Food inspiration, or what's for supper?
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Well, at times you kids appear to envy my downstairs friend problem. But, tasty as the items may be, they are occupying quite a bit of mental effort and more often than not cause derailment. Because yes: they are awesome tasting. But the world is full of awesome tasting stuff if one desires to go pick them up!
So. Last night I got a 10pm delivery of 165g of still warm "custard" in kadaif. I've been logging this as bougatsa because it is a very similar filling and the main difference is that instead of phyllo pastry it uses kadaif. Actually the quantity of syrup would play into that too! While typing this I went looking for something similar on the interweb and even though I've only looked/not heard the video, yup the end product looks incredibly similar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmMRFNkuGvs
Any which way you cut it, of course, this was a good 500 to 700 Calories over and above what I had already eaten and the mental discussion about putting it away for now didn't go over very well!
And of course then I got a jolt of energy at 10:30pm. And instead of heading out for a walk out in the cold, I decided to make soup for today.
Don't get me wrong. The soup is awesome and would even qualify for Laurie's vegetarian world: 5g of oil spray, 94g onions, 650g of just starting to look a bit wilted broccoli slaw, 475g of zucchini, and 302g of potato, 16g garlic powder, 2g chili flakes, 4 cubes of mushroom knorr, and water to make it all float! It's a good 4+ litres and less than 1000 Cal.
BUT, of course, I had to taste it. And maybe one of the remaining carob rusks with it. That would be the one remaining HALF BAG of carob rusks... for another 700 cal.
So... yes... I was a "tiny" bit over yesterday. And NOT happy about my surprise delivery in spite of it being extremely tasty. Food today? Something tells me there is bunny soup on the menu!3 -
I can see how the delivery would be a problem. I would not be able to turn it down, nor hold it until tomorrow when I had calories available. Bunny Soup today is a good response! Makes this bunny eater smile
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I have a secret weapon for unexpected food gifts. Hubby! I can taste a bit but hubby can eat it all and never gain a pound.1
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Does this mean I have to get married???
Will need to write some odd sounding vows
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who will be MY secret weapon?!?!?
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Well PAV - the lovely CCCGG doesn’t look like a championship eater….. Your dog has intestinal issues so that’s no good. How about guy friends preferably with kids?
There’s always pleading for mercy from your food sharing tenants. I find showing insistent people my “before” picture and asking for understanding works well.2 -
I'm cooking up a batch of dal today....a pretty basic one that I plan to make my go too for protein/tastiness for awhile.
Since the temperature has dropped I'm having dal for breakfast fantasies. I've just been a bit too lazy to do anything about it.
Today was the day Dal for supper - dal for breakfast tomorrow. 1 -
And yet, weirdly, dal is one of these things that I've never "warmed up to" in Indian food, and when you think about it, it is the absolute staple. Check out greek fakes recipes = φακές (if you leave out the "recipe" part your search will be a bit circuitous!)2
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added three bunnies (285g cauli) to a bag of swanson alfredo chicken which claims to be full of traces of veggies
Should have added a few more veggies! That's brunch for now! 2 -
Greek Fakes = dal with different spices of course. Do you like the Greek version? 1
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It's a nice soup 😜2
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I must admit I’m not a fan of lentils. Beans I don’t mind but not a first choice. I think it’s something about the starchiness?1
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I must admit I’m not a fan of lentils. Beans I don’t mind but not a first choice. I think it’s something about the starchiness?
I am not a big fan of lentils either... or beans. Dahl is good, but I like it as a side to other Indian food and not as my main. Beans are the same. I like it as a SIDE but not as my main protein. Some of that has to do with some stomach issues I have so too much is a bad idea.
My ex's mom (he and I are still friends) makes a great split pea soup though. Thinking of making that sometime soon and it freezes great. So I can eat a bit of it and then freeze it in single servings to thaw as I want. May be after Christmas though because I have a turkey in the freezer for my Christmas dinner (since I won't be traveling due to lack of PTO after Disney haha) so lacking a bit of space. We shall see.
Last night I ordered a pizza. Just a small one but it did have onion, peppers, and mushrooms on it. That counts for something!3 -
I love split pea soup and cabbage soup. I make it in winter only so it’s something to look forward to. Besides it’s way too hot most of the year for soup here. Just feels wrong somehow. I, too, have a turkey cluttering up the fridge. Ours is smoked and precooked. I can use the leftovers for peas soup instead of ham.
I’ll so some thanksgiving precooking tomorrow so I can enjoy thanksgiving day without too much effort. I did stop at Costco this morning for a few last items. The checkout lines -even self check- were to the back of the store at 10:30am. Luckily they had their act together and it moved fast.
Baking a crustless pumpkin pie tomorrow. And doing the dressing cause there’s much chopping and fussing involved. Easier to reheat than trying to fit the pan around the turkey roaster.
I could easily be happy going out for Thanksgiving dinner but hubby and son want leftovers- at least for a day or two.3 -
I have to look into the crustless pie, Yooly. Many moons ago I made a sweet potato pie - that was crustless and spiced like a pumpkin pie. It was good. I imagine you save a lot of calories!1
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I use the recipe from Libby’s at https://www.verybestbaking.com/
I love pie crusts! But I have to save calories where I can. I also use nonfat evaporated milk. I’m sure the recipe would work equally well with an equal amount of mashed sweet potato.0 -
I was off in recipe land
Has anyone every tried replacing the sugar with Stevia? From what I've read it is relatively nontoxic unless you consumer mass quanitites. If you replaced the sugar in the Libby's recipe with stevia the calories in this would be fantastic. As it is only 287 calories for 1/4 pie with the regular evaporated milk. Without the sugar it would be 142!2 -
I’m not sure stevia would produce the custard like result. You might have to do more research on that. Baking is all about the chemistry.
