Makeover Monday: Ramen Slaw Salad

I love Ramen Slaw Salad.  And that is saying something because I'm not a coleslaw person.  This dish is what my mom always brings to family get-togethers and it is always a hit.  A while back ago I finally asked her for her recipe.  A quick glance at the ingredient list and I knew why it's so good.  And I knew it had to get a makeover before it would be prepared in this dietitian's kitchen!

The base of coleslaw, cabbage, is a nutrient powerhouse.  The fat that we tend to glob on it to make it taste respectable, is not.  But does coleslaw really need all that fat to make a delicious side dish?  I thought not. 

While I have always enjoyed my mom's Ramen Slaw Salad and appreciated its ability to get me to eat a veggie I don't particularly like, I have noticed that when you get to the bottom of the bowl it is dripping in its oily, sugary dressing.  So when I went to make it on my own, my main objective was to increase the ratio of veggies to dressing.  I love it when I get to use the word "ratio." 

There is nothing brilliant about the changes I made.  The original recipe calls for one cup of oil.  That wasn't going to work for me.  So I used half of that and added a little water to make up the difference.  Calorie savings: 960!  I also used Splenda instead of sugar, which saved another 340 calories. 

At this point I had tackled the dressing.  I could have stopped there, but I didn't.  I also used just one package of ramen noodles instead of two.  This saved 280 calories plus 1580 mg of sodium.  The original recipe also calls for one cup each of sunflower seeds and sliced almonds.  They contribute a nice crunch to the salad, and cutting things in half was getting boring, so I used 3/4 cup each.  This saves 375 calories.  Total calorie savings: 1955! 

Now, is this reduced calorie version of Ramen Slaw Salad as sinfully good as the original?  I'll let you decide.  Does it provide a reasonable amount of heart healthy fats, powerful cancer fighting antioxidants, a good dose of fiber, and a pleasant crunch with a hint of sweetness without breaking the calorie bank?  It sure does!

There are a few things I change when preparing this recipe to suit my needs a little better.  First of all, I have never found broccoli coleslaw in my grocery store, so I use the standard coleslaw.  And this most recent time I made it I chopped up some cabbage and carrots myself.  Also, because it is just my husband and me eating this and it takes us a few meals to polish it off, I add the dressing and noodles as we go to avoid a soggy salad. To make the dressing, I put it in a shaker, and shake it.  It makes storing a pouring easy!  Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

Ramen Slaw Salad

Ingredients:

1 package beef ramen noodles, uncooked, crushed

8-10 green onions, chopped

3/4 cup sunflower seeds

3/4 cup sliced almonds

1 lb broccoli coleslaw (or regular coleslaw)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup Splenda

1 seasoning package from ramen noodles

Directions:

Mix oil, water, vinegar, sugar, and seasoning packages.  Place in refrigerator to cool.

When ready to serve, toss slaw, onions, almonds, and sunflower seeds.  Pour chilled dressing over slaw mix and toss.  Just before serving, add uncooked noodles and toss again.

Toffee Crunch Cookies

It's fall.  The leaves are officially changing colors, the weather is cooler, and I can watch football just about anytime I want.  Life is good.  This time of year, I can't get enough goodies with apples or pumpkins.  However, my husband can.  I did pumpkin the other day with my Pumpkin-Ginger Waffles so I decided to give him a short break.  One of his favorite treats is chocolate chip cookies.  Now, I like chocolate chip cookies, but I get bored making ordinary stuff like that.  So I made these Toffee Crunch Cookies instead!

I had some crispy rice cereal on hand that I needed to get rid of.  I like making treats with them, but I think they are worthless as cereal.  These cookies don't have any fancy ingredients, and they take only a few minutes to make.  And they are fantastic!  These taste like chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie treats came together to have delicious cookie babies. 

You might notice by the ingredient list that this makes a good sized batch of cookies.  I think next time I will cut the recipe in half.  I loved them, but I have too many things I want to make to spend a week eating one kind of cookie! 

Now, while I was devouring these cookies, I thought to myself, "How could I health these up?"  I think I came up with some calorie slashing ideas that will still result in a yummy cookie.  Sounds like a good Makeover Monday!  Stay tuned.  But in the meantime, let's make some Toffee Crunch Cookies!

 Here's what you need:

Easy enough.  Beat the butter and sugars.

Looks yummy!  Now add eggs and vanilla. 

 

Then add the flours, baking powder, and baking soda.  This is getting good!

Now stir in the rest of the goodies.

Mix it all up, and it will look like this:

At this point, try not to eat it all.  Instead, place on a baking sheet.  Parchment paper makes nice cookies, and easy clean up!

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Look for them to turn golden brown around the edges as they will still be soft when you take them out of the oven.  But they turn out looking like this:

Ready to try?  Here's the recipe:

Toffee Crunch Cookies

From Tasty Kitchen 

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups quick oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat butter with sugars.  Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.  Beat in flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  

Fold in oats, ceral, chocolate chips, and marshmallows.

Drop by 1tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Health Tips: Margarine vs Butter

Ding, ding, ding!  Put those boxing gloves on.  One of the biggest nutrition battles of the ages is about to go down here.  Margarine vs Butter. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me which is healthier, I would actually have some money!  So for those of you who have ever wondered the same thing, I am going to break it down for you.  For both products, I will go through the good, the bad, and the ugly (the stickiness that makes it hard to say which is best).

Now, before I begin let me give you a little background information about my perspective.  Growing up, we always had margarine in the house, but referred to it as "butter."  And, this is embarrassing, but for a surprisingly long time I didn't know the difference.  You will find both in my refrigerator.  Since we didn't have real butter around the house I am just now learning the joy of baking with butter (so yummy!) but I still prefer margarine if I am spreading on toast or something like that.  With that being said...Let's get ready to rumble!

Butter

The Good: Butter is a natural source of fat.  I looked at the label of the package I had in my refrigerator.  What did I find?  Cream.  That's it.

The Bad: Fat and calories.  1 measly tablespoon of butter rings in 100 calories, 11 grams of total fat, and 7 grams of saturated fat.  The official position of most major medical groups is that diets high in saturated fat increase your risk of heart disease.

The Ugly: There is some new research that puts those official positions into question.  Some feel that dietary fat and cholesterol may not have the effect previously thought.

Margarine

The Good: Lower fat and calories.  1 tablespoon of margarine has about half the fat (5 grams) and calories (50) of butter.

The Bad:  Margarine relies on hydrogenation to turn liquid oil into a solid spread.  This process creates trans fats which is worse for your heart than saturated fat.

The Ugly: Since food manufacturers are now required to display trans fat on nutrition labels, many have decreased trans fats in their products.  However, any product containing less than a half a gram of trans fat can claim zero grams per serving.  So make sure you look for hydrogenated oils on the ingredient list!

When considering margarine or butter, remember that neither is a health food.  As one of my teachers at K-State said one time, we all have to die from something.  So pick your poison! 

Another option?  There are margarine spreads that do not have hydrogenated oils, such as Smart Balance.  These products contain plant sterols and/or stanols, which can lower cholesterol as well.  They are not necessarily recommended for those with normal cholesterol, and they are a bit pricey!

 Clear as mud?

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

My husband and I eat beef--a lot of beef!  Both of our parents raise cattle and we come from meat-and-potato families.  But, for health and variety's sake, I try to occasionally throw some fish in the mix.  My husband hasn't always been a fish eater, but a honeymoon to Jamaica helped him realize that fish can be good!  

When discussing barriers to healthy eating with my clients, time is one that comes up over and over.  I always give them some fish recipes because it is so fast and easy!  My latest adventure in baked fish is this Parmesan Crusted Tilapia recipe.  It took maybe 5 minutes to throw it together, and 12 minutes to bake.  Plus, I lined my baking sheet with foil, so the clean up was easy! 

So to summarize, this recipe is quick, easy, healthy, and delicious.  I think we can all go for that!  Here is how you can make it happen in your kitchen:

This is our cast of characters.  I love recipes that include simple ingredients I already have on hand!  

This recipe called for unseasoned breadcrumbs.  I usually make my own breadcrumbs by toasting the heel from a loaf of bread or just letting a slice stale, and chopping it up.  You might note in this picture that my cutting board is a picture of my husband and me from our wedding.  Yes, it does seem a little weird chopping food on a wedding picture, but I'm used to it now.

