Healthy Recipe Doctor

B.Y.O.F. (Bring Your Own Fruit)

2009-07-02T08:56:00.000-04:00

What's the one type of food you just don't seem to get enough of when you are away from home or traveling? Fruit! So I decided to try a little experiment with my family on our trip this past week.

The BYOF Hypothesis:
What if you went out of your way to bring your own fruit with you, or buy some when you got there? Would you miraculously eat more fruit?

The Magee Vacation Experiment:
I packed a small bag of fruit this week on our recent mini vacation (by car) and then kept the fruit visible in our hotel room – we are talking apricots, apples, bananas and pears. What happened? With the exception of a couple of the apples, all were eaten by the end of our stay. The fruit came in handy as snacks, day or night.

Some other ways to work some fruit into your day while traveling is to:

Order fresh fruit with your entrée at restaurants instead of French fries or other fried side dishes.
Order a fresh fruit plate with breakfast, lunch or dinner and share it with your table.
Anytime you see whole pieces of fruit that look good (like at a coffee shop or deli), grab a piece and take it with you. It's highly likely you will have nibbled on it by the end of the day.
Enjoy some 100% fruit juice every day as a beverage.

Taste Test Tuesday: Mayo Made With Olive Oil?

2009-06-30T08:38:00.008-04:00

There are two mayonnaise options on the supermarket shelf these days featuring the nutritionally popular olive oil. It was only a matter of time before mayonnaise would be made with olive oil instead of other vegetable oils like soybean oil.

Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil
It's a bit pricey but this 10-ounce plastic squirt bottle of reduced fat mayonnaise caught my eye. The cap is olive green and there's a picture of an appetizing green olive on the label.

But if you think this product was made exclusively with olive oil, you better check out the ingredient label. You'll find: water, olive oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and vinegar, listed as the first 5 ingredients.

How do the nutritional numbers turn out compared to Best Foods Light Mayonnaise?
Using mostly olive oil has bumped up the monounsaturated fat and bumped down the polyunsaturated fat and saturated fat. The calories are a little higher per tablespoon as well.

Per Tablespoon:

Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil:	Best Foods Light Mayonnaise:
45 calories	35 calories
4 g fat	3.5 g fat
0 g saturated fat	.5 g saturated fat
1 g polyunsaturated fat	2 g polyunsaturated fat
2 g monounsaturated fat	1 g monounsaturated fat
<5 mg cholesterol	<5 mg cholesterol
95 mg sodium	130 mg sodium

How does it taste?
Let's just say I made tuna salad with it and my "Best Foods Light" husband didn't notice the difference. The look and taste of this mayonnaise is similar enough that many would be perfectly content using it in all their sandwich and recipe adventures. Be prepared though, a more discerning mayonnaise fan, however, might raise the red flag in revolt.

Another Option
Best Foods (known as Hellmann's east of the Rocky Mountains) makes a Mayo Dressing With Extra Virgin Olive Oil and they also still use soybean oil. This product is a little higher in calories, grams of fat, and polyunsaturated fat compared to the Kraft Mayo option.

Homemade Cookie Dough You Can Eat Raw!

2009-06-25T12:13:00.000-04:00

Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough is the latest in a string of food/product recalls to take place over the past couple of years. Until further notice, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness).

I know how popular commercial cookie dough is in America so to tie everyone over until this recent food safety scare is resolved… how about a recipe for chocolate chip cookies (that just happen to be more healthful)? You can even eat the cookie dough raw because this recipe uses egg substitute instead of eggs (which are pasteurized, eliminating the risk of salmonella from raw eggs.)

Photo: Elaine Magee

Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies
Ingredients:
1/4 cup less fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch or two of ground clove
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)
6 ounces high cacao semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In large mixing bowl, combine margarine, sugars, salt, and vanilla together by beating until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add egg substitute to the mixing bowl and beat until well mixed, scraping sides of bowl midway.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and spices. With mixer on low speed, beat half of the flour mixture into the margarine mixture. Beat in remaining flour mixture, oats, pecans (if desired) and chocolate chips.

Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until barely golden and still moist. Cool cookies on rack.

Yield: Makes 18 cookies

Nutritional Analysis per cookie: 127 calories, 2.2 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat, 2.2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 127 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 35 percent.

