At first I called it "baby steps," today's news that The Kellogg Co. has adopted new nutritional standards for its products that are marketed to children.
It's a huge step for a company to take, I thought when I first heard the news--a big old company voluntarily making its products healthier. A lot of tinkering will be going on in the old cereal labs, I thought.
So, what are the new "nutritional standards?"
Basically, they set an upper limit of 200 calories per serving maximum, 2 grams or fewer of saturated fat, 0 trans fat, 230 milligrams or fewer of sodium, and 12 grams or fewer of sugar.
How does this compare with some of their currently marketed products?
Well, a pop tart (hot chocolate flavor) has 200 calories, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 200 mg of sodium and 18 grams of sugar. So basically, the pop tart has to trim only 6 grams of sugar to make the cut. (And this is for one Pop Tart and does anyone really eat just one? Really? You leave the other one in that little foil bag? Not me!)
Froot Loops? 120 calories, .5g saturated fat, 140mg sodium, 13g sugar. Virtually no change.
Rice Krispy Treats? 100 calories, 3.5g saturated fat, 95mg sodium, 10g sugar. Virtually no change.
And on and on it goes. So the crafty folks at Kellogg have made this big media splash about all they are doing for our obese kids while, really, they set the "bar" so low that they barely have to lift a foot to climb over it.
So, after our discussions yesterday--and thanks, Tess, for the yogurt tips!--here is the Four Corners Diet recipe for making your own yogurt or kefir with nothing more complicated than a glass jar. The yield is 4 servings; serving size is 1 cup.
Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1 ounce starter culture
1. Purchase your first live-culture kefir or yogurt from the grocery store. Make sure it is plain, with no fruit or sugar added, and make sure it says "contains live cultures" (not "made with live cultures"). Take out about 2 tablespoons to use as your starter.
2. Place a bottle of milk in a large pot containing enough water to cover half the bottle. If you buy your milk in a carton or plastic jug, transfer it to a clean glass bottle.
3. Open the lid a little to allow for expansion of the liquid. Bring water to a boil and simmer for five minutes. You have now pasteurized your milk. Allow milk to cool to room temperature.
4. Add 2 Tbsp of kefir or yogurt to each quart of cooled milk and put the bottle top on. Mix the starter with the milk. Place bottle on top of fridge and leave for at least 24 hours. In cool climates you may need 36-48 hours.
5. You have yogurt or kefir! Save out 2 Tbsp for your next batch.
Just FYI--you can also make it with skim milk or 2% but it will be thinner. Two-thirds of the milk sugars/lactose will be removed by the culturing process. Homemade yogurt will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutritional info per 8 ounce serving, made w/ whole milk:
135 calories
4 grams effective carbs (11 g total)
8.1 grams fat
5 g saturated fat
2.3 g monounsaturated fat
.3 g polyunsaturated fat
33 mg cholesterol
8g protein
291 mg calcium
33 mg magnesium
120 mg sodium
370 mg potassium
.1 mg iron
228 mg phosphorus
2.3 mg vitamin c
I collect novelty cookbooks. As I scan over my shelves, I find such delights as The Nancy Drew Cookbook, Gilligan's Island Cookbook, Are You Hungry Tonight--Elvis' Favorite Recipes, and one of my favorites, the Mike Douglas Cookbook: Recipes Made Famous on the Mike Douglas Television Show.
OK, I'm showing my age here. I actually REMEMBER the Mike Douglas Show.
Anyway, it was with delight from a collector's viewpoint -- and horror from a dietary viewpoint -- that I heard the news that white, squishy Wonder Bread has released, in honor of its 85th birthday, the Wonder Bread Cookbook. You can buy it at Amazon for a discount if you also purchase The Twinkies Cookbook.
The Wonder Bread books touts itself as "an inventive and unexpected recipe collection," which just begs one to ask: so, what's in it? Well, there are:
• Good Morning Wonder Bread, with breakfast recipes such as Pigs in Wonder Blankets.
• Wonder Bites, with appetizers such as Wonder Beef Cups
• Wonder Sandwiches, such as Grilled Baloney (sic) and Wonder
• Baked Wonder, including Sweetened Tomato and Wonder Casserole
• Sweet and Fruity Wonder, including the Wonder Easter Egg Sandwich
• Wonder Bread Pudding and Crepes, including Wonder Caramel Apple Bread Pudding
• It's a Wonder, an unidentifiable category with such delights as Creamed Fish in Wonder Patty Shells and Pilgrim Pies.
It is a wonder.
I'll leave you instead with a selection from the Mike Douglas Cookbook:
Lady Bird Johnson's Spinach Souffle
2 packages frozen, chopped spinach
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
Milk or cream as needed (approx 1-1/2 cup)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Dash nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sugar (Splenda hadn't been invented yet)
1 tsp grated onion
5 eggs, separated
Preheat oven to 375. Thaw spinach. Drain. Reserve liquid. Add enough milk to liquid to make 2 cups.
