Creamy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts

I have seen this recipe explode on Pinterest and have even seen a variation in a Hellmann's commercial. So, I decided I needed to take a crack at it. I skipped the bread crumbs that many recipes call for to keep it Low FODMAP and since my first time making it I have tweaked it some.  I am happy to report it has become a favorite at our dinner table.  It is easy, fast and definitely passes the yummy test.

Let me preface by saying I have never been a mayo girl... For me it was definitely Miracle Whip or bust. But, Miracle Whip contains high fructose corn syrup and has been scratched off my list of foods for many reasons, including that it is not Low FODMAP - not to mention (but I will) that it is also just really bad for you! I have been pleasantly surprised at my enjoyment and new found like of mayo, though. At first I was led to believe that perhaps Hellmann's was the only mayo I could have; but, I think there are others that are also okay. I will look more intently when my current jar has provided me with my last knifeful.

 

This recipe is moist and creamy and crusty all rolled into delicious bite after delicious bite. I like to serve it with potatoes and/or a salad for a complete meal of yumminess and satisfaction. But, it would definitely be equally as good served with rice or whatever your choice of side preference might be.  It is also terrific reheated the next day for lunch if you are lucky enough to have leftovers... We usually do not.

Enjoy!

Creamy Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts

• 1-1.25 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts - completely thawed
• 1/2 cup Hellmanns or mayo of choice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Scant 1/4 cup chicken broth

Lightly spray a shallow baking dish and pour a small amount of chicken broth into the bottom. Place chicken breasts into the prepared shallow baking dish.  Blend together 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.  Generously spread mayo mixture over your chicken breasts.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked and your topping is golden brown. 

* I find the small amount of chicken broth helps the chicken stay moist.   

Cleaning My House... Cleaning My Body...

My Escort For My First Trip To Goodwill
 

 It has been a crazy few days for me.  My meals have not been very glamorous and really pretty much the same. A sandwich for lunch and rice with veggies for dinner. The reason? I have been spending night and day in my basement trying to clean up and move out 14+ years of accumulation. Boxes that were moved here from our old home, never opened and left to accumulate nothing but dust! Can anyone relate?

Why do we keep "stuff" around? Just like, why do we eat "stuff" not good for us? I don't enjoy my material stuff when it is all safe and boxed up. Just like I don't enjoy how I feel when I indulge on poor food choices. I am pleased to say that twenty bags, 4 large boxes and a huge Easter bunny later... my basement is much neater, much cleaner and Goodwill & I are much happier!  Likewise, as I continue this Low FODMAP journey my body is feeling better and is definitely happier in how I am cleaning it with better food choices.

A strange analogy? Maybe. Maybe Not.

Until next time...

Chocolate & Peanut Butter & Coconut... Oh. My.

Chocolate/Peanut Butter Fudge Cups

When my journey into the Low FODMAP world began, I knew I needed to search. Search blogs, search recipes, search books and search google. Thankfully, I found some fantastic information out there in cyberspace! 

One of the blogs I discovered was Delicious as it Looks. The writer of the blog has been eating Low FODMAP for quite some time and has lots of great sounding recipes I am anxious to try. One that especially intrigued me was a chocolate candy fudge textured recipe made using coconut oil (something I have never cooked with), one of my absolute loves - peanut butter and unsweetened cocoa powder.  I use Better 'N Peanut Butter from Trader Joes which has less calories and fats; but, it is definitely a score on flavor!  I also found my coconut oil at Trader Joes.

Up until I found this recipe I was actually in a panic state.  A life without chocolate? I. Don't. Think. So. It is super easy (right up my alley) and tastes fabulous!  And, it is über chocolately which can NEVER be bad... Right?  

Plus, if I did the math correctly, there are only about 65 calories in each candy cup. I know, I know, you are looking at the pictures and thinking "but they are small, I can't eat just one" to which I say... Yes. You. Can. They are seriously that chocolately and satisfying.

