Healthy recipes for the New Year!

Renate, I mostly have my smoked pork chops with sauerkraut, just heat them with the ***.

 I'm so glad no one was hurt in the tornados. Lydia you had a close call. Those basements are sure a good thing. I wish I would have one.

I think no matter were you live you not safe. We had tornados in the last few years here too. Earthquakes popping up in different states and yes Berny, 40 minus in the winter is no fun eather.

Twinkle, my CP is acting up too. I have a lot of pop ups and get stucked in the middle of  typing. sometimes I can get rid of them and sometimes I have to boot the CP. Tomorrow DH will see when we can take him in for repair. I hope I don't have to be without one to long.

 Bis spaeter

Erna

Erna, giggle, "Tomorrow DH will see when we can take him in for repair."  I've been trying to take my DH in for repair too, but he refuses to go.....

 

Berny, have an extra shot of that Kahula for the aggravation of getting your van outta the ditch.  DH got our car in a snow-filled ditch real good one Christmas Eve, we were almost perpendicular.  To boot, a rather deserted country road.  Out of seemingly nowhere, a pick-up with a hitch saw us and towed us out and wouldn't take a dime.  A Christmas Angel.  DH certainly got "what-for" from me.

 

Texas, did you get my e-mail.  My stupid e-mail seems to be the troublemaker around here.  Lord only knows what stuff my guys put in my laptop.

 

Jet, isn't that devastating how tornados can wipe out familiar places; quite scary.  Picasso is right, we fear most what we're not used to. 

 

Am doing the treadmill for 1/2 hour for a few days now - that's the most I've moved my purdell in about 3 years.  Used to walk Maynard about 3 miles a day.  Always took for granted my size 8; not anymore, lol.  Not having a scale, hmmm, now am a larger size and determined to get my waistline back somewhat

 

from Prevention magazine...

 

"Do It Better:  Take the stairs; scrub the pots by hand.  Modern conveniences such as the elevator, dishwasher, and TV remote control 'save' up to 111 calories a day.  translation:  You gain 10 extra pounds a year."  (yikes)

 

 

CHICKEN SALAD WITH CRISPPY WONTONS

 

Prep/Total Time:  30 min.

6 servings, 1 cup=149 calories

 

10 wonton wrappers, ut into 1/4-inch strips

1/4 C. cider vinegar

3 T. canola oil

3/4 tsp. sesame oil

2 T. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

5 C. torn romaine

3 C. cubed cooked chicken breast

1 mediumn sweet red pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips

1 medium sweet yellow pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips

1/2 C. halved grape tomatoes

 

Lightly spray both sides of wonton strips with nonstick cooking spray; place strips on a baking sheet.  Broil 4-6  in. from heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn and broil 2-3 minutes longer.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oils, sugar, salt and pepper; set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the romaine, chicken, peppers and tomatoes.  Just before serving, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.  Top with wontons.  Yield:  10 servings

 

-Kylea Rorabaugh, Kansas City, Missouri

Erna and Lydia,I am laughing too,.I am also try to take my DH in for repair and to make him younger. Erna no offence, but the computer is :taking it in for repair. But Erna don't worry ,I make this mistakes all the time. It is only very funny in this sentence. I am very tired and I will be back tomorrow. I did not sleep very well with all the thunderstorms. Renate

hello

oh my i am glad you all got out of those tornados and no one was hurt  - lydia that must have been scary!!

berny did you get that car out? a hummer is a real rare car - very seldom seen in germany - only in the movies.. DS think they are pretty cool -lol

jet how are you feeling? did you get rid of the flu? many people around here suffer from it too - i am just glad so far i got spared... I get to use my office computer for privat internet use too - but at home i have more time to really read and post - today it seems the wireless is níce to me...

erna i made your lasagne recipe and i have to tell you it is very good - DS really enjoyed it!

picasso you are absolutly right whatever we are not used to and do not how to deal with scares people  - i would be useless in tornados, hurricanes etc as here in my area we don't have anything close to this - maybe a storm a heavy one but that is about it - we get earthquakes - very light ones from time to time...

Renate you come up with all these good recipes!

texas how are you doing?

ok got to go to work - have an ice day - twinkle

 

Couscous - I accidentally bought this stuff a few years ago and now buy it all the time, yummm.

 

CALICO CRANBERRY COUSCOUS SALAD

 

Prep/Total Time:  20 min. 

1/2 C. = 171 calories

 

1 C. water

3/4 C. uncooked couscous

1/2 C. dried cranberries

1/3 C. chopped celery

1/2 C. shredded carrot

1/4 C. chopped green onions

1/4 C. slivered almonds, toasted

 

Dressing::

 

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. olive oil

1 T. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

 

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork, cool.

 

In a serving bowl, combine the couscous, cranberries, celery, carrot, onions and almonds.  In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the dressing ingredients, shake well.  Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Serve at room temp. or chilled

 

-Rosemarie Matheus, Germantown, WI

oh darn i wanted to say nice day not ice day - i do not wish that to anybody -lol twinkle

 

Honey-toasted Fruit Muesli Recipe

 

HS notes: this recipe calls for triticale. If you have a hard time finding it, just substitute another cup of rolled outs, I am able to get rolled triticale at my local natural foods store . Heidi

 

Preheat the oven to 300F degrees.

