Go from Guilty Pleasures to Healthy Pleasures - part 2

Yesterday was all about understanding body weight and calories... today we are going to take some of those guilty pleasures and turn them into healthy pleasures.  Before we start - you did check to see where your healthy weight is and how many calories you should be intaking each day right?  If not... go do that and come back... you will need that info during this portion of our discussion.

Fast food - Have you ever looked at the calorie counters for fast food??  O...M...G!  Here are a couple:
McDonalds Big Mac - Calorie Count: 576  Daily Fat %:  50  Daily Salt %: 31
McDonalds Large Fries - Calorie Count: 500  Daily Fat %: 38  Daily Salt %: 15
Burger King Double Cheese Burger - Calorie Count: 500  Daily Fat %: 45  Daily Salt %: 43
Wendy's Frosty - Calorie Count: 328  Daily Fat %: 13  Daily Salt %: 6
Arby's Beef and Cheddar Sandwich - Calorie Count: 445  Daily Fat %: 32  Daily Salt %: 53
Starbucks Grande Caramel Macchiato - Calorie Count: 304  Daily Fat %: 18  Daily Salt %: 7
Starbucks Blueberry Muffin: Calorie Count: 380  Daily Fat %: 29  Daily Salt %: 16

So, no fast food... well not necessarily.  There are options out there that are better for you than others.  Subway - better, grilled chicken - better, salads - better.. but the best thing for you would be to bring something to work that you know the calorie count.  Restaurants tend to use lots of butter, oil, and salt.  None of which is great for trying to control your caloric intake.  Don't nibble through the day - those calories tend to add up VERY fast and before you know it you have blown all your calories in "snacks" that give you empty calories.  I tend to have one MEAL a day and two light meals.  Breakfast - light.  This gets the metabolism going for the day.  Mid-day meal I push back until about 2pm and this tends to be my largest meal of the day - giving my body time to burn those calories.  Evening tends to be fruit or a salad or maybe even some yogurt. 

So lets talk transformation... always start your meals with at least a full glass of water.  This will reduce the number of calories you ingest.  Don't drink anything during the meal.  Typically we eat too fast and over stuff ourselves.  Drinking a full glass of water before will give you a partially full feeling, and you should eat closer to the proper amount during your meals - which is just less than "FULL."  Don't eat in front of the television - always sit at a table.  You are there to eat - don't read, do crossword puzzles, work, etc...  Try to consciously eat slower - eating faster makes you eat more calories as it takes a bit of time for your stomach to transmit to your brain that you are actually full. So, slow down and enjoy the flavor of your meal.

