Courtney the RDN

I'm not sure why anyone would eat cauliflower unless it tasted like hot wings! This recipe is the only way I can get my family to eat cauliflower. I've tried many different recipes available online and the one from Food Network is my favorite. Here is the link if you want to read it from them:  https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/buffalo-cauliflower-with-blue-cheese-sauce-3362800 They include a yummy blue cheese sauce, but I cut the calories and just do a Ranch Dressing packet mixed with plain Greek yogurt.  Serves: 4 Time: 45 minutes Ingredients:  2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon 2 tablespoons olive oil Kosher Salt 1 head of cauliflower chopped into florets Directions:   1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees 2. Melt the butter, whisk into hot sauce with lemon juice. Set aside.  3. Mix olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water in a large mixing bowl. Add the cauliflower and toss u...

Rosemary Chicken This recipe is easy, quick, and has ingredients that are normally in my refrigerator. I also have a huge bush of rosemary that is ready to be used up, so I subbed fresh rosemary instead of the dried for this recipe.   Time: 20 minutes Serves: 2 (I doubled the recipe so I would have leftovers for lunch) Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 chicken breast or chicken thighs kosher salt and fresh ground pepper 1/4 cup Italian dressing  2 tablespoons canola oil 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 1 tablespoon dried rosemary or 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary Directions: 1. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.  2. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Cook in pan 5-6 minutes each side. Remove from heat and keep warm.  3. Mix Italian dressing, canola oil, dijon mustard, and rosemary in a bowl. Add sauce to pan and heat until it starts to bubble. Add the chicken back in and coat it well with the sauce.  4. Serve with a  side of your favorite vegetabl...

 I tend to use a lot of similar flavors during the week since they are already in my refrigerator. So here is a recipe using many of the same ingredients from yesterday's Turkey Tacos Serves: 2 Time: 15 mintues Ingredients:  2 Mahi Mahi filets (I used frozen and waited for them to thaw, fresh works well too) Kosher Salt Garlic Powder Ground Pepper 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce 2 Tablespoons Sriracha 1/4 cup Sweet Thai Chili Sauce Directions:  1. Season thawed fish filets with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 2. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Cook fish 3 minutes on each side or until it is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. Remove from heat and keep warm.  3. Add the soy sauce, sriracha, and sweet Thai chili sauce to the pan and heat through. Add the fish back in and let it get covered well with the sauce. Serve with your favorite vegetable. Leave a comment if you need the recipe for these buttery garlic mushrooms. Enjoy!

I've been making quite a few chicken recipes and needed a change. These are super easy to make. You can take out or add any chopped veggies you have laying around. If you're not a vegetable lover, ground meat is a great place to hide vegetables. I had one carrot that needed to be used up and a little bit of a red onion. You could add diced mushrooms, bell peppers, jalapeños, yellow or white onions. Really, there are no rules here.  Makes about 10 tacos or however many lettuce leave you have. Time: 20-30 minutes depending on what veggies you have to dice.  Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons minced ginger 1 pound ground turkey 1/4 red onion diced (optional) 1 carrot diced (optional) 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons sriracha about 10 leaves of butter lettuce (see picture below, I like to buy them in these containers with the dirt and roots, they last longer in the refrigerator) cilantro 1 diced tomato Directions: 1. Chop all ingredients....

Zesty Marinara Chicken Serves 4 Time: 20-30 min Ingredients: 1 Tbs olive oil salt and pepper 4 small chicken breast or 4 chicken thighs 2 cups marinara sauce 1 medium tomato chopped 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1 garlic clove minced 1 bag of frozen zucchini noodles 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Directions:  1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. 2. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.  3. Cook chicken in pan 5 minutes on each side until no longer pink.  4. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.  5. Add marinara sauce, tomato, Italian salad dressing, Italian seasoning, and garlic to pain. Stir well. Heat  through.  6. Cook zucchini noodles as directed on package- usually 5-6 minutes in the microwave.  7. Add chicken back to the sauce to make sure it is warm.  8. Plate zucchini noodles, which chicken on top and sauce from the pan. Sprinkle cheese on top. Enjoy!

