How Could You Not Enjoy These?

Vegetables are our friend! Just look at all the wonderful colours for our taking. I'm getting back into making medleys of vegetables for many of my meals. I'll steam a variety together, then eat them plain, or mound my 1/2 cup pasta with steamed veges and a bit of low-fat spaghetti sauce for a very filling and healthy meal.


This is my past Sunday's supper. 3/4 cup whole wheat pasta (I still had two starches left for the day, but couldn't eat a full two, so I went with 1 1/2 starches), 5 oz broiled salmon, 3 cups mixed vegetables, some steamed and others stir fried in a dash of olive oil, and 1/2 cup low-fat primavera sauce. So filling, and so good!

Experiment, you could use chicken or beef as your protein instead. I just happened to have some left-over salmon needing to be eaten. It's buried under the veges.


Try it. You just might like it as much as I do!


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Apple Harvest

I believe we planted our two apple trees five or six years ago, and this year is the first that we've gotten a true crop from either of them. Both trees were loaded with a variety of round, dimpled, mildly deformed, to yes, seriously ruined tart, cooking apples. But I was determined not to waste any of the unscathed morsels of fruit, even if it meant cutting around squiggly little worms fighting for what they deemed as their turf.

What I wasn't prepared for, however, were leaping, squirming earwigs that unexpectedly released themselves from their chosen juicy home and decided to investigate the surface of me. More than once those ugly black creatures with their u-shaped butt and too-active tentacles caused a most girlish high-pitched squeal to escape from the usually-calm me, along with a muscle-jarring jig that thankfully sent them flying back into the sink. Each time I managed to recover my wits quick enough to depress the garborator button immediately. But, still, with perseverance and added caution, I ventured forth to create my masterpieces of Apple Crisp to be enjoyed during the approaching winter months. There's a certain satisfaction in creating a well-loved dessert from the fruit that you first enjoyed as pale-pink blossoms on your trees. Climbing a ladder months later to retrieve the ripened fruit is an added bonus to the whole experience.

Initially, I tried two low-fat recipes, hence the two pans pictured here. The family unanimously decided that the lighter version was never to be made again. Just to prove their point, over a third of it was sent to the waste bin. "Too dry, too nothing," was their take on it.

Since the initial two taste-tester pans you see here, I've stocked my freezer with seven tin pans filled with the following Low Fat Apple Crisp recipe from our apple harvest so far this year. (I need a taller ladder to get to the remaining fruit.)


Low Fat Apple Crisp (From COOKS.COM)

7 c. sliced peeled apples
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1 c. quick rolled oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. soft butter (I use cholesterol-free, low-fat margarine)

In 2 quart baking dish put apples on bottom. In small bowl combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add to fruit and toss.

Topping: Combine oats, sugar and cinnamon. With 2 knives cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or microwave at high for 15 minutes. Serves 8. Enjoy hot with 1/2 cup low-fat vanilla ice cream for a special treat!


Happy Baking Everyone!

Blessings,

Eileen

Healthy Wraps

Hi, All:

One cool, crunchy sandwich that I like to eat is to wrap a Weight Watchers tortilla shell around some low-fat meat, and stuff it with lots of raw veges, like cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, romaine lettuce, and even some chunks of tomatoes. A little low-fat mayonaise, or oil and vinegar dressing will give a nice zing to it.

This is a great way to get your vegetable intake up, while keeping with the proper portion size of protein. Add a large glass of chilled water and voila, you have a well-balanced meal that's both filling and healthy!

Experiment with different meats and veges, and enjoy!

Blessings,

Eileen

Curried Pumpkin and Mango Soup

Ohhh, my hubby made this for our family this past Sunday. We've been trying to use up pantry and freezer contents and so he modified a pumpkin soup recipe to include some of our frozen mango, too. This soup is thick, and has a little tangy taste and is excellent, in my opinion. By using low sodium broth you create a healthier soup. I hope you enjoy it.

Curried Pumpkin and Mango Soup

1 onion
4 peeled chopped cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can chicken broth and 1 can of water
1 can pure pumpkin
2 cups mango chunks (frozen or fresh)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 tablespoons brown sugar

In large stockpot, cook the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and curry powder. Bring to boil. Add pumpkin and mango, stir constantly, bring to boil again. Turn heat down to very low and cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

In very small batches transfer the hot soup to your blender. Be sure to hold the lid on top of the blender and even cover it with a towel to prevent blowouts. Puree the mixture until totally smooth. Transfer the newly smooth blended soup into a fresh clean pan. After all the soup has been pureed, slowly blend in the skim milk and brown sugar. Reheat the soup gently and serve immediately.

Try it! I hope you like it.

Try this...

I thought I'd post a recipe today from my Magic Cuisine cook book. This is one that you can substitute any ground meat in. I've tried it with beef, turkey and chicken and have enjoyed each one.

Cottage Meat Loaf

1 1/4 cup Healthy Choice pasta sauce (I use the blue menu PC sauce)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup cooked rice (I like the basmati rice)
1/4 cup chopped onion (chopped fine so the kids don't discover them)
1 cup chopped red pepper
16 oz ground turkey breast
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. brown sugar substitute

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix one cup of the pasta sauce, eggs, rice, onion, and red pepper in a bowl until blended. Add ground turkey breast. Mix gently but thoroughly.

Line a 9" X 5" loaf pan with foil. Press in the turkey mixture.

Combine remaining pasta sauce, dry mustard, and brown sugar substitute in a bowl to make meat loaf topping. Spread over turkey mixture. Bake meat loaf for one hour or until done. Drain any fat. Let stand five minutes before serving.

Serves four.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Eileen