Melt butter over low heat. Add flour and blend well. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly. Cook until thick. Add spinach and remaining ingredients except eggs. Cook for or five minutes over low heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. Beat egg yolks until thick. Add equal amount of spinach mixture and blend well. Add to first spinach mixture.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold spinach mixture into egg whites. Pour into greased 2-quart casserole. Set in pan containing 1 inch of hot water and bake 40-50 minutes or until table knife inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out clean.
Serves 6.
1/2 medium head cauliflower, grated
4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 tablespoons butter, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a medium-large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon and onion until they just start to brown. Add the cauliflower; cook and stir until the cauliflower is tender and nicely browned all over. You can add a couple tablespoons of butter during cooking. This will speed up the browning and add nice flavor. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Submitted by Grumblebee
Shredded cabbage, or bagged coleslaw mix (or mix ½ bag coleslaw
mix plus ½ bag broccoli slaw )
½ cup mayonnaise
2-3 Tbsp pickle juice from sugar-free sweet pickles (or use 2-3
Tbsp of vinegar and 1-2 Tbsp Splenda)
Put coleslaw into mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine mayo and pickle juice (or vinegar/Splenda) and stir until combined. Stir "dressing" into coleslaw and chill until ready to eat. For crunchy slaw, stir in chopped walnuts or flaxseeds.
Submitted by renegadediabetic
COON-ASS VEGGIES
A little piece of cajun flavor for you
1 Onion
2 Bell Peppers
2 Stalks Celery
3 Cloves of Garlic
2 Cans of Corn
2 Cans of Red Beans
Rice
Toss the onion, bell pepper and celery in a frying pan with a little olive oil and the garlic. Add black pepper, creole seasoning (Tony Chachere's if you got it), and little crushed red pepper. Saute them till the onions are transparent. Add the corn and the beans and saute for another 10 mins. Serve the veggies over the rice of your choice. Dee-licious. I guar-an-tee (with a nod to Justin Wilson!)
Submitted by Michael
Spinach (fresh or frozen)
Butter
Cream
Garlic
Optional parmesan cheese
The fresh spinach will require chopping (if you have a food processor this would be the quickest way), but the frozen chopped will need to be thawed, and have the moisture drained out of it (if you don't have a food processor, this will save loads of time).
Saute a clove or two of pressed garlic in a little butter, then toss in the prepared spinach, cooking just until thoroughly warmed (if from frozen) or wilted (if fresh chopped). Now pour in some cream and heat through - don't let it boil, or you'll cause the cream to break (it'll make ugly clumps). If you want to be really elegant about it, give it a sprinkle of parmesan - fresh grated, if you're a purist.
Submitted by Calianna
About 1 lb green beans, fresh or frozen
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat bottom of skillet
1 -2 tsp Thyme
1 Garlic clove, pressed
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chicken broth, about 1/8 – 1⁄4 cup
Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add beans, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper.
Saute until beans start to change color.
Add a little chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and let beans simmer until tender. You may need to add more chicken broth before the beans are done.
Submitted by renegadediabetic
2 zucchini, cut into quarters lengthwise
2 yellow squash, cut into quarters lengthwise
2 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered
2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered
2 red onions, quartered
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Preheat grill to medium-high. Place all cut vegetables and the tomatoes in a large shallow baking dish, add the 1/2 cup of olive oil, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time. Remove the tomatoes, cover grill, and cook the remaining vegetables for 2 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop (leave tomatoes whole). Place the chopped vegetables and tomatoes in a large bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, oregano and parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Submitted by Marcelle Wyzdyx
6 large green onions, sliced
1 large white onion, diced
5 stalks celery, chopped (tops too)
2 large green peppers, diced
3 whole carrots,sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (20 oz) can tomatoes, diced
1(48 oz) can V-8 juice
1/3 cup beef bouillion granules
1/4 tsp celery seed
2 tsp tarragon
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 (10 oz) package mushrooms, sliced
1/2 head cabbage, chunked
1 bag frozen green beans
water
Spray large stock pot with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Saute onions green peppers, celery, and carrots until onions begin to wilt. Add garlic and stir well. Add tomatoes and V-8 juice. Stir well. Add next ingredients, stirring well after each addition. Add water just to cover. Bring to a slight boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and let cook for 1-2 hours. (I like my veggies crunchy so I use less cooking time) Remove bay leaf. Divide into freezer containers. Place one container in your fridge and the rest in the freezer. Remove and enjoy as needed.
You can change the flavors by adding different herbs and spices, as well as a variety of veggies. The combinations are limitless.
Submitted by bamagal
Montevallo, Alabama
Yes I know it has been done a thousand times. I, however, had to come up with a way to make them so they weren't soupy so....
Take 1 head cauliflower, washed and split into florets (run through salad spinner till as dry as possible)
Place in microwave container with no added water and cook until done (7 to 10 min.).
Put in food processor and puree with 1 oz cheese.
Cool completely and freeze.
When you're ready to eat, thaw in refrigerator, then heat and serve with butter and sour cream.
Submitted by Tess
1 potato, boiled and diced
1 tomato, blended with water, with turmeric, red chili powder and coriander powder to taste
Cumin seeds, roasted in olive oil
3 Ingredients?!! C'mon, that's stretching a little too thin. I'm assuming salt is acceptable above and beyond 3 ingredients!
