Cooking Dinner

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad 

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fig vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Remaining ingredients:

• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Cooking spray

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• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion

Preparation

1. 1. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gradually add oil, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Cover and chill.
2. 2. Combine broth, rice, and butter in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Remove rice mixture from heat; cool.
3. 3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 8 minutes on each side or until done. Cool; cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
4. 4. Combine cooked rice, chicken, celery, carrots, cranberries, almonds, and red onion in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill.

Ashley Bone, Spring Hill, Tennessee, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2009 

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 352
• Fat: 10.3g
• Saturated fat: 2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 5g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.5g
• Protein: 25g
• Carbohydrate: 40.6g
• Fiber: 4g
• Cholesterol: 49mg
• Iron: 1.6mg
• Sodium: 357mg
• Calcium: 42mg

You Can Still Eat Appetizers!!!

I have made this numerous times for gatherings - it is a hit!

Tomato-Baby Bell Pepper Tartlets

Ingredients

Top of Form

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 8 grape tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 3 baby bell peppers, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rings
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2. Unfold dough; place on a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll gently into a 10 x 9–inch rectangle. Cut dough into 20 (2 1/4 x 2–inch) rectangles. Score each rectangle about 1/8-inch from edge. Prick each dough piece liberally with a fork. Arrange dough pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; chill 10 minutes.
3. 3. Combine cheese, mayonnaise, and garlic, stirring well. Spread a scant 1/2 teaspoon cheese mixture over each dough piece. Top each tartlet with about 2 tomato slices and 2 bell pepper rings. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until dough is lightly browned. Remove from oven, and sprinkle evenly with thyme.
4. Wine Match: A smooth, light-tannin red like Michele Chiarlo, Barbera d'Asti “Le Orme,” Italy ($14) has vibrant fruit and tangy acidity that easily handles the rich ­Parmigiano-Reggiano and allows the sweet tomatoes and peppers to shine. —Scott Jones

Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light
DECEMBER 2011 

Nutritional Information Amount per serving    

• Calories: 162
• Fat: 11.1g
• Saturated fat: 1.8g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.9g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 5.8g
• Protein: 3.1g
• Carbohydrate: 12.4g
• Fiber: 0.7g
• Cholesterol: 2mg
• Iron: 0.8mg
• Sodium: 126mg
• Calcium: 39mg

Cook Healthier!!!

I love to keep fresh baked goodies around the house for friends, family, and myself - I have a huge sweet tooth!!  Looking at different recipes made me realize how unhealthy most baked goods are.  I am a firm believer in moderation (a couple of cookies a week is not going to kill you!), but also realize how much healthier baked goods could be with a few simple substitutions. 

 A couple examples:

• If a recipe calls for shortening, real butter, or oil, I like to substitute using applesauce or soft margarine - it's a great way to cut down fat. 
• I also use less sugar and use whole wheat flour instead of white, or use a mixture (1/2 white flour 1/2 whole wheat flour). 

Another great tool - my mother in law recently sent me a subscription to Cooking Light - I've found it to be a a great magazine and would recommend it to others.  It's got a ton of great recipes and gives good direction on how to cook healthier. 

You can play with certain recipes and see what works best for you! Health conscience recipes can still taste great - even my husband (who is a pretty picky eater) enjoys the healthier items we've been cooking! Often the substituted items go unnoticed, or even make the recipe better - apple sauce keeps baked goods really moist!

 

Here's a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies with healthy substitutions:

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened   (substitute w/ 1 cup applesauce)

1 cup white sugar (use 3/4 cup white sugar)

1 cup brown sugar (use 3/4 cup brown sugar)

2eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose four (use 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups all purpose flour)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp hot water

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts  

 

  Nutritional Information per cookie :          298 calories, 15.6g of fat,  cholesterol 38 mg

  Nutritional Information w/ Substitutions:   210 calories, 5.8 g of fat, cholesterol 15.4 mg

 

***With the substitutions you save yourself 88 calories, 9.8g of fat, and 22.6 mg of cholesterol!!!!!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. 

