HealthiFood Cooking Tip: Top Rack Baking

I have a strong aversion to overcooking the bottom of my baked goods, so cooking on the top rack of my oven has become standard procedure in my kitchen. It usually takes a little longer cooking time, but the security of soft-bottomed results is worth it!

HealthiFood Whole Wheat Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Yum, oh, yum. There isn't much more to say about this healthified classics! Pumpkin adds flavor, fiber, and vitamins to these delicious cookies--just in time for autumn. My mother is the one who taught me that you don't have to buy cream of tarter just for this recipe; 2 tsp cream of tarter + 1 tsp baking soda = 1 T baking powder. Brilliant! If you wanted, you could double the pumpkin to replace the egg, in case of egg allergy. Also, these cookies are possibly even better the day after baked.

HealthiFood Whole Wheat Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Cream together:
3/4 c softened butter
1 1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c ground flax seed meal

Add:
1 egg
1/2 c canned pumpkin purree

Sift together, then add to previous ingredients:
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine in a separate bowl:
2 T + 3/4 tsp white sugar
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Roll balls of dough in cinnamon sugar. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until just barely starting to brown on the edges. Let sit on cookie sheet at least until the cookies start to flatten but before they cool all the way.

HealthiFood Chicken Cabbage Salad

I think I want to start living off this salad. It's crunchy. It's yummy. It's got a lot of black pepper (which I love).  And it's totally healthy. If that doesn't sell you, here's a fun fact: My husband will actually eat this for dinner as long as I serve some bread on the side. One quick warning: The dressing tastes pretty bad on its own, so keep your fingers out. This is because it's really strong, but when lightly coated over cabbage, it's delicious.

HealthiFood Chicken Cabbage Salad

Toss together in a large bowl:
1/2 head of green cabbage, diced (about 5-6 cups)
2 c chopped fresh baby spinach
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 T sesame seeds

Boil:
1 c water

Open:
1 - 3 oz package chicken ramen noodle soup

Break up the noodles into bite-sized pieces and pour into a colander. Pour the boiling water over the noodles to slightly soften them. Then toss the noodles into the bowl of cabbage and spinach and mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk together:
1 T olive oil
1 T vinegar
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic
the flavor package from the ramen noodles

Drizzle the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Toss/mix to coat evenly. Cover and store in the refrigerator. Makes about 6 cups.

HealthiFood Mashed Potatoes

The cauliflower added to this recipe gives you added vitamins without added calories. These are extremely low fat as well--you only add 1 Tablespoon!

HealthiFood Mashed Potatoes

Boil until soft:
2 c peeled and diced raw potato

Drain and return to pot. Mash and add:
1 T margarine or butter
1/4 c cauliflower puree
1/4 c nonfat milk
1/4 tsp salt

Makes a little over 2 cups.

Candy Cane Cookies

The other day I was doing a search on Tasty Kitchen for recipes to help me use up my extra candy canes from the holidays and came up with this lovely cookie recipe, originally called Candy Cane Crinkles, that is my new holiday addiction. I just might have to stock candy canes in my cupboard year-round so I can make these whenever I want. Compared to the original recipe, my alterations save you 14 calories and 1 g fat and add 1 g of fiber per cookie. And, trust me, you are not going to eat just one!

Candy Cane Cookies

Cream together:
5 T margarine (or butter)
3 T ground flax seed meal
1 c white sugar

Add:
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 T nonfat milk

In a separate bowl, sift together:
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and combine until just mixed. Then add:
1/4 c crushed peppermint candy (about 4 regular-sized candy canes)

Roll dough into balls and lightly coat in:
powdered sugar (I use about 1/4 c for the whole recipe)

Place coated balls of dough on a well-greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until just barely done (Do not over bake! I bake these on the top rack of my oven to prevent over baking). Leave on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and then move cookies to cooling rack (you want them to be movable but still quite warm so they don't stick to the pan). Makes 2 dozen.

Much-Awaited Rosemary Peasant Bread

This is the best bread ever. Most of the time when I ask my husband what he wants for dinner he says, "Anything with Rosemary Bread." I'm pretty sure my friend Becca drew my attention to the recipe several years ago, and it was probably the first real bread I ever made on my own--before this the prospect always scared me to death! It's so easy because it's no-knead; you just mix and let it rise a few times and you're done. Usually I mix everything initially using the dough hook of my Kitchen Aid, but you can do it just as well by hand if you need to.

