Week of January 30, 2005

Quick Chicken Meals

Most days everyone is in a rush. Many of us don't even think about what to cook for the evening meal until you stop at the market on your way home from work. A quick fix for many recipes is using deli roasted chickens now available at most larger grocery stores.

Most deli roasted chickens weight 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds. Smaller birds provide 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cut-up chicken and the larger birds supploy 4 to 4 1/2 cups. Try to figure that you will use 2 cups of cut-up and skinned chicken for four people when making sandwiches, stir-fries, casseroles, soups and salads. You can easily have a meal on the table in less than 20 minutes.

For ease of use and for safe handling, store chicken in one meal packages. You can refrigerate in zip-lock plastic bags for three ot four days or you can freeze in heavy duty freezer bags for up to one month. For more information on safe handling of chicken, read the USDA Meat and Poultry Hot Line .

Week of January 23, 2005

Elegant, Quick and Easy Desserts

If you are wanting a quick and easy dessert, try making a pudding trifle. If you start with a prepared angel food cake (which are fat free and you may use any flavor) and use sugar free, fat free pudding (any flavor) and fat free milk, a fruit like strawberries, blueberries, cherries or raspberries and some fat free whipped topping, you will see that it is pretty quick and easy.

Try our simple but elegant desert below for Black Forest Trifle.

1 prepared chocolate angel food cake
1 (1 ounce) box chocolate sugar-free, fat-free instant pudding mix
2 cups fat-free milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen no-sugar-added pitted cherries
2 cups fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed

Cut angel food cake into cubes.

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions, using 2 cups fat-free milk; chill at least 30 minutes.

Thaw cherries, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Combine cherries, juice, and food coloring if desired.

Place half of cake cubes in a 3-quart trifle bowl. Spoon half of cherries over cake; spread 1 cup pudding over cherries, and top with half of whipped topping. Repeat layers. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Serves: 12

Week of January 16, 2005

Wrap It - The Lettuce Wrap Revolution

Crunchy vegetables, buttery lettuce and roasted meats and various dipping sauces combine for delicious meals that are eaten with your hands. In addition, they are healthy and lower in calories. Lettuce wraps are turning up in restaurants across the country these days (especially Asian). Most often offered as an appetizer but you can also make a meal out of them.

The secret to good wraps is bold spicing, along with good texture and crunch in the fillings. Those who find themselves trying to eat less carbohydrates will love lettuce wraps. You can easily create lettuce wraps in almost endless variations at home. You can use the same ingredients you use in burritos, tortillas, pita bread and spring rolls. Almost any lettuce will work as long as the leaves are pliable.

Leftovers work great as well. Chicken, turkey, fish or lean pork and vegetable combinations as fillings are excellent choices. You are only limited by your imagination. Vary texture, colors and flavors in fillings and sauces. Depending on the mixture, you might want to have cool and hot, sweet and spicy, and crisp and tender in some of your creations.

Week of January 09, 2005

It's easy to transform low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise into a more tasty condiment that will add more flavor to any simple sandwich.

Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red pepper, and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.

Lemon Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel, and pinch ground black pepper.

Ginger-Sesame Mayonnaise
1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 small green onions, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon minced, peeled fresh ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil.

Chutney Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1/4 cup mango chutney, finely chopped, and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.

Basil Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper.

Chipotle Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1 finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo, 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin.

Pesto Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pesto.

Horseradish Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon bottled white horseradish, and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.

Pickled Jalapeno Mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, and 1 to 2 pickled jalapenos, finely chopped.

Week of January 02, 2005

Probably the number one New Year's Resolution in the United States is to lose weight. Have you made a resolution to lose some of those unwanted pounds? Most dieters who actually succeed (losing at least 10% of their weight and maintaining the loss for at least 5 years) have done so without "diet aids", "fad diets" or "diet programs." Here are some healthy tips you might want to incorporate into your own personal diet that really work.

If you want to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume. The reduction of calories needed to lose weight will vary from one individual to the next because of age, weight, activity level, gender, and sometimes genetic background. Remember, that if you cut calories too severely or abruptly, you will shock your body into a "starvation mode" that will slow down your metabolism, defeating your weight loss attempts. To lose 1 pound per week, you must either burn or reduce your excess calories by 3500 (that is 500 calories per day over the course of a week). If you reduce your calorie intake by 300 calories a day and increase your activity to burn 200 extra calories per day, you can usually expect a steady weight loss of approximately one pound per week.

Eat lean proteins like fish, poultry, low-fat dairy products, lean low-fat cuts of beef or pork. Protein will reduce the speed of food absorption, so you will feel fuller for a longer period of time.

Whole grains and high fiber foods such as oatmeal, legumes and brown rice add bulk to your diet with fewer calories.

Reduce consumption of some carbohydrates, like sugar, white rice, potatoes, refined grains, pasta and corn syrup. These carbohydrates break down into glucose molecules that set off an insulin surge resulting in low-blood sugar, which makes you feel hungry.

Include lots of low calorie fruits and vegetables that are high in water content. They will give you a feeling of being full and provide healthy nutrients.

Eat "small amounts" of healthy fats like olive oil, fatty fish like salmon and roasted nuts. These foods will also help satisfy cravings.