With all the holiday feasting and meat dishes abound, it was time to feature a vegan dish which includes  butternut or acorn squash from those holiday dinners. You can add spinach or kale, a dash of lemon zest & feta or other cheese with Phyllo. Bring out your cast iron skillet! This is the perfect pan for this dish for stove top, to oven, to table.

I professionally cooked and inspired many clients and now patients as a Registered Dietitian /Nutritionist on the joys of  frequent vegan eating in the diet.  Main dish or side dish.. it’s all good. Here goes!

Butternut squash is one of those good for you starchy vegetables and so rich and satisfying that when featured in a recipe, marries well with lots of flavors.

1 cup cubed  butternut squash has:

82 calories

20 grams of carbohydrate

6 grams of fiber

Recipe:

2 cups cubed butternut squash 

1 egg beaten

2 cups of spinach or kale chopped

2 sprigs of thyme leaves

1/2 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese

3 tablspoons of parmesan cheese grated

juice of one lemon

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup cooked sliced carrots

1/2 red onion chopped

olive oil or 2 tablespoons of melted butter

1/2 package of phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the oven proof pan or cast iron skillet, saute a chopped onion until soft and translucent, add the cubed butternut squash and carrots and cook until soft. Remove contents from the pan and pour into a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients to the butternut squash mixture and mix well .

Clean out the oven proof pan with a towel and cover the bottom of the pan with 8 ounces of the defrosted phyllo dough and allow the ends to overhang about 6 inches. Drizzle some olive oil or 2 tablespoons of melted butter  over the phyllo.

Pour the vegetable mixture into the phyllo covered pan and overlap the phyllo over the butternut squash mixture allowing for the middle to remain uncovered. On the stove, cook at medium heat for 3 minutes, in the pan and then place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

 

 

Try a great substitute for crackers or an addition to the cheese and cracker party: oven dried fruit. Low in calorie, non fat, no added sugar.  Pears especially  are abundant this time of year and with apples, make a healthy and really delicious addition with cheese or nut butters, added to cereal or a quick snack as is.

Realize by drying there are concentrated sugars naturally in the fruit, so even though they shrink and seem innocent to eat a lot (they are delicious) ..the serving of 5 slices of apple or pear is still a  1 1/2 carbohydrate exchange for Diabetics (25 grams) .

This recipe is a throw in the oven and forget it. Set the timer for 1 1/2 hours and then turn them over for another 1 hour approx. No mixer, no multiple ingredients, no stirring  and NO mess! The fruit becomes sweet without the added sugar and may take only 1 hour on each side. 

Here goes:

5 slices of dried apple:

80 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrate per serving and oven dried. 

4- 5 slices of  Pear 92 calories, 25 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

RECIPE:

2 apples sliced crosswise ( Pink Lady, Braeburn, Golden Delicious)

2 Bosc pears sliced lengthwise 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

2 tablespoons of coconut or granulated sugar (optional and will raise calorie count.)

Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice  pears lengthwise and apples sliced crosswise into thin 1/4 inch slices.  Remove the seeds.  Lightly coat in granulated sugar or coconut sugar (optional). Place on parchment lined cookies sheets and bake for 1 to 1/2 hours and flip over for another 1  hour . Fruit should be golden and slightly crisp. Remove from the oven. Will continue to crisp. Cool on wire racks for several hours and can be stored in a plastic container 4-5 days.

 

Hi!  My first post of this salad showed the endive in a store so you knew what they looked like.  Endive added to fruit and savory root vegetables creates a tasty combo.  Thought I would feature this salad again. Here is a way to get the apple goodness incorporating the flavors of apple, beets and the endive as a little bitter note with sweet anise seed dressing.

Vinaigrette:

3 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon anise seed ground

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon of honey

Recipe:

2  Golden Delicious or other apples cored and chopped

1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)

3 golden beets roasted and chopped

2 bunches of endive leaves separated and sliced vertically

Preheat a 375 degree oven and roast beets wrapped in foil for 45 minutes or until beets are soft and tender upon piercing with a knife.  Set aside until cool enough to handle and cut off stems and peel way the skin and chop. Combine in a bowl, the chopped beets, apples and sliced endive with the walnuts.  Mix the vinaigrette  ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the endiv

Vinaigrette:

3 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon anise seed ground

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon of honey

Recipe:

2  Golden Delicious or other apples cored and chopped

1/2 cup walnut pieces (optional)

3 golden beets roasted and chopped

2 bunches of endive leaves separated and sliced vertically

Preheat a 375 degree oven and roast beets wrapped in foil for 45 minutes or until beets are soft and tender upon piercing with a knife.  Set aside until cool enough to handle and cut off stems and peel the skin and chop. Combine in a bowl, the chopped beets, apples and sliced endive with the walnuts.  Mix the vinaigrette  ingredients together and pour over the salad.

