Can Condiments Make You Fat?

Eat the Good Fat First
Choosing healthy-fat appetizers may help you eat less, lose weight

If you’re trying to watch your weight, you don’t have to forgo appetizers altogether. In fact, choosing the right starter before your meal may actually help you eat less overall. So don’t deprive yourself of that fresh whole-grain bread and olive oil the next time a waiter brings it to your table. It may be your diet’s best friend.

Eating a small amount of healthy unsaturated fat – think olive oil, nuts, avocado, and fish – before a meal triggers a chain reaction in your digestive system that slows the rate at which your stomach empties, which means you feel fuller faster. It also helps keep your blood sugar levels from spiking after your meal and makes it easier for your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as lycopene and lutein.

It doesn’t take much: Just 70 calories worth will do the trick. That’s about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, 6 walnuts, 10 almonds, 1/4 of a medium avocado, or 2 ounces of smoked salmon.

So ditch the chips and instead try some of these delicious healthy-fat appetizers.

Spicy Almonds
Makes 2 cups
Serving size: 12 almonds
Calories per serving: 89

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups dry-roasted, unsalted almonds
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons Watkins Chili Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Watkins Cayenne Pepper

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until hot but not smoking, then add the almonds and stir to combine.
2. Add the Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chili powder, and salt and stir until the almonds are evenly coated.
3. Remove from heat and spread the almonds in an even layer on a baking sheet.
4. Sprinkle them evenly with cayenne pepper and allow to cool.

Savory Olive Tapenade
Makes 10 servings
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Calories per serving: 74

1 teaspoon capers
3/4 cup green olives, pitted
3/4 cup black olives, pitted
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Watkins Granulated Black Pepper or freshly ground Watkins Peppercorns, to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the olives are finely chopped.
2. Serve with baked whole-wheat pita chips or thinly sliced and toasted whole-wheat bread.

Zesty Pesto Spread
Makes 14 servings
Serving size: 2 tablespoons
Calories per serving: 70

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Watkins Granulated Black Pepper or freshly ground Watkins Peppercorns, to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor until the mixture is finely chopped.
2. Then, with the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until it’s all incorporated.
3. Spread onto whole-wheat crackers.

From RealAge.com

Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Steamed or Raw Vegetables – Which is Better?

Which Is Better: Steamed or Raw?

Nothing could be healthier for your heart than a plateful of raw veggies, right?

Actually, a little steam treatment could be even better. New research suggests that steaming might improve the cholesterol-lowering capabilities of certain produce.

When researchers tested the digestive effects of both raw and steamed veggies – beets, okra, carrots, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, and cauliflower – something interesting happened. It’s not clear why, but the steamed veggies did a better job of binding to bile acids. And that’s a good thing. It means more bile acids get excreted, which in turn means the liver needs more bad LDL cholesterol to make bile – which means there’s less LDL circulating in your body.

Raw or steamed, your goal is to eat at least five servings of vegetables every day. But if you don’t always hit that goal, here are some ways to make sure that every bite of vegetables is working hard for you:

Find out when frozen veggies are more healthful than fresh — and vice versa.

• Know when it’s worth it to go organic.
• Absorb more nutrients from salads and steamed veggies with the healthy fats in these toppings.
• Sprinkle on extra antioxidants with these herbs and spices.

3 Ways to Dress Your Veggies

A bit of unsaturated fat can help your body better absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in your vegetables. Here are three different looks to try:

• Skip the fat-free ranch dressing. Instead, toss your greens with an olive-oil-based dressing like balsamic vinaigrette.
• Make your fat crunchy. Season peppers, corn, carrots, or squash with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and then top with slivered almonds or toasted sesame seeds.
• Create this Spicy Peanut Sauce for dipping lightly steamed broccoli and cauliflower

In a recent study, people who tossed their salads with a dressing that had some fat in it absorbed more carotenoids from the vegetables than the people who used a nonfat dressing.

