Dukan Foil Packet Wasabi Salmon

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Good, moist.
SHE SAID: Very good!  Gotta work on the texture though, a little too thick.

Foil Packet Wasabi Salmon

Baking fish in a mayonnaise based sauce is very popular in Hawaii.  We've had it all sorts of ways - mayo with lemon, mayo with portuguese or chinese sausage and green onions, etc.  All ways have been tasty and moist.

Decided to have salmon today, but didn't know what kind of sauce to make it in and we came up with a wasabi, fat free sour cream based sauce, well not really a sauce, more like a cream to put on top of our salmon.  We've also missed our foil packet fish recipes we used to make in our crock pot and since the crock pot is currently cooking dinner, we decided to throw the foil packets in the oven.

This cream is similar to a simple Japanese dipping sauce where they mix mayonnaise with shoyu (soy sauce).  It's simple and tasty although it did come out a bit too thick, but not bad.

RECIPE:
Serves 2
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes (depending on how well done you like your fish)

2 salmon filets (washed and patted dry)
1/2 c. fat free sour cream
1/8 c. shoyu (soy sauce) - we used low sodium
2-3 t. wasabi (if you can get the real thing, that's best!)
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 t. natural sweetener
1 T. ground sesame
1 t. black sesame seeds (optional)
foil

Place salmon filets in foil.  Mix sour cream, then add the rest of the ingredients in.  Cover salmon with cream sauce.  Fold foil around salmon making sure all seams are facing up.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes (depending on how well done you like your fish and how thick your fish is).  Sprinkle black sesame seeds on finished dish for garnish (optional).

Enjoy!

Dukan Lime Tofu Dessert

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID:  Not bad, but not a go-to dessert.
SHE SAID: Although it is lighter, which I like, I don't care for the tofu and filmy aftertaste.  If we make these again, they will just be cream cheese, no tofu.

Lime Tofu Dessert

We thought this would be a great idea since we both tend to stay away from cheesecake since it's too heavy for us and it seemed really simple (versus making cheesecake delight and making our own non-fat whipped cream).  The recipe was originally a "Lemon Tofu Cheesecake", but we changed it to lime since we both love lime and we just couldn't bring ourselves to call it cheesecake since it doesn't taste like it.  It really tastes like a tofu gelatin.  We enjoy eating tofu with ponzu sauce, in stir fries, in sukiyaki and shabushabu, but not so much as a dessert.

We suppose if you LOVE tofu, you may enjoy this recipe.  Although we didn't care for the tofu filmy aftertaste, the female half did eat one entire piece!  You can really make this with whichever flavoring you like best, however, we will either take the time to make cheesecake delight, use two blocks of cream cheese and omit the tofu or try the Lemon Cheesecake Loaf Vicki tried!

RECIPE:
Makes 16 muffin cup
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Chill Time: Overnight

1-12 oz container of sukui or silky tofu (rinsed and drained)
1-8 oz. package of fat free cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 c. natural sweetener (if you don't like your desserts too sweet, try half the sugar, then taste your batter)
grated zest of one lime
juice of one lime
1 tsp. lime extract
1 t. vanilla extract
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. water

Beat tofu, cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Stir in lime zest, lime juice, lime extract and vanilla extract.  In a small saucepan, soften gelatin in 1/4 c. water, use low heat until gelatin is dissolved.  Stir gelatin mixture into tofu mixture.  Pour into muffin pan or a regular pan.  Refrigerate overnight.

Spicy Sesame Noodles

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Great!
SHE SAID: Yum!  Should have added more veggies.

Spicy Sesame Noodles

The other day the female half of this couple came across an article about Tan Tan Ramen.   We've had Tan Tan Ramen many times, but pretty much stopped since the ramen noodles are carbs...not to mention it's summer and we prefer not eating hot soupy thing when it's hot.  After reading the article, the female half of this couple really wanted that spicy sesame flavor so we decided to make what we call in Hawaii, "Fried Saimin"...a fried noodle dish.

We used the Tan Tan Ramen recipe as a guide and came up with something we really liked.  It's not truly Dukan since we used some sesame oil and chili oil, but it's pretty close and we feel as long as we don't have this dish all the time, we'll be ok.    This dish is probably more suitable for those in consolidation or stabilization phases.