I've tried really hard to find out who came up with this recipe originally, but to no avail. It's been copied and pasted like wildfire across the internet. This is how I like to make it. Using just a quarter wheat flour doubles the fiber content of this bread. This recipe is vegan and has only trace amounts of fat. One recipe makes two bread rounds that can fit together on a cookie sheet. I've made the serving size a fourth of a round because it's so good you can't eat any less than that! If you wanted to get creative, you could use whatever herbs you wanted inside and on top.

Just a few more tips: Don't feel too bad about greasing your hands and the tops of the loaves as otherwise this bread has no fat in it. You want to grease your hands rather than flouring them so that the dough remains sticky and moist (it doesn't need more flour). You need to grease the tops of the loaves for the second rising so it doesn't stick to the plastic wrap and remains moist.

Rosemary Peasant Bread

Dissolve together until foamy (about ten minutes):
2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
2 c. very warm water
1 T sugar

Add and stir until blended, but do not knead:
2 tsp salt
1 c whole wheat flour
3 c white flour
1 1/2 tsp rosemary

Dough will be sticky. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hr. Grease your hands well and remove dough from bowl. Divide into two rounds and place on a prepared cookie sheet (grease the cookie sheet and sprinkle with corn meal). Spray the tops of the loaves with cooking spray (so they won't stick when covered) and sprinkle with coarse salt and more rosemary. Cover loaves lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for another hour.

After the second rising, bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (without removing bread) and bake for 15 minutes more. Delicious served warm with fresh soup (like Golden Chowder--yum!) or dipped in olive oil and herbs.

HealthiFood Seven-Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna is my most favorite dinner dish, which I guess I have in common with Garfield, and it was meant to be when my birthday is National Lasagna Day! This recipe is the result of a lot of different tries to come up with my favorite lasagna. Stoffer's scoot over!

HealthiFood Seven-Vegetable Lasagna

2 ½ c HealthiFood basic red pasta sauce (divided)

¼ c cauliflower puree

¾ c cooked and drained ground sausage

2 c nonfat cottage cheese

3 c chopped fresh baby spinach (divided)

4 c grated mozzarella cheese (divided)

10 dry, uncooked lasagna noodles

Mix together 1 ½ cups of the sauce (reserving 1 cup), the cauliflower puree, the sausage, and the cottage cheese in a bowl.

Spray a square glass pan (8x8 or 9x9) and spread half a cup of the sauce you reserved (not mixed in the cottage cheese mixture) on the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce.

Spread one-third of the cottage cheese mixture (about 1 ½ cups) over the noodles. Sprinkle on 1 cup of spinach followed by 1 cup of cheese. Add a layer of noodles on top of the cheese, then another third of the cottage cheese mixture (another 1 ½ cups), and another cup each of spinach and cheese. Start with noodles again for one more layer (noodles, cottage cheese sauce, spinach, and cheese), using the rest of the ingredients you have left except the last half cup of reserved red sauce, one cup of cheese, and enough noodles for the top layer. Place your final noodles and spread the reserved sauce on top. Sprinkle on the cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour (until nice and bubbly), removing the aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking. (Hint: this makes a nice and full casserole that will most likely drip. You will want to either bake it on a foil-lined cooking sheet or place foil on the bottom of your oven.)

Whole Wheat Breakfast Biscuit

My husband is a breakfast man. Personally, I'd rather not eat until ten or eleven, so finding enough recipes so I didn't get sick from having pancakes every morning has been a must in our family. This is a simple breakfast recipe that we like that seriously takes about ten minutes to prepare. The original recipe, "Bannock" (apparently it's Scottish), is from Marie Ricks, but my alterations increase the fiber per serving by 69%.

Whole Wheat Breakfast Biscuit

Mix together:
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1 1/2 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Add:
3/4 c water

Mix together and form into a sticky dough, spread onto a hot nonstick griddle until as flat as you can get it (about 1/2"). Fry like a pancake (a really thick one) until lightly brown. Flip and cook on the other side. Serve warm with butter or jam.