Healthy Recipes

   Roasted Winter Vegetables (recipe courtesy of Homemade Today)

Servings:  4   Prep time: 15 minutes    Start to Finish: 45 minutes

2 medium Carrots, peeled                                                                                                                                        1/2 lb. Parsnips, peeled                                                                                                                                           1/2 lb. Sweet Potato,                                                                                                                                                  1lb Butternut squash, peeled & seeded                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2 T Olive Oil                                                                                                                                                              1/2 t Black Pepper                                                                                                                                                      1t salt

Preheat oven to 425. Cut all vegetables in 1-2" cubes. Place the vegetables in a single layer in a roasting pan (this reipe works best in two pans). Drizzle with oiliv oil, salt  pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25-35 minuted, tossing occasionally, until all are tender.

Crunchy Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:
3 cups cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 large apple, sliced
1/2 tablespoon pecans, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 tablespoon fat-free mayonnaise
Black pepper (to taste)

To Prepare:

Place the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the grapes, apples, and pecans. In a small cup, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, and pepper. Add to the salad and toss.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Values (per serving): 70 calories, 2 g protein, 13.4 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, 0.2 saturated fat, 0.6 polyunsaturated fat, 0.8 monounsaturated fat, 0.3 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 33 mg sodium.

Focus on Potassium!

Twenty percent of all Americans have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Most people think that lowering sodium in their diet is the most important change they can make. Researchers have found that a diet full of potassium-rich foods, such as avocados, sweet potatoes and orange juice, may blunt the effects of too much sodium. Volunteers in a recent study on diet and blood pressure who ate nine to 11 servings of fruits and vegetables were able to decrease their blood pressure within two weeks. One of the primary reasons for this decrease was a high intake of potassium.

Another benefit of potassium is that it helps to regulate the balance of fluid in the body to help prevent muscle cramps.

Here are some delicious recipes you can enjoy while increasing potassium in your diet.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 t marjoram
• 1/4 t salt
• dash ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in shallow baking dish. Bake for one hour.

Maple-Bourbon Glazed Salmon

• 3 teaspoons fresh orange juice, divided
• 1/2 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon bourbon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 4 (6-oz.) salmon fillets
• Cooking spray
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat broiler. In small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon juice, syrup, bourbon & pepper, stirring with a whisk. Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Brush syrup misture evenly over salmon, sprinkle with salt. Broil salmon 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven; drizzle 1 teaspoon juice over each fillet. Broil 1-2 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Yields: 2 servings

Beets with Orange Vinaigrette (from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

(The quantities have been reduced to serve 2)

• one bunch fresh beets
• 1 T raspberry vinegar
• 1 T orange juice
• 1 1/2 T good olive oil 
• 1/4 t sugar
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground pepper
• 2 T diced red pepper
• Zest of 1 navel orange
• Segments of 1 navel orange

Trim off green tops from beets and place in pot pf salted water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for one hour, until beets are just tender. Drain and allow to sit until cool enough to handle.

Peel and dice beets into 1/2-inch cubes. While beets are still warm, place them in a mixing bowl and add the raspberry vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, red onions, orange zest and orange segments. Mix well, taste for salt & pepper, and serve cold or at room temperature.

Dinner Meat Loaf "Muffins"

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 galic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup, divided
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, extra lean
• 1 cup finely crushed fat-free Saltines (about 20)
• 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, carrots, garlic and oregano: saute 2 minutes. Cool.
3. Combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.
4. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray. Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups. Top each with 2 tsp. ketchup. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160. Let stand 5 minutes.