Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

It’s Christmas Cookie Time

In my family holiday season means, among other things, baking.  Lots of  cookies:  spritz, rolled, ginger bread men, meringues, Greek powdered sugar cookies; a savory carrot bread; poppy seed bread; and whatever dessert sounds good.  No fruit cake, though.

If I ever added up the butter and sugar calories in all of these baked delights, the number would be so staggering it would absolutely spoil the deliciousness.

I’ve been doing some research on lower calorie substitutions for the ingredients in baked goods.  Some I’ve tried and some I haven’t.

I’ve been decreasing the fat and sugar in the things I bake since this summer and in most cases have had a good deal of success.  I find that decreasing the amount of sugar by a third doesn’t even really affect the taste. I’m working up to decreasing by a half.  The true test will be the spritz cookies!

Some Baking Substitutions To Try

• Use ¼  cup of applesauce and ¼  cup of vegetable oil or butter instead of a half cup of oil or butter – OR — replace half the butter or oil with unsweetened applesauce, pureed pumpkin, or mashed bananas

• Use 2 egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute for one egg; use 3 egg whites and 1 egg yolk for 2 whole eggs

• Decrease the amount of sugar in your recipe by up to a half and add ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon, or cloves

• Substitute nonfat sweetened condensed milk for sweetened condensed milk

• Substitute evaporated skim milk for evaporated milk

• Instead of sour cream use nonfat or low fat sour cream; pureed low-fat cottage cheese; or low or nonfat Greek yogurt

• Substitute low or nonfat cream cheese for cream cheese

• Substitute non-fat, 1%, or 2% milk for whole milk and half and half for cream

• Substitute 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, chopped dried fruit, or chopped nuts for 1 cup of chocolate chips

• Swap 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon of oil or water for one ounce of baking chocolate

• For frosting use sliced fresh fruit with a dusting of powdered sugar; sweetened and flavored (vanilla, peppermint) nonfat cream cheese; or nonfat whipping cream

• Use whole wheat flour or ground flax for up to half of your recipe’s white flour. Regular whole wheat flour will make baked goods heavier and denser.  Try using white whole wheat four that is higher in fiber and nutrients than refined flour but is lighter than regular whole wheat flour.

In my last post, Are There Veggies In Your Veggie Burger, I talked about the ingredients in some commercial veggie burgers. A veggie burger patty can be made from any combination of vegetables, legumes, nuts, dairy products, mushrooms, soy, wheat, or eggs.  Many commercial veggie burgers are soy based.  Defatted soybean meal, is the  primary, low-cost source of protein for these burgers and for many prepackaged meals – as well as for animal feed.

Then There’s The Extras

Although most veggie burgers are fairly low in calories and in fat and are often thought of as a healthy alternative (which they may or may not be), don’t forget the extras — they add a ton of calories, not all of them healthy.

The add-ons include the bun the burger comes on, some cheese, more veggies (maybe grilled with oil), and the dressing.  Mayo adds a ton of calories — Hellman’s has 90 calories and 10g of fat (2 saturated) per tablespoon.  Flavored mayonnaise, pesto, chipotle and others, is still mayonnaise – and still racks up the calories and fat grams.  Don’t be fooled by “special” sauces, either.  They are usually fat based – after all a restaurant wants their veggie burger to be tasty and filling.

If it’s a pure vegetable burger you’re aiming for, try a Portobello mushroom as the patty as in the recipe below.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Here’s the Mayo Clinic’s recipe for Portobello Mushroom Burgers (Serves 4)

One mushroom burger (note these stats are for one burger – the recipe is for four — has  283 calories, 8g protein, 9g fat (1 saturated), 140 mg sodium, 46g carbs, 9g fiber, 8g protein.

