We're Hanging Out on Facebook!

Happy New Year!

Right now, I'm just barely able to keep up with life, and so most of the gang is hanging out over at The Perfect 10 Diet Recipes Facebook page.  Come join us!  We are all banding together to keep each other accountable and on track - sharing ideas and cheering each other on.  


Come meet us there:  The Perfect 10 Diet Recipes Facebook page

Creamy Brie and Apple Soup

I saw this soup on the Whole Foods recipe page and started salivating.  I loves me some Brie and it’s always good with apples – so this is right up my alley. 

picture courtesy of Whole Foods

Turn a bit of leftover Brie (that is if you actually have any leftover) into a rich and creamy fall soup with the combination of sweet Braeburn and tart Granny Smith apples.

If you can’t find Braeburn, you might substitute Jazz or Gala.  If you don't like Brie, try it with white cheddar - after all, apples and cheese are a classic combination!

This would be great to serve along with Almond Flour Biscuits or maybe some Zucchini Tots - yummy!

Creamy Brie and Apple Soup

makes 4 to 6 servings

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

2 Braeburn apples, peeled, cored and chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

3 ounces Brie, rind removed (1/2 cup chopped)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

In a medium saucepot, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and celery, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in apples and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and simmer about 10 minutes or until apples are very tender. 

Add the Brie and salt, and purée with an immersion blender (or carefully transfer mixture to a blender) and blend until smooth.

Return soup to the saucepot and heat over medium heat until hot. Serve garnished with thyme.

Nutritional Info (provided by Whole Foods):

Per Serving: Serving size: about 1 cup, 160 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 310mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 16g sugar), 4g protein

Pumpkin Curry Soup

It’s beginning to look a lot like….Pre-Christmas?

recipe courtesy of Amanda at Free Coconut Recipes

Yep, it’s only October but the stores already have the decorations up.  I get confused about what holiday comes next.  That must be why I have pumpkin on the brain.  And don’t wait until Thanksgiving to make this – any cold day will do! 

One of the ladies at work makes her version of Pumpkin Curry Soup and brings it in her crockpot along with a loaf of fresh bread.  Heavenly! 

This recipe was submitted to Free Coconut Recipes by Amanda in Hot Springs, CA – thanks Amanda!  She also took the lovely picture.  I have shaky hands so I prefer to use other people’s pictures so you don’t get nauseated looking at them!

Pumpkin Curry Soup

makes 4 servings

recipe courtesy of www.freecoconutrecipes.com

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 finely minced garlic cloves

3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

Salt to taste

Minced cilantro for garnish and flavor

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pan, medium-low heat.

Add the curry, ginger, cumin and red pepper flakes.

Stir for a couple of minutes while the seasonings roast and become fragrant. Do not walk away - they can burn in a flash and you will have to start over. Add the garlic and stir for a moment. Do not let the garlic brown. The flavor will overpower this delicate soup if you do.

Pour the chicken broth into the spice mixture and stir well. Loosen anything that may be sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add the pumpkin puree into the pot, and mix very well.  Try using an immersion blender or carefully combine in a large blender.

Warm the coconut milk separately and then add to the blended pumpkin mixture. Season with sea salt according to your own taste.

Serve with a sprinkling of finely minced cilantro on the top. The green of the cilantro sparkles against the orange hue of the soup. It also adds a subtle earthy quality.

Southwestern Chili

It's Thursday night and I'm in a panic because I don't have something ready to post for Friday!  However, this previously posted recipe has been on my mind all day.  It was one of my dad's favorite meals for a family gathering.  It's been a year since he passed away and since we called him 'Poppa' we are having a memorial family get together this weekend and calling it Poppalooza...hard to believe it's been a year and not a day goes by that I don't have something special to share with him and then realize that it'll have to wait.

This is a very tasty meal, especially on a rainy day.  What's even better about this chili is that you can portion out and freeze it to give to friends or save for another rainy day.

The veggies can be flexible according to your tastes.  I like to triple the recipe for when I have my family over.  My dad loved it with cheesy cornbread muffins.

Southwestern Chili

makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 pound ground beef or turkey

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

1 tablespoon chili powder (more or less to taste)

Kosher salt and black pepper

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup grated cheddar (2 ounces)

2 green onions, sliced

garlic salt and cumin - to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the meat and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is slightly darkened, 1 minute. Stir in the beans, chili powder, 3 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the corn.

Divide the chili among bowls and top with the cheddar and scallions.

Print this recipe:  Southwestern Chili

This is one of my favorite pictures taken at the Family reunion in Iowa last July - my dad (actually smiling) and my daughter (you know her as The Kid).  If you're from Iowa you might recognize the 'House Divided' shirt my brother is wearing (go Hawks!)

