Vacuum preparations
 

I read Nonnymous' post about the chicken breasts done with ranch dressing
mix, and I was wondering if anyone else had suggestions for using their
vacuum sealer for food preparation, for the grill.

DH found out last week that he has type 2 diabetes. He needs to eat lose
weight, and keep his blood sugar levels even. IOW, we need to make some
changes in how we prepare foods.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Sheila

Vacuum preparations
 

"WhansaMi" > wrote:
> I read Nonnymous' post about the chicken breasts done with ranch dressing
> mix, and I was wondering if anyone else had suggestions for using their
> vacuum sealer for food preparation, for the grill.
>
> DH found out last week that he has type 2 diabetes. He needs to eat lose
> weight, and keep his blood sugar levels even. IOW, we need to make some
> changes in how we prepare foods.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi Sheila, I'm sorry to hear that your husband has developed type II
diabetes. I've had it for 15 years. If he's overweight, losing weight is
essential! This means, not only limiting your food intake, but exercising.
Even just walking will do. Cutting down on carbohydrates, like pastas,
potatoes and rice, will help a lot. I had half a cup of sticky rice the
other night and my blood glucose doubled. There are some other folks here
with diabetes. I'm sure they'll be able to make more suggestions. Let us
know how it's going.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

Vacuum preparations
 

Hi, Sheila. My mother of almost 80 years has Type 2, and with my Dad
being a near invalid, they have trouble staying on track to keep her
diabetes in check.

Of course, the things Nick said have been the most important to her in
controlling the beast: exercise and diet. I don't know which has
proven more effective as she is doing them as a combo.

Since my Mom hates to cook and loves prepared foods, and my Dad cannot
(physically) cook, I try to help them when I can. I make up a lot of
meals for them, sometimes 30 or so at a time and put them in a
foodsaver bag to be frozen and delivered to their door. I season
meats and meat dishes and use the vacuum system as a marinade machine
as well as a preserver. Try this:

If you like pork chops, the FS machine is a wonder. I buy whole
loins, cut them into small chops, season them, then freeze them. I
like the loins for the folks as they are naturally lean and have
little fat. And the loins are great for portion control as they are
easy to slice. I have a small scale that I used to practice with to
get the Dr. recommended portion size right (no more than 6 oz.) so I
can slice up the loins very quickly. With an extra set of hands, I
can cut and season, and SO can label and bag, so that part goes really
fast as well.

I slice as many as I can get on a baking sheet, then take my dry
spices and apply them as I want. I have some of the really large
containers that I buy at Sam's, so I have some of those mixes, like
"Italian Spice", or "Southwestern Grill", "Citrus Grill" and my folks
love them. They thaw them then fry them up (no breading) in a little
olive oil.

I buy larger loins, so I usually get a ton of chops for them, and I
save the last 8-10 inches or so of the tail end to use as a roast. I
take a knife and stick it straight into the large end and push it
lengthwise almost to the end of the remaining loin. Then I pour a
little thick mixture of fat free Italian with additional herbs
(parsley, sage, garlic, etc.) added to it into the hole. A little
goes a long way, and it is important not to put more than three or
four tablespoons in the hole. Everything that falls of the hole (it
will) when pouring and pushing goes onto the outside of the roast.
Put the hole side in the bag first and seal.

They love that seasoned roast as their "Sunday dinner" as they can put
that in with some celery, carrots, etc. in their crockpot and have a
good pork roast. With enough of the spices being in and out of the
meat, it is enough that they just lightly salt and pepper the added
vegetables. I mix it up a little when making them with Greek
seasoning, Southwestern style seasonings, etc., but they like the
Italian the best.

Since the vacuum sealer is not only a speedy marinading machine, but a
great way to contol portions, I have also spiced and saved fresh fish,
chicken (cooked and uncooked) and all all kinds of vegetable dishes.

Remember, if you cook something and use the vacuum bags, you can use
them as boiling bags. I also make the folks Chinese stir fry (they
LOVE that) and put about 10 linguine noodles in the mix - the noodles
make them feel like they aren't on a restricted diet. Throw them in a
vacuum bag, and you are done. Mom puts them in really hot (NOT
boiling) water and heats them up.

It's a little more elbow grease for me to get it to them, but since I
do the same way of cooking and preserving for me and mine, I just put
their name in the hat and do their stuff right next to mine. When we
have a freezer full of seasoned/cooked meats ready to go, or even have
some prepared dishes in the bags ready to boil, it makes it a lot
harder to think about going out or getting fast food.

Hope this helps.

Robert

Vacuum preparations
 

" > wrote:
> Hi, Sheila. My mother of almost 80 years has Type 2, and with my Dad
> being a near invalid, they have trouble staying on track to keep her
> diabetes in check.
>
> Of course, the things Nick said have been the most important to her in
> controlling the beast: exercise and diet. I don't know which has
> proven more effective as she is doing them as a combo.
>
> Since my Mom hates to cook and loves prepared foods, and my Dad cannot
> (physically) cook, I try to help them when I can. I make up a lot of
> meals for them, sometimes 30 or so at a time and put them in a
> foodsaver bag to be frozen and delivered to their door. I season
> meats and meat dishes and use the vacuum system as a marinade machine
> as well as a preserver. Try this:
> [food prep description snipped]

Hi Robert. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. Calories in, calories out.
Exercise also helps improve the muscle mass to fat ratio and muscle burns a
lot more calories than fat, which burns none. I admire your Mom for still
exercising at her age!

What you and your SO do for them, vis a vis the food prep and delivery, not
only helps them eat better, but serves as a constant reminder to them that
they matter to you. That has to be a great comfort to them and help them
maintain a positive attitude. I salute you for that.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War. They
are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not
forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

Vacuum preparations
 

Nick - thanks for the kind words. I never in my wildest dreams
thought I would be helping my folks do something as simple as
preparing meals.

And you are right about the appreciation factor. When I first made
them pork loin chops with cooking instructions on the bags, they
thought they were eating gourmet meals.
I put a lot of spices on there stuff to hide the fact they have very
little or no salt, but I tell them they are salted fairly heavy and
they think (like with the 10 noodles deal) they are getting away with
something. The first time I took them about 10 packages of chops that
were ready to go, bless their hearts, they ate pork chops every night
until they were gone, 10 nights in a row!

I grew up in a household where the spices of record were salt and
pepper, and for a flourish, Lawrey's season salt. So when I make them
pork or chicken that has whole fresh basil leaves, fresh rosemary, and
lemon zest in the bag they feel like they have some really fine dining
at hand. It doesn't take much...

I also smoke turkeys, etc. during the season and put some turkey into
manageable sized portions in vacuum bags, and they take that as their
preferred Christmas present. I like it as it keeps them feeling like
they are getting a couple of extra holiday meals during the season
from the "big meal" leftovers, just like they did when we were kids.

Sitting here thinking about it, I guess it's getting to be that time
again, too.

Robert