This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Thanksgiving desserts: crustless gluten free pumpkin pie

After last year’s struggles with the gluten free pie crust mix, I’ve decided to make a pumpkin dessert that does not require a crust. When my mother-in-law eats out, she carefully scoops out the pie filling and leaves the crust anyway, so no point in stressing myself out about pie crust.

This one comes from VeryBestBaking.com* and is based on the classic Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe. It uses CARNATION®** Evaporated milk, which I’ve started using in pumpkin soup and mini quiches. It gives dishes extra creaminess without the fat, so I consider it a healthier alternative to cream and half and half. (Then again, you can use evaporated milk to make this Gluten Free Pumpkin Fudge, and be as unhealthy as you want. Oh well.)

This recipe has only 3 Weight Watchers POINTS per slice. Use CARNATION Fat Free evaporated milk to lower the POINTS to 2.

Lite 'n Easy Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Yields - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 envelopes (7 grams each) unflavored gelatin
• 2 1/4 cups CARNATION Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk, divided
• 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar or low calorie sweetener equivalent
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Light whipped topping (optional)

Directions:

1. Coat 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place water in medium bowl; sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes or until softened. Mixture may be firm.
3. Bring 1 cup evaporated milk just to a boil in small saucepan.
4. Slowly stir hot evaporated milk into gelatin. Stir in remaining evaporated milk, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pie plate. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Garnish with whipped topping if desired.

Thanksgiving sides: Oven Roasted Asparagus and Smashed Sweet Potatoes

In my Cooking with Kashi: Multigrain Pilaf and Pine Nut Stuffed Vegetables post, you may have noticed the gorgeous asparagus and the sweet potatoes on the plate. I thought both dishes, neither which use Kashi ingredients, would make wonderful Thanksgiving side dishes. Good timing, too, as I noticed that asparagus spears were on sale at Safeway this week!

Both recipes were created by Katherine Emmenegger, the Executive Chef at the Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School in San Diego. If you ever have a chance, stop by the store to shop. Or check their cooking class schedule and book a class. I had a blast there when we cooked with Kashi (read about it here). The staff was very knowledgeable and the kitchen set up, which included overhead cameras, made me feel like I was cooking on TV.

Oven Roasted Asparagus
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches fresh asparagus, washed and ends trimmed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 112 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fine olive oil for drizzling
• sea salt for finishing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400⁰ F.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a silpat lined sheet tray.
3. Place in the oven on the middle to upper rack and roast for 20-25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to shift the asparagus.
4. Arrange on a serving platter.
5. Serve topped with a drizzle of fine olive oil and sea salt.

Nutritional Information:

Nutritional Information: Serving size is 1/6 of the recipe.

Calories – 80
Fat – 7g
Sodium – 390mg
Fiber – 15g
Total Carbs – 1.5g
Sugars – 1g
Protein – 1g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 2

Cooking with Kashi: Multigrain Pilaf and Pine Nut Stuffed Vegetables

I recently attended an event at Kashi, which you can read at The DeBroff DeBrief – Day One and Day Two. (Check out Day Two for a recipe for a delicious and oh-so-healthy Corn, Tomato and Basil Salad.)

I’ve been eating Kashi’s products for years, but had never cooked with their rice pilaf before. This dish, created by Katherine Emmenegger, the Executive Chef at the Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School in San Diego, is perfect for cold fall and winter evenings. It’s full of fiber and protein, but also high in fat and Weight Watchers POINTS, so watch your portion size!

We were cooking for a big group, so you may want to cut the recipe in half for your family. Also, it takes a really long time to cook up the pilaf. The chefs at Great News ended up putting it into pressure cookers to speed up the process. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, give yourself plenty of time. Or try cooking the pilaf during the day in a slow cooker and then finishing off the rest of the recipe (and reducing oven cooking time) before dinner time.

Multigrain Pilaf and Pine Nut Stuffed Vegetables
Serves 12

Vegetables

We only used bell peppers and didn’t chop up the “guts” in the food processor.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium green bell peppers, washed, cut in half down the length, and seeds removed
• 2 medium zucchini, washed, stem removed, and sliced, crosswise into 3-inch lengths
• 3 large ripe tomatoes, washed and top sliced off, reserve the top

Directions:

1. Scoop the centers from the zucchini (not all the way through, so there is a bottom) and tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.
2. Place the hollowed vegetables into a roasting pan.

Pine Nut and Kashi Pilaf Filling

Grapeseed oil has a higher flash point than olive oil and no discernable taste. However, it’s fairly expensive, so feel free to substitute with olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 3 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup finely minced fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 3/4 cup minced fresh dill
• Add enough water to add to the pureed vegetable mixture to equal 6 cups of liquid
• 3 cups Kashi Original Pilaf
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon or to taste
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. In a saute pan, over medium high heat, heat the oil; saute the onion and garlic. Add the pureed vegetable centers, parsley, dill, water, and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the pilaf, simmer until the pilaf is half cooked; the filling should still have a lot of visible liquid.
4. Season with cinnamon, salt, and pepper.

