There are a lot of ways to “eat healthier” and they need not cut down on taste or enjoyment. A little label reading will go a long way toward you eating goals. More and more products are being processed without any salt to help those who must cut down on sodium. Just keep looking and you will find these products. In the same way more manufacturers are putting out fat-free and reduced fat products, important for those who need to cut down on cholesterol. If sugar is a concern for you then you will find sugar-free products on the market, right down to cough drops.
The important thing to do is to be a label reader. Don’t simply look at the big type on the package but check the small print, as some manufacturers are not quite as honest as we would like to believe.
Cutting down on salt is difficult for many people and the first step is to take the salt shaker off the table! Shaking salt on food, before even tasting, is a habit that many have grown up with. Using spices and herbs makes it possible to create just about any main dish with a flavor that is so great you won’t even miss the salt.
A good example of a main dish with reduced salt and reduced fat is this recipe for Low Calorie Chili. In order to achieve the calorie count of 278 per cup you do need to purchase ground beef that is at least 90% fat free.
LOW CALORIE CHILI
1 lb. lean ground beef (90% fat free)
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 and 1/2-ounce) cans
no-salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained, chopped
1 (16-oz.) can no-salt added kidney beans, drained
1 (8-oz.) can no-salt added tomato sauce
1 (1-oz.) envelope onion soup mix
1 cup water
2 to 3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Coat a Dutch oven with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the ground beef and brown, stirring well so that it will crumble and all be browned. Drain the beef (yes, even with lean beef there will be fat accumulate) and pat the beef with paper towels to get off as much fat as possible. Wipe out the Dutch oven and then re-coat with cooking spray.
Add the onion, green pepper and garlic and cook and stir until these vegetables are tender, stirring constantly. Add back to the pan the ground beef, stewed tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, onion soup mix, water, chili powder and pepper sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This makes 9, 1-cup servings with only 278 calories per serving.
Beef is not always bad when you are cutting down on cholesterol as today’s beef is being raised to be leaner and butchers are trimming more of the fat from the beef. The leanest beef comes from the part of the animal that gets the most exercise. The round cuts from the back of the leg and those from the upper back or loin, are the leanest. This recipe calls for reduced-sodium soy sauce. You won’t be able to tell the difference in the taste from the regular.
BEEF AND CAULIFLOWER OVER RICE
1 pound boneless top round steak
3 Tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Vegetable cooking spray
3 cups cauliflower flowerets
3/4 cup coarsely chopped sweet red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 teaspoon beef-flavored bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp. dried and crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup cold water
1 cup sliced green onions
2 cups hot cooked rice
(cook with no fat or salt)
Trim any fat that you can see from the steak and cut it across the grain into thin strips. Place in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the soy sauce. Toss it gently to coat the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Coat a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the meat and cook and stir until browned. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower, chopped sweet red peppers, and garlic. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with the bouillon granules, pepper flakes, sugar and water. Stir until you have a smooth mixture. Stir into the meat mixture, add the green onions and cook and stir for about 1 minute or until the sauce mixture “clears”. Serve over the hot cooked rice. This makes 4 servings and there are only 296 calories when each serving is 1 and 1/4 cups of the meat mixture and ? cup of rice.
Traditionally Chicken Kiev is deep-fried which adds to the calories and the fat content. This recipe for Oven Easy Chicken Kiev is delicious, lower in fat, but must be pre-prepared and refrigerated. The actual cooking time is short,
only about 20 minutes.
OVEN EASY CHICKEN KIEV
1/2-cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine, at
room temperature
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
4 ounces Jack cheese
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, 3 lbs.
5 Tbsp. butter or
margarine, melted
In a shallow bowl combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, the teaspoon of oregano, garlic salt and the pepper. Mix well and set this mixture aside.
In a small bowl mix the soft butter or margarine with the half teaspoon of oregano and the chopped parsley and set aside. Cut the Jack cheese into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide and 1 and 1/2 inches long. Set aside. Rinse the chicken pieces and then pat dry. Place each breast half between two pieces of waxed paper or heavy plastic wrap. Pound with a flat surfaced meat pounder or mallet until they are uniformly about 1/4-inch thick. If you do not have a meat pounder then you can pound the breasts with a heavy iron skillet.
Lay each of the chicken pieces flat and spread with an eighth of the butter and herb mixture. Place one of the Jack cheese strips crosswise at one end. Fold in the sides of the breasts so that they overlap and then roll up the chicken to completely enclose the filling. Coat each little chicken bundle with the melted butter and then with the crumb mixture. You may want to press the crumbs into the bundles just to make sure they stick. After the bundles are all coated place them in a shallow baking pan, leaving a bit of room in between each one. If you have any butter left over drizzle over the top. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. They may also be made the day before. The must have this chilling time to let the butter mixture in the center firm up.
When you are ready to cook them preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until they are no longer pink in the center. You can test by gently cutting one open. This makes 8 servings. There are 405 calories in each serving, a bit high but not nearly as high as it would be if they were deep-fried.
