The Sweet Selector (Fitting sugar guidelines into recipes)

As manager of a "Healthy Cafe" at a major medical center, I planned a menu where all homemade desserts had less than 12 grams of added sugar.  The American Heart Association recommends that women aim for no more than 24 grams of added sugar a day.  The nutrition analysis software program I used to enter recipes detailed grams of sucrose per serving.

After retirement, preparing most of my foods at home, I adjust my dessert recipes so that each serving has approximately 2 teaspoons of added sugar per serving.  In this recipe for Hot Cocoa Souffle, I predetermined my total sugar amount as 12 teaspoons (6 servings X 2 teaspoons) or 4 Tablespoons.   

The original recipe recommends dusting the baking dish with sugar.  I eliminated that step.  Sugar is in the dry cocoa mix and added to the stiffened egg whites.  I added 1 Tablespoon of sugar to the egg whites and 3 Tablespoons to the cocoa mix.

Original recipe = 13 Tablespoon sugar

My recipe = 4 Tablespoon sugar

I portioned my souffles into 6 individual au gratin dishes, rather than 1 large souffle dish.

The baked products produced a dip in the centers for a small scoop of ice cream-a 2 Tablespoon scoop.

Original recipe = 4 cups ice cream

My recipe = 3/4 cup ice cream

Hot Cocoa Souffle with Vanilla Ice Cream

(Serves 6)

Mix 3 tablespoons sugar, cocoa and flour in a bowl.

3 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not the Dutch-processed kind)

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

 

Melt buttery spread in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in dry cocoa mix.  

1/4 cup vegan buttery spread

Add the milk to the saucepan.  Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Remove from heat.

1 cup skim milk

In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg yolks until combined.  Gradually stir thick cocoa-milk mixture into beaten egg yolks.

4 egg yolks

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the 1 tablespoon sugar, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.  

4 egg whites

1 tablespoon sugar

Fold 1 cup of the beaten egg whites into egg yolk mixture.  Fold egg yolk mixture into the remaining beaten egg whites.

Divide batter into individual souffle dishes (greased with olive-oil spray).

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 F.  Serve each with 2 Tablespoon ice cream.

Refrigerated other souffle until ready to eat.  When ready to eat, microwave for 30 seconds, then add the ice cream. 

It's important to note that the sugar in some recipes cannot be reduced to 2 teaspoons per serving.  Caramelized and iced confections require more sugar.  I'll choose to eat a small serving on occasion when I'm eating out-rather than have a whole dessert in my home. On the weekend, my spouse and I purchased one piece of iced cake at a local restaurant.  The piece was high and big-we shared half of it in the restaurant and brought the other half home to enjoy the next day.  1 restaurant serving = 4 senior citizen servings.

Have a warm and cozy day! 

   

    

In Rhythm of the Meal Plan

The pesto salmon-lentil-rice platter was inspired by Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine,in a section called "Happy Eats".  The plate design fits the basic protein-grain-vegetable plan with bonus good fats, whole grains, sustainable seafood, heirloom rice and more.  We sat at the bar and peeled a mango to finish our meal.

Forbidden Rice & Red Lentils

(Serves 2)

Cook rice in simmering water (covered) until tender, approximately 1 hour.  Drain and rinse with cold water.
1/4 cup forbidden rice

Cook lentils in simmering water (covered) until tender, approximately 25 minutes.
1/4 cup red lentils
Drain excess water, leaving a tiny amount in the pan.
Stir in rice. 
Add lemon juice and turmeric.  Heat for 10 minutes.
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh grated turmeric

Arugula Pesto

(Serves 2)

Grind almonds, garlic, leaves and oil in a mini food processor.
2 tablespoon ground almonds
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 basil leaves
1 cup arugula leaves
2 teaspoon olive oil

Platter Assembly    

Bake salmon at 325 F. for 15 minutes.  I used my toaster oven. 
Spread pesto over top of salmon.
Bake 5 more minutes.

