TUESDAY TIPS: Bean Facts

Edamame: Has nearly twice the protein of other beans and their soy protein will keep you feeling full for hours. Buy them at Sam's in individual microwave safe bags for a quick snack during the day or on the weekends.

Pinto Beans: Eating ½ cup a day is another great way to lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Breakfast idea: mix a helping of beans in with your scrambled egg whites and salsa.

Black Beans: I’ve heard it but never tried it….Next time you’re whipping up a batch of brownies, substitute a 16oz can of pureed black beans for the eggs and oil. They also contain the cancer fighting antioxidant anthocyanin (as much as grapes or cranberries).

Navy Beans: High in calcium. One cup has almost 12% of the calcium needed each day; almost double any other type of bean.

Butter Beans and Lima Beans: Full of blood pressure lowering potassium

Red Beans and Kidney Beans: Have almost as much antioxidants as wild blueberries. Half a cup of these red beauties have almost the same amount of protein as 1 oz of red meat- without any of the fat or cholesterol.

Canned vs. dried:
*If you soak the dried beans it will loosen the skins which will reduce the amount of gas they cause.
*The US Dept of Agriculture considers dried beans a vegetable serving while canned beans are not
*A cup of dried beans has less than 10mg of sodium while a canned beans can have more than 700mg. If you use canned, reduce the sodium by rinsing the beans in a strainer for at least a minute.
*Dried beans cost less

Baked Potato with Chili

Ok, I know this looks like a big pile of chili but I promise there is a potato under there! This is a great go to for weekend lunches, sack lunch at work or even a quick mid-week dinner.

I used a 3 oz potato just to save on points but feel free to use a larger one; just remember to adjust your points accordingly.

Ingredients:
1 cup Hormel Vegetarian Chili with beans 99% fat free
1 baked potato
Green onions to taste
Scoop of sour cream

I don’t normally use canned chili but this is a great alternative if you are in a pinch and need something in a hurry. Hormel has lots of different varieties but last time I checked, this vegetarian bean chili was pretty conservative in the points department. An entire cup has only 4 points plus, making the entire meal 5 points plus! Pretty good for a warm and filling lunch.

*Note: Hormel has listed the serving size as one cup and it states there are two servings in the can….I didn’t get quite two cups, so next time I’ll probably cut it down to ¾ cup.

SUNDAY SLOW COOKER: Crock pot Chicken

Ingredients:

1 frozen chicken- giblets and neck removed

1 packet of onion soup mix

Place frozen chicken in crock pot, sprinkle onion soup mix on top, turn on low and leave for 8-9 hours! Yes, it is that simple and super good.

You'll leave roasting a whole chicken to someone else after you've tried this one. Never any question if the meat is done, no need for a thermometer or a knife to carve the bird. The meat falls off the bone and has wonderful flavor. The leftovers are even better and you can even use the carcass to make your own chicken broth.

Serve with green beans, salad and maybe even some macaroni and cheese. Remember, a serving a chicken is 3 oz....you would be surprised how fast you can eat 3 oz.

*Note: Do not add water....it may seem strange to put the bird in frozen but I promise, it will produce enough juice. I also use one of those handy crock pot liners, it definitely helps with clean up on this one.

Black Beans and Rice

This is one of my favorite staples for those nights/days I have nothing planned and don’t feel like a real time taker of a meal. A lot of the ingredients are personal preference so feel free to experiment and make it your own.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, semi-drained
Cooked rice- amount depends on the number of people you’re serving.

For the pico de gallo:
Cilantro
Tomato
Bell pepper
Red onion
Balsamic Vinegar- 2 Tbl
Salt- 1/8 tsp
Dry ground mustard- 1/8 tsp

This recipe is not precise at all….it’s all pretty much to taste so you’re just going to have to experiment. You can do it!!!

Cook the rice according to the directions. Meanwhile, warm the black beans and make the pico. Sometimes I add a little cumin to the beans for additional flavoring. Once rice is cooked and beans are warm you’re ready to go! I serve mine with 1 cup of rice, ½ cup black beans, couple spoonfuls of the pico and a dollop of fat free sour cream.

If your household looks at you like “what, are we vegetarian now?” I’m sure some grilled chicken would be an excellent addition. But I’m just simple and like it just like this. Enjoy!

Black beans: ½ cup is 2 points plus/2 points
Rice: 1 cup of white rice is 5 points plus/4 points
Pico de gallo: free

Broccoli Bacon Quiches

A breakfast quiche normally includes tons of cheese, eggs, milk and a flakey crust. This slimmed down version still has the cheese, eggs and milk but you’ll never miss the crust. The rest of the ingredients meld together nicely for a wonderful, filling and delicious meal that is sure to please your spouse or a crowd.

