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.

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

This is one of my favorite treats. Love it! It tastes so fresh it will blow you away. This recipe works well with strawberries that are fully ripe, and may be a great way to finish off a box that is starting to get a little mushy. Make it today--please!

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

Boil/dissolve together:
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c water

Place in a blender:
1 lb strawberries (washed, de-stemmed, and halved)

Pour sugar syrup over strawberries and add:
1 T lime juice

Blend together until smooth. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Enjoy!

Buttery Squash Noodles

This is one of those rare recipes that I have not altered one bit. It's originally "'Buttered' Noodles" from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. When I first looked at the recipe I thought she was crazy. I didn't think I could ever get my family to eat it, but they did. This is one of our favorite quick meals--it's done in about the time it takes to cook the pasta! We like using short noodles like penne or shells best.

Buttery Squash Noodles

Cook and drain:
8 oz dry pasta (preferably whole grain)

Add and stir to melt:
2 T margarine

Add and mix:
1/2 c yellow squash puree
2 T grated Parmesan (fresh will make it like 20x as good, trust me)
1/4 c nonfat milk
1/4 tsp salt

Enjoy!

HealthiFood Cooking Tip; White Whole Wheat Flour

If you've taken a look at your local baking aisle in search of whole wheat flour, you may wonder what to think when you come across white whole wheat flour.

White whole wheat flour is a whole grain flour made of a lighter strain of wheat than your typical whole wheat flour. This lighter wheat looks "whiter" and has a sweeter flavor that makes it a lot more like white flour with all the benefits of whole wheat flour.

The only drawback to white whole wheat flour is it is more expensive than traditional whole wheat flours. If you are able to get it, you can easily replace all the all-purpose (or white) flour in a recipe with white whole wheat flour and your family will hardly tell the difference

HealthiFood Canned Soup Saver

Fact: I have bags of vegetable puree in my freezer. This is convenient in many ways, but especially when we're going to eat canned soup.

Ever since I learned how to make my own creamy, delicious soups from scratch, I don't really like canned soup. But when I'm too sick to cook, it's a better choice than fast food, so sometimes we do it.

Adding vegetable purees makes canned soups a lot more healthy and delicious. I usually select something that will hide well or I know my family won't mind. For example, in a beef broth soup that's already brown, they probably won't notice some spinach puree that just makes the brown slightly darker and greener. They probably won't notice carrot puree added to a chicken broth or cauliflower puree added to a creamed soup.

The more vegetable puree you can add and the more variety, the better. This will bulk your canned soup with added vitamins and fiber and reduce the sodium content per serving. Grinding in a little black pepper is usually my final finishing touch, and then we've got a super quick meal that tastes just a little more homemade.

HealthiFood Applesauce Spice Cake

This cake is a winner. I dare you to use broccoli, and I promise that no one will ever know. Feel free to be generous with your spices and to use all whole wheat flour and replace all the oil with flax, if you want/can. This recipe has been adapted from Western Family using principles from Jessica Seinfeld, but my recipe has 68% less fat, 50% less sugar, and 2 more grams of fiber per serving.

HealthiFood Applesauce Spice Cake

Combine:
1 1/2 c white flour
2 c whole wheat flour
2 c brown sugar
1/4 c ground flax seed meal
1 T baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

In a separate bowl, mix together:
1/4 c canola oil
2 eggs
3 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 c broccoli puree

Mix wet and dry thoroughly. Pour into a greased and floured bunt pan. Bake at 300 degrees for about 90 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar.

Chewy Almond Cookie Cake

I ran into this recipe and decided to try it because of my husband's Swedish heritage, and I'm so glad I did! It is so delicious! The original is "Swedish Visiting Cake" from Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home to Yours, but it was shared with me by Dinner's on Me. However, my version saves you 60 calories and 6 grams of fat per serving and doubles the fiber.



Chewy Almond Cookie Cake

Blend together:
1 cup white sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 tsp lemon juice


Cream with:
1/4 c butter or margarine

Add:
1/4 c ground flax seed meal
 2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (imitation is okay)


Then add:
1/2 c white flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour


Spread batter into a greased pie pan and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Put the pie pan inside a cake pan or on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until the outside is golden and crisp. It's wonderful served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

HealthiFood Cooking Tip: Choosing a Whole Wheat Bread

If you haven't already, I highly suggest changing to wheat bread. What's the difference? Up to two grams of fiber and/or protein per slice!

In contemplating the switch, it's important to choose a wheat bread that you and your family likes to eat. There are a lot of options out there. We found one that uses concentrated wheat flour and is light and chewy. Since we found a bread we like, we much prefer whole wheat bread! White bread feels flimsy and unsatisfying now. We love the hearty texture and nutty taste of whole wheat. Shop around and find a whole wheat bread that you love.

One way to start integrating into whole wheat bread is to make French toast with it--how can it be too bad under all that syrup? You could also integrate by making sandwiches half white and half whole wheat until everyone gets more used to it. And remember, once you make the switch you'll have all the benefits of whole grains!

Lack of Onions?

Have you noticed a lack of onions in my recipes? And what’s up with that?

Well, my husband won’t eat them. So I compensate with a combination of onion powder and chopped celery. The celery gives a similar texture as onion and the powder gives the flavor. If your family prefers fresh onions, feel free to use them and omit the onion powder in my recipes.

