How to diet fast 1 week

Sharon emailed me last week and said that she had a hankern for some Turkey Tetrazzini a la Slow Cooker. I didnt know that I had a hankern until I read her email and the recipes she linked for me to look at.
But I did. I seemed to have had a hankern. She sent links to Epicurious, AllRecipes, and Food Network.

After reading through the recipes, I wrote one of my own to work with the slow cooker. It worked, eventually. I at first didnt include enough pasta, so my tetrazzini was more like wallpaper paste than a creamy pasta dish. This was easily fixed, however, and the end result was a nice comforting meal we enjoyed on an unseasonably chilly night.

Thank you, Sharon!

The Ingredients.

1 (16-ounce package) dry spaghetti noodles (maybe divided. Please read the entire recipe and decide for yourself how youd like to proceed!) I used brown rice noodles from TJs.
1-2 pounds turkey breast tenders, cut in small chunks
5 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
1 (14.5-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, chunked
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups chicken broth (check for gluten!)
salt to taste at the table

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker, and spray the inside well with cooking spray.

What I did: I initially used a half-package of spaghetti noodles, and broke them in half, and laid them on the bottom of the stoneware. I then layered the other ingredients on top, in the order I typed up above. But! after cooking on low for 3 hours, I noticed that the noodles pretty much disappeared, so I cooked the remainder of the package on the stovetop in heavily salted water (super-heavily salted, the top of the container fell off!) until barely al dente, then stirred the drained pasta into the slow cooker.

I then cooked on low for only one more hour, then clicked it to warm for another 3. The turkey was fully cooked, the noodles were perfect, but the onion that I didnt cut fine enough had still a bit of a crunch.

The Verdict.

So. My dilemma is in deciding if it would have been better to put the entire package of pasta into the machine and then layer the ingredients in and cook on low for 3-5 hours (not high!) or if it is better to leave all the pasta out, and just cook it on the stove, then mix it in.
Or, do what I did.
I just dont know.

I do know that this worked, but it certainly wasnt a very hands-off meal. And we ate it, even the leftovers for lunch the next day (the onion was soft by then!)

other pasta dishes that work well:

traditional lasagna
buffalo chicken lasagna
macaroni and cheese
ziti

I made the most delicious turkey stew over the weekend. Ive never actually had turkey stew, so I dont know if its the best that exists, but its definitely the best Ive ever had. And, since I used leftover food from Thanksgiving, it was free!

Im kind of bummed Adam took the leftovers to work to eat for lunch, because now Im forced to eat peanut butter on an apple-cinnamon rice cake. Again.

The Ingredients.
serves 8

There are two parts, here. The first part is to make broth with your leftover turkey carcass. If you dont have a carcass on hand, and would still like to make this soup, jump to the next step and use 8 cups of chicken broth and 2-3 cups chopped turkey.

for broth:
use a 6 quart slow cooker.

turkey carcass, or rib cage bone-sets from 2 turkey breasts
9 cups of water
2 tablespoons granulated chicken bouillon (read label carefully for msg and gluten, I used the Herb Ox brand)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (this takes the meat flavor out of the bones, and creates a beautiful color and flavor)
1 large onion, finely diced OR 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

cook on low overnight, or for about 8 hours. Unplug, and remove stoneware from cooking element. Uncover and let cool. When cool enough to "go fishing," remove all bones from broth, leaving meat inside the pot.

note: if your slow cooker releases a bunch of steam and condensation while cooking, put a layer of foil or parchment paper down over the top, then put the lid on so you dont lose your cooking liquid.

for stew, add the following:

2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato
1 (28-ounce) can diced or stewed Italian style tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 (15-ounce) can corn, and juice
4 cloves chopped garlic OR 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder

The Directions.

Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until sweet potatoes have reached desired tenderness and flavors have melded.

The Verdict.

We all really liked this a lot. The girls were slow to warm up because they thought the name "turkey stew" was weird and didnt like that the broth wasnt clear, but I didnt offer them anything else to eat. When they finally tasted it, they happily finished their bowls. Adam said he liked it even better than our normal turkey soup, which is pretty high praise, since that soup is fantastic. I really liked the deep color and the sweet potatoes in contrast to the tomato base. This did not have any spicy taste, just lots of flavor.

Does eating turkey make you stuffed and drowsy? It must the be tryptophan... or not. Sure there is tryptophan in turkey and tryptophan is the starting point for making some neurotransmitters and hormones, but turkey meat is simply protein and fat. Tryptophan (left) is just one of the twenty amino acids found in most proteins, so the drowsiness after the big Turkeyday dinner is more about the “big” and less about the turkey.

Turkey meat is muscle and muscle, as the diagram shows is made of protein molecules that use energy in the form of ATP to move past each other and contract. We chew up the turkey muscle and our stomach juices contain enzymes (these “proteases” are also proteins) that reverse the process of protein synthesis and produce protein fragments called peptides. The specificity of the proteases in the stomach, e.g. pepsin, results in peptides containing intact heparin-binding domains that are also antimicrobial. In the intestines, a new group of proteases are added by the pancreas and the peptides are further reduced in size and heparin-binding domains are degraded. [Pathogens need heparin-binding domains to bind to the intestines.] The remaining peptides bind to the microvilli of the endocytes lining the small intestines, surface bound peptidases release individual amino acids and transport proteins bring amino acids into the endocytes and on to the blood stream.

In the brain, tryptophan is converted by a series of enzymes into serotonin and the serotonin is stored in secretory vesicles adjacent to the synapse that controls signals between nerves. A nerve action potential moves down the axon from the cell body to the synapse. The change in electrical potential reaching the synapse causes the secretory vesicles to fuse with the cytoplasmic membrane and release the serotonin into the synapse. The serotonin binds to the receptors of the adjacent nerve and starts a new action potential that travels to the next nerve body to repeat the process. The synapse is reset by reuptake or degradation of the serotonin. The degradation product, 5-HIAA, is removed into the blood and excreted in urine.

Turkey tryptophan does get converted into serotonin and high serotonin could make you mellow, but turkey is just like any other meat source of tryptophan. The big meal just makes you groggy, because there is less blood to your brain when the mysenteric blood flow is enhanced for digestion. There may also be a rise in blood sugar as the starch off your plate is rapidly converted into glucose in your blood. The potentially damaging high blood sugar is controlled by a rise in insulin that lowers glucose in the blood by stimulating transport into fat cells for immediate conversion into fat. The starch from the meal is rapidly depleted, blood sugar rises and then sudden falls. The low blood sugar also leaves you groggy.

So it was the size of the meal (decreased brain blood flow) and the sweet potatoes and rolls (starch-induced hypoglycemia) that induced you to kickback on the sofa and pass out with the big game lulling you to sleep. Tryptophan from the big bird is in the background waiting for you to awaken. Before you take the first mouthful, check to make sure that your meal follows the anti-inflammation guidelines. Planning ahead can help you to enjoy a meal that wont be a pain later.

This Turkey Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower Topping is a great way to use Thanksgiving leftovers.

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These Stuffed Peppers with Turkey Italian Sausage, Ground Beef, and Mozzarella are great for Phase One

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If you enjoy barley in soup, you'll love this soup with ground turkey, barley, mushrooms, and spinach!

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