[Diabetes-talk] Healthy Home Cooking

[Ed Bryant]

Hi Folks,

                The following article “Healthy Home Cooking” appeared in the
Voice in 2004, and was well received.  We carried this column in the Voice
in every issue, so I thought you might enjoy reading it.  

 

Regards,

Ed Bryant

 

 

HEALTHY HOME COOKING

 

by JoAnna M. Lund

 

(This article appeared in the Voice of the Diabetic, Volume 19, Number
1,Winter 2004, published by the Diabetes Action Network of the National
Federation of the Blind.)

 

Hi, I’m JoAnna Lund and I specialize in creating what I fondly call “common
folk” healthy recipes, intended for people with diabetes, heart/cholesterol
concerns and anyone following just about any reputable eating plan.  Best of
all, everyone sitting at the table (even if they don’t have any health
concerns) will love my creations because they taste so good! You may have
enjoyed some of my recipes in the Recipe Corner of this fine publication or
in my many cookbooks, including The Diabetic’s Healthy Exchanges Cookbook or
The Diabetic’s Dessert Cookbook. 

 Each visit, during the coming year, I will be sharing several easy cooking
tips to help you revise your own family favorites into healthier versions.
I’ll also be revising one or two of your family favorites – that is if you
send them to me!  While space won’t permit sharing the original recipe, I’ll
compare my revised version to the original in nutrients.  Also, I promise
not to share your name or city, only your initials and state. So you don’t
have to worry that your letters and notes to me will be made public.  

In my cooking tips and recipes, I will be naming brands – that is, what I
consider to be those products that deliver the most flavor for the least
amount of fats, sugars, sodium and cost that are easily available in my
small town!  If I don’t call for a specific brand, then any will do.  I
don’t have a relationship with these manufacturers and the brands are only
intended as suggestions.  If you choose to use another brand, that’s fine
with me.  Just remember that the final nutritional analysis could be
different, especially if I call for Blue Bunny sugar- & fat-free ice cream
and you use Ben & Jerry’s Premium instead!!!




First, though, let’s start with some easy cooking tips to help you keep your
new year’s resolution to cook and eat healthier in 2004.

First, winter is normally a time to enjoy many casserole and soup dishes.
How about an ultra-easy mix that’s ideal for substituting for canned creamed
soups?   To make JO’s Dry Casserole Soup Mix, all you need to do is combine
2 cups Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder, 1 cup cornstarch, ½-cup dry
bouillon (your choice of flavor), 5 teaspoons dry onion flakes, 1 tablespoon
dry thyme, 1 tablespoon dry basil and 1 tablespoon black pepper.   Store
this in a covered container in a cool place.  Anytime you want to use this
instead of a (10 ¾-ounce) can of purchased cream soup, all you have to do is
combine 1/3 cup of soup mixture and 1 cup of water.  You’ll save both money
and salt! 

Second, to make your own sugar-and fat-free lemon yogurt, simply combine one
small tub of Crystal Light Lemonade Mix and a 32-ounce container of plain
non-fat yogurt.  Mix well and store in the yogurt container.  Use in any
recipe that calls for lemon yogurt OR scoop ¾-cup of it into a dessert dish
and enjoy!  It only counts as 1 Fat Free Milk and there’s NO added sugar!

Third, you can make diet salad dressings taste more like the “real thing” by
adding a small amount of fat-free mayonnaise and a pinch of sugar substitute
to the diet dressing.  Here’s a good starting point:  Stir 1 teaspoon
fat-free mayo and ½ teaspoon Splenda Granular into 2 tablespoons of
purchased fat-free salad dressing.  Drizzle this over your salad of choice
and your taste buds will appreciate it from the very first bite!




Fourth, if you’d like to bake cookies or desserts like your mother did, but
haven’t because her recipes called for sweetened condensed milk, I have a
sugar-free version that will work just fine.  In a 2-cup glass measuring
cup, combine ½-cup water and 1 1/3 cups Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
until it makes a smooth paste.  Cover and microwave on HIGH (100% power) for
45 to 60 seconds or just until mixture is very hot but not to the boiling
point.  Stir in ½-cup Splenda Granular.  Cover and refrigerate for at least
two hours before using.  This will keep for two weeks in your refrigerator.
Use in any recipe that calls for sweetened condensed milk. It makes the
equivalent of one (12-fluid-ounce) can of commercial brand. 

