Garlic & Thyme Oven Braised Artichokes

Artichokes are a delicious vegetable, and well worth the small effort required to prepare them fresh. Purchased in a jar, they are usually soaked in oil, so you end up taking in many unnecessary extra calories.   Just one medium sized fresh artichoke provides a whopping 7g of fiber - one of the few foods that competes with my all time favorite source of fiber, All Bran Buds!  They seem daunting in their fresh form (pictured above) to prepare, but it's actually pretty easy.

I have modified this delicious recipe from its original form to cut back on the calories from the oil, and have added a little water to compensate for the fluid volume.

Ingredients:

• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• peel from one of the lemons
• 1/4 cup white wine
• a few sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 small garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 4 large artichokes
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Directions: 

1.  Preheat the oven to 400F. 

2.  Combine all the ingredients except for the artichokes and parsley in a roasting pan. 

3.  Remove the thick outer leaves of the artichokes by bending them back and pulling them down toward the stem (remove leaves that are dark green, but do not remove leaves that are green at the top and yellow on the bottom).

4.  Snip off the tops of the leaves (at the point where the green and yellow come together) and trim around the base of the artichoke heart to smooth the sides and peel the stem.

5.  Cut in half and scoop out the fuzzy choke with a small spoon. As each artichoke heart half is completed, add to the pan with the braising liquid, turning them to coat completely and prevent browning.

6.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook until the hearts are tender when pierced with a knife, 30 to 40 minutes.

7.  Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and let the artichokes cool in the braising liquid.

8.  Garnish with chopped parsley.

Makes 4 servings.  Per serving (approximate): 

• calories: 134
• fat: 7g
• carbs: 15g
• protein: 4g
• fiber: 7g 

@drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2013

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Trim Your Recipes - New CalCutter App!

If you love to cook but aren't sure how to go about making your recipes a little more healthful, then this new free app could be just what you are looking for.

The CalCutter app, launched by New York City's health department, allows you to enter your own recipes, following which the program provides you suggestions as to how you could make the recipe healthier.

When you then edit the recipe, it recalculates the calories per serving, so you can immediately see the benefit to the changes you made to the recipe.

In terms of down sides, the intro screen states that most people need 2,000 calories per day.  Remember that the calorie requirements for each individual vary greatly, and also vary depending on whether you are trying to lose weight, or maintain your weight.  You can calculate more accurate personal calorie requirements in the right hand column on my main page here using the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calculator (though this is an estimate only, not exact).

Also, as a new program, they are still building their ingredient list.  When I tried entering my peanut butter 'cheesecake' recipe, for example, I noticed that peanut butter is missing.  However, they note that they are working hard to build their ingredient list up to be more complete.   Using an app like this one to enter ingredients is far superior to Google's nutrition database, which is good for simple food items but terrible for recipes.

Enjoy!  For those of you who decide to put the CalCutter app to use, I'd love to hear your feedback - please use the comments box below!

@drsuepedersen

www.drsue.ca © 2013

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Guacamole Light....For Real!

One of my favorite websites for healthier and delicious recipes, Hungry Girl, has done it again – this time with an ingenious idea to make guacamole a little easier on the waistline.  

Traditional guacamole is made from avocado, which contains a healthy type of fat called monounsaturated fat, but because avocados are made mostly of fat, the calorie count runs quite high.  In this fabulous recipe, while still based on avocado, peas are incorporated (give it a chance!) as well as greek yogurt to maintain the texture and consistency but provide less calories per bite!

Ingredients: 

• One 15-oz. can early/young peas, drained
• 1/2 cup mashed avocado (about half of a medium avocado)
• 1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt 
• 4 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. chili powder
• 1/3 cup chopped cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• Optional: chopped fresh cilantro, chopped jarred jalapeños

Directions:

Place drained peas in a medium bowl and mash thoroughly with a potato masher or fork. Add avocado, yogurt, lime juice, garlic, and seasonings. Continue to mash until blended.  Stir in remaining ingredients.

Makes 6 servings.  Per serving (approximately):  

• Calories: 64
• Carbs: 9g
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 2g

Try this as a side to Grilled Fish Tacos, and tell me what you think!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 drsuetalks@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen 

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Hint of Citrus Couscous Salad

Couscous is easy to cook with and fun to eat!  Couscous is semolina, tiny granules of durum wheat, and it's an integral part of many North African and Middle Eastern food cultures.  I remember it being ubiquitous when I travelled Morocco with my sister a number of years ago - delicious! The traditional way in which couscous is made is quite interesting and labor intensive - wiki (where else? :) has an interesting review of the process.

