CULTURAL FOOD FAVORITES! PLEASE READ/POST!

Hello fellow OH'ers

I've  been lurking and posting for about a year now...I took a break for a while due to ins woes, but now I am back on track and I hope in the future I will be stronger in the face of adversity, and get support where it is truly given...here with you guys!!

So the point of this post focuses on race/ethnicity/nationality and cultural background and food. I will start by introducing myself. My name is Bernice and im 22 yrs old. I was born and raised Connecticut. My mother (deceased) was caucasian and dominican and my father (also deceased) was african american(black).

We are all here for the same reasons, to live healthier slimmer lives and with that being said we've had to make some sacrifices, while I'm still waiting to claim my spot on the losers bench, I thought a post about fav ethnic foods was in order, because unfortunately it is these (mostly) comfort foods that are the cause of some of our food issues.

An individual such as myself, being raised with such a multicultural background, its only natural that I grew up learning how to cook a plethora of unhealthy foods. 

 What I would like from you, my OH family members is to post some demographics about yourselves, but you don't have to be as detailed as I was. I want you guys and gals, to include some of the ethnic foods you love but inevitably had to give up on your way to a better you. Please include healthier or similar versions to your dish if you've still found a way to enjoy your favorites such as cooking methods like baking til crispy instead of frying or swapping out the main ingredient like rice for a healthier grain like quinoa. 

I know with the dishes I'm listing(they'll be the classic comfort foods), there will almost be NO healthy alternative so I will be saying so long to these favorites forever, but I'm am A-OK with that. So without further adieu...

1. Rice and beans ... Of course!
2. chicharones...fried pork skins
3. pastelitos...deep fried empanadas 
4. Fried plantains ...cooked in a sea of butter!
5. fried chicken
6. chicken fried chicken...chicken double battered and deep fried
7. chicken fried steak...same as above using steak
8. candied yams/ sweet potatoes ...with marshmallow topping yum!
9. baked macaroni and cheese...with bread crumb topping
10. Almost all desserts...lol, except those that contain cinnamon ewwww!

I kind of got carried away lmao, so your list doesn't have to be as extensive as mine but please be creative with your post. I am most eager to hear from my Asian, Polish, and Italian OH members because I love your cuisine.

Thanks to everyone who will read and reply

~B

Hi,

I think this is a great idea for a post.  My background is Polish, but I guess I don't eat much of the classic cultural foods of that area anymore.  The hardest thing for me to give up was pasta.  I loved lasagna, pasta salads, and spaghetti.  I know there are some lower carb pastas, in particular "Dreamfields" but I am avoiding it for now, as I still have to use my calories to get my protein in. Maybe in maintenance I'll give it a try.

One thing I did recently was revive my grandmothers recipe for cucumber salad.  It called for oil, vinegar and sugar.  I make it with yogurt, balsamic vinegar and artificial sweetener plus some dill weed.  Its healthy and tasty. 

I have found recipes for things like spinach lasagna that I make without noodles.  I'll make fajitas and serve them on low carb tortillas, or just skip the tortilla.  I mash cauliflower and add yogurt, salt, pepper, a little butter, concentrated chicken broth, and parsley as an alternative to mashed potatoes, which I also miss.  I have a recipe for low carb fried rice that substitutes cauliflower for the rice, but I haven't tried it yet.

I miss Chinese food most of all.  I used to love to have the buffets with so many delicious foods, but it has way to many carbs for now. 

But mostly, I've found a lot of recipes that I can make so my food is varied and enjoyable.  If I cannot have Chinese food, I can find other things I enjoy so I don't feel deprived. 

Carol

Hi Carol thanks for posting! My fave polish dishes are pierogies, kielbasa with kraut, and I love blood sausage ( think I might be off with this one, culturally).

I love love love pasta too, but honestly dream fields here in CT IS ALMOST $5 A BOX= pass lol, I'm not rich so I know I'll be doing without! I remember sharing a cucumber salad with my mom, but the only thing we had it was vinegar, salt and pepper;I'll have to try it with sugar!!

I've heard of cauliflower mash, I just can't get used to it :( and chinese buffets are my fav as well I love hibachi and sushi. 

My issue is variety...I don't like to try new foods and I don't want that to be my downfall, that's why I've come to you guys to find out how really good dishes can be made to compliment our new sleeves or in my case my future sleeve.

thanks again carol for posting!!

Hello,

I am 45, caucasian, born and raised in Michigan.  My mother (deceased) grew up on a farm and I was raised on stereotypical farm food- minus whatever you can't have if you have a heart condition.  My dad (deceased, heart condition) was a bit of a health nut... starting about the time I was in high school.  Just long enough for me to at least experience thoughtful habits about exercise and nutrition.  We host exchange students from around the world, and I am all about ethnic food!  My house rarely eats just plain old hamburgers in other words :)

Favorite- middle eastern.  My Palestinian son and daughter introduced us to a lot of great stuff.  We routinely do kabob still- chicken, beef, lamb.  We no longer make hamburger patties, but instead make Kafta... very much on our vsg diets.  Pickled cabbage- can't quite make it right so we have to buy this.  Shwarma is also vsg friendly if you skip the pita.  Hummus and tabbouli (spelling is off) was a staple before they joined our family- but they taught us how to make it right!  The stereotype of putting hummus on everything lives strong in our family :)  If you are looking for flavorful armoatic protein dishes check out middle eastern cookbooks.  Pretty simple to prepare- similar to American dishes in other words but a totally different spice profile.  Here in Metro Detroit we have the largest Arab population outside of the middle east, so we are blessed with loads and loads of awesome, cheap middle eastern places to go to.  Yum! We also regularly make the crushed lentil soup common in the middle eastern restaruants, but Americanized a bit because we like to add some heat to it.  The only bad thing we got hooked on is a dessert that basically is a dollar size pancake folded over and stuffed with white farmers cheese, and then fried.  Once done you drench it in the simple syrup that has rose in it.  And now I am going to have to make some of these tonight.  Sheesh.  (I am on maintenance though folks, so work your plan until you hit goal!)

