Saturday, September 19, 2009

Egg Salad Sandwich


Ingredients

•Hard boiled eggs - 6
•Mayonnaise -1 tablespoons
•Fresh lemon juice – 1 teaspoon
•Chopped celery – 1 cup
•Chopped onions – ½ cup
•Chopped tomatoes – ½ cup
•Chopped green chilies – 2
•Whole grain bread - 8 slices
•Butter
•Salt and pepper according to taste

Making this recipe is relatively simple, less time consuming and is perfect for breakfast, lunch or even as a late afternoon snack. First of all you need to take the hard-boiled eggs, chop them and put them in a mixing bowl. Now add the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and mix well. Try and mash the mixture so that it becomes easy to use it as a spread on the bread. Having done this, it is time to add the chopped celery, onions, tomatoes, chilies and a dash of lemon juice. Mix the ingredients well. Now the sandwich filling is ready. Now apply some butter on the whole grain bread. Make sure to apply butter on both the sides of the bread slices. Having done this, add the egg salad sandwich filling between two slices of bread and grill the sandwich in a sandwich maker. Applying butter on the outside makes the sandwich crispy golden brown on the outside.

Best Cuban Sandwich Recipe


Best Cuban Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients

•1 lb boneless pork tenderloin
•½ tablespoon ground cumin
•½ tablespoon dried oregano
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
•1 medium onion, sliced
•1 cup orange juice
•1 lime, juiced
•1 cup chicken broth
•2 bay leaves
•1 long Cuban roll
•Dijon mustard
•8 slices Swiss cheese
Method of Preparation
Use salt, pepper, cumin and oregano to season the pork. Set the pressure cooker over low-medium heat and add olive oil. Braise the pork by adding garlic, chili pepper, onion, orange juice, lime juice, chicken stock and bay leaves. Secure the lid of the pressure cooker and cook well for about 25 minutes. Once done, let the juices cool. Now, split the bread in half and layer the sandwich with mustard, cheese, ham and pork. Add little of the pork braising liquid and onions on top. Keep the sandwhich in a sandwich pres,s called 'plancha', and toast it lightly. Serve and enjoy your best Cuban sandwich recipe.

Cuban Pork Sandwich Recipe


Cuban Pork Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients

•Bread (preferably Cuban bread, though you can also use Italian or French bread)
•Roast pork
•Ham, sliced
•Bread and butter pickles, sliced thinly
•Swiss cheese, sliced thinly
•Mayonnaise
Method of Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Construct the sandwiches by cutting the bread in half, length-wise, and slathering it with mayonnaise. Layer the mayonnaise with the roast pork, ham, pickles, and cheese and top it with the other slice of bread. Wrapping the sandwiches in aluminum foil, place it on a baking sheet. Now set a heavy oven-proof skillet on top. Place everything in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the sandwich once done from the oven, slice it diagonally and enjoy.

Grilled Chicken with Chipotle chillies-Orange Glaze


Grilled Chicken with Chipotle chillies-Orange Glaze
Ingredients
•2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat (8 ounces)
•1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate, thawed
•1 1/2 teaspoons of finely chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
•1 1/2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
•1 teaspoon molasses
•1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•Salt to taste
Here's a funky dish for those who are pretty tired of salads and barbecuing chicken. Preheat the grill. In the meantime you can lightly oil the chicken. Sprinkle salt in the chicken. Mix the orange juice concentrate, chipotle chillies, vinegar, mustard and mollases in a bowl. Once the salt and oil have permeated the chicken, grill the chicken for 2 minutes. Then turn the chicken, and brush on the chipotle-orange glaze, and cook, brushing again and again with more of the glaze. Turn the chicken again, and repeat the glaze-brushing procedure. When the chicken is no longer pink, it is ready.

Baked Chicken and Mushrooms


Baked Chicken and Mushrooms
Ingredients
•1 lb. thinly-sliced chicken breasts
•8 oz. sliced button mushrooms
•1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
•2 Tbsp. French fried onions
•3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
•Salt and pepper to taste
How can a list of easy healthy chicken recipes be complete without baked chicken? Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add olive oil to the oven cooking pan. Place chicken breasts on top of oil and season both the sides with salt and pepper. Place the button mushrooms evenly over chicken breasts. Add the remaining oil to the chicken and mushrooms. Top with the Parmesan cheese. French fried onions are optional but you can add those. Now bake the mix for 15 minutes with the cover on. Remove cover and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes. Once the top of the chicken is browned, you know that it is ready!