Taste Test Tuesday: Starbucks Gluten-free Valencia Orange Cake

2009-06-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

On top of the pedestal in the bakery case at my local Starbucks was this little orange round cake. You might pass it up thinking it's loaded with sugar and white flour...or you might pass it up because you just noticed the name tag on the product boasts "Gluten-Free", a term that may have come to mean "taste-free" in your house based on sampling other gluten-free products.

But...I didn't pass it up and I shared it with a friend and we were both pleasantly surprised with the taste and the texture. This little cake was so good there is no way I'm sharing my next one!

The first five ingredients are:

Whole eggs
Valencia orange pulp
Almonds
Sugar
Orange peel

If you are slightly alarmed by whole eggs being the first ingredient, know that each cake contains 125 mg cholesterol, which is the equivalent of slightly more than half of an egg. The second ingredient, the orange pulp, is contributing a good portion of the impressive 4 grams of fiber that comes with each cake. Yes, it's pretty high in fat, 16 grams, but there are only 2 grams of saturated fat and zero grams of trans fat per cake serving. Where is the 16 grams coming from anyway? If there is a little over half an egg in each cake then that accounts for 3 grams of fat. And with a little detective work I found out that most of the remaining fat grams come from almonds. The Valencia Orange Cake is composed of 24% almonds in the form of sliced almonds sprinkled on top of the cake and almond flour used in the cake batter. That's good news because almonds are a great source of smart fats and phytochemicals.

The cake definitely doesn't taste too sweet and there is actually less sugar added than there are almonds sprinkled on top as garnish, according to the list of ingredients. Here's what each cake contains:

290 calories
16 g fat
2 g saturated fat
0 g trans fat
125 mg cholesterol
32 g carbohydrate
4 g fiber
40 mg sodium

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Toll House Cookie Alternative : Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-06-19T13:56:00.003-04:00

Editor's Note: In light of Nestle USA's voluntary recall of its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due FDA's investigation of suspected E.coli contamination, Elaine would like you take a second look at this lightened and healthy homemade alternative chocolate chip cookie recipe. Enjoy!

The original recipe for these cookies is a top rated recipe on the Food Network website and it was contributed by Wendy Gaynor, the owner of the Ruby et Violette cookie bakery in New York City. The original recipe calls for a stick of butter; I switched to a less fat margarine with a low amount of saturated fat and no trans fat. I decreased the sugar by 1/3 and used a majority of whole-wheat flour to make the dough, which adds nutrients and fiber. The original cookie recipe calls for 3 types of chips (peanut butter chips, toffee chips and semisweet chocolate chips). I kept the two types of chocolate and took out the toffee chips.

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each cookie:

63 calories
5 grams total fat
4 grams saturated fat
17 mg cholesterol

And fiber increases by about 1 gram per serving!

Lightened NYC Bakery Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

1/2 cup less fat margarine (8 grams fat per tablespoon and no trans fat)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter or butterscotch chips
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (60% cocoa if possible)

Preparation:

In large mixing bowl, combine margarine with dark brown sugar until thoroughly blended, scarping sides and bottom of bowl frequently. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl, until blended.
In separate bowl, combine flours, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to margarine/sugar mixture while beating on low speed until combined. Stir in both types of chocolate chips and marshmallows with a scraper or spoon. Cover bowl and refrigerate until cold (at least two hours).
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each), 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes (bake longer if you like your cookies crisp and not chewy). Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove cookies to a wire rack and let them cool.

Yield: Makes 18 bakery size cookies

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 168 calories, 2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 7.5 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 11 mg cholesterol, 1.2 g fiber, 112 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 40 percent.

Journal as: 1 portion medium dessert

The Series:

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Recipe Makeover: Tyler Florence's Chicken Francese

2009-06-18T07:25:00.004-04:00

Have you ever noticed how popular chicken is with all those Food Network television chefs? I often cruise through the Food Network website looking for some interesting recipes to lighten and I've got to say, poultry seems to reign supreme! So I wasn't that surprised when the recipe that appealed to me from Tyler Florence featured chicken.

