Energy Bar

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Energy Bar

As part of my salubrious lifestyle, I try to exercise 4-5 times a week.  Because I am not a morning person, this usually occurs when I get home from work.  Since it is a good 5 or 6 hours from when I had lunch to when I exercise, I need to eat something that can give me energy and strength for my kettlebell or Jillian Michaels’ workout.  One of these bars does the trick.  They are tasty and are a good source of protein and carbs and light enough not to make you feel full and weighted down.   The downsize, however, is that these bars tend to be crumbly and a bit fragile, therefore, it is important to throughly mix the dry ingredients with the corn syrup and to really press the mix in the baking dish.  A batch of these bars can be made and then each bar can be individually wrapped in plastic and kept in the freezer .  When you are ready to exercise, take one out of the freezer, microwave 15-20 seconds and you are ready to go.

Energy Bars

EatingWell August 2012

12 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup crispy brown rice cereal
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries
• 6 dried apricots, diced
• 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
• 5 tablespoons brown rice syrup or light corn syrup

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Drizzle with syrup and gently stir until thoroughly combined.  Spread in the prepared baking pan.  Coat another piece of foil with cooking spray and place on the bar mixture sprayed-side down.  Place another pan on top and press firmly to compress the mixture.  (Pressing before baking helps the bars hold together after baking).  Remove the top pan.  If necessary, press the mixture down in the corners with your fingers.  Remove top pan and foil.
3. Bake until just beginning to turn golden at the edges, 20 – 24 minutes (metal pan) or 30 – 35 minutes (glass pan).  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
4. Lift the baked square out with the foil.  Cut in half, then cut each half crosswise into 6 bars. Let cool completely before removing the foil.  Store airtight between sheets of wax paper for up to 1 week, or wrap individually in plastic and freeze.

1 bar: 167 calories, 9 g fat, 5 g protein, 2 g fiber, 19 g carbohydrates

Watermelon Gazpacho

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Watermelon Gazpacho

I have posted recipes for traditional tomato gazpacho as well as white, cucumber gazpacho but the chilled soup can be made with a variety of fruits and vegetables.  This recipe uses watermelon as the base.  It is refreshing, just like the watermelon lemonade I posted last summer.  Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamins A & C, both of which are anti-oxidants and is also a good source of vitamin B6 and of potassium making this soup nutritional as well as tasty.

6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 cups watermelon chunks, seeded
• 1 cup peeled, seeded cucumber, diced
• 1 cup peeled, seeded cantaloupe, diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced

1. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the watermelon puree, cucumber, cantaloupe, salt, and lemon juice.  Refrigerate until completely chilled, or at least 2 hours.
3. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, basil and mint.  Serve the soup topped with the herbed yogurt.

1 serving: 61 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1.9 g protein, 1 g fiber, 11.5 g carbohydrate

Zucchini and Caramelized Onion Quiche

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Zucchini and Caramelized Quiche

Just as zucchini grows prolifically in the garden, there is a prolific number of zucchini recipes.  This one is from the latest issue of Cooking Light.  It combines one of my favorite ingredients, caramelized onions with zucchini.  What is great about caramelized onions is that you can make them a few days before you need them and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them. I have included the Cooking Light recipe for caramelized onions below.  Using a mandoline makes quick work of slicing the zucchini, just be careful.  I have sliced my fingers more than once thinking I can get one more slice out of whatever I was cutting.  Since I also love sun-dried tomatoes, I added some chopped ones to this recipe which made it even tastier.

Cooking Light August 2012

6 servings

 Ingredients

• 1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (I like Pillsbury)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices of zucchini
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped caramelized onions
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle.  Fit dough into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate.  Fold edges under; flute.  Line dough with foil;  arrange pie weight or dried beans on foil.  Bake at 425°F for 12 minutes or until edges are golden.  Remove weights and foil;  bake an additional 2 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl.  Add zucchini and garlic; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.  Saute 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Cool slightly.
5. Arrange caramelized onions over bottom of crust; top with zucchini mixture.  Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, milk, flour, pepper, eggs, and cheese in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Pour milk mixture over zucchini mixture.  Bake at 375°F for 35 minutes or until set.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

1 serving:  314 calories, 18.1 g fat, 1.9 g fiber, 9.6 g protein, 28.5 g carbohydrate

Caramelized Onions

8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 12 cups sliced yellow onions
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat a large Dutch oven or a large skillet over medium heat.  Add oil and butter; swirl until butter melts.  Add onion and salt;  cook 15 minutes or until onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook 50 minutes or until very tender, stirring occasionally.  Cook an additional 10 minutes or until browned and caramelized, stirring frequently.

1 serving:  126 calories, 6.7 g fat, 2.9 g fiber, 1.9 g protein, 16.1 g carbohydrates

Grilled Angel Food Cake

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

In a previous post I mentioned that I grilled green beans for the first time which was something I had never thought about doing before.  The same thing could be said for angel food cake until I saw a recipe in the local paper.  I was intrigued but the recipe used real whip cream and a lot of sugar which made one serving almost 400 calories and half of the calories came from fat.  I wanted to lighten it up so I cut back the sugar by two-thirds and replaced the whip cream with fat-free Cool Whip, which cut the grams of fat from 17 to 5.5.  The spices and lemon juice give a nice flavor to the cake and grilling it caramelizes the sugar and gives the cake a slightly crunchy texture on the outside.  The original recipe paired the grilled angel food cake with berries but, since you have the grill going, why not grill a peach instead to serve with the cake?  It is easy to do and the grilling caramelizes the natural sugar in the fruit.  Happy Grilling!

