Tags
Ariel, chicken, Disney, Donald, Dumbo, Kebabs, Mowgli, pork tenderloin, Type 1 Diabetes
Disney has their hands in a bit of everything these days, including health care.* We discovered this back in April when our daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
*If Disney ran health care, we might not be having the debates we are having today. Disney treated Katie wonderfully when we went to Disneyland this summer after her diagnosis. We are VERY grateful. They even have a diabetic character, Coco the Diabetic Monkey…which I find ridiculous and supportive all at once.
During one of our visits to the endocrinologist, one of the nurses asked if we would like a Diabetes cookbook for kids.They are a new product from Disney, in cooperation with the drug company Lilly. The nurse did ask us if we would ACTUALLY use it, and once we assured her that we do cook, she gave us a free copy!
Dishing it up Disney Style is a handy cookbook full of recipes for the diabetic in the family. Each recipe shows the all important carbs, calories, fiber, and other important info for each dish. And to be quite honest, the recipes that we’ve tried so far have been WONDERFUL! For the kids, each dish is “inspired” by a Disney character. This is what I find humorous about the cookbook. You have Alice’s Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches, Lady and the Tramp’s Cartwheels with Tomato Sauce, Mulan’s Egg Fried Rice, and Tiana’s Shrimp Gumbo. These all make sense.
Then we have the Disney character dishes that don’t really fit, or in some cases are mildly alarming.
Let’s start with Ariel’s Turkey Pilaf. I just know, that under the sea, merpeople just craved some juicy turkey. I’m sure when King Triton was hungry, she dutifully brought her dad a plate of fresh sea turkey and rice.
Next we have Genie’s Guacamole Potato Salad…I honestly do want to try this one, but two points: First, I can picture the Genie making hummus, not guacamole. Second, if he’s a genie, is the cooking really necessary?
Dumbo’s Corn Chowder: Baby elephants LOVE soup! I am concerned about allowing an elephant-A BABY ELEPHANT-to cook.
Pumba’s Black Bean Salsa: Salsa’s all the rage on the African savannah.
And finally, most concerning is Donald’s Chicken Fajitas. For some reason Bird making bird is mildly disturbing. I can picture Donald feeling conflicted while cooking this dish.
Anyway, the dish I have made most often is Mowgli’s Moroccan Chicken Kebabs. As a Geography teacher, I find this dish perplexing and possibly harmful to the American student. Namely, Mowgli is from The Jungle Book, which is set in India. Morocco is nowhere near India. Also, I don’t see Mowgli making Kebabs (He seems to be the most unsanitary Disney character in the book). But I digress.
NOTICE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MOROCCO AND INDIA!!!
When we make the recipe at home, we do make some modifications. Namely, we use pork tenderloin rather than chicken, as I am allergic. Also, I have been making it on the grill pan for the sake of convenience. Regardless, it is a DELICIOUS dish, and you should give it a try!
Here’s the recipe:
Dry Rub:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I’m still debating if the cloves should be used…they’re powerful)
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
Meat:
Two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or pork tenderloin
Veggies:
I like an onion and a cup of grape tomatoes, but you could use your imagination here.
STEPS:
1. Assemble the dry rub in a bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Cut the meat into one-inch cubes.
3. Place cubed meat in a large bowl. Sprinkle over dry rub. Cover thoroughly with your hands.
4. Cut up one onion into one inch wedges. Place with a cup of grape tomatoes in another bowl.
5. Add a half tablespoon of oil to onions and tomatoes and toss to coat.
6. Preheat grill pan on high on the stove. Spray non-stick spray to coat bottom of the pan
7. TURN ON THE FAN ABOVE THE STOVE…there will be smoke.
8. Place meat on grill pan, use tongs to turn chunks of meat after about two minutes. Continue turning periodically. I find that the meat is done in about 8 minutes.
9. After 8 minutes, place meat on serving platter and add the tomatoes and onions. Stir frequently, and remove when tomatoes have char marks and onions are tender.
10. Place tomatoes and onions over the meat, serve and enjoy!
We had rice and a salad with it on Wednesday night. Try it you’ll like it! Here’s a pic of our completed dish on Wednesday night:
The dish is definitely flavorful, and in case you are curious, the meat contains only 4 carbs! If you like you can tone down the heat, but Mowgli may be disappointed!
Finally, I’ll ask my readers, what is your favorite Disney character, and what food do you think they would like and or make?
Have a great weekend!