Have a BLT!

It’s summer and there are so many great tomatoes available, especially if you grow your own. One of the best ways to enjoy a summer tomato is part of a delicious BLT sandwich. If you haven’t had a BLT lately, you should. Every bite is a melange of flavors and textures like nothing else. Just use these ingredients, and you’ll have a highly nutritious yet sensuous feast. The only thing to watch is the sodium, because of the commercial bread and the bacon. One sandwich contains over half the total recommended sodium for someone on a low-sodium diet, and about one third for a regular diet.  Just make sure you’re lower sodium the rest of the day. This recipe makes 3 sandwiches (two for my husband and one for me).

1 package Oscar Mayer pre-cooked bacon
6 slices Orowheat double fiber bread (wheatberry is also a good choice)
2 beefsteak tomatoes, washed and sliced thinly (or substitute with whatever you have)
iceberg or Romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
3 tablespoons Best Foods (Hellmans) Canola Mayonnaise

Even though it’s fully cooked, I heat the bacon in the microwave for about 30 seconds, which crisps it a little. Toast the bread thoroughly so it’s hearty. Spread the mayonnaise on both sides. Layer the lettuce, then the tomatoes, then the bacon on top. Approximate nutritional breakdown per sandwich: 305 calories, 15g fat, 845mg sodium, 22g net carb, 14g fiber, 16g protein

Crockpot Chili

Chili is yummy, filling comfort food. And it’s surprisingly good for you with the high protein and fiber content, plus all the lycopene from long-simmering tomatoes. Watch out for canned chili: it’s extremely high in sodium. Try making your own in the crockpot. It tastes wonderful and smells great cooking all day. Plus it’s much lower in fat and sodium than the canned versions. This low-sodium, low-fat recipe makes about 6 servings.

Chili
1 pound round steak
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 14.5-ounce cans no salt added diced tomatoes (we use Del Monte)
1 medium yellow or white onion
1 tablespoon chili powder

Canned pinto beans are always high sodium, so rinse them thoroughly in a colander and let drain while you’re preparing the meat. You should be able to cut about 30% of the sodium in the beans by rinsing them. Remember that many commercial brands of chili powder typically contain sodium; McCormick’s contains 240mg per tablespoon. The generic brand we use does not contain any, so they’re out there and worth the search. Prepare the steak by freezing it slightly so it’s easier to slice. Then trim and slice into bite-size pieces. In a non-stick frying pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute the meat until well done. Push to the side of the pan and saute the onion that’s been sliced fairly thinly. Spray the crockpot with olive oil and add the meat and onion mixture. Pour the drained pinto beans over the meat mixture, and then add the two cans of sodium-free tomatoes. Add chili powder and stir. Simmer all day and enjoy. The tomatoes count as a vegetable serving, and their lycopene is released by long simmering. Approximate nutritional content in this recipe per serving: 240 calores, 6g fat, 320mg sodium, 13g net carb, 8g fiber. If you used sodium-free chili powder: approximately 80mg sodium.

Crock Pot Roasts – Beef, Pork, Turkey

Crock-pot roasts are the easiest meals you could possibly make. They’re good for either summer (you don’t use the oven) or winter (smells good all day) meals.

Pot Roast
1 2-3 pound boneless round roast
1 medium white or yellow onion
small white potatoes
baby carrots
red wine
beef buillon (1 packet or about 1 tsp)
If you have chuck roast, you can just put it in the crock pot for 8 hours, and it turns out perfectly. But a serving of chuck roast, even trimmed, is still about twice the fat as a round roast. So…here’s a way to have delicious pot roast and keep it lean. Using medium-high heat and a non-stick pan, brown the roast on all sides quickly. Spray the crockpot with olive oil spray and put the roast in it. In the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and brown the onion slices until they just start to get tender. Mix in the bouillon and then pile the onion mixture on top of the roast. Pour in about 1/2 cup of red wine and throw in a bay leaf or two. Simmer on low all day. About two hours before serving, cut off any bad parts of the potatoes, and throw them and the carrots in the liquid. A 4-ounce serving of top round is about 240 calories and 10g fat.

Roast Pork Loin
1 2-3 pound boneless pork loin
Rosemary
Spray the crockpot with olive oil spray and place the roast in the crockpot. Sprinkle liberally with rosemary.  Cook all day. That’s it! Serve with a salad and fresh bread (I buy small sourdough flutes so we don’t eat too much bread). A 4-ounce serving of pork loin is about 240 calories and 10g fat.

Roast Turkey Breast
Our WalMart Supercenter now sells Butterball boneless all-white turkey breasts. I was so happy until I had already purchased 3 and read nutrition lablel. They’re infused with lots of sodium (and who knows what else). I’m still going to use them, because they’re so convenient for dinner and then sandwiches. But beware the sodium on these! We used to stock up on the bone-in kind around Thanksgiving, but that meant using the oven. Now I can just put one in the crock pot (spray with olive oil spray first), sprinkle with Mrs. Dash lemon pepper seasoning, and 8 hours later we have turkey! I make instant mashed potatoes and gravy (which are fairly low in sodium) and serve with no-salt-added canned green beans for a real comfort meal. And it’s so easy you can have it on a weekday, with enough turkey for sandwiches the rest of the week. A 4-oz serving of white turkey breast is about 180 calories and 3g fat.

Hawaiian Pizza

People either love Hawaiian pizza or they hate it. I happen to love it: sweet, salty, cheesy, crispy. To me, it has everything. If you like thin crust pizza, you’ll like this one. It’s really cheesy and satisfying. It fits all my criteria: delicious, easy, and not too bad for you. Plus, you get a fruit serving. You can adapt this recipe to any toppings. Makes a single serving pizza.

1 Mission Carb Balance Soft Taco Tortilla
Olive Oil Spray
1 scant tablespoon spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup Libby’s crushed pineapple with Splenda
1 slice Canadian bacon, sliced into small pieces
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Italian cheese

Heat a non-stick frying pan and spray with olive oil spray. Using medium heat, crisp the tortilla on both sides. This gives it the sturdiness it requires to hold the sauce and toppings. Spread the spaghetti sauce thinly and then top with toppings and cheese. Bake on a greased pie crust or cookie sheet in regular oven at 410 for about 10 minutes, or you can even cook it in the microwave on a regular dinner plate for about 3-4 minutes on high.

Approximate nutritional content: 367 calories, 13 net carbs, 11g fiber, 18g fat, 850mg sodium

Kung Pao Chicken

This is a delicious blend of a slightly sweet undertone with a piquant heat. This is not a saucy dish. The sauce flavors the chicken mixture and then cooks away. Serves 2.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into small pieces
2 green onions or scallions, chopped finely
1/2 can sliced water chestnuts, chopped finely
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
1 packet Splenda
3/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts

Spray olive oil or canola oil in a medium frying pan, and stir fry the chicken pieces until desired doneness. Then add green onions and water chestnuts and stir fry a few minutes, retaining their crispness. Shake the remaining ingredients (except peanuts) in a sealed Tupperware-type container and add to pan. Stir and cook until liquid desolves; throw in peanuts and stir.

Serve with stir-fried pea-pods for a completely righteous meal, or serve with stir-fried rice. I’ll provide that recipe later. It’s also easy and delicious.

Approximate nutritional values per serving: 258 calories, 6 grams fat, 635 mg sodium, 10 grams carb, 3 grams fiber