What's on your menu, RNYers? Thursday edition

Good Morning!

I am excited this morning because I finally woke up to a winner yogurt in my IP. I have made my own yogurt for years, and the whole reason I bought the IP was to make yogurt. I just didn't like it, and had inconsistent results. Tried cold start, traditional- nope nope nope. I was perusing recipes on IG yesterday and found a pot-in-pot recipe. So I did it overnight using 4 wide mouth pint mason jars. I haven't tasted it yet, but it looks perfect and super thick. Wheeeee!

QOTD: Always need inspiration in the kitchen. Any new recipes or food products that have knocked your socks off lately? I made butter chicken for the first time this week and it was so good. Basically a tomato sauce with Indian spices. Yes it had butter in it, but when you split it up per serving I thought it was fine. Ate it with broccoli.

B: Fairlife latte overnight oats and protein

Pre-workout: yogurt and cantaloupe

L: egg and turkey sausage low carb wrap, veggie

D: Chicken and veggie tbd

S: protein

ex: gym

I've spotted that butter chicken on your menu the last couple of days - did you find the recipe online? I love Indian food!!! (UPDATE: just googled it - lots of recipes for it online! Yay!)

I make traditional yogurt in my IP twice a week, but I put in a LOT more starter yogurt than most recipes call for. A lot of them say to add 2 T of plain yogurt - but I use at least a half a cup (and a gallon of milk). Sometimes a full cup. I rarely have it not turn out - maybe just two or three times in the past year, when I'm guessing my starter yogurt was getting too old. I usually use Fage or Chobani as a starter, but I've used others successfully, too.

QOTD: I've started drinking a couple of warm things in the evenings lately that I really like : FF/SF Nestle's hot cocoa, and Rishi's tumeric ginger tea. Love both!!

(I already posted my menu on the other thread - I just spotted yours!!)

I posted before Daisy but I guess because hers was at the top of the list people saw hers.

Someone gave it to me. It wasn't a fancy one. Tomato sauce, spices and used coconut milk although I see many use half and half. Check out Allrecipes.com, saw some similar ones on their.

I might try light coconut milk and then add in some Greek yogurt. I figured half & half might have more calories than regular coconut milk, but regular coconut milk has more - but not by much. I've got some broccoli in the fridge i need to use up - maybe I'll make butter chicken tomorrow (just took the chicken out of the freezer) and toss the broccoli in with it...thanks for the idea!!

I usually make yogurt once or twice a week (I use 1/2 gallon). I hope yours comes out great.

Tell me your method. When I went to eat some before, it wasn't as thick as it seemed and was grainy on the bottom. I thought maybe having it on the rack raised above the heating element might have helped with that. I've tried the cold method too. Only one time did I get yogurt I was satisfied with. Maybe I have too high standards because I made it on my own for years sans IP.

1/2 gallon of milk in pot on boil until it completes (usually about 1/2 an hour, get to 180 degrees).

Pull pot and place in ice bath for about 1/2 hour to cool back down to 110 degrees

Mix in 1 TBS of my starter

Place pot on yogurt setting for 10 hours

After 10 hours (usually overnight) and place yogurt in a strainer that I line with coffee filters over the top of a bigger bowl ("nestled" if that makes sense).

After a few hours I end up adding a little of the whey back in and whisk it back in so it's a little creamy.

Not sure if that makes sense but feel free to text me if it doesn't (I am multi-tasking)

My friend makes a great butter chicken in the InstantPot.

I am going to try an Austrian goulash receipe this weekend, it's essentially just roast with lots of paprika and caraway; I'll let you know if it's any good. It seems pretty straightforward and cooks in the dutch oven all day so that's nice and wintery.

Menu today is coffee + premier X2; plus I stopped and got a coffee with half and half and SF blueberry from DD and then I'll switch to tea for the rest of the day.

B - 2 oz deli ham; L&F greek

L - 1.6 oz deli lemon pepper chicken breast and 2 oz deli ham

D - last serving of crockpot pizza

76/742/21

Happy Thursday everyone!

Yes let me know how goulash is. Winter comfort food.

Since gasping at the number on the scale and getting back to planning, weighing, measuring and logging, I have been trying lots of new dishes as well as going back to some old standbys. It became very clear to me that I can't eat "normal" food and just less of it. I gotta do me! I know you get it, having your nephew in the house...

So here are my current favorites on rotation:

1. Spicy havarti chicken meatballs. In a large bowl, combine a beaten egg, paprika, onion salt, garlic, pepper (really whatever spices you like) plus a few dashes of Worcestire, a 16 oz package of ground chicken, some diced scallions or red onion or whatever you have on hand, and 3 tbsp bread crumbs. Loosely mix. I use an ice cream scooper, make a scoop, push a hole into it, and stick a small cube of jalapeño havarti cheese inside. 2 oz of cheese makes 24 small squares, one for each meatball. Then I brown them all in some olive oil and portion them out. So good and filling!
2. My lunchtime tuna concoction - a jar of artichoke salad from Aldi (artichokes, roasted red pepper, green olives) plus diced red onion and some black olives and crushed red pepper, mixed in with a can of tuna, and crumbled feta cheese. So Mediterranean!
3. Costco rotisserie chicken made every which way.
4. Ground turkey made with taco seasoning, with some cheese and sour cream on it - slice up some fresh jalapeños for some heat!
5. Ground turkey chili - I am making it this weekend - I dice up a sweet onion, a red pepper and a green pepper and saute them, throwing in some garlic at the end. Put that in the sprayed crockpot. Brown 2 lbs of ground turkey. Throw that in too. Add chicken stock, tomato paste, tomato sauce, packets of chili seasoning. Let it warm on low for a few hours. I serve it to Kris and Ethan like that, with cheese on top, and they dip tortilla chips in. I have mine with a little cheese, some sour cream, and sliced fresh jalapeño.
6. Chicken wings in my new air fryer! Love love love. Put about 10 wings in on 380 for 25 minutes, moving them around/shaking the basket every 5-10 minutes. Then, do 400 for 10 minutes to crisp them up. Then I add hot sauce to them.
7. My crispy chicken thighs with mustard sauce. I used bone-in, skin on thighs (4) and put them skin side down in my cast iron pan - don't move them! - for 8 minutes. Remove them and remove most of the oil. Cook two diced shallots in the leftover tbsp of grease, then pour in a splash of white wine and get the brown bits up with your wooden spoon. Stir in 1/2 cup chicken stock and 2 tbsp ground mustard. Put chicken in, skin side UP, then bake in oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Put pan back on, remove chicken again and stir in 2 tbsp of dijon mustard and 2 tbsp heavy cream. Turn off heat, stir around, it emulsifies. Very delicious.
8. Shrimp cakes! I dice up 1 lb of raw shrimp, add panko bread crumbs, scallions and lemon zest (and I believe an egg?) and pan fry them up in olive oil.
9. A quick and good meal is crab from Costco mixed with some mayo and Old Bay and broiled in the oven.

When I eat as I SHOULD (high protein) it's very filling and I am not even tempted to have the sides that the family has (fries, mac and cheese) etc. If I ever feel like I need a side, I have half a cup of cottage cheese.

My breakfast staple that I never tire of is the 4 oz of shaved thin Boar's Head Ever Roast chicken with 1 oz of goat cheese. Yum. I had to ditch the avocado due to unnecessary calories.

My go to snacks are string cheese (though I start to overeat these so I may have to not buy them again) and 5 oz of Aldi fat-free greek yogurt with powdered ranch added in that I dip baby cucumbers and mini peppers in.