Let’s cook something healthy…
For many years I’ve made trips to the local health food store, taking with me a short list. On my regular shopping trips to the local supermarket, I tried to keep in mind the “dirty dozen” and pick up those items from the organic section.
But it’s only been in the last three years that I’ve made a
consistent effort to eat clean most days. I can’t say every day, because I do
eat out, at least once a week. But organic and whole foods are now included on
my shopping lists in most categories, including dairy, meat and produce. As for
the price of organics, I’ve found my total food bill evens out when junk and
processed foods are left off the list.
When I look back at the early entries on my Lose It app, I’m
somewhat amazed at some of the food I see there. Gradually, I’ve eliminated
some food and added others.
In my quest to lower sodium and sugar from my daily diet, I've expanded my cooking and baking skills to include homemade versions of some of
my favorite foods. Just about anything made at home will be lower in sodium and
sugar and will taste much better.
With a few exceptions, all my treats have to be made at
home, or I just don’t eat them. I don’t like weird substitutes, but I’ve
learned to tweak recipes for sweets to make them "less unhealthy."
Below are some of my favorites.
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For the past 10 years, a yogurt and granola parfait has been my breakfast for four or five mornings a week. It really is a power breakfast. This breakfast will take me from around 7 a.m. to about 2 p.m. without any hunger pangs. It really is as filling as a breakfast buffet meal.
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Parfait power breakfast
For the past 10 years, a yogurt and granola parfait has been my breakfast for four or five mornings a week. It really is a power breakfast. This breakfast will take me from around 7 a.m. to about 2 p.m. without any hunger pangs. It really is as filling as a breakfast buffet meal.
In addition to organic plain whole milk yogurt and homemade granola, the parfait includes blueberries, almonds and honey. Loaded with nutrients, this breakfast also contains about 40 percent of daily calcium requirements. This is not a low calorie breakfast, but on the days I have this breakfast, I usually don't eat lunch and just have a snack in the afternoon and an early supper.
Eating yogurt has been an aquired taste for me, but now I can eat the plain yogurt unsweetened. I usually add about a tablespoon of honey just for the health benefits of honey. In the winter I use frozen blueberries, but in the summer I add fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries or a mixture of whatever I have on hand.
A container of Stonyfield whole milk yogurt has four servings, and I make enough granola for four servings. I make a very simple and somewhat plain granola, adding only unsweetened flaked coconut.
Granola
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups rolled oats (not the 1-minute or quick cooking)
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
Melt coconut in a glass baking dish. (8x8 or 7x11) Pour oats into the dish and blend with the oil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the coconut. Return to the oven for about three minutes or until coconut just starts to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool. Pour into a jar and store. Use within a week. Makes four servings.
For the parfait, I start with the fruit on the bottom and layer next with yogurt and then the granola, followed by the honey and topped with almonds. Oh, and I don't usually put mine in a parfait dish. It looks prettier served in a parfait dish, but I have a favorite bowl with a handle that I prefer to use.
Nutrient info for granola: 1 serving, 200 calories; total fat, 11 g; saturated fat, 8 g; cholesterol, 0; sodium, 2 mg; total carbs, 23.2 g; fiber, 4 g; sugar, 1.2 g; protein, 4.4 g.
The parfait, including granola, yogurt, almonds, fruit and honey, has around 550 calories.
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Lentils make a hearty soup
A few weeks into my weight-loss journey, I came across a
recipe for Lentil Soup. I liked all the ingredients that went into the soup,
but I had never eaten lentils and didn’t know if I liked them. I decided to buy
some lentils and make half the recipe to see if I liked them.
I love this soup. It’s a very hardy soup and will fill you
up. It’s very inclusive and only needs bread to serve with it. I like to serve
it with Ezekiel Bread, a commercial bread found in frozen foods in organics.
Unless you have a large family, there will be leftovers. This recipe makes a
lot of soup, and the servings are generous.
If you don’t want to eat soup for several days, freeze the
leftovers. It’s so nice to go to the freezer for a container of this soup on
cold nights when you want something nice and hot but don’t feel like cooking. I
love to cook most days, but not every day. It smells just as good heating up as
it does cooking.
Note: Lentils do not need to be soaked before cooking, but
they do need to be sorted and rinsed.
Use paper towels or a clean kitchen towel to arrange the lentils and
pick out and discard any that are shriveled and broken, along with any stones
or debris. Rinse the sorted lentils under cold running water.
Lentil Soup
¼ cup olive oil
3 or 4 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basal
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups water
1 cup spinach (I use frozen chopped spinach. It’s added at
the end of cooking, so adjust amount to what you want.)
2 tablespoons vinegar ( I use apple cider vinegar.)
Salt and pepper to taste.
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions,
carrots and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic,
oregano and basil and cook for two minutes.Stir in lentils and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.
Add spinach and cook until it is
thoroughly heated. (I thaw frozen spinach and absorb liquid with paper towel
before adding to soup.) Stir in vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. I add a ½ teaspoon
salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Makes 8 servings.