Barbecued Chicken Burritos


Barbecued Chicken Burritos
Ingredients
•1 2-pound roasted chicken - 4 cups
•1/2 cup barbecue sauce
•1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
•1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed, or canned corn, drained
•1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
•4 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
•4 leaves romaine lettuce
•2 limes, cut in wedges
Burritos and healthy? Why not! Like I said, along with the ingredients, it is also about the preparation procedure, to make an easy healthy chicken recipe. You don't always need to cut back on taste you know! This chicken recipe is again very simple. First, cook the chicken, BBQ sauce, corn, beans and sour cream on a heated skillet. Heat on medium-high flame for about 4-5 minutes. Place the lettuces on the tortilla along with the chicken mixture. Roll it up and your burrito is ready!

Moroccan Chicken Salad


What is healthy? How would you define healthy eating or a healthy diet? In my opinion any food that supplies the correct amount of nutrients to the body, without any unhealthy additives is healthy. It also depends a lot on the way you cook it. You can make healthy foods unhealthy by frying them, and then you can make easy healthy recipes by sticking to roasting and boiling. Chicken by itself is pretty healthy food, but if you're going to fry it, or add sodium to it, you're going to ruin it. So here are some easy healthy recipes to get the best out of your chicken!

Healthy Chicken Recipes
Moroccan Chicken Salad
Ingredients
•2 cups cooked rice
•2 cups shredded cooked chicken
•2 cups shredded carrots
•2 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro
•1/4 cup sliced scallions
•1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
•1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
•2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
•2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
•1/3 cup orange juice
•2 tablespoons of lemon juice
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•Salt & pepper to taste
If you have left over some rice and chicken from last night, this is the best thing to do. The long list of ingredients should not put you off. Making salads in general is very simple and so is this one. Mix the chicken broth, lemon juice, orange juice, oil, cayenne, mint, cinnamon, cilantro, salt and pepper in one bowl. Take another large bowl and combine the cooked chicken, carrots, scallions and olives. Combine the two and add a rice topping and toss it in the bowl. And your Moroccan salad is ready!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Diabetes Food Pyramid


The Diabetes Food Pyramid is another meal planning option that some people use. It is less popular compared to both carbohydrate counting and the plate method for diabetes management.

The Diabetes Food Pyramid divides food into six groups. These groups or sections on the pyramid vary in size. The largest group – grains, beans, and starchy vegetables – is on the bottom. This means that you should eat more servings of grains, beans, and starchy vegetables than of any of the other foods. The smallest group – fats, sweets, and alcohol – is at the top of the pyramid. This tells you to eat very few servings from these food groups.

The Diabetes Pyramid gives a range of servings. If you follow the minimum number of servings in each group, you would eat about 1600 calories and if you eat at the upper end of the range, it would be about 2800 calories. Most women, would eat at the lower end of the range and many men would eat in the middle to high end of the range if they are very active. The exact number of servings you need depends on your diabetes goals, calorie and nutrition needs, your lifestyle, and the foods you like to eat. Divide the number of servings you should eat among the meals and snacks you eat each day.

The Diabetes Food Pyramid is a little different than the USDA Food Guide Pyramid because it groups foods based on their carbohydrate and protein content instead of their classification as a food. To have about the same carbohydrate content in each serving, the portion sizes are a little different too. For example: you will find potatoes and other starchy vegetables in the grains, beans and starchy vegetables group instead of the vegetables group. Cheese is in the meat group instead of the milk group. A serving of pasta or rice is 1/3 cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ½ cup in the USDA pyramid. Fruit juice is ½ cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ¾ cup in the USDA pyramid. This difference is to make the carbohydrate about the same in all the servings listed.

Following is a description of each group and the recommended range of servings of each group.

Grains and Starches
At the base of the pyramid are bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. These foods contain mostly carbohydrates. The foods in this group are made mostly of grains, such as wheat, rye, and oats. Starchy vegetables like potatoes, peas, and corn also belong to this group, along with dry beans such as black eyed peas and pinto beans. Starchy vegetables and beans are in this group because they have about as much carbohydrate in one serving as a slice of bread. So, you should count them as carbohydrates for your meal plan. More

Choose 6-11 servings per day. Remember, not many people would eat the maximum number of servings. Most people are toward the lower end of the range.
Serving sizes are:

1 slice of bread
¼ of a bagel (1 ounce)
½ an English muffin or pita bread
1, 6 inch tortilla
¾ cup dry cereal
½ cup cooked cereal
½ cup potato, yam, peas, corn, or cooked beans
1 cup winter squash
1/3 cup of rice or pasta
Vegetables
All vegetables are naturally low in fat and good choices to include often in your meals or have them as a low calorie snack. Vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber. This group includes spinach, chicory, sorrel, Swiss chard, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, peas, and lima beans are counted in the starch and grain group for diabetes meal planning. More

Choose at least 3-5 servings per day.