The original recipe calls for dredging the chicken breasts in seasoned flour and then in beaten whole eggs. They are then fried in 1/4 cup of oil in a skillet. Instead, I used an egg substitute "with yolk" product that is lower in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol than beaten whole eggs (and it's really easy to use too). I still used olive oil to brown the chicken breast, but I used 2 1/2 tablespoons instead of 4. With a nonstick skillet, this was just the right amount of oil. The original recipe then calls for a lemon sauce to be made in the skillet using all sorts of flavorful ingredients like sliced lemon, white wine, chicken broth, parsley, and a couple tablespoons of butter. I took out the butter completely and switched to a sweeter white wine that wouldn't need the butter to help mellow the flavor.

These changes cut the calories by 28% and fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol by about 60%.

	Before	After
Calories	475	340
Fat(g)	26	11
Saturated Fat (g)	7.5	2.2
Cholesterol mg)	217	96
Fiber (g)	.6	.6

Light & Easy Chicken Francese

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (depending on preference)
1 cup egg substitute "with yolk" (if that product is not available, use 3/4 cup of any type of egg substitute and blend with 1 large egg)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup sweet white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon unbleached white flour
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (regular parsley can be substituted)

Directions:

Lay one chicken breast in between two sheets of wax paper and pound with the flat side of meat mallet until about 1/4-inch thick. Put the flour in a medium bowl and combine with salt and pepper. Place egg substitute or egg mixture in a wide medium bowl.
Add a tablespoon of the oil to a nonstick skillet or large frying pan and begin to heat on medium-high. Begin to dredge both sides of each chicken breast in the flour mixture and then dip them in the egg mixture to coat completely. When the oil is hot, add two cutlets to the skillet and cook until underside is golden (about 2 minutes). Coat the top of the chicken cutlets with canola or olive oil cooking spray. Flip chicken over and cook until second side is golden. Remove chicken to a large platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
Repeat step #2 with the remaining oil and chicken breasts.
When all 4 chicken breasts are keeping warm on the platter, add the lemon slices to the same skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, broth, and lemon juice and when the mixture comes to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook until the sauce is reduced a little (about 4 minutes total).
Blend about 3 tablespoons of the hot liquid with 1 tablespoon of white flour to form a loose paste. Add flour paste to the skillet and whisk into the hot liquid and continue to cook and stir until a nicely thickened smooth sauce forms.
Place the chicken back in the skillet with the sauce and place the lemon slices on top of the chicken as the chicken simmers for a couple of minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley right before serving!

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Information per serving: 340 calories, 41 g protein, 19 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 2.2 g saturated fat, 6.5 g monounsaturated fat, 1.7 g polyunsaturated fat, 96 mg cholesterol, .6 g fiber, 238 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Flat Earth Baked Veggie Crisps

2009-06-16T06:14:00.008-04:00

I've tasted my share of "veggie" chips over the years but these new Flat Earth Baked Veggie Crisps are, in my opinion, one of the best tasting so far. There are several flavors in this line of veggie crisps but I tasted the "garlic & herb field" flavored ones.

Each ounce of these veggie crisps has the equivalent of 1/2 serving of vegetables baked in them, according to the mother company that makes them (Frito Lay). So just what vegetables are being "baked in?" Would you believe pumpkin? The main vegetable appears to be potato, however.

The first six ingredients are:

Rice flour
Potato flakes
Corn oil
Modified cornstarch
Dehydrated vegetables blend (pumpkin, tomato paste, onion)
Whole oat flour

How do they compare to an ounce of ruffled potato chips?

1-ounce of the Crisps	1-ounce of Potato Chips
(about 12 crisps) contain:	contain:
130 calories	160 calories
5 g fat	10 g fat
1 g saturated fat	1 g saturated fat
2.5 g polyunsaturated fat	3 g polyunsaturated fat
1.5 g monounsaturated fat	6 g monounsaturated fat
2 g fiber	1 g fiber
90 mg sodium	160 mg sodium
10% Daily Value for vitamin A	0% Daily Value for vitamin A
10% Daily Value for vitamin C	10% Daily Value for vitamin C

So they are lower in calories with half the fat but high in fiber with about the same sodium and saturated fat levels.

Let's be honest, there is no way these chips are as good for you as eating vegetables in their whole state, but they do appear to be a better options compared to regular potato chips.

Maybe with the extra gram of fiber, people will be satisfied with an ounce of these high flavor chips. Hey, it's possible!

If you try this flavor or one of the other flavors, let us all know what you think!

