Ten-Minute Meal: Nik & Steak & Cheese Zoodles

This "as it happened" lunch is brought to you by...Nik! :) Seriously though...submitting a recipe for the contest is as easy as snapping a pic of one of your meals!

 



Hey friends! Are you getting together your entries for the 2^ndannual Bariatric Foodie “Play With MY Food” recipe contest? (If not you should be. For simply sharing the recipe and a pic of one of your meals you could win a $50 Amazon gift card!)

If you need some inspiration, here’s a really quick and easy dish I made myself THIS very morning for lunch that is the perfect kind of recipe (and an example of what I mean by a decent food picture – this was taken with my phone).

Nik’s Steak & Cheese Zoodles

Ingredients:

• 3-ish oz. leftover cooked steak or roast beef (NOTE: You don’t HAVE to use beef. If you’ve got leftover chicken make it chicken and cheese…seafood, make it seafood and cheese. You get where I’m going with this right?)
• 1 oz. onion slivers
• Zoodles (zucchini noodles I made using my spiral vegetable cutter)
• Whatever random quick-cooking veggies you wanna throw in there (I had spinach so I used that)
• Salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Spray a skillet with non-stick set it over medium heat and let it get hot. Throw the steak and onions on there and get them cooking.

Meanwhile you can be cutting your zoodles. (It’s a quick, easy and, dare I say, fun process!)

Add zoodles to the pan and toss it around with the steak and onions. Let those go about a minute before adding the other veggies you intend to use. Add spices.

Once everything is tender (it only takes 3-ish minutes) throw in the Laughing Cow Light wedge (NOTE: you may want to dice it up. They don’t exactly “melt” easily). Toss throughout (I use tongs) allowing the temperature of the food to soften the cheese.

When ready to eat, top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy! These tasted like a steak & cheese sub - without the bread! And it literally took me 10 minutes to make.

So if you were hesitating to enter the contest because you thought you needed a "fancy" dish - don't! In fact most of the judges WANT simple and good recipes. So get yours together and submit by September 30 for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card! Plus you'll be helping to fill the contest e-book that will be available to everyone for FREE download.

Keep playing with your food!

2nd Annual Bariatric Foodie "Play With MY Food" Recipe Contest

Recipes like my "Cheesy Chicken & Cauliflower Bake" are quick and easy - do you have a quick & easy recipe you love? Submit it!

 

I know you guys have some great recipes cooking in your kitchen. How? Let’s just call it intuition. (Or we could call it the fact that you guys often send me your recipes!)

Well now your recipes could win you something GOOD! That’s right…it’s time for the 2^nd Annual Bariatric Foodie “Play With MY Food” recipe contest!

I’m not going to throw all the details and rules of the recipe contest at you in this post. Instead, I’ll post them on the officialcontest page, but here’s what you need to know:

What is it/How does the contest Work

This contest is your opportunity to show off WLS-friendly dishes you love – and possibly win a prize for doing so!

Last year, I invited Foodies to remake one of my most popular recipes. This year, you’ll be able to submit recipes for FIVE (5) different categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks and Desserts. You may enter as many categories as you like, but you may only submit one (1) recipe for each category.

There will be one (1) winner in each category. The five winners will each receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card to help inspire future creations!

Who is Judging?

This year I’ve again asked a panel of Foodie-judges to pick the one (1) winner from each category. You can check out the judges on the official contest page, but here’s what’s important to know. Pay attention to their judging criteria. It’s listed by their names and tells you what they’ll be looking for in a winning recipe. If you’re in it to win it, be sure to pay close attention to what the judges want to see.

When/How to enter

Please see the official contest page for instructions on how to enter your recipe. 

I would advise that you NOT just fire off a recipe right now. Read the judging criteria, take a GOOD picture of your dish and then submit your entry. Also I’d advise you to go over your recipe to make sure it works well. The judges will be trying out their pick for the winning recipe. If the recipe doesn’t work, they may have to pick another winner. Make sure that doesn’t happen!

So…how can the rest of us get all the recipes, Nik?

Just like last year, after the winners are chosen, ALL the recipes submitted will be included in the special Bariatric Foodie “PWMF” recipe e-book which will be available for free download. If you want to download last year’s copy, click the button below. (NOTE: You must have Adobe Acrobat installed in the device you are using in order to view the file.)

Click this button to download last year's recipe book!

So…get your best recipes ready – they may pay off!

The winner of the free box of Enlightened Ice Cream Bars is...



