by JoAnna M. Lund
Hi, I’m JoAnna Lund and I specialize in creating what I fondly call “common folk” healthy recipes, intended for people with diabetes, heart/cholesterol concerns and anyone following just about any reputable eating plan. Best of all, everyone sitting at the table (even if they don’t have any health concerns) will love my creations because they taste so good! You may have enjoyed some of my recipes in the Recipe Corner of this fine publication or in my many cookbooks, including The Diabetic’s Healthy Exchanges Cookbook or The Diabetic’s Dessert Cookbook.
Each visit, during the coming year, I will be sharing several easy cooking tips to help you revise your own family favorites into healthier versions. I’ll also be revising one or two of your family favorites -- that is if you send them to me! While space won’t permit sharing the original recipe, I’ll compare my revised version to the original in nutrients. Also, I promise not to share your name or city, only your initials and state. So you don’t have to worry that your letters and notes to me will be made public.
In my cooking tips and recipes, I will be naming brands -- that is, what I consider to be those products that deliver the most flavor for the least amount of fats, sugars, sodium and cost that are easily available in my small town! If I don’t call for a specific brand, then any will do. I don’t have a relationship with these manufacturers and the brands are only intended as suggestions. If you choose to use another brand, that’s fine with me. Just remember that the final nutritional analysis could be different, especially if I call for Blue Bunny sugar- and fat-free ice cream and you use Ben & Jerry’s Premium instead!!!
First, though, let’s start with some easy cooking tips to help you keep your new year’s resolution to cook and eat healthier in 2004.
First, winter is normally a time to enjoy many casserole and soup dishes. How about an ultra-easy mix that’s ideal for substituting for canned creamed soups? To make JO’s Dry Casserole Soup Mix, all you need to do is combine 2 cups Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder, 1 cup cornstarch, ½ cup dry bouillon (your choice of flavor), 5 teaspoons dry onion flakes, 1 tablespoon dry thyme, 1 tablespoon dry basil and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Store this in a covered container in a cool place. Anytime you want to use this instead of a (10-3/4 ounce) can of purchased cream soup, all you have to do is combine 1/3 cup of soup mixture and 1 cup of water. You’ll save both money and salt!
Second, to make your own sugar-and fat-free lemon yogurt, simply combine one small tub of Crystal Light Lemonade Mix and a 32-ounce container of plain non-fat yogurt. Mix well and store in the yogurt container. Use in any recipe that calls for lemon yogurt OR scoop ¾ cup of it into a dessert dish and enjoy! It only counts as 1 Fat Free Milk and there’s NO added sugar!
Third, you can make diet salad dressings taste more like the “real thing” by adding a small amount of fat-free mayonnaise and a pinch of sugar substitute to the diet dressing. Here’s a good starting point: Stir 1 teaspoon fat-free mayo and 1/2 teaspoon Splenda Granular into 2 tablespoons of purchased fat-free salad dressing. Drizzle this over your salad of choice and your taste buds will appreciate it from the very first bite!
Fourth, if you’d like to bake cookies or desserts like your mother did, but haven’t because her recipes called for sweetened condensed milk, I have a sugar-free version that will work just fine. In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, combine ½ cup water and 1 1/3 cups Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder until it makes a smooth paste. Cover and microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 45 to 60 seconds or just until mixture is very hot but not to the boiling point. Stir in ½ cup Splenda Granular. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before using. This will keep for two weeks in your refrigerator. Use in any recipe that calls for sweetened condensed milk. It makes the equivalent of one (12-fluid-ounce) can of commercial brand.
Fifth, if you want to use a recipe that calls for ¼ cup of chopped nuts or less and you are reluctant to use it because you don’t want to bother getting the food processor, blender or nut chopper out (because you don’t want to take them apart later to wash them), then I have an ultra easy solution for you. Simply use Grandma’s food processor -- a biscuit cutter! Put the nuts in a small sturdy plastic bowl (even a Cool Whip container works great) and chop away with the biscuit cutter. When you are through chopping to the consistency you want, all you have to do is toss the biscuit cutter into the sink and it practically washes itself!