From my Colmbian exchange student- we LOVE arapas now.  Essentially this is a pancake made out of something that tastes similar to grits, then you melt cheese on top if you are in my family :).  Not enough protein to use this in the weight loss phase.  I would occasionally make mini versions though in a pan meant to make slider sized hamburgers.  Sudado is a type of comoft food- a stew essentially.  This is a slow cooker friendly meal, and loaded with protein so if you skip the carby parts it is very vsg friendly.  Again, prep is similar to American stew but with an entirely different spice profile.  Yum!  Finally, Colombian style tamales.  I love Mexican tamales too, but the Colombian version blows the Mexican version out of the water- and can be very VSG friendly.  In a nut sheel, you slow cook pork with this AWESOME spice profile, chop veggies, make the masa and combine this for filling.  The difference is you make these by wrapping it in banana leaves, tying them up with string, wrapping in aluminum foil, and boiling to finish cooking.  Very time consuming and it was a real experience for our family when we made them, but holy crap they were worth the work!  She also got us hooked on what is essentially beans and rice, but a variety that is from the region of Colombian she is from.  Honestly, I didn't have a problem eating this during the weight loss phase- I just ate mostly bean and just a touch of rice.  

A Japense student who stayed with us for just a few days taught us how to make a Japnese stew.  Delicous, and if you just eat the protein out of it it is vsg friendly.  This flavor profile is pork, soy, with the fish sauce going on.  Yum.  We do a lot of stir fry type food, but horribly Americanized so it doesn't even really count as ethnic. I would LOVE to learn how to properly make some great Thai food.  Tried to convince my daughter to pick a Thai exchange student for next year, but we are bringing in a German.

But Germans are great with protein too!  Lots of sausage type goodness- don't know enough yet on how to lighten it up.  We are looking forward to exploring that cuisine more in the fall. 

Ok, I could go on forever on this topic so I just have to stop.  Love this topic!

Teacher,

All I can say is wow, I have enjoyed reading about your exchange student experiences and now I'm hungry lol. I'm actually not a big fan of tamales,1) I suck at preparing the masa and 2) it's soo flavorless the masa that is, but yes it was a staple in my home as well. I love Asian cuisine it is my absolute fav, I have no dislikes for any of it lol.

Good luck with your German exchange student I love sausage, bratwurst, liverworst, spaetzle (German right?)

thanks again for posting I have to say you have one of the most experienced palates lol, your taste buds have traveled the world and then some!!

~B

I grew up in a family of Eastern European descent. My great grandparents were Romanian immigrants. Food equalled love.

i miss the breads and pastries the most. Nothing like a good nut roll or poppyseed roll. My mouth waters to think of it. Luckily they are not easily found in the south so I haven't been around them for a long time.

i did figure out how to make a healthier version of stuffed cabbage using ground turkey and brown rice so i was happy. :-)

laurie

Thanks for posting Laurie !

I believe that desserts will always be the most missed, with special regards to the wls folks such as ourselves. From the time they're ingredients in the bowl, til when they're  baking in the oven they are delectable lol...nothing like licking the bowl after whipping up a cake or brownies or eating the raw cookie dough batter, and I'm not talking toll house or nestle I mean weighted ingredients from scratch....now those are the best.

Brown rice :( no matter how many times I make it lmao I can't bing myself to eat it. (White) Rice was a STAPLE in my home considering my mom was Dominican, we ate rice almost everyday hahaha! Those are the issues I'm working on, sadly; creating new food norms!

~B

Hi B. Great post. I am African-American and American Indian. I grew up in and still live in southwest lower Michigan. I have eaten baked or crockpot mac & cheese, cornbread stuffing, corn dodger, white beans, fried cabbage, greens and fried stuff all my life.

I haven't had the VSG surgery yet, in my 3rd of 6-month insurance weight. But I am trying to get my eating, drinking and exercise habits in prep for the surgery. Instead of frying I try and bake or grill. Use my George Forman grill and air cooker like mad. I eat baked broccoli and cauliflower w/cheese now instead of mac & cheese. Still eat my fried cabbage sans the corn dodger, just use a smidgen of oil to fry the cabbage. I am trying not to eat any type of bread, pasta, rice or potato, which is HARD for me because I lived on the stuff. I think giving up these things have been the hardest part for me. 

Good luck on your journey.

Hi dawn thanks for posting!

I understand EXACTLY what you're saying! I am trying to create new food norms for myself as well. Being African American, Dominican, and Caucasian, we ate RICE AND FRIED FOODS ALMOST EVERYDAY...and very rarely ate fruits and veggies unless it was included in the main dish and almost never as an accompaniment.

I would like very much to keep I touch with you, as I am preop as well. I will request you as a friend and maybe we could chat more.

You are correct in saying that this journey is and will be hard! 

Thanks again for posting!

~B

I'm a mutt - I grew up eating anything my mom wanted to cook and she was pretty experimental.  So when I started cooking, I was pretty experimental too!  

I'm only a few weeks out, so I've had to give everything up since I can't eat solid food yet ;)  But I made some delicious chicken curry for dinner last night (a Caribbean curry) and ate delicious, pureed meat chunks.  

This is a great post and I'll enjoy reading the comments!