This recipe is easy to make for a low/high pro crowd. It adds a little pizzaz to very simple ingredients and cooks up super quick! Add more vegetables as you have available. You could also adjust the ‘rub’ to get a different flavor combination if you wanted.

Rub:

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspooon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

2 CamBurgers

1 Tablespoon (3 teaspoons) lime juice

124 g (dry) Chicchi or Short Grain Rice

Cilantro, chopped

1/2 medium tomato

1/2 medium sweet onion

Cooking spray

Combine rub ingredients on plate and stir together. Place lightly thawed burger in rub and coat on both sides. Cook burger in skillet coated with cooking spray, drizzle one teaspoon lime juice over burgers. Remove burgers from skillet and cut up into bite sized pieces.

Add ~1/4 cup water to skillet with one teaspoon lime juice (to essentially ‘deglaze the pan’ of the leftover rub from the burgers). Add tomato and onion and cook on medium low until onions tender and thick sauce formed.

Cook rice as prepared on package. Mix with drizzle of olive oil or butter with cilantro and one teaspoon lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Top half of rice with half of tomato sauce and one burger chopped up and serve hot! These amounts make two servings.

I made this with a high protein version with chicken and white rice. Everything was the same but used chicken instead of burgers and doubled all the ingredients (except the rice and burgers) so I ended up with 2 low protein servings and 2 high protein versions! If you have other veggies, throw them in your sauce with the tomatoes and onions, or try a more italian flavor by using basil, garlic and onions instead of chili powder and paprika.

Using the amounts above I ended up with 133 mg PHE, 350 CALORIES per serving. 

Well, in my experience there are three golden rules to cooking low protein pasta:

1. WATER- when in doubt, add more.

When in doubt, add more water. It is starchy so it needs extra water to prevent most of the above problems! Seriously, I think this is the biggest factor to making good pasta. Use a big pot – especially if making more than one serving at a time, then use the biggest pot you’ve got! And use at least what the directions on the box suggests, when in doubt add more. Cover the pot while waiting to boil and it will cut down time until it boils. Don’t add the pasta until you have a roiling boil. I add a little salt right  before adding the pasta. When you have tested the pasta and it is ready to go, rinse the pasta thoroughly with hot water. This gets any extra starch off of the pasta which helps get rid of that slimy film on the pasta.

2. STIR- When in doubt, stir more!

OK, so this is the second step to successful pasta. You don’t need to stand over the pot stirring the whole time the pasta is in the water, but at the least stir pasta for ~30 seconds after putting the pasta in the water, once in the middle and once more before straining. In my eyes, the more you stir the pasta, the better! This helps prevent pasta sticking. If you are cooking long pasta (like spaghetti) stir for the first minute or so until all of the pasta is submerged and shake your fork in the water a bit to make the strands separate from each other.

3.  FOLLOW DIRECTIONS, THEN ADJUST!

Every low protein pasta is a little different. There really isn’t a one size fits all amount of water, time, or process to cooking it. Start your first time cooking the pasta by following the directions exactly. You will get to know the pasta you are cooking and exactly how much extra water you need, how long to cook it, etc. Plus, everyone likes their pasta a little different, very al dente, or nice and soft, you can tweak how you do things to your tastes and texture preferences.

These may seem like silly, obvious directions, but it took me awhile to perfect cooking low protein pasta! I definitely know that it is frustrating to go and cook a pot of pasta and something goes wrong and you have to start all over! After my trials and lessons learned, I now know how to get a nice al dente pasta- just the way I like it. When using Aproten shaped pastas I cook for 7-8 minutes. Spaghetti I cook a little bit longer. Pasta Solo takes a lot of water since it expands so much and needs a solid 15-18 minutes to get that perfect texture.

Cambrooke offers a wide variety of shapes and sizes of low protein pasta! You can get anything from Penne to Macaroni to Fettuccine. If you try a new pasta and the first time doesn’t go well, try adding more water, adding some extra cooking time if it was too crunchy or taking away some time if it was mushy.

