Creamed Spinach or Broccoli or Chard - Low Carb

It took a bit of searching online, but this recipe came up for a low carb creamed spinach.  I'm making it without the cream cheese and up-ing the parma.  Wanted to share!

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/creamed-spinach-or-broccoli-or-chard-low-carb-246777?oc=linkback

GG Crispbread Chex Mix-Like Recipe

I wanted to see if I could do it. Could I make the awful tasting, low calorie, high-fiber GG Crispbread crackers into a Chex Mix-like snack? I think I did!  However, the trade-off is butter.  You do need to use at least 4 tablespoons of light butter to get enough coating on the thick crackers.  If you are willing to trade the fat content for the fiber- then go for it!  The mix can also be used to top salads to soups.

Ingredients

One package GG Crispbread (broken into small bite size pieces)
4 tablespoons light salted butter
1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
4- 5 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon adobe seasoning
dash of Tabasco sauce (to taste)
1/2 cup of unsalted mixed nuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Break up crispbread into small bite size pieces as uniformly as possible.  In a glass bowl, microwave 4 tablespoons of butter until liquid (about 15-30 seconds).   Add all the seasonings and stir.  Add crispbread and stir well until coated.  Add peanuts and stir well until coated.

Spread onto a nonstick baking sheet.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Remove from oven and let cool in pan for five minutes.  Cover large plate or baking sheet with paper towels.  Transfer mix and allow to cool.  Enjoy!  Store in airtight container.


Guard your mix.  It's tasty.  My husband appeared and started eating all the peanuts!

GG Scandinavian Bran Crispbread, 3.5-Ounce Packages (Pack of 5)

Low Cal Coffee House Style Frozen Mocha Java

Craving that coffee house frozen drink at home.  How about with a lot less calories?  

Here's my take on a famous chain's mocha-java iced.

1/2c 2% milk
1 serving or 1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. raw sugar or your favorite sweetener
1 tsp. cocoa powder
About 8 ice cubes


Pre-mix in a glass the milk, instant coffee and cocoa until blended.  Then pour mixture into blender and add ice and sweetener.  Blend until icy smooth.

You will need a good ice crushing blender.  For an extra treat, top off your frozen treat with a dollop of fat free whipped topping.

My Fav Maine Lobster Pound

On the road into downtown Blue Hill, Maine, there's a sharp curve.  Slow down and you won't miss my fav place for a "lobsta" roll.  The Fish Net offers fish, shrimp and lobster to crab cakes and scallops all harvested locally.  So grab a picnic table and chow down.  Then go walk Blue Hill mountain to burn it all off!

Caesar Salad Supreme Lives Up to Its Name

My friend Emily made me the most delicious Caesar salad last night.  She got the recipe from All Recipes and it's called Caesar Salad Supreme.  This recipe is sans anchovies!  Yeah!  While my husband can down a pizza smothered with the little buggers, the slippery shiners are just too strong for my palate.

This recipe uses mayonnaise, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce and mustard to get a spicy tang.  My friend reduced fat by substituting a low fat mayonnaise for the full calorie cousin.  This spicy version of Caesar dressing will put a smile on your face!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caesar-Salad-Supreme/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf

Fruit Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Here's my take on a summer fruit salad. The twist is a Balsamic Vinegar infused with peaches or another flavor of your choice. This can be drizzled over any ripe fruit to give it a fresh tang.

Two small plums

One white peach

One nectarine

1/2 cup wild blueberries

1/2 lemon- fresh squeezed juice

One tablespoon peach infused balsamic vinegar

Chop the plums, nectarine and white into small equal sizes cubes- no bigger than an inch. Add fresh or frozen wild blueberries. Combine in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over everything and add one vinegar. Stir and taste. More vinegar can be added.

You can also try fig, vanilla or any other dessert flavored infused vinegar to give your fruit salad a summery taste.

