What's with Rye?

Photo: Austin King

A common bread MYTH is that rye bread is 100% whole grain and is high in fiber. Dark rye bread especially looks super healthy and full of fiber - it couldn't be more dark brown than it is!

Rye bread and I go way back...Twenty-five years ago when I was living in Washington D.C. for a summer internship, I think I lived on turkey and provolone sandwiches on dark rye (with just a smidgen of mustard) from the deli next to where I was working. There are certain sandwiches that just beg for rye bread. Some people like tuna salad on rye, for example. But is it a whole grain?

What's the real story on rye?

The first ingredient listed on the label of most types and brands of rye bread, from Russian Rye or Jewish Rye to Dark Rye or Extra Sour Rye, is none other than...unbleached enriched flour. The second ingredient is usually water with the third ingredient being rye flour. That explains why most rye breads contribute only 1 gram of fiber per slice (one dark rye in my supermarket even contributes less than 1 gram per slice). So, the truth is that most rye breads aren't usually 100% whole grain (although there might be some enlightened brands out there I haven't seen yet) and I wouldn't call them high in fiber either with only 1 gram a slice.

My guess is rye breads aren't as high in fiber as 100% whole wheat breads because in commercial rye bread sold in America, white flour is typically combined with rye flour to make the bread. Bread companies probably do this due to rye flour not having great gluten qualities; it would make a very heavy bread unless blended with a higher gluten grain like wheat flour. Rye flour on its own though IS high in fiber (3.6 grams fiber per 50 calories or 2 tablespoons of flour).

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Frugal Friday: Day-After-Mashed-Potatoes Potato Skins

What do people usually do when they are making a batch of mashed potatoes? They usually use a potato peeler to remove the skins and then they boil the potato pieces. What a waste of nutrients and those yummy skins! You lose some of the water-soluble vitamins from the potatoes in the cooking water (which you pour down the sink) and you lose all the fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals from the potato skins (which you throw away).

But here's a frugal Friday solution...Cook the potatoes in the microwave instead, then cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the soft potato (for the mashed potatoes). The potato skins can then be used to make a side dish or appetizer the next day! I actually do this every time I make mashed potatoes.

Here's a recipe that you can try the day after you make mashed potatoes - Pesto Provolone Potato Skins. Of course you can also make the traditional potato skins with cheddar cheese and top it with turkey bacon broken into pieces and chopped green onions.

PESTO PROVOLONE POTATO SKINS

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

10 russet potato skins (5 russet potatoes cooked in the microwave and then cut in half lengthwise with a majority of the potato flesh scooped out)
About 2 teaspoons canola oil
2 1/2 tablespoons pesto
3 to 4 ounces sliced or shredded reduced fat provolone
3 green onions, white and part green, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
2. Place the potato skin halves on a nonstick cookie sheet, skin-side down and brush the inside of each potato half lightly with canola oil using a silicon brush. Bake potato skins in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, until lightly brown.
3. Spread about 3/4-teaspoon pesto inside each potato skin. Place 1/3 to 1/2 of a provolone slice (or a heaping tablespoon of shredded provolone) in each potato half.
4. Bake potato skins until the cheese is bubbly, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the top of the potato skins and serve!

Yield: 10 potato skins (5 servings of 2 skins each)

Nutrition Information per 2 potato skins: 182 calories, 8.5 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 2.2 g monounsaturated fat, 2 g polyunsaturated fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 3.5 g fiber, 255 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 39 percent.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax English Muffins

The big red banner on the see-through package of these new English muffins reads, "Heart Healthy Omega-3." I'm a big fan of omega-3s, so it certainly caught my eye. I checked the ingredient label to make sure it was made with 100% whole wheat flour (you can never be too sure) but it wasn't until I got home and had my reading glasses that I realized WHOLE flaxseeds were added and not the ideal GROUND flaxseed.

After even closer inspection I saw that a type of fish oil was also added (Menhaden oil). My next question was, "well then...how many grams of omega-3s are we talking about?" Luckily, the package discloses that each serving (1 muffin) provides 14 mg of EPA and DHA omega-3s. Granted there could be some additional omega-3s in the plant form (ALA) provided by the whole flaxseed, but most of it will pass through our intestinal tract intact which means its valuable plant omega's will also pass through unabsorbed.

These English muffins are pretty low in sodium compared to other bread products. I really liked the flavor and the texture so this could be a good option for people who need to stay below 1500 mg of sodium a day, for example.

The first 5 ingredients are whole-wheat flour, water, honey, brown sugar, and rice flour.

Each English muffin contains:

150 calories
5 g protein
29 g carbohydrate
2.5 g fat
0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat
0 mg cholesterol
5 g fiber
160 mg sodium

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A Possible Health Benefit To Drinking Diet Soda?

If you suffer from calcium-containing kidney stones, you might actually benefit from moderate consumption of certain diet sodas, according to new research from the University of California, San Francisco. The results, which suggested that the citrate and malate content in diet sodas might inhibit the development of calcium stones, were presented at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association.

Which diet sodas had the most citrate and malate? The researchers found that Diet Sunkist Orange contained the most total alkali and Diet 7-Up had the greatest amount of citrate as alkali.

American Urological Association spokesman, Anthony Y. Smith, MD, clarifies that this study doesn't suggest people with recurrent kidney stones trade in their trusty water bottles for cans of diet soda. It does, however, suggest that people with stone disease who do not drink soda may benefit from moderate consumption, notes Dr. Smith.