Here are some healthy substitutions according to the American Heart Association: 

When recipe calls for .. .	Use this instead  …
Whole milk (1 cup)	1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk, plus one tablespoon of liquid vegetable oil
Heavy cream (1 cup)	1 cup evaporated skim milk or 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup plain low-fat unsalted cottage cheese
Sour cream	Low-fat unsalted cottage cheese plus low-fat or fat-free yogurt; or just use fat-free sour cream
Cream cheese	4 tablespoons soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) blended with 1 cup dry, unsalted low-fat cottage cheese; add a small amount of fat-free milk if needed
Butter (1 tablespoon)	1 tablespoon soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) or 3/4 tablespoon liquid vegetable oil
Egg (1)	2 egg whites; or choose a commercially made, cholesterol-free egg substitute (1/4 cup)
Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce)	3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or soft margarine; since carob is sweeter than cocoa, reduce the sugar in the recipe by 25% http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

You Can Still Eat Out!!

We are all busy in our day to day lives, and sometimes do not have time to cook dinner or pack a healthy lunch.  Life is full of unexpected twists and turns - you go with the flow and you grab something quick to eat.  One of my favorite things to do is enjoying a nice meal out to eat with my husband, it’s way for me to wind down and have some fun!

 

You can still enjoy eating out and make the right decisions to eat healthy, it’s all about making the right choices.  Do not be afraid to ask your server to substitute something on the menu.  If your grilled chicken sandwich comes with fries ask if you can have the vegetable of the day instead.  If your sandwich comes with a dressing, get it on the side.  These small modifications are not only heart healthy but will save you calories as well. 

Additionally, more and more restaurants are adding nutrition facts on the menu or have a nutrition pamphlet available, allowing you to read EXACTLY what is in your food!  If you are able to obtain nutrition facts, look for foods low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates.  Another great thing restaurants are starting to do is to have a particular page or column dedicated to healthier food options, look for titles like "On the Healthier Side" or "Under 500 Calories."  Always choose from these items, sometimes an item may "sound healthy" but restaurants are known to add a ton of fat to their foods!!


Here are some surprising restaurant items that shocked me:
 

Place	Item	Fat	Calories
Panera	Frontega Chicken on Focaccia	38g	860
Panera	Fuji Apple Chicken	34g	560
On the Border	Sizzling Fajita Chicken Salad w/ ranch	71g	940
Applebee’s	Bruschetta Chicken Salad	66g	1110
Applebee’s	Grilled Shrimp n' Spinach Salad	65g	960

After reading this I hope you are very weary as to what you order.  Remember a salad or chicken sandwich is not always healthy.  These items seem healthy but you NEVER know what the restaurant is adding to your food.  

Here are some healthy food substitutions according to the American Heart Association:

Instead of…	Try …
Cream-based soups	Broth-based soups with lots of vegetables
Quiche and salad	Soup and salad
Buffalo chicken wings	Peel-and-eat shrimp
Bread, muffins, croissants	Melba toast, pita bread, whole-grain rolls
Fried chicken sandwich	Grilled chicken sandwich
Chicken fried steak	Veggie burger
French fries	Baked potato, brown rice, steamed vegetables
Potatoes and gravy	Potatoes without gravy, baked potato
Creamy coleslaw	Sautéed vegetables, steamed vegetables or tossed salad
Hot fudge sundae or ice cream Danish Jumbo cheeseburgers Fried chicken Fried chicken pieces French fries	Nonfat yogurt, sherbet or fruit ice Small Bagel Grilled chicken sandwiches, sliced meat sandwiches or even a regular hamburger on a bun with lettuce, tomato and onion Grilled chicken and a side salad Grilled chicken sandwich Baked potato with vegetables and/or low-fat or fat-free sour cream or margarine on the side http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/