Fun With Chia Seeds

I agree with this ABC news post that chia seeds have replaced kale as the “it food” this year. These tiny seeds, which most of us are more familiar with as giving Chia Pets their “hair” or “fur,” have gotten a lot of attention for being loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. They are also chock-full of protein and fiber, for few calories.

What’s the advantage of dumping some into your food? A nutrient boost, as well as fiber to help you feel fuller longer.

I decided to buy some on my last visit to Whole Foods, and then the experiment was on. My first stop: breakfast.

I added the chia seeds to fat-free Greek yogurt, along with honey, and I topped off this breakfast bowl with diced banana and strawberries. It was delicious, as you would expect honey and Greek yogurt to be, and the chia seeds added extra crunch. (Shout-out to ripe banana and strawberries as well.)

The interesting thing about chia seeds is that they become a bit gelatinous when exposed to moisture for a bit–which explains the paste you’ve seen slathered on Chia Pet heads in the past–so you could also consider them a thickener for whatever you want to make. It is something to get used to, and I’d think that would be what would make this a love-it-or-hate-it superfood. I didn’t mind; my yogurt got a little thicker over the course of time, but was still enjoyable, partially because despite swelling to sport a gel-like coating, the crunch doesn’t go away from the seeds.

I purchased my bag of chia seeds on sale for about 6 bucks, but a bag can hover around the $10 mark, give or take a few bucks, from what I’ve seen from the other options at Whole Foods. (I’m still on my first bag after having made several meals with chia seeds now, though, so I think it’s worth the price when on the left side of $10.) I haven’t explored yet whether chia seeds have hit the regular grocery stores of if they’re still a specialty item to be found at health food stores, but I imagine they’ll make their way to a Pathmark, Ralph’s, or Publix near you soon. (Wheat germ is still on the shelves after making its debut in 1936, according to this New York Times article, so why not?)

Chia seeds seem like they’d be a little more shelf-stable than wheat germ and, from what I understand (without having tried them), flax seeds.

Interested in adding chia seeds to your meals? Let you know what you come up with! I’ll have more recipes to share here soon myself.

How to Make a Turkey Disappear: Salads, Etc.

I gushed last week about the turkey smell in my house that had me daydreaming about tasty meals. Well, that turkey is a distant memory. I have to say thank you to my family for helping me to gobble up the gobbler!

I made several salads with the turkey and had some other ideas that I didn’t get to execute, but will definitely do it next time. Here goes on where the six pounds of turkey went…

Cranberry Blue Cheese Turkey Salad

• 2 oz turkey
• Salad greens and veggies of your choice
• 1T pecans, crushed
• 2T dried cranberries
• 2T light or fat-free blue cheese dressing

Mix, eat, and enjoy!

Fajita Turkey Salad

Grill some peppers and sliced onions, or, while closely monitoring them, char them in the oven set to broil.

Add some to:

• Salad greens of your choice
• 2-3 oz. turkey
• 2T guacamole
• 2T fat-free Greek yogurt
• (You could also add cheese; if you do, go with 2 oz of turkey.)

Satay Turkey Salad

• 2-3 oz turkey
• Broccoli slaw
• 1/4 c peanut sauce
• 1T peanuts, crushed (measure 1T of peanuts and then crush them)

Mix the turkey, broccoli slaw, and peanut sauce. Top with the peanuts.

Turkey Club Salad

• Salad greens and vegetables of your choice
• 2 oz. turkey
• 1/2 c whole wheat pasta (I went with rotini)
• 2 slices bacon (center-cut pork bacon or turkey bacon), cooked
• 2T light or fat-free ranch dressing

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy! (You could also add 1/2 oz. of cheese; I’m thinking a sharp cheddar.)

Buffalo Turkey Salad (I didn’t make this one, because I ran out of turkey, but here’s the idea I had!)

• 2-3 oz turkey
• 2T light or fat-free blue cheese dressing
• Cholula garlic hot sauce to taste

Add your turkey and salad greens to your bowl/plate. Mix the dressing and hot sauce together; add on top of the salad. Top with 1T of sunflower seeds or a serving of garlic croutons. And/or add 1/2 to 1 oz of cheese–mozzarella or cheddar.

So, obviously a handful of salads doesn’t make a big ol’ turkey breast disappear. How else did my family help me make it disappear? These recipes offer light options and heavy options to accommodate all eaters in your household.

