Chili Powder

Of the 3 "problem" ingredients for my chili recipe. One of them has plenty of substitutes.
Apparently Chili Powder is a mixture of spices. Like "Pumpkin Pie Spice" or "mixed Pickling Spices"
so I looked up some low sodium recipes for chili powder, and subbed that for chili powder. In fact two of the ingredients were already in so I upped them, and added the other 4 (Garlic powder, paprika, onion powder & oregano).

The other problem ingredients;
Worcestershire sauce - I'll be looking for the lowest sodium, variety
salt - I left it out and added Lime juice for the recipe for "batch 1"
but it may take a few trys before I get the taste right. Potassium Chloride is a possibility.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Comfort Food

I was craving a Tuna Hotdish. (Minnesota calls casserole this).
I used low Sodium Cream of Mushroom Soup, topped with home made LS Bread crumbs.
despite my best effort to pep it up, it turned out a little bland. I'll have to work on some spices.
Granted the HDs are not always that zippy anyway. I was wanting to have tuna, but figured making a casserole would spread it's requisite sodium out over more servings than if I just had a sandwich.

Yo-Juice?
My nephew likes something called Yo-J! from Kemps. a yogurt Juice drink. He did not like drinkable yogurts. Tonight in my smoothie machine, I made a juice, yogurt smoothie. On a whim I added some marscapone cheese. Wow was it ever good. It was super creamy. The juice was a Hansen's all natural strawberry banana "smoothie"(non-dairy) that I picked up at Big Lots!.
Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Salty Weekend.

Friday I went to a dinner party and Stouffer's Lasagna was served. The sodium was through the roof. I had pizza Saturday and Sunday, but should have kept within my guidelines those two days. Today, at cardiac rehab, I weighed in a bit higher than I did Friday. Also I did not have the low blood pressure issues at rehab today. I wonder if there is that much of a connection. I wonder if I am keeping my sodium too low? So this week especially today and tomorrow, I am going to be extra diligent about the sodium. I'll see what happens Wednesday.

Lunch Today
consisted of a salad, with a slice of my potroast, 1 slice of Swiss Cheese and the pesto dressing. I also made a Strawberry-Pineapple-Yogurt Smoothie.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Garlic Cheese Toast

Low Salt, and delicious

Ingredients:

• English Muffin Toasting Bread (From Master, Thomas or other bakeries)


• Garlic Cooking Spray


• Garlic Powder


• Kraft Italian Pesto Dressing


• Fresh Mozzarella

Preheat Broiler
Cut slices of bread into quarters
Put bread on baking sheet.
Spray with cooking spray
sprinkle with garlic powder
spoon a 1/4 t of dressing in center
divide 1 oz of fresh mozzarella into 4 pieces (per slice)
Broil until bread is toasted.

Tip: You can never have too much garlic on garlic toast.
Out mozzarella next to pesto, and

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Did not feel like cooking.

What a surprise, I got the lazy bones last night, and did not feel like cooking. I ordered a thin crust, veggie pizza with onions, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, green peppers and pineapple. No Black olives, otherwise it would have been the Veggie Delight. Light on sauce, light on cheese. I had 2 pieces, last night, and half a piece today for breakfast. This morning I also had yogurt and toast.

The Chili Project
I have gone over my chili recipe and am ready to start my experimentation. First I am going to have to switch the way I cook the meat. This may sound disgusting, but the norm is to boil the hamburger right in the chili. I'll be sautéeing the hamburger, draining it and rinsing it to cut down on the fat. I may cut down on the meat, and mince some mushrooms with the meat. I am not sure if they will hold up to the 4 hour simmering process though. Normally I use cocoa powder and let the fat from the hamburger turn it into chocolate. I'll leave that be for the time being. If it affects the taste too much, I may go to the more normal square of baking chocolate with the trivial amount of fat. Cincinnati chili has Greek influences in it, chocolate and cinnamon are both in the recipe.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Steak Soft Tacos

More leftovers. I used some of the sliced potroast strips I had in the freezer, and made up a hot marinade out of low sodium seasonings. (cayenne, Extra Spicy Mrs. Dash, red pepper flakes and water)

• low sodium/fat soft flour tortillas


• shredded lettuce


• diced tomatoes


• low sodium salsa


• shredded parmesan


• fat free sour cream

warm the tortillas in microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel.
fill with desired toppings.