 

 

 

You need: Apples- A Little Sugar-Butter- Oats -Cornmeal What is a a scrounge? Its an old recipe that means getting any apples you can that fall from the trees or on the ground. Growing up, we had a couple of apples trees in the backyard and the eager birds always got to them first! We scrounged for apples. Heh most of us don’t have fruit trees. We can still scrounge for apples in the refrigerator bin, where they have seen better times but are worthy of baking into a scrounge.  

Apples were brought to the colonists in the 1730’s. Only crab apples were found locally as wild apples in the 1600s. So we have the British to thank  for bringing the seeds over to New England with honeybees to begin the first orchards!

  Fresh apples have the following:

• 90-101 kcal per fresh medium apple or 1/2 of a large apple

• 25 grams of carbohydrate per apple

• 4 -5 grams of fiber  per baked or unbaked apple with the peel

• the peel contains most of the Vitamin C in the apple

• Ursolic acid  found in the peel baked or fresh , is a natural compound that can regulate cholesterol

  I promised you tasty quick recipes to improve your health and still enjoy carbohydrates . This recipe is a baked apple treat with lower sugar, gluten free and packed with nutrients in the apple and peel even when baked.

THE RECIPE

4 -5 apples any kind (if they are Granny Smith please peel) otherwise left unpeeled and cored sliced crosswise

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup oatmeal

4 tablespoons of butter

6  teaspoons sugar 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water or apple juice

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Core and slice apples and set aside. Mix the spices together with 3 teaspoons of the sugar and coat the apple slices.  In another bowl mix together the cornmeal, oats, with the butter and the rest of the sugar and cut into the dough until it resembles a crumble. 

Butter a 8x 8 inch square baking pan. Place sliced apples in the pan one layer at a time, and cover the top with the butter cornmeal mixture. Sprinkle the walnuts over the entire pan. Pour about 1/4 cup of juice or water along the rim of the pan . Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes until soft .  Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until bubbly and slightly crisp on the top.

Makes 6 servings

Calories: 178 kcals per serving and 35 grams of CHO (a little over 2 cho exchanges for a diabetic diet)

 

 

 

We are getting into pre fall grape season for champagne and concord grapes. So with Summer still upon us I thought a double dose of this healthy fruit in concord grape juice gelatin with champagne grapes may be easy low added sugar dessert for adults and kids!

Why grapes? They have 16 grams of carbohydrate per 1/2 cup or approximately 15-17 grapes, so they are a serving in the diabetic diet and are a good source of fiber and polyphenols, located in the red and purple skin of the fruit.

At 62 calories per one cup,  red and blue skin grapes have polyphenols and querciten, which may prevent LDL (bad cholesterol ) damage to blood vessels.   Grapes, blueberries and it’s juice, have an antioxidant called pterostilbene, a newly discovered antioxidant similar to resveratrol. Read up on it’s dietary impact.

 Let’s make this simple dessert which is ready in 2 hours

Oh.. you mean ..Jello? (used generically of course)

Gelatin  has a bad rap. Known in dietitian circles as a clear liquid choice after gastrointestinal procedures before advancing to solid foods.  

Gelatin can be upgraded to a higher level of culinary worthiness with organic juices, fruits and nuts with some sweetened organic whipped cream or yogurt.  You can use gelatin sheets, (vegetarian) prepared according to manufacturer’s instructions or powdered gelatin.

Champagne Grape Gelatin

• 2 1/2 packets of powdered gelatin

• 2  cups of concord grape juice (no sugar added)

• 1/4 cup water

• zest of 1/2 lemon

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup champagne or other grapes

Boil water and pour over the powdered gelatin in a mixing bowl.

Let sit for a minute and let it “bloom”.  Add the vanilla, honey and zest to the juice.

Heat the juice until steaming hot not boiling and pour over the gelatin.  Stir until fully absorbed and pour into a cooking sprayed loaf pan or 8 inch square dish.

Refrigerate and after 1 hour add grapes into the gelatin which is now just beginning to set.  Continue to refrigerate for another hour or until solid .

160 kcals per 3/4  cup serving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Requirements For Fresh Fruit Granita:

Water-Fresh Fruit-Some Sugar-A Pan -Freezer

The Romans  started it and Sicilians even have it for breakfast.. yes their  granite di café, a dessert of frozen coffee or fresh fruit granita cut into tiny icy dice. With summer fruit everywhere try peaches in the recipe that follows, freezing it with a light simple syrup and do as the Roman’s do!