Turkey burritos, tacos and nachos:

• Go heavy with a large flour tortilla, rice, turkey, cheese and a good hot sauce (I used Cholua lime hot sauce).
• Go lighter with a smaller, fat-free flour tortilla, 2 oz. turkey and 1/4 c fat-free refried beans (or turkey and grilled peppers and onions), cheese and hot sauce.
• 2-3 oz turkey, 1 oz. cheese, and salsa verde (all ingredients split between taco-sized corn tortillas).
• 2 oz turkey over 1-1.5 oz baked tortilla chips, with 4 T salsa con queso. (2T fat-free Greek yogurt and 2T guacamole are optional.)

Turkey, steamed peas and polenta:

2 oz turkey, a serving of steamed peas (from a frozen steamer bag heated in the microwave); and polenta made to the instructions on my bag of corn meal, plus a little minced garlic

Turkey club sandwich: Go heavy with turkey, 2 slices of bacon (center-cut pork or turkey), light or heavy mayonnaise to taste, cheese slices (optional), and bread of your choice. Go light with 2 oz. turkey, 2 slices of bacon, 1T light mayonnaise (or 2T light ranch dressing), 1 slice of bread, or a fat-free flour tortilla.

And, of course, a Thanksgiving-worthy entree of turkey, a starch and vegetables!

Barbecue Chicken Pita Pizza

I’m not too proud to buy the reduced price items at the market. In fact, I’m a bit of a proud cheapskate. Why not take advantage of sales like that when they cross my path?

It’s a fun, exhilarating game to me, to scour the market and find amazing deals on things I actually buy. (I don’t coupon because coupons typically are not for things I’d buy. Someone call me if they ever start offering produce coupons, though!)

One thing I’ve been able to find on sale consistently is pita bread. A market that I frequent has had pita on sale the last couple of times I’ve been in the store. Four for a dollar! I bought a couple bags each time.

I had been using the pita for a vegetarian lunch, of pita, hummus, and a salad, but I’ve also made pizza with the pitas as well, like I used to when I started Weight Watchers. But recently I decided to mix things up, with a barbecue chicken pizza. Here’s how:

Your favorite barbecue sauce, 2T

1.5-2 oz. chicken breast, diced or shredded (leftover chicken works perfectly!)

1 pita–whole wheat, plain, or garlic

1 oz. part-skim mozzarella

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread the barbecue sauce on the pita. Top with the cheese, and then the chicken. I then spritzed the pizza with a little cooking spray, to keep the chicken from drying out so much, but that’s optional.

Heat the pizza in the oven until the cheese is melted to your liking.

Notes: I first encountered barbecue chicken pizza at an Italian restaurant around my way, and they also put red onion on the pizza. That’s another option for you. In place of the barbecue sauce, you could go with light or fat-free ranch dressing–that’s another tomato sauce alternative I’ve seen for chicken pizza.

These Cooking Rules Are Made to Be Broken

Last night, I was preparing fish to bake. It was a 2-lb bag of tilapia fillets, and I planned on doing half with salt, pepper and garlic, and half with Cajun seasoning. While visions of dusting the fish fillets with their respective spices danced in my head, I noticed a warning on the plastic that wrapped each fish fillet. It said that you should remove the fish from the plastic before thawing.

Too late! I routinely thaw the fish individually wrapped, in the main packaging, in my freezer. And they taste just fine, whether I’m baking them or grilling them. No harm, no foul.

Just like my fish experiences, there are other times when you can break the rules that recipes scream at you. Here are 8:

