Old-Fashioned Blueberry Crisp

Use whatever fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand to make this old-fashioned crumble. Typical crumble topping has as much as a half cup of butter—ours has just a bit of canola oil and, for richness, chopped almonds, which are full of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Servings: 4

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 40

Prep Time: 10

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen fruit, such as blueberries, peaches, plums
2. 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3. 3 tablespoons whole-wheat or all-purpose flour, divided
4. 1 tablespoon orange juice
5. 1/2 cup rolled oats
6. 1/4 cup chopped almonds, or pecans
7. 3 tablespoons brown sugar
8. 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
9. 2 tablespoons canola oil

Recipe Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Combine fruit with granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and orange juice. Divide among four 6-ounce ovenproof ramekins. Combine oats, nuts, brown sugar, the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Drizzle with oil and stir to combine. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
3. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Nutrition:

Per serving: 232 calories; 10 g fat (1 g sat, 6 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrates; 3 g protein; 4 g fiber; 1 mg sodium; 154 mg potassium.

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges:1 fruit, 1 other carbohydrate, 2 fat

Berry Yogurt Frozen Pie

Journal as: 1 portion “medium dessert”                              

Graham cracker crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground low-fat (or regular) graham crackers
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons whipped butter or less-fat margarine (with 8 grams fat per tablespoon), melted
1 1/2 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half or low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Filling:
2 8-ounce or 3 6-ounce containers of berry-flavored low-fat yogurt
3 to 3 1/2 cups light whipped topping (like Cool Whip Lite)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped strawberries, or unchopped raspberries or blackberries
10 whole strawberries, or 10 tablespoons of other berries for garnish (optional)

• Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, honey, melted butter, and cinnamon (if desired) until well blended. Press mixture into 9-inch pie plate; set aside.
• Mix yogurt, by hand, with the light whipped topping in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir in the berries by hand.
• Spoon the yogurt mixture into the graham cracker crust. Freeze until firm (overnight, or at least 4 hours).
• Remove from the freezer and top each serving with a fresh strawberry (or small spoonful of berries) if desired.

Yield: 10 servings

Per serving: 225 calories, 3.5 g protein, 39 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, 4.6 g saturated fat, 8 mg cholesterol, 1.5 g fiber, 159 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28%.

Fresh Berry Muffins                                             

Journal as: 1 pancake/waffle OR 1 small muffin OR 1 serving of low-fat crackers

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-fat milk
1 large egg
1 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons Splenda
1 1/4 cup chopped strawberries (or substitute any fresh berries, unchopped)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners (you’ll need about 11 liners).
• Add oil, sour cream, milk, and egg to mixing bowl and beat until smooth; set aside.
• In a large bowl, add flours, salt, baking powder, sugar and Splenda; whisk to blend well. Add the chopped strawberries to the flour mixture and toss well to coat them with flour. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir to blend together well.
• Put 1/4 cup of the batter in each muffin cup. Bake until the tops bounce back when gently pressed (about 20 minutes). Cool muffins about 10 minutes.

Yield: 11 muffins

Per muffin: 136 calories, 4 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 3.4 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol

Spinach Quiche Recipe                           

This recipe uses the prepared pie crusts found in the freezer section of your supermarket. You can find some alternative brands with more fiber and less saturated fat at stores like Whole Foods. Since prepared pie crusts are usually high in fat, we’re keeping the filling nice and light.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package (9-10 ounces) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 scallions or green onions (white and part of the green), chopped
• 3 ounces flavored feta cheese (such as roasted bell pepper & garlic), crumbled
• 1 cup shredded, reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• Pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (add more if desired)
• 9-inch unbaked deep-dish pie crust, partially thawed
• 2 large eggs (use higher omega-3 type, if available)
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half (or substitute low-fat milk)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together spinach, green onions, feta, cheddar, pepper to taste, and garlic powder.
2. Spoon mixture evenly into the pie crust.
3. Add eggs, egg substitute, and fat-free half-and-half to large mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed until combined. Pour into the pie crust, letting the spinach mixture combine nicely with the egg mixture.
4. Bake until center of quiche is cooked throughout (about 50-55 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield:

8 servings

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 228 calories, 13 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 70 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 388 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 50%.8 servings

Photo: Elaine Magee

Ingredients:

10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken or celery soup
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
3 cups frozen green beans
3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast, without skin
1 medium sweet or yellow onion, chopped
8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 ounce jar or can pimentos, drained (optional)
4 cups cooked brown rice (or cooked brown rice and wild rice blend)
1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (or 3-quart casserole dish) with canola cooking spray.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine condensed soup, light mayonnaise and fat free sour cream.
3. Add remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl and combine with mayonnaise mixture. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: makes 8 servings

Nutritional Information per serving: 354 calories, 25 g protein, 38.5 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 435 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 28 percent.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Power Bars Recipe

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
WebMD Recipe from the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic                   

Ingredients:

• Canola cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon butter or canola margarine
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat smooth peanut butter
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows, lightly packed
• 1 cup low-fat granola
• 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal (or other puffed rice cereal)
• 1/3 cup ground golden flaxseed (golden flax works better in this recipe)

Preparation:

1. Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with canola cooking spray. Put the butter, peanut butter, and marshmallows into a medium-sized microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds, or until mixture is just melted. Stir to blend.
2. Microwave again briefly if the mixture isn’t melted or smooth. Then stir in granola, puffed rice and flaxseed.
3. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan, flattening it evenly with a sheet of waxed paper. Let it cool completely before cutting into 8 equal-sized bars. 

Yield:

8 bars

An Easter Favorite

This is a favorite holiday side dish in many homes across the country. In this light version, we used Healthy Request cream of celery soup, reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (and less of it), and fat free sour cream. It’s bubbly and golden brown on top and totally irresistible!

The original recipe contains 330 calories, 22 grams fat, 11 grams saturated fat, and 41 mg cholesterol per serving.

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Healthy Request Cream of Celery soup, condensed
2 cups (8 ounces) reduced fat grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup fat free sour cream (light can also be used)
1 cup finely chopped onion
30 ounce (or 2 lb.) bag of frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, unthawed
1 ounce regular or reduced fat potato chips, crushed into coarse crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl and stir to blend well; stir in the hashbrowns.
3. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake about 1 hour. Sprinkle top of casserole evenly with potato chip crumbs and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 5-10 minutes.

Makes 12 servings

PER SERVING: 186 calories, 8 g protein, 24.5 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (3.3 g saturated fat, .3 g monounsaturated fat, .7 g polyunsaturated fat), 16 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 392 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 29 percent.

Honey- Mustard Salmon with Roasted Asparagus

Photo: Mitch Mandel