Month: September 2021

Light Apple Crisp

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Light Apple Crisp

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: Easy
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It’s apple picking time. That usually means, we have extra apples. Apples are very versatile. Nothing quite like an apple pie, or apple crumble, or apple crisp. So I went looking for a recipe that would fit the bill and not over do it on the sugar. I found a version of this (slightly modified by me) in a diabetic site.

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of diced, peeled, cored apples
  • 2 cups of unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 cup of flour (I use unbleached)
  • 1/4 cup of rolled oats (not the quick cooking)
  • 2 tbsp of melted light margarine
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • nonstick cooking spray

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, margarine, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and apple sauce. Blend with fork.
  3. Layer apples in the pan and sprinkle brown sugar mixture evenly over top.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle nuts on top.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 125
  • Fat 2.6 g
  • Sugar 19 g
  • Carbohydrates 18 g
  • Protein 0.75 g
  • Fibre 2 g

The picture I posted does not give it justice. It is quite good. I made the mistake (in the picture) to mix everything together. I had layered my apples, I poured the brown sugar mixture over it and then, oops, I stirred everything together. So mine did not have that nice “CRISP” to it. So if you follow the directions, you will be fine. I promise to redo the picture next time I make it.

You can add more nuts if you like. If calories don’t matter you can serve warm with ice cream. Or you can add a little coffee cream. Someone suggested Light Cool Whip. So as the saying goes, have fun and make it your own.

Ham Linguini Tetrazzini

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Ham Linguini Tetrazzini

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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This is a feel good recipe that is quick, serves quite a few or has quite a bit left over. This is actually a pretty light version of this recipe. Some of us have to watch how much fat we take in.

Ingredients

  • 1 box of 1lb or 450 gr of catelli linguini
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 2 cups of ham chopped
  • 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (low fat)
  • 1-1/4 cup of skim milk
  • 1/4 cup of coffee cream (10%)
  • 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup of grated low fat sharp cheddar cheese
  • 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp of flour
  • 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp of smoked paprika

Directions

  1. In a large pot, cook pasta as indicated on package.
  2. Once cooked, drain pasta and return pot to stove.
  3. On medium heat, put 1 tbsp of oil in pot. Add onion, garlic and peppers and cook until almost tender approximately 5-7 minutes.
  4. Add the remaining tbsp of oil and add the ham. Stir around for about 3-5 minutes.
  5. Add milk, cream, both cheeses, cayenne and stir well.
  6. Add flour and stir constantly, bringing up the heat. If too thick, add a little milk a tablespoon at a time.
  7. Once at desired consistency (saucy but not too thick), add pasta and stir. Make sure to coat completely.
  8. Sprinkle smoked paprika on top and serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 424
  • Fat 13.9 g
  • Sugar 6.3 g
  • Carbohydrates 55.2 g
  • Protein 20.6 g
  • Fibre 3.3 g

This is a versatile recipe. You don’t have ham or you need to watch your sodium, you can sub for cooked turkey or cooked chicken breast. You can even do it with left over pork chops. You want creamier, and you don’t mind the fat or calories, change to whole milk and heavy cream. I serve this with a nice green salad on the side and it’s a great meal. Remember to have fun and make it your own.

Weight Loss Reminders

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Weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight is a battle for a lot of us, me included. I was told recently by a dietician that the Four Pillars are the key to being healthy. Exercise, Stress Management, Sleep, Food. I totally agree. If we can keep our portions to a healthy size, exercise regularly, sleep enough, and manage stress there is no reason we all can’t feel better and continue to feel good about ourselves.

Exercise: Movement is important. A lot of us have sedentary jobs. During this pandemic, even something as simple as walking from your car into the office and back made a difference. That alone put 2600 less steps on my pedometer. When your goal is 10000 a day, oops that adds up quickly. Always consult your doctor before embarking on any exercise program but until then, a walk is a good start. It doesn’t have to be a run, or a jog, or 10 miles. Around the block is a good place to start. Today is as good as any other day for a walk.

Stress Management: Cortisol is our stress hormone. It actually helps us in some situations. It increases sugars in the bloodstream, enhances your brain’s use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. It helps us react to a bad situation like a child getting hurt, or avoiding a car crash. Too much of it and it turns against you. This will cause a rise in blood sugar, weight gain, suppressed immune system, digestive issues, heart disease. We can’t avoid stress but the key is managing properly. That is not always easy and there are lots of options out there. 

