Delectably Healthy Meal Makeovers

You love your grandmother’s stuffing – but her recipe calls for one pound sausage, one stick of butter and three eggs! These ingredients will raise the fat and calories of any dish. Most recipes can tolerate a healthy renovation without affecting the overall taste and quality of the meal. Here's How!

Simple steps to Healthy Meal Makeovers for your kitchen:

Replace less healthy ingredients with more nutritious ones
For baked goods, use half the butter, shortening or oil and replace the other half with unsweetened applesauce, mashed banana or prune puree.

Reduce the amount of sugar by one-third to one-half. Add in spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg or flavorings such as vanilla extract or almond flavoring.

Instead of serving candied almonds and pecans, try dry roasted.
Boost the nutritional content with healthy substitution and additions

Use whole-wheat pasta in place of enriched pasta – you’ll triple the fiber!

Substitute baked sweet potatoes for candied yams.

Add in nutrient dense ingredients like raisins, cranberries and legumes to stuffing and rice dishes.

Surround a roasted turkey or leg of lamb with root vegetables such as beets, carrots and jicama.

Serve items that are very low in calories and fat, such as a fresh fruit salad made with strawberries, blueberries and blackberries or steamed vegetables topped with lemon juice and herbs.

Add butternut squash to your mashed potatoes to increase vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber.

Finally - Change the method of preparation
Braising, broiling, grilling and steaming are healthy cooking techniques that can capture the flavor and nutrients of your food without adding excessive amounts of fat, oil or sodium. If the directions say to baste the meat or vegetables in oil or drippings, use wine, 100% fruit juice such as apple or orange, tomato juice or fat-free vegetable broth instead.

Healthy Cooking Method Glossary:

Simmer: Simmering is a cooking technique in which foods are cooked in hot liquids kept at or just barely below the boiling point of water. Your recipe may tell you to cover or partially cover the pan. Look for some bubbles and steam in the liquid. One reminder: a covered pot will boil more quickly than an uncovered one, so watch the temperature carefully to keep the simmer low and steady.

Braise, stew: Braising (from the French “braiser”) is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavor. These two terms (you can use them interchangeably) are similar to “simmer,” but involve more liquid, a longer cooking time and even lower heat. Braising has traditionally been used to make tough cuts of meat tender (think pot roast).

Stir-fry: A high-heat method of searing meats, poultry, fish and vegetables, usually associated with Chinese cooking. You must use a small amount of oil for stir-frying, otherwise the high temperature will cause the natural sugars to burn and foods to stick to the pan—even a nonstick one.
Steam: Cooking food over moist, high-heat - preserving many of its nutrients. You need a pot large enough to hold both the steamer basket and one or two inches of water with plenty of airflow all around the basket. The food should sit at least one inch above the water.

Roast: Roasting involves a steady, even, dry heat that cooks from the outside in. Air (and thus heat) should circulate freely around the food being roasted; the oven rack should be placed in the center of the oven (unless otherwise stated in the recipe). When roasting vegetables, add a small amount of fat such as olive oil or peanut oil to the pan to sear them while they cook. For meats, use a rack at the bottom of the pan which will keep the meat out of the fat drippings and allows the heat to circulate underneath for even cooking.

Broil: The indoor cousin of grilling, the food is placed directly below the heat source instead of over the heat source. Preheat the broiler for at least 15 minutes; food should be placed so that it (not the pan) is four to six inches from the heat. Blot food dry before broiling for less mess. Pour off rendered fat occasionally to avoid flare-ups.

Grill: Grilling involves placing ingredients directly over the heat source. Test your grill by “feel.” Place your open palm five inches above the grill grate; the fire is high if you have to move your hand in two seconds, medium if you have to move your hand in five seconds, and low if you have to move your hand in ten seconds.

What’s for dinner? The following recipe can traditionally be a high fat calorie disaster; however, by replacing a few ingredients with healthier alternatives such as fat free ricotta, mustard and limiting the use of fats, this is a meal that won’t break the calorie bank without compromising flavor.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 (1 chicken breast) servings
Ingredients:
4 ounces fat free ricotta cheese
8 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic glove, minced
1 tsp oregano
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
4 (4-ounce) chicken breast – pounded thin
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
4 tsp mustard
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350? F.
2.Make the stuffing: COMBINE first 6 ingredients (ricotta cheese through parsley) in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
3.Make the Chicken: PLACE each chicken breast between two doubled-up sheets of plastic wrap, and pound to an even ¼ -inch thickness.
4.SEASON each chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste.
5.DIVIDE the stuffing between the breasts, mounding it along the center of each.
6.FOLD the bottom edge of each breast over the stuffing, fold in the sides, and roll forward until completely wrapped, to form a tight rolled package. Secure each flap with a toothpick.
7.Using a butter knife or your hands, SPREAD 1 tsp mustard over each chicken roll and then dip in plain breadcrumbs.
8.SPRAY the bottom of a baking dish with nonfat cooking spray. Place the chicken in the dish.
9.SPRAY tops of chicken with cooking spray.
10.BAKE chicken for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180?F and top of chicken is crispy and golden brown.

Nutrition Facts:
305 Calories; 42g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 7.5g Fat; 2g Saturated Fat; 103mg Cholesterol; 3g Dietary Fiber

Want More Recipes? Visit www.jacqueline-gomes.com and sign up for my FREE NEWSLETTER! Each newsletter discusses a new nutrition and health topic and includes a “What’s for Dinner?” recipe! All of my recipes are no-fuss healthful and delectable creations!

Be well, be healthy and enjoy!