Apricot Smoked Ribs

Prep Time: 10 minutes                  Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes                    Add to MyFitnessPal

Traditionally, slow smoked barbecue is high in fat and slathered in sugary, ridiculously high carbohydrate sauces that just don't fit a bariatric lifestyle - at least not more than a bite or two every many months. Fortunately, there's no reason whatsoever that traditional recipes can't be approximated, surpassed even, in ways that are completely compatible with a bariatric life, not to mention with the lifestyle's of most everyone else in your life. Enjoy!

My camera is in the shop - sorry for the low photo quality

Chili Lime Chicken Burgers

Prep Time - 15 minutes                       Cook Time - 10 minutes                        Add to MyFitnessPal

Normally I'm a staunch advocate of beef, bison, or goat-based burgers. I can't stand those dry hockey-puck turkey patties you can buy at the big box stores. They taste like the sport they're most reminiscent of.

These, on the otherhand, are juicy, fully of flavor, and tender as can be. There's nothing lost from the omission of red meat. In fact, only chicken could highlight the interplay of the chili and the lime so well as this. Oh, and you can make a bunch ahead of time, freeze them and then cook them up later without loss of flavor or texture.

Just enough kick to really bring out the flavor without being overpowering for your guests

Smoked Leg of Lamb (Goat)

Prep Time - 5 minutes         Wait Time - 45 minutes           Cook Time - 2-4 hours

 

As I mentioned in my smoked chicken recipe, I LOVE smoked foods. I'm all about the flavors of the world around me and keeping things as natural and close to the earth from whence my sustenance comes (since I can't know how the sun actually tastes without going near a nuclear fusion reaction). And the flavors around me include the wild trees that grow in the woods around my farm (as well as those that grow near family in other parts of the country). I have actually never prepared this recipe with lamb, but with young goats from the farm. My chef friend, on the other hand, raises lamb and when we did a blind taste-test, we both couldn't tell them apart, so lamb from your local grocer should be fine with this recipe.

 

Left to right - Kale, Goat, Snap Peas (I only ate half of each)

Smye's Favorite Smoked Chicken

Prep time - 20 minutes, Cook time -2 hrs          Add to MyFitnessPal

 

This recipe is adapted from the Neely's on Food Network (by the way, I do NOT recommend food network for bariatric patients, food porn is never a good idea when we're trying to be so careful with everything we put into our bodies). I received a smoker for my birthday the year before my surgery and I was eager to still enjoy the fruits of my smoker. This recipe is absolutely delicious - the chicken is tender, juicy, and oddly reminiscent of barbeque potato chips.

 

Make this one, impress your friends, and love feeling satisfied with a 'comfort' meal that's entirely comfortable on your conscience.

Parted out and ready to eat!

Blackberry Barbecue Sauce

Prep Time - 2-3 minutes           Cook Time - 0 minutes            Add to MyFitnessPal

 

Although I prefer this with 1/4 c of honey rather than the stevia when using on the grill, this certainly gets the job done as a dipping sauce. Turns out  we use a LOT less when we brush it on before grilling, and eat a lot more of the stuff when dipping. Thus, I give you, the dipping "go wild" version of this tasty barbecue sauce.

 

PHOTOS COMING SOON