Peanutty Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins

I have been experimenting with quinoa, much to the dismay of my husband who doesn't mind the taste but has a problem with the texture.  Quinoa is quite popular with those eating a Paleo diet and the fitness crowd due to its protein content.  So, I set about looking for recipes using quinoa that my husband might like.  I came across Jen Nikolaus' recipe for Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins that looked tantalizingly delicious.  I decided to tweak her recipe into something similar but different. 

Jen's original recipe is for a lovely chocolate chip The addition of peanut butter not only adds flavour, it adds protein.  Almond flour also adds protein.
muffin that incorporates the health benefits of quinoa.   I took that a step further by using the popular combination of chocolate and peanut butter for my deliciously health peanutty chocolate chip quinoa muffins.  Her version used canola oil which is a GMO, something we avoid.  I replaced it with organic peanut butter.  Jen's original recipe came in at 258 cal, 41 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 6 g protein, 186 mg sodium and 3 g fibre muffin.  My version comes in at 246 calories, 32 g carbohydrates, 11 g fat, 8 g protein 141 mg sodium and 4 g fibre per muffin.  I would still like to get the carbohydrate content a bit lower which would reduce the caloric value as well.  I will share that recipe as soon as the testing is finished.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this healthy, tasty muffin!

Chicken Schnitzel With Provolone and Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce

Most people have the view that 'going on a diet' means depriving themselves of pretty much everything they enjoy eating.  That view is further distorted by the myth that there are good foods and bad foods which simply is not the case.  The general premise is, if you eat the good foods you will lose weight.  The problem is this approach simply doesn't work.  All you have to do is browse through the everydiet.org site to see how many diets there are that really are not sustainable, so in the end even if you lose the weight you will gain it back when you resume your normal eating pattern.  What does work is eating the foods you enjoy in moderation, getting active and creating a calorie deficit which ultimately results in healthy weight loss that can later be maintained.  The focus with this approach becomes total fitness not just weight loss.  With that in mind, even fried foods can be enjoyed while you are in weight loss mode.  

My husband offered to make dinner a few nights ago.  He had seen a dish on FoodTV that he wanted to duplicate.  The dish was a chicken schnitzel.  Schnitzel is simply a piece of boneless veal, chicken, beef, turkey or pork pounded out thin then lightly coated and pan fried.  If the meat is veal, it is referred to a Wiener Schnitzel.  Chicken Parmigiana is chicken schnitzel topped with Parmesan cheese.

He pounded out four 183 g (6.45 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts then dredged the meat in milk and lightly seasoned flour.  The traditional coating is flour, beaten egg and bread crumbs.  Eliminating the egg and bread crumbs reduced the caloric value of the cooked chicken schnitzel.

He heated olive oil and a little butter in a ceramic coated fry pan.  Olive oil is a healthier oil for frying while butter adds a lot of flavour.  Coconut oil is another healthier oil for frying.  Both have health benefits.  Vegetable oil blends, canola and sunflower oil should be avoided because they are GMO which  can have negative health effects including gastro-intestinal upsets.

He placed the prepared chicken schnitzel in the hot oil then fried to a golden brown on both sides.  While the chicken schnitzel was frying, he brought a pot of salted water to a boil then stirred in 4 oz of broad egg noodles.  A serving size of broad egg noodles is 2 oz dry weight.  He removed the chicken schnitzel, drained on a piece of paper towel, then placed on a Silpat lined baking sheet.  He topped each chicken schnitzel with 28 g (1 oz) of cheese, two with provolone and two with mild cheddar.  While the chicken schnitzel baked to perfection with bubbly cheese, he drained the pasta and heated the home canned roasted tomato garlic sauce.   
   

The entrée was simply the chicken schnitzel with provolone cheese and egg noodles served with a light topping of roasted tomato garlic sauce, garnished with fresh basil.  The chicken schnitzel was moist and fork tender.  The provolone cheese added a lovely richness.  The roasted tomato garlic sauce perfectly complemented the chicken and egg noodles.  It was a simple, delightfully tasty meal! 

This is a low prep, easy to make, under 30 minute entrée.  The nutritional value is based on a 183 g piece of boneless, skinless chicken breast, olive oil, butter, milk, flour, seasonings, provolone cheese, egg noodles, home canned roasted tomato sauce and basil as pictured.   

Nutritional value for entire entrée as pictured: 633 calories, 52 g carbohydrates, 20 g fat, 61 g protein, 535 mg sodium, 4 g fat

Spinach Rice Vermecilli

Pasta dishes have long been family favourites, anything from cold pasta salads to pasta casseroles to pasta in soups to simply pasta topped with a sauce or sometimes just a bit of butter and garlic or salt.  Pasta dishes tend to be inexpensive, easy and quick to make, and they are kid friendly making them the perfect frugal meal choice.  Pastas certainly aren't boring either as you can find them in a wide range of shapes, different colours (red, orange, purple, green), and even whole grain.  For those needing to avoid gluten, rice based pastas are available and just as inexpensive as wheat based pastas.  However, pasta has a bad reputation for those trying to lose weight, lower their sodium intake or following a low carb diet.  The problem is not just the pasta itself, it's the sauces some which can be high in both calories and sodium combined with portion size. 