8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 13-ounce angel food cake, cut into 8 slices
• Fat-Free Cool Whip
• 4 peaches

1. Heat the grill to medium-high.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom and sugar.  Heat, stirring, until butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.  Using a pastry brush, coat all sides of the cake slices with the butter mixture.
3. Place the cake slices on the grill and cool for 30 seconds per side, or until grill marks appear and the cakes are nicely toasted.
4. Serve each slice with 2 tablespoons fat-free Cool Whip and fresh berries or grilled peach (see below).

To Grill Peaches:  Slice peach in half, remove stone. lightly brush cut side with canola oil.  Place peach, cut side down, on grill.  Grill until peach becomes soft and grill marks appear.

1 serving with 1/2 a grilled peach:  264 calories, 6 g fat, 40 g carbohydrates, 2 g protein

Cheddar-Chive Cornmeal Biscuits

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Cheddar-Chive Cornmeal Biscuits

I love a good, flaky biscuit, but, all the butter used to make the biscuit flaky is not exactly salubrious.  This recipe from EatingWell only uses 2 tablespoons of butter which reduces the fat content.  It also uses cornmeal which adds fiber as well as several other nutrients such as  niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate , vitamins B-6, E and K, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.  The addition of cornmeal, furthermore, does not change the biscuit taste while adding all that extra nutrition and by using extra-sharp Cheddar cheese in the recipe you get more flavor for fewer calories & fat than if you used regular Cheddar cheese.  Perhaps what I like best about this recipe, other than that I always have these ingredients on hand, is that it is easy and no fuss.  You don’t even have to cut the biscuits into rounds (though you could if you wanted to).  As is true with any biscuit recipe, you don’t want to overwork or over heat the dough.  So, next time you make your oven “fried” chicken, whip up a batch of these biscuits to go with it.

EatingWell 2012

12 biscuits

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons cold-butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
• 3 to 5 tablespoons low-fat milk

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper in a food processor.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Add cheese and butter and pulse until the mixture looks pebbly with small oat-size lumps.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
3. Add sour cream, chives, honey (if using) and stir with a rubber spatula until almost combined.  Add 3 tablespoons of milk, stirring just until the dough comes together;  add more milk if necessary until the dough holds together in a shaggy mass.  Do not overmix!
4. On a lightly floured surface, lightly pat the dough into a rectangle about 9 inches X 5 inches and just over 1/2 inch thick.  Using a chef knife, divide the dough evenly into 12 biscuits.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake the biscuits until lightly browned on top, 14 to 16 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

1 biscuit: 131 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein, 17 g carbohydrate

Grilled Green Beans with Horseradish Ketchup

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Grilled Green Beans

In the summer, I like to grill a lot of my food.  It keeps my kitchen from getting warm and there are fewer dishes to clean.  I grill vegetables and fruit as well as meat.  One vegetable, however, I never thought about grilling was green beans until I saw a recipe in  EatingWell magazine.  I must admit, though, the best thing about the recipe is the horseradish ketchup.  It reminds me of the dipping sauce that accompanies a “Bloomin’ Onion”.  I use a grill basket to cook the beans but if you don’t have one you can make one with some heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Fold the foil in half and crimp up the edges to create a lip for the basket.  Serve the beans with grilled chicken, steak or pork chop. Happy Grilling!

Grilled Beans With Horseradish Ketchup

EatingWell August 2012

4 servings (3/4 cup each) 

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans (or green &/or yellow wax beans), trimmed
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ketchup

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.
2. Toss beans with olive oil, salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a bowl.  Transfer to a grill basket.
3. Grill the beans, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp and brown in spots, 8 to 10 minutes.  If they are browning too much before they are tender, reduce the heat or move the grill basket to a cooler part of the grill.
4. Combine the horseradish, mayonnaise, ketchup, and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the beans, stir to coat.

1 serving:  66 calories, 2 g fat, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein, 11 g carbohydrate

Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

sa·lu·bri·ous /səˈlubriəs/ [suh-loo-bree-uhs] –adjective: favorable to or promoting health; healthful

Zucchini and Tomato Gratin

The zucchini are starting to grow in the garden which means, soon, I will have an abundance of the green squash.  Therefore, it is time to dust off the zucchini recipes.  Fortunately, zucchini is a very versatile vegetable that can be utilized in many ways.  It pairs well with tomatoes and together they make a delicious gratin.  I admit that this recipe can take a bit of time to prepare but it is worth sautéing the squash before assembling the gratin.  It keeps the squash from stewing while baking.  While the recipe calls for 2 cups of fresh breadcrumbs, I prefer to use less, which knocks down the carb content.  I have already posted other recipes using zucchini and I will no doubt post more using this flexible veg.

EatingWell 2012

4 servings

 Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2/3 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 cups fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs, divided
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 medium zucchini, (about 1  3/4 pounds total), sliced on the bias about 1/4 inch thick
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 400° F. Coat a 9X13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place garlic, basil and thyme on a chopping board; mince well.  Spread half of the breadcrumbs evenly in the prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle the onions over the breadcrumbs.  Distribute half of the diced tomato over the onion, then sprinkle with half of the garlic-herb mixture.  Sprinkle with the vinegar and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add a third of the zucchini, don’t over crowd the pan.  Saute, turning the pieces once, until golden and not quite tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side.  When the slices are done, use a fork to transfer them to the gratin, overlapping the slices.  Cook the remaining zucchini in two batches, each time using 2 teaspoons oil.  Sprinkle the remaining tomatoes and garlic-herb mixture over the zucchini.  Season with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper.  Toss the remaining breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle over the gratin.
4. Bake the gratin until bubbly hot, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan.

NOTE:  To make fresh breadcrumbs:  Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread.  Tear bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form.  One slice of bread makes about 1/3 cup bread crumbs.

1 serving: 302 calories, 15 g fat, 7 g fiber, 12 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates