sugar-free candied nuts - bariatric friendly recipe

I just spent 15.00 on a 1/2 pound of cinnamon nuts at the mall the other day.  $15...crazy and they were full of sugar so I didn't get to eat very many.  My girls got to enjoy them.  So, I decided to see if there was a recipe I could make at home costing way less than $15 and stumbled across something even I could enjoy and not get sick.  I have just made the perfect snack for us gastric bypass people.  sugar-free candied walnuts!!!  Low carb - check...sugar free - check...protein - check...great taste - check!!!  I found the recipe on pinterest and here: http://veronicascornucopia.com/2010/12/22/sugar-free-candied-nuts-low-carb/comment-page-1/#comment-20679
I'm going to be making this for my mother, who is a diabetic, for Christmas..mixing up the nuts a bit...as a matter of fact mixed nuts is a perfect idea.  You can really do any nuts with this recipe....pecans, walnuts, almonds...etc. and a mixture of all the above.  It couldn't be easier to make.

RECIPE REVIEW : recipe from Pinterest - Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

I was just a little skeptical about Chicken Parmesan in the crockpot, but I do love my crockpot, so I decided to give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I got the recipe on Pinterest and here: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/crock-pot-chicken-parmesan/.  I did a little tweaking in which I did not use a jar of marinara sauce.  I instead made my own.  I used some roated tomatoes I put up in the freezer.  I roast them by cutting up about 8 tomatoes, halve 2 jalepenos (seeded if you do not like a little more kick), and quarter a yellow onion.  I cut the tomatoes in half and place the skin side up on a cookie sheet (must have about 1 inch sides).  I then put the halved jalepenos and onions on top of the tomatoes.  I sprinkle about a tablespoon of garlic and 1 teaspoon of sea salt over the tomatoes, jalepenos, and onions.  Lastly, I drizzle about a tablespoon over the top.  I roast them in a 350 oven for about 1 1/2 hours.  Most people peel off the skin of the tomatoes at this point, but I just leave them on and put the mixture (after it has cooled) in my Ninja and pulse until everything is still a little chunky but well mixed together.  I then put it in quart size freezer bags and put in freezer.  For the marinara sauce, I used the ingredients in this recipe http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/11/slow-cooker-marinara-515-recipe-040.html found on pinterest.  I mixed all the ingredients including my quart of tomatoes and let it simmer on the stove  while I prepared the chicken according to the chicken parmesan recipe.  When it got about 20 minutes before the chicken was done, I prepared the whole wheat spaghetti.  After 6 hours, this was a GREAT flavor sensation.  I believe the marinara sauce made all the difference.  You must try this recipe if you are looking for something easy and tasty and won't heat up the house.

Lunchbox for teens 09/07/2012

TGIF!!!!  Today is going to be very very busy.  I have to complete all of my coding for the month of August today and then leave early to drive 2 hours to see my nephew play highschool football.  That part I am looking forward to, but why or why did I wake up at 4:15am and not go back to sleep.  I believe I will have to take a nap later on today. 
Today's lunch is partly leftovers from last night which I will review later.  Here is what is in there:

Eryn's lunch:
crockpot chicken parmesan with whole wheat spaghetti - found the recipe on pinterest and here:  http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/crock-pot-chicken-parmesan/
southwest blackbean salad - left over from yesterday's lunch batch
low fat pecan sandies
cherry tomatoes
grapes

Reygan's lunch:
crockpot chicken parmesan
salad with lettuce, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and bell pepper
fruit snacks
lemon-berry drizzle bread - found the recipe on pinterest and here:  http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.kr/2012/05/lemon-blueberry-drizzle-bread.html

The lemon-berry bread is so very good that I baked it yesterday and today it is more than half gone.  Everyone but Eryn loves it.  It is pretty simple to make as well.  I did do a little tweaking in which I used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour and halfed the sugar with splenda.  Also, instead of the whole milk, I used 1/4 cup fat free milk and 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt.  It turned out GREAT! 
Here are the pics of today's lunchboxes:

Eryn's Lunch

Reygan's lunch

UPDATE:  This one will be done again.  They both liked it even cold. 

