SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole

I love any dish that contains potatoes, ham, eggs, and cheese.
When I found this make and bake casserole recipe, I was thrilled to try a new recipe using four ingredients that I LOVE. Of course, I had to give it my own twist - cream cheese. 

Who doesn't like cream cheese? 
The addition of cream cheese makes this an indulgent and hearty version of a crust less breakfast pie that is not low calorie, but is low in carbs. It is perfectly suitable for breakfast or supper. 

I want to repeat what I already said though - This is not a low calorie dish.
However, I am tracking carbs AND staying below 2000 calories a day. I save calories to enable a calorie splurge that satisfies my craving for ham and potatoes surrounded by luscious, cheesy eggs without having them fried in oil, or butter. Baked is better, don't you agree?

An 8"x1" round cake pan yields four wedges of  hammy, cheesy goodness with 10.5 carbs and 387 calories a wedge.

Remember, I said it was low carb and the entire pan only has 42 grams of carbs! 

Two Tips to Use With This Recipe 

1. Have a left over baked potato? Remove the skin, dice the potato, and store it in the refrigerator for a day or two.  Add the diced potato to a soup or casserole.
2. Mix the casserole ingredients up to 24 hours ahead of time. After spooning the ingredients into the pan,  wrap it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. When you want to bake the casserole, remove the plastic wrap, and pop the cold casserole into the cold oven and let it preheat with the oven. Set your timer for 25 minutes once the oven temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

SalleeB's Kitchen - Amish Ham Casserole  Recipe                              Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of cooked ham, diced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 large eggs and 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 baked or microwaved potato, peeled and diced about 1 cup
• 1/3 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease an 8"x1" round pan and set aside.
• Put diced ham, onion, potato, shredded cheeses, and cottage cheese into a medium bowl.
• Stir gently until the mixture is blended well.
• Combine the beaten eggs and egg white with the cream cheese pieces and stir until the cream cheese pieces are well coated with the beaten eggs
• Pour the eggs and cream cheese over the ham mixture
• Add seasonings and stir gently until blended well
• Spoon the mixture into greased 8' round pan and put the pan into the preheated oven
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and bubbly.
• Change the oven setting from bake to broil.
• Broil the top of the casserole for 2-3 minutes, or until the top looks like the picture. 
• Take the casserole out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing into 4 wedges. 

Enjoy a slice of homemade happiness on a plate!

Oat Flour Sweet Potato Pancakes - A Gluten-Free Recipe

Golden brown and delicious oat flour sweet potato pancakes.
These pancakes are approximately 3.25 inches in diameter.

This morning Bill and I tried out this recipe that I adapted from superhealthykids.com. My changes are the gluten-free oat flour, ground flax seed, and honey. 

The pancake texture is denser than a traditional pancake and reminds me of bread pudding. The cinnamon, sweet potato flavor is only enhanced by the slightly nutty flavor of the ground flax seed. 

Yield and Nutrients
6 pancakes, 3.25 inch diameter
112 calories and 19 carbohydrate grams for each pancake
Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup, cooked sweet potato, mashed with a fork
2. 1 cup 1% milk
3. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4. 1/2 tsp.  vanilla extract
5. 1 large egg
6. 3/4 cup rolled oats, blended into oat flour
7. 1 Tbsp. raw flax seed, ground in a blender
8. 2 tsp.  baking powder
9. 1/4 tsp. salt
10. 1 Tbsp. honey

Directions Step 1

• Put 3/4 cup rolled oats into a blender. Use the grind setting and pulse into flour.
• Put oat flour in a medium mixing bowl.
• Put 1 Tbsp of flax seed into a blender and pulse with grind setting
• Add the ground flax seed to the oat flour and set the bowl aside.

Directions Step 2

• Put the first five ingredients into a blender.
• Blend on stir setting for about 20-30 seconds
• Add the liquid ingredients into the oat flour mixture and stir until well blended
• Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken up.
• Add more milk if needed to thin down the pancake batter.
• Then pour 1/4 cup batter onto a hot griddle for each pancake. Use a lower temperature than a wheat bas
• Flip pancake when it begins to bubble and is browned.

 Note: Sweet potato browns quickly so make sure your griddle isn't too hot. 

Homemade breakfast pancakes  = homemade happiness on a plate!

Learning My Carb Counting Range and More

Life-long learner is a term that describes me well. 

A new project, or interest means I will immerse myself into learning and studying how to accomplish the task, or interest. This isn't just a passing phase, this is a part of my personality

Learning a new way of eating means I will devote myself to the initial learning and then keep myself updated. 