All you need to do is mix the dry ingredients, then brush mustard on fish fillets. Then coat the fish with the crumb mix, place on your baking dish, sprinkle with the cheese, and bake about 12 minutes.  

Fillets before baking

To make this a simple, balanced meal I would recommend whipping up some minute brown rice which you can dress up with your favorite seasonings and some roasted red pepper.  Then just throw together a side salad and you are all set!


A few notes:

• I made this with swai instead of tilapia because that is what I had in my freezer.  You could use any mild, white fleshed fish.

• The original recipe is from readyseteat.com and called for 4 fillets.  I was cooking for 2 and did not particularly want leftovers, so I only used 2 fillets.  However, I kept the amount of most of the seasonings the same and that is what I am putting for my recipe.  I love flavor!

• Although this is called parmesan crusted tilapia, the parmesan cheese didn't really stand out.  The mustard, bread crumbs, and salt combined to make more of a mustard pretzel taste.  Either way, my husband took one bite and exclaimed, "Yum!"  And that's saying something from a meat and potatoes guy!

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia
adapted from readyseteat.com by Amber, RD at thefoodierd.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
Breadcrumbs from one slice whole wheat bread
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tilapia (or other white fish) fillets
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
4 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Stir together breadcrumbs, parsley, paprika, and salt in a shallow dish (I like to use a pie pan).  Brush both sides of each fillet with mustard.  Place fillets in crumbs and coat evenly.
Place fillets on baking sheet.  Sprinkle fillets with cheese.  Spray top of fillets with cooking spray.
Bake 10-12 minutes (thicker fillets will need to bake longer) or until fish flakes easily with fork.
 

Makeover Monday: Pumpkin-Ginger Waffles

Monday through Friday I am a good girl at breakfast with my Bran Flakes and skim milk.  Saturday and Sunday, all bets are off!  One of my favorite traditions my husband I have established in our three years of marital bliss is having a tasty breakfast together on the weekends.  I love splurging on pancakes, waffles, french toast, scones, etc.  
However, the dietitian in me can't help but try to "health-ify" my weekend indulgences.  My tasty treat this weekend was new.  Yay!  Since it is October (holy cow!) and officially pumpkin season, I tried out Pumpkin-Ginger Waffles--dietitian style.  I was able to cut the calories almost in half, and they were still yummy enough to be husband approved.  Here's how I did it:

• The original recipe from Country Living included 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.  I substituted whole wheat flour, which doesn't have a big calorie difference, but does have about 4 times as much fiber.
• I substituted skim milk for buttermilk, and added a splash of lemon juice.  This slightly cuts back on fat, and I almost never have buttermilk on hand.
• Using 1/2 cup Splenda instead of 1/2 cup regular sugar saves about 315 calories!
• This is one of my favorites--swapping applesauce for fat in recipes.  In this recipe, I used 1/4 cup applesauce instead of 3 tablespoons butter and lost 275 calories!  This recipe is highly seasoned, so it still has plenty of yummy taste!

A few notes: I yielded 10 square waffles with my waffle maker (I might have to ask Santa for a Belgium-style waffle maker for Christmas this year!).  I did double the cinnamon from the original recipe and added some nutmeg.  That gave it a yummy pumpkin-pie-for-breakfast taste.  If you are concerned about using 2 teaspoons of ginger (which I was), my analysis is that they were noticeably gingery, but I didn't think it was too overwhelming.  Feel free to cut the ginger in half if you feel so inclined!  I top my waffles with a dab of margarine, and light pancake syrup. I love weekends!

Pumpkin-Ginger Waffles

from Amber, RD @ thefoodierd.blogspot.com

Yield: 10 small square waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

3/4 cup skim milk 

1 tsp lemon juice (or vinegar)

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/2 cup Splenda sweetener

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup no sugar added applesauce

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Whisk eggs, milk, lemon juice, pumpkin, Splenda, applesauce, and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Combine with flour mixture.  Do not overmix.

Pour batter onto heated waffle iron (I have to spray mine with cooking spray).