Corny Salmon Cakes (Heather Thomas' loss)

Corny Salmon Cakes
cucumber, blueberry, and feta salad
big easy salad of rice and beans

The Background.

We tried to live for one week without refined sugar or refined flour. 

The Story.

Lemon fragranced brown rice

A friend of mine started a facebook workout support group. We are all from (or currently in) the Goshen area. While I love us all, a number of them kind of look and act like me (or is it he other way around?). I am that sort of women who you hope doesn't have an airplane seat next to you. I am a "husky" midwesterner who is overly friendly. A conversationalist on an international flight. Life is pretty miserable for any poor NYC chap sitting next to me - even more the poor Californian dude who gets up at 4:30 every morning to run before work. But if he came to my house he would be overwhelmed with hospitality...which really means a full tummy. 


I decided to take a challenge. It was almost like a double dare. One of the FB workout support group members had just recently taken a nutrition class and asked us to go for a month without sugar or white flour. I balked. Who can do that? Sure as hell not me! She must have been high on education and knowledge. But I wanted to support her efforts, and I figured that nothing lost is nothing gained. So I offered her a week. I told her that I would commit to one week if she provided the menu. She joshed and picked at me "Come on!" she said. "Don't be a quitter before you even start! Commit to a month! Don't be a wuss!"

I know a double dog dare when I hear one. 

A date was set. I mentally prepared myself for weeks before hand. I sent recipes to the dare-er to help support the menu she was to construct. Long story short? The educational high was temporary. The woman from the group backed out. Her name, which is Heather Thomas, has been kept anonymous to protect her innocence...I mean, guilt.

Typical lunch. Cucumber and tomato salad, locally made corn
chips, homemade salsa, celery with cashew butter,  cottage cheese,
and thumbprint cookies made with macadamia nuts

I set a menu for a week. It included breakfast, lunch, and supper for every meal. Sugar free, white flour free baked goods were made as an offering to Heather who had no choice in what was made that week. Stiva was purchased from an expensive market. Cookies were made with Stivia. Stivia cookies were thrown away (blech! Who eats that stuff and likes it?). I did have a glass of wine one night (I decided I didn't care enough to figure it out, but I am confident wine has refined sugar). But we avoided homemade birthday cake, and even went to TWO midwestern pot-lucks in that week. We rocked it.

All in all, it turned out the week was not too bad. Meals were more creative. Snacks were more filling. We ate a lot more nuts. We even had friends who wanted to have us over for supper, and when they found out we were sans sugar or white flour, still cooked for us (bell peppers stuffed with wild rice, smokey sausage, and goat cheese with a side of roasted sweet potato, carrot, and green been sticks). I got a little cranky around day 4, but all in all it was a good week. I was impressed with us.

dirty broccoli & cabbage and brown rice stirfry with a giant
dollop of sambal

 And then Saturday night came along. I had eaten nothing but cottage cheese for lunch and I was really hungry. But the College of Wooster bagpipe band (this really exists) did a concert downtown (really). It was super cool, and we met some friends (those same friends who cooked for us). But then it got late. Around 8p poor decisions were made. Papa John's was called, beer appeared...and just like that, the week ended a meal prematurely. 

Or maybe we can just say that I didn't eat supper on Saturday night, and therefore I did complete. And the pizza and beer was really a premature breakfast. 

Either way, Heather Thomas never stopped eating sugar and white flour.... 

I win, Heather Thomas, I win. ;) 

The Recipe.

This is for corny salmon cakes. What is awesome about this situation is that, although the recipe calls for whole wheat breadcrumbs, I made it with panko, thinking panko crumbs are potato (and realizing that most whole wheat bread has more white than wheat flour). Turns out it panko just wheat bread baked with an electric current (really!), and while it is made with wheat flour, it sometimes has sugar too. So this was an epic fail for this particular week, but still one our easy go-to meals. 

• 12 oz canned salmon, drained and flaked
• 3/4 c whole wheat bread crumbs (divided)  
• 3/4 c reduced fat cheddar
• 3/4 c corn (thawed) 
• 1/3 c light/fat free mayo
• 1 egg
• 1 T canola oil 

Mix thoroughly, EXCEPT for 1/2 c breadcrumbs. Form into 8 patties. Dredge each patty in the remaining crumbs (I seasoned my crumbs with whatever spices I feel like at the time). Place half of the oil in a skillet, cooking until golden brown (5 min or so). Add remaining oil and flip the patties, cooking for another 5 min. 

The Process. 

Substituting the whole wheat crumbs with panko resulted in salmon cakes that were not brown and pretty. I would stick to the bread crumbs. 

The Future. 

A big picture future comment section: 

Baked banana oatmeal (fat free and sugar free...
but still really good). Topped with a greek yogurt concoction 

I have adapted to agave nectar and don't think I will go back to honey. Also some of the desserts and snacks that we had around the house were really good. I have been eating a LOT of celery with cashew butter (locally made - just cashews and a bit of salt). I am also really into the thumbprint cookies. I have made those again with pecans this time. I will keep that recipe as a result. I know...nothing like doing no sugar and no flour and coming out with a cookie recipe. But this recipe is great as one batch (with 32 cookies) will last the two of us for an entire week. Two of the (very small) cookies will satisfy my sweet tooth while also filling me up with the healthy nuts and oatmeal that are the basis of the recipe.