Sleep: A nutritionist told me years ago I needed to get my diet sleep. Sleep deprivation spikes our hormone called cortisol. See in the stress management above the side effects of cortisol. So many things can affect our sleep. Noise, ate too late, stressed, bad bed, and so on. It could be one thing or a combination of things. You need to isolate why you aren’t sleeping enough and correct those issues or at least reduce the amount of times that you don’t get enough sleep. Once in a while should not cause adverse effects. If you lack sleep on a regular basis, you will have an issue in the long term.

Food: Portion control is key. Who says you can’t have something. Unless you are allergic, there is no reason you can not have a food. How much of that food is key. A plate should be 1/2 vegetable, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch. Smaller dinner plates help. Putting everything in the plate helps too. I also use a scale for weighing my food. Key is moderation. Example, I felt for a snack. I had fresh pineapple but I wanted something sweet. Then a thought of a chocolate fondue where you dip fruit into chocolate sounded sooo good. I opened the fridge and there was a sugar free low fat chocolate pudding. So I put that over my fresh pineapple, You know what, it was good. 140 calories. Healthier than a chocolate bar, still sweet and satisfied my craving. 

So what can we take from this? Everything is connected. If one thing is out of balance, you will struggle to lose or maintain your weight. We need exercise regularly, manage our stress, sleep well, and have good portion control of our foods. There are no limits on possibilities on how to make this happen, we have to understand it, embrace it, and make the plan our own.

Corn Black Bean Salad

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Corn Black Bean Salad

  • Servings: 20
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Oil and lime based

On a July 4th celebration, a young chef asks the master chef for the recipe for the Corn Black Bean Salad he just had. The master chef gave a revised recipe as the original served 250. This version serves 20 side dishes. If you add an extra protein, it can serve 10 as a main dish.

Ingredients

  • 8-10 corn cooked and shucked
  • 3 large avocado cut in cubes
  • 3-4 limes juiced
  • 1-1/4 cup of cilantro chopped
  • 1 large red onion chopped
  • 2-1/2 cups of black beans (canned rinsed)
  • 4 bell peppers of various colours chopped
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 jalapeno peppers chopped finely
  • 1 tsp of smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a very very large mixing bowl put all ingredients together (I used two large bowls and divided everything evenly)
  2. Refrigerate

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 197
  • Fat 10.5 g
  • Sugar 5.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 25.2 g
  • Protein 5.1 g
  • Fibre 5.6 g

You need to bring something to a large picnic? This is a great option. I’ve changed it up a little. I thought I’d omit the lime juice (didn’t have any handy) and the oil, and put in 1 cup of sour cream instead and that was a success. You can always do both versions by separating the salad into two mixing bowls. Then in one bowl, put half the oil and lime juice mixture, and in the other 1/2 the sour cream. Had leftovers so prepared a chicken breast on the grill and added 3 ounces to 2 cups of the mixture and that made a great meal. You could do this with fish, steak, tofu, anything at all. I can even see a hard boiled egg. Possibilities are endless as long as you can see it, do it. Remember to have fun and make it your own.

Sour cream based

Skinny Banana Bread Muffins

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Skinny Banana Bread Muffins

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Skinny muffins that are flavourful and moist. Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Well, it is and they are healthier than most. These banana muffins have no oil, low sugar and are only 130 calories. I apologize to the store bought or coffee house muffins.

Ingredients

  • 4 bananas mashed (about 1-1/3 cup)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-1/2 cup all purpose flour (whole wheat makes them a little more dense)
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin with paper liners or silicon liners.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas, add egg, vanilla, sugars, and cinnamon and stir well to combine.
  3. In a larger bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add banana mixture and stir to combine.
  4. Gently stir in melted butter. Don’t over-mix the batter as the muffins will be tougher.
  5. Spoon into muffin tin and bake for 18-25 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 130
  • Fat 2 g
  • Sugar 9 g
  • Carbohydrates 23 g
  • Protein 2 g
  • Fibre 2 g

Note: You can freeze these for up to 2 months in a freezer safe ziplock bag. Make sure that they are completely cooled and get as much of the air out of the bag first.

If calories or sugar are not of concern, you can add walnuts, raisins, cranberries, or even peanut butter (if you add peanut butter, you will need to add an equal amount of flour). This makes the possibilities endless. Remember to have fun and make it your own.