Recipe: Ratatouille- a Vegetable Cornucopia

Food weight: 1.0 

Ingredients

Yield:  12 servings (serving size: 1/12^thof the recipe, 240 grams or ~ 1 cup)

• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds or 2 (28 ounce) cans of whole tomatoes, peeled, drained and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1 red pepper, cut into ½” strips
• 1 green pepper, cut into ½” strips
• 4 small zucchini, cut into ½” slices
• 1 eggplant, diced into 1” cubes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Directions

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf, add rosemary and thyme, stir and continue to simmer. In the meantime, in another large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add onions and sauté over low heat for 5 minutes. Add red and green peppers and continue to cook an additional 7 minutes over medium heat. Add zucchini and continue to sauté for 5 additional minutes. In the meantime, in a large Dutch oven (or stockpot with a cover), heat 2 tablespoons oil and add eggplant cubes, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and pepper mixture to eggplant and cook over medium heat for 7 minutes. Add tomato mixture and sugar, stir and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Uncover and cook 5 more minutes until tender. Stir in basil and serve.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (240 grams or ~ 1 cup):
Food weight: 1.0, Calories: 109, Fat: 6 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 439 mg,
Carbohydrate: 12 g, Dietary Fiber: 2 g, Sugars: 6 g, Protein: 2 g
 

“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” Whole grains, that is!

Whole grains consist of any grain that has retained its starchy endosperm, fiber-rich bran, and its germ after milling. No doubt about it, eating whole grains is far healthier for you, your digestive system, and your heart when compared to their fiberless refined cousins. So try and get in at least three whole grains a day and remember, “three is key.” Most people are familiar with what I call the “fantastic 4,” so go for at least three of the fantastic 4 every day (or be more adventurous and try some of the really tasty less familiar whole grains like quinoa, barley, millet, wild rice, or kasha).
Fantastic 4:

1. Oatmeal (steel-cut is best)
2. 100% whole-grain bread
3. Popcorn (simply pop some kernels up in a brown paper bag in the microwave)
4. Brown rice

Stay healthy, stay lean, and remember to “eat the whole thing” …whole grains, that is.

Recipe: Delicious Make-Ahead Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Mix the dry ingredients the night before then finish the batter
in the morning to start your day with a freshly baked muffin.
Food weight: 1.5

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup fat-free milk
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon flax seed oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat six 2 1/2-inch muffin cups
with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper bake cups and
coat insides of paper cups with nonstick cooking spray; set
aside. Place raisins and water in a small microwave-safe bowl.
Cook on high power for 25 seconds. Let sit for 2 minutes to
plump the raisins.
In a medium bowl, stir together flours, oats, brown sugar,
baking powder, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of
the flour mixture and set aside. Combine applesauce, milk,
egg whites, flax seed oil, and raisins. Add to flour mixture; stir
just until incorporated. Don’t over mix. Spoon batter into
prepared muffin cups filling each about three-fourths full.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned and the
muffin is firm in the middle. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5
minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm.

NUTRITION per muffin:
Food weight: 1.5 Calories: 157 Fat: 3 g (0 g EPA, 0 g DHA, 1 g ALA) Saturated Fat: <1 g
Cholesterol: < 1mg Sodium: 69 mg Carbohydrate: 30 g Dietary Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 13 g Protein: 4 g

OATMEAL! The Ultimate Power Breakfast.

You’ve heard it before: oatmeal protects the heart. And rest assured, the man on the Quaker oatmeal box isn’t lying — oatmeal is a whole grain, a type of plant food and complex carbohydrate that makes up the backbone of the heart-healthiest Mediterranean style of eating. Choosing whole grains as your main form of carbohydrate nourishment has been scientifically proven to thwart heart disease, cutting the risk of coronary artery disease by a phenomenal 40 percent. Eating whole grains, like oatmeal, is key to heart health. Plus, the complex carb and protein combo keeps you full longer and helps you maintain a steady blood sugar level for hours.

Recipe: Cold Oatmeal with Yogurt and Fresh Berries

Don’t have time to make the yummier steel-cut kind of oatmeal? Here’s an easy-to-make ahead of time recipe from my second book, Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease (Three Rivers Press, PreventaSecondHeartAttack.com)so you can squeeze in some oats on those oh-so-hectic weekday mornings. Enjoy!