A note about salsas. The sodium level on them is all over the map. Most of the name brands are pretty high. I found a very low sodium one at teh co-op. Although at my grocery store, I found the brand: Frog Ranch All Natural with only 40 mg of sodium per 2 TBL

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Cincinnati Chili

Some time ago, I created my own precise Cincinnati Chili Spice mix. It was adjusted to my personal tastes. I have let people sample it, and fans of that particular style of chili agree with me that is great. One of the goals I set for myself when I was lying in my hospital bed was to de-sodium it. Today is the day for that task. I am very proud of the recipe, and will be publishing it.

Wine for Dummies Andrea Immer's Great Tastes Made Simple Karen MacNeil'sThe Wine Bible

Life is Too Short to Drink Bad Wine

I like wine. In my family, happy hour is called "wine time". As a waiter at a fine restaurant, I learned what wines I liked, as well as what other people liked. It was to the point people just had me pick a wine for them. Other waiters were selling wine with the phrase "Kevin likes this one". Or I would get a referral from another waiter, "some customers are asking me what that wine was you suggested". I am not purporting to be any sort of expert. I will leave that to the society folks. I just like what tastes good. Notice I did not say "cheap wine", but "bad wine". Expense has as much to do with product postitioning, cost of production, perceived value, scarcity and many other factors that have nothing to do with how it tastes. One of our better Australians blends was actually about as inexpensive as our house wine.

A lot of people are intimidated about wine. Unfortunate. Some people obsess about what glass to drink from. Its about the wine. When I designed the wine list for Mia's. I labored to make it fun. It made such an impression two of our wind distributors used it as an example to other customers. I think I have an acrobat file of one somewhere. I'll hunt for it. A good suggestion is learn a couple reds you like and a couple whites you like, and memorize the names. Do not let a wine list intimidate you. When it comes to home buying, remember what wines, and the years, you liked in restaurants. I never thought I would ever say "I prefer 199x to 199y" but I found myself saying that not too long ago.

There is a club I would like to get a chapter in Lexington. Wine Brats. As I understand it, it was founded by the younger generation of Vinters. I remember hearing a story on NPR about it. To paraphrase what I heard was "drink it out of a paper cup if you want to, just drink it".

Here is what the American Heart Association says about red wine:

"What about red wine and heart disease?
Over the past several decades, many studies have been published in science journals about how drinking alcohol may be associated with reduced mortality due to heart disease in some populations. Some researchers have suggested that the benefit may be due to wine, especially red wine. Others are examining the potential benefits of components in red wine such as flavonoids (FLAV'oh-noidz) and other antioxidants (an"tih-OK'sih-dants) in reducing heart disease risk. Some of these components may be found in other foods such as grapes or red grape juice. The linkage reported in many of these studies may be due to other lifestyle factors rather than alcohol. Such factors may include increased physical activity, and a diet high in fruits and vegetables and lower in saturated fats No direct comparison trials have been done to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke."

There remains some controversy. What is not controversial is, if a person has alcohol problems. Drinking wine is not a good solution. The risks of alcohol abuse outway any potential benefits.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Crispy Corn Crust Ratatoule Mini Pizza

Today for lunch, I am really mixing it up.
Ingredients:

• 2 Tostada Shells (low salt)


• 1/2 cup Ratatoulie


• 4 oz pulled grilled chicken


• 2 mushrooms sliced


• 4 Tablespoons Shredded Parmesan


• 1 small Ball of Fresh mozzarella


• Salt-free Italian Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°
Set Tortillas on baking sheet.
Spread Ratatoullie as sauce, to a 1/2 inch form edge
Sprinkle Italian seasoning on sauce
add Chicken
add mushrooms
Sprinkle with Parmesan
Slice Mozzerella cheese and spread decoratively on top of Parmesan
Bake for 9 minutes

Keep in mind I used leftovers for this. I had the grilled chicken and ratatoullie from earlier this week. To spice it up add pepper flakes to ratatoullie to taste. I'd have used any meat I had on the firdge. I have some of the roast left, but wanted to get rid of the chicken.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Leftovers

Cooking for one, I have a lot of leftovers. I almost always eat leftovers for lunch, sometimes dinner. But who wants last night's dinner for lunch every day? I have gotten creative with my lunches.

