7 in 7 - Sunday - Healthy Cooking Tips (4)

Top 10 Cooking Tips
www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/Top10CookingTips/Top-10-Cooking-Tips_UCM_301837_Article.jsp

7. Prepare muffins and quick breads with less saturated fat and fewer calories. Use three ripe, very well-mashed bananas, instead of 1/2 cup butter, lard, shortening or oil or substitute one cup of applesauce per one cup of these fats.

8. Choose whole grain for part of your ingredients instead of highly refined products. Use whole-wheat flour, oatmeal and whole cornmeal. Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of all-purpose flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, try 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour.

9. In baking, use plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt or fat-free or low-fat sour cream.

10. Another way to decrease the amount of fat and calories in your recipes is to use fat-free milk or 1% milk instead of whole or reduced-fat (2%) milk. For extra richness, try fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk.


Questions:
1. What are some of the tips and tricks you use in baking to make your recipes healthier and OP?
2. Do you actually bake any more and if so what types of things do you make? (feel free to share a recipe or two)
3. FUN: What birthday cake do you remember that was special...even if it was not OP AND what do you celebrate with now for (or instead of) cake?

Personals

Cindy: Your dump chili sounds tasty. Hope you had fun at Zumba.

Cherry: I have never understood how people keep track of what is in a huge chest freezer. I think my daughter bought a chalkboard to track things but in their smaller home wonder if they still use it? Thank you for the recipe! I am going to have to try it soon! I don't know what to do about the spacing and lines not being fluid when copying and pasting - it is a pain in the patoot sometimes to deal with.

Lynn: With your big freezer I wonder how you keep track of what is inside it? Hope you had fun shopping and relaxing this weekend!

Beverly: I will ask you, too, how do you keep track of and not lose things in that big freezer? Hope you had fun with your grandson this weekend!

Judy: I hope you enjoyed your three day weekend! When you cook and freeze in bulk do you label the items so you know what is inside and when they were created?

Pam: What type of frozen meals do you like best? I remember I used to splurge on WW meals long ago and then my children wanted them too! Wish they had good low point frozen desserts here    Glad you have a bit of time for yourself for pampering this weekend!

Holly: You checked in late today! Glad to see your post. I usually have the lentil/rice/browned onion dish called mjudra or mdardara locally with a shredded cabbage salad dressed with garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper.

I always bake using sf apple sauce or mashed bananas instead of fat. I also use a lot of cornmeal (probably too much, as I LOVE cornbread).

I don't bake as much as I used to, mostly at Christmas time, or if I have to take something to a gathering (when I do bake for special occasions, those things are not WW friendly) I love the big breakfast cookie, sometimes I make muffins using that same recipe. This morning, I made pancakes using cornmeal & oatmeal, ff sour cream, & egg whites.

I remember my favorite birthday ever, it happened only a few years ago. ALL of my family met at a local country restaurant (actually it is well known, it is called the Loveless Cafe) you may have heard of it, or you can see it on line. Anyway, we had a lovely dinner & visit, we waited outside on a beautiful spring day for our table to be ready, then we had our meal. When we were finished, we went to my Son & DIL's house, she had bought the most beautiful cake that I have ever seen. I felt so spoiled & special that day, it was my best birthday ever!!

Cathy - I do label with name of food and date. It seems like it might be easy to identify foods, but not always!

bmazzo - I took a look at the Loveless Cafe website - very interesting read about history, and the food sounds delicious. I can say with certainty that I've never had catfish (or many of the other traditional southern dishes). I'm going to have to spend some time looking at the recipes too - I like to read about foods from other places.

1. I've used substitutes such as applesauce. but...(see question 2)

2. But, I bake very rarely, so I usually use regular ingredients and eat the items as a seldom eaten item and savor it mindfully.

3. Rarely had cake growing up (if any baked goods, we might have cookies or bars), but for birthdays, an angel food cake. I don't remember any birthday in particular, just that it was always angel food cake.

Questions:

I use applesauce, bananas, less oil, light sour cream, skim milk, etc. when baking. Don't bake that often although I enjoy doing it.


I have never been a big cake eater. Don't think I have had any for years. Last evening I split a ice cream sundae at a restaurant for my birthday (belated) dinner. I made a individual cake in a cup for myself on my actual birthday.