Food Swaps & Other Healthful Tweaks

So many people fear eating healthy because they think that they'll have to throw all their favorite foods and meals out the window.  Not so.  With a little substitution and swapping, you can still enjoy delicious and festive food-occasions (and you won't miss those calories one bit). 

Here are some easy food-swap examples:

• swap salsa for the chip or veggie dip
• swap veggies & dip for the chips & dip
• swap a green salad for the macaroni salad
• swap fresh fruit for the frog-eye salad
• swap angel food cupcakes for regular cupcakes
• swap water bottles in the cooler for cans of pop

More food substitutions on my Studio 5 segment: http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=56&sid=26056999

It's Ice Cream Season. . . Re-think Your Toppings

By swapping frozen yogurt for regular ice cream, homemade chocolate syrup for store-bought hot fudge sauce, and berries macerated (fancy name for tossed with ahead of time to get all juicy and yummy) in honey, you save 180 calories that one ice cream sundae! 

Homemade Chocolate syrup:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan, whisk together the cocoa and sugar.  Add the water and salt, whisking over medium heat until boiling.  Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.  Store in refrigerator. 

Makes approximately 2 cups (16 servings)

Serving size: 2 Tbsp.  60 calories, 1.8 g fiber,  12.6 g sugar

5 Tips For A Healthy 4th

The 4th of July is no exception to the food-centric holiday rule.  This is a good thing, since food fills not only a nutritional, but a cultural and celebratory need as well.  But there are ways to up the enjoyment of your feast without upping empty calories.  Here are 5 tips to keep your 4th festive, but not fattening:

1. Leave the chips at home.  Finger foods and dip-able foods are great - just swap out the chips in favor of a veggie tray. Baby carrots, sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes require no prep time at all. (Turning them into a volcanic island scene however, does.) 
   
   
2. Whip up the dip yourself.  Pre-made dips are high in fat, sodium and sometimes sugar.  A healthier option is to whip up the dip yourself with some greek yogurt, a little canola mayo, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, dash of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. 
3. Be beverage aware.  Remember you can always drink calories faster than you can eat them, so choose your beverage wisely.  Make ice-water or water bottles your go-to instead of a cooler full of soda pop.  I personally would rather chew my calories than sip them.
4. Pack in the plants.  This summer holiday is perfectly suited for a produce-rich meal.  Make salads and veggie or fruit side dishes the highlight of your picnic table. 
   
   This holiday may just be the easiest time to get 9 servings of fruits and veggies in.  Watermelon, peas, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, fresh greens, beans and tomatoes can all take center stage this time of year.  
5. Make fruit your dessert.  Whether it is a fruit topped cheesecake, chocolate dipped strawberries
    
   or fruit filled waffle cones, make fruit a part of your dessert tradition. 
   

Car-Stables Snacks to Keep You Out of the Drive-thru

I recently did a segment on Studio 5 about car-stable staples.  http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=56&sid=25772808
Here is the recipe for the car-mix that I like.  It is simple, healthful, and won't go stale on you for quite a while so you can leave it in your glove box and forget about it for a week or two. 

Long-Lasting Car Snack Mix

1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruit (I like a mix of dried berries)
2 cups unsweetened cereal

Makes 8  1/2-cup servings
Calories: 150
Protein: 4 g
Fiber: 5 g

Eating Carb-Smart

Hating on carbs has been a popular nutrition fad for the past few years.  Low-carb diets however, have not proved to be the long-term health solution that America needs.  In order to understand what kind and how much carbohydrate we need, we have to keep a few things in mind:

1.    Not all carbohydrates are created equal.   There is a big difference in the nutrition of carbohydrates found in a glazed donut compared to the carbohydrates found in whole-grain pasta.  The more complex the carbohydrates (whole grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, etc.) the more health benefits they provide since complex, unrefined carbohydrate sources provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.  Refined carbohydrates (sugars and refined flours) lose a lot of those nutrients through the refining process.

2.    Carbohydrates are not nutritional villains.  Everyone’s body runs on carbohydrates.  In the absence of carbohydrates in the diet, our bodies will work hard to convert proteins and fats into a usable fuel source (glucose).  So in order for our bodies to function the way they were designed, we need a balanced intake of carbohydrates. 

3.    Excess and hidden sugars are really what we need to watch out for.  Processed, packaged and restaurant foods are notoriously high in hidden sugars.  Cookies, candy and soda pop aren’t the only hideouts for sugar.  Condiments (barbeque sauce, creamy salad dressings, marinades), yogurts, juices and breakfast cereals all contain more sugar than you might think.

So how does one limit the amount of processed or refined carbohydrates in favor of the more complex?

·      Don’t drink your sugar – go for water.

·      Go whole grain – aim for 3 servings of whole grain per day. 

·      Check breakfast cereal labels – 5 grams of sugar or less per serving is great.

·      Use condiments as they were intended – sparingly (ketchup is not a vegetable serving).

·      Swap out creamy salad dressings for olive oil and vinegar based  dressings.