I have discovered that most recipes I find I tweak by taking out ingredients, adding family favorite foods or putting in more or less of some ingredients.  But, I must admit, other than my choice of peanut butter, I made this recipe EXACTLY as it was written.  It is a perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter yummyness with only the ever so slightest hint of coconut flavor.

  Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Cups:

• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (natural, no sugar added)*
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the coconut oil.

Stir in the peanut butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract until smooth.  Be careful not to over cook.  Remove from heat.

Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with liners.  Pour about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each cup.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until fudge is set.  Remove cups from pan and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*my one substitute is I used Better 'N Peanut Butter from Trader Joes in place of natural no sugar added peanut butter as the original recipe called for.

Enjoy!

Girl Scout Cookies... A Love/Hate Relationship

Cookies have ALWAYS been a weakness for me. Kind of like the late Lays Potato Chip commercials "I bet you can't eat just one." It is physically, mentally and emotionally impossible for me to eat just one cookie! Never gonna happen!




And then you have Girl Scout Cookies.  You HAVE to buy them, right?  After all how do you say no to a co-workers darling granddaughter?  Not. Me. Can anyone honestly say they haven't sat down with an "individually" packaged ROW of thin mints?  Washed down with a big 'ole glass of milk?  Pure. Heaven.  Or, open that individually packaged row with the intent of only eating 3 or 4, only to get up and head to the pantry for two more and then two more until that row was gone? Raise of hands... Count me in!

I bought Girl Scout cookies this year BEFORE I realized I could no longer eat them. Or rather, let me rephrase, no longer eat them without bathroom trip consequences! When they arrived, I snuck them into the house and put them into the refrigerator waaaaaaay downstairs in our basement.  Easy Peasy, right? But, unlike that cucumber that will take me at least three days to peel and cut, it was only a 5 second walk to the basement and those cookies kept calling my name!  And, after about two weeks, I finally caved!  During that one brief moment of weakness I consumed FIVE Caramel Delites.  My best choice, right?  After all I can safely eat coconut!  And then two weeks later it was SIX Peanut Butter Patties... again a good choice because peanut butter is on the Low FODMAP food plan!



Thankfully (I guess) my husband polished off both of those boxes for me while I was at work. Gee... Thanks, Phil!  But, there are still boxes down there.  Be. Strong. Cindy.  Peel and cut the dang cucumber!



Making Life Easy... Salad, A Low FODMAP Diet Necessity!

Salad. A must in the life of a Low FODMAP foodie. I have eaten so many salads since February, 2014 that I have lost count. They are easy and the toppings are within my control, especially when going out to eat. The only downside is that I can no longer eat the yummy garlic stick that often comes with it... And, that is definitely a bummer! 

One thing I have started doing is always keeping a salad made up and ready in my refrigerator (and I will admit I got this suggestion from my oldest daughter who is a genius and amazing just like my youngest daughter but that is another post).
 


Doesn't this look amazing?





If you are like me, I see a head of lettuce in the fridge and I automatically think "that will take me at least a week to chop, wash and put in a bowl." So, now when I get home from the grocery store, I break up my head of lettuce, spin it and put it in an insulated 9X13 covered pan (I can't really use it for brownies anymore).  I then add cut up red, orange and yellow peppers along with a cucumber.  VOILA!  I have ready to eat salads that last much longer than those bags of lettuce and are certainly a lot prettier.  Add some blue cheese crumbles, ham, turkey, chicken breast or leftover steak and your favorite Low FODMAP safe dressing and you have lunch!  Or, serve as a side salad at dinner for a nice compliment to your meal!  Always ready and definitely easy. 

No. More. Excuses.  





Balsamic Glazed Steak Roll-Ups

I actually LOVE to cook and during our crazy years with kids heading in different directions and a husband that worked a 24 hour shift... I still managed to do a weekly menu that typically included one "new" meal. But, I must admit that I often steered away from those recipes that had boatloads of ingredients and/or involved a lot of slicing and dicing and prep work.

