Grilled Artichokes

I made grilled artichokes for dinner last night and they turned out so yummy! They taste just like that yummy BBQ smell! Recipe & more pictures to follow!

Baked Carrots

I came home after a late night at work to the surprise that I was cooking dinner for guests, which I love, but I needed to go grocery shopping and didn't have any vegetables.  I did have a giant bag of carrot sticks that were kinda on their way out so I decided to use them.  I stared with the carrot sticks and chopped them into mini slices.  

Then drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of a pan and spread it around with a paper towel (including the sides of the pan).

Toss some carrots in the bottom of the pan and top with a little bit of butter and Italian bread crumbs

Continue to layer 

.  I had 2 layers and topped it with some grated parmessan cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees until carrots are tender.  

This served three perfectly!

What Are Trans Fats & How to Find Them

Trans fats are unsaturated fats that have been chemically altered through a process called hydrogenation to mimic the properties of a saturated fat.  What does that mean?   It means that they change fats that are naturally liquid at room temperature to a solid at room temperature.  These types of fats also last a lot longer on the shelves so they are ideal for manufacturers because their product will last longer, however they are not ideal for your health.  Trans fats increase your total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL), and triglycerides while decreasing your “good” cholesterol or high density lipoproteins (HDL).  This is why they are associated with a greater risk of heart disease not to mention other related health issues. 

These types of fats are typically found in fried foods, processed foods, baked goods and products that are intended to last a long time.  The best visual I like to use is peanut butter.  When you’re at the market looking at all of the different types of peanut butter there a various choices, but two that stand out the most.  There is one type of peanut butter that is all mixed together and there are probably a few on the shelf that have some oil on top of the peanut butter.  When you see the one with the oil on top you probably think to yourself, “ewww!  I don’t want all of that fat” so you pick the other one.  The one that doesn’t have the oil is the one with trans fats in it.  The oil on the top is peanut oil which is actually the healthiest type of fat, monounsaturated fat.  Look at the expiration dates on the two types in these pictures!  When you buy the peanut butter with the oil on top all you have to do is mix it together (if it’s too difficult mix it in the blender) and then put it in the refrigerator and it will stay mixed. 


To truly know if your product has trans fats you need to look at the nutrition facts label on the back of the package.  If the product has 0.49 grams of trans fats or less the manufacturer can legally put 0 grams on the nutrition facts label!  As a result you need to look in the "ingredients" for hydrogenated oil or partially  hydrogenated oil.  if that is listed any where in the ingredients you'll know your product has trans fats.  Never pay attention to the front of packages!!  It may say, "no trans fats" or "trans fat free" and still have trans fats in it.  

Healthy Tuna Sandwiches

Tuna is usually thought of as a healthy sandwich option, however when mixed with tons of mayonnaise it can often be a hidden source of a large amount of saturated fat.  Saturated fat is the type of fat that we want to limit.  A healthy alternative is to add whatever you usually like in your tuna and instead of mixing it in mayo mix it with olive oil.  Olive oil is also high in fat but it is a much healthier type of fat called monounsaturated fat.  Monounsaturated fat will aid with lowering cholesterol while saturated fat can elevate cholesterol levels.  Remember that fat is high in calories so you do want to pay attention to the amount you use.

I used extra virgin olive oil, chopped fresh basil and parsley, chopped red onion, pepper to taste and served on whole wheat bread.  This goes well with apple salad or green bean salad

Enjoy!

Garlic Bread

My boyfriend will go to the grocery store and always bring home those pre-made garlic breads which are full of who knows what; granted they do taste good.  This is one of the things I find irritating!  It doesn't take very long to make your own garlic bread at home and you have control over the ingredients!  Either buy a loaf of bread or make your own (yes, time consuming so we’ll save that for later!).  

In this particular instance I had sandwich rolls left over from a luncheon that would have gone bad so I used those.  I cut them in half and put them on a cookie sheet that I had covered in tin foil.

Then, in a bowl, melt some butter

Add some minced garlic.  I have this nifty tool that makes this really easy!  Just stick the entire garlic clove in and the minced garlic comes out and the peel is left inside.

Mix everything you want on your garlic bread into this butter mixture.   Here I added butter, garlic, salt & basil

Then, using a kitchen brush (usually used when barbecuing) spread the mixture over your bread. 

Once your bread is ready to cook place in oven and turn your broiler on.  If your bread is very close to the broiler you may want to set it on low, rather than high.  Your bread will brown pretty quickly (especially if it’s close!) So make sure you pay attention to it!!  I almost always get sidetracked and do something else and end up burning the bread!

Making your own garlic bread allows you to make modifications as well.  Perhaps you have high cholesterol and shouldn't use better.  Making your own bread allows you to use your trans fat-free butter substitute.  If you are on a low sodium diet or have high blood pressure you can use a salt free seasoning.

Green Bean Salad

For this salad you can either use fresh green beans that have been blanched (boiled until tender, strained, and then rinsed or submerged into ice cold water) or canned green beans. 

This time I used canned because it was what I had but it does taste better with fresh green beans.

Dice up an onion red, yellow or white.

Then add some minced garlic, pepper, a little apple cider vinegar, and a tiny amount of extra virgin olive oil. 

Mix and serve or refrigerate for later.  I usually will make this for a dinner or lunch on the weekend and make a large amount so I have leftovers for lunches during the week. 

I didn't give amounts for this recipe as the combination is to taste.  However, I made this tonight for dinner and used 2 cans of green beans, 1/4 of a red onion and 4 very small garlic cloves.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

I find that breakfast tends to be the most difficult to get in your day and it’s often hard to make a quick, healthy decision during the week.  I usually make these on the weekend to prepare for the week.  During the week I’ll just open one up by sticking a butter knife in the side of the muffin in a few different places and then pull it apart, toast, and put some natural peanut butter on it and close it like a sandwich and take it with me and eat it on my way to work.

First mix:              ½ cup warm water

                                1 tsp butter

                                2 tsp yeast

                                1 Tbsp Honey

              

  Allow these to sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.

Then add:            1 cup whole wheat flour

                                1 cup all purpose flour

                                1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

                                ¼ cup steel cut oats

                                ½ cup low fat milk

                                2 tsp salt

            

    Mix all ingredients together

Then sprinkle counter with cornmeal and roll flat to about 1 inch thick.  I use one of my small glasses as the “cookie cutter” but if you have a circle cookie cutter you can use that.  My glass is about 4 inches in diameter.  Continue these steps with the scraps.  Let the english muffins sit, covered.  I usually cook dinner while I let them sit. 

After I’m done cleaning up from dinner I’ll cook these. It’s really quick.  Just get a pan out, spray with some non stick cooking spray or use a dab of olive oil and spread around the pan with a paper towel. Cook on each side for a few minutes until browned.

Once both sides are cooked allow muffins to cool before refrigerating.  This recipe usually makes about 10 which is perfect for a week of breakfasts for 2. If you have a family of 4 simply double the recipe.  Sometimes I will add about 1 Tbsp of lemon zest or about ¼ cup berries (raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries) to change things up. 

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts per English muffin:  112.6 calories, 1.1 g total fat, 0.3 gsaturated fat, 0.1 g monounsaturated fat, 1.3 mg cholesterol, 472.1 mg sodium,43.3 mg Potassium, 23.0 g total carbohydrate, 2.5 g fiber, 2.3 g sugar, 4.1 gprotein