• Use instead of butter or on toast with some fresh ground pepper and sea salt!
• Mash up and use in place of mayonnaise on a sandwich!
• Cut up and toss on top of a salad!
• Slice thinly and put on top of a burger!
• Mash up with lime juice and veggies to make guacamole (my favorite ingredients: lime, cilantro, tomatoes, red onion, garlic and if there is a fiesty crowd- jalapenos)

Tips for cooking with avocados

• Always have lemon or lime on hand! Avocados oxidize when they are exposed to oxygen and turn to a brown color that is not exactly appetizing. Vitamin C can help stop or slow this process to help keep that bright green color everyone loves.
• Pick your produce wisely! There is nothing more frustrating than planning for a big bowl of guacamole for the big game or party that night and cutting into a rock solid fruit that is not going to mash no matter what you do. Keep this in mind when shopping. If the avocados are ripe (slightly tender when you touch them) plan on using them within the next few days. If the avocados are under ripe (rock solid) don’t plan on using them that night! You can bring them home and put them in a brown paper bag on the counter for a few days to a week and it will continue to ripen. And of course if it is completely mushy when you push your finger on it – you might want to pass it up!
• Avocados are dense in many things, fiber, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats but also with calories and protein- for those of us restricting protein in our diets. Keep that in mind if you experiment, if you are anything like me you could eat these all day long but the calories and the protein might add up and catch up to me.
• Avocados are in season spring through fall, in their peak during the summer. So look out for those sales coming up and try out this yummy fruit!

Other stuff: One serving is 1/5th of an avocado (~2 Tablespoons) and has ~45 Calories and ~0.5 g Protein (~25 mg Phenylalanine)

In the past I have used Cambrooke’s Tuscan Pizza Crust which was quick and easy! This time we made dough from scratch, so I followed suit. It takes a bit longer, but my favorite part of it is that you can roll it out nice and flat. Thanks to a friend in the PKU world, she sent along this dough recipe to me two years ago and I use it all the time!

Low Pro Dough (Can be used for pizza, calzones, stromboli, garlic bread, bread sticks… etc!)

3 tsp active dry yeast (9 g)

2 Tbsp sugar (23 g)

1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp warm water (420 g)

4 1/4 cup Cambrooke’s Baking Mix (518 g)

1/4 cup Metamucil (40 g)

1 1/4 tsp salt

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast together. Let it ‘proof’ (sit in a warm place until it forms a foamy head – about 15 minutes). Meanwhile mix together the baking mix, Metamucil and salt in a bowl (I use my KitchenAid mixer). Make a well in the powder and pour in yeast mixture. Knead (or mix) for about 10 minutes until smooth. If the dough is too sticky, add baking mix. Cover bowl  (I use a cloth towel) and let sit in a warm oven (not hot, or I put it on top of the preheated oven especially if something was cooked recently on the stove top) until about twice the size (I set the timer for 45 minutes). Roll it out to any shape you want. When you bake, depending on the shape, it will take different times. A pizza dough (this recipe makes two crusts for me) usually takes about 20 minutes or so.

For the grill, brush olive oil on one side of the rolled out pizza crust. Grill 3-5 minutes (until when you check the bottom there are grill marks – check the bottom frequently because depending how hot the grill is, it could cook even faster). Then take crust off grill and flip grilled side up, add all of your toppings. This time I used canned fire roasted tomatoes, pre-broiled eggplant slices, pre-roasted red peppers, banana peppers, pre-sauteed spinach with garlic and onion and low protein cheese. Carefully slide crust back onto grill (so the uncooked side should be right against the grill). Grill until cheese melted (or softened) on top and continue to check the bottom carefully so make sure you don’t burn the bottom.
TIP- if you have a go-to griller in your family, tell them the recipe first and then have them keep checking. Usually they know how quickly the grill heats, but still give a heads up that the crust might cook fast!

This was one of the best meals I have had in a long time. I can’t wait for this crummy weather to go again so we can whip out the grill again!

Florida Sunshine Salad

1 grapefruit

2 navel oranges

1 avocado

1/2 small-medium red onion

dressing: 

extra virgin olive oil

dijon mustard

juice from citrus

crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

1. peel and section grapefruit and oranges. (do over a bowl collecting juices as you go)

2. dice avocados and red onion. 

3. whisk dressing ingredients together. 

4. combine all in large serving bowl. best served chilled after an hour or two in the fridge. 

Enjoy! It is so delicious, fresh, tangy and unusual but these flavors all pull together for a wonderful savory fruit salad.

Vegetable Pistou

This is a vegetable soup from Apples to Zucchini. It is pretty simple, vegetables (onions, leeks, carrots, celery, potatoes, green beans and zucchini) in a vegetable and tomato based broth and a thread or two of saffron. But what sets this recipe apart is the Pistou on top! Dorothy describes Pistou as being the French version of Pesto that just so happens to be cheese and nut free! Now. I LOVE pesto! I treasure my half teaspoon or whatever it is that I get to enjoy in a huge vat of pasta. But- it’s high in PHE! So I either end up wasting a ton of phe or just getting a taste. BUT this Pistou is delicious. It’s base is tomato paste and basil instead of pine nuts and basil which really brings down the phe. Plus, I love tomatoes so I loved the twist on this favorite condiment. After you make the soup you add a dollop of the Pistou on top. In order to have a bigger dollop of Pistou I decided to nix the potatoes in the soup and substitute them for turnip to save some phe. Bon Appetite – hope you are as pleased as me!

