So, Thursday night was sirloin night. Who would have ever thought that a sirloin dinner would be healthy? I thought that red meat was "bad" for your health. But according to this recipe from the American Heart Association you can eat red meat. I am assuming in moderation like anything else in life!
This dish was amazing! Our daughter loved every bite. The tomatoes, feta and kalamata olives were so flavorful yet light at the same time. Since the sirloin was a four ounce serving we did not feel stuffed afterwards. The dish was quick to make, very delicious and perfect for summer.
You really should try this one!!!
http://heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Sirloin-with-Tomato-Olive-and-Feta-Topping_UCM_304721_Recipe.jsp
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Lemon Sauced Chicken with Asparagus .....
Tonight we tried an American Heart Association recipe that was called "Lemon Sauced Chicken with Asparagus." This was a very good dish, but not what I had expected (looks wise). When I think of lemon sauce, I think of a yellow or hollandais sauce like substance. It was not pale yellow in color at all. It was actually a brown sauce because of the ingredient soy sauce. The look of the dish was similar to a dish that you might find in an asian restaurant.
The recipe first called for chicken breasts or turkey breast tenderloins. We had turkey because we already eat so much chicken.
http://heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Lemon-Sauced-Chicken-with-Asparagus_UCM_307605_Recipe.jsp
The dish was a hit, even our daughter really liked the dish. She gobbled the chicken but left the asparagus. This dish would have gone well with a side of rice and salad with a tangy vinagrette dressing!
The recipe first called for chicken breasts or turkey breast tenderloins. We had turkey because we already eat so much chicken.
http://heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Lemon-Sauced-Chicken-with-Asparagus_UCM_307605_Recipe.jsp
The dish was a hit, even our daughter really liked the dish. She gobbled the chicken but left the asparagus. This dish would have gone well with a side of rice and salad with a tangy vinagrette dressing!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Healthy Eating PDF Cookbook
I just found this cookbook online at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and thought I would share. It has some great information in regard to getting started with healthy eating, and it also has tons of recipes. I'll try some recipes from here and then tell you what I think of them over the next few weeks. In the meantime, try some of the recipes yourself and let me know what you think by leaving a comment at this blog entry!
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/ktb_recipebk/ktb_recipebk.pdf
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/ktb_recipebk/ktb_recipebk.pdf
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Back on Track...
It has been a hectic few weeks. We've been pretty busy so I have not tried any new recipes. We are still eating healthy but we've been repeating some other recipes, ones that I've posted about in the past. Remember that I said that I wanted to start trying recipes that are already online so that I can share them with my readers? Tonight I tried a recipe from the American Heart Association called Pot Roast Ratatouille and Pasta: here it is... http://heart.org/HEARTORG/General/Pot-Roast-Ratatouille-and-Pasta_UCM_304677_Recipe.jsp
I screwed up a couple of ways with this recipe. The recipe calls for a 1.5 pound roast. I bought the correct type of meat but the smallest roast size was 3.0 pounds. The recipe called for a cook time of 2.5 hours. I knew that I would have to increase the cook time, but I did not know by how much. I started out by increasing it by 30 minutes. Well, to make a long store short, I needed a total of another hour and a half to have the roast turn out tender.
I've learned from trial and error that if you cut into a roast that has been cooking a while, and it is gray, it is not done. Roasts should be tender!!!! I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking roasts is that they don't cook them long enough and they turn out "tough"...low heat and longer cook times (often covered--so it doesn't dry out) should help make your roast tender.
So, since the roast took so long to make, it was not even close to being done for dinner.
In the future, I would brown the meat in a pan and then I would put the roast and all of the other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I am sure it will give the same results as what we got in the oven and you don't have to stay at home because the oven is on. Also, for the summer it is nice to keep the house cooler without having the oven on.
When the roast was finally done, my husband said that it was amazing and he is looking forward to leftovers. The roast calls for a pasta to accompany the the dish, we are serving brown rice with it instead.
Just wanted to add one more thing that if you don't know how to prepare eggplant, just take the skins off and slice it up like you would any other vegetable. I read online that you can leave the skin on, however often the skin is tough and does not cook well.
Try it, you'll like it! Once you've made it, come back and leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you think of the recipe!
