Stress, food, and some great recipes to try

Stress and food, need I say more? For me they seem to go hand in hand and it is not a good combination for me being I am trying to lose weight. When I am stressed I love to cook and eat all my favorite comfort foods that I remember from growing up, the problem with these foods is that they are full of calories and high in fat.

I love to cook and cooking is a way for me to relieve stress, I just send the girls downstairs and turn up the tunes. Lately though while trying to lose weight cooking has become boring to me, I think it is the one ingredient cooking (Leigh Peele) that is doing it to me. To those who are not into cooking, I think one ingredient cooking while trying to lose weight is a wonderful idea, it is quick and straight forward, but to me it has gotten boring not only to me but to my kids. I try different spices to mix things up and it works great, but I miss some of my favorite dishes as does my kids. I am getting tired of hearing, "Oh, chicken again!" So, the following cookbook a friend let me borrow has given me a great idea, it is called NOW eat THIS! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories by Rocco DiSpirito. It is a great cookbook full of stuff we love to eat. I have tried two recipes, Meat Loaf with Portobello Mushrooms and Grilled Chicken Parmigiano, they both went over well and will be made again. I try to plan my meal plans 2 weeks in advance, so my new goal is to try and make the comfort foods I love a bit healthier.

I just read a great review of this book on Diets in Review.com. I have not tried the recipes that are listed on this site, Rocco’s Brownies and Flash-Fried Finger-Lickin’ Chicken but I will soon along with the Mac n' Cheese recipe he has in there. Until then I will leave you with the Meat Loaf recipe in hopes you will follow the links and try all these tasty recipes and go buy the book for even more. If these recipes are not what you are looking at trying I found some more sample recipe in the Google Books section.


For this recipe I could not find Ian's All-Natural Panko breadcrumbs, so I used other whole wheat ones. I also added 1-2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes in it to give it a bit of a kick, it turned out great and does not add any additional calories.


Meatloaf with Portobello Mushrooms
Serves 4
Per serving: Fat 8.9g, calories 212, protein 21g, carbs 11g, cholesterol 55mg, fiber 2g, sodium 400mg
From Now Eat This!

Ingredients:

4 ounces portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup reduced-sugar ketchup, such as Heinz
12 ounces 93% lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (try and use fresh, dried just does not taste the same!)
1/2 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian's All-Natural
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it aside.

Place the mushrooms in a food processor, and pulse until they are very finely chopped; scrape them into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic cloves to the food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the egg substitute and 1 Tablespoon of the ketchup, and puree until the garlic is smooth. Scrape the garlic mixture into the bowl containing the mushrooms.

Add the beef, parsley, and panko to the bowl. Add the salt and season with pepper to taste. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients until they are just combined.

On the prepared baking sheet, form the meat mixture into an 8x4x1 1/2 inch loaf. Brush the remaining ketchup over the loaf. Bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, 18-20 minutes.

Allow the meatloaf to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.


Source: DiSpirito, R., (2010). Now eat this!. New York:Ballantine Trade Paperback Original.

Sloppy Joes

2 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 C ketchup
1 medium green sweet pepper, copped
2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
1/3 C water
3 T brown sugar
3 T mustard
3 T vinegar
3 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T chili powder
16-20 hamburger buns

In a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.

In a 3 1/2- to 4 quart slow cooker combine ketchup, sweet pepper, celery, water, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder. Stir in meat mixture.

Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Game Day Food

This weekend is the big game, Steelers vs the Pack. Everyone who knows me, know I live in cheeseland, but me and my family are HUGE Steelers fans. This sometimes makes it difficult for my 8 yr old.

One thing I love about the Super Bowl is the food. I am always amazed at what everyone serves. Being we are in a new home this year and have plenty of room we are having our second football party and our very first Super Bowl party. My daughter is very excited to have people over, but I am not sure if she is more excited for the people or the food. At the last one she pulled a chair up to the counter and grazed on all of the food. There were few people here, but enough food for 4 times that many! Some of you may be curious as to what that food was, well I am going to tell you what we had last time and what I am making this time.

Game Day Food Ideas

This is what we had a few weeks ago.

Cheesy Potatoes
Sloppy Joes
M & M Dream Bars
Veggie Tray & Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dip (16 oz of sour cream mixed with 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip)
Beer Dip
Tastefully Simple's Warm the Oven Dip served with their Bountiful Beer Bread
Hummus variety pack with some Pita Chips
Warm Pizza dip, this is so yummy and super simple I have yet to get the recipe for this one!
Nacho Cheese with tortilla chips (my daughter asked for plain nacho cheese, she didn't want any stuff in it! LOL!)


Super Bowl Food

Here is some things I am having, I am excited to see what everyone else will bring.

Veggie Tray with a dip
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Cheesy Potatoes
Guacamole with chips
Lil' Smokies

So, whether it be for a game or just a fun filled get together, here are some foods to try. Enjoy!

Black Bean Chili

Makes 10 servings


It is great served with homemade flat bread or cornbread.

Ingredients
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb ground beef, extra lean
1 can or 12 oz tomato juice
2 cans tomatoes, diced, do not drain
1 clove, garlic
1 cup onions
1 cup green peppers
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons basil, dried
2 tablespoons cilantro, dried
2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

1. Brown the beef in a non stick pan and drain if necessary.

2. Stir everything together in a heavy pot. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.

3. If the chili is too thick, add tomato juice or V8 as needed.



Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 296.7g (I figured this to be between 2-3 Cups, not sure if this is accurate though)
! Some items from this recipe could not be found or sized. This estimate is incomplete.

Amount Per Serving

Calories
480
Calories from Fat
41

% Daily Value*
Total Fat
4.6g
7%
Saturated Fat
1.5g
7%
Trans Fat
0.0g
Cholesterol
40mg
13%
Sodium
133mg
6%
Total Carbohydrates
73.8g
25%
Dietary Fiber
17.9g
72%
Sugars
6.5g
Protein
38.3g
Vitamin A 19% • Vitamin C 44%
Calcium 15% • Iron 41%

Black Beans and Rice

1 package of Vigo's Black Beans and Rice mix
1 can tomatoes with onions, undrained
1 lb of hamburger (optional)

Brown hamburger in a large skillet; drain. Wipe out the pan and prepare the Black Beans and Rice according to package, add tomatoes with juice at this time as well. 15 min before it is done add meat. Cook until there is no liquid left.

Mock Chow Mein

1 lb hamburger
1/2 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped celery (optional)

Brown all together, then drain. Add:

1 can chicken & rice soup
1 soup can water
1 can mushrooms with juice
1 C rice, uncooked
1/4 C soy sauce

Stir all together. Put in a baking pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cover pan, stir halfway through. Serve with chow mein noodles on top. May also add more soy sauce on top.