Maple Dijon Chicken The weekend is almost here! I made this dish last night and I was surprised at how yummy it was! Now, there is maple syrup involved, so you'll want to make sure you pair this chicken with a non-starchy vegetable. I has a salad, but green beans would probably be really good mixed in with the sauce in this dish. I hope you enjoy it, I know I did.  Serves: 2 Time: 20 minutes Ingredients:  2 tablespoons olive oil 2 chicken breast or chicken thigh ( I made three to have lunch for the next day) kosher salt fresh ground pepper 1/4 cup maple syrup 2.5 Tablespoons dijon mustard 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch Directions:  1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.  2. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of chicken. Place chicken in pan, Cook 5-6 minutes on each side, until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm (I normally put it on a plate in the microwave).  3. Add dijon mustard and syrup to the pan, whisk until smooth. Add...

 Meal of the Day!  Garlic Chicken with Thyme Gravy Today's recipes is inspired by this recipe:  https://juliasalbum.com/garlic-thyme-chicken-thighs/ I've made a few changes in this recipe so that it fits better with a bariatric diet. Plus the original recipes used the oven and its too hot for that here in the desert right now. I hope you enjoy.  Servies: 2 Time: 30 minutes Ingredients:  2 tablespoons olive oil 2 chicken breast or chicken things (skin and bone removed) pinch of kosher salt fresh ground black pepper 10 garlic cloves (whole) 1 cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons cornstarch (sub flour if you don't have it) 10 springs of fresh thyme leaves Directions:   1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  2. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of the chicken. Place in pan and cook each side 5-6 minutes until it is no longer pink. Remove from pan and keep warm ( I usually with keep them in the microwave for warmth).  3. Toss garli...

 Buffalo Chicken Bites Time: 15 minutes Serves: 2  Ingredients:  https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/buffalo-chicken-bites/ 2 TBS canola or extra virgin olive oil 2 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs, cut into bit sized pieces 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 2 TBS Franks Red Hot Sauce (or other buffalo sauce, but this is my favorite) Directions:  1. Heat oil over medium heat in a frying pan.  2. Toss chicken in salt and pepper.  3. Cook chicken in oil until no longer pink, about 3 minutes on each side.  4. Add Franks Red Hot sauce. Turn off heat and stir well.  5. Eat chicken with a side of you favorite vegetables or on top a salad with a light ranch dressing.  delish.com Note: You could also bake you chicken which would reduce fat intake since you wouldn't need to oil. But, it is too hot in my kitchen and I didn't want to use the oven. 

"STAY AT HOME" MEALS With the “Stay at Home” orders in place, a lot of you may be having trouble sticking to your bariatric meal plans or just running out of ideas. These are a few recipes that are easy, made with few ingredients, and are easily substituted to make the flavors change. -   As a plus almost all of the meals listed are able to be meal prepped for the week and stored in the fridge or freezer. Have fun with these dishes and remember “This too shall pass”. - *Disclaimer: The meals below are a serving size of 6 and up, enough for the family or meal prep for the week. -BREAKFAST- Omelet Muffins: 7 Ingredients: 1/2 cup Baby spinach 1 cup Bell peppers 2 Scallions 8 Eggs, large 1/4 tsp Salt 1 cup Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup Milk Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the interior of a nonstick muffin pan. In a medium bowl, add eggs and milk. Whisk until uniform. Stir in cheese, bell peppers, spinach, salt, scallions and any ot...

