Raspberry Chicken

This dish turned out pretty good. I think that next time around, I wouldn't add the Walden Farms stuff to it, though, as it makes it taste too sweet. But "sweet" really isn't the right word - it's a fakey sweet, you know? It did make it even better when we sprinkled chili powder on top, so be sure to give that a shot! That made the dish go from good to YUM!

Raspberry Picking

Yesterday, when we went for our outing, we headed for some of the local farms to get some *really* fresh fruit. It actually started as an outing for the kids to go enjoy the pumpkin patch and the corn maze. Both of those things turned out to be "soooo boring" and we swiftly looked for other things to do.

So, off to some of the farms to see if we could find some pony rides or something like that. What we found were autumn raspberries, honey crisp apples, the last of the peaches for the season, and we picked up some pears off the ground after the pickers had already picked off the trees. Mom's making peach/pineapple jam, pear butter, and apple butter and canning (why do they call it canning when you're using jars?) them for use during the winter. We also grabbed up some fresh tomatoes to stew and freeze for later in the winter. There's nothing like the taste of fresh picked, even if it comes out of the freezer.

Anyway, while we were picking raspberries, I figured that this was just going to be my fruit for the afternoon. I think I ate 3x the amount of raspberries I was allowed, but YUMMY!! Pick, pick, pick, eat, eat, pick, pick, pick, eat, eat, pick...

Raspberry Sorbet

Tonight, we present something that happened a little by accident. A happy accident to be sure, but an accident none the less. It was supposed to be a variation on the recipe that Jennifer sent in for her Strawberry (Forgo the Tequila) Margarita. But with the frozen berries, we had to do some alterations to make the blender blend!

What we did is below - it's a great desert recipe that you ought to keep in your back pocket while in Phase Two of the hCG Protocol. :)

Here's the sharesies:

Raspberry Sorbet (32 calories)

1/2c frozen raspberries (32 calories)

15 drops Berry stevia

1/2 can Orange Zevia

1/4c water

Blend the ingredients together and enjoy with a spoon! YUMMY!

Raspberry Jello

Serious big YUMMMMMMYY!! This recipe is thicker than regular Jello so it would stand well for travel and such. I'm not sure you should leave it out of the frig all day long, but if you put it into an insulated lunch bag with a cold pack, this should hold up really well.

Raspberry Jello (52 calories per serving - makes 2 servings)

1c raspberries (64 calories)

1/2c water

33 drops stevia

1/2c Natural Twist Zevia (Lemon Lime)

2 envelopes Knox Gelatin (40 calories)

Mash raspberries and add water and stevia. Bring this just to a boil. In separate bowl, pour Zevia in add gelatin and let sit 1 minute. Add fruit and stevia mix to gelatin mixture and stir 5 minutes. Pour into pie dish or ramakins or other container. (Note: This recipe is doubled so I could pour it into an 8x10 pan.) Refrigerate at least 3 hours and serve!

Of note, when making this, I left the seeds *in* the dish. Where I considered straining them out, I was afraid that I'd lose the fiber from the whole berry, which would be in the raspberry if I were just to eat it whole. To stick to the protocol, that's why I made it and left the berry seeds in.

Gelled Fruit (a Jell-O knock off)

I got ambitious the other day, not to mention bored of the same old same old baked apples for desert. So, I started hunting for some different things I could do with what I'm allowed on this protocol.

Since we have oranges, raspberries, strawberries, and grapefruit, I couldn't think of a single reason why I should refrain from adding some Knox Gelatin to some water and tossing the fruit in with it, sweeten it up with some stevia and set it in the frig to chill out. Here's what my first jelled fruit recipe experiment was:

DON'T MAKE THIS JUST LIKE THIS RECIPE SAYS. IT DIDN'T TURN OUT RIGHT! I POST IT HERE AS A JUMPING POINT FOR OTHER EXPERIMENTERS ONLY!!

Gelled Fruit

Allowed amount of fruit

1 package Knox Gelatin

16-20 drops of stevia

Make the gelatin, according the the directions, squish 1/4 of the fruit so it's pulpy juice and add to the gelatin. Add stevia, chill.

It turns out that this is not as pleasant as I thought it would be. It tasted like orange flavored gelled stevia. I think, next time I give it a shot, I'll go ahead and mash all the fruit, add only 3/4 of the water, and about half the stevia. When I do that, I'll post results again. If you decide to alter it and come up with a tasty recipe, please share in the comments section!