Cranberry Goodness

Buying a 5 pound bag of cranberries seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, they are only available seasonally, right? The Thanksgiving cranberry sauce we made barely made a dent in that bag! So, I've been trying out lots of different cranberry recipes to use up all this wonderful fruit. I thought I would share a few of them.

Cranberries are also an anti-oxidant super food, so I can feel good about baking and cooking up that cranberry goodness! Here are some of my favorite recipes of the week. They are kind of hard to read in this format, but you can view a pdf version HERE.

Reduced Fat Cranberry-Almond Scones

Low in fat, these semi-sweet scones are packed with the goodness of cranberries and almonds that make this a healthy sweet treat any time of the day!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup raw or brown sugar (or more if you like them sweeter) 3 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup chopped cranberries 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts - chopped 2 tbsp butter or margarine 1/2-3/4 cup milk (or half buttermilk and half milk)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a pan sprayed with olive oil spray, cook cranberries on medium heat until tender and reduced by about half. Let cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can even do this with your fingertips. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts, then slowly add the milk, just until the dough is moistened. Make a tough dough like cookies.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 16 wedges with a buttered knife; place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, at 425 degrees. Let cool on a wire rack before trying to remove them.

Nutrition per serving: Calories 121; fat 3.2 mg; fiber 1.8 g; protein 2.9 mg

Broiled Tilapia with Cranberrry-Tarragon Sauce

Broiled Tilapia

Ingredients:
4 4-oz boneless fish fillets (Tilapia, Flounder, etc)
1 tsp fresh tarragon, minced
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lime, cut in 4 thin slices
juice from the other half of the lime

Directions:
ONE: Preheat broiler to high
TWO: Place fillets in shallow baking dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika, and tarragon. Lay a slice of lime in the middle of each fillet.
THREE: Place baking dish 5-6 inches away from broler. Broil fish for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked through, but still moist. Drizzle with lime juice. Serve topped with Cranberry-Tarragon sauce.

Cranberry-Tarragon Sauce

This delicious sauce can be made ahead of time and simply reheated when you need it.

Ingredients:
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh onion, minced
1 1/2 cups cranberries
1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp fresh tarragon, or to taste
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 cup maple syrup, or to taste
2 tsp fresh lime juice

Directions:
In medium sauce pan over medium-high heat cook onion until onion is translucent and a bit browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook a minute more. Add cranberries, water, tarragon and salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally, and cook until thickened and reduced, abut 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, whisk in maple syrup and lime juice. Serve over tilapia.

Nutrition for 4-oz fillet and 1 1/2 Tbsp sauce: Calories 210; Fat 2.5 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 31 g; sodium 240 mg; cholesterol 75 mg

Fruited Curry Chicken

Ingredients:
Olive oil or cooking spray
1 apple, diced
1 pear, diced (or use an extra apple if you don't have pears on hand)
1 small onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp gingerroot, chopped
1/8 cup unsalted cashews
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
3 boneless chicken breast
Fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:
Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Spritz a large pot with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add chicken and 1/2 of the onion and cook on both sides. Remove from pan and keep chicken warm. Next, add fruit (except cranberries), remaining onion, pepper, ginger, cashews, curry, cumin, and salt. Cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add broth and cranberries and mix well. Add chicken back in and spoon some of the mixture over the top. Simmer for 5 minutes and turn chicken over. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, or until chicken is no pink. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

This is great served on a bed of brown rice.

Nutrition info: Calories 226; Total fat 5 g, Fiber 6 g, Protein 9 g, sodium 321 mg, cholesterol 44 mg.

If you have any favorite recipes containing cranberry, I'd love to link them here.

Happy cooking!

Healthy Lunch Planner #3

Monday
Chicken Pasta Salad - Toss together: 12 oz cubed, cooked chicken breast, 2 cups whole wheat pasta, 1 cup rinsed red kidney beans, 2 oz cubed cheddar cheese, 1 cup diced tomato, 1 cup chopped raw broccoli, 2 Tablespoons Light Italian Dressing. Divide into 4 containers and place in refrigerator.

Tuesday
Butternut Squash Soup (prepackaged) with Whole Wheat Tuna Pita Pocket (made with Light mayo and minced celery) topped with tomato & lettuce

Wednesday
Cottage Cheese with Apple Butter - Place the following in 4 bowls or take-away containers and mix well: 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese, 4 Tablespoons apple butter, unsweetened, 2 sliced bananas, 3 Tablespoons sunflower or other seeds. Serve with whole wheat toast and baby carrots

Thursday
Whole Wheat Egg Salad Sandwich with Tomatoes and Lettuce. Serve with fresh fruit.

Friday
Chicken Burrito - Whole wheat tortillas filled with portions of the following fixins: 2 cups cubed or shredded chicken (can use the whole, cooked chicken from the grocery store), 1 cup vegetarian refried beans, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 cup shredded Romaine lettuce, 1 cup diced tomato, salsa to taste. Sour cream or shredded cheese optional.