RECIPE:
Serves 2 or 4 as a side dish
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

1/2 c. lean meat, cut into thin slices or small chunks (we used lean char siu because we already had it)
1 c. won bok (you can use any green veggie, like regular cabbage, choi sum, etc), cut into small pieces or thin slices
1 pkg. Japanese mushroom (or regular mushrooms)
2 pkgs. House Brand Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti shaped noodles (boiled in salt water for 5 minutes)
1/8 - 1/4 t. chicken base (paste or powder)
2-3 T. ground sesame seeds or sesame powder
1 T. chili oil
1 t. sesame oil
2-4 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
2 t. natural sweetener
a pinch or two kosher salt
2 T. green onions, chopped (optional)
1-2 t. black sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

In a stir fry pan or wok, on high heat, fry up your meat and veggies.  Add the oils, ground sesame seeds, shoyu, natural sweetener and chicken base.   Taste test.  Once you have it to your liking, add in the noodles and green onions, toss, taste again.  Serve with green onions and black sesame seeds as a garnish.  If you prefer your noodles with more sauce, try adding chicken broth with some cornstarch instead of just the chicken base paste.  The male half of this couple prefers his noodle dishes on the drier side.

Enjoy!

Dukan Diary Entry #5

Well, as mentioned earlier, our weight loss has been coming along slowly but surely.  The male half of this couple is looking great, love handles are slimming down (although they weren't bad at all).  The female half of this couple still has about 12.5 pounds to lose to reach her goal, but if she drops down to a size 5 or 6, she'd be really happy and amazed.

We both lost another pound this week.  The female is the one keeping track of her weight and she's lost 7.5 pounds since starting Dukan back at the beginning of July.  We actually started to lower our carb and sugar intake back in June, so counting weight lost in June, the total would be around 9 pounds lost!

Friday night was a challenge.  We got home late and were both tired from work so we put the cooking plans aside and decided to take out.  Most of the restaurants in our area close pretty early, some even close at 7:30PM!  After we mulled over the menus in our drawer and figured out we couldn't eat most of what was available, we were almost going to grab salads from McDonald's or drive all the way into town to get our favorite, Lemon Beef Salad from a local Vietnamese restaurant.  Luckily, the male half of this couple remembered a new restaurant opened up right down the street so we thought we'd give it a try.

The restaurant is called Grylt in the Manoa Marketplace.  It's actually a healthier fast food restaurant, although they were anything but fast on Friday night.  We got there around 8PM and there were three other people in front of us (with two others waiting for their food).  The food choices are limited, but healthy.  You choose your greens, if you want an entree or a sandwich and if you want an entree you can either have a starch or extra greens.   We both tried the seared ahi which was pretty good even though you can tell it was a previously frozen piece of fish.  It was cooked to perfection and they give you a very generous portion of fish.  The gal in front of us got a very generous portion of grilled tofu too.  We tried the Caesar salad which they grill also....heavenly!  The prices were reasonable for the fish dish, but we didn't get to see how much beef they give on the $10 plate.   As mentioned, the service was very slow.  There were 4 people there, but the cashier is just that, a cashier, she doesn't get involved in anything else.  There was even a gentlemen in a chef's uniform.  We'd definitely try this place again.  Sorry, we were starving, so we forgot to take photos of the food!

The rest of the weekend we cooked, so sticking to the Dukan diet was no problem.  We tried making some hazelnut ganache cups, but we put too much non-fat half-and-half, so we'll need to try that recipe again this coming weekend.  Will be posting some recipes this coming week.

Dukan Crock Pot Chicken Artichoke Pasta

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Very good (he had seconds)
SHE SAID: Yes, agreed.

Crock Pot Chicken Artichoke Pasta

We tried this recipe before using heavy whipping cream and both enjoyed it.  Decided to Dukan the recipe since it looked simple enough.  Also, we use crushed tomatoes since the male half of this couple doesn't like tomatoes but will eat tomato sauce.  We recommend using Italian style diced tomatoes for this recipe.