1. Use your favorite vegetables. When you’re making a casserole or slow cooker dish, go with the vegetables that you like (or the ones that you have on hand), as long as you time their cooking in a way that ensures they get cooked to appropriate doneness.
2. Go with yogurt. Fat-free Greek yogurt can stand in for cream, or for sour cream. Try topping your nachos or baked potatoes with some, mixing some into your chicken pot pie stuffing, in soups–the possibilities are endless!
3. Alternatives for desserts. Diet lemon-lime soda and liquid eggs in yellow and white cakes. Diet cola and liquid eggs in dark cakes and brownies. Pumpkin puree in spice cake. Fat-free Greek yogurt works here, too.
4. Ditch the butter and oil. No, you won’t get the same flavor, but if you want to save on fat and calories, opt for cooking spray or water for sautéing (or nothing at all, if you don’t have your temperature super-high).
5. Tweak the spices. Fresh or dried? Go with what you have, using more dried if the recipe calls for fresh. Leave out the salt if you have high blood pressure, or switch to a low-sodium salt, because if you’re cooking with certain items (like spaghetti sauce, cheese, or broth), you’re still getting sodium in the mix anyway. There’s a reason many bloggers (myself included) don’t give exact measurements for spices–part of the art of cooking is figuring out what works best for your taste. Experiment and go with the proportions that work for you.
6. Switch up the meat. Rather than a pork shoulder, try pork loin. Instead of high-fat ground beef, try lean ground beef (93% lean) or learn ground turkey. Don’t be afraid to make a recipe vegetarian, either–for many dishes, you’ll be safe opting for beans or textured vegetable protein (TVP).
7. Take shortcuts. As a rule, or in a pinch, you can buy rotisserie chicken or rotisserie turkey breast. Or, get the person at the seafood counter to steam the shrimp or crab for you, before tossing with grains, vegetables, or pasta. For vegetables? Buy pre-cut veggies from your produce section, or even frozen peppers and onions from the freezer section.
8. Don’t braise meat for slow cooking. As with using butter or oil for sautéing, braising does add another dimension of flavor, but if you want to cut corners on time, you can get along fine without doing it.

Whether you’re starting to cook more healthy now as part of a resolution, or you’re plugging away at healthy eating as a long-term lifestyle, there are areas where it’s perfectly fine to bend or break the cooking rules to bring your food to the table faster, or more in line with your taste preferences. I wish you hours of happy rabble-rousing in your kitchen!

Question of the day: What rules do you break in the kitchen? What tips do you have for making your life as a cook easier?

My Friend the Wawa Store

During this period of crazy, crazy work for me, I haven’t been cooking as much as I normally do, and that has been hard for me, in not having the same delicious options, and also in losing a creative outlet. But I had to be realistic and come to terms with the fact that I really can’t do it all. So how have I been eating for the last 3 or 4 weeks? Quite often, it was thanks to the good people at Wawa.

Wawa is a convenience store in the Midlantic region (that also has decent gas prices, if you’re ever in my neck of the woods). As far as convenience stores go (ahem, 7-11), they do have a fair amount of healthy options for breakfast and lunch. I got to know many of them very well lately.

On my way to work in the morning, there were days when I was stopping at Wawa for breakfast, lunch, and a 16-oz. jolt from kona and fat-free vanilla creamer (newly introduced there). And getting familiar with the cashiers.

What was I picking up to buy from there?

Fruit. There were some days when I was able to scrape together a reduced fat peanut butter sandwich at home, and on those days, I rounded out my breakfast at Wawa with a cup of coffee and a banana or an apple. Or, I picked up a cup of pineapple or grapes, or a fruit salad as a snack or lunch dessert.

Salad. Wawa offers a variety of salads that are packaged in bowls, with meats and cheeses separated from the lettuce until you’re ready to eat. I passed on the salad dressing and enjoyed the turkey club salad, the chef salad (sometimes ditching the egg)  and the Caesar salad (minus the croutons). I typically ate my salad with a bag of baked chips. On days when I had leftovers to zap in the microwave at work, I opted for the garden salad, tossing the chickpeas and egg.

Sandwiches. If you have time, you can build your own sandwich at Wawa and go light on (or without) the cheese and mayo, opt for whole wheat bread, or select a small roll rather than a 10-incher. If you’re short on time, their prepackaged sandwiches are decent. I typically ate the tuna sandwich or the peppered turkey and bacon sandwich, with fruit or baked chips.

Nutritionally sound carbs. There is a big selection of granola bars and meal replacement bars at Wawa. I didn’t get to really investigate the nutritional value of all of them (and I suspect some of them wouldn’t pass my protein/fiber test), but one that worked for breakfast one morning was the BelVita biscuits.

I saw them promoted in magazines and in my supermarket a couple months back, and they sounded interesting, but I paid them no further mind. But I liked what I saw for the fiber/protein content when I was looking for something different to eat at Wawa one day, and tried the Golden Oat flavor. You get four biscuits (like overgrown cookies, really) per serving, and no high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, or artificial flavors, according to their Web site. I ate them with a light yogurt (also from Wawa)  and a piece of fruit.

A lighter breakfast sandwich. There was a day or two when I felt like having a breakfast sandwich. The winner was the turkey sausage and egg white bagel sandwich. On the Weight Watchers points scale, it’s a bit more than I typically prefer to eat for breakfast, but it sure tasted good!