·      Cut the croutons and top your salad with nuts, seeds, or roasted chickpeas.

·      Try a square of bittersweet chocolate for dessert instead of milk chocolate. (up to ½ as much sugar in bittersweet compared with milk chocolate)

·      Go with corn instead of flour tortillas (corn tortillas are whole grain with 60 calories, 13 g. carbohydrate vs. flour tortillas 150 calories, 25 g carbohydrate).

·      Eat out less often.

http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=56&sid=25566178 

Smart Salad Toppers: Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Summer is a great salad-eating season, but don't fall into the rut of topping every salad with croutons.  Try using toasted nuts, pumpkin seeds, or try this recipe for roasted garbanzo beans. 

Toss together 5 ingredients, bake and enjoy!

High in fiber, folate and protein - garbanzo beans or chickpeas are nutrient dense and tasty as well!

Roasted Garbanzo Bean Salad Toppers:

Ingredients

1 can reduced sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
Dash ground chipotle pepper
Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain rinse and pat dry one can of reduced salt garbanzo beans. In a medium-sized bowl, toss with 1 tsp. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, dash of ground chipotle pepper and a pinch of salt. Spread out garbanzo beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stir, then bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serves 9 (2 Tbsp. serving size)

Serving Size: Makes 9 2-Tbsp. servings

Number of Servings: 9

Nutrition Information

Calories: 55
Total fat: 1 g
Total carbohydrates: 9 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g
Sodium: 55 mg

Chocolate Streusel Bread: A Cinderella Story

I found a recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine that was amazingly delicious.  Yeasted Chocolate Coffee Cake however was not only scrumptious, but shockingly high in fat and calories.  The original recipe makes one loaf (a huge one I might add) and involves massive amounts of butter, sugar and chocolate.  I decided to do a little makeover of my own on this recipe and here's how it turned out:

I had to quickly take a photo before it all disappeared.  Is the made-over, "Cinderella" version a health-food superstar?  No.  It is still a dessert-masquerading-as-a-breakfast-food, but the revised version is certainly a better option for this special-occasion food.

Martha Stewart's Yeasted Chocolate Coffee Cake:
1 recipe = 1 loaf
Serves 10
1 slice: 520 calories
            26.2 g fat
            68 g carbohydrates
            34.6 g sugar
            7 g protein

Trish's Chocolate Streusel Bread:
1 recipe = 3 loaves (I doubled the recipe and made 3 smaller loaves instead of 2 huge ones)
Serves 30
1 slice: 285 calories
            12.7 g fat
            40 g carbohydrates
            17.5 g sugar
            4.1 g protein

Obviously the main alteration was serving size - the original recipes's slices were so tall and large, that I decided that by making an extra loaf with a double recipe would bring the slices back into normal size.  Portion size is always key to healthful, balanced nutrition (and cooking!).
Next, I cut the amount of butter and sugar (always the best and easiest way to reduce fat and calories).  It still retains its chocolate filling, streusel topping and tender, buttery bread - but its decadence is no longer over-the-top. 

Here's a photo version of the recipes steps:

Here's the "Cinderella" or made-over version of the recipe:

Chocolate Streusel Bread

Dough:
In mixing bowl, add:
4 1/2 tsp. dry yeast (2 packages)
1 1/2 cups warm, low-fat milk
1/2 cup sugar
Let sit 5 minutes. 
Add:
dash salt
3 eggs
6 cups flour
1 stick butter well-softened (remember this is making 3 loaves so don't freak out)
Beat with dough hook until it forms a sticky dough.  Place in a greased bowl, cover then refrigerate overnight.  (Since I like to have this as a brunch, I make the dough the night before as well as the filling and streusel, then in the morning I just assemble, let rise 30 minutes and bake.  You can just let the dough double in size, then proceed.)
Filling:
2 cups dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. softened butter or spread
Mix well together until crumbly.
Streusel:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup flour
5 Tbsp. softened butter
Cut together with pastry blender until it forms a coarse-meal texture.
Assembly:
Once dough has risen once, punch down, divide into three equal parts and roll each out into a rectangle (about 16"x8").  Spread chocolate filling over the dough, leaving a small border.  Roll up  the dough as if you were making cinnamon rolls.  Pinch the seams and ends.  Fold the roll in half, then twist (see photos above).  Place in a well greased loaf pan (you may want to use  parchment paper in the bottom of the loaf pan to ensure it comes out intact).  You now have 3 loaves.  You can brush with an egg wash (1 Tbsp. beaten egg) but this is optional.  Sprinkle with the streusel topping.  I decided to only bake 2 loaves and freeze one.  (This is the point where you should freeze it.  Then when you just have to remove from the freezer - thaw, let raise and bake at your leisure.)  Let the loaves raise for about 30-45 minutes.  Bake at 350∘ for 45-50 minutes until deep, golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200∘ (this means your bread won't be dough inside).
Let cool slightly before slicing.  Each loaf serves 10.  For nutrition information - see above.