 

April King!!! (Comment #9)

I've sent April an email with instructions on how to claim her free box. April, you have until tomorrow, September 10, at noon EST to respond or I have to draw another name. Don't make me do that!

Congrats and thanks to everyone for entering. Stay tuned this evening for another great Bariatric Foodie contest with even more opportunities to win prizes!

Foodie Review: Enlighten Fudge Bar

FCC Disclousre: The reviewer of this product was given free product for the purposes of this review, however was not monetarily compensated. The opinions expressed in this review are those solely of the individual reviewer and may not express the opinions of Bariatric Foodie.

 

Enlighten Ice Cream. The good for you ice cream. We'll just see about that won't we???

 

Admittedly this review is hella late (as is my custom at times). My apologies. But since there are a few more weeks of warm weather yet, I'm hoping this review will help you satisfy your end-of-summer ice cream cravings.

 

At first glance, I admit Enlightened has potential. Per their website, the bars come in FIVE different flavors: Fudge, Coffee, Orange Cream, Toasted Almond and Peanut Butter. Here are the stats on the fudge bar, which is what is being reviewed here. This is per the Enlightened website.

• 70 calories
• 2g fat
• 14 total grams carbohydrates
• 5g fiber (bringing the net carbs down to 9g)
• 3g sugar
• 6g erythritol (a sugar alcohol BUT one that tends to have very little impact on the human digestive system)
• 8g protein

So let me pause and say this. From the numbers alone this appears to be a pretty decent bar. Which is exactly what makes me suspicious! That's why I asked my Foodie-pal Cindy to review check these bars out for you. Her mission: to find out if an ice cream bar could be both good and good FOR you.

 

I asked Cindy to review the product based on the following criteria: packaging, aesthetics (smell, look of the product), taste, nutritional value and to give an overall verdict. Here's what she had to say. 

 

Q: What did you think of the packaging? Was it informative? What could you tell simply by looking at the package?

 



 

Cindy: The small "e" with a halo above it makes it look like an Angelic item…..blue sky and clouds. Very nice. There was lots of information to catch your eye on the front of box. Information WILL catch a Bari patient’s eye. Just from looking at the package I learned it has 8 grams of protein and only 70 calories. It has only 4 bars in one box. And it looked tasty.

 

Q: What did you think about the product's aesthetics? How did it look, smell?

 

Cindy: If anything I'd say the product had a frozen smell, not mediciny or foody, just icy. When I first bit into the bar it was a bit hard, so it does freeze well. Then after a few bites - as it thawed a  - the bar became softer softer.

 

Q: How did the Enlightened bar taste?

 

Cindy: I ate a few bars over the course of a week before answering this question to be sure of my opinion. These bars are yummy, thick, creamy and fulfilling. Not as creamy as a Dove bar but thick and creamy almost like that. Some fudge bars taste like ice milk, this has a creamy ice cream taste to it. I do have to say I have to bite the first couple bites as I mentioned earlier, but after a couple creamy licks, the flavoring of the fudge was also spot on.

 

Q: What did you think of the nutrition?

 

Cindy: This would be considered a high protein product, since there are 8 grams of protein and only 70 calories. This product does have 14 grams of carbohydrates though. The dietary fibers are 5 grams so subtract that from the carbs and you get 9 grams. It does say on the label that it has only 3 net carbs. Product contains Erythritol.

 

Q: What do you think of the overall value of this product? Is it something you'd buy?

 

The price on the bars is reasonable (Nik Note: At the time of this writing, the bars were on sale at my local grocery store for about $3.50/box of 4). I did very much enjoy this product. And glad to see they have a variety of flavors. My next couple to buy are: the Toasted Almond and the Ice Cream sandwich. I would like to see them have more than 4 items in one box.

 

Q: So what's your final verdict? Should Foodies purchase or pass?

 

Cindy: Purchase!

 

There are a few other notes I learned from reading their website's FAQs:

• ENLIGHTENED Ice Cream is certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU).
• It contains all-natural ingredients (yes, erythritol is a nutural ingredient)
• Besides erythritol, the bars use monkfruit as a sweetener
• The milk used in the bars is hormone-free

Enlightened was kind enough to give me another coupon to try out the bars and I'd love a review of one of the remaining flavors. Wanna be my reviewer?

 

Leave a comment about which flavor (besides fudge) you'd like to try (along with your email address) and you'll be entered to win! You have until Sunday at noon to put your name in the hat. I'll announce the winner Monday morning.

 

Good luck, everyone and thanks Cindy!