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For me, the hardest part about eating clean is planning and shopping. The planning is now done! Now I just need to shope and do a little prep. Here are some other items on my "To Do" list:


WEEK-END PREP: Go shopping! : ) Cook and pull off chicken (can use whole chicken, thighs or drumsticks) for Monday and Friday recipes. Freeze or refrigerate until needed.

THURSDAY PREP: Cook a double recipe of Brown Rice (I like Lundberg's Brown Rice Blends) and consider having as a dinner side dish, while using leftovers for Fridays' Chicken Burritos.

(Not) Monday Menu Plan

Wednesday: Mega-Layered Chef Salad
Thursday: Honey Mustard Skillet Chicken
Friday: Grilled Ginger Flounder
Saturday: Seared Chicken on Spinach
Sunday: Crock Chops
Monday: Orange-Glazed Beef


For breakfast, snacks and lunches, I am following my own "Healthy Lunch" ideas and "Eat Clean" principles. Thank you, Katherine at Cornerstone Classical, for the the "Eat Clean" blog review! You can download a free 7 week Clean Eating menu HERE. I have also ordered a free issue of the magazine and can't wait until it arrives. Apparently it has menus and SHOPPING LISTS! This program closely follows what I have been doing on my own for the past couple of years. However, I have begun to slip a bit in the junk food and exercise areas and want to get back on track. It was inspiring and I think it will work well for me! For more info, click HERE and go to 'Clean Eating?'

For rainy days when I can't walk outside and for strength training, I ordered Billy Blank's Boot Camp DVD series. I love his original Tae Bo workouts, and hope the addition of the resistance bands will be good strength training. He is a motivating instructor and keeps me going! For another at-home strength training schedule with video how-to's, try the Bikini Workout.

What are your health and fitness goals this spring? Remember, "If it is to be, it is up to ME!"

Recipe Idea - Curried Brown Rice Salad

This is a great healthy lunch or light dinner idea. We had this today, and yum! It's kinda sweet and pretty spicy. Next time I think I will try adding a bit of shredded coconut to switch it up a bit. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cooked brown rice, cooled (I used brown/wild rice blend)
  
• 1 cup chopped unpeeled tart apple
• 1/2 cup raisins (I used Craisins)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I used cashews)
  
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 3 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine the rice, apple, raisins, onion and almonds. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over rice mixture and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.


From allrecipes.com.

Newest Lunch Menu

This new menu is what my husband came up with when I asked for help planning something new and different (but healthy!) for lunch. I think he did a great job, and I can't wait to try these recipes! One helpful thing about allrecipes.com is that most of the recipes have reviews with modification suggestions. Plus, the nutrition info is included.

Monday
Spicy Turkey Wraps with Strawberry Salsa

Tuesday
Black Bean and Couscous Salad

Wednesday
Soup and Sandwich - kid's choice

Thursday
Mediterranean Turkey Pita Fold

Friday
Blackberry Spinach Salad


Planning for meals makes eating healthy a snap! It's amazing how much better we eat when I plan ahead a bit.

NEW! LUNCH MENU

I spent some time this afternoon making a lunch menu for next week. We usually do lots of soups and sandwiches, along with frozen South Beach or Kashi meals, but I'm getting a little bored with it. I thought I'd try my hand at a lunch menu and see how I like it. As Providence would have it, dh called to see if I wanted anything from the grocery store today. Just in time, hon!

Wild and Brown Rice salad (Tuesday) -- MMMmmm! Very yummy.

MONDAY

Mexican Wrap – whole wheat tortilla wrap or other flat bread, fill with heated, vegetarian refried beans or chilli beans (a can is fine but dry the beans well), crispy lettuce and some cherry tomatoes. Put a spoonful of guacamole on top (or natural yogurt for a low fat version). Wrap tightly.

TUESDAY

Wild & Brown Rice Salad – Toss together 2 1/2 cups of cooked and cooled Wild/Brown Rice Blend (I buy the pre-blended type so I can cook it altogether), 3-6 chopped green onions, 1/3 cup craisins, raisins, or dried cherries, 2 T chopped fresh cilantro, 1 T chopped fresh parsley with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (I love Paul Newman's). You can make this the night before and store in the frig. Just before serving, top with pecans or cashews.

WEDNESDAY

Soup and Sandwich - Egg salad with Cucumber on Whole Wheat paired with Tomato, Italian Wedding, or favorite low sodium soup

THURSDAY

California Wrap – Start with whole wheat tortilla, wrap or other flat bread. Top with turkey, ham, and a slice of tomato. In a small bowl, combine an avocado slice and 1 tsp lime juice, and then spoon onto the tomato (or use prepared guacamole). Top with the watercress or arugula and Ranch dressing. Wrap tightly in cling film and chill until required.

FRIDAY

Lunch Time Salad – Toss Spring Mix or other greens with pecans or almonds, chopped deli chicken, cherry tomatoes, seedless grapes, strawberries, sliced cucumber, cottage cheese, Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (I love Paul Newman's).