Some facts on peaches:

58 kcals per medium peach

Glycemic Load is a 5 (low)

Glycemic Index 42 (low to moderate)

Peaches have Carotenoids, Vitamin A, Chloregenic Acid ( antioxidants) Flavonoids (good for your skin)

One medium peach is a 15 gram carbohydrate serving

This recipe provides:

• 122.5 kcals per serving with 1/2 cup of sugar in the simple syrup

  Fiber and a way for non fruit eaters to eat fruit.

• Non Fat and Low calorie

Peach Granita:

• 1 lb of very rips peaches, peeled and stoned (or obtain cling free peaches)

• 2 cups of water

• 1/4-1/2 cup sugar

• 2 drops of Almond Extract

• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Bring to a boil 2 cups of water  with 1/4 cup-1/2 cup of sugar and continue to boil for 5 minutes until the syrup resembles in consistency a light maple syrup. Remove from  heat and add the extracts. Pour into a non reactive dish and place in  the freezer for 6 hours. Remove from the freezer when solid and run a knife around the pan and invert onto a cutting board. In 1-2 minutes the ice block should come away. Chop crosswise coarsely and continue to chop until a icy mass of small chunks occurs. Serve in bowls or glass parfait glasses.

 

 

Spa cuisine was the forerunner of low calorie, farm to table and low fat cooking in the 90’s. Nutrition became a hot topic using protein, carbohydrate and fat, within highly visually appealing plates. Over time, this cooking was incorporated into our daily eating and shopping ritual.. baby squash no problem, next to the carrots..field greens of course and grass fed beef- yes! Now this cuisine can be part of our meal program for weight loss with less fussy preparation.

Dietitians are constantly confronted with the losing weight enigma.  Dietitians  used to coach individuals with the 3500 kcal rule, or eliminating 500 kcals a day for one week will make you loose one lb a week.

Now new research s debunking the rule. One may lose that 52 lbs in a year if there is a determination and a patience factor to back it up. However there comes a set point where one does not lose that much anymore and that is where that rule becomes  ineffective. In the Physiology of Behavior, 2014, 60-65 CC Chow and Hall KD stated that taking active control of food consumption, may be required to limit the long term increase in energy intake (overeating) even if it means omitting  100 kcals a day and it takes 2 years. The body will eventually move it’s set point up to lose the weight and maintain weight. Meaning smaller amounts of calories eliminated over time makes for a more permanent weight loss. 

Incorporating protein, fat and carbohydrate in a low calorie plan may be the answer. So here is where spa cuisine comes in.

I found a recipe in the NYT April 21, 1993 for Scallop Pancakes with Spinach and Chives , a great dinner with a cup of noodles if you prefer.  I streamlined the recipe due to our more device oriented and busier lives than were in the 1990’s.

 I substituted and made optional, Shitake mushrooms for enoki mushrooms which maybe hard to obtain. Also, a quick saute of vegetables  and no blanching saved time. Scallops are a great low kcal seafood at 46 calories per scallop, with vegetables (non starchy carb) and buckwheat noodles. Enjoy.

SCALLOPS FRITTERS

• 1 lb or 8-10 large scallops  

• 2 cups of spinach

• 3 scallions root removed and 1/2 of green tops removed

• 1 shallot

• 1/2  cup sugar snap peas

• 3 tablespoons rice flour

• 1 /2 cup  sliced Shitake or Brown Mushrooms (optional)

•  1 tablespoon of chopped chives

• 1 egg white

       SAUCE

• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger or 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

• 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander

• juice of 1  lemon

• olive oil

• 1/2 lb dried Buckwheat Noodles  cooked

Saute sliced scallions in a  pan with oil for 5 minutes until golden and soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until  soft and add the spinach and snap peas.  Saute for an additional 3 minutes until spinach is totally wilted.  Set aside and keep warm Coarsely chop the fresh scallops and add the rice flour, chives, egg white and shallot. Mix together and shape into 8 patties.

Cook buckwheat noodles according to directions, drain and set aside.

Lightly saute the scallop cakes, on both sides of a non stick pan until lightly golden.

Sauce
Mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, honey and heat in a small saucepan until warm. Divide warm vegetables among 4 plates.  Add 2 scallop fritters with some sauce, chopped coriander and cooked noodles (optional).

 

I am writing this blog on a 118 degree day in the Southwest, so I thought I would extol the virtues of a super summer fruit: Watermelon.  The heat brought on divine inspiration to write this gazpacho recipe which is below but first a few facts:

So watermelon may have a bad rap for it’s high Glycemic Index of 72 but it should be included as a healthy part of  the carbohydrate fruit exchange for diabetics at 3/4 cup.  Let’s consider that watermelon  has 92 %  water and only 17 grams of carbohydrate per serving.  The fruit/vegetable.. yes it is both,  has approximately 40 kcals ( calories) per cup.  Watermelon at only 1/2 cup offers  569 milligrams of Vitamin A,  4,532 micrograms of Lycopene,  also Beta -Carotene and Zeazanthin.  Whew!…Watermelon will satisfy that sweet tooth but without refined sugar products. Also all those nutrients  are a tonic for your skin from the inside out!