Last night for dinner I had baked spaghetti. I had made spaghetti earlier, and just sprayed a small baking dish with cooking spray, added leftover spaghetti mixed with leftover sauce, topped with fresh mozzarella, and baked at 350° for 25 minutes. A perusal of the Mayo Clinic recipe site inspired this one.

Wednesday I made Ratatoullie Potroast on Pasta. It served 8, I am exactly 1. Despite my best efforts to get someone to share, I ended up with a lot of leftovers. I put 2 sets of double portions in freezer bags for future dinners, but kept some of the ratatoulie and some of the pasta in the fridge for leftover lunches. Since Ratatoulie can be served cold, I added it to my pulled chicken salad I had for lunch on Thursday. The chicken itself was from Tuesday night, I pulled the meat from the bone and shredded it with a fork, placed it on a top of greens, along with the ratatoulie, a little shredded Parmesan, and dressing on the side. The "best" dressing I found is Raspberry Vinaigrette. But for this I used Italian Pesto. Not the lowest sodium around, but within the confines of my diet.

The Vegetarian Tacos was a leftovers idea too, as I had made Mrs' Dash Stuffed Mushrooms the night before. The stuffing was Mushroom stems, celery, onions, plain yogurt and bread crumbs. I made the bread crumbs myself, so I knew they were low salt.

Other things I have done to make leftovers more interesting is Spaghetti Wraps. Low fat Tortillas, with Spaghetti and sauce, lettuce and shredded Parmesan. Spaghetti on salad. I sliced the meat off the bone of the pork chops and served that on salad.
Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

A Note About Cookbooks

A person I know once said "cookbooks are for housewives". Maybe I am special because, I look to them as inspiration. When I made my risotto, I looked at all three recipes, and combined the process. Am I still a housewife? I don't care. There are plenty of us that have not been to cooking school, that use the recipes and techniques in books to help us create.

If a person is looking for cookbooks, I always suggest used, if available. I doubt only the bad ones make it to used book stores. But, with the internet a someone can find so many available it can be rediculous. ABEBooks.com is a network of independent booksellers with their inventories consolidated. Thats how I got two copies of the Larousse (one for me and one for a gift) as well as two of "The Professional Chef" a cooking school textbook. I have had no problems buying through them, although it can be cumbersome if you find multiple books from multiple sellers. Amazon.com also allows independent booksellers to sell through their site. I have bought books that way too. With that service you pay Amazon, which in turn pays them. I have also had no problem with that process. See examples below for new and used at Amazon.com. With abebooks, the prices seem to fluctuate more, and lean toward the super low side for cookbooks, not so with literature. I found my Larousse Gastronomique for $10, and as of today abebooks has it at $10, while amazon has it at $30 (used - new is $51)

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

What is Ratatoulle?

This is not a recipe per se, but the description of a dish and the process.
It is an French eggplant stew.
I made mine with chopped celery, onions, zucchini, Italian "Plum" tomatoes and sliced eggplant. Low salt tomato puree and spices; Garlic, pepper, salt-free seasoning, Low-salt Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and dried basil. Baked covered for 2 hours at 350°

The "BIG DADDY" authority on French cooking is Prosper Montagne's larousse Gastronomique. In encylopedia form, with cross references galore. It is not exactly low salt or low fat. Ok, its about as far from healthy as fat back and ham hocks, but as a person's substitution skills grow, you (hopefully) can convert. Anyone thinking low salt and low salt just means leaving the salt out, should stick to the books to the right.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Vegetarian Tacos from Leftover Mrs Dash® Stuffed Mushrooms

