Diet Friendly Fast Food

 

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 tablespoon jarred horseradish

1/3 cup apricot preserves

1/4 cup dried cranberries (the mini boxes are perfect!)

crackers or salted corn chips for serving

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Unwrap the cream cheese and put it into your cooker. Top with the horseradish and preserves. Pour in the dried cranberries. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, or on high for 1-2. Serve with your favorite crackers (I used plain rice crackers, if youre gluten free, the Nut Thins by Blue Diamond are great, too) or corn chips. Pita chips (obviously not GF) would be good, too!

If you do not have a 2-quart slow cooker, thats okay! Put an oven safe dish directly into the stoneware insert--something like this or this or this. Then load your dip ingredients into it. Use oven mitts when removing the dish!

These ingredients sound *so* wonky, but I promise they melt together into a really savory dip with a sweet kick from the cranberries and apricot jam. My kids ate kind of a lot more than I expected them to, and Adam and my grandma really enjoyed it.

brie with candied pecans and cranberries

artichoke dip

taco dip

sundried tomato dip

mommy crack

crab dip

super duper garlic dip

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We (2 adults, 4 children) pretty much filled up on cheese and we didnt end up ordering take-in for dinner, but instead went out for dessert after the appetizers!

I made crustini out of a loaf of brown rice bread (food for life, pink package) for our dippers, and we also had carrot sticks, celery sticks, and raw cauliflower. We used all the dipping items, but greatly preferred the crustini for all (the cauliflower got fed to the guinea pigs the next day. they were thrilled.)

1 loaf pretty dense bread (I used food for life rice bread)

olive oil

salt 

pepper

---Cut each slice of bread into thirds, and brush olive oil on each side. Sprinkle kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on each side. Bake on a lined or greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes on each side, or until nice and toasty.

 

 

1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (1 cup)

8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (Redbridge, by Anheuser Busch is gluten free)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Put the onion, garlic, and cheeses into your cooker. Stir in the cornstarch and dry mustard. Crush the caraway seeds (Jennifer says to use a mortar and pestle, but I dont have one, and instead crushed them in a ziplock with a small mallet). Add them to the pot. Pour in the beer. Cover and cook on low for 2to 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper before serving, adding more to taste if necessary.

1 (11-ounce) package fresh goat cheese

2 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leave, plus more for a garnish

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. If desired, place an oven-safe ramekin into the bottom of the cooker that youd like to use for serving. Otherwise, plan on serving this right out of the crock.

Put the cheese into the pot (or ramekin), and press the thyme leaves into the top. Drizzle olive oil on top and add black pepper. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours, or until cheese has softened and become easy to spread. Lift inserted dish  (CAREFULLY! use oven mitts!) out of the slow cooker and serve on the table with your favorite dippers.

Fondue night rocks. End of story.

(Updated with new photos and better instructions, November 2012. While we're spotlighting Thanksgiving Recipes I thought I'd mention this lovely mashed cauliflower, which would taste great with a spoonful of turkey gravy over it if you're avoiding potatoes because they're so high on the glycemic index.)  

Before I ever thought seriously about going on the South Beach Diet, I heard about their now-famous recipe for "Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes" and the idea of cauliflower masquerading as mashed potatoes struck me as a little strange. I've since seen many recipes comparing pureed cauliflower to potatoes, but this pureed cauliflower is perfectly happy about being cauliflower, and thrilled to be flavored with garlic, goat cheese, and Parmesan.  If you like cauliflower, this is good stuff.  If I was seriously dieting at the time, I'd be happy to have this cauliflower on my plate at Thanksgiving Dinner, next to some Whole Wheat Stuffing or Stuffing Muffins topped with gravy. 

(For Phase One Fridays I highlight Phase One recipes from the past that have been my personal favorites, and this recipe for Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese is something I've made over and over.  It's also been one of the most popular recipes on the blog for a while now; hope you enjoy if you haven't tried it yet!)

For several weeks now I've been keeping an eye on the basil plants in my garden, hoping to get one more batch of pesto in the freezer before the plants started to freeze.  For the last few days the leaves were starting to look a little brown on the edges, so today I trimmed the plants vigorously and made a big batch of pesto.  Then I made this Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese!

In order to lose weight, eating low-calorie protein is a must. Protein offers sustained energy, satiates your hunger, and can help curb sugar cravings. Choosing low-calorie, low-fat protein sources is a must, and while Greek yogurt has gained a lot of recognition for attributes, dont leave out the unsung hero of the protein world — cottage cheese. Here are some ways this simple food can help you drop pounds.

You know how after you eat a bagel for breakfast its tough to shake that sluggish feeling all morning? Protein has the opposite effect. It offers you energy for hours, so you feel bright-eyed and ready to tackle the day. Eggs and yogurt are popular choices, but for something a little different, whip up a smoothie and you guessed it — add low-fat cottage cheese to the blender. For just 81 calories, four ounces will add a whopping 14 grams of protein to your glass. The blender purees the cottage cheese into a smooth consistency, so you wont even know its in there. Not into smoothies? Enjoy cottage cheese spread onto a slice of whole-wheat toast.

If youre a huge fan of veggies and dip, skip the high-calorie dips made with sour cream. Swap it for cottage cheese and save over 150 calories, 20 grams of fat, and 45 mg of cholesterol, yet gain over 10 grams of protein. Heres what to do: take a four-ounce serving of one-percent cottage cheese and mix it with a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, one teaspoon of chopped fresh dill, one finely chopped clove of garlic, and top with salt and pepper. If you prefer a creamier consistency, add two tablespoons of skim milk and puree it with a hand blender.

Obsessed with hitting the freezer for spoonfuls of ice cream? The high-fat and high-calorie bites wont help your waistline, and the sugar overload will just have you craving more. Whip up this dessert alternative — creamy fruit popsicles — thats much lower in calories but still satisfies your sweet tooth. Heres how: put one cup of low-fat cottage cheese in a blender and add one banana, six strawberries, half a cup of crushed pineapple or peaches, and one teaspoon of vanilla. After mixing to a smooth consistency, divide it into four popsicle molds (or kid-size cups lined with foil), insert popsicle sticks, and freeze. After four hours or so, youll enjoy your guilt-free, low-calorie treat without affecting the numbers on the scale.

By Jenny Sugar

Source: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Cottage-Cheese-Helps-Weight-Loss-22828103