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Recipe Makeover: Paula Deen's Chicken & Rice Casserole

2009-06-11T06:58:00.007-04:00

I love doing Paula Deen recipe makeovers because:

She rocks the kitchen.

She has a tendency toward my kind of cooking (comfort food).

There are always quite a few changes I can make for a big ticket nutritional pay off.

Today we are making over Paula’s popular Chicken & Rice Casserole. The original recipe calls for canned green beans. I don't do canned vegetables (not that there is anything wrong with that - except the added sodium); I just would rather use frozen or fresh vegetables. I think they taste better, although it seems that people prefer whatever they were raised with.

I also used skinless roasted chicken breast instead of any type of chicken meat with skin. And I used the 98% fat free condensed cream of chicken soup instead of regular and reduced fat sharp cheddar instead of regular. I made a blend of light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream instead of real mayonnaise, which creates a wonderful tasting mixture with 75% less grams of fat compared to the real thing.

Lastly the original recipe calls for a box of long grain white and wild rice. I used 4 cups of cooked brown rice and it seemed to work great. The pinch of salt (or any salt or that matter) simply isn't needed with the other ingredients that will contribute some sodium.

We cut the calories by 45% and the total fat and saturated fat were cut by about 70%! Cholesterol was cut in half and the fiber increased by 2 grams per serving.

Here’s the best part...it still tastes terrific - savory and satisfying!

	Before	After
Calories	646	354
Fat (g)	38	11
Saturated Fat (g)	9	3
Cholesterol (mg)	120	62
Fiber (g)	3.5	5.5

Light & Easy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken or celery soup
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
3 cups frozen green beans
3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast, without skin
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, chopped
8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 ounce jar or can pimentos, drained (optional)
4 cups cooked brown rice (or cooked brown rice and wild rice blend)
1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (or 3-quart casserole dish) with canola cooking spray.
In large mixing bowl, combine condensed soup, light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream.
Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine with mayonnaise mixture. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: makes 8 servings

Nutritional Information per serving: 354 calories, 25 g protein, 38.5 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 435 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent.

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Taste Test Tuesday: Weight Watchers Giant Mint Fudge Ice Cream Sundae Cone

2009-06-09T06:57:00.003-04:00

These are one of the better low fat ice cream treats in the frozen dessert aisle for sure. The chocolate cone is definitely unique and so is the mint ice cream that fills it. But Weight Watchers had me with the "2 Points Per Cone" written on the box. Each cone is very tasty and satisfying with one serving being a perfectly sized portion.

The low fat mint ice cream is made with milk fat and nonfat milk, sugar, polydextrose, maltodextrin, cellulose gel, and a few other ingredients, while the chocolate cone is made with mostly bleached white flour, sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, natural and artificial flavors, oat fiber, and canola oil. This tells us that 4 grams of fiber per cone is coming from a couple different directions and that sugar is the second or third ingredient for the ice cream and the cone. A quick glance at the grams of sugar per cone plus a bit of math and now 43% of the calories for this yummy dessert comes from sugar. Here are the rest of the nutritional numbers.

Each cone contains:

140 calories
3 g protein
27 g carbohydrate
15 g sugar
4 g fat
1 g saturated fat (0 g trans)
Less than 5 mg cholesterol
4 g fiber
70 mg sodium

I would buy these again, perhaps occasionally, because they are enjoyable to eat and one serving doesn't get me too far up in calories. Although the % of calories from sugar is a bit higher than I would like, the grams of fiber is surprisingly high as well.

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Hurry and Grab Some Curry for Weight Loss?

2009-06-03T07:58:00.001-04:00

Photo: Alpha

There's a component found in certain plants that reduced body weight gain and total body fat without any other change in the food intake when it was included in a "high fat" diet given to mice. The researchers noticed mice with the special diet had less blood vessel growth, specifically in fat tissue . The special phytochemical is curcumin, a bioactive component found in turmeric and some curry spice blends (such as korma curry paste, yellow curry paste, and most commercial curry powders). The noticeable bight yellow color of curry comes courtesy of turmeric, a common ingredient in Indian cooking.

The mice whose diet was supplemented with curcumin also benefited from lower blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol and lower liver fat levels. It sure sounds like we should all hurry and start cooking with curry, doesn't it?