This is a nice, light dish and went nicely on the House Brand Angel Hair Tofu Shirataki Angel Hair Noodles although you can really serve on any of the Tofu Shirataki noodles.  We did add some of our Rustica sauce from our lunch dish to add flavor.  If you prefer a thicker sauce, add a cornstarch paste made with 1 t of cornstarch and just a little bit of water.  Our original recipe calls for 1/2 c. pimento stuffed olives which doesn't seem to be allowed on the Dukan Diet.

RECIPE
Serves 2-3 (depending on how much you eat)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5-6 hours
4 qt. crock pot

1 - 28 oz. can Italian tomatoes (diced, stewed, etc)
1 - 13 or 14 oz. can of artichokes hearts in water, drained and lightly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. non-fat half-and-half
1/2 c. Rustica sauce from leftovers (recipe here)
2 packages of House Brand Tofu Shirataki Angel Hair Pasta

Cut chicken into bit size pieces and put into crock pot.  Pour tomatoes into crock pot.  Lightly chop the drained artichoke hearts and toss those in.  Add garlic.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours on low or until chicken is no longer pink.  Just before the meal is done cooking, boil noodles in salty water for at least 5 minutes, drain (do not rinse after boiling).  Before serving, mix in the non-fat half-and-half, Rustica sauce and pasta.

This tastes great with the stuffed olives, so we're looking forward to having the full recipe during Consolidation and Stabilization.

Enjoy!

Dukan Pollo Saltado

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Tastes great, but could do without the onions and tomatoes
SHE SAID: One of my favorite dishes, but still can't get it exactly like El Pollo Inka!

Pollo Saltado

A couple of years ago we were in San Francisco and had lunch at Fresca, a Peruvian restaurant (the West Portal location).  The food was great...very tasty, but not as yummy as El Pollo Inka in the Los Angeles area.  One of the dishes we always order at any Peruvian restaurant we try is the Saltado (either pollo - chicken or lomo - beef and we've seen shrimp too).

The dish is usually made with french fries, but subtract the fries and the rice they usually serve it with and you've got a Dukan qualified dish!  We feel the same about Peruvian and Thai food...both cuisines are bursting with flavor.

Today we made some Pollo Saltado with dried aji amarillo peppers (we usually use the frozen ones) but we actually found these dried ones in a local health food store here.  We didn't really care for them...they were ok, but we think the frozen whole ones are better.  We haven't tried the paste form yet.  Don't leave the aji amarillos out, these really make the dish.

RECIPE:
Serves 2-3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes or less (depends on if you make chicken or beef)

3/4 lb. chicken breast tenderloin (skinless, from Costco), cut into bite size pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced in thin(ish) strips lengthwise
1 small tomato, sliced in thin(ish) strips, remove seeds
2 aji amarillo peppers (1 if you prefer less heat), remove seeds and slice into strips
1-2 T. cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 - 1 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Use a stir fry pan or wok, spray a little olive oil non stick spray and stir fry chicken on high heat.  Do not overcook.  Add onions to pan, stir fry for about one minute, then add the tomatoes, cilantro (reserve some for garnish), aji amarillo, vinegar, cumin and shoyu.  Stir fry until tomatoes start to soften.   Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Enjoy!

Dukan Creamy Rustica Chicken

RECIPE RATING:
HE SAID: Very good.
SHE SAID: Mmm...good!

Creamy Rustica Chicken

This sauce is actually a copycat recipe of Romano's Macaroni Grill's Penne Rustica sauce, but it's been Dukan'd and we didn't bake it.  It was still great.  Great flavors and not as heavy as the real thing.  This dish can be served over House Brand Tofu Shirataki noodles.

We omitted a few ingredients and the sauce still came out great!  A slice of Dukan Cheddar Rosemary would be great with this dish also!

RECIPE:
Serves 2, plus one serving of leftovers
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins (unless you decide to bake yours)

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
2 T. minced garlic
3 T. marsala wine
2 c. non-fat half-and-half
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. dijon
1 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. ground cayenne

Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Pan fry chicken.  Removed cooked chicken from pan and keep warm.  Saute garlic for a minute in olive oil non-stick spray in the same pan.  Don't let garlic brown.  Add marsala wine, cook 5 minutes.  Add cornstarch gradually (the wine and garlic sauce will look like a paste).  Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Bring mixture to simmer and keep at a simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.   Place cooked chicken back into sauce to warm.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!