This Mama Cooks! On a Diet

Ratatouille for Bastille Day

Happy Bastille Day! To celebrated the le quatorze juillet, storm your local farmer’s market and your grocery store’s produce section and make some ratatouille.

What I love about ratatouille is how healthy it is – fresh vegetables, a little olive oil, some herbs, and salt and pepper. You can serve it as a side dish, as a main meal, in an omelet, or even in no-flour no-sugar crepes.

This very basic recipe comes from What’s Cooking?, a terrific and adorable children’s cookbook from the Pixar movie Ratatouille.  It’s simple and straight forward. If you like you can add fresh parsley, different colored tomatoes, and yellow summer squash. I like to make this later in the summer when we have more zucchini, tomatoes and squash that we know what to do with.

Barbeque ribs without the grill

Yes, Virginia, you can eat barbecue and lose weight. Just don’t eat a lot of it, use leaner cuts of meat, chicken, fish or even tofu. And make sure you include plenty of steamed or grilled vegetables on the side.

But if you don’t have access to a smoker or grill, it’s way too tempting to go out to a rib joint and pig out (pun intended). Instead, you can make Log Cabin Style Maple Ribs on the stove top and in the oven. Really!

Check out this recipe from my BlogHer09 Sponsor Log Cabin to learn how.

Tracey’s weight loss story: My Journey to Health, Discovering My Own Power & Finding Shades of Grey

Occasionally, I get fan email at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet. Sure, it makes my day to receive a compliment, but even better it gives me a chance to get to know some of my readers better.

When today’s guest poster, Tracey, told me she had maintained a 60 pound weight loss over the past seven years, I had to learn more about how she did it. So I asked her to share her weight loss journey with us all.

First, just a little bit about Tracey’s background.  She’s 28 and has been living with her boyfriend for over four years. She works as an inside sales rep for an indoor tropical plant company on Long Island NY and has an associate’s degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Bachelors in Management Technology.

Her current stats are Height: 5’7 Weight: 130 lbs 19% body fat.

Tracey’s story: My Journey to Health, Discovering My Own Power & Finding Shades of Grey

My earliest food memory was back when I was about eight years old. My parents were getting divorced and I remember food being my comfort. I can remember my grandpa bringing over ice-cream sundaes when my mom (a single mother raising three girls) needed a break. It seemed food was always a stress relief or something to look forward to. Since my mother was busy working three jobs, I was left home alone quite often with access to a lot of "junk" food. I used to come home from school and watch TV for several hours until my mother got home.

Entering high school I can remember weighing 176 lbs. It was especially hard for me to deal with because I was pretty athletic despite my weight. I felt trapped by it. I loved to kickboxing and bike ride, so although these things helped keep me fit,I had no clue about nutrition and remained overweight and depressed.

This all changed when I met my then-to-be stepmother Pat. She had taken my sisters and I for summers and taught us how to read food labels, etc. I can remember grocery shopping with Pat and her saying as long as we can read the ingredients we were allowed to put it in the cart. Needless to say my sister and I would try and sneak cookies and ice cream in the grocery cart. But Pat really opened my eyes to what good food tasted like. She was of Italian descent; so many meals were made from scratch, which was not something I was accustomed to growing up. Another influence was Pat's sister Stephanie who was the first vegetarian I met. Stephanie was slender and very attractive so of course I wanted to become a vegetarian. It was my introduction to reading researching nutrition.

Meet my next Blogher09 sponsor

Last March I posted that Log Cabin® replaced High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) with natural sugar in their pancake syrups. Well, now I’m pleased to announce that Log Cabin is one of my BlogHer09 Conference sponsors.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting recipes using their HFCS-free and real maple syrup products, like this one for Ale & Sweet Marinated Grilled Flank Steak with Maple Herb Butter at my review blog, This Mama Cooks! Reviews.

I’ll be hosting a giveaway or two also, so check my Log Cabin posts frequently.

And if you’re going to BlogHer09, I’ll be passing out some cool stuff, too, so stop by and say hi!

Meet my BlogHer09 sponsors

The BlogHer09 Conference is less than a month away. Until then and during, I’ll be introducing you to some of my sponsors at my other blog, This Mama Cooks! Reviews. (You can read all my conference sponsor posts here.)