Double Cheese Burger - If you MUST have twice the meat AND the cheese - make sure you are eating good quality beef, remove the bun, and get good quality cheese.  Each of the condiments will increase the calories - stick with the vegetables lose the mayonnaise or any creamy sauces.
French Fries - completely wasted calories.  If you are craving them, you need to figure out if it is the salt or the potatoes that you are craving - and fix that problem.  Instead of french fries try oven cooked fries - steak fries - sweet potato oven fries - baked potato (no sour cream / no bacon).  Get rid of the oil that they are cooked in and add some seasonings - Mrs. Dash is a good combination if you have a hard time mixing your own. 
Shake - more wasted calories.  If you are craving something cold during the hot summer months - try making some smoothies at home with fresh and frozen fruit, almond milk, and ice.  Still lots of calories - but they are useful calories.  Stay away from the icecream.  Adding lemon or lime will help you burn the calories faster.  There are also frozen fruit pops out there that are better for you than icecream or sorbet - less sugar and real fruit.  If you MUST have icecream - get the good stuff and only take a couple small spoonfuls each day.  See how long you can make a SMALL container last.  Sitting down and eating a whole container of Ben and Jerrys is equivalent to your entire day's caloric intake - OR MORE.
Chocolate - depending on what kind of chocolate you are eating, will depend on its benefits.  Stay away from the milk chocolate and try some dark chocolate.  If you want the sweetness - try the dark chocolate with mint or some fruit.  Dark chocolate actually helps you lose weight.  Just remember one or two squares a day is enough.
Coffee - limit your intake to 1 - 2 cups black coffee each day.  If you need the flavor and sweetness, drink juice.  Seriously.  The stuff added to your coffee punches it up into the 500 - 600 calorie intake per cup.  Pay attention to it.  Create your own frozen drinks with almond milk and ice... remember though, with the frozen drinks they really punch up the caffeine - one frozen drink is equal to 2 cups of regular coffee.  Try mixing 1/2 decaffeinated with 1/2 regular at home. 
Steak - I know I am going to hear lots of grumblings with this one - you REALLY only need a couple of servings of red meat a MONTH.  If you have conditioned your body to need it more often, you really should move towards more nuts and fish to compensate.  Good steak is better for you than ground beef (usually fresher - with less fat).  Try cutting it and using it mixed with other foods. Thai Beef Salad is a great example.  You get your grilled steak - mixed with fresh greens, herbs, etc... This way you are getting less STEAK and more of the greens you need.
Cakes / Cookies / Brownies / Cheesecake - no, no, no!!  Danger Will Robinson!  We have been conditioned to eat dessert with our meals - desserts should be for special occasions, not daily consumption.  Besides the amount of sugar, they usually are made with flour that has been stripped of its benefits and made with lots of butter.  Start moving away from these unhealthy desserts to ones based on fruit - Strawberry Shortcake made with biscuits rather than poundcake or try making it with angelfood cake (another empty set of calories - but much less than the poundcake).  Or how about some fresh fruit with a couple squares of dark chocolate.  Once you move further away from the sugar laden desserts, you will find that they are just too sweet for you. 
Eggrolls - if you are like my family and love Asian foods.  Eggrolls are usually one of the first favorites.  Lumpia, Gyoza, and Summer Rolls come after... Summer Rolls or Fresh Rolls are a family favorite in my house and a wonderful healthy pleasure!!

Guilty pleasures that you should never worry about - strawberries dipped in dark chocolate.  Frozen grapes dipped in raw sugar.  Honey Sticks. 

My Non-Guilty Healthy Pleasures:
Thai Beef Salad - http://www.food.com/recipe/my-o-my-best-thai-beef-salad-ever-51081
Summer Rolls - http://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/SpringRolls.htm
Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam) - http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/PapayaSalad.htm

Enjoy your Healthy Pleasures today... Blessings.  E

Family Favorites II

The first post went over so well that I thought I would add some more family favorites....These are my favorites.

French Onion Soup
This is one of my favorites from childhood - Panera now serves it every day... yummm
1/4 c sweet cream butter
8 c sliced yellow onions (4 - 5 med. onions)
2 14-ounce cans beef broth
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c water
1 T ketchup
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
couple drops Tabasco pepper sauce

Garnishcroutons
shaved asiago cheese
Onions and croutons and cheese...oh, my.

Melt butter in a dutch oven (stew pot) over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add sliced onions and sauté for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring often, until onions turn brown.Add remaining ingredients (but not the garnish) to the pan and stir to combine. Heat soup until it's boiling, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

Make croutons for the top of the soup by slicing foccacia bread (or any bread you may have) into 3/4-inch thick slices. Butter both sides of those slices, then cut the slices into bite-size cubes. Bake the bread in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until crispy. Shave some asiago cheese by simply dragging a potato peeler over the edge of a wedge of asiago.

Serve the soup super hot with a handful of croutons floating on top followed by a couple tablespoons of shaved asiago cheese.
Oyako Donbouri - Japanese fast food
Serves 4 - this was my favorite dish in Japan.  Oyako means Chicken, Donbouri means bowl.