[J Urol, suppl 2009; 181, 4, abstract 1832, Eisner B. et al. "Citrate, malate and alkali concentrations in commonly consumed diet sodas: implications for urinary stone patients."]

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5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake Makeover

Who doesn't love the idea of mixing up chocolate cake batter in a coffee mug and then cooking it in the microwave for a warm chocolaty treat? A recipe for "5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake" is making the rounds on the Internet... so much so that a few different people emailed me the recipe so that I could give it a makeover.

I tried out a lighter, higher fiber version of this cake and it was definitely moist and flavorful. My teenage daughters gave it a taste too and gave it the thumbs up. I used all whole-wheat flour instead of white flour and reduced the sugar by 25%. Instead of 3 tablespoons of oil I used 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 2 tablespoons of fat free sour cream.

Making these changes made quite a difference in the nutritional content. Check this out:

• Calories went DOWN from 415 to 240
• Fat grams went DOWN from 25 to 8 grams
• Saturated fat went DOWN from 2.8 to .7 grams
• Cholesterol went DOWN from 113 to 2.5 milligrams
• Fiber went UP from 1.4 to 3 grams

Here's the new and improved version of this recipe!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup egg substitute (with yolk) or 1 egg
3 tablespoons lowfat milk or fat free half and half
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)
light vanilla bean ice cream (optional)
sliced strawberries or other fresh fruit (optional)

Preparation:

1. In microwave-safe coffee mug, combine whole-wheat flour, sugar, and cocoa.
2. Pour egg substitute or egg, lowfat milk, canola oil, sour cream and vanilla into the mug with dry ingredients and mix well with fork.
3. Stir chocolate chips into the cake batter in mug, if desired. Place mug in center of microwave (preferably one that has a turn table) and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes. The cake will rise about an inch or so above the top of the mug (don't worry it won't drip down the sides of the mug).
4. Let cake cool in mug for a few minutes then turn mug upside down over a serving bowl (the cake should slide out fairly easily).
5. Cut cake in half for a smaller sized serving and top with a small scoop of light vanilla bean ice cream and sliced strawberries (or other fresh fruit).

Serving Suggestion: Serve with a scoop of light vanilla ice cream and some fresh fruit like sliced strawberries or raspberries.

Yield: Makes 2 servings

Nutritional Information:
Per serving (if two per recipe): 240 calories, 7 g protein, 35 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, .7 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 115 mg sodium. Calories from fats: 30 percent.

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Taste Test Tuesday: KFC Takes the "Fried" Out of Chicken!

Photo: Elaine Magee

The other day I was driving down the street in my town and out of the corner of my eye spotted a big sign on the outside of the local KFC that said something about tasting the "unfried side of KFC". It didn't really click until I watched a commercial later that evening about the new Kentucky "grilled" chicken now being served at the KFC near you.

Well, my family has gotten into a grilled chicken groove lately - every Monday night I buy grilled chicken from a local deli/meat market (so much so that they call me "the chicken lady") and then I throw together Caesar Chicken Salad. Today, we tried out the new grilled chicken from KFC instead.

I had the nutrition information in tow, but I wondered as I ordered a bucket:

• Would there be skin on the chicken breast? (The answer is "YES")
• Would it have many of the same herbs and spices as their yummy signature fried chicken? (The answer is "YES")

Let's compare the nutrition info for the original recipe fried chicken breast and the new grilled chicken breast:

1 Grilled Chicken Breast	1 Original Recipe Chicken Breast
180 calories	370 calories
35 g protein	38 g protein
0 g carbohydrate	7 g carbohydrate
4 g fat	21 g fat
1 g saturated fat	5 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat	0 g trans fat
110 mg cholesterol	120 mg cholesterol
440 mg sodium	1050 mg sodium

Compared to fried, the grilled chicken breast has:

• Half of the calories
• 80% less total fat and saturated fat
• 60% less sodium too!

How did my family like it? Granted my teen girls aren't used to bone-in chicken because I almost always cook with boneless skinless chicken breast - so the bones threw them off a little...but we all definitely liked the chicken.

It's a step in the right direction for the Colonel, that's for sure. But if I had it my way, I would take it one step further and use skinless breast and thighs so you could enjoy the yummy seasoning without the skin. I can dream can't I?

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Taste Test Tuesday: Kellogg's Fiber Plus Antioxidants Bars

Chocolate Chip Chewy Bars

There's a new granola-type bar on the supermarket shelf! And this one gives you 35% of your daily fiber (or so the package says). It looks like a candy bar, it almost tastes like a candy bar... is it a candy bar with fiber?

Well, let's look at the first 5 ingredients:

• Chicory root fiber
• Rolled oats
• Crisp rice cereal (rice flour, sugar, malt extract, etc..)
• Sugar
• Semi sweet chocolate drops

While the first few ingredients are more like a cereal, the last two are more like a candy bar. Put it all together and you've got a chewy bar with 23% calories from sugar and 30% calories from fat. Each 120-calorie bar also contributes 9 grams of fiber, 10% Daily Value for calcium, 20% Daily Value for vitamin E and zinc.

Here's the nutritional information per bar:

120 calories
4 g fat
2 g saturated fat
0 g trans
55 mg sodium
26 g carbohydrate
7 g sugars
2 g protein
9 g fiber

If you are looking for a chew cereal-based bar that is really high in fiber but also high in flavor and you don't mind that it has around 20% calories from sugar and only 2 grams of protein...this is a snack bar for you!

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