Ingredients: 4 large portobello mushroom caps, 5 inches in diameter
 * 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
 * 1/2 cup water
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 minced garlic clove * 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) * 
2 tablespoons olive oil * 
4 whole-wheat buns, toasted
* 4 slices tomato
* 4 slices red onion
*2 bibb lettuce leaves

• Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth, remove their stems, put them in a glass dish, stem (gill) side up.

• Whisk the vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper and olive oil fpr the marinade and drizzle it over the mushrooms. Cover and marinate in the fridge for about an hour, turning the mushrooms once.

• Heat a grill or broiler. Lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray and position it 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

• Grill or broil the mushrooms on medium heat, turning often, until tender, about 5 minutes on each side, basting with the marinade to keep them from drying out.

• Put each mushroom on a bun and top with 1 tomato slice, 1 onion slice and 1/2 lettuce leaf. Serve immediately.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Here’s another recipe from allrecipes.com that is primarily vegetables.

Per burger (without extras):  198 calories, 3g fat, 607 mg sodium, 33.1g carbs, 11.2g protein

Ingredients: 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed  *  1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces  * 1/2 onion, cut into wedges  *  3 cloves garlic, peeled  *  1 egg  *   1 tablespoon chili powder  *   1 tablespoon cumin  *   1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce  *   1/2 cup bread crumbs

• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat or preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly oil tin foil or a baking sheet.

• Mash the black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.

• Finely chop the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in a food processor.  Stir into mashed beans.

• Mix together the egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce and stir into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide into four patties.

• If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Other Options

There are plenty of recipes for veggie burgers made with beans, lentils and chickpeas and with brown rice, bulgur, and faro, and other grains (as well as good quality bread crumbs) as binders.  Mushrooms are common because of their meaty flavor and bulk.  Use your favorite vegetable.  Be creative.  You can make wonderful veggie burgers with a high vegetable content, a high deliciousness quotient, and without non-plant additives and binders.

If you don’t want to go all veggie, think about perking up your beef or turkey burgers by adding veggies to them. It lightens up the calories and adds a nutrient punch.  The veggies can be roughly chopped, or, for the finicky – try pureeing them (not to liquid a consistency) and then adding them to burgers or meatloaf.

One of my sons played lacrosse in college.  At team barbecues they always had some portobellos to throw on the grill for the vegetarians on the team.  It’s as easy as tossing on hunks of meat.  Try it some time.  Enjoy.

It’s a banner year for tomatoes in the northeast and I have red ones — both large and small — pinkish ones that are sort of heart shaped, plums, green striped ones, and canary yellow ones. The voracious woodchucks and chipmunks (I watched a little Alvin wrestle a tomato off a plant on my deck, roll it across to the stairs, and  then snag it in his mouth like a toddler carrying a giant beach ball) are feasting to their hearts’ content and there is still a surplus.

An Experimental Mixture

Some unexpected company for a casual dinner gave me an opportunity to experiment, to use up some odds and ends in the fridge,  and to invade the tomato surplus.

Aside from my  tomato abundance, I had a big bowl of ripe peaches from the farmers market, lots of basil growing on the deck, and a hunk of feta cheese.

Do Things That Grow Together Go Together?

I had read somewhere that things that grow during the same growing season go together.  Now that may or may not be true, but why not try peaches and tomatoes together?

To go with a roasted chicken I picked up at the market (of course I know I could have grilled some cutlets, but sometimes a shortcut or two is a sanity saver), I made an absolutely delicious tomato, peach, feta and basil salad.

Tomato, Peach, Feta, And Basil Salad

I did not use any precise measurements although the chopped amounts of tomatoes and peaches looked about the same.

Ingredients:

• Equal amounts of tomatoes and ripe peaches
• Crumbled feta cheese to taste
• Fresh basil to taste
• Salt
• Balsamic vinegar

1.   Core and seed the tomatoes.

2.  Chop tomatoes into bite sized pieces salt them and let them drain

3.  Remove peach pits and chop into bite sized pieces about the same size as the tomatoes

4.  Make a chiffonade of basil (cut into thin strips)

5.  Mix everything together

6.  Add the crumbled feta

7.  Mix again

8.  Correct the salt and add balsamic vinegar if desired

9.  Serve at room temperature

10.Refrigerate any leftovers which are great the next day as a type of tomato/peach salsa on fish, chicken, sandwiches or anything else you can think of.