Nutrition info: 197 calories; total fat, 7.1 g; saturated
fat, 1 g; cholesterol, 0mg; sodium,
365.9 mg; total carbs, 32.4 g; fiber, 13.3 g; sugar, 5.1 g; protein, 12 g.
Note: Nutrition info was computed on Lose It app.
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Gingerbread pancakes are a treat to the senses
On a cold winter morning, I drove past a local restaurant and noticed in sign in front of the building, advertising gingerbread pancakes.
Well, I love taste and smell gingerbread
but had never had gingerbread pancakes. In fact, I had never heard of them and
wondered if the sign had been neglected and left up from the holidays.
Gingerbread just goes with the holidays…doesn’t it?
Well, the holidays were over at that time, but I was intrigued with the idea of gingerbread pancakes. Soon after, I
found a recipe for gingerbread pancakes,tweaked it a little bit, and the results were wonderful.
I was into the fourth month of my weight-loss journey when I
started making these. And I made them all through the first year. They became
my breakfast treat twice a month. These gingerbread pancakes are a treat to the senses
I use Hodgson Mill Graham Whole Wheat Flour and love the
subtle graham flavor added to the spices. At first, I was a little leery about cooking the pancakes in butter. I always cooked regular and buckwheat pancakes in coconut oil. But I stuck with the butter, and they brown nicely without burning.
Gingerbread Pancakes
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses (If I have them on hand, but I have
left them out.)
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
¾ cup water
Note: Before starting pancakes, warm enough organic maple
syrup desired for pancakes. I use ¼ cup syrup per serving of pancakes. Two
pancakes are a serving. Recipe makes 8 pancakes. Batter can be stored in refrigerator
and used the next day. I have not refrigerated the batter past two days.
Directions:
Melt 4 tablespoons butter. In a large bowl, whisk together
flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. In
another bowl, whisk together brown sugar, molasses, 2 tablespoons melted butter
and the water. Add the brown sugar mixture to the flour mixture and stir until
just blended. It may be a little lumpy.
Heat a large frying on medium until it is hot enough for a
drop of water to sizzle. Pour a small amount of the remaining melted butter
into the pan. For each pancake, ladle about ¼ cup batter into the pan and
reduce heat to medium low. Cook until small bubble appear and edges look dry,
about 3 or 4 minutes. With a turner, lift the pancake to see if underside is
brown. Carefully turn pancake over and continue cooking for about a minute
longer or until underside is lightly brown. Transfer to an oven-proof platter
to keep warm in 250 degree oven., while remaining pancakes cook. Repeat with
remaining batter and butter.
Nutrition info: 1 serving (two pancakes) 282 calories;
total fat, 11.8 g; saturated fat, 6.2 g; cholesterol, 115.4; sodium, 794.5;
total carbs, 32.6; fiber, 2.4 g; sugars, 6.5 g; protein, 9.2 g.
Organic maple syrup: 3 tablespoons per serving 158 calories;
total fat, 0g; saturated fat, 0g; sodium, 3.8mg; total carbs, 39.8; fiber;
sugar, 35.2; protein, 0g.
I like to sprinkle a few almonds over my pancakes.
Each almond: 7 calories; total fat, 0.6g; saturated fat, 0;
cholesterol, 0g; sodium, 0g; total carbs, 0.3g; fiber, 0.1g; sugars, 0g;
protein, 0.3g.
~~~
Baked chicken with surprising flavor
Don't let the simplicity of this recipe mislead you into thinking it is lacking in flavor. I've been baking chicken with this short list of ingredients for a long time, and it's a favorite with my family and my children's friends.
Yes, it only takes butter, salt and pepper to make this flavorful entree that will pair well with just about any sides you like or have on hand.
When I first started making this dish, I used chicken breasts and would split them for those wanting a smaller portion. But now that I'm aware of the nutritional numbers, I split the breasts before baking them. Who needs 8-12 ounces of chicken?
Another way to control portions is to buy chicken breasts already cut into strips. I've now gone from just splitting the breasts to cutting them into strips. This comes in handy also if you are prone to having unexpected dinner guests. Both my children lived at home during undergrad school and frequently invited friends over for dinner. Many times, I would get maybe a half hour notice to set an extra plate.
It was always evident from the surprised looks on these teenagers' faces that this chicken's rich flavor did not match its simple appearance. I've cooked a lot of meals shared with my children's friends, but this dish has received the most compliments.
If cooking with butter is a concern, take a look at the nutrition info for this recipe and compare it with other chicken dishes. I use 3 tablespoons butter for one to one and one-half pounds chicken and increase it to 4 tablespoons for 1 1/2- 2 pounds chicken. I don't increase the salt for an additional 1/2 pound of chicken but do sprinke on a little more pepper.
1-1/2 lbs. chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Melt butter in 11x8 baking dish. Add salt and pepper to butter and blend. Place chicken in dish and dredge both sides in butter mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Use a 9x13 baking dish for 1 1/2-2 pounds chicken and increase baking time to 60 minutes.
Nutrition info: 4-ounce serving 209 calories; fat, 9.2 g; saturated fat, 4.7 g; cholesterol, 96.9 mg; sodium, 265.9 mg; total carbs, 0; fiber, 0; sugars, 0; protein, 29.9 g.
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