The Superbowl and Food Allergies

I realize I am a wee bit late writing this post, but better late than never, right?! With last Sunday being the superbowl, I ended up making two Crock-Pot dishes in one weekend. I figured that to go with the Superbowl theme, I would make a Buffalo Chicken Dip, which of course I found on Pinterest. The recipe actually seemed very simple.

2 chicken breasts or thighs

3 oz buffalo chicken sauce

4 oz cream cheese (half a container)

4 oz ranch or blue cheese dressing

1 stalk celery, chopped   ( I hate celery with quite a passion, so this was not included in my dip)

1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese   ( I also opted for no cheese, as this dip seemed cheesey enough!)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Now, as per my usual way of Crock-Pot cooking, I pretty much took the recipe and then did my own thing. I added the 4oz of cream cheese to my Crock-pot and was thoroughly disappointed with how little this amount was. I didn't take a photo, but it really was a sad amount.  With how big my chicken breasts were, and how hungry I was, this did not seem like reasonable amount, so I added another carton of cream cheese.  Since the recipe was already off, I just added the rest of the ingredients as I went, and just taste tested to see if it tasted alright.

Now once all this cream cheese had melted in with the other ingredients, I realized I had made a large amount of dip.  WAY more than was necessary. I figure that I could just keep the rest, and between myself, and my roommates we would end up finishing it.

The dip ended up not taking long at all to cook, which was perfect.  My boyfriend was still up, we had N'aan bread to dip, the game was on, everything was perfect! 

Now, take into account that this dip had about 10 oz of cream cheese, and who knows how much ranch dressing. I actually have a lactose sensitivity.  I like to pretend that I do not have this condition, because I truly believe cheese is one of the best foods on the planet.   I ate more of this dip than I really should have, which resulted in a night of an upset stomach, bloating, and completely regretting my decision.

When I started this project I had the goal of not only using my Crock-Pot, but also finding healthier meal options and saving money.  This meal did 1/3 of these things.  In no way was this dip healthy, and it clearly did not meet my own dietary needs. I also ended up having to throw the dip away, as I couldn't even look at it after how much it upset my stomach and brought on my lactose intolerance flare ups. This meant that I was wasting money as I didn't eat all of the ingredients that I bought for this dip. Although this is my own fault, as I know my dietary needs, it made me realize that I need to be choosing dishes that are healthier for me, as well as ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THE RECIPE.

I think this is the issue that I have been having the hardest time with, so my goal for the rest of this project is to try and choose healthier meals, and meals that cater to my own dietary needs. By not doing this so far, and not following recipes properly, I have just been losing money and hurting myself. I don't think I realized how much of a learning journey using a Crock-Pot would be, but I am glad that I am making mistakes that I can learn from for next time!

Tune in next week as I try to cook a meal that is cheap, healthy and WHERE I ACTUALLY FOLLOW THE RECIPE!