Spicy/Savory Cottage Cheese Dip: -Makes 5 servings- | calories 122 | fat 5g | carbs 7g | protein 13g  |   Ingredients: 2 cups low fat cottage cheese 6 slices turkey bacon 2 green onions ¼ c. fresh parsley 1 cucumber, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped Red pepper flakes to taste Instructions: Cook turkey bacon until crisp, blot off grease allow to cool Finely chop green onion and parsley Finely chop cooked turkey bacon Stir cottage cheese, green onion, bacon. Parsley, cucumber and red pepper together Garnish with red pepper flakes to taste Dip your favorite veggies and enjoy! Some of my favorite dippers: Carrot sticks Cucumber slices Bell Pepper Celery Sticks Cherry tomatoes Snap Peas

Sausage and Peppers: Non-Bariatric Servings: 4 | Bariatric Servings: 6 Today's #mealoftheday is a very easy but very tasty sausage and pepper dish! The longest cook time you will have will be the veggies! This is a great dinner for the family or a meal prep  for the rest of the week.  Try  this and tel me what you think! Ingredients: 1 Package sliced turkey or chicken sausage 1 medium onion sliced 2 different colored bell peppers sliced *optional: ground pepper, garlic powder to taste. Stove-top Directions: Heat sliced sausages in pan to release juices.  Add onions and peppers, cook until onions are translucent or smell sweet.  Grill Directions: Place foil on top grill rack add onions and peppers. Cool until onions are translucent or smell sweet.  Cook sausages until heated through.  Enjoy!! 

Pan-seared Cod Fillet Prep:  15 mins |  Cook:  10 mins Yields:  2 Servings Ingredients 2 (3 oz. each) Atlantic Cod fillet 1 tbsp. of olive oil 1 clove of garlic, minced 2 lemon wedges (about ¼ of lemon each) 1 branch fresh thyme (optional) 1 branch fresh rosemary (optional) Pinch of salt and black pepper Directions 1 Season fillet with minced garlic, a pinch of salt and black pepper (optional: sprinkle thyme and rosemary leaves). 2 In a preheated skillet, add one tablespoon of olive oil. 3 Place the fish fillets and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked in the center. 4 Remove fish from heat and serve with lemon wedges if desired. * recipe adopted from:  https://newhopesurgical.com/recipes/pan-seared-cod-fillet/

Creamy white chicken chili prep: 10 minutes cook: 40 min serves: 4 normal sized portions, more bariatric portions Ingredients:  1 large chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1 small onion chopped 1 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder (or three fresh garlic cloves minced) 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup chicken broth 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1.2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream shredded cheddar cheese to top chili sliced seeded jalapeño pepper to top chili                                                                              Directions:   1. In...

Beefy Burrito Bowls (Great for pre-paring lunches) There is never a bad time for a burrito bowl, all the flavor with out all the carbs. This bowl is packed with protein and veggies! Try this as a dinner dish or meal prep your way into the next week! Serves 4 Ingredients:  1 pound ground turkey 1 Tablespoon low-sodium taco seasoning 2 cup cooked brown rice (or cauliflower rice) 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted 1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into cubes 1/2 cup salsa Optional toppings: olive, radishes, guacamole, pico de gallo, chopped cilantro, chopped lettuce.  Directions:  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add ground turkey and taco seasoning; cook 8-10 minutes, breaking turkey until crumbled and stirring occasionally until meat is no longer pink. Divide rice evenly among 4 lunch bowl, to...

Need to sneak some veggie into your life?  Here are two great veggie-full recipes! Have fun with these dishes and feel free to sub for your favorite vegetables!  Turkey and Carrot Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles: Serves 4-6 Ingredients:   1 pound lean ground turkey 1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded (about 3/4 cup) 1 large egg, beaten 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup chopped basil or 1 Tablespoon dried basil 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1 26 oz jar pasta sauce 4 medium zucchini, washed, ends trimmed 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil Directions:   Preheat oven the 400 degrees F. Lightly oil or coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.  Place ground turkey, carrot, egg, oats, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix until just combined.  Shape the meat mixture into 24 1 and 1/2 ...