Bariatric Diet: Delicious, Nutritious and Ambitious

I just had a delicious dinner that was so good I feel the need to share. It was highly acceptable on my bariatric diet. At first I wasn’t much in the mood for cooking but once I got going the spicy ideas came flooding in. It was exceedingly easy too – due to some prep work that was already done.

I love to buy those big packages of chicken thighs. What a deal those little suckers are! A couple weeks ago I baked a whole package of them and froze them in two or three thigh packages. I have to brag a little here because a feat almost unthinkable pre-bariatric blondie was performed when cooking them. I love, absolutely love, the chicken skin all crispy and crunchy and delicious. Same goes for fat on a steak but I don’t want to get started on that.

Chicken with no Skin

The day I was preparing the big batch of thighs I meticulously tore the skin off of each precious little thigh. Now that took some will power! In the fat old days I would have left it on and asked whoever was eating with me if they didn’t like the skin to give it to me. Now maybe that sounds a little gross to some but I am here to confess and share my past indulgences with the cyber world.

Bariatric Recipe: Delicious Spicy Chicken Sauce

Now that I’m past the chicken part I can get back to business here. I decided a nice baked potato and broccoli would go great with my pre-cooked (did I say skinless?) chicken thighs. Not wanting to slather the potato with butter and sour cream but wanting something to flavor it up I decided on a chicken broth sauce. Here’s how I did it.

Ingredients

• One can fat-free chicken broth
• One medium onion – sliced
• One tomato – chopped
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• A teaspoon or so of curry powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray. You can use a teaspoon or so of olive oil if you prefer. Heat the skillet till hot and add the sliced onion. Cook till starting to brown and translucent. Add the tomato and stir in and cook together for a few minutes. Pour half the chicken broth into the skillet with the cayenne pepper and curry. Put a lid on it (I love saying that) and let simmer. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Put the cilantro in for the last five minutes.

Add the cornstarch to the leftover chicken broth and stir till completely blended. Add slowly, stirring constantly, into the skillet. This will thicken to a great saucy consistency. Makes two to four servings depending on just how much you love it!

I poured this sauce over the baked potato and even some on the broccoli. OMG delicious! Just goes to prove that bariatric recipes do not, I repeat, do not have to be boring and bland.

Bariatric Diet and a Mexican Restaurant!

Did you know there is healthy Mexican food at restaurants? I didn’t until today. I had a meeting with the owner of Super Mex today in one of his restaurants.

The whole way there I told myself I was not going to eat. But like an idiot I did not have time for breakfast and was absolutely starving when I got there…starving like to the point of feeling a little dizzy – no, I did not say ditzy.

Tortilla Chips and Salsa – NOT

The lovely waitress came to the table and I obediently ordered a Diet Coke. Checkmark for step number one.  Then the temptations started rolling. Out came the tortilla chips, salsa, and bean dip. Anything hot and spicy pushes my craving buttons. I stared at the chips for what seemed like an eternity. The owner must have thought I was in a tortilla trance.

Confessing the Bariatric Diet

The owner and I were having a great conversation (after I came out of my stupor) covering politics, kids, and his business. Feeling we were now buddies and I knew the waitress was about to come for our orders I told him I was really trying to watch what I eat. Maybe that doesn’t count as confessing to a bariatric diet (as I boldly suggested in the heading here). But it’s damn near close so let’s not pay attention to that little detail. My new buddy told me he knew just what I should order.

Mexican Brown Rice, Vegetables, and Shrimp

God love my new friend and his restaurant. He quickly suggested a brown rice, vegetable, and shrimp dish. The waitress had arrived so without delay I ordered just that. Wow! It was absolutely delicious. I put some hot sauce on it and enjoyed a great lunch. The owner told me it was only 400 calories. Not bad for a Mexican restaurant where damage could be in the thousands of calories without much effort.

As a tiny side note you might want to check out this bariatric recipe for fish tacos.

One Little True Confession:  Tortilla Chips – Yes

As I munched on my lunched (not a spelling error – I just like to rhyme) those damn tortilla chips were practically speaking to me begging me to try one. I finally caved. I took one. Now don’t get me wrong this was not your normal everyday little chip. It was a real tortilla chip. Big, round, and about the size of a Frisbee – ok, maybe not quite that big – but big I tell you, BIG.

All in all I really think I did pretty well. I ordered sensibly, only had one little chip (oops, did I say little?) and drank my Diet Coke like a good Bariatric Blondie should. So the moral of the story is you can eat healthy at a restaurant – even a Mexican one.  Stay strong fellow dieters, stay strong! Adios!