Carotenoids are potent antioxidants found in brightly hued produce - red, orange, and yellow. But the small intestine needs a little fat to absorb these power nutrients. So do several other fat-soluble vitamins, including:

Vitamin E (found in spinach and broccoli)
Vitamin K (found in cabbage, cauliflower, and turnip greens)
Vitamin D (found in some fish and in fortified dairy)

When you’re dressing your veggies, remember the Brylcreem jingle: “A little dab’ll do ya.” You can nearly undo all the good in veggies by turning them into high-calorie, high-fat side dishes. So don’t drown them in sauces and oils. Think lightweight summer ensembles – a little dribble of olive oil on a sliced tomato or a smattering of chopped walnuts on your spinach salad. Or a bit of  peanut sauce on your steamed broccoli. Check out this spicy peanut sauce recipe below.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
2 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons “lite” coconut milk
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Watkins Red Pepper Flakes, or to taste

Whisk together peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl until smooth.

RealAge Tips

Reducing the Health Risks of Grilled Foods

You may have heard the news about HCAs and PAHs – cancer-linked chemicals that can be created by grilling your food. But these BBQ tips virtually wipe out the risk
From RealAge Tips of the Week

Hot off the Grill: Great Food That’s Also Good for You

Sweet corn on the cob, tomatoes from the garden, steak seared on the grill. Could there be a more perfect late summer meal? Yes, but only if you know the healthiest ways to indulge your barbecue habit. Good bet you’ve heard murmurs about grilled meat causing – yes – cancer, and you’ve either tried not to listen or guiltily thought, well, what doesn’t? But here’s the good news: There are a bunch of ways to virtually wipe out the risk. In fact, we’ve found eight of them!

The problem, by the way, is that grilling meat, chicken, and fish, especially if it’s charred or well-done, produces cancer-linked chemicals known as HCAs or HAAs. Animal fat dripping onto hot coals creates another worry: stuff called PAHs. But you don’t have to go flame-free. Just do one or more of the following, which actually tend to make grilled food taste even better.

1. Soak it up.
   Marinating meat boosts flavor and tenderness while slashing production of cancer-causing HCAs by up to 90%, especially if the marinade has an olive oil base. Make your own, or use bottled Italian dressing zinged up with extra garlic.
2. Do kabobs.
   Small pieces of meat cook faster and produce fewer HCAs than caveman-size slabs do. Thread your protein of choice onto a skewer with lots of veggies (cherry tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini chunks, onions) and grill until just done.
3. Add a secret ingredient.
   Making burgers? Mix in 1 teaspoon of wheat bran per pound of ground meat. It keeps burgers juicy, stops HCAs in their tracks, and won’t even register on the carb meter.
4. Finish it fast.
   Precook meat on the stove or in the oven or microwave earlier in the day, and then finish on the grill for great flavor and those tempting stripes. Precooking also means people won’t have to wait around for ages while dinner cooks.
5. Foiled again.
   Cover the grate with punctured aluminum foil. No flames, no drips, no HCAs – and no grill clean up, either. Frequently flipping your meat of choice also helps curtail troublemakers.
6. Get skinny.
   To curtail dripping, trim fat from meat. Cook chicken with the skin on, and then toss the skin. You have nothing to lose but grease, calories, and carcinogens.
7. Have a glass of tea.
   How about some iced tea with your baby back ribs? Tea’s supercharged antioxidants help neutralize carcinogens.
8. Grill something besides the main course.
   Bored with broccoli? Sick of sliced fruit? Throw them on the grill. Fruits and veggies don’t produce carcinogens, and many, from pears to pineapple, take surprisingly well to the brazier.

Drizzle broccoli florets, red, green, and yellow bell pepper quarters, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, and onion wedges with Italian Salad Dressing, sprinkle with Watkins Garlic Salt or Garlic Powder and grill in a grill basket. These vegetables taste great with steaks, in salads, and in fajitas and tacos.

Order Watkins All-Natural and Organic herbs and spices at http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Add Some High-Powered Herbs, Spices, and Vegetables to Your Menu

4 Herbs for a High-Powered Salad

Fresh herbs add extra cell-protecting phenols to salads. To boost the nutrition in your bowl – and your belly – add sage, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme. In a recent study, these herbs added the most antioxidants to a salad (fresh marjoram leaves more than doubled the antioxidant value).

For spices, cumin soared up the salad chart. Second to cumin was fresh ginger. 

Which vegetables pack the strongest antioxidant punch? Artichoke, beetroot, broccoli, garlic, a variety of leek, a type of radish, and spinach were top produce picks in a recent study. Adding onions also upped the antioxidant ante.