The next step for researchers is to study whether cooking with reasonable amounts of curcumin would actually help reduce weight in humans and lower serum triglycerides, cholesterol and glucose.

***

Turmeric Tips: Who knew turmeric has an interesting history! It's been dried and sold as a powder and used in cooking since before the time of Christ. In the Middle Ages, it was called "Indian saffron" and used as a cheaper alternative to saffron thanks to its bright yellow color. Store turmeric in a cool dark cabinet (as is best for most herbs and spices) because it is sensitive to light.

Source: Journal of Nutrition May 2009 Vol 139

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What's with Rye?

2009-05-26T09:30:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-22T09:30:00.004-04:00

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:

Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
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.
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.
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

2009-05-19T09:29:00.001-04:00

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?

2009-05-14T06:14:00.001-04:00

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

2009-05-13T16:15:00.001-04:00

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:

In microwave-safe coffee mug, combine whole-wheat flour, sugar, and cocoa.
Pour egg substitute or egg, lowfat milk, canola oil, sour cream and vanilla into the mug with dry ingredients and mix well with fork.
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).
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).
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!

2009-05-12T06:34:00.010-04:00

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

2009-05-05T06:36:00.002-04:00

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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Do Your Supplements Give You A Kick Of Caffeine?

2009-04-29T05:45:00.003-04:00

Secret Caffeine in Dietary Supplements

Half of us are taking dietary supplements on a daily basis but what you may not know is that some of them come with a kick of caffeine - and it may not even be listed on the label.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists analyzed a number of caffeine-containing products including supplements. You see, caffeine is a natural alkaloid in more than 60 plants (including tea and coffee) and in plant derivatives known as "botanicals." These botanicals, such as guarana, yerba mate, kola nut and green tea extract, are common dietary-supplement ingredients and are printed on the label's ingredient list - although you might not see any amount of caffeine listed on the label. According to the Agricultural Research Service online report on Caffeine In Selected Dietary Supplements, there is no requirement to state the amount of caffeine present in a food, beverage or supplement on the product's label. If caffeine in its pure form is added to a product, however, there is a requirement to add the word "caffeine" to the label's ingredient listing, the report explains.

Dietary supplements - predominantly weight-loss and sports-nutrition products containing at least one caffeine-containing ingredient - were chosen for the ARS analysis. Here's what they found:

[Note: According to the Nutrient Data Laboratory, one 8-ounce cup of coffee (240 milliliters) contains about 95 milligrams of caffeine.]

Of the 53 products analyzed, 27 products provided - by way of a daily serving defined on the label - the caffeine equivalent of about 1 to 2 cups of coffee.

11 products had caffeine equivalents ranging from 2 to 4 cups of coffee.

11 more products had equivalents ranging from 4 to 6 cups of coffee.

4 products provided an amount of caffeine ranging from 7 to 8 cups of coffee.

Of the 28 analyzed products that voluntarily listed a caffeine amount on the label, 25 were found to contain caffeine levels within 20 percent of the label amount.

*****

[Agricultural Research Magazine, April 2009, "Caffeine-containing Botanicals in Dietary Supplements."]

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Taste Test Tuesday: Skinny Cow French Vanilla Truffle Bars

2009-04-28T15:11:00.004-04:00

They look like big fudgesicles but without the fudge, although they have a chocolate drizzle on the outside. These are the new low-fat ice cream bars by Skinny Cow and they are probably going to go over really big with the vanilla-loving crowd.

The first ingredient is skim milk, followed by two types of sweetener - sugar and corn syrup. Each 100-calorie bar contains 12 grams of sugar (48% Calories from sugar), and 1.5 grams of saturated fat mainly from the coconut oil and palm oil used to make the chocolate drizzle (13.5% calories from saturated fat). That's the bad nutritional news. The good news is, each bar only contains 2.5 grams of total fat along and contributes 3 grams of fiber and 0 grams of trans fat and sugar alcohols. People who are sensitive to the intestinal side effects of sugar alcohols (gas & cramping) will appreciate this.

If you are in the mood for something chocolaty and cold, this probably won't do the trick. But if you love the taste of vanilla (and tend to order vanilla lattes or vanilla shakes), this could be an ideal 100 calorie treat or snack for you.

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Alcohol Use or Abuse?