However, my days of Cream of Mushroom soup and other such quick "go to" cans and boxes is gone. I still find myself gravitating towards recipes with fewer ingredients or little prep... But, I am super thankful that wasn't my thought process when I discovered this recipe on Pinterest!  I revamped it to the veggie tastes of my family and to make it Low FODMAP friendly & it definitely is putzy; but, it is sooooooooo well worth it. I literally wanted to swim in the glaze!  It was Just. That. Good. 

To be honest, I felt like I was sitting down to a plate being served at an upscale restaurant.  Serious. I would not kid about this. I am definitely a foodie and this meal was definitely a foodie dream come true! Okay... Enough about my fantabulous cooking - Ha!

Here goes... My first recipe post:

Balsamic Glazed Steak Roll-Ups

Ingredients
2 lb sirloin sliced thin (pre-cut thinly sliced sirloin breakfast steaks would work great!)
3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil

Place thinly sliced sirloin in a glass dish and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Combine worcestershire sauce and olive oil. Pour over your thinly sliced sirloin and allow to marinade while you are preparing your veggies.

Veggie Filling
1 zuchhini
1/2 red pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 yellow pepper

Slice the veggies in longer matchstick sized pieces (thin and longer than your steak strips). In a large skillet, season the veggie strips and saute in a small amount of olive oil until they are crisp tender. Remove to a plate saving the skillet for later.

To assemble the steak rolls, take a strip of marinated steak and lay it with the short side towards you.  Place some veggies in the middle and roll the beef up over the filling. Secure with a toothpick.  Repeat until all veggies and steak strips have been used.

Reheat your large skillet  over medium high heat.  Add a touch of olive oil swirling to coat the bottom.  When hot, add beef rolls seam side down making sure they don't touch.  Pan fry for a couple of minutes then turn the roll.  Repeat until all sides are cooked.

Meanwhile in a small saucpan:

Balsamic Glaze
2 tsp. butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup beef broth

Melt butter on low medium heat.  Add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and beef stock and stir to mix everything well. Turn up heat and allow the sauce to come to a boil and reduce to almost half its volume.  You will notice it start to become thicker having the consistency of syrup.  Turn to low and keep warm so it doesn't become tar that you won't be able to get out of the pan!

Place the steak rolls on a plate, removing the toothpicks, and serve with the balsamic glaze sauce spooned over the top of each roll.

Enjoy!

*Please note: I get mixed signals when it comes to worcestershire sauce and beef broth. I was able to eat these items in this recipe without incidence.  If these items bother your stomach then this recipe might not work for you.

You have GOT to be kidding me... No Garlic OR Onion? {Low FODMAP Living}

It has dawned on me that people that stumble upon my blog because they are searching for Low FODMAP will know exactly what this food plan entails (or at least be aware that this food plan exists) and are just looking for ideas and recipes. BUT, for those I direct here and nicely ask to check it out and tell me how incredibly awesome it is (AHEM... Hubby & Girls - I am referring to you), may not know the incredible amount of food restrictions that have recently been bestowed upon me and seized from my pantry and refrigerator... Like NO MORE GARLIC OR ONION!

I planned to have my next blog post to be an incredible tasty new recipe with terrific photos; but you will need to visit my blog again (pretty please?) so that I can briefly take this post to explain the ins and outs of the Low FODMAP food plan. And, to clarify, I am NOT an expert on this subject or a nutritionist or dietician.  I am Simply Cindy Anne trying to maneuver my way through a complicated eating plan that up until February, 2014 was not even in my vocabulary!

Low FODMAP. What does it mean? Each letter is an acronym for a group of foods I need to avoid...