My Campaign to Eat My Way Through Maine

My campaign to eat my way through Maine has been in progress since last August. I brought my husband up to Northern Maine on a four day vacation and I told him, "You can't diet in Maine. The food is just too good." Our first stop on our drive from New Jersey to Bar Harbor was a little whole-in-the-wall breakfast place in Kittery. If you get off the exit for the shopping district, and pass Kittery Trading Post and all the outlets, eventually you will find this roadside little restaurant sharing a parking lot with a gas station. My husband had wild blueberry french toast stacked three layers high with jam and butter smothered between the slices.

Back in the car and our next stop Boothbay Harbor. This is the land of homemade salt water taffy, flavored popcorn and one of the largest lobster rolls I've ever had in my life. At every turn there's homemade ice cream, fudge, candy-- walk the streets and you expect Willy Wonka to pop out from behind a door at any moment.

From there we headed up 95 and then eventually made our way to Bar Harbor. Our first night we ate at the Fish Grill down on the waterfront. Another very large, sweet delicious lobster roll. (Yes, two rolls in one day. I was on vacation!!!!) It was so good we went back the next night. (I had the small, sweet, local fried clams at the bar with a cold beer.)

Other great stops:

• The Blueberry Pancake House on Cottage
• Two Cats the ultimate breakfast stop (go early or you will have to wait)
• Maggies- yummy cooked to order gourmet dinner -make a reservations.
• Geddy's- always great food, large portions and fast service. The menu is vast!

Heading into Bar Harbor Route 3 is lined with lobster pounds. I encourage you to try every one!

Spring is here, summer is right around the corner. My motto... Head Downeast and feast.

Dishing Up Maine: 165 Recipes That Capture Authentic Down East Flavors

Acadia National Park - Travel Guide

Wine, wine, wine

Over the holidays, my friend Carl handed me a gift bag and said "Have this one night with your husband, when you can just sit and relax and enjoy. This is one of my favorite bottles of wine." I didn't even open it. Instead, I tucked it away in our wine cellar and there it sat since last December. When I finally cracked it open last weekend, the bottle lived up to its promise. Shafer Merlot, a 2007 from the Napa Valley. My favorite wines all come from Napa and Sonoma and the wine was completely what I had hoped for. That deep rich color, the smokey, earthy and almost pungent taste that is is distinctly from that Northern California volcanic soil. I highly recommend this bottle for California Merlot lovers. I also had the priviledge of drinking Mariner, Dry Creek Vineyard, 2006 Meritage. This was a gift from my husband and comes from the Healdsburg and Sonoma region. Wonderful wine but the Shafer made a more lasting impression.

2007 Shafer Merlot Napa Valley 750ml

I'm eating the same food as my dog!

Yes, it's true, my dog and I are on the same diet. Surprised?

Two months ago my vet diagnosed my 10 year-old dog with severe back pain. Pepe, my Bichon Frise-Cockapoo mix started a course of steroids for the pain. Little did I know that the aspirin he had gotten the day before, combined with the steroids, would upset his stomach and result in a bleeding colon for five days.  After going through a series of emergency vet visits to get my dog stable, I decided I was going to try any natural healing methods I could find to help stabilize my dog's digestive system, so I visited my local holistic pet store.  

I explained to the storeowner all the issues going on and she suggested, "You should just feed him natural table food. It's much better than the dog food out there. It's much healthier for him."

Bing. A light went off in my head. Over the last year I have drifted off my very healthy diet. My schedule got busier and my diet slid downhill to a menu supplemented with frequent off-hour visits to fast food restaurants. I've been trying to get myself back on track and maybe this is exactly what I need... to eat what my dog eats. Yes, that's it!

To start, I knew Pepe would be eating a few blueberries a day. I had been told by our vet that blueberries would help get rid of the red discharge collecting under his eyes. So out comes the bag of wild frozen blueberries at dinnertime and it gets mixed in with his food. For me, a half-glass of bubbly seltzer with the frozen blueberries floating on top. Yum. Fizzy, chilly and I know it's good for me.

Since my new commitment to my dog's health, my shopping is now honed in on fresh green beans, carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes and Idaho potatoes. My dog can eat endless amounts of cooked veggies. He loves everything! He likes more veggies than I do. So in this ironic role reversal, my dog is my Jenny Craig, my weight watchers buddy, my "personal consultant." I just look into his deep, dark eyes and think, "If it's good for you, it's good for me."