Serve salmon over forbidden rice with lentils.    

Rule #1:  Enjoy the meal and the company of your loved ones!
 

 

Kibbi, Scoops & Curry

The recipes were inspired by BonAppetit's Passage to India party guide.  Since our party is for two-and I pack my ground beef in 4 ounce freezer bags-I opted to add bulgur wheat with the 1 egg spice mix to soak up the moisture. The chapatis-the flatbreads-have no leavening, yet work as the "scoops" for the meatballs and delicious sauce.   (I did not add cayenne to my sauce)

Kibbi

(Serves 3)

Mix together meat, egg, spices and bulgur.  Portion into 1 tablespoon balls.  Bake at 400 F. on a parchment lined tray for 20 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165 F.  Drain on paper towels.
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon ginger, fresh, grated
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/8 teaspoon coriander
Dash cumin
4 ounce ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoon bulgur

Curry Sauce

(Serves 3)

Saute shallots, garlic and ginger in olive oil for 3 minutes.  Add spices and saute 1 minute.
1/4 cup shallots, diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon peppercorns

Stir in tomatoes, water and juice.  Add bay leaf.  Simmer for 20 minutes, covered, on stove-top.  Remove bay leaf.  Blend (take care to prevent burns). Add meatballs and heat to serve.
1/2 cup diced tomatoes, without salt
1 bay leaf
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup water

Chapatis

(Serves 5)

In a mixing bowl with dough hook in place.  Mix flours and salt.  Heat water and yogurt to 125 F.  Beat into flours at medium speed for 2 minutes.
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup yogurt, nonfat
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water

Slowly add more flour and mix for about 8 minutes until dough leaves side of bowl.  Place in a bowl, sprayed with an olive oil spray.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
1/2 cup all purpose flour 

Portion into 2 tablespoon dough balls.  Flatten with hand on a floured piece of parchment paper.  Shake off excess flour.  Cook dough rounds on a very hot griddle surface until lightly charred in spots and browned in others.  Turn and repeat on the remaining side.  Keep flat breads hot in a 250 F. oven.

Our meal is served with roasted eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash slices with kalamati olives and tomatoes.  I added 1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence and 1 tablespoon olive oil prior to roasting for about 40 minutes.  The olives and tomatoes were added the last 10 minutes of cooking.  

          

Citrus Magic

Winter is the season for citrus fruits.  It's the time of year the grocery stores carry those sweet, easy to peel tangerines.  Ruby red grapefruits are colorful and intense.  Lemons are large and juicy.

It's the right time to refresh and awaken the taste buds with citrus:

• Enhance water with sliced unpeeled tangerines.  I add one sliced tangerine to a gallon of water and chill.
• Add peeled segments to salads.
• Create sauces with juice.
• Replace some of the salt in recipes with "zest"-the grated colorful outer portion of the peel.

Add citrus to lunch and dinner with these recipes:

Beet & Mandarin Salad

(Serves 1)

Slice beets and tangerines.  Arrange on plate.  Sprinkle with seeds.  
5-6 small beets, cooked, peeled and sliced
1 mandarin tangerine, sliced
1 teaspoon hemp seed
1/2 teaspoon chia seed

Mix oil, vinegar, juices, sugar and garlic.  Pour over salad.
Dressing
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teapsoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 small garlic clove, minced

Broiled Grapefruit Halves

(Serves 2)

Cut around each grapefruit segment.
1 grapefruit, sliced in half

Mix brown sugar, buttery spread and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over grapefruit halves.  Broil 5 minutes.
2 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon buttery spread
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Citrus fruits are rich in Vitamin C and good sources of soluble fiber.  Vitamin C helps the body absorb non-heme iron when eaten with plant foods and egg yolks.

In this colorful meal in a bowl, I paired citrus juice in a simple sauce with the egg, pasta and vegetables to create a perfect combo:

Asian Sauce

(Serves 2)

Mix and pour over vegetables and noodles.
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon soy sauce, reduced sodium
1 teaspoon honey

Here's to adding zest to the day!