Just put together the cornbread dressing. I used jalapeño cornbread so it’s definitely not for everyone but it sure is good!3 -
Just put together the cornbread dressing. I used jalapeño cornbread so it’s definitely not for everyone but it sure is good!
That sounds amazing! Wish you could send me some to try. I love cornbread dressing, but don't make it often because I HAVE to have my grandma's stuffing for Thanksgiving.
I actually do not like pumpkin pie. I think it is a texture thing, but I can only eat it if it has a bunch of whipped cream. Like 2x whipped cream to pie minimum. Personally give me an apple pie instead. Yum!2 -
I was thinking that might be a problem also....but will maybe give it a try. First though I think I'll try using maple syrup - which might be an even bigger problem texture wise - but a bit less calories and less inflammatory than sugar. I'll split the recipe and do one with sugar one with maple syrup and then report back.
Now I'm fantasizing about guilt free pumpkin pie for breakfast
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I use the recipe from Libby’s at https://www.verybestbaking.com/
Which out of the EIGHT PAGES of recipes... I've closed the page pending information! 1 -
https://www.verybestbaking.com/libbys/recipes/crustless-libby-s-famous-pumpkin-pie/
Sorry! I use a bit less sugar, pump up the spices to taste, and use nonfat evaporated milk. Make sure to liberally spray or grease the pie pan!
Laurie, I’m not sure about maple syrup or stevia. The syrup is wet and probably won’t set. No experience with stevia. Maybe look online for other recipes that might accommodate your needs?0 -
Laurie Maple Syrup is fairly identical chemically to sugar dissolved in water... so not sure what you would gain other than water. You could probably puree some apple (wet) or dates (dry) if you want to avoid "direct" sugar... I mean it still has sugar Sucralose derives the benefit from not being absorbable and from the very small amount by weight that is used to give the sweat taste. A liquid drop being equal to a 4-5g of sugar. It does bake. It does have a small aftertaste for me but less so than stevia.
Personally looking at that I would go ahead and make it without sugar because I am weird that way... but with maybe a 300g super large apple in there. and sucralose to taste. and if I were super on the expensive side... maybe some sweet potato flour or something to thicken things? Your custard may be more "clumpy" without "free" sugar or not set at all for that matter.
Splenda baking mix cuts calories to half as a compromise (it is a mix of sugar and filler, primarily the savings is by using half the quantity for equal sweetness because the filler is also 4Cal per g--can't remember right now what it uses)
I would look up custard made with thickeners such as corn starch maybe?0 -
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Perhaps cornstarch will do the trick? I'll try variations and track the ingredients/results.
Not sure what I'm aiming to accomplish, PAV. Getting rid of the sugar/calories/inflammation I seem to experience as a result of too much sugar. Not sure if maple syrup has the same effect - I don't eat that much of it and when I do it usually accompanies pancakes which are their own inflammation problems.1 -
A couple of very small adjustments I will suggest because it is currently a tiny little bit TOO fluffy and maybe wet? Closer to a custard in the end than a pie filling... BUT GOOD
I have consumed about half of it so far while still warm... but logged all of it! Have got it in the fridge now and will probably be eating some more after my walk and before bed!!! I guess evaluating it cooled would not be a terrible idea!
363g of unsweetened almond vanilla milk
21g of corn starch based custard (got mine at safeway): https://www.amazon.ca/National-Foods-Custard-Powder-Dessert/dp/B08XDYXZL9?th=1
110g eggs
810g can of pure pumpkin
10g of liquid sucralose from amazon
3g of "pumpkin spice" from the spice aisle
3.5g of canola spray
Placed in the metal pot with metal handle which is "guaranteed to burn you" once it's been in the oven and you end up touching it by mistake while it remains hot for hours after. And shoved in an ALMOST 350F oven for just a few minutes shy of an hour.
The whole batch comes to under 625 Cal
Changes (again, I've only tried it warm, so cold may be different):
-a tiny bit too wet. probably a bit longer at lower temperature or maybe 353g of almond milk instead of 363
-a bit too fluffy and eggy maybe? So either a tiny bit less egg or maybe a bit more pumpkin?
-5g to 6g sucralose. Too sweet and too intense total overshoot.
Otherwise pretty interestingly good!
Thank you @Yoolypr1 -
Bad PAV! that's 220g of eggs, NOT 110g, and an extra 170.5 Cal bringing the total to just shy of 800 Cal.1
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You’re welcome - although your pie is not exactly what I made. But sounds yummy!
There’s another variation using Bisquick. It’s an “impossible pie” where during baking the Bisquick settles into the bottom forming a kind of crust.
https://simple-nourished-living.com/low-fat-impossible-pumpkin-pie/2 -
You are quick, PAV. Maybe I should try being so quick today.
I'm going to try the half with sugar half with maple syrup and 2 tbsp cornstarch.0 -
Keep in mind Laurie that I saved calories in multiple locations (unsweetened almond milk is 30 Cal instead of at least 110 per cup for diluted-not evaporated-milk)
I'm thinking that the next one I do I will try some Greek yogurt in there 🤔
An idea for you if you insist on using sugar instead of an alternate sweetener would be to replace milk with sweetened vanilla almond milk (which has sugar in it)1