I have been looking for a tasty, fresh dish to enjoy in the warming weather, and this side fits the bill perfectly!  I suggest using it as your carb for a meal (eg with poached fish or grilled chicken breast).    The recipe comes from skinnytaste , and for once I didn't have to healthify an over oiled recipe with unneccessary calories.  I have, however, simplified the ingredients and directions.    


Ingredients:

• 6 oz dry couscous 
• 3/4 lb thin asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
• 1 1/2 cups small tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1-1/2 lemons, juiced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• salt, to taste
• fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Directions: 

1.  Steam asparagus over boiling water until tender, about 4 minutes. 

2.  Cook the couscous according to package directions.

3.  When cooled, chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. 

4.  Mix all ingredients into a large bowl and enjoy!


Makes 5 servings.  Per serving (approximate): 

• calories:  166
• protein:  6g
• carbs:  29g
• fat: 3g

Thanks to Deb for the heads' up on the recipe!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Grilled Fish Tacos!

Here's a delicious Mexican-inspired recipe, with thanks to Pamela Salzman - I've modified the recipe to keep the calories low but the taste factor high!


INGREDIENTS:

1 pound halibut fillets

8 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed either on grill or heated griddle pan until pliable

1 fresh lime, cut into wedges

White sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
• 7 Tablespoons plain light unsweetened greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce or ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle powder (optional) 
• pinch of sea salt

Dry Rub:

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Veggie filling for tacos: as you wish-

• shredded napa cabbage
• coleslaw
• radishes
• red onion
• salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Whisk together ingredients for white sauce, and refrigerate until ready to use.

2.  Mix dry rub spices together and sprinkle on both sides of the fish.

3.  Preheat grill to medium-hot.  Brush grate grill very lightly with oil, minimum necessary to prevent sticking. Grill fish until fish is just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side.

4.  Remove fish from grill and break into pieces.

Makes 8 soft shell tacos!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    I have calculated the nutritional info here to include the fish, the soft shell taco, the dry rub, and the white sauce.  The number of calories, carbs etc in the veggies and salsa that you decide to include is going to depend on how much and what kinds you choose.  However, the calories in these veggies is almost negligible.  Salsa can vary, and I'd suggest going easy on salsa because it is very high in salt (ever wonder if you eat too much salt in a day - calculate your intake here).

It's also extremely difficult to estimate how much of the oil brushed on the grill absorbs into the fish - one of the limitations of using oil to create a non stick surface.  As it's almost impossible to estimate, I have not included the oil used to brush the grill in my calculations.  If you bake your fish in the oven instead, you can use a bit of non stick cooking spray on tin foil and avoid this problem.

Per taco: (approximate, including fish, dry rub, soft taco, and white sauce)

CALORIES: 163
CARBS:        13 g
PROTEIN:    17.5 g
FAT:             4.6 g

Enjoy!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Kale Adventures Continued... Maple Citrus Salad!

I'm really getting into the kale phenomenon - it's tasty!  Here's a super easy kale salad recipe - thanks to Pamela Salzman for the inspiration - I toned the recipe down in terms of calories by cutting out some oil.   Many salad recipes out there have way more oil than actually needs to be included.


INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups of kale, cut into strips (see below) - about 2 bunches
• 1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• A few twists of black pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced shallot
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS: 

Strip the leaves from the tough stem, and throw away the stem. Cut the kale into strips, and add the shredded cabbage.  

Mix remaining ingredients together, and pour over the vegggies.  Toss and serve!

Makes 6 servings. 

PER SERVING: (approximate)

CALORIES: 85

CARBS: 10g

PROTEIN: 2g
FAT: 4.5g

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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Baked Kale Chips!

I've been meaning to get into the world of kale for a while now.... is anyone else out there a little intimidated by this vegetable, for lack of knowing what the heck to do with it?  I definitely fall into this category.

Here is my first foray into cooking kale - I heard quite a while ago that you can make great tasting, crispy chips out of kale, to satisfy that crunch craving in place of less healthy choices like potato chips.

It's so easy - I should have tried it long ago!  At just 33 calories per cup of kale, it is a Free Veg - provided you go easy on the olive oil cooking spray.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch of kale
olive oil cooking spray
garlic powder
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350F (175 C).

2.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

3.  Remove the kale leaves from the tough stem strip in the middle.  Throw away the stem strip.  Cut the leaves into bite sized pieces.

4.  Arrange the kale leaf pieces on the baking sheet, and spray lightly with olive oil spray.    Bake until the edges are slightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.


Note: I tried storing my leftovers in a Tupperware container.  Maybe this is obvious to everyone but me but - don't do this.  They get soggy!  This recipe is for enjoying right after it's cooked. :)


Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2013 

Follow me on Twitter for daily tips! @drsuepedersen

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