Creamy Grape Dessert

Can you believe how FAST the year has gone by?  Geez, I sound like someone's mother (oh yeah, I am).  To be honest with everyone, this has not been a good Perfect 10 year for me but as you can tell by my continual 'keep calm and carry on' posts, I haven't given up.  And in keeping with being honest, I've gained back most of the weight I lost last year - so sorry, I sort of feel like a fraud - but there's no one else who has taken the baton and carried on with helping out all of us.  The Perfect 10 Facebook page hasn't been updated since April, I'm the only one checking and answering questions (free of charge I might add).  The Perfect 10 website hasn't been updated since 2010 I think.  Sorry to have sour grapes - but you all are the only people I can talk to about Perfect 10 - and we're scattered all over the country/world.  I'm almost considering going on Craigslist and seeing if anyone else in the county is trying to work the P10 and if they want to get together and hold meetings!  Do you guys Skype?  Is it possible to do a group Skype?   Would any of you be interested?

This has just been a really difficult year, emotionally, physically and financially.  We cut up our credit cards and are now trying to live just off of what we make - and that's TOUGH!!  
I owe apologies to all the people who have asked 'how do you do P10 Diet on a budget?' and I'd just say 'oh yeah try the farmer's market' - well, now that I'm actually really doing P10 on a budget, I can say: 

THE FOOD THAT IS CHEAP IS NOT GOOD AND
THE FOOD THAT IS GOOD IS NOT CHEAP.

Thanks for listening to me and hopefully not judging me for being a real person and not some diet/workout guru with six pack abs and no body fat.  I'm trying to do all of this without financing, without support, without a personal chef, without a personal trainer and without a net!!  (Oh hey, that's the same way you are all doing it too!!)

Now that we're done with sour grapes, let's change the subject to some sweet grapes!

This is another recipe courtesy of Gina’s Skinny Recipes, her website is www.skinnytaste.com.  You can find a lot of P10-worthy recipes.  She's a wiz at coming up with wonderful recipes that are healthy for you!  

photo courtesy of www.skinnytaste.com

Gina says - This dessert is highly addictive and hard to stop eating! Don't be fooled by the humble ingredients, this is easy to make, very refreshing, and is perfect to bring to a BBQ. This is one of those recipes you'll be making again and again and chances are you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen. Easily doubles for more people.

Creamy Grape Dessert

Recipe courtesy of Gina’s Skinny Recipes

makes 8 servings

1 lb green seedless grapes, washed and dried well

1 lb red seedless grapes, washed and dried well

8 oz Greek yogurt, full fat

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

2 tablespoons coconut sugar, packed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Directions:

Cut grapes in half and set aside.

Mix yogurt, cream cheese, agave and vanilla until blended well. Stir grapes into mixture, and pour in large serving dish.

Combine coconut sugar and crushed walnuts. Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely. Chill until ready to serve.

Curry Salmon

When I found this recipe I thought it looked a bit familiar to the previously posted Chicken Tandoori recipe.  I would never have thought to marinate fish in yogurt but why not?

If you remove the skin from the salmon, the fish will absorb more of the flavor, your choice.  Once again, I used Greek yogurt to give this dish more tang and I also used regular curry but those of you who like it hotter should try Madras curry, which is made with more cayenne pepper.   We enjoyed this dish with a side of my mostest favoritest Spring-Green Saag.

By the way, if you suspect that I may have a Greek yogurt addiction, you are correct.  I have tried a few different kinds but my heart belongs to Fage Total (full fat version).  I found out that any yogurt that has 'pectin' as an ingredient means they added artificial thickeners to it so eeewww.

Honestly, Greek yogurt is just regular plain ordinary yogurt that has been strained so that it has less liquid in it, which concentrates the proteins.  To me, it tastes like sour cream, but then, I love sour cream....

Curry Salmon
makes 4 servings

2/3 cup plain or Greek yogurt, full fat

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or 2 teaspoons fresh grated)

salt and pepper

4 salmon fillets, about 4 ounces each/1 inch thick


Mix the yogurt and seasonings in a large Ziploc bag, add the fish and coat well, squeezing out all the air and sealing tightly.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours or even overnight. Remove the bag from the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking to take the chill off.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil (you'll be glad later) and scrape the excess marinade from the salmon.  Roast about 10-12 minutes, until the fillets are cooked in the center.

This dish is best served right away.  Unlike revenge, which is a dish best served cold...

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

photo courtesy of Rachael Ray

Five ingredients and 15 minutes to make this dish.  Thanks to my Facebook ladies for sharing this Rachael Ray recipe.

Don’t be shy!   Feel free to give this some BAM! (aha, mixing my Food Network stars) by tossing in some pepper or cayenne or whatever floats your boat (get it? fishing puns)….

I always read the comments section of an online recipe to get ideas that others have tried and I always learn something.  Remember where you heard that and later you'll thank me!

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia

makes 4 servings 

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons paprika

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley or Italian seasoning

4  tilapia fillets, thawed (about 1 pound total)

Extra virgin olive oil

1  lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture, press gently to help the cheese cling to the fish.

Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes.   If you like it a tad more brown and crispy, put it under the broiler for a few minutes to finish it off.

Serve the fish with the lemon wedges.