Egyptian Lentil Soup (Shorbet ‘Ads)
*submitted by Sarah Kasaby, mom to Khaled, living with PWS
Ok so this is my beloved Egyptian Lentil Soup (Shorbet ‘Ads).
It is very famous in winter, especially when you want something quick, nutritious, and keeps your body (and belly) warm. It’s perfect for our PWS diet because you literally can just put any and all veggies of your choice! And the lentils serve as your protein! You can add seeds (shea, flax, hemp etc.) and get all creative if you want!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 potatoes pealed
- 1 Green pepper chopped (Or Add ANY and all veggies of choice)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion becomes brownish.
2. Add the diced carrots and celery and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and paprika, and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the rinsed lentils and the bay leaf to the pot and pour in the vegetable broth. Bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
6. Remove the bay leaf and use a hand blender to puree the soup until smooth. You can also wait for it to cool off a little and blend in the food processor.
7. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup warm. You can pair this with a slice of whole grain toasted bread cut into small pieces and add to the soup!
Buffalo Chicken Wings
*submitted by Lisa Graziano, mom to Cameron, living with PWS
Our family has always followed a low calorie, low carbohydrate, higher protein diet featuring chicken, fish, steamed veggies, fresh fruits, etc. One of our favorite easy meals nowadays is Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Ingredients:
- Fresh chicken wings (and/or drumsticks)
- Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce (0 calories, 0 carbs)
- Olive oil cooking spray
Instructions:
1. Set out chicken wings on a baking tray.
2. Lightly spray the chicken with Olive Oil cooking spray so it crisps nicely while cooking.
3. Set the oven at 400 degrees, bake one side for 20 minutes, turn the chicken over and bake another 25 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, pour Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce.
5. Dip the cooked chicken into the bowl until well coated.
Serve on plates, with a side of carrot sticks. Enjoy with lots of napkins!
Everyone in our household eats what looks like the same food on our plates, but sometimes we need to make a few tweaks to our son’s food items so that his meal is a little lower calorie or lower carb and healthier for his body. Below is a sample of a few of our swaps. Hope they’re helpful!
Sandwich Breads, Tortillas:
- -Nature’s Harvest Healthy Habits Whole Wheat or Multigrain | 40 cal., 9 g carb
- -Sara Lee Delightful Whole What or Multigrain | 45 cal., 9 g carb
- -Oroweat Sandwich Thins 100% Whole Wheat, great for burgers | 150 cal., 28 g carb
- -Mission Protein Tortilla Wraps | 70 cal., 16 g carb, 7 g protein
- -Lettuce leaves make a great wrap for all sorts of sandwich stuffings
Pastas:
- -Explore Cuisine Organic Edamame Spaghetti | 180 cal., 20 g carb, 24 g protein
- -Seapoint Farms Gluten Free Organic Edamame Fettuccine | 200 cal., 21 g carb, 24 g protein
Saag Paneer (based on a recipe from Mallika Basu)
*submitted by Dini Rao, mom to Ayoni, living with PWS
Ingredients:
- 1T Avocado oil
- 225-250 grams paneer cut into 2cm cubes (or sub tofu or chicken)
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 5cm fresh ginger, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 green chili, chopped (birds eye/Thai chili for best flavor and adjust quantity for heat tolerance)
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp chili powder (Indian chili like Kashmiri chilli or cayenne)
- 100g each of black kale, leafy greens and Swiss chard (bonus if you can find mustard greens, even frozen cubes)
- 2 ½ cups hot water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried methi (fenugreek leaves)
Instructions:
1. Sauté onion, ginger and garlic for about 5 minutes
2. Add cumin seeds, green chili, turmeric and chili powder and sauté for another 5 minutes
3. Roughly slice and add greens with hot water and salt. Let the greens cook uncovered until they wilt, then turn off the heat.
4. When it has cooled enough, blend the greens into a smooth paste and add more water as needed.
5. Add the paneer/chicken/tofu along with methi (fenugreek) leaves and warm until the paneer softens.
6. Finish lime and salt to taste. (If you prefer a creamier version, finish with 2 T heavy cream or coconut cream).
Serve with brown rice or whole wheat rotis and Cucumber Raita.
Cucumber Raita
*from Dini’s mom’s kitchen
Ingredients:
- 10 oz Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp ghee or Avocado oil
- 1 Cucumber, peeled and diced or grated (could add or sub radish, onions, carrots)
- 1 TB Mustard seeds
- Handful of curry leaves fresh or frozen, can sub cilantro
- Salt to taste (should taste relatively salty)
- ½ tsp Paprika
Instructions:
1. Take yogurt and whisk in water until it becomes a thick soupy consistency.
2. It will become more watery once you add the cucumbers. Add cucumbers and pink salt to taste.
3. Using ghee or coconut oil, make the chonk – heat the oil and add mustard seeds until they begin to pop, then quickly add the paprika and fresh curry leaves or cilantro leaves and remove from the heat.