Despite not cooking much, and despite stressing and stretching myself thin mentally, I have maintained my 40 lbs. lost during this time. I guess I owe Wawa a big thank-you for that.

What are your favorite healthy convenience store meals/snacks?

Keeping the Balls in the Air

I’ve stepped into a very busy work period lately. That’s because I’m trying to juggle 3 projects at the same time. And write this blog. And maybe get some time in with my family, and some time for myself as well. It’s trying, but I’m making the best of it that I can. (One thing I’ve done for myself is to halt the kebab challenge I wanted to embark on this summer, making a kebab recipe a week for this blog. Sorry, maybe I’ll pick it up again next year.)

I found myself finishing up my work yesterday, with no dinner or complete lunch for the next day on deck. I quickly decided on grilled chicken breast and turkey chili.

I bought chicken and ground turkey from the store, and some cheese to go with the chili. (Thankfully I keep beans, crushed tomatoes, spices, onions and garlic handy, so this wasn’t a major shopping expedition.)

At home, I pounded the chicken uniformly flat, then marinated it with spices, a little olive oil, and vinegar. I chopped some onion and smashed and minced garlic. Then, I went to sit in with my husband and son for reading practice. It’s a special treat when I’m home early to get to be part teacher, part cheerleader!

After that, it was back to the kitchen. I turned on the grill and heated my skillet. I rinsed and drained my beans while everything was heating. Then I threw the chicken on the (indoor) grill and began on the chili. Fast forward about 30 minutes, and everything was ready. We live to eat again another two or three days, and I also get the satisfaction of knowing that my loved ones are well fed with quality food.

That’s a glimpse into how I pull healthy meals together, how I juggle kitchen duties, how I make room for family time, and what I keep in stock to make life easier for myself. But I know I’m not the only person juggling life needs and a desire to eat healthy. How do you keep all the balls you have to juggle safely in the air? What are your quick, healthy go-to meals?

Chipotle Meatballs

Probably about 10 years ago, I picked up a Mexican cookbook, made by the Ortega company to celebrate a key milestone in their history. The book is now well-worn, the pages dusted with flour and cornmeal. It has been one that I’ve used over and over again.

So when I saw a McCormick seasoning packet for chipotle meatballs (Yes, I intend to try every seasoning packet that catches my eye!), I knew exactly what they were, thanks to that Ortega cookbook. I never made the book’s recipe for albóndigas al chipotle (chipotle meatballs) in a soupy sauce, but in looking at the ingredients and process on the seasoning pack, I knew it would be simple to try.

The Ortega recipe takes you from start to finish, making meatballs from scratch, but this prices is much quicker, thanks to frozen meatballs.

Recipe

30 1-inch turkey meatballs (cooked and frozen or thawed)
1 McCormick Albóndigas al Chipotle seasoning packet
15-16 oz of tomato sauce (depending on whether you use two 8-oz cans or one 15-oz can)
Water per package instructions

Mix the water, tomato sauce and seasoning in a saucepan. Boil the mixture, then add the meatballs. Heat until the meatballs are heated through.

Notes: I ate these with couscous and steamed spinach, but brown or white rice would also work, as would whole wheat or white pasta. You could also mix some grilled peppers and onions into the finished meatballs/sauce combo.

Coconut Cream Yogurt Options

I want to confess that I like coconut. Coconut shrimp, coconut cream pie, tropical mocktails, you name it. The sweet, nutty taste, the unique texture that shows up unexpectedly… You’ll never get a complaint from me.

I had some coconut left over from making skinny pineapple cupcakes a while ago, and I had a sweet tooth after lunch one day, so I put this together.

Recipe

• 1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1-2T shredded coconut (I used sweetened because that’s what I had on hand, but next time I’ll seek out the unsweetened.)
• 1/2 to 1 packet of sugar-free vanilla-flavored milk mix

Mix everything together!

Notes: I didn’t think of it at the time, but you could omit the vanilla powder and add some finely diced pineapple to this instead, going with the sweetness of the pineapple, or adding a little Splenda. Making it ahead of time may soften the coconut a bit as well.

To go a little heavier, make an Almond Joy-type dessert by omitting the vanilla powder and adding a little bit of crumbled almond and fat-free chocolate sauce into this, in place of the vanilla powder–I’m guesstimating a tablespoon of nuts and a tablespoon max of the sauce. Or, make it for breakfast with almonds and banana, with or without the vanilla powder.