Finish Dinner With Blueberries

The perfect — and easy end to such a simple and delicious dinner was the blueberry buckle I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. I had blueberries from the farmers market, too, so I used those, bit I could have combined blueberries and peaches or other berries or stone fruit, too.

SocialDieter Tip:

Roasted chicken; tomato, peach, and feta salad; and blueberry buckle add up to a rather low calorie, low fat meal especially if you have the chicken without the skin, use fat free feta in the salad, and skim milk and decreased amounts of sugar and butter in the blueberry buckle recipe.  Delicious, nutritious, low in calories, and easy.

How much fun is it to sit on some porch steps or on a big rock and spit watermelon seeds. (I know, seedless watermelons not only exist, they are the most popular watermelon in the US.)  Maybe even have a contest.  Okay – so not everyone gets as much of a kick out of it as I do, but it has been fun since I was a kid.

Watermelon was – and still is – a treat.  It certainly finished off lots of camp meals and family picnics.  How great is sweet, juicy watermelon on a hot day?  What about the college special: watermelon infused with vodka – or when money was scarce, grain alcohol?  And, how pretty are those intricate carved watermelon baskets filled with watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew balls?  Labor intensive.  My mother was good at that.

A Melon With History

The first recorded watermelon harvest was in Egypt, nearly 5,000 years ago. Now you can find more than 1,200 varieties which are are grown in 96 countries.  Watermelon, 92% water and 6% sugar, is a cousin of cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash and is the most consumed melon in the US, followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.

Some Watermelon Trivia

• Because of its water content, watermelon is a volume food. It fills you up and quenches your thirst and is great for weight control.

• 1 wedge (about 1/16 of a melon, 286 g) has 86 calories, no fat, 22g carbs, 1g fiber, 2g protein.

• 10 watermelon balls (122g) have 37 calories, 0 fat, 9g carbs, 0g fiber, 1g protein

• 1 cup of diced watermelon (152g) has 46 calories, 0g fat, 11g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g protein

• Two cups of watermelon chunks will supply 25% of your daily vitamin A, 30% of your daily vitamin C, B6 (6%) of B6; 8% potassium, 4% phosphorus, and 8% magnesium as well as beta carotene and lycopene (red flesh melons).

• The inner rind is edible and has a bunch of hidden nutrients.  The outer rind, also edible, is sometimes used as a stir-fried or stewed vegetable or pickled condiment.

• When you buy a watermelon look for one that is firm, symmetrical, and free from bruises, cuts, or dents. It should be heavy for its size and its underside should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground while it ripened in the sun.

• Whole melons will keep for 7 to 10 days at room temperature but lose flavor and texture if they’re stored too long. They’ll keep for three to four days in the fridge after they’re cut.

SocialDieter Tip:

I love the combination of sweet and salty – with a sweet/sour dressing.  Here’s a recipe for a great watermelon, feta, and greens salad that is low in calories and fat.

Mediterranean Watermelon Salad

Ingredients: (adapted from watermelon.org)

• 6 cups torn mixed salad greens

• 3 cups cubed seeded watermelon

• 1/2 cup sliced red onion

• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1/2 cup watermelon vinaigrette

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Mint sprigs

Watermelon Vinaigrette:

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1/4 cup pureed watermelon (puree chunks in a food processor)

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

Make vinaigrette.  Whisk together all ingredients; store in refrigerator; shake well before using. Makes about 1/2 cup.

In large bowl, mix all salad ingredients except vinaigrette, pepper, and mint. Just before serving, toss salad mixture with vinaigrette. Garnish with pepper and mint sprigs.