A serving is:
1 cup raw
½ cup cooked

Fruit
The next layer of the pyramid is fruits, which also contain carbohydrates. They have plenty of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. This group includes blackberries, cantaloupe, strawberries, oranges, apples, bananas, peaches, pears, apricots, and grapes. More

Choose 2-4 servings per day

A serving is:
½ cup canned fruit
1 small fresh fruit
2 tbs dried fruit
1 cup of melon or raspberries
1 ¼ cup of whole strawberries

Milk & Dairy
Milk products contain a lot of protein and calcium as well as many other vitamins. Choose non-fat or low-fat dairy products for the great taste and nutrition without the saturated fat. More

Choose 2-3 servings per day

A serving is:
1 cup non-fat or low-fat milk
1 cup of yogurt

Meat and Meat Substitutes
The meat group includes beef, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, tofu, dried beans, cheese, cottage cheese and peanut butter. Meat and meat substitutes are great sources of protein and many vitamins and minerals.

Choose from lean meats, poultry and fish and cut all the visible fat off meat. Keep your portion sizes small. Three ounces is about the size of a deck of cards. You only need 4-6 ounces for the whole day. More

Choose 4-6 oz per day divided between meals

Equal to 1 oz of meat:

¼ cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 Tbsp peanut butter
½ cup tofu

Fats, Sweets, and Alcohol
Things like potato chips, candy, cookies, cakes, crackers, and fried foods contain a lot of fat or sugar. They aren't as nutritious as vegetables or grains. Keep your servings small and save them for a special treat. More

Serving sizes include:

½ cup ice cream
1 small cupcake or muffin
2 small cookies

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Corn with Tomato Sauce - Using Microwave


Ingredients

2 cups frozen corn
1 tablespoon tomato past
2 tablespoons mix masala (See Tips & Tricks Section)
¾ cup water

For seasoning (tarka)

2 tablespoons oil

For Garnish

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Method

In a 2-quart glass bowl add oil, mix masala, water and tomato past. Mix together, cover and cook for 4 minutes.

Add corn, mix cover and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves, serve warm with bread.

Rajama Curry (Using Microwave and Mix masala )


Ingredients

1 cup cooked chick peas or from the cane
1 cup cooked kidney beans or from the cane
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 /2 cup chopped tomato
2 tablespoons mix masala
1 tea spoon mango powder (optional)
½ teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1 cup water

For seasoning (tarka)

2 tablespoons oil
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped ginger (optional )

For Garnish

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Method

In a 2 quart bowl, add oil, onion, ginger. Cover and microwave for 3 minutes. Add tomato, mix masala cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Add chick pea and kidney beans, garam masala and water Cover and cook for 8 minutes or until chickpeas become soft. Remove from microwave. Garnish with coriander leaves, and serve warm with rice or bread.

Potato and Peas Curry(microwave receipe)


Ingredients

1 cup chopped potato cubes
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup chopped tomatoes
½ cup chopped onion (optional)
2 tablespoons mix masala (See Tips & Tricks Section)
1 cup water

For seasoning

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon chopped ginger (optional)

For Garnish

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)

Method

In a 2 quart glass bowl add oil, ginger, onion and potato cubes. Cover and cook in microwave for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and mix masala and mix, cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Add peas water, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until potatoes and peas done.
Press few potato cubes with spoon so gravy become little thick and tasty.

Mix lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves, serve warm with breads and rice.

Drumsticks with Potatoes


Ingredients:
4 drumsticks; washed, peeled and cut into 2″ pieces,
2 large potatoes; washed, peeled and cut into long pieces,
2 onions; halved and slices,
2 small tomatoes; halved and sliced,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tsp red chilli powder,
1 tsp dhania (coriander) powder,
Salt to taste,
Oil for frying,
Water,
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish.

Method:
Heat oil in a kadhai (wok) add jeera, asafoetida and onions and cook till onions are soft. Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and tomatoes, mix and let this fry till tomatoes are soft. Now put potatoes and drumsticks, mix, add ample water, cover and cook for 25 minutes on low-medium flame. Stir occasionaly. Add salt in the end, and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Spicy Bhindi(microwave recipe)


Spicy Bhindi


Ingredients

•Bhindi ½ Kg
•Ground green chillies 1 teaspoon
•Garlic paste 1 teaspoon
•Dried mango powder ½ teaspoon
•Oil 1 teaspoon
•Salt To taste


Method

•Mix all the ingredients and cook on power 70 for 8 minutes.