The Stuffed Mushroom Recipe (recipe from Mrsdash.com but modified by me - the cheese) Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. (15mL) Mrs. Dash® Spicy Blend 12 large mushrooms 1/4 cup (60mL) finely chopped celery 1/4 cup (60mL) finely chopped onion 3/4 cup (180mL) dry breadcrumbs 1/2 cup (120mL) Fat free plain yogurt 4 tbl unsalted butter divided. 1 small ball fresh mozzerella divided. 1 Tbsp. (30mL) lemon juice Serves:12 Prep Time:25 min Cook Time:15 min to 20 min Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). 2. Clean mushrooms; remove stems. 3. Finely chop stems and set aside. 4. Place mushroom cavity sideup on baking sheet. 5. Heat 3 tbl butter in a small skillet and add mushroom stems, celery, onion and Mrs. Dash® spicy Blend. 6. Saute until golden brown (about 5 to 8 minutes). 7. Remove from heat and stir in breadcrumbs and yogurt. 8. Spoon lightly into mushroom caps. 9. top with mozzerella. 10. Drizzle lemon juice and 1 tbl melted butter over stuffed mushrooms. 11. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. 12. flip on broiler until Mozzerella is brown. 13. Serve immediately. Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories:83 Sodium:30 mg Total Fat:6 g Potassium:181 mg Saturated Fat:4 g Carbohydrates:5 g Unsaturated Fat:2 g Fiber:1 g Trans Fat:0 g Protein:2 g Cholesterol:9 mg

_{(from leftovers of the stuffed Mushrooms) Oh but I used Mrs Dash Extra Spicy Blend instead of regular Mrs. Dash®}

Ingredients:

• left over stuffing from mushrooms


• Soft Taco Tortillas


• Shredded Parmesan


• Lettuce


• Diced tomatoes


• 2 tsp La Victoria Salsa Brava

Serves 1, serving size 2 tacos
adjust accordingly
Instructions:

1. Heat tortillas in microwave between paper towel


2. Heat filling in microwave


3. Spoon tablespoon filling, in warmed tortilla


4. Top with lettuce and tomato and cheese and sauce.

Marinated Porkchops

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 pork chops


• Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing


• Balsamic vinegar


• Mrs. Dash for Grilling

Put the pork flat in a baking dish, pour vinegar over pork until about an 1/8 inch is on the bottom of the dish. Do the same with dressing allowing total volume to rise to about half the width of the chops. Cover and let sit in fridge for 15 minutes. Remove, and turn over and let sit for another 10 minutes. *

Sprinkle chops with Mrs. Dash for Grilling, rub into meat, put on grill season side down, add more Mrs Dash to plain side and rub in meat. Cook until desired doneness.

*using more eliminates having to turn them over.

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004

Weird Food & Junk Food, oh and Good Food

Last night I made Marinara, today for lunch I put together something unique. Perhaps. Linguini Marinara Wraps (mixed Linguini and sauce added lettuce rolled in warmed tortilla). Fun to eat, not dull, and low in sodium, (131 mg sodium - 363 cal), thanks to my low sodium tortillas I found. I am going to be thinking outside the box when it comes to food. If the way I approach other challenges is how I ultimately approach making food, I'll be eating some pretty interesting and tasty stuff, all within my diet. Not sure what I'll be doing tonight.

I Downloaded the nutrition information from Papa Johns and White Castles. I learned I can have 4 white castles (actually 2 doubles) and a small fry (415 mg sodium, 995 cal, 310 Fat Calories) and stay within the limitations of my diet. That is good to know. My Garden Style Pizza thin at PapaJohns, is another story. (447 mg sodium /piece,228 cal. 102 fat cal/piece) I eat at least 2 pieces, sometimes I want a third. ( 1341 mg so/3, 684 cal 306 fat cal / 3). Trade off wise, the pizza is through the roof in sodium and calories slightly less. Both are technically "low fat" based 1/2 rule. Granted I do not plan on munching these every day, but its good to know the options.

For dinner, I marinated pork chops in balsamic vinegar & raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Then I rubbed them with Mrs. Dash® Grilling spice, and slapped them on the old George Forman Grill. The result was a salty sweet tasty dish, complimented by niblets corn, and a salad. I used a tablespoon of unsalted butter with the corn.

Better, Stronger, Faster

Eating Healthy Since Feb, 2004