Lemon Garlic Zucchini

This is a super simple dish. After making my way through the vegetable section of the cookbook and checking back on my DietWell app to find a low vegetable, we decided Zucchini was a perfect choice – and everyone liked it. Really you just sautee some garlic, add zucchini then cook until tender, remove from heat and add lemon zest and fresh basil. Another success!

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

My tomatoes were inspired by coming across Virginia Schuett’s recipe in her book. However, I referred to my roots for this one. Tomatoes are my favorite vegetables, hands down, and I can probably thank my Mom for this growing up. Tomatoes found their way into most everything I ate but one of my ULTIMATE favorite ways to eat them was slow roasted with kalamatas and sometimes capers. My Mother would just dice up tomatoes, toss with kalamata olives, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper then broil them until they condensed a little. The flavors of the tomatoes and the salty olives and capers were so delicious all mixed together. I’ve had this dish on toast, tossed with pasta, or just with a spoon by itself!

Roasted Red Peppers

This one is thanks to my Grandpa. I remember him making roasted peppers during the summer when his garden was in full bloom. I always marveled at how labor intensive it was and how he could make these totally YUMMY peppers from scratch. When I grew up I braced myself for the detailed instructions and called him up to see if he could teach me how to make them. To my surprise, it was very simple! You simple broil the peppers on all sides until the skins are black. Place in a paper bag for about 30 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle, then you peel and seed them, slice them up and toss with 2 whole cloves of garlic crushed once with the heel of your hand, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and there you have it. The homemade peppers are sweeter and richer in flavor in my opinion compared to the canned or bottled kind you can buy at the store. Definitely worth trying it out if you enjoy peppers like I do.

Veggie Night is an idea I wish I had thought of sooner! My parents already have said they want to start doing it when I visit, and my friends are not shying away, either. It could be a great thing for families, too to encourage veggie intake for the kids. I did have a slice of garlic bread along side my soup but that was it! I am looking forward to finding other recipes to use for future Veggie Nights. Virginia Schuett’s cook book is great and has a full nutrient profile with amino acids and protein, etc. DietWell recipes also have some purely veggie recipes, and other websites online have veggie dishes easily accessible. Just make sure to use DietWell or another way of calculating out the PHE or protein so you know what you are dealing with.

Check out this creamy mushroom rice dish that warms and fills your belly on a cold snowy night! I paired it with a simple arugala salad and vinaigrette and it was delicious.

Creamy Mushroom Bake

1 cup CamBrooke Short Grain Rice (dry)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (condensed)

1/2 pound button mushrooms

1/2 white onion

olive oil to coat the pan

seasoned low protein bread crumbs (I use CamBrooke Homestyle White) mixed with low protein cheese (I use CamBrooke Mozzarella shreds) *amount will vary depending on the size of your baking dish*

Sautee onions in oil until softened. Add mushrooms and cook until tender, if needed, add some water to pan if mushrooms don’t have enough liquid to soften. Meanwhile, prepare rice as directed on package. Add cooked rice and can of mushroom soup to pan. Stir together. Transfer into baking dish and top with bread crumbs and cheese if using. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top. 

Definitely a rich, filling dish, so make sure you get at least 5 servings out of it and you have a 200 calorie, 2.9 gram protein (90 mg Phe) dish in no time. Pile some other veggies on your plate like a salad or some roasted veggies and of course some formula, and you have a well rounded meal that will definitely fill you up and keep you satisfied. If you have some extra protein/phe allowance to work with, this can also be done with broccoli!

1. Pizza Pita

Cut pita in half the long way so you get two circles. Spread a few tablespoons of tomato sauce on top followed by shredded low protein cheese and veggies or other toppings of your choice. My favorite: drizzle olive oil, garlic powder and Italian seasoning before spreading sauce on then top with black olives and mushrooms.

2. Burrita or Fajita Pita

Tap into your South of the Border creative side and spice it up. Saute peppers, onions and any other veggies on hand, slice up some iceberg lettuce and top with salsa and shredded cheese. My favorite way is to cut them long ways to make a fajita or burrito and whip up a cliantro lime rice to go along side with the extra peppers, onions and some salsa.

3. Breakfast Pita

Who says pita’s are only for lunch or dinner? Fill your pita with jam or jelly and fruit. My favorite: apple butter with apple slices tossed in cinnamon sugar and raisins.