We eat a fairly low sodium diet already and we avoid commercially canned foods by home canning which eliminates preservatives and other food additives (MSG, HFCS) that can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, ADD/ADHD, headaches, asthma and allergies. My husband was thought to be pre-diabetic had a gastrointestinal infection that hospitalized him for five days last fall.  His new doctor ruled out diabetes but recently him with high blood pressure to be controlled by medication and weight loss that will hopefully eliminate the medication.  My blood pressure has been high the last couple of doctor visits and regular testing at home still in the high range so I'm following a few tips to lower my blood pressure without having to take medication. 

In light of these problems, I decided to take a closer look at our diet.  I had already been modifying our favourite pasta dishes to make them healthier as well as getting ideas from healthy pasta recipes from various sources.  Many of the celebrity chefs have great ideas for reducing the calories and sodium in their pasta dishes.

Green pasta gets it's colour from spinach.  Up until now I had only seen wheat based pastas with spinach added.  I also have a recipe for spinach pasta for my pasta attachments.  The other day I saw spinach rice vermecilli in the grocery store so just had to buy it.  This vermecilli was such a pretty pale green that I knew would look lovely cooked. One of our friends eats gluten free so I'm trying find a few good dishes he can eat.  The neat thing about rice vermecilli is to just bring the water to a boil, turn it off and soak the vermecilli in it for 2 minutes then drain. 

I made an alfredo sauce topped with lobster pieces, shredded garlic and dill cheese, and garnished with parsley from my indoor garden.  Alfredo sauce is easy to make but if using a standard recipe thickened with flour contains gluten, and has 996 calories and 1264 mg sodium (53% of recommended daily intake).  I use grated Parmesan cheese melted in a little butter then stir in 2% milk instead of half and half or heavy cream.  I don't add any salt as the cheese has enough salt in it.  Four ounces of steamed lobster has 111 calories, 431 mg of sodium any only 1.5 g of carbs.  I love lobster!  I buy a case of 8 - 7 oz Cuban rock lobster tails along with cod filets and King Crab legs from Elite Gourmet Food Service who delivers right to you door anywhere is southern Ontario.  The problem is, I can easily eat a 7 oz lobster tail (754 mg sodium) or even a whole lobster especially with drawn butter!  I wanted the taste of lobster that night without the calories and sodium so I steamed a lobster tail, cut it into pieces and divided it into 4 portions (189 mg sodium each).  I topped the pasta with a half cup of sauce, added one portion of lobster tail then 1 tsp of shredded garlic and dill cheese for extra flavour.  The end result was a gluten free pasta dish lower in calories, sodium and carbs but still flavourful.  I'm sure our friend will enjoy it the next time he visits!

Loaded Tater Tots at Hooter's

Pub grub food can seldom be considered healthy food but on occasion it can be part of an other wise healthy diet.  Pub food is usually high in sodium and fat.  It's meant to keep you in the pub/bar longer which translates into drinking more.  Pubs and sports bars usually have televisions for the same reason.  The reason for this is the real money is made on the alcoholic beverages so the longer they keep you there the more money they make.

During our last visit to Hooter's one of the guys ordered loaded tater tots as an appetizer.  This appetizer is very much pub grub food but not one that I have seen before.  The closest I've seen that resemble the loaded tater tots is the Irish fries at Murphy Inn Restaurant in Lexington, Michigan.  The only difference between the two appetizers is using tater tots in place of French fries.  This would be a very easy dish to duplicate at home and it could be made a bit healthier than the restaurant version.

I'm not a huge fan of frozen potato products (eg. French fries, hash browns) especially the pre-formed ones like hash brown patties and tater tots.  However,  kids tend to like the hash brown patties and tater tots because they look like those served at fast food restaurants.

To make a healthier version of loaded tater tots:  Check the labels when buying as some brands have less sodium and fat than others.  Choose the brand with the lowest sodium and fat content.  Bake rather than fry the tater tots on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet with no additional oil.   Drain the baked tater tots on paper toweling to remove any excess fat.  Do not sprinkle on any extra salt.  Make a béchamel sauce (white sauce) using skim or 2% milk.  Stir in low fat cheddar cheese to create the cheese sauce.  Substitute low fat or no fat sour cream to further reduce the fat content.  Use portion control as well.  The appetizer as pictured was meant for one person.  It was more than enough for two!