2009-04-24T10:00:00.001-04:00

Answering this one question can tell researchers a lot about alcohol abuse:

How many times in the past year have you had 4 or more drinks in a day? (Make that 5 or more drinks a day for men.)

Just answering this question about alcohol use can help raise the warning flag to primary physicians that a spectrum of potential unhealthy alcohol use behaviors may be at play.

Photo: Kyle Flood

Unhealthy alcohol use - the spectrum from risky consumption to alcohol use disorders, alcohol abuse, and dependence - is "prevalent, but under-diagnosed, in primary care settings" according to Boston Medical Center researchers based on results from their study that appears in the March 12 online issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. "Screening and brief intervention by primary care physicians for those with unhealthy alcohol use reduces risky consumption, " according to Peter C. Smith, MD, MSc, from Boston University School of Medicine and colleagues.

The researchers recently tested the use of this one question about alcohol behavior in a sample of primary care patients. Of the 286 participants in the study, unhealthy alcohol use was reported by 31% of participants. Further review of this subgroup found that (of the 286 participants):

6% consumed risky amounts but did not have alcohol-related problems or a disorder

13% consumed risky amounts and had problems but no current disorder

12% had a current alcohol use disorder

It doesn't hurt to ask yourself this question:

How many times in the past year have you had 4 or more drinks in a day? (5 or more drinks a day for men.)

Then honestly reflect on your answer, because your doctor might be asking you the same question in the years to come.

*****

Source: J Gen Intern Med. Published online March 12, 2009.

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Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-04-22T12:41:00.005-04:00

The original recipe for these cookies is a top rated recipe on the Food Network website and it was contributed by Wendy Gaynor, the owner of the Ruby et Violette cookie bakery in New York City. The original recipe calls for a stick of butter; I switched to a less fat margarine with a low amount of saturated fat and no trans fat. I decreased the sugar by 1/3 and used a majority of whole-wheat flour to make the dough, which adds nutrients and fiber. The original cookie recipe calls for 3 types of chips (peanut butter chips, toffee chips and semisweet chocolate chips). I kept the two types of chocolate and took out the toffee chips.

WHAT YOU SAVE
Making these changes cut from each cookie:

63 calories
5 grams total fat
4 grams saturated fat
17 mg cholesterol

And fiber increases by about 1 gram per serving!

Lightened NYC Bakery Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

1/2 cup less fat margarine (8 grams fat per tablespoon and no trans fat)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1 large egg, higher omega-3 if available
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter or butterscotch chips
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (60% cocoa if possible)

Preparation:

In large mixing bowl, combine margarine with dark brown sugar until thoroughly blended, scarping sides and bottom of bowl frequently. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl, until blended.
In separate bowl, combine flours, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to margarine/sugar mixture while beating on low speed until combined. Stir in both types of chocolate chips and marshmallows with a scraper or spoon. Cover bowl and refrigerate until cold (at least two hours).
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons each), 2 inches apart, on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes (bake longer if you like your cookies crisp and not chewy). Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove cookies to a wire rack and let them cool.

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Pistachio Recall

2009-04-18T09:31:00.005-04:00

If you haven't already heard, pistachios are the latest food to be hit by the salmonella organism and a resultant pistachio panic has run rampant through the U.S. Here's what seems to have happened...Because the pistachios may be contaminated with salmonella, Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. (in California) has expanded its recall of roasted pistachios to include all lots of roasted in-shell pistachios and roasted shelled pistachios that were produced from nuts harvested in 2008.

A joint FDA and California Dept. of Public Health inspection indicated the presence of salmonella in critical areas of the facility and the potential for cross-contamination between raw and roasted products. Three environmental samples and one finished product sample taken during the inspection tested positive for Salmonella.

So what does this mean to you?

For a list of the specific items (including brands) being recalled in the following categories (cake & pie, candy products, ice cream products, pistachio products, snack bar products, snack and snack food products), go to the FDA website for Pistachio Product Recalls: Salmonella.

Then see the inside window on this page with the heading "FDA Salmonella Pistachio Product Recall". You click on the various product categories, and the specific brands and products recalled in that category will be listed.

The good news is that the vast majority of pistachio products and foods containing pistachio products do not contain pistachios from Setton. For a list of brands reported as NOT containing any pistachio products from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc, go to PistachioRecall.org.

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