My first sponsor is Best Western. If you’re planning a trip this year with your family or for business, you may want to check out my interview with Troy Rutman, their director of external communications. We cover everything from how Best Western is helping travelers stay healthy on the road to how they’re helping women travelers stay safe.

It’s going to be a busy summer. Hope you’ll join me at BlogHer in July in Chicago, and later this year at the BlogHer Food conference in September in San Francisco. If you can’t make it, you can follow what I’m doing via my Twitter feed.

Crofter’s Organic Superfruit Spreads – try it in yogurt, toast or in a Low Fat Trifle

Crofter’s Organic recently released a new line of Organic Superfruit Spreads made from exotic fruits that are high in anti-oxidants like pomegranate, black currants and yumberries. According to their website, Crofters Super Fruit Spread contains as much antioxidant activity as 1L of red wine. They’ve determined this via in-house laboratory tests using ORAC analysis.

All Superfruit Spreads are made with Fair Trade sugar, contain no artificial flavors or preservatives, and are certified organic. The spreads are available in 11oz. jars at an SRP of $4.99.

The fruit in each Crofter Superfruit Flavor is sourced from around the globe:

• North American blend: cranberry and blueberry
• South American blend: maqui berry and passionfruit
• European blend: pomegranate and black currant
• Asian blend: yumberry and raspberry

Using Crofter’s Super Fruit Spreads

Jams, jellies, fruit spreads – I like them all. But what I loved about Crofter’s Superfruit Spreads were their unusual and delicious flavors. So far my favorite is the European blend, since I love pomegranate. But the South American one is delicious, too. My least favorite is the North American one, since I don’t care for blueberry all that much. Haven’t tried the Asian blend yet.

I’ve been experimenting a little bit with the spreads, trying them on toast and pancakes. So far my favorite is adding 2 tablespoons (only 1 Weight Watchers POINT) to a cup of no fat plain yogurt. It tastes just as good as a premixed flavored yogurt because a little of these spreads go a long way. Making a parfait with a layer of yogurt, a thin layer of spread, then some berries and a few nuts, ground flax seed, or granola would be a yummy and healthy way to start your day, too.

You can also use Crofter’s Organic Super Fruit spread a glaze for a grilled meat, like pork, chicken or shrimp. Just add a little water and maybe some hot sauce to spice it up a bit. Or add a little bit to a ham sandwich.

The Crofter’s site features all kinds of decadent recipes, but one way I like using fruit spread is in a berry trifle. Here’s a fairly healthy version from eatbetteramerica.com.

Nasoya Silken Creations: review and popsicle recipe

Silken Creations is a new non-dairy, tofu dessert starter from Nasoya®. It’s made from whole soybeans and sweetened with natural cane juice. It’s low in calories (only 110-120 per half cup serving), low in fat (only 1-1.5 grams per serving) and a good source of protein (3 grams per serving), too. Each 1/2 cup serving is 2 Weight Watchers POINTS.

Silken Creations is also lactose free, vegan, gluten free, kosher, cholesterol free, and all natural. Perfect to serve when your vegan friends or gluten free friends come over.

It’s available in three flavors - dark chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. You can eat it plain like pudding, bake it into a pie, make smoothies out of it, or my kids’ favorite, turn it into frozen treats.

Protein Potato Salad with Asparagus Spears and Nectarine Slices

This salad is a meal in itself and perfect for summer since asparagus and nectarines (or peaches) are in season. The recipe comes from Nancy S. Hughes book, The 1500-Calorie-a-Day Cookbook, which was sent to me by the senior editor at Diets in Review.com as a thank you for my guest post, Frozen Fruit Popsicles Make Snacking Healthy Fun.

The cookbook features nutritious meals at around 350 calories per serving, 150 calorie snacks and 150 calorie decadent desserts. I’m sure I’ll be dipping into The 1500-Calorie-a-Day Cookbook a lot.

Here’s a salad that provides a walloping 16 grams of protein and only 7 Weight Watchers POINTS per serving.