6 - 8 c rice, cooked
4 - 5 eggs
1/4 - 1/2 lb chicken breast
4 green onions

Sauce:
2 1/2 c dashi or chicken stock

6 T dark soy sauce

6 T light soy sauce (yes, there is a difference)

3 T sugar

Mix - do not beat - eggs in a bowl lightly and set aside.  Cut chicken breast into 1/4-inch pieces. Chop onions diagonally into 1-inch (2.5cm) lengths. 

Combine ingredients for sauce in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Add chicken and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add onion and simmer 1 minute longer. Stir the eggs and pour gently in a steady stream around the chicken in the simmering sauce. Let the egg spread naturally. Do not stir. Keep heat at medium high till the egg starts to bubble at the edges. At this point, stir once. The egg will have almost set but will still be a little runny. Keep in mind that the high temperature of the rice over which the egg will be placed will do the final cooking. Do not let the egg cook hard.

Put portions of hot rice into individual donburi bowls (deep soup bowls). With a large spoon, scoop a portion of the egg topping and sauce and place on rice. Sauce will seep down into rice, but the dish will not be soupy. A traditional Donbouri bowl will have a lid to aid in final cooking.  if you do not have a lid for your bowls use a small plate.  Serve immediately.

Gyoza - Japanese Pot Stickers

30 - 40 dumplings

1lb lean ground pork - I usually find a nice pork loin and ask the butcher to grind it for me

1/2 - 1 c soy sauce

2 tsp fresh garlic, crushed

1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated

4 green onions, chopped

1 - 2 tsp pepper

1/4 c finely grated carrot

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cayenne pepper

gyoza or round wonton wrappers

peanut oil

Mix all ingredients down to the wrapper and let sit for 30 minutes to marinate.  Take a small teaspoon of the meat and put in the middle of one side.  I am including a link that shows you how to "pleat" the dumpling as it is rather difficult to explain without pictures - http://japanesefood.about.com/od/tempuraappetizer/a/aboutgyoza.htm 

In large frying pan (you need one with a lid) over medium heat add just enough peanut oil to cover sparingly the bottom of the pan when hot.  Lay the gyoza in the pan flat side down and let brown.  Once browned quickly add 1/2 c water and immediately cover with lid.  The gyoza will be done when the top of the dumpling begins to wrinkle.  Remove and sit on paper towel to draw out some of the oil.  Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce:

3T soy sauce

2T teriyaki sauce

3T vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

tobasco to your level of heat desired.

Fresh Summer Rolls - Thai

4 servings

1 package of large dried rice wrappers / spring roll wrappers (also known as "rice paper")

8 shrimps cleaned and steamed

4 strips tofu fried ( 1/2" wide, 1/4" thick, 2" long)

1/4 c warmed honey

2 T fish sauce (nuoc mam)

1 T fresh lime juice

1 fresh chili, minced, OR 1-2 Tbsp. chili sauce

1/4 c white cooking wine

3-4 oz. thin dried rice noodles bean threads (asian section of the grocery store)

1/2 c fresh basil

1 c fresh cilantro / mint (whichever flavor you prefer)

4 spring onions, sliced thinly lengthwise (into matchstick-like pieces)

2 cups lettuce (any type), chopped

Make a marinade by combining the warmed honey, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, and chili sauce. Mix this with the shrimp and tofu and set aside. In large bowl add enough HOT tap water to cover the noodles - set aside for about 10 minutes until softened.  Rinse and drain completely.  Set aside. In a pie plate that allows you to lay one sheet of wrapper completely cover with HOT tap water and let soften completely - only about 30 seconds. 

Lay on counter and fill (like you would a burrito) from the center of one side - noodles, two shrimps, herbs, tofu and wrap like a burrito - middle up, sides in, and roll to complete.  They should be wrapped tightly.  Cut in half on a diagonal.

Peanut Dipping Sauce:

1 c fresh-tasting dry roasted peanuts, unsalted

1/3 c water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1 T brown sugar

2 T fish sauce

2 T lime juice

1 tsp Thai chili sauce

1/3 c coconut milk

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until sauce is smooth.