Online Research

First, I researched online to find out what types of food I needed to be eating and what type of plan would work well for me. Websites by individuals can be helpful, but my initial search for information was from research-based websites, like the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

The article that helped me shape my eating plan is linked to the NIDDK link above. 

Now on to carb counting.

I found a 15 pg. PDF booklet at www.lillydiabetes.com that I am finding to be very helpful and it has links to additional resources included. 

According to the booklet, most women need 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates at each meal. This means the carb counting range for me is a total of 135-180 grams of carbs. 

I can easily count my carbs because I am using the LoseIt! online website and app to help me track what I eat. 

I hope you find this information helpful. I am finding that I can eat more food than I want and I am still losing weight and within my carb range. 

First Time Putting Spinach in a Smoothie

I made my first ever smoothie with spinach in it!
The taste was mango/strawberry with a hint of another flavor and surprisingly good. The luscious, thick smoothie was GREEN.

Go ahead and laugh, I don't mind.
If you have been hesitating about putting spinach in a smoothie, quit hesitating and go for it! The results will surprise you, I promise.

Recipe   Yield: One 10-12 ounce smoothie

• 1/2 cup 1% milk
• 1 handful of spinach I didn't grab a fistful, just reached into the bag and picked up spinach leaves between my fingers and thumb.
• half of a diced mango
• 3 fresh strawberries, stemmed and sliced. 

Directions
Put all the ingredients into a blender, or processor and blend until smooth and thick.
Pour into a 10-12 ounce glass and enjoy your smoothie!

Never tried using a mango and don't know how to cut it up? 
Watch the video below and you will be ready to slice and dice a mango.

#spinachsmoothie #eathealthy 

A New Food Journey Begins

Prediabetes
I have known that I have a high risk of developing sugar diabetes because during my last pregnancy, I developed gestational sugar diabetes. After the birth of my daughter, it went away. However, I recently found out that I have an elevated glucose level and my doctor wants me to eat healthier and exercise more. 

A New Food Journey - The Dinner Plate Eating Plan

After a little research, I decided to adopt the dinner plate eating plan. This plan fits in with my lifestyle and will help me eat consistently no matter where I am. The picture below shows how to mentally divide your plate into sections and what type of food to put in each section.

Today's Breakfast and Lunch Menu

• Breakfast: Overnight oats without any dairy, half of a mango,diced;  two large strawberries, sliced thinly; and  1 Tbsp sliced almonds. I put the half cup of oats on the bottom with an equal amount of water and layered the fruit and nuts. I added an additional 1/2 cup of water. Honestly, it needed a sweetener. Next time, I am adding a tsp. of honey. 
• Lunch Salad: 2 cups of chopped spinach and romain lettuce,  a small amount of thinly diced red onion, 2 large strawberries, sliced thinly; 1 Tbsp. of raw pumpkin seeds, and 1 Tbsp of lite raspberry vinaigrette. I was still hungry 15 minutes after I finished the salad, so I made a folded cheese quesadilla with one whole wheat tortilla containing 1 ounce of melted Colby jack cheese and ate it slowly - 10 chews per bite. 

Tonight I took a picture of my dinner plate. 

• The top half is filled with homegrown green beans and diced tomatoes, the non-starch vegetables
• Bottom left quarter has baked sweet potato fries, a starchy vegetable
• Bottom right quarter has my protein, Melt-in -Your-Mouth BBQ pork ribs that are baked in foil, unwrapped and brushed with BBQ sauce, then broiled on each side for about 2 minutes.

Drinks
I already drink black coffee by choice during the morning. For afternoon and evening,  I am now adding lemon juice to my water because the lemon juice will help lower my blood glucose level.
Exercise
A formal workout isn't part of my day at this time. To add more walking to my day, I am parking my car at the end of each store parking lot that I visit. Push mowing for 20 minutes instead of using the riding lawn mower the whole time has added more exercise into my day. Another way I am planning on incorporating exercise into my daily routine is to do leg lifts while watching TV in my recliner and to do some walking in place while watching TV. 
Two Weeks and 6 Pounds Later
I started my new meal and exercise plan two weeks ago. Yesterday, I decided that my clothes had definitely become a little looser around my midsection and hips. With some hesitancy, I took out  the bathroom scales to see if I had shed some pounds. I am happy to share that the fit of my clothes was from being six pounds lighter! 

I am still serving some homemade happiness on a plate; it is just a lighter version of homemade happiness on a plate!

 #prediabetes #dinnerplateplan 

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July 2017

Father God I ask that you protect Americans everywhere as they travel and go about their holiday business. Let us remember that this is a Christian nation, under your Lordship Father. Amen.