Protein Potato Salad with Asparagus Spears and Nectarine Slices
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. (2 cups) diced extra lean ham
• 8 cups of water
• 1 1/2 lbs. (6 cups) red potatoes, scrubbed & cut into 1/2 in cubes
• 1/2 cup lite mayonnaise
• 2 tsp prepared mustard or to taste
• 1 1/2 medium celery stalks, chopped fine (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine (1/2 cup)
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 2 medium nectarines or peaches, pitted and sliced

Directions:

1. Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot and coat it with cooking spray.
2. Add the ham and cook 3-4 minutes or until it begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from Dutch oven and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Add the water to any pan residue in the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, return to a boil, and continue to boil for 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise, mustard, celery and onion in the large bowl with the ham. Stir until well blended and set aside.
5. While potatoes are cooking, steam or microwave asparagus. Cool under cold water and blot dry. Set aside.
6. Drain potatoes in a colander and run under cold water until cool. Shake off excess water and add to the ham mixture.
7. Stir gently yet thoroughly until well blended and top with black pepper.

Each serving is 1 1/2 cup salad, served with with 4 ounces asparagus as a salad bed and  1/2 nectarine slices.

Nutritional information:

Salad: calories 300; total fat 12g; protein 13g; carbohydrates 35g; fiber 4g; cholesterol 35mg; sodium 930mg

Asparagus: calories 20; total fat 0g; protein 2g; carbohydrates 4g; fiber 2g; cholesterol 0mg; sodium 0mg

Nectarines: calories 35; total fat 0g; protein 1g; carbohydrates 8g; fiber 1g; cholesterol 0mg; sodium 0mg

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

The Skinny On Losing Weight without Being Hungry and Pomegranate Salad

I’ve been reading The Skinny: On Losing Weight without Being Hungry-the Ultimate Guide to Weight Loss Success by Louis J. Aronne M.D. with Alisa Bowman.

I was interested to learn more about why Dr. Aronne feels some people, like me, never feel satisfied and overeat because they’re constantly hungry. It’s all about brain chemistry and not willpower, he says.

He shows you how to retrain your body and mind to eat for fullness with filling foods (similar to Weight Watchers Momentum plan) and feels you should eat veggies first, lean protein second, and carbs last. It sounds a little bit like the South Beach Diet, too, but there is some good food for thought like:

• sweet zero calorie drinks like diet soda actually make us hungry because they stimulate your appetite
• vinegar decreases appetite so make sure you have an oil and vinegar dressing on your salad
• a lack of sleep can make you fat
• daily moderate exercise is great – you don’t have to work out strenuously to see weight loss results
• don’t exercise on an empty stomach or you’ll be ravenous afterwards

The Skinny: On Losing Weight without Being Hungry is a book I recommend checking out especially if you’re doing Weight Watchers and South Beach. What Dr. Aronne recommends fits well with those plans and it’s reassuring to know the science behind why it’s so hard to lose weight.

Summer salads: Holly Clegg's Marinated Shrimp Edamame Salad

Summer has finally arrived in Colorado, meaning it’s hot and the AC and fans are most of the day. In this heat, the last thing I want to do is cook. Actually, I want to lie down next to one of the vents and read books all day. (I’m not good in the heat.) So finding easy to make, healthy salads – and sharing them with you - is my mission this week. 

My first choice comes from Holly Clegg. I’m a big fan of her freezer meal bible, Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals. She personally sent me a few of her cookbooks, including her latest KIDS COOKING for Mommies, which encourages parents and children to cook together. Love it, but I wish it had pictures and an index, too.

However, the book that really intrigued me was Holly Clegg's Trim & Terrific Gulf Coast Favorites. I lust after Cajun and southern cooking – but don’t like it’s high fat content. (Justin Wilson anyone? Love him! Only he could make pork stuffed pork.) Instead, Holly uses her usual culinary magic to create every day dishes that are healthy and delicious. Each recipe comes with full nutritional info including diabetic exchanges. Trim & Terrific Gulf Coast Favorites also features vegetarian and freezer friendly make-ahead recipes and menus.

Shrimp and edamame are always in my freezer and wasabi paste is always in the fridge, so this salad is first on my list after I get more cherry tomatoes from Costco. The ones I bought last week have magically disappeared. (Burp.)