Baked Potatoes and Carrots

It's a spring Sunday and I'm feeling the need to have a lot of veggies for dinner. I was looking for a recipe that would help you prepare the perfect baked potato. I found this one on FoodNetwork.com. What I like about the recipe is that you coat the potatoes in oil before baking.

I used convection bake at 325 and I added carrots into the mix. The carrots cooked a little faster then the potatoes, so if you like them slightly al dente, I suggest removing them early. My oil of choice, olive oil. A dash of sea salt when ready. Yum. Healthy too.

Roasted Potato and Onion Soup from Leftovers

It's the day after Christmas and I'm staring at the left over roasted potatoes in my refrigerator. I had sliced them very thin and roasted them with red onions just the day before, but they never reheat and taste the same.

These Yukon Gold slicers are begging for a second life. Here's what I have to work with: 4 unbaked Yukon Golds medium size, 2 pints of half and half, left over chicken stock, 2.5 cups of roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and red onion (tossed with basil, garlic and olive oil when roasted).

Let's make soup.

4 Yukon Gold medium size potatoes
2 1/2 cups roasted Yukon Gold potatoes (roasted with red onion optional)
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 turns of black pepper from mill
1 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic minced
Adobo seasoning 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh basil and parsley to taste


Dice the remaining raw potatoes and boil in 4 cups of salted water for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve three cups of liquid.

Using an immersion blender puree the boiled potatoes and 2 cups of cooking liquid.

Add 1 1/2 cups of roasted potato and onion and puree. Add additional cooking liquid as needed. Add puree to soup pot. Put pot on low heat.

Dice remainder of roasted potato and onion in 1/4 inch bite size pieces. Add to soup pot.

Add 1/2 cup of half and half and 1/2 cup of chicken stock or vegetable stock. Add garlic. Add Adobo seasoning, fresh parsley, basil or any herbs you prefer to taste. You can try a touch of cumin for a smokey taste.

*Add additional cooking liquid, stock or milk to get your desired consistency.

Whala! Yummy soup!

Napa Valley Wine Train

This summer, I had the privilege of stepping back in time and getting a true picture of traveling and dining by train by riding the Napa Valley Wine Train, located in Napa, Californa.  At the Napa station, the train made up of original 1915 red and gold Pullman Cars stretched as far as I could see down the track. On board, I sat at a table covered in white linens and fine china, surrounded by ornate woodwork and wide windows decorated with thick, luxurious curtains. My eyes poured over the mouth-watering menu and wine list. Wines are not included in the price of your ticket. They range from around $8-18.

For my meal, I chose the beef tenderloin, which came with a delicious grilled Gorgonzola toast and pan seared asparagus. It did not disappoint. The tender beef melted in my mouth and Gorgonzola toast was rich and yummy.

On my tour, we were on the "first service" which means we were served lunch on the first leg of the trip and would have dessert on the return trip. After lunch the train stopped at Grigich Hills Winery for a winery tour and tasting. Our tour guide seemed a bit stiff and serious, but some of the wines were delicious.

On the return trip to Napa we had dessert service in the lounge car. This was the most disappointing part of the trip. The coffee was hot and delicious, but the dessert was warm, runny and tasteless, instead of chilled and rich.

During the trip, a stop by the kitchen revealed and amazingly narrow, yet fully operational kitchen, brimming with activity. Each plate is made to order and served while the train is in motion.

Below is the meal I enjoyed. Give it try and take a nostalgic trip back in time.

$94 Lunch- Includes Train Fare and Prix Fixe Gourmet Meal. Wine Pairing Separate.

These expertly refurbished 1915-1917 Pullman Cars create an atmosphere conducive to relaxation and enjoyment. Meals, crafted by Executive Chef Kelly Macdonald, are prepared in a specially fabricated kitchen car located immediately adjacent to each dining area. As with all our menu choices, the meals are freshly prepared on the train using environmentally responsible ingredients, humanely raised, hormone-free meats and fresh, line-caught fish.

Wine Country Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from Napa and Sonoma

Frommer's Napa and Sonoma Day by Day (Frommer's Day by Day - Pocket)

Santoli's Spanish Chicken In a Crock Pot

This recipe was passed along to me by editor extraordinare Rich Santoli.