Assembly:

1. Fill each of the hollowed vegetables and cover the tomatoes with their tops. Drizzle with the olive oil. Excess filling can be placed in the bottom of the pan around the vegetables.
2. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, periodically checking to insure that there is enough liquid to continue cooking the pilaf. Add more water as needed.
3. Remove the foil, top with the Parmesan cheese, and bake for 15 minutes more to brown.
4. Allow the vegetables to sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Stuffed vegetables are served warm or at room temperature and are wonderful the next day.

Nutritional Information: Serving size is 1/6 of the recipe. If you are watching your weight, I’d half the portion.

Calories – 810
Fat – 8 g
Sodium – 265mg
Fiber – 15g
Total Carbs – 77g
Sugars – 7g
Protein – 17g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 8 for a half portion or 1/12 of the recipe

Grilled Tuna with Smoky Tomato Salsa

This grilled tuna dish hands down was the big favorite because of the smoky tomato salsa. If you prefer a milder relish, remove seeds from the jalapeño before grilling. I didn’t and it was spicy, but no overwhelmingly so.

Unfortunately, I overcooked and blackened the tomatoes too much (it’s the fish in the upper left) even though I followed the directions perfectly. My grill must have been too hot.

(The Tuna with the Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette in is the upper right. The Greek Mahi Mahi with Kalamata Olives is on the bottom.)

Grilled Salmon with Smoky Tomato Salsa
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and about 1/2 cup salsa)

I substituted tuna steaks for the salmon, but you could use any type of mild fish or even chicken breasts.

Ingredients:

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
• 4 large plum tomatoes, halved
• 1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 jalapeño pepper, halved
• 1 lime, divided

Directions:

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle fillets with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Place on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
2. Place tomatoes, onion, and jalapeño on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill tomatoes, cut side down, 6 minutes. Turn; grill for 1 minute. Grill onion and jalapeño for 6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
3. Remove from grill, and cool slightly. Coarsely chop tomatoes and onion; finely chop jalapeño. Combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and juice from 1/2 lime. Serve salsa over fish. Garnish with lime wedges.

CALORIES 336 ; FAT 18.6g (sat 3.7g,mono 6.6g,poly 6.8g); CHOLESTEROL 100mg; CALCIUM 32mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6.2g; SODIUM 399mg; PROTEIN 34.7g; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 0.9mg

Weight Watchers POINTS per serving = 8 (To reduce POINTS, choose a less fatty fish like mahi mahi or tilapia or use a grilled chicken breast instead.)

From the September 2009 issue of Cooking Light

Greek Mahi Mahi with Kalamata Olives

What interested me in this dish was the use of kalamata olives. I found them at the Mediterranean style salad bar by my grocery store’s deli. It was the first time I used the self-serve bar and found it full of different types of olives, roasted garlic and other gourmet goodies. The nice thing about olive bars is that you only have to buy enough for your recipe and not a whole (expensive) jar’s worth.

Olives are full of monounsaturated fats that have been found to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. They’re also a good source of vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant that neutralizes damaging free radicals, and polyphenols and flavonoids, which have anti-inflammatory properties. (See SixWise.com for more about olives’ health benefits and recipes for olive soup and olive tapenade.)

Along with the mahi mahi (called dorado in Mexico) and the last of our summer tomatoes, this dish packed a nutritional punch. Double the salad portion of the recipe to enjoy the next day for lunch.

Weekly fish challenge restart: Tuna Lemon-Cilantro Vinaigrette and Couscous

As I posted a few weeks ago, my husband came back from Mexico with a cooler full of freshly caught fish. That’s a picture of him and one of the blue fin tuna. Paul’s the one in the PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals) shirt. Well, what can I say? At least he wasn’t wearing one of his X-rated, man's weekend fishing trip shirts.

We’ve been eating grilled fish one to two times a week, but cooking wise it’s been kind of boring – grill the fish and serve with some veggies or brown rice on the side. Delicious and healthy, but not something to write home or blog about.

Last weekend we had friends over for dinner, so I decided to get my culinary butt in gear and cook up three different types of fish dishes, all of which I’ll be featuring this week at This Mama Cooks!

The start of the weekly fish dish project: Muir Glen Fiery Fruit Salsa

You give a man a fishing pole – and a ticket to La Paz, Mexico – and he and three friends bring back over 200 pounds of tuna, wahoo and mahi mahi. Thanks to my husband’s recent fishing expedition, I’ll be cooking up a fish dish every week and featuring the recipes here at This Mama Cooks! It's a bit daunting, but I think I'm up to the challenge.