I screwed up a couple of ways with this recipe. The recipe calls for a 1.5 pound roast. I bought the correct type of meat but the smallest roast size was 3.0 pounds. The recipe called for a cook time of 2.5 hours. I knew that I would have to increase the cook time, but I did not know by how much. I started out by increasing it by 30 minutes. Well, to make a long store short, I needed a total of another hour and a half to have the roast turn out tender.
I've learned from trial and error that if you cut into a roast that has been cooking a while, and it is gray, it is not done. Roasts should be tender!!!! I think one of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking roasts is that they don't cook them long enough and they turn out "tough"...low heat and longer cook times (often covered--so it doesn't dry out) should help make your roast tender.
So, since the roast took so long to make, it was not even close to being done for dinner.
In the future, I would brown the meat in a pan and then I would put the roast and all of the other ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. I am sure it will give the same results as what we got in the oven and you don't have to stay at home because the oven is on. Also, for the summer it is nice to keep the house cooler without having the oven on.
When the roast was finally done, my husband said that it was amazing and he is looking forward to leftovers. The roast calls for a pasta to accompany the the dish, we are serving brown rice with it instead.
Just wanted to add one more thing that if you don't know how to prepare eggplant, just take the skins off and slice it up like you would any other vegetable. I read online that you can leave the skin on, however often the skin is tough and does not cook well.
Try it, you'll like it! Once you've made it, come back and leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you think of the recipe!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Pumpkin in June?
I've been pretty busy so lately I've been modifying our old recipes with healthier alternatives. For example, yesterday we made spaghetti but instead of using beef, we used ground turkey instead. In addition to the ground turkey we cooked with multi-grain noodles. Remember that in the past I've noted that the whole-wheat noodles are disgusting, but we cannot tell the different between multi-grain and "regular" noodles.
Today I had a friend come over so I decided to make a healthy treat instead of a dinner, I am getting tired of trying dinners, wanted to change up the menu a bit. I made Pumpkin-Pie Coffeecake from the American Heart Association book on page 284. I was nervous to try this because it calls for pumpkin from the vegetable section of the grocery store, not canned pumpkin pie filling, wheat-bran cereal (I used Grape Nuts--which I hate!), flour, buttermilk (I learned that you can buy this in a canister (made of cardboard in the baking isle near the canned milks), suger, spices, egg whites, flour and some powered sugar (for the topping).
Well, let me tell you this...the "cake" is delicious!!!!! It has the consistency and texture of a very moist banana bread but with a pumpkin pie taste. I would make this treat in a heartbeat again. I think it would be great for breakfasts. Madison gobbled it up like it was going out of style...that is a very good sign.
The recipe calls for it to be made in a 9 inch baking pan and to be cut into 12 pieces. At 12 pieces, each piece is 177 calories, 1 mg of cholesterol, and it says 6.5 grams fat ( I think that is because the recipe calls for pecans, but I did not use them...) This was an excellent recipe....try it out!
Today I had a friend come over so I decided to make a healthy treat instead of a dinner, I am getting tired of trying dinners, wanted to change up the menu a bit. I made Pumpkin-Pie Coffeecake from the American Heart Association book on page 284. I was nervous to try this because it calls for pumpkin from the vegetable section of the grocery store, not canned pumpkin pie filling, wheat-bran cereal (I used Grape Nuts--which I hate!), flour, buttermilk (I learned that you can buy this in a canister (made of cardboard in the baking isle near the canned milks), suger, spices, egg whites, flour and some powered sugar (for the topping).
Well, let me tell you this...the "cake" is delicious!!!!! It has the consistency and texture of a very moist banana bread but with a pumpkin pie taste. I would make this treat in a heartbeat again. I think it would be great for breakfasts. Madison gobbled it up like it was going out of style...that is a very good sign.
The recipe calls for it to be made in a 9 inch baking pan and to be cut into 12 pieces. At 12 pieces, each piece is 177 calories, 1 mg of cholesterol, and it says 6.5 grams fat ( I think that is because the recipe calls for pecans, but I did not use them...) This was an excellent recipe....try it out!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sweet Wednesday
Last night was leftovers from Monday which were just as good if not better!