Source: Taste of Home Comfort Food diet cookbook
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
½ cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets, thawed and drained
½ cup reduced fat Swiss cheese
1 bacon strip, cooked and crumbled
½ cup egg substitute
½ cup half-and-half cream
1/8 tsp salt
Dash garlic powder (just a few sprinkles)
Dash lemon-pepper seasoning

Divide the broccoli, cheese and bacon between two 5-in. pie plates coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk the egg substitute, cream, salt, garlic powder and lemon-pepper. Pour over bacon mixture.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

*I didn’t have two 5 inch pie plates so I just used a regular 9 inch and cooked it for 30 minutes.
*Substituted the Swiss cheese for some shredded some Parmesan. I also didn’t have any lemon pepper so I sprinkled a little Mrs. Dashs’ seasoning in there.
*Next time I’ll double the broccoli and maybe add some other stuff like chopped onions, bell peppers, mushrooms. The sky is endless with this one!! Canadian bacon would also be a good addition. And I’ll probably slim down on the ½ and ½ and see what happens.
*You could easily serve this to more than two people but I would suggest bulking up on the ingredients to make it go a little further. Feel free to serve with a side of toast, grapes or some oranges.

TUESDAY TIPS: The New Year

*With the new program, add fruit as much as possible. If nothing is in season, buy frozen and then defrost in little snack bags. I’ve been adding blueberries and strawberries to my morning cereal. My leader is adding apple to her yogurt. The road is endless!

*Have you ever tried anything OTHER than chips with cheese dip? Next time slice up some zucchini and try that. Raw zucchini has very little taste and is a great alternative to the unavoidable cheese dip.

*Water, water, water. It’s just as important in January as it is in July.

*Do weight loss for yourself. Make sure you give yourself the personal time and devotion it takes to get the weight off and keep it off. The most important piece of advice I have ever received from a leader was “Give the 30 minutes it takes to go to a Weight Watchers meeting to yourself. It’s your time to get away from the kids, spouse, cleaning, work or whatever keeps your mind busy all the other time. Give it to yourself.” And that’s what I think about every week when deciding to go or not….this is MY time!!

*With the New Year and the endless resolutions revolving around weight loss and diets, give Weight Watchers a chance. It’s been around forever, many doctors suggest it and it’s just a great way of life. This January will be my 6th year with the program and I’ve lost 80 lbs and still go to meetings. No…it didn’t take me six years to lose my weight…but attending meetings on a regular basis is something that I believe in very strongly and enjoy. Weight Watchers is not a diet, it truly is a way of life.

*Really evaluate what you are eating on a day to day basis. Get back to the basics….remember the food pyramid we all learned about in elementary? Get those fruits, vegetables, milks and proteins!

*Here’s to all of us having another successful year in whatever your resolution may be. Cheers from the Everyday Cook

Happy New Year!! How many of these traditions do you follow?

I'm sure all of us have our very own New Years food traditions....mine eating at least a spoon full of black eyed peas...but it seems like every year I hear of new ones so I thought I would share some interesting facts out about our traditions or superstitions if you may.

*Legumes: beans, peas and lentils are symbolic for money. Apparently different parts of the world choose different legumes....I.E- Brazilians have lentil soup; Japanese eat sweet black beans; Germans traditionally have lentil or split pea soup with sausage; and us Southerns in the United States, we eat Black Eyed Peas. This tradition traces back to the time of the Civil War in a small town in Mississippi. They ran out of food while under attack and apparently the residents of the city found some black eyes peas thus dawning the small legume "lucky".

*Pork: Symbolizing progress. The animal that continues to push forward, rooting itself in the ground before going forward. Again, a vast variety of pork dishes throughout the world but here in the U S of A, we eat it because we feel the rich fat of the meat is an indicator of wealth and prosperity.

*Cooked greens: green leaves look like money!!! And don't we all want just a little more of that from time to time. Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon; Germans enjoy sauerkraut (of course they would!) and the United States eats collard greens. Never tried collard greens?? Try this for a tasty green treat.

*Grapes: This one was a first for me. The people of Spain eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight....one for each bell tole. This interesting tradition started when there was a grape surplus in the country and it stuck. Each grape represents a different month and the goal is to consume all 12 grapes before the last stroke of midnight.

*Fish: Cod more specifically. This started long before the time of refrigeration and cod was easily preserved and transported. Danish eat boiled cod; Italians enjoy dried salt cod between Christmas and the New Year; The Polish and Germans consume herring at midnight; Japanese eat herring roe for fertility, shrimp for long life and dried sardines for a good harvest.

*Germans leave a little bit of food on their plate past midnight to guarantee a stocked pantry in the New Year. And the Philippines believe it is important to leave food on the table at midnight. Why?? Eat as much lucky food as you can, just don't get too greedy or you'll spend the first part of the New Year in the gym!

I hope everyone had there traditional food today because I sure ate my spoon full of black eyes peas and maybe next year I'll try for another one of these interesting traditions.

Source: Epicurious