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amy April 7th, 2007

I tried a new recipe tonight that turned out really well: Sean’s Falafel and Cucumber Sauce from All Recipes. My husband and I gave it 4 out of 5 starts, so I will definitely be adding it to my recipe notebook.

I pan fried the falafel patties in about 2 Tablespoons of oil instead of deep frying them to reduce the amount of fat, and used Italian seasoned bread crumbs because that’s what I had on hand. I think the next time I will process the garbanzo beans in the foot processor, as mashing them by hand ended up being quite difficult.

I served these with pita bread, Sabra’s roasted garlic hummus, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, and Near East pine nut couscous. I think I’ll have the leftovers as a salad and use the cucumber dill sauce as dressing.

Sean’s Falafel and Cucumber Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• oil for frying
• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don’t use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
2. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.
4. In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

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amy April 5th, 2007

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight, Fast and Friendly Meatballs from All Recipes. I served them over Barilla plus rotini topped with turkey gravy (made from a package of gravy mix that has been lurking in our cupboards since Thanksgiving). They were nothing fancy, but good for a quick weeknight meal and relatively healthy since they are made with ground turkey. I’ll definitely be making these again.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with the olive oil, and place it in the oven while preheating.
In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, and bread crumbs using your hands. Using an ice cream scoop if possible, form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs. Place about 1 inch apart in the hot baking dish. Press down to flatten the bottom just slightly.
Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn them over, and continue baking for about 5 more minutes, or until somewhat crispy on the outside. Serve with pasta and sauce or however you’d like. (I served with noodles and turkey gravy).

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amy April 4th, 2007

Tonight’s dinner was one of my old standbys, tacos with corn, chips and guacamole. I usually make black beans instead of the chips and guac, but we were out of canned black beans and I had avocados in the house because they were on sale when I went grocery shopping the other day. My guacamole recipe is pretty traditional but my taco recipe is a bit different. My 14 month old is a fan of both.

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Beef and Potato TacosThe original idea came from the “Half the Beef Tacos” recipe in The Omega Diet book, but I have changed the recipe quite a bit by adding the onions and pepper and using taco seasoning instead of individual spices. My husband, who is a big meat eater, actual prefers these to traditional tacos.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 large potato, peeled and shredded
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced bell peppers
1 packet taco seasoning
water

Directions
Brown the ground beef in a large frying pan, then drain and set aside. Heat the pan over medium high heat, then add the oil and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the shredded potatoes in the pan, covering the entire bottom of the pan in an even layer. Sprinkle the onions and peppers over the potatoes. Cook without stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until the potatoes are browned, then flip the potato patty over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes on the other side. Break up the potatoes with a spatula, then add the beef. Add the taco seasoning and however much water the packet calls for (mine called for 2/3 of a cup), then stir to combine. Lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the taco filling is no longer watery. Serve with your favorite taco fixings (I like soft flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, garlic salsa, and light sour cream).

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GuacamoleReal guacamole does not have sour cream in it. You can tell if an avocado is ripe by squeezing it slightly. It should give a little but still feel firm, if it is too soft it will be brown inside.

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup diced onion
1 small tomato, diced
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
juice from one half of a lime
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot to taste

Directions
Cut the avocados in half length wise around the pit. Twist the avocado halves slightly while pulling them apart. Remove the pit and scoop out the flesh into a medium sized bowl. Mash the avocado with a potato masher or large fork. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine. Leave the avocado pits in the guacamole to help keep it from browning and eat as soon as possible.

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amy March 25th, 2007

Eating extra vegetables the last two weeks hasn’t been difficult for me. I generally like veggies, so I haven’t been eating them just for the sake of eating them. The problem, however, is that my husband is a bit pickier about the kinds of veggies he will eat. I generally cook stuff that he likes so that he can eat healthier too, but I’m getting a bit tired of broccoli, salad, corn, asparagus, onions and peppers, and the same old techniques I have always used to cook them. My goal for this week is to try some different vegetable recipes to make things more interesting. Maybe Jason will even learn to like some different veggies.

Yesterday I picked up two bunches of asparagus on sale for $1 a pound, so I tried a new method of preparing them tonight. Normally I steam asparagus and add some garlic and herb seasoning, salt and pepper. It’s ok, but a bit boring. Tonight I roasted it instead.  I definitely liked the roasted asparagus much more than my usual steamed, and Jason liked it as well. James (my son) didn’t eat a lot of it, but he has been getting picky about veggies recently. Here’s the recipe:

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

2 bunches of asparagus, washed and stems trimmed

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spread asparagus out on a baking sheet. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and toss to coat, then spread it out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 10 - 12 minutes until parts of the asparagus begin to get slightly browned and it is tender but not mushy.

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amy March 20th, 2007

The blog Sweetnicks - Food and Life had a great article about keeping your pantry well stocked with staples that allow you to have meals on hand. The ability to prepare simple, healthy meals can be a key tool for weight loss. It is much easier to say “no” to the drive-through when you know you can go home and make a delicious, no-fuss “pantry” meal.