Makes 6 servings. About 75 calories per serving.

The Magical, Wonderful Blueberry

It is peak blueberry season in the Northeast and I’m ecstatic.  I love blueberries – especially the kind that I’ve been getting at my local farmers’ market:  big, sweet, and almost crunchy when you first bite into them.  That said, I also love wild blueberries – tiny, very dark blue, and sweet – the kind I eat on my visits to Maine.

A Native North American Fruit

The blueberry is a native American species. When the Pilgrims established a settlement at Plymouth In the winter of 1620, their neighbors, the Wampanoag Indians, taught them new skills that helped their survival –  planting corn and using native plants, like blueberries, to supplement their food supply. The colonists learned to gather the berries, dry them in the sun, and store them for winter. Blueberries eventually became an important food that was preserved and canned. A blueberry beverage was a staple for Civil War Soldiers.

A Nutritional Superstar

A one cup serving of blueberries has about 80 calories and virtually no fat.  Blueberries rank first in antioxidant activity when compared to forty other common fruits and vegetables. Concord grape juice ranks second with about two thirds of blueberries’ antioxidant activity followed by strawberries, kale, and spinach.

Antioxidants help neutralize harmful byproducts called “free radicals” that can be precursors of cancer and other age related diseases.  Anthocyanins (the pigment that makes blueberries blue) are thought to be the reason for this health benefit.

Blueberry Buckle:  Not A Crisp, Betty, Or Cobbler!

I was looking for something easy to make that would taste good, not have an overwhelming calorie/fat count, and appeal to both adults and children.  Out came my mini-book:  How To Make Simple Fruit Desserts from the Cook’s Illustrated Library.  The crisps, betties, and cobblers all sounded great but mostly had more steps than I wanted to take.  I hit the buckle description – and it’s minimal steps — on page 68 of the 96 page book.

What Is A Buckle?

Hint:  it doesn’t secure what goes around your waist, but can cause an increase in its circumference.  According to the “buckle” chapter, traditional buckles are just yellow cake batter with fruit folded in and streusel sprinkled on top.  This recipe uses more fruit, less batter, and no streusel.  The butter is not part of the batter, but melted in the pan while the oven preheats.  The batter is added and the butter surfaces to form a thin, crisp top.

I adjusted the recipe to my liking:  less butter and sugar, more fruit, and some cinnamon and ginger added to the batter because I like those flavors with blueberries.  The decreased fat and sugar also decreases the calories.  You could try using brown sugar Splenda mix to cut down the calories even more.  I chose not to do that because I was serving children as well as adults and prefer not to offer kids artificially sweetened foods.  Although I violated the rules of precise measurement that bakers often adhere to, the dessert was a huge success with very little effort.  Really, how can you mess up blueberries? Even a self-professed blueberry hating 4 year old decided that her dessert wasn’t really blueberries anymore and cleaned her plate!

The Buckle Recipe:

The master recipe:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup milk

• 2 cups sliced stone fruits or berries

Master Instructions:

• Put oven rack in lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

• Put butter (I used ¼ less) in 8 inch square or 9 inch round pan and set in oven to melt.

• Whisk flour, ¾ cup sugar (I used ¼ less), baking powder, and salt in bowl.  Add milk and whisk until just incorporated.

• When butter is melted, remove pan and pour batter into it without stirring it into the butter.  Put fruit over batter (I used ¼ more fruit) and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar (I didn’t do this).

• Bake until batter turns golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes.

• Serve warm.

SocialDieter Tip:

A blueberry buckle is an absolutely delicious one cooking bowl dessert with an acceptable calorie count and a high “good-for-you” dessert value.

You could really beef it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Then again you could also be totally virtuous and eat just a plain bowl of berries.  Great nutrition  — but then the 4 year old self-professed blueberry hater wouldn’t have had dessert plus seconds!