Dressing gives you another opportunity to increase the antioxidant quotient of your salad. Extra-virgin olive oil shines brightest. For a healthful and low-fat alternative, try apple or wine vinegars.

What about the leaves? Try some crunchy (and slightly bitter) red chicory with your romaine. Its pigments contain antioxidant flavonoids. 

Citrus-Cumin Splash

Bursting with big, bold flavors of sweet orange, tangy lime and warm spices, this dressing tastes terrific splashed over spinach, bean or grain salads. It also spruces up salads containing grilled poultry and fresh fruit, such as peaches and grapes.

Citrus-Cumin Splash is a low calorie, low cholesterol dressing with fresh fruit flavors of orange and lime.

1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon Watkins Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly Watkins Ground Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender; blend until smooth. Makes about 1 cup.

Recipe from EatingWell.com

Rosemary, a Cancer-Fighting Spice

A Sprinkle of Cancer-Fighting Spice

Whether you steep it, saute it, or soak it, savory rosemary can elevate both your culinary skills and your health.

Why? Because not only is it one of the trendiest cooking spices, but the fragrant needle-leaved herb is also showing early promise as a cancer fighter.

Antioxidant Action
Human studies are needed to confirm the effects, but in cell studies, rosemary extract has given both breast cancer and leukemia cells a real fight. That’s good news about an herb we already know is chock-full of antioxidants, those free-radical killers that help protect you from cell-level damage. 

4 Ways to Get More Rosemary into Your Life

1. Stick a fresh sprig in your lemonade, or steep it in hot tea.
2. Add chopped rosemary to your tossed salads
3. Use fresh or dried rosemary in marinades for meats or vegetables (olive oil, fresh or dried rosemary, and soy sauce make a nice, simple one).
4. Try this delicious rosemary-infused recipe from EatingWell.com - Garlic-Rosemary Mushrooms.

These simple sautéed mushrooms work as a quick, weeknight side dish. To turn them into a main course, toss with cooked pasta and a generous handful of Parmesan cheese or fold into an omelet with Gruyère, fontina or Swiss cheese.

Makes 4 servings, about 3/4 cup each

1 ounce bacon (about 11/2 slices), chopped
1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake (stemmed) and portobello, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon Watkins Dried Rosemary
1/4 teaspoon salt
Watkins Ground Pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost dry, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour in wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.

 Recipe from EatingWell Magazine

Shake on the Cinnamon

 Greet holiday guests with a fragrant mug of hot cider spiced with cinnamon and cloves. It will do more than warm them up.

Cinnamon and cloves are irresistible flavorings, but they aren’t just treats for your tastebuds. They also provide powerful health benefits, like helping the body process blood glucose – essential to avoiding diabetes. Keep both spices handy for baking, hot drinks, and savory dishes. Cooking with them is as easy as apple pie.

Cinnamon is well known as a stellar anitoxidant and a potent germ-killer, and there’s a growing body of evidence that shows that a substance in the spice turns on insulin receptors to help the body use glucose. Which is a good thing, because too much glucose in the bloodstream is tough on your organs and a marker of diabetes. Cloves appear to have a similar effect. So don’t save these spices for holiday cooking. You can use cinnamon liberally, but cloves – ground or whole – really pack a flavor punch and take a lighter hand. For ways to get more of these good-for-you spices into your everyday life, try these tips

• Sprinkle both on fresh apple slices and poached pears.
• Add cinnamon and cloves to crockpot dishes for an Indian-inspired flavor twist.
• Add ground cloves to stuffing recipes.
• Use a cinnamon stick to stir your tea, hot chocolate, or warm soymilk.
• Sprinkle both spices into muffin batters and on whole-wheat toast.
• Keep a cinnamon shaker next to the salt and pepper on the table and experiment.
• Push whole cloves into an onion and place it in turkey or chicken cavities for flavorful roasting.

From Real Age November 2006  

Purchase cinnamon, cloves and other spices at my Watkins Store

Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

Serve these nutritious pancakes with powdered sugar, fresh fruit, or syrup.

Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup/250 mL whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp/15 mL sugar
2 tsp/10 mL Watkins Baking Powder
1/2 tsp/5 mL baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup/250 mL buttermilk
1 egg
2 tbsp/30 mL Watkins Original Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Vanilla

Combine dry ingredients well. Add remaining ingredients, stir until well-blended (do not beat or overstir). Preheat griddle on medium-high heat. Coat griddle with cooking spray and ladle batter onto griddle in roughly 1/4 cupfuls. When tops are covered with bubbles, flip to other side and cook briefly until bottoms are done. Makes about 20 4-inch pancakes

Order Watkins Grapeseed Oil and Vanilla at our online catalog

http://www.WatkinsOnline.com/eleisiawhitney

Grapeseed Oil allows foods’ natural flavors to come through. This oil’s light neutral flavor won’t mask or clash with other foods.It is lower in saturated fat and higher in unsaturated fats than nearly all other oils. It’s also one of the only foods that has been shown to not only lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, but also increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol, giving it a distinct advantage over other oils.

Grapeseed oil contains a high level of antioxidants, including vitamin E, which makes it not only healthy, but very stable; it does not need to be refrigerated, but if chilled it will not cloud up like olive oil. Its high smoke point makes it perfect for grilling or sautéing.

Breakfast Salad

Breakfast Salad 

1 unpeeled, chopped apple
1/2 cup/125 mL sunflower seed nuts
1/2 cup/125 mL raisins
1/4 cup/60 mL chopped dates
1 sliced banana
2 tbsp/30 mL honey
1 tbsp/15 mL fresh orange juice
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Original Double-Strength Vanilla 
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Cinnamon 
1 cup/250 mL nonfat cottage cheese
4 melon halves

Combine apples, sunflower seed nuts, raisins, dates, banana, honey, orange juice, vanilla and cinnamon; mix lightly to blend. Spoon cottage cheese into melon halves, top with fruit. Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories 540
Protein 15 g
Carbohydrates 110 g
Sodium 300 mg
Fat 10 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 3 mg
Dietary Fiber 12 g

Use Watkins Vanilla and Cinnamon in this recipe. Order at

http://www.WatkinsOnline.com/eleisiawhitney
 

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

If you’re like me you like to eat desserts but don’t want to suffer the consequences of eating too many fat calories. That’s why I’m posting this cheesecake pie recipe made with lighter ingredients.

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie
The perfect dessert for summer. Using fat free milk, fat free cream cheese, and only 1/2 cup of sugar makes this lucious pie a real treat.

1 prepared 9-inch (6 ounces) graham cracker crumb crust
2/3 cup (5 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Fat Free Milk
1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon peel or 1/3 teaspoon Watkins Lemon Peel
1 1/2 to 2 cups halved fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons strawberry jelly, warmed

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Place evaporated milk, cream cheese, egg, sugar, flour, vanilla, and lemon peel in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into crust.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Arrange strawberries on top of pie; drizzle with jelly. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Shop Watkins Online Catalog for Watkins Vanilla and Lemon Peel http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Ice Cream in a Baggie

 Another very hot day here in northern California! If you read the previous post, you are probably thinking that this woman has nothing but thoughts of ice cream in her head! Well, hot weather makes me think of cool foods to eat and cool summer activities. 

Ice Cream in a Baggie

We made vanilla ice cream using this recipe so I know that it works. It’s fun to make and eat and it cools you inside and out!

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup half and half

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (Use Watkins Vanilla, of course)

ziploc sandwich bags

one gallon size ziploc bags

2 cups ice (Crushed ice works best. If using cubes break them up into smaller pieces)

1 tablespoon ice cream salt, sea salt, or other coarse salt

Have someone hold a sandwich size ziploc bag so you can add the ingredients or place opened sandwich bag in a pint size jar or cup for support. Add the milk, half and half, sugar, and vanilla extract to the small bag. Seal bag securely, removing excess air. Add ice and salt to a one gallon size ziploc bag. Place one or two small bags of ingredients in a one gallon ziploc bag. Seal firmly. Let the kids shake, toss,  and turn the bag to mix ingredients and until the ice cream freezes. Ice cream will be soft and ready to eat in 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove small bag from large bag and pour into bowl, paper cup, or eat right out of the bag! Enjoy!

Add gourmet flavor to your family recipes
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