4. Add the chonk to the top of the yogurt mixture in a swirling pattern and serve. Do not mix in for a beautiful presentation!
Channa Masala
*submitted by Dini Rao, mom to Ayoni, living with PWS
- 3 T Avocado oil/ghee
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 3 garlic cloves
- Sea salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp coriander ground
- Few grounds black pepper
- ½ to 1 tsp cayenne powder
- ½ tsp garam masala or sambar powder
- Fresh curry leaves, if available
- 2 T tomato paste
- 1 can tomatoes – (no salt added)
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 T heavy cream or coconut cream
- Cilantro
Instructions:
- 1. Heat oil and add onion and cook until browned at the edges – 5 minutes or so. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minutes, then add 1 tsp salt, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, coriander and cayenne and cook for 2 minutes.
- 2. Add the tomato paste and cook well until it smells less raw and is a shade darker. Add tomatoes, curry leaves if using and more salt, cook until well cooked and saucy (5-10 minutes). Add 1 ¼ cups water, stir and simmer covered for 5 minutes.
3. Add chickpeas and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste and modify seasonings. Remove from heat and add cream and chopped cilantro. For extra protein, add chicken, paneer or tofu to the dish with the chickpeas.
Deliciousness
*submitted by Kristi Rickenbach, mom to Justice, 22, living with PWS
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for pie dish
- Chicken sausage I use 4 large chicken andouille sausage (sliced or diced)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 large eggs (beaten)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup 2%-4% cottage cheese
- 2 cups spinach (chopped)
Instructions:
- 1. Mix sweet potatoes with a ½ -1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Cook in the air fryer or oven until they are almost soft. (About 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees).
- 2. You may wish to cook the sausage before but if using pre-cooked chicken sausage then it is not necessary.
- 3. Spread a little bit of oil around pie dish and layer with potatoes and sausage.
- 4. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour into the pie dish.
- 5. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until eggs are completely cooked.
Chicken Nuggets
*submitted by Laurie Paine, caregiver for James Towle, adult living with PWS
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp pickle juice
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions:
1. Roll into balls, then flatten.
2. Cover tops with BBQ flavored pork rinds for crunch.
3. Cook on parchment lined baking sheet in air fryer for 10 minutes.
4. Use as a chip for guacamole, ranch dressing or dip.
1 nugget: 0.1g total carbs; 40 calories; 5g protein
Ham, egg & cheese muffin cups
*submitted by Laurie Paine, caregiver for James Towle, adult living with PWS
Ingredients:
- 12 slices of deli ham
- 6 eggs
- ¾ cup shredded Colby jack cheese
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions:
1. Preheat over to 400.
2. Place two slices of ham in each cup of a greased muffin tin.
3. Crack one egg into each ham filled cup.
4. Equally divide the cheese amongst each muffin cup.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper onto each cup and then back for 15-20 minutes.
6. Garnish with parsley if desired.
7. Add veggies to egg if desired – onions, scallions, red pepper, spinach, broccoli.
Store in airtight container in refrigerator for 3-4 days. Can also be frozen: remove egg cups from muffin tin and place on baking sheet. Place baking sheet in freezer and freeze for 2 hours. Once completely frozen, place egg cups in zip close freezer bags and put back in freezer. Egg muffins will keep in freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat as needed – microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds per egg cup.
2 egg cups: 458 calories; 2g carbs; 39g protein
Poke Bowl (4 people)
*submitted by Anne Fricke, mom to Freya, 14, living with PWS
Ingredients:
- 1-2 lbs. Tuna (we prefer yellow fin, but any should work)
- 2 cups Rice (sushi, brown, cauliflower, or rice substitute you prefer)
- Cucumbers
- Red bell peppers
- Radishes
- Avocado
- Green Onions
For the sauce:
- ½ cup Tamari or Soy Sauce
- 1-2 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1-2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Ginger (Grated)
- 1 Tbsp Garlic (Chopped)
- 2 Green Onions
- 1-2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Instructions:
1. Cook sushi rice according to package and let cool in the refrigerator.
2. Cut tuna into bite size chunks (best to do while the tuna is slightly frozen, so it holds shape better)
3. Mix together the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the chunks of tuna. Let marinate for at least 1 hour.
4. Chop cucumbers, peppers, radishes, and avocado to desired size.
5. Once rice is cooled and fish has marinated, assemble bowl: rice, veggies, and fish. Spoon sauce over each bowl, sprinkle with green onions. If possible, use chopsticks to slow down the eating process.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.