Healthy Cooking by design

People ask me all the time to help them “healthify” a recipe and I’m happy to do it.  Apparently I’ve had enough experience messing up recipes that I know the pitfalls to avoid when substituting.

While some recipes cannot be redeemed - Deep-Fried Snickers Bars, for example - most can either be made healthy or can be re-worked to keep the same flavor elements you love, but in a new recipe.

Here are a couple of practical suggestions:

• Make it healthier and smaller.  Grandma’s cheesecake can be made with 1/3 less fat cream cheese, half the sugar, topped with real fruit, and made in a half-batch when having company over.  Everyone enjoys a big piece, and then it’s gone.
• Rework the proportions.  Use the largest amount of the healthiest ingredient and the smallest amount of the unhealthiest.  In a cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole, use a huge amount of broccoli, then a reasonable amount of brown rice, then some chicken, and top with a little cheese.  This concept works in most casseroles and soups.
• Experiment with new brands to use.  There are tons of pastas, breads, crackers, and cereals made with whole grains.  The ones with the most nutrition have “whole” wheat or oats, etc as the first ingredient in the list.  They all have a different taste and texture, so experiment until you find ones you like and then use whole grains.

If you have a favorite recipe that you would like to “healthify” but can’t figure it out, email it to me and I’ll be glad to tell you how I would do it.

I came across a link on facebook today called “Cup O’ Joe for a Joe” and couldn’t resist checking it out and passing it along to other coffee lovers.  Not only because I love a good cup of coffee, but I love to support our troops.

The creator of this campaign is the Green Beans Coffee Company.  They got their start with, and have a unique dedication to, the troops of the United States military. Their company mission is “Honor First, Coffee Second”, and they donate a portion of every sale to charities that support military families and their children.

You can go to their site and pay two bucks for a cup of coffee to be delivered to a soldier who has signed up, along with a note from you if you like.  They can even send a note of thanks back telling you how much that little gesture from home meant to them.  On facebook, you can read some of the thank you notes soldiers sent back to others - I dare you to not cry!

I know money is tight for many of us right now.  But who says we should give out of our abundance?  I could choose to skip my cup of coffee (or other indulgence) once a week or even once a month to send it to someone who will appreciate it a lot more than me.  I mean, they are skipping EVERY COMFORT OF THEIR LIFE right now for me.  The least I can do is send them a cup of coffee with a thank you note from home.  Thanks Green Beans for a great idea!