Tonight I made a recipe from the Hungry Girl recipe, it was called "Sweet Coconut Crunch Shrimp" on page 379. Five shrimp (jumbo) equaled a serving which was 164 calories and only 4.5 grams of fat. For the main ingredient (breading) it had Fiber One bran cereal, coconut, bread crumbs, and some spices. Kevin gave this shrimp dish 4 stars. It was very easy to make. Prep time probably took about 20 minutes and then cook time was about 12 minutes. We did not even try to serve it to our little one. In general, she is not a big fan of shrimp.
Along with the shrimp, we ate spinach and strawberry salad with a strawberry vinaigrette. The salad was not very high in calories either because the dressing was not creamy. The salad went well with the sweet coconut, it made a great summer dinner. What was even nicer is the fact that it is pretty cool outside so it was not a pain to have the oven on tonight.
I think my next L-F and L-C dish will be pumpkin coffee cake from the American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol book. If you haven't bought these cookbooks, I would recommend them. Try checking them out at your local library before purchasing them.
Until next time!
Tonight I made a recipe from the Hungry Girl recipe, it was called "Sweet Coconut Crunch Shrimp" on page 379. Five shrimp (jumbo) equaled a serving which was 164 calories and only 4.5 grams of fat. For the main ingredient (breading) it had Fiber One bran cereal, coconut, bread crumbs, and some spices. Kevin gave this shrimp dish 4 stars. It was very easy to make. Prep time probably took about 20 minutes and then cook time was about 12 minutes. We did not even try to serve it to our little one. In general, she is not a big fan of shrimp.
Along with the shrimp, we ate spinach and strawberry salad with a strawberry vinaigrette. The salad was not very high in calories either because the dressing was not creamy. The salad went well with the sweet coconut, it made a great summer dinner. What was even nicer is the fact that it is pretty cool outside so it was not a pain to have the oven on tonight.
I think my next L-F and L-C dish will be pumpkin coffee cake from the American Heart Association Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol book. If you haven't bought these cookbooks, I would recommend them. Try checking them out at your local library before purchasing them.
Until next time!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Mexican Monday...
Ok, so tonight's dish was called "Outside-In Turkey Tamale Pie" from the Hungry Girl book, page 312. It was another crockpot recipe and it was delicious!!!! Basically I took ground turkey and browned it. Then the recipe called for kidney beans, but I don't like them so used pinto beans but you could use black beans too. I don't know why kidney beans were recommended but maybe they are lower in fat or more healthy. This may be true but I am not totally going to stop living by eating things that I think are disgusting.
Besides the kidney beans the recipe called for various amounts of corn, black olives, diced tomatoes with chilies, instead of using the specific measurements I just poured the entire can in. How much fat or calories are in sweet corn? Probably not that much. Besides, what was I supposed to do with 1/2 a cup (can) of corn? There were also some spices. Then the recipes says to add the turkey to the crockpot, pour in the veggies and spices and finally add some cornmeal with chicken broth.
When the meal is done, the cornmeal has expanded with the turkey and veggies and makes it thick like a casserole. The Hungry Girl recommends adding fat free sour cream and fat free shredded cheddar cheese I took it one step further and added a spoonful of salsa to my plate.
I am not one to love Mexican dishes but this one left me wanting seconds...of course I did not have them...I'll save them for lunch tomorrow.
The recipe is supposed to serve seven people (1 cup each) and be 230 calories (this # may vary a bit depending on the calories in the type of bean and whether or not you use salsa etc..)
Besides the kidney beans the recipe called for various amounts of corn, black olives, diced tomatoes with chilies, instead of using the specific measurements I just poured the entire can in. How much fat or calories are in sweet corn? Probably not that much. Besides, what was I supposed to do with 1/2 a cup (can) of corn? There were also some spices. Then the recipes says to add the turkey to the crockpot, pour in the veggies and spices and finally add some cornmeal with chicken broth.
When the meal is done, the cornmeal has expanded with the turkey and veggies and makes it thick like a casserole. The Hungry Girl recommends adding fat free sour cream and fat free shredded cheddar cheese I took it one step further and added a spoonful of salsa to my plate.
I am not one to love Mexican dishes but this one left me wanting seconds...of course I did not have them...I'll save them for lunch tomorrow.
The recipe is supposed to serve seven people (1 cup each) and be 230 calories (this # may vary a bit depending on the calories in the type of bean and whether or not you use salsa etc..)
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