 

Put 5 cups rolled oats into a large bowl. Add 1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1 cup triticale (see above note), 1 cup shredded coconut and 2 tablespoons sesame seeds. Stir to combine.

 

Heat 3/4 cup honey and 4 tablespoons vegetable oil in a saucepan over low heat. Pour the warm honey mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until they are well coated.

 

Spread the mixture on across two (rimmed) baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

 

Add 1/4 cup finely sliced dried apricots, 1/4 cup finely sliced dried apples and 1/4 cup finely sliced dried peaches (heidi note: I used dried papaya). Toss to combine. Store the muesli in an airtight container.

 

Makes 12 servings.

 

Kitchen: The Essential Guide to the Kitchen by Michele Cranston

Baby Bran Muffin Recipe

 

These bran muffins are delicious hot out of the oven with a touch of butter and sprinkled with a few grains of salt. They are made from a yogurt and whole wheat base with minimal butter and can certainly hold their own against their not-as-nutritious counterparts. Adapted from Bran Muffin recipe in The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook published 1971.

 

2 cups white whole wheat flour OR stone ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons raw natural cane sugar OR brown sugar
2 cups full fat yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey, preferably a light honey such as clover
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup of add-ins of your choice - raisins, chopped dried fruit, nuts, etc (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 425F degrees, racks in the middle.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, wheat bran, salt, baking soda and sugar.

Beat together the yogurt, egg, honey, and butter in a second larger bowl. Add the dry ingredients and fold in until everything comes together. Fold in any optional add-ins, raisins, nuts, and the like. Resist overmixing.

Either grease a mini-muffin tin with butter or line the tin with small muffin papers. Fill each 3/4 full. Bake 10 -15 minutes, until muffins are golden on top and cooked through. You can also make larger muffins in a standard size muffin pan with this batter, you just need to bake them about 5 minutes longer.

 

Makes about two dozen tiny bran muffins or one dozen larger ones.

Baby Bran Muffin Recipe

 

These bran muffins are delicious hot out of the oven with a touch of butter and sprinkled with a few grains of salt. They are made from a yogurt and whole wheat base with minimal butter and can certainly hold their own against their not-as-nutritious counterparts. Adapted from Bran Muffin recipe in The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook published 1971.

 

2 cups white whole wheat flour OR stone ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons raw natural cane sugar OR brown sugar
2 cups full fat yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey, preferably a light honey such as clover
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup of add-ins of your choice - raisins, chopped dried fruit, nuts, etc (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 425F degrees, racks in the middle.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, wheat bran, salt, baking soda and sugar.

Beat together the yogurt, egg, honey, and butter in a second larger bowl. Add the dry ingredients and fold in until everything comes together. Fold in any optional add-ins, raisins, nuts, and the like. Resist overmixing.

Either grease a mini-muffin tin with butter or line the tin with small muffin papers. Fill each 3/4 full. Bake 10 -15 minutes, until muffins are golden on top and cooked through. You can also make larger muffins in a standard size muffin pan with this batter, you just need to bake them about 5 minutes longer.

Makes about two dozen tiny bran muffins or one dozen larger ones.

Poached Eggs Over Rice

 

You can use any type of wholegrain rice you like - just think non-white. There are many wonderful whole grain rice varietals out there to try - brown rice, red rice, wild rice - I used a black Japonica rice in the version pictured here. If I were sharing this with a friend or guests I might make the dressing a bit more elaborate (for example using the dressing from Otsu salad in Super Natural Cooking). As far as poaching the eggs is concerned, I've tried varying techniques over the years to achieve nicely poached eggs - recently abandoning the vinegar-water (as well as the whirlpool/ vortex technique) and instead opting for an approach more in line with the one highlighted in Michael Ruhlman's new book - utilizing a strainer to minimize flyaway whites. Heidi

 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 pinches of salt
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3/4 cup organic extra-firm tofu (optional), 1/4 inch dice
1 small clove garlic, chopped
2 - 3 cups dark leafy green, deveined and finely chopped
2 - 3 cups pre-cooked whole grain rice (brown is fine)
4 good quality eggs

 

Fill a wide-mouthed saucepan with 3-4 inches of water and bring to a simmer.

 

Separately, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, salt, and crusher red pepper flakes. Let the onions soften up a bit - a couple minutes. Stir in the tofu if you are using it - let that heat up and brown a tad. Now stir in the garlic and greens. Cook the greens for a couple minutes, until they collapse and soften up. Stir in the pre-cooked rice and saute until hot. Remove from heat, and set aside. Taste for seasoning as well.