Here are Cate’s tips for keeping a well-stocked kitchen:

1. Put together a list of pantry essentials and make sure to keep them stocked at all times. See below for list examples, and custoimize it so it suits your own likes, dislikes, and dietary restrictions. It’s a starting point, but a good one.

2. As soon as you use something up, put it on your grocery list right away so you won’t be caught without it.

3. If there are favorite recipes that are heavy in your rotation, when you buy the ingredients, buy multiples; that way you’ll always have what you need on hand to make it a few times. If a tried-and-true recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoes, for example, when I buy it, I’ll buy three or four; that way, I’m always ready.

4. If an ingredient is on sale, stock up and take advantage of the low pricing. Don’t just buy one. Skim your local grocery store circulars weekly and stock up on pantry essentials when they go on sale. Typically, you can buy 2 or more of the item at the sale price; take advantage of that.

She also gives a comprehensive list of Rachel Ray’s “Go-to Basics You Should Keep On Hand.”

I love this article because it is an excellent explanation of practices I have been following for a long time. I could have written these tips myself (in fact I wish I would have thought of it first!) I would make a list here of all of the items I try to keep stocked but it would be quite lengthy. Instead, I’ll share a couple of my own “pantry” recipes that I go to when I need a quick and healthy meal.

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Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 Tablespoons honey

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish. Place chicken breasts in baking dish. In a small bowl, mix both mustards and honey. (Microwave for a few seconds if necessary to melt the honey for easier mixing.) Brush the honey mustard mixture over the chicken breasts. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

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Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients
2 pounds red potatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix OR dry italian dressing mix
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Wash potatoes and cut into 1 inch dice. Place potatoes in baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with dressing mix. Stir until the potatoes are coated with oil and seasoning. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper.

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amy March 16th, 2007

My favorite source for recipes for many years now has been allrecipes.com. At least three quarters of the recipes I cook come from there. They have a few recipes that are available to subscribers only, but at least 9 out of 10 (over 40,000 of their recipes) are free, and I have gotten numerous great recipes without ever subscribing. My favorite feature is their rating and review system. Members can rate recipes from 1-5 stars, and these ratings are displayed on the search results. When a recipe has been reviewed by 50+ people and has an average rating of 4.5 or better, you can be almost certain that it is a good recipe. The member reviews are very helpful and usually offer good suggestions on how to change the base recipe to make it healthier or tastier.

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amy March 15th, 2007

When I first started trying to lose weight, I only cooked recipes that were labeled as “light,” “healthy” or “diet.” There are some decent diet cook books and recipe websites out there, but there are also a lot of ones that seem to think “healthy” has to equal “bland.”

I’ve since learned that you don’t have to cook “diet food” to eat healthy. There are endless “regular” recipes out there that either already have reasonably low Calorie and fat counts, or they can be easily adjusted to be healthy and still taste great. In fact, I have found that I can adapt nearly every “regular” recipe to a healthy lifestyle with very good results, aside from foods where the central ingredients are high Calorie or high fat. Cheesecake and alfredo sauce are examples of foods that you just shouldn’t mess with by trying to make them light!

Here are some of types of changes or substitutions you can easily make in recipes to lower fat and Calories or add nutritional value:

• Replace full fat dairy (milk, condensed milk, sour cream, cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.) with light or fat free.

• Use healthy oils (such as olive, canola, safflower, walnut, sesame, peanut, sunflower) instead of butter, margarine, lard, shortening, or oil with less nutritional benefits like vegetable or coconut.

• Add more low energy-dense ingredients like vegetables, fruit, whole grains and lean meats. Adding more low-Calorie foods will reduce the overall Calorie count of the recipe.

• Use less high energy-dense foods than the recipe calls for. Try reducing the amount of oil, nuts, cheese, sugar, high-fat meats, or high fat dairy by half.

• Substitute a more flavorful ingredient and use less to maintain taste while still reducing Calories. Use parmesan, feta, sharp cheddar, or a smoked cheese instead of milder varieties like mozzarella, mild cheddar, or monterey jack. Use dried cranberries instead of raisins in baked goods. Use flavorful kalamata olives instead of black. Use sesame oil instead of peanut in Asian-inspired dishes. Use toasted nuts instead of raw nuts.

• Substitute whole grains. Use brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, whole wheat flour, whole wheat couscous, barley, or corn tortillas. This adds fiber and other essential nutrients, and the added bulk means that a smaller serving will be more filling.

• Use leaner cuts of meat. Use chicken breasts instead of dark meat. Use lean beef (look for the words loin, strip, and round) instead of fattier cuts. Use ground meet that is 10% fat or less, and drain it well after browning (you can also rinse it with water to remove even more fat). Trim all visible fat from meat and remove the skin from poultry.

Don’t be afraid to modify recipes to make them healthier or fit better with your cooking style or you or your family’s tastes. Try to view recipes “guidelines” or as a source for ideas rather than being set-in-stone. Get creative! Not only can you come up with some recipes that are both healthy and tasty, but cooking is much more fun if you add your own twist.

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