Recipe from Pinterest review - Crock-pot Hungarian goulash

The days I actually have to go in to work are always hectic...especially during the school year...and especially this year.  The girls father is in the nursing home here in town which is good for the girls since they get to see him everyday if they want to, but can be very stressful making sure he is comfortable.  He's a 51 year old blind, diabetic man on dialysis...how hard it must be to have to live in a nursing home at that young age...so, my girls and I do everything we can to bring up his spirits.  With that said, most of the meals in our household are one pot, crock-pot meals and we love it.  Last night, my sweetheart put on a Hungarian goulash.  I got the recipe on pinterest and here:  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/community/recipe-exchange/UserRecipeDisplay.aspx?group_id=1&user_recipe_id=135685 .  The flavor was wonderful!!  I did not have stew meat but did have a couple of sirloin steaks, so I cut them up the night before so that Bryan could get it prepared and put in the crockpot early yesterday morning.  I really recommend this recipe.  It contains ingredients that most of us have on hand.  You do have to brown the meat, but that only took about 5 mins and while doing that, he cut up the veggies (fileting his finger as he did it...ouch).   For the noodles, we used whole wheat rotini.  My teen girls and Bryan had seconds ( I would have if my little pouch would have let me.)

Lunchbox for teen girls 09/06/2012

I cannot believe it is already Thursday.  Where did this week go?  Yesterday's lunch was a HUGE success.  They loved the guacamole turkey (or ham) wrap and definitely want it again.  As soon as I got home from work yesterday I sat down to dinner, prepared by my sweetheart, and then went straight in to making lunches.  Today's lunch is a definite trial, but I know that my oldest daughter liked it when I made it a couple of months ago.  We shall see how they like it in their lunchbox.  Today I remembered to put a joke in their bags.  Let's see if these blonde girls get them.

Today's lunch:

Southwest Blackbean salad - found recipe on pinterest and here:  http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/06/southwestern-black-bean-salad.html
watermelon and grapes
goldfish cookies
turkey (or ham depending on the girl) and cheese rollup

Looks good to me!!!

 

UPDATE:  They liked this but asked that I shred the cheddar cheese I put on here instead of just put chunks.

lunchbox for teen girls 09/05/2012

Well...I did not post the lunchbox yesterday.  It was kind of the same as one last week.
homemade "lunchables"
cherry tomatoes
fruit salad (one box sugar free vanilla pudding, 1 cup milk, 8oz vanilla greek yogurt, sugar free cool whip...whip these together...add blueberries, grapes, and bananas (girls didn't like the apple in it).  Huge favorite for them)
salad (lettuce, bell pepper, cucumber, avacado with low fat zesty italian dressing)

Today is another first for them, so we shall see how they like it.  They are really enjoying the lunches and are excited everyday to see what is.  I have, however, forgot to put their notes and jokes in their lunches the last two days, and believe me, I have heard about it. 
Today's lunches include:

guacamole turkey wrap - used blue mesa tortilla.  spread layer of guacamole.  top with deli turkey breast or honey ham depending on child, deli american cheese, and lettuce and wrap like a burrito.
cherry tomatoes from farmer's market-yum
low fat pecan sandies
crockpot applesauce - found the recipe on pinterest and here: http://mommymakesitbetter.blogspot.com/2012/04/crock-pot-applesauce.html#more
cheese its and cheese ritz bitz

 

UPDATE:  this one was their favorite so far.  Liked everything except the spicy ritz bitz.

 

RECIPE REVIEW - slow cooker spicey black eyed peas

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my crockpot?  It's a great creation.  Texas summers are torture and the added heat from the oven is unbearable.  So, I use my crockpot almost every day.  Yesterday, I put my fresh blackeyed peas in the crockpot around 9:30am and baked my cornbread at the same time so that my kitchen was not so hot in the afternoon.  Worked out great.  The peas had the best flavor I have ever tasted.  My senior daughter loved them.  They had just the right amount of burn without being TOO spicy.  If you like blackeyed peas...you must try this recipe.  I bet the liquid ingredients would be great with pinto beans as well.  I didn't have any ham, so instead I used mesquite smoked sausage, skinless.  It really turned out great.  We had jalepeno, cheese cornbread with it.  The recipe does not call for cheese, so just add about a cup or as much as you would like for whatever cheesyness you are looking for.

here are the recipes for the cornbread found on pinterest and here: http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/12/jalapeno-cornbread.html and the peas found on Allrecipes.com and here   http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-spicy-black-eyed-peas/detail.aspx :

Jalapeno Cornbread

Butter milk cornbread with the spicy hit of jalapenos!

Servings: makes 4-12 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk (or milk) - I used almond milk but I have also made it using regular milk and adding vinegar to make it buttermilk
• 1/4 cup oil, butter or bacon grease
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar - I used splenda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
• cheese

Directions

1. Mix the buttermilk, oil and eggs.
2. Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in to the wet and then mix in the jalapeno peppers.
4. Pour the Mixture into a grease 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 375F oven until a toothpick pushed in the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

Slow Cooker Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

 Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
• 8 ounces diced ham (didn't have any, so used mesquite smoked sausage)
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Pour the water into a slow cooker, add the bouillon cube, and stir to dissolve. Combine the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, ham, bacon, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper; stir to blend. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours until the beans are tender.