Food weight: 2.0

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt, such as Dannon Light and Fit®
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup diced strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 medium apple, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, combine oats, yogurt, orange juice and honey. Let stand 5 minutes. Gently fold in raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, apple, flax seed, and walnuts. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold.

Serves 6

NUTRITION FACTS
Per 1/2 cup serving: Food weight: 2.0 Calories: 202 Fat: 7 g (0 g EPA, 0 g DHA, 2 g ALA) Saturated Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 1 mg Sodium: 26 mg Carbohydrate: 31 g Dietary Fiber: 6 g Sugars: 12 g
Protein: 7 g

Ode to CHOCOLATE, "Food of the Gods!"

It is well known that Giacomo Casanova was the most insatiable womanizer of all time. It is said that he called chocolate his “elixir of love,” drank it religiously before every love making tryst and used it in his seductions—the  first love pro to tap into the timeless attraction between women and chocolate. Love and chocolate go even further back in time. Both the Maya and Aztec offered cocoa as a gift of love to the gods, prompting Carl Linneaus, the Swedish botanist and father of modern taxonomy to name the cacao tree Theobroma cacao, literally, “food of the gods.”

Dark chocolate — with a high content of nonfat cocoa solids — is now the new guilt-free super food! The scientific evidence is stacking up linking daily consumption of deep, dark chocolate with phenomenal health benefits. When it comes to choosing chocolate for health, the chocolate must be the flavonoid-rich dark variety. This is because dark chocolate has a much higher percentage of cocoa than milk chocolate and it’s the cocoa that contains most of the flavonoids—plant substances which provide your body with a host of health benefits. Natural cocoa powders (ground cocoa solids, aka the words natural cocoa powder unsweetened on the product label) had the highest level of flavonoids followed by unsweetened baking chocolates, dark chocolates, and semisweet chocolate baking chips. Milk chocolate and chocolate syrup had the least amount. Do your heart good—choose your chocolate wisely and opt for making your own sweet treats from cocoa powder.

Recipe: Dr. Janet’s Flourless Dark Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts

Thank heaven for CHOCOLATE! 
Enjoy this dark, moist chocolaty treat.
Food weight: 1.5

Ingredients

Serves 16

A dark, moist chocolaty treat.

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup packed Splenda ® Brown Sugar Blend

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 tablespoon espresso powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place black beans in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, oats, cocoa powder, olive oil, espresso powder, flax seed, vanilla, and salt. With an electric mixer blend the ingredients until the black beans are mushed up and the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the middle of the brownies is firm. Let cool before slicing into 16 pieces.

NUTRITION PER SERVING (1 brownie): Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 140

Fat: 6 g (0 g EPA, 0 g DHA, 1 g ALA) Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 1 mg Sodium: 89 mg Carbohydrate: 16 g Dietary Fiber: 2 g Sugars: <1 g Protein: 3 g

Getting older? Get in some S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G!

I know, I know,  this is not a nutrition tip, but it's important for healthy aging so here we go:
Why stretch? Stretching increases flexibility, a key component of physical fitness that is often neglected. A greater degree of flexibility is believed to help prevent injury (and low back pain) and improve sports performance. We lose flexibility as we age, so practicing a regular program of stretching the major muscle groups can help prevent loss of flexibility and its associated negative impact on quality of life in our golden years.

Stretching properly involves a slow, steady elongation of the muscles and tendons to the point of tightness—never pain—and holding the stretch for several seconds. (Never use bouncing or ballistic-type stretching, which can cause injury.) It is best to stretch muscles that have been warmed up internally from exercise as opposed to cold muscles. In fact, stretching cold muscles can actually increase risk of injury, as a cold muscle is more prone to strains! Think of a muscle as if it were a rubber band. If you stretch cold rubber, it snaps and breaks; however, if you warm the rubber first, it stretches more elastically and fluidly, like taffy.

Stretching is different from “warming up.” A warm-up is what you do before you begin a bout of exercise and generally consists of a low-intensity version of the exercise you are planning on engaging in (such as a fast walk before a jog). A good exercise routine would be to warm up (work up a light sweat and raise the internal temperature of your muscles), followed by a series of brief stretches, then perform your exercise bout, warm down and end with another series of stretches. Practice this plan and you will have a well-rounded fitness routine.