Golden Chowder

I don't know about you, but it's still snowing off and on here, so it's still soup season to me! Ever since I learned how to make my own delicious soups, I don't even like them from a can unless it's an emergency (like I'm too sick to cook or something). This is one of my favorites--colorful, creamy, and delicious. The original recipe, "Corn and Potato Chowder with Butternut Squash and Ham" from Lynda's Recipe Box, uses cubed butternut squash, but I keep puree on hand and I don't think my menfolk will eat cubed squash, so that's one of my main alterations. To be honest, other than the half and half, the original recipe is pretty healthy already. But here is how I like to make it, which also cuts each serving down by 50 calories and 4 grams of fat.

Golden Chowder

Melt in a large pot:

1 T butter or margarine

Add and roast, stirring often:

2 c frozen corn 

Add and keep stirring frequently:

1/2 c diced ham (or any other cooked meat like bacon or I've even done bologne)

2 cups diced potatoes

1 rib celery, finely chopped

2 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp black pepper (freshly ground, if possible)

dash of paprika

Add and bring to a boil:

3 c vegetable or chicken bouillon or broth

Simmer until potatoes are very tender.

Turn heat to low and stir in:

1 c butternut squash puree

1 c frozen mixed vegetables

Mix in a separate bowl before adding to soup:

2 T whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c milk

Let soup thicken, salt it to taste, and you're done! Makes about 7 cups.

HealthiFood Hot Cocoa Bar

There's still snow on the ground where I live--April or not!

The HealthiFood hot cocoa tip is to add 2 T yam puree to 1 cup of hot cocoa (use your favorite mix or method). One trick I like to do is to buy two kinds of a really nice brand of hot chocolate: regular and fat-free. Then I mix the two for a reduced-fat hot chocolate--the best of both worlds! Using the Hot Cocoa Bar additions means you can buy your basic mix in bulk and still offer your family a variety of flavors.

You don't believe me about the yam puree, but trust me. Once you try it there's no going back! I was inspired to add the puree by Jessica Seinfeld, and 2 T per 1 cup is just how I like it. You won't believe how you can't taste the yam; it just makes your hot chocolate richer. 2 T also adds almost a gram of fiber.

At our house we like to have hot chocolate just the way we feel like it, which is where we came up with the Hot Cocoa Bar. Here are our favorite additions and variations. Keep in mind that all start with added yam puree!

Mexican Hot Chocolate: Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon

White Chocolate: Add 1 T white chocolate chips

Rich Chocolate: Add 1 T milk chocolate chips

Creamy Chocolate: Add 1 T non-dairy coffee creamer

Mint Chocolate: Add part of a candy cane or round mint hard candy. You could use any kind of hard candy for another flavor like cinnamon or butterscotch.

Vanilla Chocolate: Add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Other ideas? Please add your favorite variation in a comment!

HealthiFood Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are everyone's favorite, right? Mine combine the basic recipe of Todd Wilbur's Mrs. Fields copycat recipe with the principles of the Sneaky Chef and Jessica Seinfeld to create a healthified perfection! Plus, my recipe saves you 82 calories and 5.6 grams of fat per cookie and adds almost a gram of fiber. And who eats just one? 

You'll notice that my recipe has a lot of ingredients, so here are a couple of notes about why. Usually I use margarine and butter interchangeably, but with these cookies I discovered that a blend yields the best texture and flavor. Why two sugars? Brown sugar adds a rich taste that helps off-set the whole wheat flour, but white sugar allows for that crispy cookie edge we all love. Where in the world do you get oat flour? Just blend up some old-fashioned oats in your blender or food processor until it's like flour. And don't skip that ingredient; that's the secret to making these whole grain cookies super delicious!

HealthiFood Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream together:
1/4 c softened butter
1/4 c softened margarine
1/4 c white bean puree
1/2 c white sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar

Add:
1/4 c ground flax seed meal
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Sift together, then add to wet ingredients:
2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c oat flour

Stir in:
1 c chocolate chips

Drop by tablespoons onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes or until the edges are just barely brown. Makes about 4 dozen cookies

HealthiFood Cooking Tip: Whole Grains

Why whole grains? And, more importantly, how?

Whole grains are a healthier choice in grains. Whole grains are usually brown--brown flour, brown rice, etc. Whole grains are encouraged in a healthy diet because they are a good source of fiber and are not refined, which is more natural. Refined grains and foods are too easy for your body to digest, which means your digestive system doesn't get the healthy workout it needs and you are able to imbibe more calories with less work.

Image from Microsoft clip art.

And how do you get your family to eat them? Start small. For example, start by using whole wheat bread for French toast. It's already coated with a yummy batter and doused in syrup, so your family will probably tolerate it. You can start making your own bread and using a small percentage of wheat flour--like half a cup--and move up to several cups or all whole wheat flour per recipe gradually. Use this same gradual system with all your recipes that use flour until you are using as much whole wheat flour as your family will eat.

The same trick works with brown rice. Start with mixing a little brown rice with your white rice. Start with just a third brown and the rest white. Then gradually move up to half brown, three-quarters brown, and then all brown. Did you know that white rice has no fiber per serving? You want the benefits of brown rice in your meals! And don't forget to soak your brown rice before you cook it.

Whole grain pasta is also an option, but be sure to buy it on sale as it's more expensive. Again, start with mixing half whole-wheat spaghetti and half regular and gradually move up to as much whole grain content as your family will allow.

 In choosing whole grains to feed your family, keep in mind that oatmeal and yellow corn meal are also whole grains. If you make oatmeal or corn bread regularly, you may be doing better than you think!

You'll notice in my recipes that sometimes I use all whole wheat flour and sometimes I use just part. The proportions of whole wheat and white flour in my recipes are the amounts that my family will eat.