Sixth, if a recipe calls for fat-free cream cheese, do NOT ever use an electric mixer to soften it! Fat-free cream cheese is made with water and if you stir it too vigorously, you will release the water and whatever you’re making will end up a soupy mess. Instead, put the fat-free cream cheese (either tubs or bricks) in a large bowl, get out a sturdy plastic mixing spoon and stir for 30 to 45 seconds -- 30 for the tubs and 45 for the bricks. Now, add whatever other ingredients the recipe calls for. Your finished product will look as good as it tastes. If you’ve purchased fat-free cream cheese in the past and used an electric mixer, then blamed the cream cheese for turning soupy, now you know it wasn’t the cheese, it was the cook that caused the problem!
Now for our recipe makeovers.
JR of Texas sent me a cheesecake to “lighten up” because she has
diabetes and her husband has high cholesterol. They both wanted to be able
to enjoy their favorite dessert without guilt. By the time I was through, my
version was less than half the calories but still had all the flavor!
Cherries Ahoy Cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages Philadelphia fat-free cream cheese
1 (4-serving) package JELL-O sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
2/3 cup Carnation Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
1 cup water
1 cup Cool Whip Lite
1 (6-ounce) Keebler chocolate pie crust
1 (20-ounce) can Lucky Leaf No Sugar Added Cherry Pie Filling
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
Instructions:
In a large bowl, stir cream cheese with a sturdy spoon until soft. Add dry pudding mix, dry milk powder, and water. Mix well using a wire whisk. Blend in ¼ cup Cool Whip Lite. Spread mixture into pie crust. Refrigerate while preparing topping. In a medium bowl, combine cherry pie filling and almond extract. Evenly spoon pie filling mixture over set filling. Drop remaining Cool Whip Lite by tablespoonful to form eight mounds. Evenly sprinkle almonds and chocolate chips over top. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Cut into eight servings.
Each serving equals:
238 Calories, 7 gm fat, 12 gm protein, 33 gm carbo., 575 mg sodium, 2 gm fiber; Diabetic Exchanges: 1 Starch/Carbo., 1 Fruit, 1 Meat, 1 Fat
Let’s Compare: The original recipe was 538 calories, 31 gm fat, and 54 gm carbohydrate. Quite a difference. Now you can enjoy without guilt!
SM of Oklahoma sent me a main dish recipe to revise. He says he does the cooking in his family and he likes his recipes easy and filling. Well, they don’t get much easier than this and my husband Cliff said it was a very filling meal. That’s two for two!!
Hamburger Hot Dish
Ingredients:
16 ounces ground extra-lean sirloin beef or turkey breast
1 (10-¾ ounce) can Healthy Request Tomato Soup
1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 1/2 cups frozen green beans, thawed
1 cup diced cooked potatoes
1/2 cup shredded Kraft reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-by-12-inch baking dish with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a large skillet sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray, brown meat. Stir in tomato soup. Add corn, green beans and potatoes. Mix well to combine. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish. Evenly sprinkle Cheddar cheese over top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Divide into six servings. Freezes well.
Each serving equals:
238 calories, 6 gm fat, 20 gm protein, 26 gm carbo., 324 mg sodium, 2 gm fiber; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Meat, 1 Starch, 1/2 Vegetable
Let’s Compare: The original recipe was 364 calories, 18gm fat, and 28gm carbo. That’s a savings of well over 100 calories and 12 grams of fat. Perfect for all those meat & potato guys who thought they couldn’t enjoy dishes like this anymore!
I hope you enjoyed our time together in the kitchen. Remember, if you’d like me to revise one of your family favorites so that it’s healthier, send your request to: JoAnna Lund, c/o Voice of the Diabetic, 1412 I-70 Drive SW, Suite C, Columbia, MO 65203. Also, be sure to visit my Web site at www.healthyexchanges.com for more “common folk” healthy recipes to try. See you next time!