So on that next hot day when you want a dessert, skip cake and all it’s refined sugar and white flour (not that I discourage them.. all in moderation of course) and try watermelon instead.

The next recipe is a soup.. or a drink! yes a cold soup laced with some pineapple and cucumber juice, with a chopped cucumber and watermelon as garnish. I add some  sea salt, ground black pepper , a pinch of cayenne pepper and chopped cilantro. Tastes like a bloody Mary without the alcohol or tomato!

• 3 cups of coarsely chopped watermelon

• 1 cucumber, peeled

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice

• a tablespoon of chopped cilantro

• a generous pinch of cayenne pepper, black pepper

• sea salt to taste

Reserve a slice of chopped watermelon for garnish. Cut a peeled cucumber in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. One half of the cucumber can be chopped or diced and put aside. The other half cucumber can be placed in a blender with the rest of the watermelon, spices, salt and pineapple juice. Blend for 1 minute. Pour into a container and chill for 2-3 hours. Serves 2-3  in bowls or glasses with cucumber and watermelon garnish.

 

Summer means salads and you can combine both, bread and vegetables and still have a low carbohydrate side with great flavor . This recipe has medieval origins called Panzanella. Back in 1354, yes that long ago, a dish was eaten by peasants .  The dish was referred to as Panlavato or washed bread, because the bread which was eventually stale, was washed and revived with water and vegetables were added to the bread. Cucumbers were the main veg back then, for tomatoes were not raised in Italy until the 1700’s. The rest is history.

So now in present day Italian we have tomatoes, red onion, fresh mozzarella, (optional if lactose intolerant)  fresh basil with lemon zest and roasted zucchini.

A 1 cup portion is approximately  254 calories, 32 grams of carb ( 2 exchanges for diabetics) with non starchy carbohydrate from the vegetables and starch carbohydrate from the bread.

Panzanella

3 cups of toasted bread cubes

1 -2 lbs of chopped tomatoes (any kind- heirloom, plum, beef steak or even cherry tomatoes)

1 1/2 cup of diced fresh mozzarella

 1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1/2 red pepper sliced

4-5  torn basil leaves

The Dressing:

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil

• 4 tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar

• Sea salt

• Cracked black pepper or ground black pepper

• juice of 2 lemons

• zest of a 1/2 lemon

• a sprig of thyme leaves

• 1 tablespoon of capers ( optional)

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Chop tomatoes and add salt and pepper to taste and set aside. Cut up baguette, Italian bread or other white bread into cubes. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over the bread. Toast in the oven for 20 minutes or until dried like croutons. Set aside the bread cubes.

• With the oven still on,  slice zucchini , yellow squash and red pepper and roast the vegetables until slightly golden and soft, 20 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables to the bread cubes,  basil leaves, chopped mozzarella  and zest from a 1/2 a lemon. Mix together.

• Add all the ingredients together and pour the dressing over the entire salad.  Let marinate for an hour before serving. Can be made ahead of time and add the vinaigrette the next day. Serves 6

 

 

,

Try a quick healthy and refreshing  salad that has licorice notes from the fennel with white peaches, red berries or blueberries for a summer holiday table. I like to try different types of vegetables paired with fruits as a “get all your nutrients in one dish kinda thing”. Also, this vegetable works extremely well with the sweet taste.

What is fennel? The vegetable belongs to the carrot family! You see it on the supermarket shelf with long stems and green fronds.  It tastes like licorice and I like to call it a dual seasonal produce. Cooked in the winter, roasted in  orange juice, fennel is a  great side dish with turkey or chicken. But in Summer, I like it sliced thin and eaten raw with fruits in a salad. High in vitamin C, (17% RDA), Fennel is a great non starchy vegetable with 1 bulb having 17 grams carbohydrate with high fiber, great for diabetics and  weight watchers alike.

Fresh Fennel Slaw with White Peaches and Berries in Honey Lemon Dressing

• 2 bulbs of fennel long stems removed save fronds

• 1/2 cup blueberries

• 1 white peach sliced

• 1/2 cup of raspberries of strawberries

• 4 tablespoons of honey

• 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil

• juice of  3  lemons

• Cracked black pepper and salt to taste

• 2 tablespoons of chopped fronds

• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds

Remove the stalks and fronds, cut off the base and slice into thin slices similar to an onion. Mix  the honey, olive oil and lemon juice together with crushed fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste. Add some chopped green fronds from the stalks.  Add the berries and peaches and pour the vinaigrette over the fennel and fruit and let macerate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Serves 4.