BCF Recipes

Sarah & Nicole zone out with their bone out...

APPLE & FENNEL ROASTED PORK

Apple and Fennel Roasted Pork (from Eatingwell.com)

Apples, Onions, and Fennel make 4 servings of 1 Carb block and 2.5 Fat blocks.  Weigh pork separately to get your prescribed number of blocks (1 block pork = 1oz.)

2 large sweet-tart apples, such as Fuji or Braeburn, sliced
1 large bulb fennel, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fronds for garnish 
1 large red onion, sliced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed 
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 475°F. 
2. Toss apples, sliced fennel and onion with 1 tablespoon oil in a large bowl. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the lower oven rack, stirring twice, until tender and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. 
3. About 10 minutes after the apple mixture goes into the oven, sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the pork on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn the pork over and transfer the pan to the top oven rack. Roast until just barely pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer registers 145°F, 12 to 14 minutes. 
4. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Immediately stir vinegar into the pan (be careful, the handle will be hot), scraping up any browned bits, then add to the apple mixture. Thinly slice the pork; serve with the apple mixture and sprinkle with fennel fronds.

TACO SALAD

Eric introduced me to the wonders of taco salad and it's easy to make a zone meal out of its ingredients.

1 block portions are listed next to each ingredient.

Shopping List:
- 1lb. lean ground beef or turkey (1 oz. = 1 block protein)
- 1 packet Taco seasoning (2 tsp = 1/2 block carb)
- 1 avocado (1 tbls = 1 fat block)
- Romaine lettuce (4 cups = 1/2 block carb)
- Refried pinto or black beans (1/4 cup = 1 block carb)
- Salsa (1/2 cup = 1 block carb)

1. Brown ground beef in a pan.  Drain fat.  Add taco seasoning and 2/3 cup water and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
2. Heat refried beans in a pan, add a little water to heat beans
3. Put lettuce in bottom of bowl and build salad on top.

Sample 3 block meal:
- 3 oz. ground meat w/ taco seasoning (3 blocks P, 1/2 block C)
- 3 tbls avocado (3 block F)
- 4 cups romaine lettuce (1/2 block C)
- 1/4 cup refried beans (1 block C)
- 1/2 cup salsa (1 block C)

For four block meals, add an ounce of meat, 1 tbls of avocado, and another C block of beans or salsa to the 3 block meal listed above.

For a little bit of crunchiness, crush 2 (TWO) tortilla chips in your hand and sprinkle on your salad.

Sweet Potato Chili

Another great one pot meal!  This twist on the standard chili recipe doesn't have any tomatoes and packs a little bit of spice.

1 tablespoon olive oil (9 F)

1 medium onion (4C)

1 large red pepper (.5C)

1 large clove garlic, minced

1.5 lbs chicken (24P), breast, thighs, whatever you chose is fine but needs to be boneless

1 can cannellini beans, 15 oz can (6C)

1 cup chicken stock (low fat/low salt)

2.5 cups cold water

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced - or 6 cups (15C)

2 teaspoons crushed red chili flakes

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 ounces canned diced chilies or 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, minced

1 bunch scallions, diced

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and saute the onion, red pepper and garlic until firm-tender.

Add the chicken breast and saute for 2 minutes, until opaque.  Add the beans, stock, water, potatoes, red chili flakes, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and chilies.  Bring toa  boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  OR, once you bring the mixture to a boil, transfer the contents of the pot to a crock pot and cook for at least an hour.  Top chili with scallions.

Each 1 1/4 cup serving is 3C, 3P, and 1 F.  Add some nuts on the side to get the rest of your fat blocks OR add some sour cream (1 tsp = 1 fat block).

(Adopted from the Sweet Potato Chili recipe in the The Whole Foods Market Cookbook)

Post-Thanksgiving White Bean and Turkey Chili

This recipe is great with leftover shredded turkey or you can use cooked diced turkey (I buy those 1/4  turkey breasts that are pre-cooked - usually found by the cooked hams. just don't buy a honey roasted turkey).  The pureed beans give it a nice thickness. This chili can hang out on the stove for awhile and is a one-pot dish, which makes it a good meal for weeknights too.

Block/portion guide:  Guys about 1-1.5 cups of a meaty portion. You can add a salad and a few fat blocks (cheese and low fat sour cream would be oK).

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large)
• 1.5 tbsp chili powder
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 15 oz cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped, cubed or shredded turkey
• 1 or 2 diced plum tomatos
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice - a couple
• 1 tsp salt (you may want more)
• pepper
• you can add low fat sour cream or cheese if you like

Open cans of beans, drain and rinse. Heat oil in dutch oven or big pot over med-high heat. Saute onion for 5-7 min or until tender and golden. Add chili powder, cumin and garlic and saute for 2 min. Add beans and oregano, cook for 30 min. Add broth, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 20 min. place 2 cups of the bean/broth in a blender or food processor (or just whisk it really good by hand). Return bean puree to pot, add turkey and cook for 5 min. Add salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat and garnish with tomato, cilantro, lime juice.

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs and Marinara

This is one of my favorite meals!

Spaghetti squash:

Pierce spaghetti squash with a knife several times

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour

Cut spaghetti squash in half

With a spoon, clean out seeds and guts

With a fork, scrape out spaghetti squash (it will come out stringy all on its own!)

Meatballs: 

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 Tbl water

4 Tsp parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Add 1-3 tsp each of basil, parsley, chili powder...or whatever else you have in your spice cabinet, you can't go wrong!

1. Mix all ingredients with hands

2. Roll into golf ball sized balls

3. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes 

Marinara:

Buy any all natural brand.  Read the label to find out how many grams of carbs in a serving, most often it is 9 grams carbs per 1/2 cup serving 

Create meal based on your block needs:

1 cup spaghetti squash = 1 block carb

1/2 cup marinara = 1 block carb 

1 meatball = 1 block protein (1.5 ounces ground beef = 1 block protein)

Add olive oil to the spaghetti squash to get your fat blocks (1/3 tsp olive oil = 1 block fat)

ENJOY!

On the Go...

The bars listed below are a great way to get a zone meal whether you're at Safeway, Whole Foods, or King Soopers.  You can also pre-pack them for mornings on the go. 

If you're upping your fat, add almonds or another nut to get your required fat blocks when eating a ThinkThin bar.  LaraBars are a little out of proportion with the fat blocks but not if you are doubling, tripling your fat.  If you're still at 1x fat, eat a low fat protein like turkey meat and call it even!!

If your meal is less than 3 blocks (ie a 1 block snack) just break off 1/3 of the bar and save the rest for later. 

1 Think Thin Bar: 

3 blocks carb

3 blocks protein

2.5 blocks fat (The protein is fat free so count the fat blocks as 3g per block rather than 1.5)

LaraBar plus a protein - 

LaraBar: 

3 blocks carb

4 blocks fat

0 blocks protein

Protein: Deli meat, beef jerky (watch out for brands with tons of corn syrup!!), hard boiled eggs