4. Baked Pita Chips

Cut pitas up into triangles the size of pita chips, toss with olive oil and seasonings that you prefer and bake in oven or under broiler until crispy for a crunchy snack. My favorite: Mix olive oil with buffalo sauce and ranch seasoning before baking then dip in buffalo ranch dip (made with buffalo sauce, ranch seasoning and Miracle Whip or other salad dressing).

5. Apple Pie a-la Pita

Craving apple pie? Try this quick fix. Toss apple slices with cinnamon, white and brown sugar and lemon juice and microwave for 3 or 4 minutes then stuff in pita pocket with a scoop of low protein (rice, coconut milk OR BetterMilk based) vanilla ice cream.

6. Go to Pita

And my favorite way to Eat-A Pita of all time? My go-to?Mediterranean style “gryo” pita. Season eggplant with Mediterranean (or your favorite) spices, make a quick salsa of parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and garlic and a tatziki with Miracle Whip or low protein (coconut milk based) yogurt (with garlic, cucumber, lemon juice and cumin) and voila. Delicous – you won’t want the meal to end!

 

So there you have it. Next time you get in a new bag of CamBrooke’s Pita Pockets… just imagine the possibilities. I’m sure you can think out of the box and come up with six brand new recipes to try for when your next bag comes…

Low Phe Fajitas:

Practically Free Cilantro Green Sauce:

1 cup cilantro, packed

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1 jalapeno (I didn’t have – so I used red hot pepper flakes and cayenne pepper)

1/4 cup lime juice (I didn’t have – so I used lemon instead)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

2 red bell peppers

1 medium red onion

3 CBF Tweekz

1 avocado

1/4 cup Miracle Whip

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

1/2 cup CBF Short Grain Rice

1 CBF Pita Pocket

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients to green sauce in blender and blend to a sauce consistency. (This made enough sauce for my things and marinade for a full chicken breast for my boyfriend). Reserve a quarter cup of sauce.

2. Cut up peppers and onions into half inch strips, toss in bowl along with Tweekz, pour remaining sauce over vegetables and Tweekz.

3. While marinating, mash up avocado and add 2 tablespoons of reserved sauce. Set aside.

4. Mix Miracle Whip, cumin, garlic powder and minced cilantro. Set aside.

5. Cook Rice as directed. Cover rice with last of sauce. Set aside.

6. Grill (I used a stovetop grill pan) veggies and Tweekz.

7. Cut Pita in half to make 2 circles, heat immediately prior to serving (toast, microwave or in the oven).

8. Put all components on plate and assemble as you go- all is missing is the sizzling pan!

The recipe might look ambitious, but so long as the ingredients are on hand, it is pretty simple! We happened to luck out with avocados, lime and cilantro left over from super bowl weekend guacamole making and just made rice earlier this week. Piecing together left overs to make all new creations is a time saver and a good way to not get sick of the same old thing night after night after night. In this recipe, the avocado ‘mock guac’ is relatively high and eliminating it is an easy way to bring down the protein or Phe (~100 mg with avocado, ~30 mg without avocado per serving). So, give it a try kick it up a notch and go for it! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed : )

Beets have this great earthy, sweet but not heavy flavor that goes great warm sauteed with onions, roasted with olive oil salt and pepper or chilled and pickled on a salad the way my Grandma used to make them. They are great for livening up a plate adding a bold splash of fuschia to an otherwise blah meal. And we all know that where there is color there are BIG nutrients hiding in there! And, ladies gents, do not fret- beets do not disappoint! They are high in folate – a vitamin helping keep our cells healthy and oxygenated also  super important to women of child bearing age since without it their baby is at risk of serious neural tube defects like spina bifida. They are also contain potassium and over 1.5 grams of fiber with less than 50 Calories per half cup. What’s even better for us? Only 1.42 g Protein (and ~40 mg Phe) per half cup! And – if your allowance allows it, cut up the greens that come with the root veggies and saute it like spinach or collard greens and add calcium, more fiber and other nutrients!

So, next time you want to jazz up a green or pasta salad try adding some beets to change things up, add a sweet and savory taste and incorporate some rich color onto the plate! When I studied abroad they had a burger with a slice of pineapple and a slice of beet on it- which I tried out for myself with a CamBurger was not disappointed! Try this simple and easy (and my favorite) way to make beets:

Simple Roasted Beets:

~4 Beets, tops cut off

~2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

~3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees farenheit. Poke beets with fork and double wrap in foil. Roast for ~1 hour until beets can be pierced with a fork. Let beets cool enough so they can be handled, rub/peel off the skin and cut up into bite sized pieces. Drizzle olive oil, salt pepper and vinegar over beets. Keep chilled and ready to throw on top of a salad or keep on hand for a small side dish for lunches and dinners.