I made a few changes. I up'd the amount of olvies to 3/4 - 1 cup and instead of tomato paste I used one small can of diced tomatos. I also added a little extra beer and used Sam Adams.

Once the dish was cooked, I added about 2 cups of basmati rice and let all the juice cook the rice. It took about another 30 minutes to finish and was utterly amazing. The flavor of the olives really comes through, so if the green olives aren't your thing stick to the original recipe.

We just couldn't stop eating this!

Here's the link: http://www.crock-pot.com/Recipe.aspx?rid=268

Who Really Owns Some of the Top Organic Food Companies?

If you frequently purchase organic frozen or packaged products, you might be surprised to find out which parent companies own some of the popular brands.

If you're familiar with Cascadian Farms or Muir Glen, guess what, they are owned by Small Planet Foods, which is owned by General Mills. The Boca Burgers brand is owned by Kraft Foods. Kashi is owned by Kellogg. Seeds of Change--owned by M&M Mars Candy.

Why should you care? Organic and natural food is one of the fastest growing segments in the food industry, AND, it's surprising to find out which major food companies are guaranteeing that the products you buy are truly organic or natural.

So get educated and shop wisely.

For a complete list of recent mergers in the food industry visit the Organic Consumers Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/Corp/mergers.cfm.

For a complete industry-wide overview and history visit Philip H. Howard, PhD,
Assistant Professor (Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies Michigan State University): https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/organicindustry.html

The Truth About Organic Milk and Happy Cows

Have you shopped specifically for organic eggs or milk, thinking that like the marketing says, you're buying from a happy cow, out at pasture on a family-run farm? Think again! Last night in a health and nutrition class I learned that you can't assume companies promoting organic products are producing those products in a cruelty-free environment. You also can't assume that if the cows are "antibiotic free" that they aren't eating genetically modified corn, soy and living in confined feed lots, never seeing the light of day.

Horizon was one of the popular "organic" farmers discussed last night in my class. The issue, that the animals are not free-range, grazing happily at pasture. Rather many sources report that they live in over-crowded, confined pens. It is also reported that the cows are raised and fed to gain additional weight and produce more milk, but not allowed to move, walk, socialize, graze as a cow would in it's natural state.

One brand recommended as standing true to it's promises is Skytop Farms. http://www.skytopfarms.com/

Here's what's being reported about Horizon. These are only just a few of the articles I was able to find online.

Truth about Horizon's Organic Happy Milk Cows (http://veganica.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=247) Rebecca Clarren's article reports, "What most consumers don't know is that at Horizon's big dairies, such as the one in Idaho, the cows are raised in a manner that most experts don't consider organic. "

"...long silver barns that hold 4,000 cows are linked like barracks in some covert operation. I drive down a narrow, cracked road toward the dairy's main office and pass open-air sheds about 20 feet away, where cows laze in crowded pens atop the brown hardpan of the Idaho desert. Just outside the milking barn, more cows are jammed into an outdoor corral. Amid clumps of dirt and snow, they are lined up, their bodies touching. "


An article on Wisebread.com (http://www.wisebread.com/horizon-organic-milk-is-it-all-just-lies) states:

"Well, the cows at Horizon may have access to pasture but it’s a known industry fact that milk cows don’t spend their days grazing on green grass. They just get to look at it, cooped up in the usual factory-farming warehouses. Well, the cows at Horizon may have access to pasture but it’s a known industry fact that milk cows don’t spend their days grazing on green grass. They just get to look at it, cooped up in the usual factory-farming warehouses. "

And soundcircle.com reports:(http://soundingcircle.com/newslog2.php/__show_article/_a000195-001064.htm)
"Last year, The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy group, filed formal complaints with the USDA against three industrial dairies, including one owned by Dean Foods and another dairy from which it purchases organic milk for its Horizon label. The complaints allege that these mega-farms are violating the law by confining their cattle to feedlots and sheds rather than grazing the animals on pasture. The Institute is preparing to seek court intervention in order to force a full investigation of the alleged improprieties."