Buffalo Thighs (and Wings)

Prep Time: 5 minutes                              Cook Time: 35 minutes                          Add to MyFitnessPal

Buffalo wings, a staple of taverns, parties, football games, and post-operative bariatric patients.

"What?" you might be wondering. "How can you say buffalo wings are a staple for bariatric patients? Aren't they terrible for you?" My answer is simple: NO! They're perfect for those of us, provided you make them right. The trick is to steam them before a full cook to create the same air pockets in the skin a deep fry would yield before broiling them to get that perfect crispy skin and succulent meat.

One thigh is the perfect serving size

Sometimes though, wings can be a little tedious, frustrating to pull apart, and downright expensive given the meat-to-bone ratio. It turns out that thighs can yield a very similar, if meatier, product. However, if you prefer to use wings, this recipe works just as well with wings as with thighs.

Eggs Baridict

Prep Time: 10 minutes                         Cook Time: 10 minutes                             Add to MyFitnessPal

Eggs Benedict, has there ever been a brunch so divine? I know some of you might be chicken and waffle people, don't worry that's coming - you too biscuits and gravy. But for me, the ultimate brunch is the classic Eggs Benedict.



Oh yes!

I put off trying to make a publishable version of this recipe because hollandaise can be so challenging/time consuming. That's right bari-family, I lacked faith in you and refused to post something I knew you would love because I feared you wouldn't put in the work necessary. I apologise. Oh, and I found a way to make hollandaise a snap!

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

Cinnamon Vanilla Waffles

Prep Time: 5 Minutes                   Cook Time: 2-3 Minutes/Waffle               Add to MyFitnessPal

Since I started Smye's Baridelicious Foods, I've received well over 100 requests for a good waffle recipe, along with more than my fair share of, shall we say, indignant, inquiries as to why I hadn't posted one yet. To put it bluntly, waffles have been hard. It's fairly easy to make a low carb, high protein waffle that tastes good, but the resulting texture is usually awful. It's also quite straightforward to make a low carb, high protein waffle with great texture, but they tend to lack flavor. It's also not too hard to make one with amazing flavor, great texture and a whole lot of junk ingredients - which sort of defeats the whole purpose of this blog, no?

But finally, after well over two dozen attempts, I bring you Cinnamon Vanilla Waffles that taste great, have incredible texture, and have nothing in the way of artificiality about them.

Delicious, fluffy perfection

Oh, and they're pretty easy to make too. One batch makes six waffles that freeze & toast up wonderfully - though good luck eating a whole one in a single sitting.

Easy Kimchi

Prep time: 1 hour                                Fermentation time: 3-7 days                     Add to MyFitnessPal

Ever wonder what goes into that sour, sweet, hot, salty, umami bomb known as kimchi? You look into the jar at the grocery store and see red, orange, yellow cabbage, carrots, maybe a bok choi or two and think, how do they make that stuff? And why is it so disgusting/amazing? And if you can buy it in the store, why on earth would you bother making it? And why does it get eaten so much in the hottest part of the summer.

Hot, yet strangely cooling. It looks a little funky, but there' no better condiment on the planet

I know, I know, fermented foods are kind of polarizing. You either love them, hate them, or are too scared to try them. But get this, not only are they tasty, but the National Institutes of Health recently published several studies in which they concluded that Kimchi has the benefits of being "anticancer, antiobesity, antoconstipation, colorectal health promoting, probiotic, cholesterol reducing, fibrolytic, antioxidative, antiaging, brain health promoting, immune system promoting, and skin health promoting." In short, forget everything you've heard about goji and acai berries, kimchi is the ultimate superfood! Not only does it have the lactofermentation benefits, but the each of the main ingredients carries its own suite of incredible nutrient. Too bad a lot of the storebought stuff has been pasturized and cut the benefits, according to the folks over at Livestrong, in half.

As for eating Kimchi in the summertime - it turns out that spicy fermented foods stimulate a cooling homeostatic response in the body, leaving you feeling (and actually) significantly cooler after you've eaten it.

Oh, and it tastes pretty darned good too :). I'll be posting a kimchi soup recipe here in the next few weeks, and it's indispensable on Bibimbop. Can you tell I love the stuff?

Curly Fries

Prep Time: 7 minutes                        Cook Time: 10 minutes                   Add to MyFitnessPal

Curly fries - those time-honored savory treats from childhood - are a classic July food. They're also packed with starch, breading, and fried in 10-day-old oil. But dang they taste SO good! And it turns out, they're a piece of cake to make and they can actually be good for you.

