Make It Quick - quick and healthy recipes

Vibrant Life, July, 2000 by Georgia Hodgkin, Tracy Granberry

Less time in the kitchen" is the mantra of today's cooks. Family members whisk in and out to meet the demands of busy schedules. Board meetings for both mom and dad, music lessons, varsity teams, clubs, and projects of all kinds mean meals must be ready on short notice. Yet the very foundation for vibrant living and active participation in all these activities is balanced nutrition for energy, well-being, tissue growth, and repair.

All too often the solution for quick meals results in a stop for fast food. Long-term, those meals may not be providing the nutrition that you want for your family. Such have been the findings of Anita Jones, southern California registered Dietitian, who works with restaurant owners, chefs, and managers. As the founder and director of the Healthy Dining Program, she creates and modifies recipes in order to meet healthy nutritional guidelines. She is the lead author of such books as Healthy Dining in Los Angeles, Healthy Dining in San Diego, Healthy Dining in Santa Barbara, etc.

Among the 6,000 recipes she has analyzed is a typical chicken fajita, touted as a low-fat, low-calorie menu item. But when Jones put it to the test, one restaurant's version had 1,878 calories with 98 grams of fat. Jones also notes many people choose a salad when eating out, proclaiming they are on a diet. At another restaurant, a roasted salmon salad, recommended as low-calorie and low-fat, had 1,220 calories with 97 grams of fat per serving. These numbers need to be compared to the nutritional recommendations for adults calling for 2,000 calories with 65 grams of fat for the entire day.

Jones points out that typically Americans eat out an average of four to five times per week. She goes on to say that the usual restaurant meal has between 1,000 and 2,000 calories, with 50 to 100 grams of fat. Clearly, that is a caloric overload few of us can handle on a regular basis.

Perhaps this is the root of the problem for the excess weight observed in the public today. Latest findings indicate that 55 percent of the U.S. population is overweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9, with 23 percent of those obese, with a BMI of 30 or more. (You may calculate your BMI by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that total by your height in inches squared.)

With planning, meals at home may be just as fast as, if not faster than, eating out. Jot down a menu for the week. Create a grocery list, so that all the ingredients are available when needed. Use the timesaving equipment that speeds up the processes. Invest in a microwave, blender, food processor, toaster oven, slow cooker, freezer, and individual-sized freezer storage containers. Post the menu and encourage whoever is home first to begin the meal preparation.

Let these four menus be the foundation of other menus you plan. Substitute other entrees, vegetables, breads, beverages, and fruits, and your planning is off to a good start.

Fruit Fix-Up

1 cup low-fat orange yogurt
1 T. corn syrup
2 T. nonfat milk
1 1/2 cups strawberries
3 kiwi
1 cup grapes

Stir together yogurt, corn syrup, and milk. Wash and slice strawberries. Peel and quarter kiwi. Arrange fruit in four dessert dishes. Spoon yogurt mixture over fruit. Serve chilled. Serves: 4. Calories per serving: 144; protein: 4 grams; carbohydrate: 32 grams; fat: 1 gram; cholesterol: 4 milligrams.

Spanish Rice

1 T. olive oil
  cup chopped onions
3/4 T. sofrito (purchased or see recipe
  on page 48)
1 14 1/2-ounce can whole peeled
  tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/8 t. ground cumin
1 cup long-grain white rice
3/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
1/4 t. salt, or to taste

In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, heat oil. Add onions and sofrito; saute until tender (about 2 minutes). Add tomatoes; chop slightly with spoon. Add tomato sauce, water, and cumin; boil. Add rice and return to boil; simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Add peas and cook covered 5 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in salt (with a fork). Serves: 8. Calories per serving: 152; protein: 7 grams; carbohydrate: 57 grams; fat: 4 grams; cholesterol: 0 milligrams.

Savory Great Northern Beans With Rice

1 pound great Northern beans
  (white)
5-6 cups water
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Prosage patties (or other
  vegetarian sausage patties),
  crumbled
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
1 14-ounce can tomatoes, chopped
1 t. salt
1 cup long-grain rice

Cover the beans with plenty of water and soak overnight. Drain. In a large slow cooker, add 5 to 6 cups of water, the beans, garlic, Prosage (or other vegetarian sausage), onion, green chilies, tomatoes, and salt. Set at medium heat for 4 to 8 hours. Cook rice according to package directions. Serve bean mixture over fluffy rice. Serves: 8. Calories per serving (using Prosage): 245; protein: 17 grams; fat: 5 grams; carbohydrate: 36 grams; cholesterol: 0 milligrams.

Lean Mean Collard Greens

3 pounds frozen chopped collard
  greens
4 cups water
3 ounces sliced Worthington
  smoked turkey, torn into
  bite-sized pieces
8 green onions, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t. MSG
1/2 t. salt
2 T. peanut oil