I found the vanilla milk powder mix in the coffee aisle of my grocery store. It also comes in chocolate and strawberry flavors. Let me know of any experiments you make with them!

Quick Chicken Dumplings and Stir-Fried Vegetables

A lot of the food that gets served in Chinese restaurants is fried or glistens with the sheen of a healthy amount of oil. I don’t eat a lot of Chinese, because I’m the only one in my family that likes it, but the meal that I buy the most these days is steamed chicken dumplings and sauteed string beans. Why? It allows me to go easy on the fat with the protein portion, and to get in lots of veggies on the side. When you make this meal at home yourself, you can similarly keep the fat content low.

Recipe

• 1 T olive oil (or less, or use cooking spray)
• 1 package frozen chicken dumplings (aka potstickers), still frozen
• 1 package frozen stir-fry vegetables, still frozen
• Soy sauce to taste (I went with low-sodium soy sauce.)

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat; add the dumplings. Move them around in the pan until they’re heated through and browned a bit. Remove them from the pan.

Add your vegetables to the pan. Same deal: move them around in the pan until they’re heated through. Then, add your dumplings back in, and mix everything with the soy sauce until heated through.

Notes: Some brands of dumplings come with their own sauce, and you could use that instead of the soy sauce. I also wouldn’t mind adding more onion or peppers to the veggie mix; if you want to do that, I’d heat them in the oil before adding the dumplings. The veggie blend I used most recently had edamame in it, but if yours doesn’t, you could toss in a little  to up your protein and fiber.

Kick Up the Flavor to Eat Less?

I read an interesting New York Times article a few weeks back, which said that people may be less likely to overeat if they are eating foods with strong flavors. The theory, posed by food author Peter Kamitmsky, is explored in his new book, Culinary Intelligence: The Art of Eating Healthy (and Really Well). He shares the idea of FPC, or flavor per calorie, encouraging people to eat more foods that have bold flavors in fewer calories (and to avoid high-calorie foods that are more bland).

Foods he likes: anchovies, chickpeas, capers, plain yogurt, olive oil, roasted almonds, bacon, butter, Italian sausage and dark chocolate. The New York Times author points out that Kaminsky is promoting small quantities of some of these foods, like a few crumbles of sausage or bacon in a lentil stew.

I don’t think this concept is suggesting something totally off the wall. I agree that it’s more satisfying to eat foods that richly satisfy the taste buds, and it’s definitely important to find the intersection of flavor and modest nutritional profile to avoid weight gain. Here are a couple of ideas I’ve tried out recently to do just that:

Jalapeno mustard: I found this in the market, and as a lover of spicy foods, I had to give it a whirl. It tastes like regular yellow mustard, but with a lot more attitude. One teaspoon is 0 calories.

Salad rocking the jalapeno mustard vinaigrette, with a lunch of black-eyed peas and ham with rice.

What I’ve done with the mustard so far is to use it in a relatively light vinaigrette: 2T of the mustard, mixed with 1/2 T agave nectar and 1 T apple cider vinegar. It made a slightly sweet, all-bold presence in a salad made of spring greens, grape tomatoes and vidalia onion. I think it would also be good on a turkey hot dog, served on a light hamburger bun. Add pickled jalapenos to give it even more punch. I’d also like to try making a potato salad, with the jalapeno mustard in place of good old yellow, and some southwest spices, to take this picnic classic into a new direction.

Balsamic vinegar: I have had balsamic vinegar in my house for a long time, occasionally using it in sauces for chicken dishes, and making a pretty standard salad vinaigrette out of it. I love the rich, subtly tangy taste of it, but I didn’t know what else to do with it. Then I got a mint plant, and I my brain pulled into focus on a simple dessert idea that many people enjoy: strawberries and balsamic vinegar.

A handful of sliced ripe strawberries; a few leaves of mint, shredded; a packet of Splenda, and a teaspoon of the balsamic vinegar is all you need. Mix the ingredients together, and enjoy the complex richness of this simple meal-ender.

I second Kaminsky’s suggestions for bacon and dark chocolate. I’d also add cheese to that list. A tablespoon of real bacon bits on a salad can be yours for 30 calories. A small piece of dark chocolate, alone or with fruit, is a good dessert or pick-me-up snack. The same goes for an ounce of a flavorful cheese, like a smoked gouda, chipotle cheddar, or havarti with dill. You could eat the cheese with an apple to make this snack a little more substantial.