garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. Rub this all under the skin and in the cavity. Set turkey breast or chicken cavity side up in the roaster pan.

Cover and bake per instructions on the wrapper. Allow to rest for 30 – 45 minutes before removing breast meat.

Round Two:

In large stock pot, combine all Round Two ingredients.

Bring to boil and simmer for 1-2 hours.

Remove large pieces and set aside for another boil if you like.

Strain broth thru cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer.

Cover and cool in refrigerator overnight. Skim fat off before dividing into serving size containers.

Freeze.

Repeat Round Two again if there is still marrow in the bones.

I portion these into 3-4 cup containers for use in soups or rice.

Note: Cooking this meat side down keeps breast meat nice and moist.