|
|
 |
| Raw vegetables are healthier than cooked vegetables. I don’t know where this old wives’ tale originated, but cooking actually enhances the absorption of vitamins and minerals. |
|
| 5-in-1 Fitness Calculator |
|
 |
Calculate your BMI (body mass index), Body Fat Percentage, Optimal Weight Range, and Target Heart Rate and Overall Health Risk all in one simple calculation.
|
 |
|
Bob Greene presents a blueprint for a lifetime of healthful eating, with detailed, easy-to-follow guidelines and 85 delicious recipes.
Price: $24.00 $16.80
|
|
The word “dessert” conjures up visions of high-calorie splurges that offer intense flavor but little in the way of nutrition. In fact, dessert doesn’t have to be a throwaway dish. Many desserts can provide the sweetness and indulgence you crave along with solid nutrition, be it vitamins and minerals from fruit or even some protein from nuts or egg whites. These treats are great rewards for working hard to change your eating behavior, and they don’t take you off the program. Instead, they fit right into your healthy way of life.
Warm Apple Crisp
There’s no better fall dessert than a warm apple crisp. This would be delicious with a drizzle of plain non-fat yogurt sweetened with a little honey and a drop of pure vanilla extract, or a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt.
Serves 4
 Non-fat cooking spray
2 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced apples, such as Granny Smiths
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, toss together all the ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
Oat Topping
1/2 cup walnuts or almonds, finely chopped
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons z©msened unsalted butter
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, gently combine the ingredients at low speed.
Place the apple mixture in the dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the apples are cooked through, the juices are bubbling and the topping is browned. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
 Goat Cheese with Honey and Nuts
Instead of cookies or cake, try this elegant cheese course to end your meal.
Serves 4
1 4-ounce log of fresh goat cheese, cut into 4 rounds, at room temperature
2 tablespoons good honey
4 tablespoons toasted walnuts or almonds
4 slices toasted French baguette
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, for garnish
Place each of the goat-cheese rounds in the middle of a small serving plate. Drizzle each round with honey and surround with the walnuts or almonds. Serve with a slice of toasted baguette and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.
Chocolate Almond Angel Food Cake
This luscious cake is as light as a feather and full of chocolate flavor—and contains almost no fat. Make sure that your bowl and beaters are absolutely clean and grease-free, and that there’s not a speck of yolk in your egg whites. To make sure you get maximum volume, fold the whites gently into the flour mixture. Serve the cake with Raspberry Sauce, below, your favorite fresh fruit or a small scoop of caramel-flavored frozen yogurt.
Makes one 10-inch cake
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
12 egg whites, at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup blanched toasted almonds, finely chopped
Position the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and 1/4 cup of the sugar and set aside. In a clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla extract, and continue to beat at high speed, gradually adding the remaining 3/4 cup of the sugar. Beat just until stiff peaks form; do not over-beat, or the whites will become grainy. Sift 1/4 of the flour mixture over the beaten egg whites and gently fold it into the whites with a rubber spatula. Alternating, fold in the almonds and the remaining flour mixture in small batches, until everything is just incorporated. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, run a spatula through the mixture to remove any air pockets, and smooth the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and invert the pan over a bottle or an upended funnel. Allow the cake to cool completely, about one hour. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and the tube to loosen the cake and turn it onto a serving platter.
 Raspberry Sauce
In addition to dressing up the Chocolate Almond Angel Food Cake, this sauce makes a great topping for frozen yogurt or fresh berries. It’s just as good made with frozen unsweetened raspberries as it is with fresh, which means it’s a year-round treat. The sauce will keep, tightly covered, for five days in the refrigerator.
Makes about 2 cups
3 cups fresh raspberries or 1 package thawed , unsweetened frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange liqueur or port wine (optional)
In a blender, puree the ingredients. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any seeds. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
For more delicious dessert recipes see my book Get With the Program! Guide to Good Eating.
top |