They go great with Smye's Catsup

Using this particular spice mixture, these taste nearly identical to those served at a particular fast food restaurant that famously serves roast beef sandwiches - but feel free to play with the spices and make to suit your own tastes.

Greens, Eggs, & Hash

Prep Time:  10 minutes                       Cook Time:  25 minutes                        Add to MyFitnessPal

One of my all-time favorite breakfasts pre-op was a quick hash with fried eggs. Turns out, it's also a perfect high protein way to start your day post-op as well. Not to mention the fact that you can either reheat it later for eating on over 3 or 4 days, but you can also serve this to family and friends without fear that it will taste like 'diet food' to them.

A big heaping mess of yum!

This recipe is also incredible with turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, or sweet potato in place of the cauliflower!

Grilled Chicken Strips

Prep Time: 5 minutes                         Cook Time: 30 minutes                Add to MyFitnessPal

We all know the delicious grilled chicken strips you find on a restaurant salad or buy frozen at the grocery store are pumped full of saline, spices, starches, MSG, and a dozen difficult-to-pronounce ingredients, not to mention wicked expensive.

And we've all tried to make our own without success - they're dry, flavorless, or undercooked almost every time we try to make them. What's the secret? How can we get juicy, succulent, and incredibly delicious chicken strips for our salads without having to buy it premade?

Chicken strips make the perfect salad topping

Paella

Prep Time: 25 minutes                 Cook Time: 1 hour                       Add to MyFitnessPal

Originating in Valencia on the east coast of Spain, Paella is the quintessential seafood smorgasbord - representing the history of when the Romans and Arabic peoples came together, each bringing their traditional use of spices, herbs, and seafood.

New and improved paella through the magic of a Dutch oven

Paella is a dish of deep, earthy flavors with aromas that grab you by the sinuses and don't let go until you've finally had your first bite. Highlighting the unique flavor of each ingredient in a harmonious blend, Paella is one dish that's worth every last second spent making it.



Simple Salmon

Prep Time - 2 minutes                     Cook Time - 7-10 minutes                 Add to MyFitnessPal

It's that time of year - the fish are spawning, migrating, and biting. And whether you fish or not, that means Salmon! This is the first of several salmon-based recipes I'll be posting in the near future.

Typically I don't care for anything with fins unless it's raw, but this... oh this is the good stuff! And it's probably the easiest recipe I'll ever post. Whether or not you consider yourself a true gourmand or haven't been in the kitchen since you were in the womb, try this one. You won't regret it.

The skin tastes like bacon - just different

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)

Pink Pickled Breakfast Eggs

Prep Time - 5 Minutes   Cook Time - 40 minutes   Pickling Time - 10-30 days     Add to MyFitnessPal

 

Maybe you've had pickled eggs at the store. Maybe you liked them. If you did, I think you're a little odd, but we can still be friends. Maybe you hated them, in that case I'm with you. I was doubtful at first when my partner first suggested I look into pickling an excess of duck eggs. However, I was getting 2-3 dozen eggs a day and, despite selling to 30 families, had a huge surpluss, so I figured what the heck. I'll go for it. It took some serious trial and error, but WOW, these are incredible! I've used chicken eggs for this recipe as I doubt most of you have duck eggs (though duck eggs are FAR superior) and the calorie count below is a bit of an overestimate as it assumes you drink all the pickling liquid and eat 1/3 of a beet with every egg. So enjoy freely. A bariatric-friendly adaptation from a recipe I first read in Mother Earth News, these make an eggcellent breakfast on the go!

PHOTOS OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT COMING SOON - MORE BELOW THE JUMP

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!

Chicken Tenders

Prep Time - 10-15 min         Cook Time - 10-12 min                Add to MyFitnessPal

 

For those of you without any love for coconut, put your prejudice aside and give these a try - the roasting essentially eliminates the coconutty flavor and lends these tenders a spendidly breaded texture & flavor. Don't use coconut flakes or chop them to powder, but a shredded coconut with grain sizes similar to dry rice are about perfect here. Give them a try with your favorite low sugar sauce (they're particularly good with Blackberry Barbecue Sauce) and see if you can't stop making these.

 

PHOTOS COMING SOON

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

BiBim Cauliflower

Prep time - 5 minutes          Cook time - 10-15 minutes             Add to MyFitnessPall

 

Now THIS is the good stuff - mix thoroughly before eating