   
   

  

A New Year-A New Vegetable

I'm always looking for something new at the local Farmers Market and even in winter, I'm not disappointed.  This week's find was Celtuce.  

Celtuce is primarily grown for its thick stem.  It's crisp and moist with a mild flavor.  Peel the thick outer part and discard that prior to cooking or eating.  

In the spinach soup recipe by Rachael Ray, I substituted celtuce for broccoli.  I'll call my soup Spintuce instead of Spinoccoli.

Spintuce Soup

(Serves 3)

Saute shallots and garlic in buttery spread for 2 minutes.
Add potato, celtuce and thyme.  Saute 5 minutes. 
1 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1/4 cup shallots, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium red potato, peeled and shredded
3/4 cup celtuce, shredded
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Stir in stock.  Bring to a boil.  Add spinach and stir until it wilts, about 3 minutes.  Blend.  (I used my blender, taking care to prevent burns)
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cups fresh spinach, stems removed

Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and crushed roasted seeds.
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoon roasted crushed pepitas

I also stir fried the celtuce in this vegetarian stir fry, where I mixed in the pumpkin seed pesto I made previously for a custom platter recipe.   

Stir-Fry Veggies & Pesto 

(Serves 2)

Stir fry vegetables in olive oil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2 cups fresh vegetables of choice
(I used peeled carrot sticks, peeled celtuce sticks, sliced mushrooms, shallots and garlic)
1 teaspoon olive oil

Add sauce, sesame oil and pesto.
1 tablespoon soy sauce, reduced sodium
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon pesto
 
Serve over brown rice.  Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 
2/3 cup prepared brown rice 

Have a great week!

 
 
   

   

Stone Soup Guest Blogger

"Say Goodbye to 2015-But Not to Local Produce" is my sixth post on the Food and Nutrition Blog.   Stone Soup is a guest blog written by members of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  Guest bloggers from around the world share with Food & Nutrition Magazine.  I have always loved this magazine-especially the photos and am so pleased they shared my post.

Thanks for your interest in my healthy meals!   

Crab Comfort

Our New Year's Day Brunch featuring Crab & Ricotta Stuffed Shells was simply delicious.  It was so nice to have family to share!  The recipe was inspired by Food Network Magazine.

Crab & Ricotta Stuffed Shells

(16 Shells)

Sauteed Vegetables
Saute shallots in olive oil 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and saute 3 more minutes.  Add garlic clove and saute 1 minutes.  Stir in spinach leaves and cook until wilted.  Drain vegetables on paper towels.
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoon shallots, diced
6 button mushrooms, diced
1 garlic clove
2 cups spinach leaves, stems removed

Shells
Cook shells in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water.
16 jumbo shells

Crab Stuffing
Mix crab, cheeses, egg yolk, herbs and seasoning.  Fill each shell with 3 tablespoon crab stuffing.
1 pound crab meat
1 cup ricotta cheese, part-skim
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used Parmesan- Swiss works too!)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup fresh herbs, finely chopped 
1/8 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Bechamel Sauce
Melt buttery spread in saucepan.  Whisk in flours.  Add warm milk and seasoning.  Thicken, stirring frequently.
4 tablespoon Earthy Balance Buttery Spread
3 tablespoon all purpose flour
3 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour
3 cups skim milk, warmed for 60 seconds in microwave
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Assembly
Grease baking dishes with olive oil spray.  
Place sauteed vegetables in bottom of dish.  
Top with shells, then Bechamel Sauce.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan Cheese. 
Sprinkle with fresh grated nutmeg.
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
Fresh grated Nutmeg 

Bake at 350F degrees for 20 minutes.

It's the best time of the year for citrus fruit-these pink grapefruit halves were the perfect accompaniment.  We also enjoyed marble rye bread, made by a Uniontown Bakery-Yum Yums.

 Happy New Year!