Fifth, if you want to use a recipe that calls for ¼-cup of chopped nuts or
less and you are reluctant to use it because you don’t want to bother
getting the food processor, blender or nut chopper out (because you don’t
want to take them apart later to wash them), then I have an ultra easy
solution for you.  Simply use Grandma’s Food Processor – a biscuit cutter!
Put the nuts in a small sturdy plastic bowl (even a Cool Whip container
works great) and chop away with the biscuit cutter.  When you are through
chopping to the consistency you want, all you have to do is toss the biscuit
cutter into the sink and it practically washes itself!

Sixth, if a recipe calls for fat-free cream cheese, do NOT ever use an
electric mixer to soften it!   Fat-free cream cheese is made with water and
if you stir it too vigorously, you will release the water and whatever
you’re making will end up a soupy mess.  Instead, put the fat-free cream
cheese (either tubs or bricks) in a large bowl, get out a sturdy plastic
mixing spoon and stir for 30 to 45 seconds – 30 for the tubs and 45 for the
bricks.  Now, add whatever other ingredients the recipe calls for.   Your
finished product will look as good as it tastes.  If you’ve purchased
fat-free cream cheese in the past and used an electric mixer, then blamed
the cream cheese for turning soupy, now you know it wasn’t the cheese, it
was the cook that caused the problem!  

 

Now for our recipe makeovers.  




JR of TX sent me a cheesecake to “lighten up” because she has diabetes and
her husband has high cholesterol. They both wanted to be able to enjoy their
favorite dessert without guilt.   By the time I was through, my version was
less than half the calories but still had all the flavor!

Cherries Ahoy Cheesecake

 

Ingredients:

2 (8-ounce) packages Philadelphia fat-free cream cheese

1 (4-serving) package JELL-O sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

2/3 cup Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder

1 cup water

1 cup Cool Whip Lite

1 (6-ounce) Keebler chocolate pie crust

1 (20-ounce) can Lucky Leaf No Sugar Added Cherry Pie Filling

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips

 

 

 

Instructions:

In a large bowl, stir cream cheese with a sturdy spoon until soft.  Add dry
pudding mix, dry milk powder, and water.  Mix well using a wire whisk.
Blend in ¼-cup Cool Whip Lite.   Spread mixture into pie crust.  Refrigerate
while preparing topping.  In a medium bowl, combine cherry pie filling and
almond extract.  Evenly spoon pie filling mixture over set  filling.  Drop
remaining Cool Whip Lite by tablespoonful to form eight mounds.  Evenly
sprinkle almonds and chocolate chips over top.  Refrigerate for at least 30
minutes.  Cut into eight servings.

 

Each serving equals:




238 Calories, 7 gm fat, 12 gm protein, 33 gm carbo., 575 mg sodium, 2 gm
fiber; Diabetic Exchanges:  1 Starch/Carbo., 1 Fruit, 1 Meat, 1 Fat

Let’s Compare: The original recipe was 538 calories, 31gm fat, and 54 gm
carbohydrate.  Quite a difference.   Now you can enjoy without guilt!

SM of OK sent me a main dish recipe to revise.  He says he does the cooking
in his family and he likes his recipes easy and filling.   Well, they don’t
get much easier than this and my husband Cliff said it was a very filling
meal.  That’s two for two!!

 

Hamburger Hot Dish

 

Ingredients:

16 ounces ground extra-lean sirloin beef or turkey breast

1 (10 ¾-ounce) can Healthy Request Tomato Soup

1 ½ cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1 ½ cups frozen green beans, thawed

1 cup diced cooked potatoes

½ cup shredded Kraft reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8-by-12-inch baking dish with
butter-flavored cooking spray.  In a large skillet sprayed with
butter-flavored cooking spray, brown meat.  Stir in tomato soup.  Add corn,
green beans and potatoes.   Mix well to combine.  Spread mixture into
prepared baking dish.  Evenly sprinkle Cheddar cheese over top.  Bake for 25
to 30 minutes.  Divide into six servings.  Freezes well.

 

Each serving equals:




238 calories, 6 gm fat, 20 gm protein, 26 gm carbo., 324 mg sodium, 2 gm
fiber; Diabetic Exchanges:  2 Meat, 1 Starch, ½ Vegetable

Let’s Compare:  The original recipe was 364 calories, 18gm fat, and 28gm
carbo.  That’s a savings of well over 100 calories and 12 grams of fat.
Perfect for all those meat & potato guys who thought they couldn’t enjoy
dishes like this anymore! 

I hope you enjoyed our time together in the kitchen.  Remember, if you’d
like me to revise one of your family favorites so that it’s healthier, send
your request to: JoAnna Lund, c/o Voice of the Diabetic, 1412 I-70 Drive SW,
Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203.  Also, be sure to visit my website at
www.healthyexchanges.com for more “common folk” healthy recipes to try.
See you next time!