Month: January 2017

Lime Salad Dressing

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

This is a tangy salad dressing with a kick.  I read, in one of my chefs books, that a perfect salad dressing is made of three equal parts of acid, base and sweet. I believe this to be true and you can alter this basic recipe to suit your palate. After all, cooking is all about experimenting and having fun. Here is the basic recipe, enjoy and remember to make it your own.


Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoon of lime juice
  • 3 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 3 tablespoon of white sugar
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Salt to taste

 

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients well.
  2. Refrigerate. Best when it has time to have the flavours blend. Approximately an hour.

 

Nutritional facts per Serving

  • Serving 1 tablespoon
  • Calories 60
  • Fat 19g
  • Carbs (sugar) 15g
  • WW Smart Points 2

Tips : Treats

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

We all need treats. For all of us that have a sweet tooth, one of the hardest things to do is just have a little. How often have we bought a chocolate bar and said I will have only a couple of pieces. Next thing you know the whole thing is gone. I am guilty of that. Well the power of suggestion is a powerful tool. Yes, I know, I am just fooling myself but hey it works. I love my mini M & Ms. To stretch out the pleasure, I measure out one tablespoon, put them in a tumbler or short shot glass and eat them one by one. One tablespoon gives you between 25 and 30 treats. If you let them melt in your mouth until the shell cracks and the chocolate oozes onto your tongue, it can prolong the pleasure. I can watch a whole hour episode on one tablespoon of these little treats.  Savour them so you can appreciate the treat. Enjoy.

Cod with Butternut Squash and Zucchini

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

This is a quick easy dinner. Cod is a great fish that is low fat with lots of protein.

As Chef Michael Smith would say, make it your own. If you don’t like Cajun spices use a spice you prefer. Make it with a different vegetable as a variation. Have fun.

Ingredients

  • 16 oz of cod filets
  • 2 cups of cubed peeled butternut squash
  • 2 cups of cubed Zucchini
  • 1 cup of halved grape tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon of Cajun spices
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

 

Directions

  • Preheat oven at 400
  • Spray casserole with Pam spray
  • Spread evenly tomatoes, butternut squash, and Zucchini
  • Cover with cod cut in 4 pieces
  • Evenly spread lime juice over cod
  • Season cod with Cajun spices and salt and pepper
  • Spread the cilantro over cod
  • Place in oven for 25 minutes

 

Nutritional facts per Serving (serves 4)

  • Calories 117
  • Fat 0.9g
  • Carbs 10.4g
  • Fiber 2.0g
  • Protein 17.3g
  • Sugar 3.2g
  • WW Smart Points 2

 

Tips : Inexpensive Protein

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Protein is an essential part of our diet. Some proteins are healthier than others and some are quite expensive.  One of the most inexpensive, versatile and tasty proteins I have found are black beans.

You can get them in a can which are precooked, preferable the sodium reduced kind. They are convenient and inexpensive. Personally I prefer the dried beans that I soak overnight and cook the next day to my preferred tenderness and flavour. I will sometimes add a jalapeno or two for some kick.  These great little beans can be used in soups, dips, with eggs and salsa, and even in brownies. Yes you read that correct,  brownies.  Don’t knock it until you tried it.

Amount Per 100 grams :

  • Calories 339
  • Total Fat 0.9 g
  • Cholesterol 0 mg
  • Sodium 9 mg
  • Potassium 1,500 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate 63 g
  • Dietary fiber 16 g
  • Sugar 2.1 g
  • Protein 21 g
  • Calcium 16%
  • Iron 48%
  • Vitamin B-6 15%

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Who says light means bland. Here is a weight watchers recipe that I have made for people who are not concerned with their weight and they loved these.

Summary

  • Prep time : 20 min
  • Cook time : 15 min
  • Serves : 12
  • Smart points value : 4

Ingredients

  • 8 small graham crackers mashed into crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie margarine melted
  • 4 tablespoons fat free cream cheese
  • 4 ounces low fat cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup of sugar
  • 20 ounce light fruit pie filling, cherry, warmed

Directions

  1. Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
  2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and margarine and mix well.
  3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into each liner and press down gently.
  4. Refrigerate until ready to fill.
  5. Preheat oven at 375F.
  6. Beat cream cheeses until fluffy, add lemon juice, egg whites, vanilla extract and sugar, beat until smooth.
  7. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into crumb cups. Bake for 15 minutes.
  8. Cool.
  9. Top each cheese cake with 1 tablespoon of cherry pie filling.

Low Fat Pancake

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

This is an old Weight Watchers recipe. New Value is 5 smart points per serving. Some things just taste great even if they are low in fat.

Summary

  • Prep Time : 10 minutes
  • Total Time : 20 min
  • Serves : 2
  • Yield : 6 pancakes

 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flower
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup fat free skim milk with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice mixed in
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon no cal artificial sweetener

 

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients until smooth
    Note : Batter will be kinda thick. If too thick for your taste, add a tablespoon of water until desired consistency.
  2. Heat large skillet, spray with nonstick spray, pour two large heaping tablespoons of batter and cook as you would any other pancake.

pancake

Nutritional facts per Serving

  • Total fat 1.2g
  • Saturated fat .2
  • Sugar 4.1g
  • Sodium 301.6 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate 39.4g
  • Dietary Fiber 6.3 g
  • Protein 7.8g

Tips : Maple Syrup

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

SqueeseBottle

Often maple syrup crystallizes at the bottom of the glass syrup dispenser. By fluke our glass dispenser broke so we were left scrambling for another option.

 

We had just finished a ketchup squeeze bottle. After a very complete wash, we filled it with a can of maple syrup. It works likes magic. No spills, no sticky residue on the side, and best of all no crystallization at the bottom.

 

We are not sure why it works but we aren’t going to complain.