F              =Fermentable (Gas Producing)

O             =Oligosaccharides – (Fructans & Galacto-oligosaccharides) – (kinds of sugars) in foods such as cereals, bread, biscuits, cakes, pasta

D             =Disacharides (Lactose) for example, dairy foods

M            =Monosaccharides (Fructose) in fruit juice, honey, peas, jams, snack bars

A             =And

P              =Polyols – (Sorbitol & Manitol) – (sugar alcohols) found in fruits with stones and some vegetables, such as onions and leeks. Also found in artificial sweeteners and sugar-free gum

WHEW! Easy, right?  I did a whole bunch of searching the internet and Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest) to gain some knowledge of my new life. This checklist created by a registered and licensed dietician, Kate Scarlata, is one of the best I have found.

http://blog.katescarlata.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/FODMAP1_5_2013.pdf

I hope this post has helped you understand some about Low FODMAP living.  If you are living the life, as I am, or even if you aren't... Stop back often.  I have lots of recipes on my "to try" list along with many old favorites that I am going to attempt to revamp so they are Low FODMAP friendly!  Cheers to eating healthy, tasty foods and having a tummy that loves your choices!

~HAPPY EATING~



Family "Go To" Meal

Yummy Fried Egg Sandwich

Every family has a "go to" meal... don't they? You know the one. That meal that you always go to when it has been a hectic day or everyone is going in different directions at different times or your just plain tired and don't want to even think about mealtime & what to put on the table.

For my husband and I it was always pizza.  We always had one of our favorite frozen pizzas in the freezer for just that night.  And, it did seem that at least once a week that night would come.

Ahhhhh... but it isn't that simple anymore!  Our favorite frozen pizza is definitely off limits for me and so, unfortunately for my husband, also no longer on his menu either. But, the nights of not wanting to think about mealtime haven't gone away.  What to have, what to have?

Fried Egg Sandwiches!  They are super yummy and super easy!  At least once a week since my Low FODMAP life began about 8 weeks ago we have dined on fried egg sandwiches.  We simply toast some bread (gluten free for me), top the toast with a slice of canadian bacon or ham, fry an egg and top it with a thin slice of cheddar and VOILA!  We. Have. Dinner.  Add a glass of almond milk and some shoestring potatoes and I am a happy lady!

What is your "go to" dinner?

Life As I Knew It...

January 20, 2014... A Monday.  And, a day I won't soon forget.  Because Monday, January 20, 2014 was the day that my stomach decided to go beserk!  It was on this day that life as I knew it changed ~ Probably Forever!

It was on this day that out of nowhere I started visiting the bathroom... OFTEN.  As in 10-12 times per day often.  Twenty-six days, two doctors, a couple prescriptions and dozens of tests later (and down 13 pounds which, I guess, is somewhat of a positive) it was determined that since it is nothing else, it must be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).  Okay? What now? 

I was told to start following a Low FODMAP diet plan and handed some paperwork to give me a glimpse of what I can and cannot eat.  Do it for six weeks the doctor suggested and then slowly add one "not allowed" food at a time to help determine what my "trigger" foods are.

AAAAUUUUUGH!  You have got to be kidding me!  Why can't this just be a parasite or something easy?  Give me some antibiotics and once again I'm good to go!  I love to cook and I love to try new recipes (which like the weight loss, I guess is a positive); but, I can't have any of the ingredients that I typically "go to" when cooking, baking and creating new recipes.

Some days I am in denial and think they are wrong.  I just need to let my stomach settle for a few weeks and I will be able to go back to eating as I always have.  Other days I think this just may have been a blessing in disguise as I was struggling with weight loss, eating but not really feeding my body and deep down I knew a healthier food plan (even if forced and out of necessity) was in my best interest.

But, anyhow I want to look at this, the bottom line is I really do feel better when I follow the Low FODMAP eating plan.  I always refer to life as a book.  Turn the page... I guess I am starting another chapter!  The title of this chapter is "Low FODMAP Living."  Welcome to my journey...

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