We are now more than half way through the year. At this time of the year it is normal for people to start thinking about the upcoming school year. This is also a great time of year to start thinking about how to become healthier. One easy way to become healthier is to start modifying your favorite recipes to make them healthier. This is what this blog will focus on.
The first step for making your favorite Jewish holiday recipes healthier is to really look carefully at the ingredients that you are using. Many holiday dishes include full fat cheeses and meats. A simply way to make these recipes healthier is to simply replace the full fat versions of these ingredients with low fat varieties of these ingredients. For example, if you are making a lasagna you can use part skim milk Mozzarella cheese and part skim milk Parmesan cheese. You can also replace ground beef with low fat ground turkey or low fat turkey Italian sausage.
The next step in making Jewish Passover recipes healthier is to look at the way you cook your recipes. For example, fried latkes are loaded with extra calories and fat grams because they are deep fat fried. To make this traditional recipe healthier bake your latkes instead of frying them. If you are looking for a way to make large meat dishes healthier then simply trim off extra fat before you cook it, use a spit instead of pan roasting the meat and/or use olive oil instead of butter for prepping your meats.
Do you have low fat Jewish recipes that you would like to share? Post them below.
Posted in healthy cooking tips | No Comments »
Greens mix. I like the spring greens, at Sam’s or Myer’s, organic and pre-washed.
1 glove garlic, cut small tiny pieces
1/2 stalk really fresh celery, chopped small
1 carrot, chopped small
1/2 tomato, red, orange, or yellow
slice of onion, chopped
1 boiled egg (put in pot, cover with water, bring to rapid boil, cover, take off burner, leave for 10 minutes, then run cold, cold water over and let it sit for a 10 minutes …Rachel Ray’s way)
1 piece sharp cheddar cheese, sliced, small pieces or whichever cheese you love organic, garlic croutons (I love the ones at Myer’s, Rothbury Farms)
lemon pepper to taste
Organic ranch dressing, or I love lite ranch Marzetti’s, no preservatives
Directions:
Mix all ingredients lightly, making sure garlic is all through salad and dressing is covering all.
I use all organic, all washed in veggie wash. 1 large serving. If you are making for more than one, I like to add a separate glove of garlic for each salad.
Can add turkey, ham, or chicken for extra protein. Radishes if desired. Also can garnish with a bosc pear. Just yummy! Can’t believe I make it!
I am asking you to share this with the guests in your blog because I have had so many people that I have fixed it for that toldl me they just love the combination. Many of you prepare and cook, however I am just learning at this age! Exciting!
www.JustCallMeEinstein.com
supplements for your brain and body
www.MangosteenIL.com
Xango, mangosteen functional health beverage
Trisha Anderson
630-464-9499, USA, IL
Posted in healthy cooking tips | No Comments »
Over the last month I have talked about healthy ways to cook. Today I’d like to address how you can make your dessert recipes healthier without losing out on taste and sweetness. So get out your favorite sweets recipes and let’s get started.
One of the reasons why sweet recipes are placed on off limits lists is because of their refined sugar content. Refined sugar has about 16 calories per teaspoon. While this isn’t too bad when a small amount of sugar is used, it quickly adds up when you use multiple cups of sugar for a recipe. To help minimize the empty calories in your dessert recipe consider replacing refined sugar with a sugar substitute designed for baking, or using fruit juice to sweeten your recipe.
Fat is another problem that dessert recipes have. Using butter, cream, eggs, oil and shortening, all add calories and unhealthy fat to a dish. To make your dishes healthier you have a few options. Your first option is to use a healthier oil. For example olive oil is healthier than vegetable oil because it contains Omega 3 fatty acids. Vegetable based fats are also a healthier option for dessert recipes than animal based fats are. Your final option is to use a reduced fat fat source such as light margarine or reduced fat sour cream.
Sweet recipes make Jewish holidays. If you are on a special diet then chances are many of the tastiest Jewish holiday dessert recipes are going to be off limits. However, if you make a few modifications, you can easily create a healthy Hanukah dessert recipe that will won’t interfere with your special diet.
Posted in healthy cooking tips | 1 Comment »
Last week we talked about the “incredible edible egg.” This week I’d like to talk about another spring ingredient, greens. Greens are made up of a variety of plants including: spinach, collard greens, lettuce and Swiss chard. Greens are very good for you because they contain high concentrations of anti-oxidants and calcium, both of which help you to fight the signs of aging.
When you work with greens you have two options. You can cook them or you can eat them raw. Generally, raw is better because cooking greens washes out some of their nutrients. When you prepare greens to be eaten raw it is very important that you wash them thoroughly. This is because non-organic greens are sprayed with pesticides, they are grown near the ground and are vulnerable to contamination and because people handle greens in the super market. To further increase the health benefits and taste of fresh greens, buy organic.
If you want to cook your greens before eating them then invest in a vegetable steamer. Steaming greens will soften them without making them the consistency of sea weed. Blanching greens will also slightly wilt them and preserve their color without over cooking them. Generally I would avoid boiling fresh greens. If you want boiled greens just buy them in a can.
Cooking healthy is easy to do during the Spring and Summer because of all the great fresh produce that is available. However, if you don’t learn how to prepare fresh vegetables properly, you can end up stripping their nutrients or adding unwanted fat and calories to the dish.
Posted in healthy cooking tips | No Comments »
Over the last few months we have talked about a wide variety of subjects. Today I would like to talk about how you can infuse your Jewish recipes with extra nutrients. These tips and techniques will help you to create dishes that will supply your body with the nutrients and components that it needs to function properly, to fight off disease and to stay strong.
The first component that you want to add to your recipes is fiber. Most people in Western cultures do not get enough fiber in their diet. Because of this they suffer from irregularity, digestive cancers, high blood cholesterol and obesity. There are several ways to add extra fiber to diet. You can cook with whole grains, you can eat whole foods or you can add flavorless, colorless fiber powders to your traditional recipes.
Pre-packaged foods not only are lacking in fiber, but they are also lacking in natural vitamins and minerals. Many products that we buy in the store are labeled as “enriched.” While this sounds like a healthy product to buy, they actually aren’t. The products have to be “enriched” because the ingredients have been chemically stripped of their natural nutrients during their processing, and then artificial nutrients were pumped back into them. The best way to get vitamins and minerals in your diet is to add fresh vegetables and fruits to your recipes.
Any Jewish recipe can be transformed into a healthy traditional Jewish recipe. All you need to do is enrich them with whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. For example, you can enrich sweet parve Jewish recipes with fresh apples and fruits, or you can simply select a healthy recipe like autumn vegetable soup.
Posted in healthy cooking tips | No Comments »
|