Combine ingredients, and garnish with cilantro.
Submited by Kanchana,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
1 eggplant, cut in 1-inch cubes (optional: salt heavily and
refrigerate overnight to remove excess moisture and bitter
flavor, then rinse well before cooking)
3 zucchini, cut in thick slices
2 bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced celery
1 large can diced tomatoes
salt, pepper, basil, and garlic to taste
1⁄2 cup olive oil
1 oz. vodka (optional: there are flavors in tomatoes that can only be
brought out in alcohol)
Place olive oil in a large pot, add raw veggies & seasonings and sauté until onions are translucent. Add canned tomatoes, and vodka if desired, and simmer 30 minutes. This makes a thick stew that is traditionally served with rice or pasta; I like it with a rare steak on the side.
Submitted by Marcelle Wyzdyx
1 lb fresh asparagus
Kosher Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preheat Oven to 375
Put asparagus in a flat baking dish or on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Put in oven for 15 minutes to roast. If you like your asparagus done more you can adjust the time.
You can also do this with other veggies like green beans or summer squash.
Submitted by Ladyred56
Omaha, Nebraska
1 bunch of asparagus
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat bottom of skillet
Salt & Pepper to taste
Chicken broth, about 1/8 – 1⁄4 cup
Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add asparagus, salt, & pepper. Saute until asparagus starts to change color. Add a little chicken broth. Reduce heat to low and let asparagus simmer until tender. You may need to add more chicken broth before the asparagus is done.
Submitted by renegadediabetic
Here's a recipe my kids love from the recipe section of a cancer prevention book I recently published.—Lynne Eldridge (see link below)
1 pound kale (or 1 bunch)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lite soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted organic sesame seeds
1/8 cup dried seaweed (optional)
Prepare seaweed per package directions. Mince garlic cloves. Wash kale and tear into bite size pieces, keeping it somewhat wet. Heat sesame oil over medium temperature. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned. Add kale, seaweed, water and soy sauce and cook until kale is wilted, approximately 2 minutes. Add sesame seeds and serve. This recipe is excellent served chilled as well.
Kale is high in lutein, which is becoming recognized for its role in preventing the development of cancer, and in clearing cancer-causing viruses such as HPV.
Submitted by Lynne Eldridge M.D., author of Avoiding Cancer One Day At A Time, Shoreville, Minnesota
1 cup fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup split peas (dal masoor or dal arhar can also be used)
1 small potato, peeled and cut into small pieces
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 small red chilis
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
Oil (sesame or olive)
Mix all the ingredients in a medium sized WOK except red chilis, cumin seeds, oil, with water just enough to keep the ingredients just covered. Spinach will give out water while cooking. Cook till the potato pieces become tender and the lentil is cooked well, keeping the WOK closed with a lid.
When done, heat the oil in another WOK, fry cumin seeds and red chilis for a few seconds, till cumin seeds are golden brown and red chilis remain red. Pour the oil over the cooked spinach.
Spinach koottoo is ready to serve hot with steamed rice or roti (Indian bread)
1-3/4 cups precooked green lentils
1 tablespoon of olive oil (for frying)
3 leeks
4 cloves garlic
3 potatoes
3 bay leaves
4 twigs of fresh thyme
2 twigs of fresh oregano
2 veggie bouillon cubes
4-1/4 cups water
1 lb. fresh baby spinach
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Rinse and chop leeks. Peel and chop garlic and potatoes.
2. Fry leeks and garlic until soft and golden.
3. Add potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, bouillon cubes and water.
4. Cook gently for 20 min or until potatoes are soft.
5. Add lentils, baby spinach, lemon juice and cook another minute.
Smaklig måltid!
Submitted by Reilly Flanagan,
Stockholm, Sweden
Zuchinni and Yellow Squash (choose small ones - you won't need to
remove the seeds)
Red pepper, cored and seeded
Olive oil
Italian Herb blend
Cut all three veggies into strips (1/4 inch or julienned - doesn't need to be exact, just try to be fairly consistent). Heat a little olive oil in a big skillet, and toss in the veggie strips. Saute very lightly for just a couple minutes - you want them only slightly more cooked than barely warmed (avoid mushiness!), then add a little italian herb blend and toss gently to coat.
Submitted by Calianna
Here comes a recipe from Sweden, so excuse my French...
I like to have beans ready in my freezer...I use them as a base for many dishes. Do this on a weekend.
Buy dried beans the kind you like--many different sorts, but make sure they are almost the same size so the beans will get done in the same time).Cook a big pot or two pots--one big sized beans, one small sized beans.
Cool off, then blend both sizes of beans together
Blend in all kinds of seeds you like- sunflower, linseedkross, buckwheat, sesame seeds, ec.
Blend in fresh-cut pieces of onion and garlic.
Blend in your favorite herbs and spices.
Put into plastic bags and store in freezer.
When you're in a hurry, put a bit of water and the "bean blend" in a frying pan and cook slightly with your favorite oil, or add fresh greens, feta, tofu or mushrooms—whatever leftovers you have. Voila! Enjoy!
Submitted by Lisbet,
Lindgren, Sweden
