Day 46, Healthy Banana Pudding

Hi my name is Pamela and I am addicted to the chemical ingredients in processed foods. 

I am excited to say that I am on my 47th day of food-sobriety, and in that time I have lost 32 pounds. It's so freeing to recognize the addiction cycle and become equipped to walk in health and sobriety, rather than slavery to chemicals I can't even pronounce. Of course, it means a lot more cooking from scratch, reading labels and being aware of situational eating, but it is so worth the effort. I'm worth it, and so are YOU. 

Who doesn't like dessert??? But for some of us, one dessert will lead to another, and another, and another. Have no fear, help is here. Nope, Underdog is not about to swoop from the clouds to take the fork from your hand, but Pamela's Healthy Pantry does have a wonderful new recipe for you. Just developed in our test kitchen this weekend...It's so good and good for you, you will want to make this all the time, but you won't have to, because there are more than 30 other desserts in the Pamela's Healthy Pantry Cookbook. 

Enjoy!

Healthy Banana Pudding

2 egg yolks

4 TBSP corn starch

1 TBSP xylitol or Eurythritol (or 2 pks of Truvia)

1 can fat free evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla extract, or the seeds of one vanilla pod.

2 bananas

1 cup chopped almonds

In a small pot whisk together egg yolks, 6 tbs of the milk, xylitol and cornstarch and vanilla until smooth. I like to use a wire whisk. Add rest of the milk, stir until smooth.

Put this egg milk mixture over medium heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Once it is boiling, remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently while the pudding is cooling to avoid a skin forming.

Thinly slice bananas and layer one banana in 4 glass dessert dishes. Spoon pudding over the layer, divide half of almonds over pudding, place the other banana slices on top, and spoon on more pudding to fill, then sprinkle with the rest of the almonds. Chill and serve.

Serves 4

Celebrating day 42 with a great recipe

Hi my name is Pamela and I am addicted to processed, unhealthy foods.

Wow, hard to believe it has been 42 days since I realized food addiction was the primary cause of my weight issues and was leading me toward health problems and aches and pains as each day passed.

42 days in, I am happy to say, as of this morning, I have lost 29 pounds. This is amazing to me because I am not counting calories, I'm not on any specific plan, I'm not writing down every morsel I put in my mouth. I am simply saying no to any foods that are processed, packaged or made specifically for the fast food industry. I have consumed cheese, red meat and even a small slice of homemade apple pie. Yes, those things are limited in my daily routine and I would not eat them every day, but none of those foods are triggers for binges on large amounts of calorie laden, unhealthy foods. It was very freeing to discover that foods made from scratch without preservatives, even if they contain some sugar or a little bit of fat, are not triggers. Of course this convinces me even more of the dangers/problems with processed foods. I am still researching that and when I feel like I know what I am talking about a little more, I will post the results of my study. In the mean time, I'm celebrating the freedom of walking each day in food sobriety. I don't have a weight loss goal set because as I wrote previously, it isn't as much about losing weight as it is about being healthy. But, just so that none of the readers get concerned about the weight loss, I could easily lose another 70 to 80 pounds without being in danger of being under weight. ;) I don't know if my body will shed that much or not. Wherever the number lands I will still work out my food-sobriety each day, sometimes each hour. Just like a alcoholic or drug addict, this will not go away and no matter what my body weight or BMI I must be committed to food sobriety for the rest of my life.

This morning I made a wonderful wild rice dish. In celebration of 42 days of food-sobriety, here is the recipe.

Wild Spanish Rice

4 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup chopped green onion
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 large can, chopped green chiles
1 cup shredded cheddar/jack cheese

Stir all ingredients into rice over medium heat. Keep stirring as mixture heats. (to avoid scorching) If you want to add some lean protein to this dish, add 1 cup of diced, cooked chicken breast. Serve as a side dish or as a wonderful lunch. It's great served with a side of fruit or stuffed in a tomato or bell pepper. This will serve 6 to 8 adults as a side dish, or at least 4 as a main dish.

Enjoy!

Keep coming back, It works if you work it!

Looking for a unique snack? Try Artichokes



Choose Artichokes that are firm, and well rounded.

Artichokes are a great, healthy snack or side-dish. Cooking them can be intimidating if you didn't grow up with them. Here are the simple steps to enjoying this awesome vegetable.

You can serve them whole and allow everyone to pull the leaves themselves, or you can serve them pulled, with the heart already prepared.






Remove most of the stem and lowest leaves.




Put in a large pot filled with water, over high heat.














Bring to a boil, Cover and cook 20-25 minutes until leaves pull off easily.



Remove from pot with tongs, hold over the pot to drain a bit,
or set in a colander in the sink.



















Pull leaves and arrange on a plate.





Almost done, but we need to get rid of the "choke"
to get to the heart. (Just the way my mamma did it.)



Using a spoon, gently remove the fibers that cover the heart.
They scrape away easily.




Cut the heart into bite-sized pieces. Serve with a low fat dip.





To eat the leaves...Hold the top of the leaf. Scrape the inside
along your bottom teeth. Discard the parts of the leaves that are
too hard or stringy to chew and swallow easily.

  **Note. The dog in the picture is a trained food model. Please do NOT give artichokes to your pets. This dog did NOT actually eat it, and was not harmed during his photo shoot for this blog.


For a quick dipping sauce mix 2 Tbsp of spicey brown mustard with 1 Tbsp of fat free Miracle Whip and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. It makes a rich and spicey addition to your artichoke. I also like to mix a little greek yogurt with lemon and dill...as much as you like...then let it sit for an hour in the fridge so the dill really permiates the yogurt.

Pan-Grilled Pheasant with artichoke

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This is one my favorite meals, and it's super good for you. Pheasant is extremely high in protein and it tastes wonderful. Be careful not to overcook it because Pheasant is low in fat and can dry out easily.

For each serving you will need:
4-6 Pheasant breast tenders. (from the part of the breast closest to the bone. You can see them when you cut or pull the outer part of the breast off the bone)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or sage
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp olive oil.

Place tenders in a large zip log bag and sprinkle with garlic, poultry seasoning and pepper. Seal bag, squeezing out the air as you close it. With the flat side of a kitchen mallet, pound the tenders almost flat. In a non stick skillet, heat olive oil just until it's hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Place tenders in skillet, cook for about 2 minutes, turn and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from skillet. Serve with cooked artichoke leaves.

To cook an artichoke, remove small random leaves at base, trim stem to within 1/2 inch of the bottom of the artichoke. Place in a pan of boiling water, deep enough to cover. Place lid on pan, reduce heat to low and simmer approximately 20 - 30 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke. When it's done the leaves will come off easily and will have a bit of "meat" at the bottom of each one.

To eat it, remove the leaves. Put a leaf in your mouth, soft side down. Scrape it against your bottom teeth to pull the edible part off the leaf. If you like you can dip it in mustard or another sauce of your choice.