 

Now back to the simmering water. You are going to use this to poach the eggs one at a time. Gently crack egg into a ramekin, carefully slip it into a mesh strainer over your sink - some of the whites will run through and strain off (if the mesh is too fine, you won't get the desired effect). This minimizes the fly-away whites you normally get. Now, carefully slide the egg back into the ramekin. Lower the ramekin down into the simmering water and let the egg slip out. Let it simmer there for a few minutes, past the point when the whites have become opaque. If you like a loose yolk, cook for less time. Remove the egg with a strainer or slotted spoon and either serve it atop some rice or set aside while you repeat the process with the remaining eggs.

 

Divide the rice between four bowls and serve each topped with one of the poached eggs.

 

Makes four servings.

These wholesome muffins sweetened with honey are egg, wheat and milk-free, so are wonderful for people with food allergies - Edna Hoffman, Hebron, Indiana

 

RAISIN RYE MUFFINS

 

1 C. rye flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 C. water

2 T. honey

2 T. canola oil

1/2 C. raisins

 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Combine the water, honey and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fold in raisins.  Fill six muffin cups coated with nonstick cooking spray two-thirds full.

 

Bake at 400 deg. for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tins.  Serve warm.  Yield:  6 muffins.  1 muffin = 160 calories

hi lydia

lol i think a lot of women would like to take their Dh to the bodyshop to get fixed up.... my mom would proably leave my dad t´here for a long time for a complete update -lol

i am walking the same way weight wise - i have no idea where my skinny self went - i an't seem to find her -lol i am still to lazy to do the treadmill tough - but changing me diet helped me to get rid of quite a bit of weight. Yesterday i tossed al the leftover christmas chocolates and such - too dangerous.

Today was DS first day of school - didn't really enjoy my alarm clock going so early -lol but like berny we got to do what we got to do right - without work i would probably get lost at home and doing more crazy stuff like bleaching me wallpaper and such weird things -so lydia is right i better work to get out ouf trouble.

Melanie how is it going in bavaria? thanks for your recipes!

it is pretty cold again but wet and windy - we have cut up the christmas trees and they are going to be picked up today from the garbage guys...

I may be repeating myself  - but i am just so glad that this corner seems to work out so far and  i am so happy that we have so many people visiting and that our new friends Jet and Picasso stay with us!!!

twinkle

Twinkle, Lol on our "men tune-ups."  However, their male egos would be severly hurt if they knew we were having a giggle on their behalf.  Bleaching your wallpaper?  Hmmm, what have you been putting in that tea...  Sounds like you do enough running around that you don't need the structured exercise, like the evil treadmill.  I have it set up to watch TV while I'm duly torturing myself on that thing; I'm sure outta shape, but am determined. 

 

Yoga, have done this mind/body exercise over 30 years and am still pretty limber.  My first employer, The Quaker Oats Company, offered lunchtime classes, this was one of them.  My fellow 50-ish hippie legal sec'y Millie got me entranced.  Still living at home (was 18), my mother thought I was in a cult and was quite upset, snicker.

 

Texas, the lentil soup was yummy, just alittle left over.  The Neiman-Marcus 100th Year Anniversary catalog released their famous chocolate chip cookies, which I made yesterday.  Now, I know these aren't "healthy" per se, but am a believer that a little headonism for a goodie is a healthy thing...

 

"RECIPE FOR THE NEIMAN MARCUS COOKIE

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 C. (1 stick) butter, softened

1 C. light brown sugar

3 T. granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 tsp. instant expresso coffee powder

1-1/2 C. semisweet chocolate chips

 

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Cream butter with sugars, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until fluffy, about 30 seconds.

 

2.  Beat in egg and vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

 

3.  In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds.  Stir in the expresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

 

4.  Using a 1-oz. scoop or a 2-T measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.  Gently press down the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2-inch circle.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges.  Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.  Yield:  2 dozen cookies."

 

*Lydia's notes:  don't substitute ingredients.  I rolled the dough into balls with my hands, wet your hands, easier.  Then slightly pressed the dough balls with the back of a tablespoon coated in cooking spray. 

Sorry Berny!!! Had a name blank! LOL!

 

Twinkle...I still have a bit of a head cold, but it is almost gone. Fortunatley I never did get the flu! Maybe it was because I already had the cold virus???

 

Well for right now the bad weather is over with....it dropped about 15 degrees outside, so today its a little cooler outside, but still very warm for January.

 

Still on my diet.....I'm suppossed to weigh Sunday to see if I have lost any! That may not be a good time to weigh because Saturday my granma's side of the family is having a belated Christmas dinner so we will be going to that, there is usually about 75 to 100 people there so there will be ots of food.....groan...!!! Talk about self discipline!!! LOL! I guess I will stick to the salads and stay away from desert! [:'(]

 

Hope everyone has a good day!

Later Jet

Thanks lydia I plan to try those Rye Muffins.  DS just came home with some low fat apricot muffins that he made at school.  I couldn't resist them since they were still warm...

 

He did a really good job with getting the van stuck.  DH had to shovel quite a bit to get him out and it is really good that they had that hummer.  The H3 is getting to be very popular here.  In our little town there is 4 of them!

 

Never mind taking my DH in for a tune up.  I could use one myself!

 

I can't remember if there was anything else I was going to reply to. (Darn new board!)