Luckily for us, wild caught fish is low in fat and calories and full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Also, the American Heart Association recommends eating fish two times per week.

However, my children are not the most enthusiastic fish eaters. The trick will be to disguise the fish enough to get them to eat it. One way will be to use fruit salsas on top of grilled fish. Here’s a recipe from Muir Glen Organic that should do the trick.

Fiery Fruit Salsa
Makes 6 servings (1/3 cup each)

Ingredients:

• 1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 ripe medium mango, peeled, diced (3/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 medium)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse (kosher or sea) salt

Directions:

1. In food processor, place drained tomatoes. Cover; process until coarsely chopped. Place in medium bowl.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.
3. Serve with meat or fish, or with tortilla chips as desired.

Nutritional Information:

1 Serving: Calories 30 (Calories from Fat 0); Total Fat 0g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 180mg; Total Carbohydrate 6g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 4g); Protein 0g

Weight Watchers POINTS = 0

Tips:

• Make the salsa up to 24 hours ahead of time, and store tightly covered in the refrigerator.
• Salsa can be used on chicken, pork or turkey or served on the side with tortilla chips.

Tomato and Roasted Sweet Pepper Soup

“Beautiful soup, so rich and green
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!
Beautiful soup! Who cares for fish
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth of beautiful soup?”
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Our first serious snowfall makes me want to rush to the kitchen in search of a hot bowl of soup. While I have a great many varieties of canned soup in the cupboard – everything from Progresso to Campbell’s to Amy’s – there are some days when nothing but homemade soup will do.

This is especially true since we still have a refrigerator full of tomatoes, the last remnants of our summer garden. If you aren’t as lucky, canned tomatoes from Muir Glen Organic, will do.

Best thing about this soup? Only 2 Weight Watchers POINTS per serving!

Flat Belly Diet Recipes: Peanut Butter-Stuffed French Toast

At 9 Weight Watchers POINTS per serving, I was a little put off by this Flat Belly Diet recipe. Blame the peanut butter adding 21 grams to it. (Nut butters are great MUFA sources.) Then again it has a whopping 17 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber. One serving should keeping you feeling full for awhile.

Peanut Butter-Stuffed French Toast

40 minutes   4 servings     418 calories MUFA : Peanut Butter

• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• ½ cup creamy natural unsalted peanut butter
• 8 slices light whole wheat bread
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons 1% milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the over to 350°F. Coat in baking sheet with butter-flavored cooking spray.
2. Place the syrup in a medium glass bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds or until simmering. Add the strawberries and set aside.
3. Spread 2 tablespoons of the peanut butter on each of 4 bread slices and cover with the remaining 4 slices, making sandwiches.
4. Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla extract in a 13” X 9” baking dish. Soak the sandwiches in the egg mixture, turning once. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until browned, turning once. Top with the reserved strawberry mixture.

Nutrition per Serving : 418 calories, 17 g protein, 21 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 159 mg cholesterol, 299 mg sodium, 11 g fiber

Weight Watchers POINTS = 9

Flat Belly Diet recipes: Huevos Rancheros

I’m off to San Diego this week to visit with the folks at Kashi. I grew up in the area and one thing I miss about not living there is good Mexican food. Still, we manage to make decent versions of fish tacos, fatijas, carne asada, and ceviche at home.

Of course, there’s nothing like starting off the morning with huevos rancheros. A recent study found that eating eggs for breakfast at least give days a week can help you lose more weight, especially around your middle. (I’m guess it’s because the fat and protein in the eggs made them them feel fuller.)

If you avoid adding cheese, use corn tortillas and add the MUFA from avocadoes, you have a pretty healthy dish.

Huevos Rancheros

30 minutes     4 servings 331 calories     MUFA : Avocado

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 can (15 ounces) no-salt added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 scallions, sliced
• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sliced avocado
• 4 tablespoons fat-free Greek-style yogurt
• 4 tablespoons salsa
• 8 (6") corn tortillas, toasted
• Dash of hot-pepper sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a 10" nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the beans, scallions, bell pepper, broth, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Cook for 8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and most of the broth is evaporated. With the back of a large silicone or wooden spoon, smash the beans until they are lumpy.
2. Use the back of the spoon to make 4 indentations in the beans. Working one at a time, break each egg into a custard cup and pour in each indentation. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes or until the eggs are cooked to the desired doneness.
3. Scoop each portion of egg-topped bean mixture onto a plate. Scatter the avocado slices over and around the beans. Top each serving with 1Tbsp of the yogurt and 1Tbsp of the salsa. Serve with the tortillas and hot-pepper sauce, if desired.

Nutrition Info Per Serving: 331 cal, 16 g pro, 42 g carb, 12 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 1 mg chol, 245 mg sodium, 10 g fiber

Weight Watchers POINTS = 6

Tips:

• To lower POINTS, fat and calories, use 3 egg whites for 1 egg.